By Reginald Greer, Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Fellow (2025-26)
The views expressed below are those of the author and interview participants and do not necessarily reflect those of the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights or Harvard Kennedy School. These perspectives have been presented to encourage debate on important public policy challenges. Interviews of Transgender and Nonbinary Indians Conducted by Shreyashi Ray and Reginald Greer
Over sixteen days, the Government of India did something tragic and surprising.
Known for its lengthy legislative process, both houses of India’s Parliament, the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, quickly approved a regressive anti-transgender bill after introducing it only two weeks prior. Parliamentarians acted quickly in spite of robust pushback from LGBTQI+ activists and civil society leaders who raised legitimate questions around the bill’s constitutionality.
Then, the day before Transgender Day of Visibility, India’s president, Droupadi Murmu, assented, and it officially became law, erasing decades of progress for India’s transgender and nonbinary communities.
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill removes the right for transgender and nonbinary Indians to self-identity on national identification cards, a right previously recognized by the Supreme Court in the 2014 landmark ruling, NALSA v. Union of India. The new law will, instead, force transgender and nonbinary Indians to submit to a system where their identities are verified by a medical board and local magistrate. Additionally, the law imposes criminal provisions which activists believe will be misused by authorities to levy allegations of harassment, coercion, or misrepresentation against transgender Indians – punishments that carry sentences of five years to life in prison.
Here is the unfortunate reality: Transgender people across the globe find themselves at the center of a raging culture war – fueled by a well-financed coalition of bad faith actors across politics, media, and society.
This coalition recruits influencers, popular figures, religious actors, podcasters, athletes, and politicians who hope to replace systems and institutions that promote equality and social cohesion with ones that suppress minority voices and dictate every facet of life.
The ecosystem fueling the global anti-transgender backlash awards populist sentiments and salacious tropes, and it seeks to constantly obfuscate the reality of the world around us. It scapegoats entire communities and creates environments where those communities are blamed for some or all of society’s challenges. As someone who researched and documented human rights abuses across South and Central Asia while serving at the U.S. Department of State from 2022 to 2025, increased levels of division, discrimination, fear, and cruelty always follow.
In the United States, the culture warriors in government and media have worked day-in, day-out over the past decade to stoke fear around the existence of transgender people in American life. This has resulted in a dangerous state of affairs for transgender people and their families. In 2025, over 700 anti-LGBTQI+ bills were introduced at the state and federal levels, with most of them targeting transgender and nonbinary Americans. These culture warriors hope their actions will drive down support for acceptance and equality, galvanize voters, produce electoral victories for reactionary candidates, and ultimately, push entire communities out of society.
As is the case with the United States, when governments and reactionary movements seek greater control over people, attacks on basic human rights for LGBTQI+ people are never far away. India is no exception.
India now joins Senegal, Kazakhstan, Iraq, and Uganda on a list of countries that have passed laws at the national level either recriminalizing LGBTQI+ identities or restricting freedom of expression since 2023.
The passage of India’s Transgender Amendment Bill should be a wake-up call to anyone who believes great societies can only rise when they embrace equality and human rights for all. If we fail to protect the rights of transgender people in the U.S., India, or anywhere else, we will assuredly fail to protect the rights of everyone else. It is because the culture warriors will not relent, which means we cannot relent. In a world fueled by populism, compassionate people everywhere must take up the cause of building 21st-century societies that guarantee equal protection under the law for everyone and the freedom to determine one’s own destiny.
Perspectives on the Transgender Amendment Bill from Durga Shakti Gawde, Koyel Ghosh, and Kalki Subramaniam
Last week, my colleague, Shreyashi Ray, and I interviewed three transgender and nonbinary activists from India who shared their thoughts on the future of transgender and queer rights across the country. They are: Durga Shakti Gawde, a sculptor, natural bodybuilder, activist, and India’s first performing drag king from Mumbai, India; Kalki Subramaniam, a transgender activist, author, artist from Tamil Nadu, India, who represented six southern states on the National Council for Transgender Persons in India (NCTP) before resigning to protest the law’s passage; and Koyel Ghosh, a gender non-conforming activist who leads a queer CSO, Sappho for Equality, in Kolkata, India.
There are lessons the U.S. and global north countries can learn from Indian civil society – lessons around how to effectively organize for transgender rights and respond to institutional and systemic failures. Durga, Kalki, and Koyel’s perspectives highlight a simple reality: That an attack on one person’s rights is an attack on all. Here are their words.
To a global audience, how would you describe the harms caused by the new law?
Koyel:
“From today onwards, people are being told how they must identify—and in many cases, that they can no longer identify as who they have always been. That, in itself, erases entire identities. These are not identities people adopted overnight. These are not fleeting feelings. People have lived with these identities for 18, 20, 30, even 35 years. And suddenly, to be told that in this country you are no longer recognized as a trans person—it strips you of your identity. It strips you of your humanity.”
Durga:
“The 2026 Transgender Amendment Bill introduces new aggravated offences. On the surface, that sounds like protection — harsher sentences for crimes against transgender people. But read the language carefully. One of the new offences is "forcing someone to assume a transgender identity." Punishable by up to life imprisonment. Now think about who gets to define forcing. Think about who gets to decide what assuming a transgender identity means. In a country where transgender people are already over-policed, where informal and marginalised work is already criminalised, where the legal definition of transgender just got narrowed.”
We have been discussing how this connects to global trends. Trans rights are being rolled back in places like the U.S. Do you think that emboldens governments elsewhere?
Koyel:
“Yes. There is definitely a sense of taking advantage of that global climate. It gives governments more confidence, impunity to act this way. There are simply no consequences to these violations.”
This bill seemingly came out of nowhere? How did you initially react?
Kalki:
“Initially, I was happy. I thought maybe the government was taking a positive step for our community. And I must say, the government has supported initiatives for the transgender community. We cannot ignore that. Dr. Virendra Kumar has been compassionate. He has attended our events, supported our work, and recognized activists who have worked for years toward empowerment. So for me, this was a shock. Because my experience with the Ministry of Social Justice had been largely pleasant. Yes, sometimes slow—but still respectful, still collaborative. I’ve had good experiences with the minister, the staff, the officials, and other Council members. That is why this bill felt like a blow. When we read it, all of us were confused. Then we were stunned. We are official members, and any legislation or policy is supposed to be discussed with us—even if we are only advisory. In the past, the minister has listened to us. But this time, we were not informed. Not consulted. It came out of nowhere. That was the shock.”
Koyel:
“No. We had no idea. There was no warning. No preparation. The bill was introduced on the 13th, and by the 30th of March, it was passed. There was no time given to respond. We still tried—we shared briefs with Members of Parliament, we met them, we tried to create some space for dialogue. But there was simply no time.”
Does this bill feel like a betrayal of the Government’s prior support?
Kalki:
“I had trusted the process because, in the past, the minister has listened to us. That is why this feels like such a blow. We had positive experiences with the ministry—that’s why this was so unexpected. Both things are true—I am grateful for the opportunity, but this was deeply disappointing. Positions come and go, but my commitment to my community does not.”
Durga:
“Yes, because the government once took credit for saying India was the only country to recognize third gender categories. But, this bill came out during the budget season and ahead of the country’s census, which is telling. And, even with the government’s support, only 35,000 transgender people (out of almost 500,000 nationwide) received identification cards.” According to the Government of India's Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, only 30,000 transgender Indians have received identity certificates/cards since 2019 even though the most recent census of India's transgender population records 487,803 individuals.
Kalki, you mentioned your resignation. Could you talk about your experience with the government and what led you to that decision?
Kalki:
“As I said, we had positive experiences with the ministry. That’s why this was so unexpected. All members agreed—the bill is problematic. It should not be passed as it is. At the very least, there should have been consultation. Before the bill reached Parliament, I wrote to the minister. I requested consultation. I said clearly that I would resign if it proceeded in its current form. I received no response. Even after my resignation, I received no acknowledgement. According to official guidelines, Council members must be consulted on legislation affecting the community. This did not happen. So I resigned. Because I wanted to stand with my community—in their most critical and sensitive time. Positions come and go. But my commitment to my community does not. My life’s purpose is to fight for their dignity—to ensure they can live safely, peacefully, equally. So I stood by my word.”
How would the criminal provisions impact the Indian transgender and nonbinary community?
Durga:
“Under this bill, if you want a certificate of identity — the document that lets you access healthcare, education, employment — you now have to go through a designated medical board. Possible physical examination. Medical history reviewed. Then a District Magistrate decides if your identity is real enough. They will do nothing but poke and prod at our bodies.”
Koyel:
“At the same time, it makes the work of civil society organizations extremely difficult. The law uses terms like force, allurement, and kidnapping. So now, if someone helps a trans person leave a violent home, that support can be criminalized. People doing this work could face up to 10 years of punishment. Think about that. If a person wants to leave a violent family environment—what happens to them now? What happens to those trying to support them? The law also says people have the right to live at home. But at what cost? If home were truly safe, nobody would leave. Nobody would choose to live in cramped spaces, struggling to rebuild their lives from scratch. People leave because home is not safe.”
Kalki:
“The first thing I expected was stronger action against violence—especially sexual violence—against transgender people. That was my expectation. Anyone—whether man, woman, or transgender—who sexually, physically, mentally, or emotionally abuses a transgender person should face severe punishment. But the law currently provides only six months to two years. And the amendment did not change that. In an urgent meeting, I raised this. The official response… was that our anatomy is different. I didn’t even know how to process that. Through our foundation, we run the Red Wall Project. Since 2017, my team and I have collected over 500 testimonials from transgender people about sexual abuse. Trans women, trans men, people across identities. I have read these stories. I have sat with them. Many times, I was in tears. Many of us were in tears. For many survivors, it was the first time they spoke about what happened to them. So I know what is happening in our community. We are one of the most sexually abused communities. And yet, when I read that perpetrators would get only up to two years—and then to be told our anatomy is different. I asked in that meeting: is the pain different? Is the fear different? Is the trauma different? For any human being who experiences sexual violence, the horror is the same. So why is the punishment less? That answer… truly bewildered me. Because it also implies that what happens to transgender people is not considered rape—only ‘sexual abuse.’ That is my biggest problem.”
Do you think Indian states with stronger health systems and trans activism —like Tamil Nadu or Kerala—might resist or mitigate some of this harm?
Koyel:
“Doctors are already becoming hesitant. They fear being accused of malpractice. But we will have to engage with them. We have to make it clear that medical responsibility and legal frameworks are not the same. Medico-legal is not the same as medico-social. If someone seeks gender-affirming care, it must be provided. According to ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases, 11th Edition) and global standards, this is essential care. You can strengthen documentation if needed—but you cannot deny care.”
India has legally recognized third gender categories since 2014 and has historically recognized these communities throughout history. How does this bill erase entire communities?
Durga:
“The 2019 [Transgender Persons Protections of Rights] Act explicitly named trans men. Trans women. Genderqueer people. AFAB gender-diverse people. You were in the definition. You were legally visible. The 2026 [Amendment] Bill? Deletes those categories. All of them. Replaced with a closed list that centres specific socio-cultural identities — hijra, kinnar, aravani — while erasing transmasculine people, genderqueer people, and many AFAB (Assigned Female at Birth) gender-diverse identities entirely.”
What are the next steps for the trans/queer movement in India? How do we fight against this?
Koyel:
“At the state level, there are still consultations happening—community leaders, activists, people coming together to figure out what to do next. But right now, it feels like avenues are being closed one by one. There is a lot of uncertainty. A lot of pain. And a lot of work ahead. We are still thinking through strategies as a community.”
Durga:
“Transgender people have the most amount of fuel out of any community to take on the world. The transgender community [globally] haven’t collectively been this pissed off. Despite systemic erasure, we are still sharing data and experiences across the globe. There are ways to communicate between our communities that will allow us to fight back, and this is a threat to structures of control and governments.”
Kalki:
“There are consultations happening across India. Community members, allies, legal experts—we are all coming together. I am traveling to Delhi tomorrow for a legal consultation. We are working toward a clear action plan. We are considering legal action, including going to the Supreme Court. We will present evidence. We will show what is actually happening to our community. Because our rights are human rights. We are equal. We deserve dignity.”
Image generated with AI.
