In this week’s South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna first discuss the Transgender Persons Amendment Bill 2026, which has triggered protests across the country. They are joined by advocate Arvind Narrain of the Alternative Law Forum, who was part of the panel of lawyers who fought for IPC 377 to be struck down. Joining in is also Rumi Harish, a musician and a queer, trans, masculine and social justice activist.
“We must begin from the 2014 NALSA judgement, which allowed the trans community to express their gender and self-identify. Following it, a private member’s Bill was introduced to protect transgender persons, but that did not get passed. Later, an Act was passed, but it was also protested against since it did not fully encompass the self-identification aspect, which is deeply connected to the right to expression and dignity. However, it included in its ambit several persons, including traditional communities like Hijras, Kinnars, Jogtas, and Aravanis. What the current Amendment does is it narrows that definition. It says that transgender does not include trans men and trans women, and only includes traditional identities. When you recognise rights, you cannot take them away. That is the fundamental problem here,” explains Arvind.
