In Meghna Kulkarni’s Own Words — from JYNM: “India’s Transgender Bill 2026 Explained”

“Both my children are like that — Rit is transmasculine, no existence. Shreesh is trans feminine, no existence. Both are non-binary. No existence at all.”
— Meghna Kulkarni

I’m an educator and the parent of two neurodivergent, trans, non-binary children — my elder child Shreesh, trans feminine, and my younger child Rit, trans masculine. In 2026, a new amendment was introduced to India’s Transgender Persons Act. Under it, as written, my children would legally not exist.

I’m an active member of Sweekar – The Rainbow Parents, a peer support group for parents of queer and trans children, and I’ve participated in workshops covering the mental health, DEI, and legal dimensions of queer and trans rights in India.

1. My Own Unlearning Journey
   Sex is biological, gender is a self-affirmed social and personal experience that may or may not align with assigned sex, and sexuality is about attraction, separate from both. I traced my own shift from disgust and confusion as a young adult, first hearing about what’s now called gender-affirming care, to full acceptance — triggered when my younger child, Rit, told me they felt gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia. That moment led our family to a peer support group connecting us with more experienced families, and to workshops where mental health experts, DEI professionals, and legal experts educated us on terminology, history, and rights.
2. From NALSA 2014 to Self-Identification in 2019
   The landmark 2014 NALSA Supreme Court judgment established non-discrimination rights for transgender people across housing, healthcare, employment, and public spaces. A restrictive bill proposed in 2016 was struck down after major public protest; the government then passed the Transgender Persons Act in 2019, enacted in 2020, whose most significant provision was self- identification of gender — no medical board approval, surgery, or intervention required to legally affirm our gender. Notably, 2020 was also the year my son Rit came out to our family, so for me the law’s evolution and my own family’s journey unfolded in parallel.
3. What the New Amendment Actually Removes
   It removes self-identification of gender entirely. It narrows legal recognition to four specific categories, plus those coerced into medical or hormonal intervention. It excludes trans men, trans women, and non- binary or genderqueer people from recognition altogether — meaning, in my case, my own children would legally not exist. It reintroduces mandatory medical board examination for anyone seeking certification, replacing self-declaration. And most alarmingly to me, it criminalizes caregivers and allies — natal families, friends, partners, doctors, surgeons, NGOs, lawyers — meaning I, and Ann as an ally, would technically be criminalized if this bill passed as written.
4. Three Outcomes When a Child Comes Out, and Why Compassion Matters More Than Empathy
   I’ve observed three paths: a child forced to live a false life aligned with their assigned gender, which I connect to severe mental health harm and, in some cases, suicide often misattributed to other causes; a child who rebels and leaves the family once financially and mentally prepared, typically not until adulthood; or, my family’s path, an ongoing dialogue where parents educate themselves and choose support. I distinguish empathy, which I cannot genuinely offer without trans lived experience, from compassion, which I can always practice through listening, learning, and investigating. That distinction is the practical starting point for anyone trying to be a real ally.

Tools & Strategies

• Sweekar – The Rainbow Parents — a peer support group connecting parents of queer or trans children to experienced parent-mentors.
• Prabal workshops — sessions bringing mental health experts, DEI professionals, and legal experts to educate parents.
• The empathy-versus-compassion framework — a practical distinction for allies who don’t share lived experience but can still choose to act with care.
• Not gendering children early — avoiding imposed gender roles and colors for infants as a preventive family practice.
  

Learn. Don’t despise. Respect. And very important is what makes the world go round: compassion.

Listen to the full episode: youtube.com/watch?v=39fQHpnF_1g

Topics covered: #TransRightsIndia #TransgenderBill2026 #NALSA #QueerParenting #GenderIdentity #Allyship