Navigating gender nonconformity in postcolonial India: a foucauldian analysis of power and identity

This research paper analyses the history and politics of gender nonconformity, focusing on the experiences and regulation of non-binary and transgender individuals in postcolonial India. Utilizing Michel Foucault's theories of bio-power, governmentality, and discourse, it critiques the influence of the state, medical institutions, and society in shaping these identities. Despite advancements in transgender rights, such as the NALSA judgment (2014a, 2014b) and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act (2019). No. 40 of 2019, India, institutional practices continue to limit transgender and non-binary agency, perpetuating exclusion through surveillance and normalization. The study reconceptualizes resistance not merely as activism but as a challenge to the state’s authority over identity formation, highlighting the intersection of caste, religion, and class in the experiences of gender variance. It contributes to discussions on social identity by illustrating how identities are dynamically constructed and regulated, ultimately shaping new forms of belonging and self-definition amid existing power structures.