India, March 18 -- A fresh row has erupted over the recently-tabled Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, which activists say, reduces the scope of the current law that was passed in 2019 to protect the rights and benefits of transgender persons across the country.

Union minister for social justice and empowerment Virendra Kumar presented the bill in the Lok Sabha on March 13. The proposal aims to introduce changes to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.

In 2014, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling that recognised transgender persons as a separate gender category. It said every individual has the fundamental right to choose their own gender identity.

Then, in 2019, the Parliamen...