Statement against the Anti-Trans Bill in India

30/03/2026

This Trans Day of Visibility, as we gather in grief in the memory of all those we have lost, we want to centre the struggle of our trans and queer comrades in Indiaf where the far-right Hindutva government has introduced and passed amendments to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2016.

These amendments introduced with no consultation with the community, take away the legal safety that most importantly, recognised that gender could be claimed rather than assigned, and the state was not the mediator of one’s gender. As Mridula Chari writes for the BehanBox, “At its most prosaic, it paved the way for the bureaucratic recognition of other genders in government forms, but conceptually, it opened possibilities that had not been considered in many parts of the world. It was the culmination of decades of activism and organising and was the first legal recognition not just of non-binary identities, but the concept of self-determination itself.” However, the changes to the Act take this right away and push towards medicalisation and surveillance of our bodies (cis-identities will not protect anyone either). These amendments also narrow the idea of who can be offered support and protection under the law and will result in increased policing of bodies, through bureaucracy. The harshest impact of these changes will be on the marginalised Dalit, Bahujan, Advivasi folks who do not have access to gender affirmative medical care due to lack of resources and social capital and rely on self-ID for meagre protection that was on offer. It also has the potential to criminalise the essential community based support structures, vital to the safety of the LGBTQ+ community.

Despite the right to self-identification, trans people have continued facing violence and harassment in public and private spaces within the country. The normalisation of this violence is reflected globally. In the UK we have seen repeated attacks on the right of trans people, especially with regards to access to medical services including puberty blockers. The recent ruling by the UK’s Supreme Court that restricts the understanding of ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 as a ‘biological sex’ only. These changes, like the one in India, narrow down the definitions of what it means to be trans and gender queer, thus removing the compelixities of our gender identities and instead forcing recognition on the basis of medical certification.

We see this shift in India’s increasing integration into the extractive neoliberal economy, modeled on ideas of brahminical patriarchy, cultural liberalism and economic privatisation. As economic crisis deepens, and the Indian government faces increasing dissent over its landgrabbing policies in protected and enviornmentally fragile areas, refusal to recognise organised workers movements such as the Farmers Protests and the ASHA healthcare, whilst cozying upto the genocidal government of Israel and US, showcases the fragility of the current Indian government.

For a government that repeatedly struggles to provides access to basic needs to the majority of its population, it was surprising to see amendments introduced and passed through both houses of the Parliament in less than two days. This urgent desire to go back to colonial (and manusmriti) legacy of curtailing rights of people minoritised on the basis of gender is the Indian government’s pandering to align with the transphobic legal and political systems in the UK and the US , but we will not let this happen. Law is but a guiding principal for society, it can assure peoples of rights but never guarantee them. These laws must be effectively challenged and while that happens, we must do everything to support our comrades. Trans rights are under threat globally, and we must be united in opposing them, locally and globally. Trans and queer people have long existed before any law, and will continue doing so.

We call upon our members are UK organisations to raise awarness and educate themselves on the Antitrans Bill in India. At this point, it is important to show up for trans comrades in India and the UK, and organise a strong legal and political challenge to the attacks on trans people everywhere. Please do join the social media campaign call from the community wearing a black arm band on 31st of March and raise awareness of this bill using the hashtag #RejectTransBill2026. Please email indialaboursolidarity@gmail.com to sign this statement.

Signed by

India Labour Solidarity