NEW DELHI — A proposed amendment to India’s transgender law has sparked fear and anger among LGBTQ groups, who warn it could undo hard-won legal gains and take away the right to self-identify.

The Bill before parliament would narrow the legal definition of transgender persons to a limited number of traditional socio-cultural identities such as “hijra” and “aravani”, terms used for hundreds of years for a third-gender community.

But critics say that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill excludes trans men and women, non‑binary or gender-fluid people and others who rely on self‑identification.

It would also introduce mandatory certification by medical boards and district magistrates, with additional approvals for those undergoing gender-affirming surgery.

The government says the Bill intends to “streamline” the existing framework, plug implementation gaps and better protect vulnerable groups by strengthening penalties for exploitation, forced identity and trafficking.

For transgender students at a makeshift tea stall in New Delhi -- many of whom have not even come out to their families -- the implications feel overwhelming.

“I am very scared,” said one student, their voice barely above a whisper. “If the state decides who you are, what happens to who you know yourself to be?”

Activists warned that the Bill could upend the lives of thousands, and runs counter to a landmark 2014 Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the right of transgender people to self-identify.

“This Bill doesn’t just create problems... it throws our lives out of order completely,” said PhD scholar Vaibhav Das, who identifies as non‑binary.