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The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill was passed in the Lower house of the Indian Parliament in March 2026. This bill aimed to amend the provisions of the 2019 Act for the rights of the transgender people, the community with the ability to self-identify and protection from discrimination and exploitation. The new amendment bill, however, has introduced provisions to narrow the definition of Transgender persons, only to include the historically accepted socio-cultural groups of hijras and kinners (“India’s Transgender Rights Bill a Huge Setback,” 2026e), and the intersex individuals. This bill hence, strips away the right for legal recognition for people who self-identify as a trans man or a trans woman.
It would be detrimental to the struggle the LGBTQ+ community had gone through if the bill is recognised as law, undoing decades of legal battle. The constituents of the bill will not only diminish the scope of trans identity but also perpetuate something which is far grimmer. That is, this bill will then propagate the colonialistic ideals from which we have since liberated ourselves from.
Contrary to the current scenario, Indian ancient texts not only mention same sex relationships but there are quite a few references in the country’s mythological texts that can be inferred as proof of the existence of transgenders, such as the revered Mahabharata, Ramayana, etc. Other than the transgenders in Indian history, popular texts like the Kamasutra and even the Manusmriti, though prescribing punishment. Nevertheless, these texts are successful in proving that homosexuality is not a foreign concept to Indians.
As far as the Islamic religious texts such as the Quran and the Sunnah go, homosexuality is considered a sin with several hadiths expressing disapproval and detest towards the notion of homosexuality. For instance, the Al A’raaf 7:81 says “Verily, you practise your lusts on men instead of women. Nay, but you are a people transgressing beyond bounds” (Australian National Imams Council 2018).
Other than religious texts, history of medieval India has evidence of same sex relationships under the Islamic rule and according to historian, homosexually inclined men have always existed in Islamic rule. Instances of such the nature of relationship between the Mahmud of Gaznah and his slave Ayaz, according to Ziauddin Barani. These instances of same sex relationships during the medieval period demonstrate only the tip of the iceberg, suggesting acceptance across cultures (“Same-Sex Love in India,” 2000).
In fact, contrary to the portrayal of Islamic empires based on the teachings of Quran, it was the Ottoman Empire that decriminalised homosexuality (Daniyal, n.d.-b). This was two years before the enforcement of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code for criminalising the same. This difference in acceptance provides a food for thought on how to establish their racial and religious supremacy over the colonies, the Britons criminalised something that is as old as the human civilization itself.
Even though it’s not like that homophobic mentality did not exist before the advent of the British empire, being prosecuted for homosexuality was not a general occurrence until introduction of section 377(Ruhnke, 2018b). The English not only had laws punishing homosexuality in their colonies but also in their own country, where initially being charged with sodomy met with the death penalty.
Moving centuries further, the European standard for homosexuality has substantially changed where the countries safest in the world for the members of the LGBTQ+ community are a part of this continent. Now the LGBTQ+ community enjoys rights such as right to marriage, adoption, gender affirming surgeries, etc. however, unfortunately, the seeds of homophobia planted by the colonisers in countries across Asia and Africa have grown into massive trees that still, after decades bear the fruits of oppression, negligence, isolation, prejudice, disrespect towards the aspects of someone’s identity they cannot change.
The recent introduction of the Trans bill in India is the result of this damage, which, if passed into law, shall undo decades of struggle and additionally, endanger the existence of rights of other sections of the LGBTQ+ community. One needs to understand that the concept of gender is not entirely biological, as it’s also a social construct. This bill strips away the recognition of Trans individuals in India to self-identify, in turn damaging their physical as well as psychological autonomy.
References.
India’s transgender Rights Bill a huge setback. (2026c, March 26). Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/03/26/indias-transgender-rights-bill-a-huge-setback
Australian National Imams Council. (2018b). Islam’s clear position on homosexuality. https://www.anic.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Islams-Clear-Position-on-Homosexuality.pdf
Same-Sex Love in India. (2000). In Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-62183-5 .
Daniyal, S. (n.d.-b). A historical look at attitudes to homosexuality in the Islamic world. Scroll. https://files.libcom.org/files/A%20historical%20look%20at%20attitudes%20to%20homosexuality%20in%20the%20Islamic%20world.pdf
Ruhnke, L. (2018b). Constructing native homosexuality in British India. Maneto Undergraduate Research Journal, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.15367/m:turj.v1i1.80/m:turj.v1i1.80
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.