In protest against the NHRC’s alleged failure to stand up for the LGBTQI+ community, transgender rights activist Harish Iyer on Thursday (March 26, 2026) resigned from the post of advisor to the Core Group on LGBTQI+ issues at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). He criticized the government and the NHRC for not consulting the core group on any major issue regarding the transgender community and described his association with the NHRC as now ‘untenable’. “The NHRC cannot claim to be a “watchdog of human rights” or “spread human rights awareness” while being completely satisfied with this autocracy,” the resignation letter said.
He tendered his resignation in protest against the passage of the Transgender Persons Amendment Bill, 2026, calling it an attack on the fundamental rights of the trans community.
“It is unscientific and brought about with zero consultation. When the state makes laws in an echo chamber without consulting the people whose lives are in danger, it does not draft protective laws; it drafts a Bill that delegitimizes our existence. The fallout of this egregious non-consultation is a Bill completely divorced from the ground reality,” he said, criticizing the silence of the NHRC. Resignation (a copy of which I have) The Hindu) was sent on Thursday (March 26, 2026) afternoon.
He said the NHRC has failed to stick to the comprehensive advisory issued in 2023 regarding the welfare of transgender persons. “Just three years ago, the Commission gave broad guidelines to the Center and states to protect the dignity of the community, ensure health care access, and prevent discrimination. Yet, today, when a piece of legislation actively dismantles those protections – reinstating the exact systemic violence that the Commission once claimed to oppose – the NHRC has suddenly lost its voice,” the letter said.
Harish Iyer, along with some experienced LGBTQI+ activists, was appointed to the core group of the NHRC by a government order issued in 2018. The main responsibilities of the group are to review existing government policies, laws, rules and orders related to the LGBTQI community from a human rights perspective and make suggestions or recommendations for changes. “I accepted this role with the expectation that the Commission intended to live up to that mandate and act as a sharp, independent watchdog. I was deeply mistaken,” Mr Harish wrote in his resignation letter.
complete resignation letter format
Dear Chairman, Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer, and Members of the National Human Rights Commission,
Please accept this letter as my formal and immediate resignation from my position as Advisor to the Core Group on LGBTQI+ issues at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
The official website of the Commission clearly states that the vision and mission of the NHRC is “the protection and promotion of human rights”, defined as “the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution”. The institution proudly claims that the world looks at the NHRC as “a role model in promoting and monitoring the effective implementation” of these rights. I accepted this role with the expectation that the Commission intends to live up to that mandate and act as a sharp, independent watchdog. I made a big mistake. Now that the stringent Transgender Persons Amendment Bill 2026 has been passed in both Houses of Parliament, the deafening silence of the NHRC seems to make a mockery of its own mission statement and unsettles my continued association with this body.
The hypocrisy is especially glaring when one recalls the comprehensive advisory issued by the NHRC on September 15, 2023, regarding the welfare of transgender persons. Just three years ago, the Commission had given comprehensive guidelines to the Center and states to protect the dignity of the community, ensure health care access and prevent discrimination. Yet today, when a piece of legislation actively dismantles those very protections – reinstating the very systemic violence the Commission once claimed to oppose – the NHRC has suddenly lost its voice. This conspicuous silence makes the 2023 advisory nothing more than performative paperwork completely devoid of any real intention.
As a key member of this Committee, I was never consulted on this Amendment Bill at any stage. As far as I know, none of the other members were. If there is absolutely no consultation on the most devastating legislation to impact the trans community in years, what is the need for this role, or this entire committee, really?
This bill is not just an attack on our fundamental rights; It is also unscientific and brought about with zero consultation.
When the state makes laws in an echo chamber without consulting those whose lives are in danger, it does not draft protective laws; It drafts a bill that invalidates our very existence. The side effect of this arrogant non-consultation is that this bill is completely out of touch with the ground reality. I have been a part of this committee since 2018. We call once a year for salaam-namaste and nothing else. I don’t want to be part of a tick box exercise.
I request you to raise your voice against this bill.
When this bill officially becomes an Act, it will unleash a flood of state-sanctioned human rights violations. It takes away the “liberty, equality and dignity” of the community. It reinstates abusive medical boards, forcing trans individuals to undergo humiliating physical examinations merely to prove their existence. There is no understanding of science and social science in this bill. It is believed that one can find out the gender through physical examination. This forgets the scientific fact that one does not need to physically undergo gender confirmation surgery to call oneself transgender.
This effectively drives trans men out of legal existence, rendering them completely invisible and unprotected. Furthermore, it completely ignores the serious, state-sponsored mental health crisis that is driving young gay and trans people to suicide because they see no way out.
But perhaps the most insidious part is the weaponization of Section 18, which will now criminalize chosen families and partners who shelter trans youth fleeing violent patriarchal and abusive biological homes.
All the above points were highlighted by the Members of Parliament. However, the bill passed by voice vote.
This brings me to a very serious question for this Commission: Under this new Act, anyone providing safe haven or assistance to a trans person could be criminalized. So, if the National Human Rights Commission decides tomorrow to fulfill its mandate and provide help or shelter to a trans youth fleeing violence, will the State arrest the NHRC as well? Will the Commission’s own members be put in jail for protecting fundamental human rights?
I am aware that this Bill was drafted and moved by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE). However, does the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) – under whose administrative umbrella the NHRC functions – have any authority when fundamental constitutional rights are being systematically taken away? Do these government departments not communicate with each other?
When one examines this administrative link perhaps the Commission’s silence is quite understandable. How can citizens expect the NHRC to protect their rights when it answers to the same ministry that controls the police forces? It is the Home Ministry machinery that will knock at the doors of our chosen families to arrest them under the discriminatory law of MoSJE. This lack of inter-departmental communication is either gross incompetence or a deliberate strategy to avoid accountability. The Commission acts as an advisory board to the same system that is marginalizing us. As a result its independence is merely an illusion.
The NHRC cannot claim to be a “human rights watchdog” or “spread human rights awareness” while being completely satisfied with this autocracy. If the Commission cannot stand up to the government when it puts a marginalized community in front of a legislative firing squad, then it has completely failed its fundamental mandate.
I cannot in good conscience lend my name, my time, or my credibility to this committee. Have to fight for rights; They cannot be won by sitting quietly in collusive committee rooms. My place right now is on the streets with my people, fighting this humiliation and shamelessness.
However, if NHRC wants to bring any change in transgender lives in a meaningful way then I will be available for all consultations. I will do this as a citizen of this country. I realize that I don’t have to be part of this group to do this.
sincerely,
Harish Iyer
“The onus of inclusion rests on those who are included, not on those who are excluded” – Harish
