Transgender and queer collectives, along with individuals, on Saturday opposed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, demanding its immediate withdrawal and terming it "discriminatory". Addressing a press conference here, community representatives alleged that the Bill proposes a restrictive redefinition of "transgender persons". "It collapses intersex and transgender identities into a single category, despite these being distinct experiences. It also removes the right to self-identification, limiting legal recognition to specific socio-cultural identities such as Hijra, Kinnar, Aravani or Jogti, thereby excluding many others," community spokesperson Prasant Meera said. He added that the Bill assumes individuals are forced into transgender identities through "coercion" or "undue influence". The Supreme Court's 2014 NALSA judgment stated that "transgender" is an umbrella term recognising persons whose gender identity differs from the sex assigned at bir