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Debates around amendments to India’s transgender law have once again brought the question of self-identification to the forefront. Much of the public discourse frames gender self-determination as an aspect of individual liberty — the freedom to define oneself, coupled with a demand for legal recognition of that identity. 

While this claim has strong ethical appeal, it raises a deeper constitutional question: can self-identification operate as an absolute principle within the framework of law?

An instructive way to approach this question is through BR Ambedkar’s formulation of liberty, equality, and fraternity as an inseparable trinity. In his final address to the Constituent Assembly in 1949, Ambedkar cautioned that these values cannot be pursued in isolation. 

Liberty without equality can produce conditions of domination; equality without liberty can become coercive; and both, without fraternity, remain fragile. This insight remains directly relevant to contemporary debates on gender identity.

From self-identification to legal structure

The demand for self-identification is, at its core, a claim to liberty. It asserts that individuals should have the autonomy to determine their gender without intrusive or bureaucratic barriers, while also seeking recognition of that determination within legal frameworks. 

This position draws strength from the Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in NALSA v. Union of India, which recognised transgender persons as a distinct category and articulated self-identification as a foundational aspect of gender identity.

However, translating this principle into a stable legal framework is not straightforward. Law, by its nature, operates through categories. 

It must determine eligibility for rights and protections in ways that are administratively workable and........

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