Sexual and gender minorities condemn police move to restrict community activities in public spaces
Gender and sexual minority activists in Bengaluru are protesting against new police guidelines that restrict public activities like begging and soliciting. The community argues these rules criminalize marginalized groups without providing alternative livelihood support.
Why it matters
The conflict highlights the tension between urban public order policies and the rights of marginalized communities to cultural expression and economic survival.
A community consultation meeting organised by the Trans Feminist Collective and Navedu Nilladiddare in Bengaluru condemned the police guidelines issued on September 24 to regulate alleged instances of transgender persons harassing members of the public, obstructing traffic, aggressively soliciting money, and engaging in unlawful activities at public places.
Pointing out that gender minority community is one of the most socially, economically, educationally, and culturally marginalised, activists and senior members of the community argued that the government, without providing alternative livelihood opportunities, is recriminalising the community.
“The Karnataka State Policy for Transgender Persons, introduced in 2017, has not been implemented effectively. The order issued on September 24, 2026, by Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh against the gender minority community is contrary to the spirit of the Constitution. The order must be withdrawn immediately,” the participants demanded.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in