This article examine rights of gender minorities in India, within the context of emerging international recognition and protection of their rights. Recent jurisprudence in India indicates the emergence of legal protection for transgender people. Despite legal recognition, the implementation and practical scope of the judicial progression remains to be seen. In order to understand the progress that the courts have made, it is important to reflect on the legal history of gender- variant people in India. This article does so and reveals the influence of colonial laws on the rights, or lack thereof, of gender-variant individuals. The article then critiques the recent seminal judgment on transgender rights in India, NALSA v. Union o f India, with particular reference to the Supreme Court’s construction of the “transgender” community in India.