India, March 23 -- The backlash was immediate and visceral. Just hours after the amendment to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, was introduced in Parliament on Friday 13, Anish Gawande of the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) and the first openly gay spokesperson for any national party, tweeted it was 'misguided' for proposing to do away with the "constitutionally protected and judicially upheld principle of the self-determination of gender identity".

Gawande later told me he was speaking both as an individual and for the party. Within days, statements were being issued by the CPI(M) as well as leaders from the Congress, DMK and Trinamool Congress.

At street protests and public meetings in Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi,...