The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, has drawn strong condemnation from the LGBTQIA+ community in Jalandhar, with members terming it a breach of their dignity and their right to exist. Activists and representatives of a vibrant LGBTQIA+ community in the city said the bill, if enacted, shall reduce to nought their years of progress and the sense of empowerment the community has earned through hard work.
Notably, Jalandhar is home to an LGBTQIA+ community of about 1,000 members, including Transgender individuals. Deepak Rana, CEO of the NGO Shaan Foundation, which has long worked with the community, said, “The bill has brought to zero, the campaign and fight we have carried out over the past two decades. We stand in solidarity with Trans men and women, who continue to be pushed to the margins despite deserving equal rights, respect and recognition. No law should decide the validity of someone’s identity or gender identity, or create barriers to their basic freedom.”
Trans people are not invisible and their voices will not be silenced. We demand dignity, access to healthcare, equal opportunities and the right to live without fear or discrimination. This is not just a fight for one community—it is a fight for justice, equality and the soul of our democracy. Until Trans people are treated as equal citizens, our opposition will not stop.”
Rana, who is also part of the National Network of Transgender People, said, “Since the Covid pandemic, we have been constantly relegated to the side-lines. Funding for key initiatives aimed to support the LGBTQIA+ community has grown sparse and key aid shut down. Amidst a community already reeling under a crisis and disappointments, the bill aims to strip us of our basic dignities.”
Trans person Gurpreet Gopi said, “Transgender is an umbrella term. But there are multiple non-binary identities and sub identities. The legislation will remove our right to determine our own identity. The requirement of biological tests strips us of our privacy and right to self-identification. The government will not now tell us what’s real and what’s not?”
Sandy, another Trans person, who works as a lab technician said, “The bill is a nightmare for all of us who have been toiling for long for a dignified existence and larger acceptance within society. But we have now been robbed of the freedoms which the 2014 NALSA judgments granted us.”
Sandy also said, “The new bill’s provisions of punitive action in cases of sexual violence against Trans women, are also questionable. While forcing an adult or child to change their sexual identity will be punishable by 10 years to life imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, punishments for rape or sexual abuse of a Trans woman shall be only 2 years.”
