It was a smoggy November morning in 2023. At the Gurugram shelter run by the Transgender Welfare Equity and Empowerment Trust, Ajay*, a trans man in his mid-20s, hurriedly dressed and gobbled up a protein-heavy breakfast. Despite his haste, Ajay looked sharp. His trousers weren’t creased. His brogues were polished. Ajay had just started work at a private export-import firm located in Cyber City in Gurugram. It was his first corporate job and he wanted to look the part. There are 487,803 transgender people in India, according to census data. The last census was conducted more than a decade ago in 2011, so that number is likely a massive undercount by now.