India, April 6 -- The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act, 2026 was passed despite much furore by the Opposition in both houses of Parliament and received Presidential assent in a span of less than a week. The legal definition of "transgender" has been massively narrowed to include only "intersex persons", the derogatory term "eunuchs", and four socio-cultural trans identities in India (Hijra, Kinnar, Jogta, Aravani). By excluding trans men, along with many other regional trans communities in India, this definition contravenes the SC's 2014 NALSA judgment, despite the SC Trans Committee's recommendation underscoring this violation.

In Parliamentary debates, these categories were continuously defended on a mythologica...