LGBTQ+ activists in India have taken to the streets of New Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad and Kolkata in protest of a proposed amendment that seeks to restrict trans rights in the country.

The amendment to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019 was proposed by MP Virendra Kumar on Friday, March 13. If it passes, it would remove the right of trans Indian people to self-identify, a constitutional right that was guaranteed thanks to a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2014.

Kumar’s proposal would only grant legal recognition to those who have undergone gender-affirming surgeries, those with specific biological variations and those who are recognised as members of traditional third-sex communities. Trans people would have to undergo an examination from a medical board, which would then, in turn, submit a recommendation before a District Magistrate can grant them the right to update their documents to reflect their gender.

The District Magistrate would also be granted the authority to deny applications at their discretion. Moreover, the proposal would classify intersex people as trans.

Activists have warned that, in addition to rolling back trans rights, the proposal has the potential for abuse as it would outlaw “coercion into sex-change”, penalising it with a life imprisonment sentence. There is concern that this clause could be used by hostile family members as a form of retaliation against relatives who are supportive of a trans individual seeking gender-affirming care.

A petition objecting to the proposal and describing it as a “major step backwards” for trans rights in India has since garnered over 13,000 signatures.

“The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026 threatens to undo a decade of legal progress and community struggle,” the petition reads.

“In the name of protection, it in fact deprives many persons of their identities and rights. If all it is meant to be is a protective legislation, it needs to focus on the many substantiated recommendations around employment, education, and alleviation from violence made by the transgender movements and those given by the MoSJE.”

The petition urges lawmakers to “withdraw this amendment and uphold the constitutional rights, dignity, and autonomy of transgender persons in India.”