India News Updates Archives

India in the World 

• On 4 September, it was reported that Russia built covert trade channels with India. In 2022, the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry allegedly planned to secure electronics, some of which would be used in the ongoing war with Ukraine, from India. Payments would have been sourced from Russian banks, which had built up significant reserves of Indian rupees from lucrative oil sales to India, via a ‘closed payment system’ out of sight for Western countries. It is not currently clear if the plan was acted upon, however, the leaked plan may demonstrate a deepening relationship between the two states.   

• On 19 September, India abstained from voting on a UN resolution demanding Israel end its ‘unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.’ The resolution, adopted with a 124 votes majority comes just months after the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestine violated international law. India’s abstention paints a murky picture of its stance, as it also condemned the occupation in the past but has so far failed to express a consistent stance. 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Quad Leaders’ Summit on September 21 in the United States during which members spoke about topics like improving maritime security and collaborating on clean energy. The Summit, bringing together Australia, India, Japan, and the United States was first organised by US President Joseph Biden, although the Quad alliance itself is much older. India has frequently been described as a weak and reluctant participant in this alliance, although souring relations and competition with China have made such strategic alliances, especially related to security, more beneficial for India.

Civil society, human rights defenders and journalists 

• On 21 September junior doctors resumed some services since the start of their protest around the rape and murder of their colleague Moumita Debnath in Kolkata. The junior doctors demand changes like the suspension of some officials, the resignation of the state health secretary, and the adoption of measures to improve hospital security. 

• On 22 September Kolkata Police arrested five organisers of the ‘Reclaim the Night’ protests, which began after the rape and murder of trainee doctor Moumita Debnath. Police claimed that organisers did not have permission to gather, booking them under the Indian Penal Code and the National Highway Act. Protestors, on the other hand, believed such efforts to be attempted intimidation by police as they claimed to have reported the peaceful protests in advance to the police. 

• Anti-mining activist Kartik Naik of the anti-mining group Ma Maati Maali Surakhya Manch was arrested on 19 September in Kashipur. Sources state that his arrest was due to his alleged involvement in attacks on staff of a mining company in the area- a claim disputed by activists in the region. Various civil society groups and activists publicly condemned his arrest, expressing their concerns that the government is acting on behalf of the interests of mining companies while ignoring the rights of Adivasi and Dalits. If Naik’s arrest was indeed arbitrary, it could be a violation of Article 9 ICCPR against arbitrary arrest or detention. 

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

• In Bihar, the homes of more than 20 Dalits were reportedly set ablaze as part of a violent attack in early September. Residents were said to have been beaten before their houses were torched in an act of what appears to be caste-based hatred triggered by a land dispute. Minorities and rights groups continue to express concerns that cast-based oppression continues to grow under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as this and similar incidents took place in BJP-ruled states. 

• During a campaign speech in Jharkhand on 15 September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi allegedly accused ‘infiltrators’ of occupying local politics. In his speech he allegedly called out Muslims from Bangladesh and Rohingya refugees in particular for their role allegedly seeking to manipulate local tribes to gain land and power. These and similar discourses, painting Muslims and refugees as infiltrators may be in violation of Article 20, ICCPR. 

• On 10 September, a BJP politician Nitesh Rane asked real estate agents to take an oath not to work with or sell property to non-Hindus in the Mumbai suburb of Ulwe. At the gathering of brokers, Rane also remarked ‘we should only care for Hindus’. Police confirmed a police report had been registered against Mr. Rane six days later.   

• Violence broke out in Himachal Pradesh on September 11 after a protest about a Sanjauli-area mosque, which was allegedly illegally constructed got out of control. Protestors reportedly gathered in a large crowd, breaking through police barricades and throwing stones. Reportedly 50 people were booked on charges such as promoting enmity on basis of religion.  

• On 16 September, pro-Hindu activists in Karnataka were arrested for allegedly attacking a mosque ahead of the Eid-e-Milad festival. Tensions remained high in the region, with a special rapid action taskforce being established for the period of the Eid-e-Milad celebrations due to the area’s propensity for communal and religious violence.

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

• In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP is allegedly using the Sanjauli mosque controversy to incite communal tensions, demanding the demolition of parts they claim are illegal. This has sparked violent protests and may reflect a broader strategy to transform urban planning issues into tools for polarization. Despite long-standing problems with illegal construction, selective outrage from Hindutva groups has turned the mosque into a flashpoint. Inciting religious hatred to incite violence or hostility would be a violation of Article 20 ICCPR. 

• On 5 September, 28 Bengali Muslims were reportedly detained as ‘declared foreigners’ in Assam and deported to the infamous Matia transit camp. As of 22 August, 54,411 people had already been labelled as ‘declared foreigners’ since 2005. Under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma (BJP), detentions have only increased. NGOs have intervened to aid those deported and their families, providing legal assistance and even managing to overturn some Tribunal decisions. 

• An Uttar Pradesh court sentenced 12 Muslims, including two prominent scholars to life imprisonment for alleged religious conversion. On 11 September, the court charged the group with multiple crimes, penalising them with life imprisonment under a charge of conspiracy to commit an offence against the state, in a ruling condemned by Muslim organisations. This is the first major conviction under the controversial Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. 

Internet and Technology 

• On 25 September the Central government informed the Karnataka High Court that X (formerly Twitter) did not need to know the reasons behind account blocks ordered in 2021 and 2022. X requested access to government orders detailing the reason for the blocks and approached the court more than a year after a single judge dismissed the platform’s case, stating that the ordered blocks were a matter of state policy which would not be shared with a ‘foreign entity engaged in speculative litigation.’ This incident raises grave concerns about the lack of transparency in the way the government polices online speech. 

• X reportedly told the Delhi High Court that the blocking of Hindutva Watch’s X account was ‘unjustified and disproportionate’ on 28 September. The account of Hindutva Watch, an independent research project monitoring attacks on Muslims and other minorities in India by Hindutva groups, was restricted since January on the legal order of the government. The restriction of this and other websites and social media accounts of NGOs and activists potentially represents a violation of Article 19 ICCPR.

Political Parties  

• Sitaram Yechury, a massive figure in India’s leftist movement passed away on 12 September at the age of 72 after battling an illness. General secretary of India’s Communist Party (Marxist), Yechury is dedicated his political life to taking on majoritarian ideologies and advocating for religious freedom. He was also a major and well-known figure on the Indian left. 

• Following the passing of Sitaram Yechury on 12 September, former CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat was reportedly announced as an interim coordinator of the polit bureau and the central committee of the party. Karat will stay in the position left vacant by Yechury until the 24th party congress in April 2025. 

• Arvind Kejriwal, one of the most prominent opposition leaders and Chief Minister of Delhi, resigned from his position during the weekend of 14-15 September. Kejriwal’s resignation came shortly after he was released from prison on bail; the former Aam Aadmi Party leader remarked that he would only return as leader of the party if the people of Delhi gave him a ‘certificate of honesty.’ Kejriwal’s imprisonment was controversial as he was the third AAP leader to be imprisoned on corruption charges after the BJP government was accused of using investigative agencies to target the opposition.    

• On 23 September, The Opposition demanded that Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi be removed after he allegedly made comments that ‘secularism is a European concept’ and that ‘…in India, there is no need for secularism.’ Various opposition politicians stressed that the Indian constitution outlines a secular India, thus respect for the constitution includes respect for secularism too. 

• On 25 September, the first stage of voting took place in Jammu and Kashmir’s assembly elections, the first such elections in a decade. The elections will feature many well-known faces like former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Tariq Hameed Karra, Altaf Bukhari, and Sarjan Barkati, who remains behind bars. Over 9 million people voted for 90 legislative seats.  

Police and authorities 

• On 10 September, David Bradbury, Australian filmmaker known for his film on the 2012 Kudankulam Nuclear Plant Protests , was detained by authorities at the Chennai airport when trying to enter India with his two children. While his children were allowed to pass immigration, Bradbury was detained for reportedly over 24 hours, during which time it is said he was denied access to the Australian embassy, his medications, and a toilet before being expelled from the country. He believes his detention and deportation to be related to his coverage of protests at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. Activists and others are regularly denied entry into India due to the nature of their work.  

• On 12 September two Bengali Muslim teens were allegedly shot dead by Assam police officers during a forced eviction drive. Violence reportedly broke out as police attempted to evict people living in makeshift housing in a Kachutali village, after the recently evicted protested against police. Former residents stress that they bought the land on which they built their homes following the erosion of their former living quarters.  

• A 32-year-old woman was arrested and allegedly physically and sexually assaulted by police officers inside the station on 15 September. A video of her account has since gone viral amid increasing anger at police brutality across the country. Retired Justice Chitta Ranjan Dash has been tasked with holding an inquiry into the assault, which has also brought women’s rights and safety to the fore.  

• A Chhattisgarh IPS officer has been suspended after a prisoner died in his custody on 18 September. The deceased was just one of 69 individuals arrested on 15 September after a mob allegedly torched the home of a village deputy. Just one day after being taken to jail, the man was sent to hospital with injuries, where he died before being admitted. Others detained reported that they were beaten severely by police and denied water. 

• On 27 September students were arrested by the police in Delhi after voting closed in the Delhi University Students Union elections. The police allegedly only attacked students who were part of the opposition to the right-wing government. Police are said to have used slurs such as ‘terrorist’ against multiple Muslim students and one student was reportedly beaten before being taken into custody. Upon release, the student tried to file a police report against the officer who attacked him but the police allegedly refused to file a First Incident Report against the officer.  

Judiciary  

• In early September, Karkardooma Courts in Delhi acquitted 10 Muslims in the 2020 Delhi pogrom case after concluding that the prosecution did not present sufficient evidence. The group faced charges related to rioting, arson, theft, and vandalism, however, many witnesses appeared to change or recant their statements, with several unable to identify the accused.  

• On 11th September, Prime Minister Modi visited the home of India’s Chief Justice to celebrate a 10-day Hindu festival, called Ganesh Chaturthi. The visit sparked outrage, calling into question the independence of the country’s judiciary. The Congress General Secretary remarked that the move was in ‘contravention of all principles of judicial separation’. Modi addressed the criticism at a rally in Odisha, alleging that Congress is using the British colonial strategy of divide and rule to divide Indian society.  

• India’s Supreme Court granted bail to opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal on 13 September, months after his arrest. The court held that while his arrest, after a long corruption probe, was lawful, that ‘prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty.’ India is notorious for long incarcerations awaiting trial, which are often without bail, a potential violation of Article 9 ICCPR. 

• On 17 September, the Supreme Court issued a directive staying demolitions in India without permission until the first of October. The directive, which does not apply to unauthorised constructions in some public places, is an attempt to curb the bulldozing of properties as a punitive measure, which is not allowed in Indian law and likely violates the right to shelter (Article 11, ICESCR). 

• On 18 September, Scottish Sikh activist, Jagtar Singh Johal was denied bail seven years after being arrested. The arrest, which has been called arbitrary by a UN human rights panel, was based on alleged terror offences. Johal, who frequently campaigned for the rights of Sikhs in Punjab was reportedly tortured then forced to sign blank pieces of paper and record statements to end the torture. Arbitrary arrest and detentions, as well as excessively long detentions without trial violate Article 9 ICCPR. 

• The Bombay High Court struck down an IT rule provision that allowed the Centre Government to establish a fact-checking unit on 20 September. The Court’s decision breaks the tie of a January 2024 split verdict allowing the Centre to form a fact-checking unit to act against content it identified as ‘fake news’. Digital rights groups raised the alarm that the amendment would be unconstitutional and undemocratic, allowing the ruling party the right to exercise arbitrary power to potentially limit press freedom. Such restrictions could be a violation of ICCPR, Article 19. 

• The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, told the Supreme Court of India that arbitrary and punitive demolitions of property are an ‘aggravated form of human rights violations.’ In the 27 September report, Rajagopal remarked that the country has seen a ‘worrying rise of evictions of mostly marginalised and poor communities in recent years.’  He added that demolitions to commercial or domestic properties which are alleged to have slightly violated regulations is a ‘disproportionate measure.’    

Business & economy 

• Samsung Electronics’ Indian branch sued members of an Indian labour union which led to an 11-day strike in Tamil Nadu. The lawsuit, filed on 12 September seeks to restrain the union and its members from striking or stoking future strikes at the Chennai-area plant. Hundreds of Samsung workers have allegedly been striking for higher wages and recognition of their union since 9 September. Samsung is facing a myriad of issues in India due to planned job cuts and the pressure from an Indian anti-trust body. 

• The government removed minimum export price on onions ahead of Maharashtra assembly elections in mid-September. Previously, the government placed a minimum price threshold of $550 per tonne on all onions exported, which prevented farmers from selling their onions abroad for cheaper rates. This move may benefit the government since Maharashtra is a key onion-growing state. 

• Modi attended a roundtable with several American tech CEOs on 23 September. During the roundtable, he reiterated his plans to propel India to the world’s third largest economy by 2029, drawing attention to India’s rapid growth in electronics and information technology manufacturing and semiconductors industries. 

• Congress MP Jairam Ramesh once again wrote to Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on 28 September regarding his concerns that the ANIIDCO (Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation) was inviting expressions of interest for the development of land, while there were still disputes as to whether the land could be developed. A counter-affidavit was filed by the Ministry in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) regarding the potential development of biodiversity-rich forests. There are multiple legal and environmental concerns surrounding the massive development of the area.  

• The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal travelled to the US on 30 September for discussions on expanding and diversifying the critical mineral supply chain between the two countries. These minerals are commonly used in the manufacturing of clean energy technologies. Goyal is also visiting the US to co-chair the India-USA CEO Forum and India-USA Commercial Dialogue, both taking place in early October. The proposed expansion of the mineral supply chain is deeply concerning, as the Indian government continues to violate the rights of Adivasi peoples to ensure complete access to their mineral-rich land.  

Manipur 

Since the start of the ethnic conflict in May 2023, more than 200 people have been killed, with hundreds injured and more than 60,000 displaced. Places of worship, especially those of the Christian-majority Kuki community have been destroyed as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government has either failed to react or stoked hatred.   

• On the first day of September, drones and drop explosives were reportedly used to attack two Meitei-dominated villages. When commenting on the attacks, which seemed to have originated from Kuki-Zo inhabited areas, a state government official noted that the drones could have been assembled locally, while the ammunition could have been stolen from police armouries.  

• In an interview with The Wire published on 3 September, Bimol Akoijam, a Congress MP from Manipur placed blame on Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP over the violence in his state. Akoijam shared his suspicion that the violence was a political plot to ‘neutralise’ both tribal groups and use ethnic tensions between them for political gain, citing the unique geopolitical role of Manipur as well. 

• On 6 September, a violent flare-up in Manipur allegedly left six people dead and multiple villages destroyed. 

• On 7 September, at least five people were reportedly killed – one was said to be a sleeping civilian and the other four were described as ‘armed persons.’ Officers reporting to the scene were also fired upon. The state government ordered the closure of all schools the same day to protect students and teachers.  

• In early September, a large crowd reportedly demanded the withdrawal of the Union government’s forces from the state during protests in Imphal. Protesters, including students, argued that the forces are failing to effectively control the violence from the hill areas.  

• On10 September, retired army personnel Limkholoi Mate from the Kuki-Zo community, was allegedly attacked and killed in a Meitei-dominated area, highlighting deepening communal tensions. Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya called for calm amidst the ongoing violence. 

• In early September, 11 people were allegedly killed over the span of 10 days as fresh violence erupted in the nearly year-and-a half-long ethnic conflict. Police imposed a curfew in several Manipur districts and the internet is suspended. 

• On 10 September, a 5-day internet blackout was imposed by the state government in parts of the capital, Imphal. Despite a European Union Urgency Resolution, the state government has continued to introduce internet blackouts and curfews, alleging they are imposed to curb the spread of disinformation and rumours online. In reality, these measures suffocate civil society, stop people from being able to fact-check disinformation, and disrupt contact with loved ones during the ongoing conflict.   

India in the world 

• India was scheduled to participate in a human rights dialogue with the EU on 20 August. Civil society groups urged the EU to press Indian authorities on issues like restrictions on religious rights and freedoms and the country’s crackdown on dissent in the civic and political space– both violations of Articles 18 and 19 ICCPR. Unfortunately, the dialogue did not proceed and was suspended indefinitely. While an official cause has not been given, the cancellation mirrors a trend of India evading or postponing various human rights-centred dialogues.   

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

• On August 1, attackers set the Anjuman Jama mosque in Gurugram ablaze, killing a deputy imam. This unfolded after clashes erupted in the neighbouring Nuh district between a Hindu religious procession and Muslims. Authorities imposed a curfew and suspended the internet, but the unrest spread, damaging Muslim-owned properties and businesses in Gurugram and nearby towns. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced that 116 people were arrested in connection with the violence. 

• On August 9, the administration of RG Kar Medical College discovered the body of a second-year postgraduate trainee doctor, Moumita Debnath in a seminar hall. The police launched an investigation and conducted an autopsy, which revealed that she had been raped and murdered, sparking widespread outrage and protests across the city. The incident sheds light on the dangers faced by millions of Indian women in the workplace who face barriers related to harassment and assault.  

• Shortly after the rape and murder of RG Kar Medical College trainee, Moumita Debnath, a protest movement called ‘Reclaim the Night’ erupted on the streets of India. In this movement, women take to the streets demanding security, dignity, and proper access to justice for women country-wide. Although Debnath’s murder inspired these protests, women in India (and globally) regularly face extreme sexual violence, a trend that even cuts through social and economic lines. 

• On August 20-21, a food delivery agent was allegedly assaulted by four men who also subjected him to communal slurs and held him hostage for over an hour. The victim claimed they targeted him because he is Muslim. The police have arrested one suspect and are searching for the others. 

• On August 24, amid rising tensions and calls for Miya Muslims to leave Assamese-dominant areas, attackers targeted two Muslim men in the region. Both were attacked for being Muslim. Baksa police arrested three suspects involved in the assaults. 

• A migrant worker was allegedly beaten to death by members of a cow vigilante group in Charkhi Dadri district, Haryana on August 27 in an attack that stemmed from suspicions of beef consumption. Seven individuals, including two minors, have been arrested in connection with the incident. Cow vigilantism, when religious minorities are assaulted or killed by vigilante groups who allegedly do so to protect cows, is a rampant issue in India. Rights organisations raise concerns that the Indian government and other officials often turn a blind eye or actively enable to such vigilante groups. 

• On August 30, three youths assaulted an elderly Muslim man on a train near Igatpuri, Maharashtra, after accusing him of carrying beef. Despite video evidence showing them punching the man and using anti-Muslim slurs, police charged the attackers under bailable sections of the official criminal code and released them on bail within a day.  

• The Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 clashed over a clause allowing district collectors to arbitrarily oversee Waqf properties during an August 31 debate. Opponents stressed that the clause may disproportionately affect religious minorities, especially Muslims. Waqf properties, central to Muslim religious and charitable practices, have traditionally been governed by specialized boards to safeguard their religious significance.  

• On August 31, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma defended the decision to eliminate the two-hour adjournment for Jumma prayers in the Assam Legislative Assembly.    

Elections and Political Parties 

• On August 7, Rahul Gandhi criticized the government’s plan to recruit public servants through lateral entry, calling it an “anti-national step.” The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha claimed that Prime Minister Modi is bypassing the Union Public Service Commission in favour of using the RSS to source recruits. Gandhi’s remarks followed the announcement that 45 specialists would soon be appointed to key posts such as joint secretaries, directors, and deputy secretaries in various Central ministries. 

• On August 22, the Congress Party began a nationwide protest, demanding the resignation of SEBI Chief Madhabi Puri Buch amid allegations of conflict of interest and corruption. The party is also pushing for a joint parliamentary committee to investigate the matter. 

• Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar arrived in Delhi on August 23 for key meetings with top Congress leaders. The discussions centred on strategizing for the upcoming High Court hearing on the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) ‘scam,’ which allegedly involved illegal land dealings linked to Siddaramaiah and his wife.   

• On August 24, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanded a comprehensive caste census during the Samvidhan Samman Sammelan [Constitution Honor Meeting]. He stressed that the caste census is crucial for fair policy-making and must account for all communities. 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi was announced as the lead campaigner for the BJP in the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP national president J.P. Nadda, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were also named among the 40-star campaigners submitted to the Election Commission. 

• On August 28, the Secularwadi Muslim Front announced plans to march from Kolhapur on August 30 to address the lack of Muslim representation in Maharashtra’s recent parliamentary elections. The Front aims to ensure proportional representation of Muslims in upcoming state assembly elections. 

• On August 30, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren joined the BJP, just two days after resigning from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). He cited dissatisfaction with the state government’s current style of functioning and policies as reasons for leaving the JMM. 

• On August 31, the Election Commission of India postponed the polling date of the Haryana Assembly elections from October 1 to October 5 to accommodate the Bishnoi community’s observance citing the Asoj Amavasya festival. The Bishnoi community, a religious group in Northern India celebrates this spiritual festival, which marks the new moon. The postponement ensures that members of this community can participate in the elections without forgoing their religious observances.  

• The Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, a region with a complex political and security situation, will take place in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1. This phased approach is designed to manage logistical challenges and ensure voter security in the politically sensitive region. 

• Indian wrestler, Vinesh Phogat, who missed out on a gold medal at the Paris Olympics this summer, is set to run in the Haryana assembly elections held in early October. Phogat comes from rural Haryana, a conservative area known for its wrestling culture where several women wrestlers have challenged traditional gender norms and taken up the popular sport. The three-time Olympian has previously engaged in activist work around the sexual harassment of female wrestlers and the farmers’ protests of 2024. 

Judiciary 

• The Supreme Court granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia in Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases brought against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The Court set conditions for Sisodia’s bail and emphasized that prolonged custody without trial undermines justice, reinforcing that bail should be the norm and jail the exception.  

• On August 18, the Supreme Court took up the aforementioned case of Moumita Debnath on its own motion. The case was prioritized over others on the same day. 

• The Supreme Court stated that hate speech against all religions must be treated equally and handled according to the law on August 18. It emphasized that state police must address hate speech impartially and in line with legal standards. It is actively monitoring hate speech cases and seeks to establish formal local law enforcement mechanisms. 

• On August 21, the Supreme Court allowed states to create sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) categories, in a landmark judgment. This ruling overturns a 2004 decision which deemed SC/ST lists as a “homogenous group.”  

• On August 23, the Bombay High Court issued a restraining order against Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) from organizing a planned statewide strike in Maharashtra. The MVA called the strike in response to a sexual assault case in Badlapur. Following the court’s order, the MVA withdrew the strike. 

• The Kerala Film Producers’ Association (KFPA), which works to resolve women’s complaints and support police complaints about criminal actions at film locations supported a Kerala High Court order to submit a full report detailing the difficulties women in the Malayalam film industry face. The group expressed concern that the redacted report, made public previously supported the misconception that everyone in the industry was similarly abusive. 

• The Supreme Court asked the Gujarat government to respond to former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt’s plea challenging his life imprisonment conviction in a 1990 custodial death case on August 27. Bhatt is contesting the Gujarat High Court’s January 9 decision, which upheld his conviction and that of co-accused Pravinsinh Zala. Human rights groups stress that Bhatt’s conviction is the result of trumped up charges and a poorly investigated case. 

Executive  

• The Assam Assembly passed the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill, 2024 on August 10. This new legislation, replacing the Muslim Marriages and Divorces Act of 1935, aims to register Muslim marriages and divorces with specific conditions– proponents of the bill emphasized that it will help address issues such as child marriage and polygamy. 

• A  Delhi court requested the National Investigation Agency (NIA) respond to jailed Kashmiri parliamentarian Sheikh Abdul Rashid’s application for regular bail on August 20. Rashid was arrested in 2017 for allegedly funding terrorist groups but won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.  

• On August 23, India addressed an incident in which copies of the Guru Granth Sahib, an important Sikh religious scripture, were seized by Qatari authorities. The India External Affairs Ministry confirmed that the government is prioritizing the matter and has engaged Qatar. The seizure involved two copies of the Guru Granth Sahib from groups accused of operating religious establishments without Qatari approval. 

• On August 27, a Bangladeshi student at the National Institute of Technology was sent back to Bangladesh after reacting with a ‘love’ emoji to an anti-India post on social media. Local police clarified that it was not a deportation but a return arranged in consultation with Bangladeshi authorities. 

Tech and Internet 

• Journalist bodies demanded that Uttar Pradesh withdraw Clause 7(2) from its Digital Media Policy-2024. They criticized the clause for granting the State government broad powers to label content as “anti-social” or “anti-national,” potentially targeting legitimate journalism. They also warned that the clause creates a conflict of interest by enabling the government to penalize critics and undermine independent journalism. The clause may violate freedom of expression and journalists’ safety (Article 19, ICCPR).  

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting proposed a new Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill on August 7. The draft bill, shared confidentially with select stakeholders, would impose stringent regulations on independent news creators on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and X. This may infringe on freedom of speech and grant excessive powers to the government, which would be a violation of freedom of expression (Article 19, ICCPR). 
• On August 26, the Indian government launched an investigation into Telegram over concerns about its involvement in activities like extortion and gambling. The probe could potentially lead to a ban on the app and follows the arrest of Telegram’s Russian-born founder, Pavel Durov, in Paris two days earlier. 

India in the World

• On July 2, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) called on India to end the arbitrary detention of Rohingya who fled Myanmar to India and refrain from forcible deportation and returns to Myanmar, where they would risk being subjected to serious human rights violations and abuses. While India is not a signatory of the Refugee Convention, it signed (but has not ratified) the Convention against Torture, which prohibits state parties to return refugees to countries with consistent patterns of gross human rights violations (Article 3). In addition, the right to liberty and the right to life are protected under the ICCPR.
• On July 3, news reported on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) outcomes of their plenary session from June 26 to 28, in which over 200 jurisdictions and observers from international organisations participated in discussions on key money laundering (ML), terrorism financing (TF) and proliferation financing (PF) The Plenary concluded that India has reached a “high level of technical compliance” with the FATF requirements and its regime to counter ML, TF and PF is achieving good results. However, it expressed concern that India needs to ensure that counter-TF measures are not abused when targeting the non-profit sector.
• On July 10, Protect Democracy, a non-profit and US democracy watchdog, updated its Authoritarian Threat Index which counts India as among countries facing a “severe” authoritarian threat. India has the worst rating amongst countries surveyed, with a score of 3.5/5.
• On July 8-9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia to meet with his “friend Russian President Vladimir Putin”. Discussions reportedly covered the areas of “energy, security, trade, investment, health, education, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges”. Modi also indicated that the war in Ukraine is on the agenda for talks: On July 9, Modi told Putin that a “peace dialogue does not succeed amidst bombs, guns and bullets” and no solution to any conflict is possible on the battlefield. Putin reportedly agreed to release all Indian military recruits serving Russia’s Armed Forces on Russia-Ukraine warfront. On July 4, the US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti and Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles had mentioned having had regular conversations with India on Ukraine and Gaza. On July 10, after Modi’s trip to Russia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he held a “fruitful discussion” with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer during which they discussed in detail the ongoing disputes in the world, including the war in Ukraine and situation in the Middle East. Modi also said India and Austria identified new possibilities to further strengthen mutual cooperation and prepared a blueprint for cooperation for the coming decade. On July 29, news reported that New Delhi and Kyiv are discussing a possible “high-level visit” in August, potentially involving Prime Minister Modi visiting Ukraine.
• On July 15 and 16, India underwent the first review of its respect for the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) since 1997. Ahead of the review, the Human Rights Committee received 35 reports from civil society groups, which critically engaged with India’s submission and its claim of having undergone “considerable progress in developing a strong and elaborate legal and institutional framework for the promotion and protection of human rights”. The reports were used by the committee of 18 independent experts during the review to question India. India evaded or loosely answered questions regarding its weaponization on anti-terror laws to punish dissent, the lack of investigation into extrajudicial killings, and the lack of indigenous and lower castes rights Generally, India defended its position by referring to the different laws and institutions put in place to safeguard human rights; however, India’s delegation rarely elaborated on how the laws were being applied by institutions in practice. India also frequently used denial strategies to counter civil society accusations. In its concluding report, the Human Rights Committee maintained concerns regarding the use of counter terror laws, the targeting of civil society through excessive searches and seizures, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and the systemic discrimination and violence against tribes and lower castes.
• On July 25, India’s External Affairs Minister Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to discuss the military standoff in eastern Ladakh to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations. Border tensions between India and China increased since June 2020 when a confrontation between Indian and Chinese soldiers took place in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley. To date, the standoff has killed 20 Indian soldiers and 4 Chinese soldiers. Both Foreign Ministers agreed to disengagement, reiterating previous statements from both parties favoring “peace and tranquility” in the region.

Civil society, human rights defenders and journalists

• The new Article19 Global Expression Report 2024 ranked India at 123/161 countries, concluding that freedom of expression is in “crisis” in India. India therefore falls within the lowest category in the ranking, compared to last year when India was in the category “highly restricted”.
• On July 6, the Uttar Pradesh police filed a case against two journalists and three others for stating on social media that a Muslim man had been lynched by a mob. On July 7, the Uttar Pradesh police filed a case against a YouTube channel for reporting on the same incident. The cases against them allege they promoted enmity between different groups through their reporting on the reported hate crime. These cases are likely in violation of the freedom of expression (Article 19, ICCPR) and raise concerns about the state’s ability to tackle hate crime (prohibited under article 20, ICCPR).
• On July 8, police detained two anti-dam activists in Arunachal Pradesh state, and reportedly held them in preventive custody for ten hours as they were allegedly likely to cause a “public order issue”. The two activists were reportedly planning to organize a peaceful protest against a contentious hydroelectric project. The incident is likely to violate the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression (Articles 21, 19, ICCPR). In addition, preventative custody raises concerns about arbitrary detention (Article 9, ICCPR).
• On July 8, the Supreme Court agreed to examine the pleas filed by the Delhi Police challenging the high court’s order granting bail to four convicts, who were sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2008 murder case of TV journalist Soumya Vishwanathan. The incident had raised serious concerns about the state’s ability to protect freedom of expression and journalists’ safety (Article 19, ICCPR).
• On July 11, news reported that police had arrested a prominent lawyer, who is the former president of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, under the draconian Public Safety Act. According to his family, police arrested him at 1am without an arrest warrant, for allegedly having “potential for mobilizing public participation” and “creating disorder through protests” against the unilateral abrogation of Article 370. The incident raises grave concerns about the use of arbitrary detention (Article 9, ICCPR).
• On July 16, the Karnataka High Court granted bail to three men accused in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh. The bail raises concerns about the state’s ability to address and remedy violations of the right to life (Article 6, ICCPR).
• On July 18, thirteen Indian diaspora organizations issued a joint statement urging the Indian government to stop the persecution of writer Arundhati Roy and former professor Sheikh Showkat Hussain. On July 19, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute also issued a statement condemning the decision by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi to advance the case under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against Roy. The use of the anti-terror law to stifle dissent is likely a violation of the freedom of expression (Article 19, ICCPR).
• On July 22, the Delhi High Court heard a bail hearing of human rights defender and student activist Umar Khalid, who has been in pre-trial detention for over 1400 days. Khalid is accused under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for his participation in peaceful protests against the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act. Khalid has repeatedly seen his bail petitions delayed and rejected: His bail applications have been delayed 14 times in the Supreme Court over the last four years. Khalid’s detention likely violates the freedom of expression, the right to a timely trial and freedom from arbitrary detention, and the freedom of peaceful assembly (Articles 19, 9, 21, ICCPR).
• In July, news first reported that South Asian University in Delhi issued a notice to a scholar for citing Noam Chomsky’s criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his doctoral research proposal. The scholar received the notice for quoting a 2021 interview of Chomsky where he said that Modi came from a “radical Hindutva tradition” and was trying to “dismantle Indian secular democracy” and “impose Hindu technocracy”. The scholar’s supervisor also resigned. The incident is likely a violation of the freedom of expression (Article 19, ICCPR).
• On July 29, journalists staged a protest outside Parliament after being removed from Parliament’s Makar Dwar where they usually talk to MPs. On the same day, the speaker of the Parliament met the protesting reporters and promised to resolve all matters relating to restrictions on movement and the media’s coverage of Parliament. The removal of press could be a violation of the freedom to receive and impart information (Article 19, ICCPR).

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities

News reported of 13 lynchings taking place between June 4 and July 7, with four in Chhattisgarh, five in West Bengal, two in Uttar Pradesh, one in Gujarat, and one in Jharkhand. It is the ninth lynching of a Muslim man since June 4; one Christian woman and three lower-caste Hindus were the other victims. More similar incidents took place throughout July. Many of these incidents are likely violations of the right to life, and the prohibition of enticement to discrimination and violence (Articles 6, 20, ICCPR). Here are some examples of hate crimes:

• On July 4, a mob beat to death a man from the Muslim community in Uttar Pradesh state, for alleged theft. Police reportedly filed a case for “culpable homicide”, rather than the newly enacted crime of “lynching”.
• On July 7, another mob reportedly killed a man from the Muslim community on suspicion of theft in West Bengal state.
• On July 14, a Hindu supremacist mob reportedly entered a village in Maharashtra state and vandalized properties belonging to Muslim families, including homes and places of worship. This comes after a local former MP reportedly launched a campaign demanding an “encroachment-free” village, despite a high court order protecting local places of worship from demolition.
• On July 17, at least four people reportedly attacked a 24-year-old man from the Dalit community (formerly “untouchable”, a historically dehumanized group of people outside of the caste system). They attacked him at a bus stop, as retaliation for uploading a picture of him wearing sunglasses on his social media.
• On July 21, a group of Hindu pilgrims reportedly vandalized a car and thrashed its owner in the presence of policemen. Surveillance camera footage shows the incident, which came after the pilgrims alleged that the car had “damaged” their ritual object, of which there is no evidence. Police later filed a case against them.
• On July 14, a family attacked and killed a man from the Dalit (formerly “untouchable”) community. The man had married their daughter, from a different caste, just two months prior, of which the parents disapproved. According to the daughter, she had approached the police station seeking protection after threats to her husband’s life, which the police reportedly ignored.

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights

• On July 2, at least 121 people (mostly women) died in a stampede in Uttar Pradesh state at a religious gathering for the Hindu guru, Bhole Baba. Bhole is from the Dalit (“untouchable”) community, a historically dehumanized group of people outside of India’s caste system, and many of his followers are also from “lower castes”, female and/or poor. A special investigation team investigating the stampede submitted its report to the Uttar Pradesh Government saying that “the administration allowed religious gathering in Hathras without the inspection of the spot or venue”, and that ‘the local administration and police took the event lightly and never informed the seniors about the same”. The stampede raises questions about the authorities’ safeguarding of the right to life (Article 6, ICCPR).
• On July 5, the Assam government sent a letter to the state’s border police requesting it to send Muslims who entered India illegally before 2014 to Foreigners Tribunals. These tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies that decide their own procedure, and have been used to designate residents as “foreigners” if they do not have what they consider sufficient paperwork to prove their citizenship. On July 11, the Supreme Court of India held that authorities cannot accuse people of being foreigners on mere suspicion, thus criticizing the Foreigners Tribunal. The government letter indicates that cases of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Jain, and Christian people who entered India illegally before 2014 should not be forwarded to the Foreigners Tribunals – only Muslims. This comes after India enacted the Citizenship Amendment Act, which held that only non-Muslims can apply for expedited citizenship, sparking fears of Muslims being rendered stateless. The request raises concerns about religious discrimination in front of the law, prohibited by Article 26, ICCPR.
• On July 9, the Mumbai Police reportedly told the Mumbai High Court that it did not consider the word “jihadi” to be discriminatory towards Muslims in India. This comes in the context of the police’s refusal to file a first information report against several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders for “hurting religious sentiments”. Words such as “jihadi”, “Bangladeshi” and “Rohingya” are routinely used to antagonize Indian Muslims, presenting them as “outsiders” to the imagined Hindu nation. This likely violates the prohibition of advocating discrimination on religious bases (Article 20, ICCPR).
• On July 10, a collective of university professors wrote to the Vice Chancellor of Delhi University objecting to the plan to introduce the “Manusmriti” in its undergraduate programme subject on “Jurisprudence”. The Manusmriti is an ancient Hindu legal text, which, among other things, sets forward the discriminatory caste system as social order. Caste discrimination is officially prohibited under Indian constitutional law and violates the prohibition of discrimination (Article 26, ICCPR).
• On July 10, locals alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers beat approximately fifteen people from the Muslim community with sticks to prevent them from voting in local polls. One resident alleged that one of them fired a firearm in the air, and a BJP associate was seen roaming around with a pistol afterwards. The incidents are likely gross violations of the right to vote (Article 25, ICCPR).
• On July 13, authorities in one district in Uttar Pradesh state directed all food stalls and hotels along the route of a Hindu pilgrimage to display the names of their owners. On July 19, authorities in another district in Uttarakhand state issued a similar directive, allegedly to ensure “customer safety.” The Minority Rights Committee Gujarat and human rights experts expressed concern that this is “discriminatory” and a tool for “anti-Muslim violence”. The concerns stem from repeated incidents of religiously motivated and caste-based violence against food vendors, including calls for a social boycott of Muslims. Religion and/or caste can be identified through names. Several petitions were filed in the Supreme Court, which on July 21 stayed the directives. On the same day, however, another district in Madhya Pradesh state also issued such a directive. On July 26, the Supreme Court extended its interim order, saying one “can’t force anyone to disclose names”.
• On July 14, a group of Hindu supremacists reportedly disrupted a Christian prayer meeting in Dehradun, accusing the participants of conducting mass conversions. The attackers reportedly vandalized the prayer room. Eleven Indian states have enacted so-called “anti-conversion” laws, which are often used to accuse Christians of illegal conversion activities. These incidents are likely violations of the freedom of religion (Article 18, ICCPR).
• On July 16, a Hindu priest submitted a false police complaint alleging that two men from the Muslim community had broken an idol of Ganesha (a Hindu god). Police later discovered that the priest had broken it himself and falsely implicated the two men and initiated legal action.
• On July 29, the Uttar Pradesh government tabled a bill in the Assembly to make the state Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, stricter. The government has proposed increasing the maximum punishment from 10 years to life imprisonment, allowing any person to file a complaint and making bail more difficult. The Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act was passed by the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 2021 to criminalize religious conversion through marriage, deceit, coercion or enticement. The legislation has been widely used to crack down on religious leaders from discriminated faiths: a US government report on religious freedom in India from 2021 cites at least 71 Christian leaders being arrested in Uttar Pradesh after Hindu nationalists accused them of carrying out illegal conversions, and numerous Muslim clerics have also been detained for enticing people to convert to Islam. The bill is likely in violation of the freedom of religion (Article 18, ICCPR).
• On July 29, the People’s Union for Democratic Rights reported that 81 out of the 89 communal violence incidents in the city of Nuh, Haryana, from July 2023 and August 2023 lacked any independent or corroborating evidence for arrests. The findings of the report raise grave concerns regarding the right to a fair trial and the prohibition of arbitrary arrests (Articles 9, ICCPR) and the prohibition of torture (Article 7, ICCPR; Article 2, Convention against Torture).

Internet and Technology

• On July 14, news reported that the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a first information reportalleging that thousands of Indians have been trafficked to Southeast Asian countries where they are forced to work as cyber criminals at “Chinese control scam centers”.
• On July 16, a Congress party leader filed a police complaint alleging that his iPhone had been targeted by spyware. He had received threat notifications from Apple on July 9 and 11. At least three other people associated with political parties said in the preceding week that they received similar threat warnings from Apple. It is not clear who the source of the threat is, and Apple specified that “today’s notification is being sent to targeted users in 98 countries”. The use of spyware is likely a violation of the prohibition against arbitrary or unlawful interference with one’s privacy (Article 17, ICCPR).
• On July 19, a Delhi court summoned YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in connection with a defamation case filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader. Rathee had called him a “violent and abusive” troll in one of his videos. This incident may violate the right to free expression (Article 19, ICCPR).
• On July 21, the Haryana state government suspended mobile internet services in Nuh district for 24 hours ahead of a Hindu religious procession, Brij Mandal Yatra. The procession had been marred by violence last year, with at least six people being killed. India routinely imposes blanket shutdowns on the internet, and leads the world shutdown count for the sixth consecutive year. Such shutdowns may constitute a violation of the right to receive or impart information (Article 19, ICCPR).

Political Parties

• On July 10, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, fired the party’s deputy leader Rajesh Shah from the Shiv Sena (a Hindu Supremacist political party) after Shah’s son, Mihir Shah was allegedly involved in a BMW hit-and-run. On July 7, a speeding luxury car killed a fisherwoman when she, along with her husband, was on a scooter headed out to sell fish.
• On July 10, sporadic incidents of violence took place in Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Bihar as bypolls (elections held in a single political constituency to fill a vacancy arising during a government’s term of office) were underway. In Bihar, an unidentified mob attacked a police party leaving two officials injured. In Uttarakhand, four people were injured in a clash between rival parties supporters at a polling booth. In Bengal, the one party accused other party workers of assaulting its booth agents and stopping its candidates from visiting some polling stations. Such violence could hinder the right to vote (Article 25, ICCPR).
• On July 25, Governor Anandiben Patel of Uttar Pradesh pardoned and released former Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Udaybhan Karwariya, who was serving a life sentence for the 1996 murder of a Samajwadi Party legislator Jawahar Yadav. The Governor pardoned Karwariya after accepting a recommendation on the matter from the BJP government in the state. Notably, the High Court had put a restriction on his release after the state government pardoned Udaybhan earlier in 2018, raising concerns about the release. The government’s actions raise concerns about the state’s ability to remedy violations of the right to life (Article 6, ICCPR).

Police and authorities

• On July 5, the Delhi Development Authority reportedly demolished hundreds of makeshift huts in East Delhi. A High Court order from earlier this month had given permission to the demolitions. However, social activists sent a letter to the Supreme Court Chief Justice, arguing that this “violates the Supreme Court ruling which mandates that no temporary shelters can be demolished without approaching the Hon’ble Supreme Court.” The incident likely violates the right to shelter (Article 11, ICESCR).
• On July 13, news reported that on June 24, authorities in Assam state had demolished the homes of approximately 8000 people, who are now homeless. Several residents alleged that Muslim families had been singled out, as almost all of the houses razed belonged to Muslim families. The Gauhati High Court issued a stay order on the demolition drive on the same morning, but the demolitions continued until the afternoon when the authorities received a hard copy of the court order. Such demolitions likely violate the right to shelter (Article 11, ICESCR).
• On July 14, a man from the Adivasi (indigenous) community died in police custody in Madhya Pradesh state, in a likely violation of the right to life and the right to be treated with humanity and respect while in detention (Articles 6, 10, ICCPR). He was planning to get married on the same day, was arrested for alleged theft, and died on the same day. The next day, his fiancée tried to set herself on fire, but was stopped by locals and the police, and the deceased’s aunt also attempted to do the same and suffered injuries. On July 16, his family members organized a protest outside the district collector’s office to demand answers.
• On July 17, police in Assam state reportedly killed three people, whom they accuse of being militants. However, a video appears to show them apprehended a day prior to their deaths, leading their families to raise concerns of a “fake encounter” in violation of the right to life under Article 6 ICCPR. The Gauhati High Court therefore directed that the bodies of the deceased should be preserved until the next court hearing.
• This was reportedly one of the biggest anti-Naxal operations in the state in recent years and came on a day when both Deputy Chief Ministers of the state were in the area for the foundation laying ceremony of a steel project.

Judiciary

• On July 8, the Supreme Court held that requiring an accused to share his or her Google location with the investigating officer as a condition of bail is a violation of the right to privacy.
• On July 10, the Supreme Court ruled that a Muslim woman can seek maintenance from her husband under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which is applicable to all married women irrespective of religion.

• On July 10, the Supreme Court discussed a public interest litigation that seeks to address caste-based discrimination, which is prohibited in India’s constitution. The court said it would ask the Ministry of Home Affairs to intervene with States to update their prison manuals and eliminate existing practices of caste-based discrimination against prisoners. Though States like Uttar Pradesh have denied caste-based discrimination within prisons, the judges read out portions from its prison documents, which said convicts serving simple imprisonment would not be called on to perform menial or degrading duties unless they belonged to a class or community “accustomed” to such work. These manuals likely violate the prohibitions against forced labor and discrimination (Article 8, 26, ICCPR).
• On July 10, the Supreme Court confirmed that a lawsuit brought by West Bengal against the Union Government was permissible. The state accused the Centre of exceeding constitutional limits and undermining federalism by using the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) without prior consent. The judges rejected the Union’s initial arguments against the lawsuit, including the claim that the Centre does not control the CBI.
• On July 15, the Delhi High Court issued an order directing Hindu supremacist media outlets to remove YouTube videos and articles defaming the editor-in-chief of The News Minute. The Hindu supremacist outlets had accused her of being “agents” of George Soros and having an agenda to disrupt Indian democracy, which the court held to be defamation.
• On July 23, the Delhi High Court ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation into the death of a 23-year-old Muslim man, who Delhi Police beat and forced to sing the national anthem during the 2020 Delhi pogrom. The delay of almost 4 years raises concerns about the state’s capacity to prosecute religion-based violence and violations of the right to life (Articles 20, 6, ICCPR).
• On July 29, a Delhi court suspended a five-month prison sentence given to activist Medha Patkar in a defamation The case was filed two decades ago in 2001 by VK Saxena, who is now the lieutenant governor of Delhi. Saxena alleged that Patkar had defamed him in a press note from November 25, 2000. The case raises concerns about state efforts to safeguard the freedom of expression and the right to timely trial (Articles 19, 9 ICCPR).

Business & economy

• A new report by the Indian government reported that 557 farmers died by suicide between January and June 2024 in the Amravati administrative division of Maharashtra alone. The principal reasons cited for these suicides include crop failures, inadequate rainfall, overwhelming debt, and the lack of timely farm loans. According to the 2023 National Crime Records Bureau report, nearly 30 farmers commit suicide on average per day in India. The large number of suicides raises concerns about the state’s ability to safeguard the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to work, and the right to life (Articles 11, 6, ICESCR; Article 6, ICCPR).
• On July 13, three workers reportedly died of asphyxiation while working inside an illegal coal minein Gujarat state, after a toxic gas leak. News report that this is the fourth such case this year. These deaths raise concerns about the state’s ability to protect the right to life and the right to safe and healthy working conditions (Article 6, ICCPR; Article 7 ICESCR).

Conflict in Manipur

Since May 3, 2023, there has been an ongoing armed conflict in Manipur, North-Eastern India. At least 219 people have been killed and 60,000 people displaced. The conflict is ethno-religiously motivated, with especially Kuki and Meitei communities affected, and armed militias are engaging in violence against government and non-state actors.

• On July 4, residents across Imphal, Manipur, reacted sharply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on the ethnic violence in Manipur. Modi had claimed that Manipur was returning to a state of normalcy, which residents claimed were lies.
• On July 8, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi visited relief camps in Manipur’s Jiribam and Churachandpur districts and interacted with people displaced by the ethnic violence. Gandhi asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Manipur to understand the ground situation, who had not yet visited the conflict-torn state.
• On July 9, the group Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) called for a 12-hour shutdown in all the areas inhabited by the Kuki communities to protest the arrest of three members from their community, who were reportedly armed. At least five women also sustained injuries when the security forces fired tear gas shells to disperse a group who tried to prevent the arrest.
• On July 14, unknown militants reportedly ambushed and fired at security forces in Manipur, killing one and injuring two police personnel.
• On July 28, Prime Minister Modi met with Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh, marking their first meeting since ethnic violence broke out in the state in 2023.

India in the World 

• On June 6, a cross-party group of MPs and senators with top security clearances in Canada concluded that India is the second biggest foreign threat to Canada’s democracy after China. India is mentioned 44 times in 84 pages. This comes after bilateral tensions, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised “credible allegations” that people tied to the Indian state were responsible for the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil. 

• On June 6, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Prime Minister Modi on his win in the Lok Sabha elections via a tweet on X. In his tweet, Trudeau emphasized that the Indo-Canadian relationship is “anchored to human rights, diversity, and the rule of law.” 

• On June 11, the World Economic Forum released its annual Global Gender Gap Index, in which India ranked 129th, two ranks worse than the year before. The decline from last year is attributed to slight decreases in the ‘educational attainment’ and ‘political empowerment’ parameters. 

• On June 13, Prime Minister Modi travelled to Italy for the G7 leaders’ summit, which was dedicated to artificial intelligence, energy, Africa and the Mediterranean. 

• On June 14, the Czech Republic extradited India national Nikhil Gupta to the United States. Gupta is accused by US federal prosecutors of plotting with intelligence and security officials to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US and Canadian citizen who reportedly advocated for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India. On June 26, United States Deputy Secretary of State Kurt M Campbell said that India is looking at potential institutional reforms that might be necessary in the wake of the alleged assassination plot. 

• On June 16, India refrained from signing a joint communique recognizing Ukraine’s territorial integrity amid Russia’s war on the European country, saying that “only those options acceptable to both the parties can lead to abiding peace”. The “Summit on Peace in Ukraine” that was held at the Canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland and saw 92 countries, excluding Russia, participate. Over 80 countries signed the joint communique that said that the “territorial integrity” of Ukraine must be the basis for “comprehensive, just and lasting peace” in the region. 

• On June 21, the Ministry of External Affairs said that a recent documentary by Australia’s ABC News about the Narendra Modi government contains “blatant untruths” and “reflects unprofessional reporting”. On June 17, ABC News had released a documentary titled “Spies, secrets and threats: How the Modi regime targets people overseas”, which features an investigation into an alleged “nest of [Indian] spies” and Australian residents who claim to have been threatened by Indian authorities. 

• On June 26, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that there has been a “concerning increase” in hate speech, anti-conversion laws, and demolitions of homes and places of worship of members of religious minorities in India. Blinken made the comments as he unveiled the US state department’s 2023 International Religious Freedom Report, covering the year of 2023.  

Elections 

• On June 2, the Election Commission of India announced that an estimated 61.6% of voters had voted in the last phase of polling of the elections. The voter average turnout for the other phases was recorded at 66.14% (first phase), 66.71% (second phase), 65.68% (third phase), 69.16% (fourth phase), 62.2% (fifth phase) and 63.37% (sixth phase). 

• On June 3, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that the Election Commission had deliberated over poll code violations during the 2024 general elections at length and had decided to not admonish specific top leaders, each from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress – Narendra Modi and Amit Shah of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of the Indian National Congress. The Election Commission has been widely criticized for inaction and bias during the elections. 

• On June 4, India’s election results were pronounced. 

• The coalition of the Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) barely won India’s general elections. The BJP’s coalition – the National Democratic Alliance – barely passed the 50% mark needed to form a government, while the BJP itself won only 44.2% of seats. In comparison, in 2019, the BJP alone won over 55% of seats. This is the first time since 1962 that a government is elected to serve a third term.   

• The BJP lost to the opposition in many of its key constituencies. In Uttar Pradesh state, known as a BJP-stronghold, the opposition alliance (INDIA) received 43.5% of votes, while the BJP’s coalition (NDA) received 43.7%. 

• Only 24 out of 543 (4.42%) of MPs elected are Muslim, down from 26 last term. 

• Only 74 out of 543 (13.62%) MPs elected are women, down from 78 last term. 

• Among the 293 MPs from the BJP’s coalition, the National Democratic Alliance, none are Muslim, Christian or Sikh, despite these being large minority groups in India. 

• Among the Union Ministers appointed, none are Muslim, for the first time in the history of independent India.  

• Previous ministers Smriti Irani and Anurag Thakur, who were both known for their Hindu supremacist stances, were not reappointed as ministers.  

• The Election Commission discarded over 550,000 votes across India, and registered over 35,000 surplus votes in Electronic Voting Machines. Overall, the Election Commission found discrepancies in almost all – 538 out of 542 – constituencies, with the number of votes registered on the voting machines not matching those counted on the results day. 

• On June 5, the National Democratic Alliance (the BJP’s coalition) unanimously elected incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the leader of the coalition. On June 7, India’s President Droupadi Murmu invited Modi to form the government. On June 9, incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in as India’s Prime Minister for the third consecutive term. 

• On June 8, the Congress Party passed a unanimous resolution to appoint Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament). 

• On June 12, the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Odisha state was sworn in. The state has previously been ruled for over 24 years by the Biju Janata Dal, but the BJP gained a majority in recent assembly elections.
   

Election violence 

• On June 1, political party workers and security personnel reportedly clashed during polling in the Basirhat constituency, West Bengal state. The West Bengal government then reportedly imposed a ban on public assembly in 17 areas. 

• On June 1, after polls closed, unidentified assailants reportedly shot and hacked to death a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker in West Bengal state. 

Civil society, human rights defenders and journalists 

• On June 3, Chhattisgarh state police arrested 25-year-old woman human rights defender Sunita Pottam, known for leading protests against police and paramilitary abuses on Adivasis (indigenous peoples) in the Bastar region. The police claimed that Pottam was a Maoist (left wing extremist), against whom the government of India is engaged in an armed conflict. The arrest likely violates the right from arbitrary arrest and detention (Article 9 ICCPR). 

• June 6 marked the six years of incarceration of the BK 16, which include 16 poets, journalists, lawyers, professors, artists, and a Jesuit priest, who have been charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 10 of which are still detained without trial. The name comes from the fact that the 16 people were accused of instigating caste violence in Bhima Koregaon in 2018. Their prolonged arbitrary detention has been called out by the UN as violating the right from arbitrary arrest and detention (Article 9 ICCPR). 

• On June 8, Delhi Police informed three journalists – Prabhjit Singh, Shahid Tantray and their female colleague – at The Caravan of an investigation against them in a case that had been lodged four years ago. The three journalists had been reportedly attacked by a mob in North East Delhi while they were reporting a story. After that, the police reportedly filed a case against the mob, as well as the journalists for allegedly “promoting communal enmity”. In a statement, The Caravan claims that the allegations are “absolutely false and fabricated”, and that they had not been informed of the case for four years, while the case regarding the attack against them has been pending. The Press Club of India issued a statement in which it “strongly condemn(ed)” the case. The incident is likely a violation of the freedom to impart information (Article 19 ICCPR). 

• On June 13, Amnesty International released a six-point Human Rights Charter, urging the new Indian government to protect and promote human rights in all its policies and decisions. 

• On June 14, the Delhi Lieutenant Governor reportedly sanctioned the prosecution of award-winning author Arundhati Roy, for allegedly provocative statements made at a 2010 event allegedly propagating Kashmiri separatism, under India’s counterterrorism law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The sanction is likely a violation of the freedom of expression (Article 19 ICCPR).  

• On June 20, French reporter Sébastien Farcis claimed that he had been forced to leave India by the Indian government after working in the country for 13 years as his journalism permit was reportedly not renewed in March. Farcis is a South Asia correspondent for Radio France Internationale, Radio France, Libération and the Swiss and Belgian public radios. The Ministry of Home Affairs allegedly provided no reason for denying the renewal of his journalist permit. 

• On June 27, the Congress party claimed the Delhi Police beat with batons and detained members of its youth wing during a protest against recent allegations of paper leaks and other irregularities in university entrance exams. This raises concerns about the freedom of assembly and the freedom of expression (Articles 19, 21 ICCPR). 

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

• On June 5, an Indian-origin man in Texas, the United States, was charged with federal hate crime by United States authorities after he allegedly threatened to injure and kill the employees of a Sikh non-profit organisation in 2022. The US therefore appears to have acted upon its obligation to address incitement to discrimination and violence under Article 20 of the ICCPR. 

• On June 7, the spokesperson of the Janata Dal party, a key coalition partner of the BJP in the newly formed government, said they would not allow the new government to propagate campaigns against Muslims and other minority communities. He said: “While we are there [in power with the BJP], no anti-Muslim, anti-minority campaign will be run.” Such campaigns are likely violations of Article 20 of the ICCPR. 

• On June 7, a mob reportedly attacked three cattle transporters in Chhattisgarh state, killing two and injuring one. This follows a trend of vigilante groups lynching people who slaughter cows – which are holy for many Hindus – with tacit state approval. Such lynchings are a violation of the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR). On June 25, Chattisgarh police arrested two men in connection with the lynching. 

• On June 7, police arrested a young man from the Hindu community for inciting communal tension, after he reportedly pretended to be Muslim and threatened voters in a video on social media. He is reportedly from Uttar Pradesh state, where the BJP lost many constituencies in the recent elections. The incident is likely advocacy of religious hatred, which is prohibited under Article 20 of the ICCPR.  

• On June 12, a Hindu supremacist mob allegedly attacked Christian families in Chhattisgarh’s Jagdalpur and gave the families an ultimatum to denounce their religion within 10 days. At least two victims were left unconscious while three were hospitalised after the attack. The village has been a flashpoint for these religious clashes since 2023, with the Christian minorities being the target of these sporadic attacks and intimidation. This incident raises serious concern about religious hatred, prohibited under article 20 of the ICCPR. 

• On June 15, thousands from the Hindu supremacist paramilitary organisations RSS and Hindu Vahini members reportedly attacked a madrasa (Islamic school) over alleged animal sacrifice in Telangana, injuring several. The police have arrested the local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) district president, town president and youth wing president, and seven others in connection with the violence. The violence is likely a violation of the prohibition of the incitement to hatred (Article 20 ICCPR). 

• On June 17, clashes erupted in Jharkhand state over the alleged slaughter of a prohibited animal in public, injuring six including a constable. Subsequently, a large group of people from a village across the canal in Bengal state engaged in counter-protest, with stones being thrown by both groups. The violence continued the next day, with houses reportedly being torched. 

• On June 18, an Odisha district administration imposed prohibitory orders in an area of Odisha’s Balasore town after violence broke out between a Hindu group and a Muslim group a day earlier on the festival of Eid. Internet services were also suspended in a few sensitive areas. The violence broke out a day earlier when a few persons had alleged that cows were being slaughtered as part of the Bakra Eid customs. 

• On June 18, a man who had been allegedly attacked by unidentified persons while transporting cattle in Chattisgarh’s Raipur district died in a hospital after being hospitalised for ten days. Two other men who were accompanying him in the transport were found dead on June 7. The police confirmed that no arrest has yet been made in the case. This event, likely an incident or religious hatred prohibited under Article 20 of the ICCPR, raises concerns about the state’s ability to safeguard the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR). 

• On June 19, Hindu Supremacist groups allegedly vandalised a textiles and cosmetics shop run by a Muslim man. The man had previously reportedly uploaded photos of animal sacrifice as his WhatsApp status on the occasion of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. The Uttar Pradesh police arrested the man under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960. Although the animal sacrificed was not protected under the Act, the police stated as a reason for the arrest that the content of the video was “disgusting”. This arrest possibly violates the Article 9 of the ICCPR, which safeguards the right from arbitrary arrests and detention. 

• On June 19, a Muslim man was allegedly lynched by a mob on the suspicion of theft in Uttar Pradesh state. The police have so far arrested four persons in the case and the search for three others is ongoing. The Hindu supremacist group Bajrang Dal, meanwhile, alleged that the victim had entered a home with intent to steal and that the crowd’s response was “a normal reaction”. The incident is likely to be a case of religious hatred, prohibited under article 20 of the ICCPR. The lynching additionally questions the state’s ability to safeguard the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR). 

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

• On June 8, members of the Hindu supremacist Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) reportedly disrupted a university lecture in Udaipur state, over the professor’s previous Facebook post criticising the Ram Temple, which was constructed at the site of a demolished mosque. The university reportedly did not call the police. This is likely a violation of the freedom of expression (Article 19 ICCPR). 

• On June 10, residents of a housing complex in Gujarat’s Vadodara protested the allotment of a house to a Muslim woman. The residents had already staged protests against a Muslim moving into the society in 2020. This is likely an incident of religious hatred constituting incitement to discrimination, prohibited under article 20 of the ICCPR. 

• On June 13, the Supreme Court stayed the theatrical release of the film Hamare Baarah, which has been accused of containing anti-Muslim tropes. The court observed that the film’s teaser was offensive enough to warrant concern over the contents of the full movie. The following day, the Bombay High Court allowed the film to be released in theatres on June 21 after the makers agreed to remove a dialogue and a verse from the Quran from the film and put in disclaimers. 

• On June 16, a group dressed up as Muslims to in New Delhi to “save” 124 goats from being slaughtered during Eid al-Adha. The plan raised Rs 15 lakh (almost 18,000 USD) from Jain community members across Gujarat, Hyderabad, Kerala, Punjab, and Maharashtra. 

• On June 17, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) director Dinesh Prasad Saklani informed that references to Gujarat riots and extrajudicial Babri mosque demolition were modified in school textbooks because teaching about riots “can create violent and depressed citizens”. This may violate Article 19 of the ICCPR, which guarantees the right to seek, receive and impart information, and which may only be restricted on limited grounds.  

• On June 18, the state government of Rajasthan began the process of introducing a law against illegal religious conversions. Such laws have been passed in 12 states, and are widely criticised for infringing upon freedom of religion in violation of Article 18 of the ICCPR. 

• On June 20, the Uttar Pradesh police arrested 11 persons – nine Muslims and two Hindus – after a video emerged showing them allegedly holding prayers on government land. The incident raises concerns about arbitrary arrests, prohibited under article 9 of the ICCPR. 

• On June 22, the Madhya Pradesh government invoked the National Security Act (NSA) against two Muslim men accused of cow slaughter, and transferred both men in custody. The incident raises concerns about arbitrary arrests, prohibited under article 9 of the ICCPR. 

• On June 25, the Uttar Pradesh police arrested an Afghan café owner in Moradabad for allegedly selling beef burgers. The action was based on the complaint of a Bajrang Dal (Hindu Supremacist militant group) leader. The incident raises concerns of arbitrary detention (Article 9 ICCPR) and of the state safeguarding the right to work (Article 6 ICESCR).  

• On June 25, the Karnataka High Court stayed the investigation of a case filed against YouTuber Ajeet Bharti by the Bengaluru Police for allegedly making false claims about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The Bengaluru Police had filed a case against the YouTuber for allegedly claiming in a video posted on X on June 13 that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi plans to replace the newly inaugurated Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya with a new Babri mosque. The police booked the YouTuber under sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to the promotion of enmity between groups on religious grounds and acting in a manner that is prejudicial to maintaining social harmony. 

Internet and Technology 

• On June 11, the fact-checking outlet BOOMLive released a report which found that YouTube failed to act on hate speech and misinformation violations by Hindu supremacist channel Sudarshan News. The report – a joint effort by Dalit Solidarity Forum, Indian American Muslim Council, India Civil Watch International, Hindus for Human Rights, and Tech Justice Law Project – highlights 26 videos published by Sudarshan News (of which 17 were published during the polling phases) that were reported for violating YouTube’s policies on hate speech, misinformation and monetisation, leading up to and during the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. None of the videos faced any actions and continued to thrive on YouTube, accumulating a total of 3.5 million views by the time the report was published. 

• On June 12, the Delhi Police flagged the X (formerly Twitter) account of co-founder of the fact-checking platform Alt News, Mohammed Zubair, and asked the platform to either take down particular content or his whole account. Zubair has been the target of numerous instances of government repression, including arrest in 2022. This raises concerns about the right to free expression in the country (Article 19 ICCPR). 

Political Parties 

• On June 2, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal surrendered at the Tihar jail in New Delhi after his interim bail granted by the Supreme Court in the excise policy-linked money laundering case had ended. He was granted the relief for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections, and was released from prison on May 11 after spending 50 days in jail.  

• On June 10, Congress sought action against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT Cell chief Amit Malviya after a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Hindu Supremacist paramilitary group alleged that Malviya ‘indulged’ in sexual exploitation of women. In response, Amit Malviya filed for defamation, claiming the allegations to be false. 

• On June 16, the Bharatiya Janata Party expelled Aditya Raj Saini, a party leader in Uttarakhand, a day after he was booked for the alleged gang-rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Haridwar district. The investigation is still ongoing. 

Executive 

• On June 4, a man died in police custody in Jammu and Kashmir. Police had arrested him a day before for alleged drug possession. Police claimed he developed “severe health complications”, according to local news, while the family of the deceased allege foul play. This incident raises concerns about the right to life and prohibition of torture under the ICCPR (Articles 6 and 7). 

• On June 7, the Delhi police filed a chargesheet against six persons who were jailed six months prior under terror charges for allegedly breaching the security at the new Parliament building. They are charged under India’s anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The accused were arrested after they jumped onto the Parliament’s floor, activating spray canisters to reportedly protest unemployment and other criticisms of the ruling party. The incident raises concerns regarding the right to a timely trial (Article 9 ICCPR).  

• On June 15, security forces allegedly conducting an anti-Maoist operation initiated a gunfight, killing eight alleged Maoists. On June 23, a blast carried out by suspected Maoists killed two personnel from a specialised unit of the Central Reserve Police Force. Both incidents underscore an escalation in violence in the state, jeopardising the right to life under Article 6 of the ICCPR. 

Demolitions 

In recent years, there has been a growing trend of civic authorities in BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)-ruled states demolishing ostensibly illegal properties belonging to those accused of a crime. There are no provisions in law that provide for demolishing property as a punitive measure. The demolitions likely violate the right to work and to an adequate standard of living (Articles 6, 7, 11 ICESCR) and to a fair trial (Article 14 ICCPR). 

• On June 7, authorities in Maharashtra state reportedly demolished parts of a resort owned by the family of a 17-year-old who had killed two people while drunk-driving a month prior.  

• On June 10, the Lucknow Development Authority demolished shops and houses in a predominantly Muslim locality amid heavy security deployment. The demolition was legally given sanction by the Supreme Court.  

• On June 15, authorities in Madhya Pradesh demolished 11 homes after police claimed to have found beef, animal hides and the skeletal remains of cattle there.  

• On June 25, protests erupted as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi accompanied by local police and paramilitary personnel demolished portions of a mosque. The police reported that 20 meters of the mosque were on unauthorized land, but the demolition were allegedly carried out after a Hindu-supremacist leader made a complaint. This also raises concerns about religious repression and religion-based hatred (Article 18, 20, 27 ICCPR).  

• On June 26, authorities in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district bulldozed the homes of two men accused of cow slaughter. The police claimed that the homes were illegal and built without permission; however, the demolitions followed allegations of cow slaughter. The same week saw authorities demolish dozens of Muslim-owned homes over allegations of cow slaughter. In addition, the Madhya Pradesh police invoked the National Security Act against two Muslim men for allegedly keeping beef in their houses and bulldozed their homes. 

Judiciary 

• On June 3, the Supreme Court directed the central government to hold an emergency meeting of its Upper Yamuna River Board with the States of Delhi, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to address water scarcity in the national capital amidst soaring temperatures crossing the 50-degree Celsius mark. New Delhi continued to face a severe water crisis with people waiting in long queues to collect water from the water tankers in different parts of the city on the day. The water crisis raises concerns about the government being able to protect the right to an adequate standard of living (Article 11 ICESCR). 

• On June 7, a court granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case against him filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The allegations concerned advertisings by the Congress party, alleging that the BJP government of one state had taken bribes. On June 26, an Uttar Pradesh court ordered Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to appear before it in connection with another defamation case from 2018, which alleged that Gandhi had made objectionable remarks against Home Minister Amit Shah. 

• On June 10, a Bengaluru court sent former Karnataka MP Prajwal Revanna to judicial custody until June 24 on charges of rape of multiple women. The former MP from the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency was arrested on May 31 after he returned to Bengaluru from Germany, where he had fled on April 26. This came shortly after videos of alleged sexual assault against several women, allegedly recorded by Prajwal Revanna himself, surfaced ahead of the elections. So far, three women have filed complaints of sexual assault. 

• On June 28, the Jharkhand High Court granted bail to Hemant Soren, the state’s former chief minister who had to step down before he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 31. The ED’s case was that Soren misused his official position and illegally acquired 8.86 acres land in Ranchi which the agency has termed as “proceeds of crime”. The high court found that no evidence was found to link Soren to the direct involvement of the land’s acquisition. 

Conflict in Manipur 

There has been an armed conflict in Manipur since May 2023, involving militants from the Meitei and Kuki communities. 

• On June 6, violence erupted in Manipur’s Jiribam district, after the body of a man from the Meitei community was found. Authorities then imposed a ban on public assembly and called in additional police forces. On June 8, militants reportedly set on fire a police outpost and several houses. The police replaced the superintendent of police in the district. 

• On June 10, militants reportedly ambushed the convoy of Manipur’s Chief Minister Singh, injuring one security officer.  

• On June 11, the Manipur Government reportedly deported 38 immigrants from Myanmar who were allegedly illegally staying in India. They had been lodged in designated camps in a local jail for illegally entering the country. This follows deportations in previous months, which have drawn criticism. India has no national refugee law, and is not a signatory to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention. Refugees from Myanmar are often labelled as illegal immigrants, legitimising broad human rights violations, such as arbitrary arrests, unlawful killings and rape, points which have all been severely criticised by civil society actors like Amnesty International. 

On 4^th June, the coalition of the Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won India’s general elections – but only barely, with the BJP losing to the opposition in many of its key constituencies, including Ayodhya. The BJP’s coalition – the NDA – barely passed the 50% mark needed to form a government, while the BJP itself won only 44.2% of seats. In comparison, in 2019, the BJP alone won over 55% of seats. Yet, this is the first time since 1962 that a government is elected to serve a third term. 

As the world discusses India’s election results, we compile news updates from India from May 2024. The list is not exhaustive, but a selection of pertinent incidents – both hopeful and worrisome, that put the election results into context of larger developments over the past month. Did you miss previous updates? You can see the archives here. 

The Indian General Elections

On 25^th May, the Election Commission of India (ECI) voluntarily released the absolute number of voters for the first five phases of the Lok Sabha election: An estimated 500 million. Between 62.2% and 69.16% of registered voters voted in each phase. There were two more phases afterwards, with total votes estimated at 640 million.

During voting, a heatwave with temperatures exceeding 44 degrees Celsius in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar caused over 30 deaths, including 21 election officials.

Election Violence

• On 7^th May, police allegedly “lathi-charged” (beat with sticks) voters in four Muslim-dominated villages in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal, injuring hundreds at polling booths.
• On 13^th May, violence erupted during Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, with involvement of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and opposition parties, mainly the TDP. YSRCP’s Tenali Assembly candidate was caught on video slapping a voter, leading to clashes. Polling was briefly stopped in Kuppam constituency due to YSRCP-TDP altercations. Electronic Voting Machines were reportedly destroyed in Dalwai and Macherla, causing disruptions.
• On 16^th May, tensions escalated in Ganjam district, Odisha state, as a BJP worker was allegedly hacked to death in Khalikote. The clash began when BJD workers attacked co-BJP workers when they were pasting posters at Krushna Saranpur village. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condemned the violence, urging swift action against perpetrators. Chief Election Officer Nikunja Behari Dhal directed authorities to restore peace, affirming zero tolerance towards election violence.
• On 21^st May, there was a violent altercation between the Yadav and Rajput communities (castes within the Indian social hierarchy) in Badi Telpa village, resulting in the death of Chandan Yadav, a local resident and leaving another individual critically injured amid reports of gunfire. Locals allege attempts to disenfranchise marginalized voters. Despite initial pacification efforts, tensions flared anew the following day, culminating in renewed violence. Authorities have since apprehended two suspects in connection with the incident.
• On 21^st May, there was a violent clash between BJP and Rashtriya Janata Dal workers in Bihar’s Chapra, where one person was killed and two others injured. The clash erupted near a polling station, post which District Magistrate Aman Samir deployed sufficient police to control the situation. In response to the unrest, the district administration ordered a two-day internet shutdown. Blanket shutdowns violate the freedom of expression under Article 19 ICCPR.
• On 25^th May, violence and unrest marked the sixth phase of polling in West Bengal’s eight Lok Sabha constituencies. The Election Commission received 954 complaints, mainly about malfunctions of Electronic Voting Machines and polling agents being obstructed. Clashes erupted in Ghatal between Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters. Further, unidentified assailants reportedly killed Trinamool Congress worker Sheikh Moibul in Mahishadal, Purba Medinipur district.

Social Media and Elections

• On 3^rd May, the Election Commission of India (ECI) directed social media platform X to remove an animated video posted by the BJP Karnataka handle. The video depicted the Congress favoring Muslims over Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes. Criticism erupted over the video’s Islamophobic content, prompting outrage on social media. Additionally, an anti-Muslim video posted by Prime Minister Modi on Instagram was deleted following reports from users; it was likely a violation of Article 20 of ICCPR (Prohibition of advocacy of religious hatred).
• On 7^th May, the Election Commission of India directed all national and state political parties to remove any deepfake content within three hours of notification. The ECI also instructed parties to avoid using their social media handles to publish deepfake videos, audios, or misinformation. Parties must identify and warn the individuals responsible for posting deepfakes to ensure the integrity of information during elections.
• On 27^th May, the Supreme Court dismissed BJP’s petition challenging a Calcutta High Court order that restrained it from publishing derogatory advertisements against Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). The Supreme Court noted that the advertisements were offensive and refused to interfere with the high court’s decision. It further criticized the Election Commission for failing to address TMC’s complaints promptly.
• On 30^th May, Foundation The London Story found that India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allied organizations have persistently, in violation of Indian electoral law, used disinformation narratives to ‘otherize’ and demonize Indian Muslims, during the elections. The report identified at least 21 posts in March and 33 in April that contained content seeking to promote enmity between Hindus and Muslims.

Free and Fair Elections

• On 13^th May, in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad constituency, police arrested the son of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker after a video surfaced showing the teenager voting for the BJP eight times. The arrest came after opposition parties criticized the Election Commission of India when the video went viral. Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa confirmed the arrest and announced strict action against all members of the polling party involved.
• On 14^th May, NCP (SP) Working President Supriya Sule raised concerns over alleged foul play in the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency after CCTV cameras in an Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) strongroom reportedly went blank for 45 minutes. The elections for the Baramati seat took place on May 7, with EVMs stored in secure strongrooms until the vote count on June 4. Sule urged the Election Commission of India to investigate the matter promptly and take action against those responsible for the lapse.
• On 20^th May, journalist Rana Ayyub discovered her name, along with seven other family members’, missing from the voters’ list. Many eligible Muslim voters, and voters from other religious communities, found their names deleted, sparking concerns of disenfranchisement. Similar incidents were reported across India, with allegations of deliberate removals and complaints about incompetence by the Election Commission.
• On 25^th May, a group of former civil servants criticized the Election Commission of India for its perceived failures in ensuring a fair and transparent election process during the 2024 general elections. In a letter, they highlighted issues such as tampering concerns with EVM (Electronic Voting Machines) and VVPAT (Voter verifiable paper audit trail) machines, missing voter names, and the lack of action against hate speech. They urged the Commission to address these concerns transparently and emphasized the importance of safeguarding EVMs and promptly announcing vote counts.
• On 28^th May, the Election Commission of India suspended D.S. Kutey, Special Secretary to Odisha Chief Minister. This action follows allegations that the senior officer unduly influenced the electoral process during simultaneous elections in Odisha.

Journalists, Civil Society, Human Rights Defenders

• A Global Expression Report by Article19 has ranked India’s freedom of expression in ‘crisis’ at 123, below Palestine and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The report categorizes countries as crisis, highly restricted, restricted, less restricted, and open. India fell from ‘highly restricted’ to ‘crisis’.
• On 5^th May, 15 diaspora organizations gathered in solidarity during a ‘Vigil for Democracy in India’ event held at Parliament Square in London. They condemned PM Modi’s attempt to turn India into a “Hindu-supremacist fascist state” and highlighted concerns over hate speeches against Muslims.
• On 9^th May, student leader Masud Ahmed was granted bail after spending 3.5 years in custody. He had been leading a delegation of the Campus Front of India to support the family of a Hathras gang-rape victim when arrested. The police charged him with sedition under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), were piled up by the UP government, alleging conspiracy to incite violence. This arrest, being arbitrary, likely violates Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
• On 12^th May, BJP workers allegedly assaulted and “locked up” Raghav Trivedi, a reporter with digital outlet Molitics, during Amit Shah’s rally in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh. Trivedi told Newslaundry that BJP workers called him “mullah”(derogatory for Muslim) and “attanki” (terrorist). The journalist said he was held by the collar, assaulted, and dragged to the media lobby after mentioning he had clips of women saying they were paid to attend. He said he was later locked in a waiting room, where he felt suffocated and eventually fainted before being taken to the hospital. This likely violates Article 19 (Right to Free Speech) and Article 17 of the ICCPR (Right to Protection from Unlawful Interference and Attacks).
• On 15^th May, the Supreme Court declared the arrest and remand of 74-year-old journalist and NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the Delhi Police invalid, ordering his release. Justices B.R. Gavai and Sandeep Mehta noted that neither Mr. Purkayastha nor his counsel were provided with the written grounds for his arrest. He was arrested on October 3 on allegations of inciting riots and terror financing. The bench noted that since proper legal procedure was not followed, the arrest was rendered the arbitrary and invalid, which likely violates Article 9 of the ICCPR (Right to Liberty).
• On 20^th May, police in Maharashtra state filed a case against lawyer Adesh Bansode for sharing a video criticizing PM Narendra Modi, during polling in Mumbai. He was charged with disobeying police orders and ‘influencing voters during election time’. He has shared the video, titled ‘Mind of a Dictator’ by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, in a Vasai Bar Association WhatsApp group. Bansode contested the charges, citing legal procedures and questioning potential action against millions of other viewers who watched and shared the video. The police action is likely a violation of Article 19 of ICCPR (Freedom of Speech).
• On 24^th May, Punjab Police launched a crackdown on farmer leaders ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rallies in Jalandhar and Gurdaspur. Authorities detained around 100 workers of farmer unions at Nawanshahr’s Aurh police station, following calls to hold black flag protests. This likely violates the right to peaceful assembly (Article 21 ICCPR).
• On 28^th May, a Delhi court denied bail to JNU scholar and activist Umar Khalid in the Delhi riots conspiracy case. Khalid, accused of involvement in the 2020 northeast Delhi communal riots, faces charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The Sessions Judge rejected his bail plea, with the detailed order pending. Umar Khalid has been jailed for over 3 years now without trial, which likely violates Article 9 of the ICCPR (Right to Liberty).
• On 30^th May, the Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed a decree directing journalist Rahul Pandita to pay Rs 50 lakh (approx. 55.000 Euros) in compensation to a former armed forces officer for an allegedly defamatory article. The article in question related to an encounter between CPI (Maoist) and armed forces personnel in Chhattisgarh, about which Pandita had reported. The initial order is likely a violation of Article 19 of ICCPR (Freedom of Speech).

Hate Speech and Hate Crimes against Minorities

• On 9^th May, Asianet Suvarna News sparked controversy by using the Pakistani flag to represent the Muslim population in India and the Indian flag for the Hindu population during a show titled ‘Hindu Population Has Decreased, Muslim Population Has Increased Enormously.’ The channel later apologized, attributing the incident to an “oversight.”
• On 16^th May, the Somaiya School in Mumbai requested its principal Parveen Shaikh to resign following accusations made by the Hindu supremacist website OpIndia. OpIndia’s article, published on April 24, claimed Shaikh’s social media activities included “liking” posts that were deemed “pro-Hamas” and “anti-Hindu.” The management cited pressure and the OpIndia article as reasons for their decision.
• On 22^nd May, in Gujarat state, cow vigilantes reportedly lynched Mishri Khan Baloch, a Muslim man, while he was delivering buffaloes to his sister. The assailants attacked Baloch with weapons under the guise of cow protection, causing severe injuries that led to his death. This is likely a violation of Article 6 of the ICCPR (Right to Life), as the state has created an enabling environment for vigilante violence.

Religious freedoms and minority rights

• On 13^th May, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Hyderabad candidate Madhavi Latha faced backlash and legal action after she asked burqa-clad women to lift their veils for identity verification at a polling booth. A viral video showed Latha inspecting identity cards of veiled voters, prompting criticism and questions on her conduct. She defended her actions, citing discrepancies in the voter list. This is likely a violation of Article 18 of ICCPR (right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion).
• On 16^th May, the Supreme Court stayed criminal proceedings in Uttar Pradesh against the vice-chancellor of The Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture Technology and Sciences and others for alleged illegal conversion of Hindus to Christianity. Rejecting the state government’s plea to proceed, the court mandated fresh charge sheets, granting the accused protection from arrest and bail. The hearing is scheduled to resume on August 2nd, involving serious charges under IPC and the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Conversion Act, 2021. Human rights lawyers argue that these laws are being abused to punish religious minorities in cases of voluntary conversions, violating the freedom to profess any religion (Article 18 ICCPR).
• On 17^th May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Samajwadi Party and the Congress of planning to demolish the Ram Temple (Place of Worship for Hindus) in Ayodhya if they were to come into power, asserting that they would employ bulldozers for the task. Modi has been known for delivering incendiary speeches targeting Muslims during election campaigns. These remarks were made during a rally in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh. This is likely a violation of the Model Code of Conduct for elections, which prohibits reference to any religious symbols which can potentially cause tension between different communities.
• On 20^th May, the Assam government reportedly evicted approximately 400 Bengali-origin Muslim families and bulldozed makeshift homes near Sipajhar, Darrang district. These families had previously faced eviction in a violent drive in September 2021, during which numerous houses, shops, and mosques were destroyed, leaving around 7,000 people homeless. The government stated that the evictions were part of a periodic campaign to clear encroachments on government land designated for an Agricultural Project. A resident who lost his home for the second time, reported that their makeshift shelters were demolished with little notice, with district officials threatening and bulldozing those who did not comply swiftly. This is likely a violation of Article 11 of the ICESCR (Right to housing and adequate standard of living).
• On 26^th May, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced plans for a Uniform Civil Code (a code which calls for the formulation of one law for India, which would be applicable to all religious communities in matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption) nationwide within five years, if the BJP regains power. He stated that extensive consultations with all stakeholders would precede its implementation. UCC has been criticised by civil society groups for imposing a uniform set of laws upon all religious groups that potentially infringes upon the rights to practice their personal laws. This could violate cultural and religious freedoms (Article 26 ICCPR).

Digital Rights

• On 3^rd May, Jammu and Kashmir Police’s District Police Ramban activated an AI-based facial Recognition System in one location to locate and monitor individuals involved in criminal activities, enhancing public safety efforts. Civil society groups express concerns regarding the utilization of Facial Recognition systems, contending that such technology exacerbates discrimination against the most marginalized segments of society and violate right to privacy, likely violating Article 2 of ICESCR (Right against Discrimination) and Article 17 of ICCPR (Right to Privacy).
• On 14^th May, India’s anti-cyber fraud agency, the Indian Cyber Coordination Centre (I4C), in collaboration with Microsoft, took action to block over 1,000 Skype accounts associated with cyber criminals engaged in intimidation, blackmail, and extortion scams. These fraudsters, impersonating law enforcement officials, coerce victims into “digital arrests” by demanding payment to resolve fabricated legal issues.
• On 20^th May, evidence surfaced that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) used a new mobile application called “We App” to profile voters and bribe them for votes. YSRCP lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India regarding this issue. The “We App” contains detailed voter information at the booth level, including family details, phone numbers, occupation, caste, residency status, and political leanings, even including data of deceased voters. Despite not being available on Android Play Stores, the app was selectively distributed to TDP volunteers.
• On 25^th May, Suresh Khadakbhavi, CEO of DigiYatra Foundation, announced the expansion of DigiYatra to 14 more airports, including Chennai Airport, in June. This system, utilizing facial recognition technology, aims to decrease waiting times for passengers at airport entry points and security screenings. Currently, there are over 20 million people who interact with the technology. Civil society groups express concerns regarding the utilization of Facial Recognition systems, especially in absence of sufficient data protection laws in India, in violation of Article 17 of ICCPR (Right to Privacy).

Judiciary

• On 6^th May, the Delhi High Court granted bail to an accused, who was arrested by the NIA in August 2021 under the UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The court ruled that merely possessing photos of Osama bin Laden or ISIS flags on a mobile phone is insufficient to label someone a terrorist organization member. It emphasized that accessing such material online does not constitute a crime, thereby suggesting that the arrest had been arbitrary and in violation of the right to liberty (Article 9 ICCPR).
• On 10^th May, Delhi High Court declined to supervise the Election Commission of India (ECI) in response to a petition seeking to file a first information report (FIR) against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for alleged hate speeches during the Lok Sabha election campaign. The Bench stated that the ECI, as a constitutional body, should determine violations of the model code of conduct and not the court.
• On 10^th May, the Calcutta High Court cancelled all Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificates issued by the West Bengal government after 2010. OBC certificates are documents verifying an individual’s status as belonging to Other Backward Classes in India, facilitating access to reserved educational seats, jobs, and government schemes. The court invalidated sections of the West Bengal Backward Classes Act, citing procedural and legal deficiencies. Around five lakh OBC certificates have been impacted, rendering them unusable for government job applications.
• On 13^th May, the Supreme Court refused interim bail for former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren to campaign for the Lok Sabha election. However, the court agreed to list his plea to quash his arrest by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to a land scam.
• On 14^th May, the Supreme Court quashed a case filed against staff and faculty members of a government-run college in Indore, which pertained to a book in the college library that Hindu supremacist organizations claimed was “Hinduphobic” and “anti-national.” This came in response to a challenge to an April 30 order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court that had refused to stay the first information report (FIR) against him (FIR is a document prepared by the police when they receive information about the commission of a cognizable offence). This incident raises questions regarding the right to freedom of expression (Article 19 ICCPR).
• On 16^th May, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to promptly deport 17 people held in detention camps in Assam. They had reportedly been declared as “foreigners” by a Foreigners Tribunal, which have been criticised for not following an arbitrary procedure that violates the Rule of Law principle, especially by derogating from the due process of law. Declared foreigners shave been detained in detention camps under inhumane conditions, and the Supreme Court therefore considered a case about the detention conditions. 9 million peoplehave been de facto left stateless during the National Registry of Citizens process.
• On 27^th May, a special court in Ranchi granted a three-day extension of Jharkhand Minister Alamgir Alam’s remand with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged money laundering case, according to his legal representatives. Mr. Alam was detained by the ED on May 15 after two days of questioning. Initially held for six days from May 17, his remand was prolonged for five days on May 22.
• On 27^th May, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a seven-day extension of the interim bail granted to him in a money laundering case related to the liquor policy scam. Initially granted interim bail on May 10 to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Kejriwal sought an extension to continue his election-related activities. Arvind Kejriwal was in Delhi’s Tihar Jail for 50 days after being jailed on corruption charges linked to the alleged liquor policy scam. The US and Germany each released statements regarding Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, urging India to ensure a fair trial and uphold democratic principles.
• On 28^th May, an MP-MLA court set a June 7 hearing for the 2018 defamation case against Rahul Gandhi, following his alleged remarks about Home Minister Amit Shah. BJP leader Vijay Mishra filed the complaint, and referred to Mr. Gandhi’s comment that “the BJP claims to believe in honest and clean politics but has a party president who is an “accused” in a murder case.” Gandhi previously paused his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in February to attend court and secure bail.

Executive

• On 11^th May, a study showed that at least 9681 children were wrongly incarcerated in adult prisons across India from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2021. The report, based on government data accessed via a Right to Information (RTI) request, noted that the actual number could be much higher since only 50% of RTI requests received responses. Notably, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Nagaland, and Ladakh did not respond to the RTIs.
• On 16^th May, the Manipur government announced the withdrawal of Central troops from conflict areas for ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The Security Advisor briefed the Governor on the situation, citing the need for redeployment after elections. Protesters demanded troop retention for ongoing security. There has been an armed conflict involving militias in Manipur since May 2023.
• On 27^th May, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that family members of terrorists or stone pelters in Jammu and Kashmir would not receive government jobs, referencing the government’s commitment to eliminating the terror ecosystem. He also stated that if a family member reports a relative joining a terror outfit, exceptions can be considered. Under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, even legitimate human rights work has been reportedly framed as “terrorism”, and people can be designated “terrorists” without a trial. Thus, this policy may violate Article 14(1) – presumption of innocence), and Article 21 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (right to participate in government and equal access to public service).

India in the World

• On 1^st May, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a report recommending, for the fifth consecutive year, that India be classified as a ‘Country of Particular Concern.’ On May 2, the Ministry of External Affairs accused the USCIRF of interfering in India’s electoral process.
• On 1^st May, the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) deferred the accreditation of the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) for the second consecutive year. GANHRI’s Sub Committee on Accreditation cited reasons such as lack of transparency in appointing NHRC members, appointment of police officers to oversee human rights investigations, and lack of gender and minority representation.
• On 6^th May, Indian Naval Ships arrived in Singapore for a three-day visit, as part of the Navy’s Eastern Fleet deployment to the South China Sea. The ships will then proceed to Malaysia and the Philippines. The visit aims to strengthen maritime cooperation between India and Singapore amidst escalating regional tensions.
• On 7^th May, International Organisation of Migration (IOM) in its World Migration Report, reported that India set a world record for receiving over USD 111 billion in remittances in 2022, becoming the first country to surpass the USD 100 billion mark. India, Mexico, China, the Philippines, and France were the top five remittance recipient countries.
• On 10^th May, India voted in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution calling for Palestine’s admission as a full member of the United Nations. The resolution, approved by a vote of 143 to 9 with 25 abstentions, urges the Security Council to “reconsider” the matter “favorably” and grants new “rights and privileges” to Palestine, recognizing its right to become the 194th member of the UN. The Palestinian membership bid will now be forwarded to the UN Security Council for reconsideration. On 31^st May, the spokesperson for India’s Ministry for External Affairs, expressed deep concern about the loss of civilian lives in the displacement camp in Rafah. He also reaffirmed India’s consistent support for a two-state solution, advocating for the establishment of a sovereign, viable, and independent state of Palestine within recognized and mutually agreed borders, coexisting peacefully with Israel.
• On 13^th May, India signed a 10-year contract with Iran to operate the strategic Iranian port of Chabahar that will help it expand trade with Central Asia. Chabahar Port, outside the Strait of Hormuz, serves as a crucial link for India to access landlocked nations and offers an efficient transit route for goods to Europe. On May 14^th, in response, the US State Department Deputy Spokesperson reiterated that US sanctions on Iran remain in effect, and cautioned any entity contemplating business deals with Iran to be mindful of the associated risks, including the potential for sanctions.
• On 13^th May, India extended a $50 million Treasury Bill to the Maldives for another year at the request of the Maldivian government, despite recent bilateral tensions. The State Bank of India provides these Treasury Bills through a government-to-government arrangement at no cost and without interest.
• On 17^th May, Nikita Kondratyev, director of the Russian Economic Development Ministry’s Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects, announced Moscow and New Delhi’s plan to enhance their tourism ties by launching visa-free group tourist exchanges. He highlighted that consultations on a bilateral agreement will commence in June, with India finalizing internal coordination. Kondratyev stated that the first discussion on the draft agreement is scheduled for June, and both parties aim to sign it by the end of the year.
• On 22^nd May, the European Commission conducted a virtual consultation with civil society representatives to discuss the current status of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. This meeting aimed to gather input from civil society on the EU’s trade policy with India, particularly regarding trade and sustainability chapters, which include labor and environment issues. Participants reported that civil society amply raised human rights concerns.
• On 24^th May, Telangana state concluded a four-day recruitment drive for laborers to work in Israel. A total of 2,209 laborers registered, and 905 were selected for skilled construction work. This drive, facilitated by the National Skill Development Corporation International, follows similar ones in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana earlier this year.
• On May 27^th, officials from India and Japan convened during the 77^th World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, marking a significant step towards advancing bilateral health cooperation. Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to bolstering the Memorandum of Cooperation signed in 2018.
• On 29^th May, the European Union announced €250,000 in support in response to the recent hailstorm and heavy rain that struck India’s northeastern state of Manipur in early May. The aid, facilitated by EU humanitarian partner ADRA, will directly benefit over 1,500 vulnerable families. In response, the State Government of Manipur denied getting any relief from Civil Society Organisations or NGOs, and called reports about the aid ‘misleading’ and ‘untrue’.

Election violence 

• On April 18 in Arunachal Pradesh, supporters and workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National People’s Party (NPP) entered into a fierce gun battle. At least 20 people were injured in the poll-related violence. The Election Commission ordered repolling in the state scheduled for April 24.
• On April 19, numerous clashes between workers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Bengal’s ruling party All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) occurred in Bengal as the first phase of the elections began. Both the TMC and the BJP lodged 80 and 39 complaints, respectively, related to poll violence, voter intimidation, and assaults on poll agents in the first few hours of polling. A voter sustained injuries in his eye in when he was coming out after casting his vote. A BJP supporter said he was attacked by a sickle on the way to a polling booth. There were reports of crude bombs being placed outside the house of a BJP booth president in an attempt to scare him away.
• In Manipur, there were scattered incidents of armed violence on April 19, including clashes among armed groups and attempts to take over polling stations under heavy security. Presiding officers reporting mob violence, gunfire and destroyed Electronic Voting Machines in some booths. At a polling station in Thamanpokpi, Arambai Tenggop, a pro-BJP Meitei militant organisation allegedly threatened that could be no Congress agent on polling booth. People on social media, claimed that the Police are standing quietly watching the booth capturing. Shooting by armed persons broke out at a polling station at Thamanpokpi under Moirang Assembly segment where three people were reportedly injured. In Khurai Thangjam Leikai, angry civilians destroyed EVM and election related articles protesting the manipulative and corrupted duty officials. 

India in the World 

• The Guardian reported on April 4 that the Indian government allegedly assassinated 20 individuals in Pakistan as part of a wider strategy to eliminate terrorists living on foreign soil since 2019. On April 12, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar answered that since terrorists do not play by rules, there cannot be any rules in India’s response to them, and defended the government’s actions stating that India was committed to responding to any act of terrorism perpetrated from across the borders. These assassinations likely violate the right to life and right to a fair trial (Articles 6 and 14 ICCPR). 
• On April 10, the Israeli government announced that over 6,000 construction workers from India will arrive in Israel in April and May. The workers from India were being sent to Israel under a government-to-government agreement between the two countries. In November 2023, reports stated that the construction industry in Israel had asked the Indian government to allow companies to recruit 100 000 Indian workers to replace the 90,000 Palestinians whose work permits had been cancelled since Israel’s war on Gaza started in October. 
• The Indian Express reported on April 10 that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sent invitations to more than 25 parties of foreign countries to send their representatives to observe India’s Lok Sabha polls and understand the ruling party’s campaign strategies. The BJP invited the Conservative and Labour parties of the UK, and the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats of Germany. BJP sources said that 13 parties have so far confirmed their visits to India, although no further information has been revealed. 
• On April 11, the Hindustan Times reported that India will send military attaches to Mozambique, the Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Armenia, Philippines, and Poland. Africa is a focus area in a move by India to bolster and rationalise its military diplomacy in key regions across the world. India will also post defence attachés for the first time to Poland, whose importance as a security partner in Europe has increased in recent years, and to Armenia, with which the Indian side recently concluded a big-ticket arms deal. 
• On April 14, the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that he had contacted his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, seeking the release of 17 Indian crew on board a cargo ship seized by Iran. Iran said that it would soon allow representatives of the Indian government to meet the crew of Indians. The Iranian authorities had earlier claimed that the cargo vessel had “violated international maritime law”, but the incident is also an escalation to the ongoing Red Sea crisis, where Houthi rebels in Yemen have been targeting Israeli-linked commercial shipping on the high seas with ballistic missiles and drones.  
• On April 17, a Hindutva (Hindu supremacist) mob chanted anti-Muslim slogans in the UK city of Leicester. The mob chanted “Ayodhya is just a glimpse, Kashi and Mathura mosques remain to be conquered.” Multiple Muslim organisations lodged complaints with Leicestershire police seeking action against the Hindutva mob. The incident raises concerns about the obligation to refrain from religious hatred (Article 20 ICCPR). 
• On April 18, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that Iranian authorities released one of the 17 Indian sailors aboard seized cargo ship, who safely returned home. While no charges have been pressed against the crew members, the ship itself has been impounded, and the ship cannot be unmanned, meaning that some crew will need to stay as long as the seizure continues. 
• On April 18, the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) reported that “the CAA’s [Citizenship Amendment Act] key provisions — allowing immigrants of six religions from three countries a path to citizenship while excluding Muslims — may violate certain Articles of the Indian Constitution”. CRS is an independent research wing of the US Congress that prepares reports on issues of interest to the members of Congress so that they can make informed decisions. The CAA also likely violates Articles 19 and 26 of the ICCPR.  
• On April 22, the United States State Department released its 2023 Human Rights Report, which expressed concern about the “significant” abuses in Manipur, particularly in the wake of ethnic conflict that erupted in May 2023. The report also highlighted other concerning human rights practices, such as the raids conducted by tax authorities on media outlets like the BBC and instances of transnational repression, such as the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.   
• On April 30, the External Affairs Ministry of India said that a report by the Washington Post, which named an Indian official for allegedly plotting to eliminate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, made “unwarranted and unsubstantiated” imputations on a serious matter. The newspaper, citing unnamed sources, had named a RAW officer in connection with the alleged plot to assassinate Pannun. 

Civil society, human rights defenders and journalists 

• On April 14, Jean Dreze, renowned economist, said that suppression of the opposition in India makes the Lok Sabha elections as good as rigged. Dreze was referring to the release of Bank of India data, showing that the Bharatiya Janata Party had received a vast majority of party donations. Dreze added that opposition leaders have been facing relentless scrutiny and harassment by central agencies for years under the BJP government. 

• On 17 April, CIVICUS published a monitoring report showing that the Indian government used an array of restrictive laws and policies to silence dissent by targeting critics including civil society groups, human rights defenders and independent media, during Modi’s second term in power. The report highlights how the government has increasingly cracked down on civil society organisations by cancelling their registrations, raiding them and investigating them. It also mentions the government’s jailing of human rights defenders critical of the government in politically motivated cases under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), a draconian anti-terror law. CIVICUS’ findings pose serious concerns about the freedom from arbitrary detention, and freedom of speech (Articles 9 and 19 ICCPR). 
• On April 18, Ramadas Prini Sivanadan, a PhD scholar at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Mumbai and a prominent left student leader in the campus was arbitrarily suspended for two years by the administration for participating in protests and questioning the ruling Hindu nationalist regime. This suspension raises questions about the freedom of speech (Article 19 ICCPR). 
• On April 23, Australian ABC’s lead India correspondent Avani Dias revealed in a tweet “Last week, I had to leave India abruptly. The Modi government told me my visa extension would be denied, saying my reporting ‘crossed a line’.” She is referring to an episode she featured in in March on Sikh separatism. India’s visa revocation likely violates the right to free speech (Article 19 ICCPR).  

Arvind Kejriwal and AAP case 

• On April 10, Delhi social welfare minister Raaj Kumar Anand resigned from his post and from the Aam Aadmi Party citing the charges of corruption against the party. He said “I resigned from the post of minister and from the party as I can’t connect my name with this corruption.” 
• On April 10, the Delhi Directorate of Vigilance terminated the services of Bibhav Kumar, private secretary to jailed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The termination order against Bibhav Kumar, declaring his appointment illegal and invalid, came two days after he was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate. 
• On April 10, the Enforcement Directorate moved a Delhi court seeking an arrest warrant against Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan in connection with alleged irregularities in appointments to the Delhi Waqf Board. 
• On April 11, the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha in the Delhi liquor policy case. The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Kavitha, among others, conspired with senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his former deputy Manish Sisodia, to secure favours in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped liquor excise policy of the national capital. 
• On April 16, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and senior AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, all of whom are behind bars, have been named by the party as star campaigners for the Lok Sabha polls in Gujarat. Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann are also among the list of 40-star campaigners, whose names have been submitted by the party to the Election Commission. 
• On April 18, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Aam Admi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan in connection with a money laundering case linked to the Delhi Waqf Board. The arrest comes hours after Khan appeared before the ED for questioning in connection with the case. Following the arrest, a video message by Khan, published on his social media, alleged that the agency wanted him to testify against jailed Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and refusing it will lead to his arrest. 
• On April 19, AAP leader Atishi brought attention to the fact that Chief Minister Arvind was being stopped from taking medicine in judicial custody. This happened a day after the Enforcement Directorate claimed in court that the leader is eating foods high in sugar, including mangoes and sweets, every day, despite having type 2 diabetes, in order to raise his blood sugar level. “This is not a gangster or a terrorist, but a person who has been elected thrice by the people of Delhi as the Chief Minister,” Ms. Atishi replied. This raises concerns about the right to health (Article 12 ICESCR).  
• Raj Niwas on April 20 released a medical status report submitted by the Director General of Prisons to Lieutenant-Governor V.K Saxena, which states that according to the doctors who examined him, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s blood sugar levels were “not alarming” and “administration of insulin is not required as of now”. 
• The Delhi High Court on April 22 dismissed a plea seeking the release of Aam Admi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on “extraordinary interim bail” till the completion of his term as Delhi Chief Minister. 
• On April 30, a Delhi court dismissed the bail pleas of former Deputy Chief Minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia in the corruption and money laundering cases lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Special judge for CBI and ED, Kaveri Baweja, denied the pleas, saying the stage was not right to grant the bail. This is the second time that the trial court has rejected Mr. Sisodia’s bail plea. Sisodia has been in jail since February 2023.  
• The Supreme Court on April 30 underscored that life and liberty are exceedingly important while hearing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. The court also asked the central agency to address arguments on the “timing” of the APP leader’s arrest right before the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The Bench will hear the matter next on May 3. 
• On April 30, the police arrested two political functionaries from the AAP and the Congress party in Gujarat for allegedly posting a doctored video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s April 23 speech in Telangana regarding reservation. Shah has urged people to report fake videos as to take strict action against culprits. Since April 28, the police in Delhi, Assam, Maharashtra and Gujarat have filed four separate cases in connection with the video. Most persons named in the First Information Reports (FIRs) are opposition party workers who shared the post on social media platforms X and Facebook, raising concern about biased and politically motivated arrests.  

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

• On April 16, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Bijoy Malakar allegedly threatened voters in Assam’s Karimganj district to support the Hindutva party or face demolition by bulldozers. The opposition Congress party filed a complaint with the Badarpur police station against the Ratabari MLA for the speech. The speech likely violates the right to free speech, freedom from incitement to hostility (Articles 19 and 20 ICCPR) and the right to housing (Article 11 ICESCR) 
• On April 21, in an Islamophobic speech in Rajasthan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Muslim minorities in India as “infiltrators” and “those who have more children.” Modi said that the opposition Congress party, if voted to power, could distribute the nation’s wealth among “infiltrators” and “those who have more children,” misquoting a statement by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that he would prioritise thethe minorities’ access to the country’s resources. This marks Modi’s first public hate speech, and raises serious concerns regarding the obligation to refrain from advocating for religious hatred (Article 20 ICCPR). The Congress Party responded by asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to show one paragraph in its manifesto where it talked about redistributing wealth to the Muslim community. On April 22, the Election Commission (EC) declined to comment on remarks made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a poll rally in Rajasthan. 
• On April 22, over 17,400 citizens wrote to the Election Commission (EC) seeking action against PM Narendra Modi for his hate speech on the previous day. Congress, the Communist Party of India, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), filed complaints to the EC regarding Modi’s hate speech being a violation the EC Model Code of Conduct. On April 25, the EC issued notices to political parties, seeking responses to alleged violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by their candidates instead of contacting the concerned candidates themselves.  

• On April 29, the Delhi High Court dismissed a plea seeking to disqualify Prime Minister Narendra Modi from participating in any elections for six years. The petitioner had sought PM Modi’s disqualification, accusing him of violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). Jondhale, the lawyer who instigated the petition, alleged that PM Modi not only sought votes in the name of Hindu and Sikh deities and their places of worship but also made comments against “opposite political parties as favouring Muslims”. The Court ruled that the Election Commission of India is responsible for determining violations of the MCC.  

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

• 79 percent of the respondents to the Pre-Poll Study 2024 by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and Lokniti said that they believed that “India belongs to all religions equally, not just Hindus”. The survey was conducted between March 28 and April 8 across 19 states and found that the majority of its 10,019 respondents supported religious pluralism. Only 11% of the respondents said that they believed that “India belongs only to Hindus”. 
• On April 8, the Allahabad High Court observed that credible proof is required to show that an individual changing their religion has taken the decision voluntarily and a verbal or written declaration that a religious conversion has taken place is not enough to legitimise it. Kumar made the observations while hearing a petition by a man to dismiss the case filed against him after he married a woman who belonged to a different religion. The petitioner had converted to his wife’s religion. Hindutva groups and police often make allegations of religious conversions to arrest people of Christian and Muslim faith on grounds of “forced conversions”. 
• On April 19, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah dismissed allegations of “love jihad” in connection with the murder of a Congress councillor’s daughter, Neha Hiremath, who was stabbed to death by her former classmate, 23-year-old Fayaz, on the campus of KLE Technological University on April 18. “Love jihad” is a Hindu supremacist conspiracy theory describing an alleged phenomenon where Muslim men lure Hindu women into marrying them and converting to Islam. The victim’s father, Niranjan Hiremath alleged that the murder may have been a case of “love jihad.” Niranjan Hiremath is councillor from the Hubballi Dharwad Municipal Corporation representing the Congress. 
• On April 22, Muslim organisations held a strike to condemn the murder of 23-year-old college student Neha Hiremath, daughter of Congress Councillor of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation Niranjan Hiremath. An old classmate of Neha, named Fayaz allegedly stabbed her to death on the campus of BVB College on April 18. 

Internet and Technology 

• On April 2, a new investigation by the rights groups Global Witness and Access Now showed that Google-owned YouTube approved dozens of ads promoting voter suppression and incitement to violence ahead of the upcoming election in India. YouTube approved 100% of the adds submitted for research purposes by the two rights groups, which all included election-related content prohibited by YouTube rules. This experiment shows that YouTube may be failing to prevent the spread of paid-for disinformation in one of the most significant global elections of the year. 
• On April 3, Meta released its monthly report, revealing that it removed more than 28 million posts across Facebook and Instagram that go against the platform’s policies in February. 
• On April 10, 38 Indian diaspora groups and allies raised the alarm bells about a lack of action by social media corporations in protecting India’s elections. In a joint letter, the diaspora groups called on social media corporations with user markets in India to urgently enforce an election silence period and ban any political advertisements in the 48 hours before the elections, in accordance with Indian law, and listed 9 other demands. 
• On April 11, technology company Apple warned some users in India and 91 other countries that their iPhones may have been targeted by “mercenary spyware”, including the controversial Pegasus software. In October, Apple had already warned several Indian opposition leaders and at least four journalists that their iPhones may have been targeted by “state-sponsored attackers”. 
• On April 13, the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam wrote to the Election Commission of India alleging that the Intelligence Wing of the Tamil Nadu Police has hacked the phones of its leaders. The All-India party claimed that “highly placed sources in the police” informed them that its leaders’ phones were being monitored in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls. 
• On April 13, YouTube placed monetisation curbs on videos by at least two creators – Mehgnad and independent journalist Sohit Mishra – about the efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail. YouTube said the decision was based on its guidelines that say videos containing demonstrably false information are not eligible for ad revenue.  
• On April 18, fact checkers from BOOMLive identified at least 8 chatbots in the Chat GPT Plus Store focused on elections in India that go against OpenAI’s policy. Election Pundit is one of the several AI chatbots available on the GPT store, which is themed on Indian elections and could be used by both the ruling party and the opposition to create campaigning content. Another chatbot named ElectionGPT, generates campaigns directed at ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by the opposition. The GPT store also had a chatbot exclusively targeting Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, which goes by the name of Fraud Kejri, which OpenAI quickly took down.  
• On April 19, fact checkers from BOOMLive found that the Government’s Pegasus investigation committee website in India has deleted depositions made to it and has started posting spam content.  

Political Parties and Election Monitoring 

• On April 1, the Election Commission of India censured Bharatiya Janata Party MP Dilip Ghosh and Congress member Supriya Shrinate for their remarks about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and actor Kangana Ranaut, who is the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Mandi. The poll body said that their remarks amounted to personal attacks and violated the Model Code of Conduct, a set of guidelines that political parties and governments must follow while campaigning.  
• On April 11, a group of 87 former civil servants wrote an open letter to the Election Commission, highlighting the poll panel’s lack of assertiveness “in dealing with actions that impact the conduct of free and fair elections” despite the enormous powers vested in it by the Constitution to do so. The former civil servants, who are part of the Constitutional Conduct Group, expressed concern about the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case and the “disturbing pattern of harassment and witch hunting of Opposition parties and Opposition politicians” ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. 

• On April 11, data from Google’s Ads Transparency Center revealed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spent over Rs 39 crore (USD 4.6 million) on 81,874 political advertisements on Google since January 1.  This accounts for 32.8% of the total funds spent on political advertisements on Google in India this year.  
• The Election Commission of India on April 16 barred Congress leader Randeep Surjewala from campaigning for 48 hours over his alleged derogatory remarks against BJP MP Hema Malini. This is the first campaign ban imposed by the poll body in this Lok Sabha election cycle. The ECI on April 9 issued a show-cause notice to Mr. Surjewala for his alleged “undignified, uncivilised and vulgar” remarks against Ms. Hema Malini. 
• On April 17, an election flying squad team seized ₹81,000 (USD 900) in unauthorised cash and a voter list from a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionary. The money was taken from R. Jothimani, who is currently the president of the BJP at Alandurai. Authorities suspect that the cash was being transported to be distributed to voters as it was found with a voter list.  
• The Supreme Court of India on April 18 directed the Election Commission to verify the allegation that during a mock poll in Kerala, extra votes were recorded in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). On the same day, both the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) gave complaints to the District Collector that at least four electronic voting machines (EVM) erroneously registered extra votes in favour of the BJP during the mock test in Kerala’s Kasargod constituency. Opposition leaders have cast doubts over EVM’s transparency during the election campaign. The Election Commission of India (ECI) assured the Supreme Court that it is impossible to tamper with electronic voting machines “at any stage”. Replying to a query on whether tampering of EVMs was possible after polling, the ECI said polling officers press the ‘close’ button at the end of polling. “Thereafter, the EVMs do not accept any votes,” a 14-page affidavit said.  
• On April 19, six districts of Eastern Nagaland saw close to no votes. The Eastern Naga People’s Organization had called on people in the state to abstain from voting in the elections and a total shutdown to press for their demand for autonomy. 
• On April 19, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was campaigning at Hariharpara in Murshidabad district, accused the central forces of political bias. “I am not against central forces but this is the first time that the BJP is using central forces as their cadres,” Ms. Banerjee said. She raised questions on why only central forces were used in Cooch Behar and the State police were not deployed. 
• On April 21, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in the national capital, the Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hosted a mega conclave of Hindu priests, saints and seers to celebrate the Hindu new year and construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, at the IGI stadium.  
• On April 30, the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS) party, an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), announced that MP Prajwal Revanna has been suspended from the party temporarily until allegations against him over sexual abuse are probed. The leak of nearly 3,000 videos, allegedly shot by the 33-year-old Prajwal, apparently showing him sexually abusing multiple women, ignited a sex scandal for the MP, his party, and the BJP, at a time when the BJP is counting on the JDS to deliver its coalition a majority of Karnataka’s 28 parliamentary seats.
   

Executive 

• On April 10, the Calcutta High Court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe all allegations levelled by residents of strife-torn Sandeshkhali in West Bengal since February, and said it will monitor the process. The CBI asserted that it “shall have the power to require any person, organisation, government authority, police authorities, quasi governmental authorities, NGOs, public spirited persons and others who may be genuinely interested in the matter to furnish information on such point or matters, as in its opinion may be useful for, or relevant to the subject matter”. The order sparked a political controversy in the state, with some political leaders believing the order to be a biased order by the court in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party. 
• On April 11, the Jammu and Kashmir Police said in a social media post that it had retrieved the body of a “terrorist” from the site of a gunfight that broke out. The police also recovered incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, was recovered from the site gunfight.  
• On April 12, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) appealed against a single-judge bench order not to summon former minister and communist party leader Thomas Isaac, until the end of the Lok Sabha elections. The central ED agency had initiated an investigation into whether the Foreign Exchange Management Act was violated in issuing the masala bonds in 2019, when Issac was the Kerala finance minister. Isaac, on the other hand, contended that the Enforcement Directorate investigation just ahead of the election would hamper his poll prospects, and that the agency issued the summons without a prima facie case. 
• On April 12, the National Investigation Agency arrested two men accused in the bomb blast that took place at Rameswaram cafe in Bengaluru on March 1. The two men, Adbul Matheen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazib, were accused of recruiting youths for the Islamic State terror group.   
• On April 16, a joint operation by the Border Security Force (BSF) and Chhattisgarh police carried out the deadliest anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh since 2017, which killed 29 Maoist fighters. The police said that fighting between the security forces and the Maoists had gone on for 4 hours. According to reports, the deceased include at least 15 women, which the police alleged to be cadres who live in the village and are supposed to be informers of Maoists. However, in the past, there has been evidence that tribal women have been targeted by security forces. Over the years, corporate privatisation of Chhattisgarh’s natural resources and land has led to the displacement of Adivasi community, and security operations in the state have often disproportionately affected the community and framing dissidents in the area as Maoists has become common practice. In another encounter with security forces on April 2, Adivasis in the region reported security forces killed some innocents. These operations raises questions about the state’s safeguarding of the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR). 
• On April 16, the Enforcement Directorate arrested former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and others in connection with the money laundering investigation. The federal agency also undertook some searches in Ranchi against a person named Antu Tirkey, who is allegedly linked to the case. The arrested person identified as Afshar Ali was lodged in jail under judicial custody in another money laundering case and the agency has taken his custody in the latest case after seeking a designated court’s permission. 
• On April 21, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge alleged at a joint Opposition rally that former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren had been arrested for refusing to leave the INDIA bloc. Kharge warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi that if he tried to “terrorise” tribals, he himself would be destroyed. 

Judiciary 

• On April 1, the Supreme Court refused to stay the Varanasi district court’s order allowing Hindus to offer prayers in the sealed basement of the Gyanvapi mosque complex. On January 31, the Varanasi court allowed Hindus to offer prayers in the basement of the complex after an Archaeological Survey of India report claimed that a Hindu temple that existed at the site was destroyed in the 17th century. 
• On April 6, the Supreme Court said that people had a fundamental right to be free from adverse impacts of climate change, and that this right flowed naturally from the right to life and the right to equality guaranteed in the Indian Constitution.  
• On April 8, the Supreme Court raised a serious alarm over the misuse of social media platforms, denouncing the spread of factually incorrect and unfounded statements regarding pending cases. The Supreme Court initiated a contempt action against Assam legislator Karim Uddin Barbhuiya for his misleading Facebook post regarding a case reserved for judgment, where the top court expressed dismay at the growing trend of social media misuse, which under the guise of freedom of expression, tarnishes the integrity of the Court and sowed misinformation among the masses. 
• On April 9, the Calcutta High Court ordered a court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged incidents of sexual assault and land grabbing by suspended Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh. At the previous hearing on April 4, advocate Priyanka Tibrewal, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and one of the petitioners in the case, demanded that the investigation be transferred to a court-monitored commission authorised to receive complaints from the residents of Sandeshkhali and compile them for the court. Sheikh was arrested by the police on February 29 in connection with a case about an assault on Enforcement Directorate officials, and remains in the Enforcement Directorate’s custody. 
• On April 10, the Supreme Court allowed a prayer meeting organised by the Christian community to take place after the district administration in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore revoked permission for the event. Hindu supremacist groups had filed a complaint on April 5 opposing the Christian prayer meeting, alleged that the prayer meeting was being organised with an intention to mislead the Hindu community and encourage them to convert to Christianity. 
• On April 19, a special court in Mumbai granted bail to Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor in the ₹466.51 crore (EUR 52 million) bank fraud case, paving the way for him to walk out of jail after four years. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Kapoor in March 2020 in a money laundering case, and he has been booked in eight cases related to fraud at the bank. The banker has now secured bail in all the cases. 
• On April 19, the Supreme Court sought a reply from the Union government and the Assam State government on a petition challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, which aims to grant citizenship to ‘non-Muslim’ migrants who came from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 31, 2014. 

Business and Economy 

• On April 19, the Consumer Affairs Ministry said it has asked the food safety regulator FSSAI to investigate the composition of Nestle’s Cerelac baby cereals sold in India. This comes after a report released recently by a Swiss NGO, the Public Eye and International Baby Food Action Network, revealed that Nestle’s baby food products sold in India, as well as in African and Latin American countries, have higher sugar content, in comparison to the same products sold in European markets. amid a global report that claimed the company was adding higher sugar content in the product. 
• On April 20, Tesla CEO Elon Musk postponed his planned trip to India, citing “very heavy” obligations at Tesla. On April 11, Musk had announced a visit to India in a post on X (formerly Twitter). This came after it was reported that the billionaire will visit India this month and could make an announcement related to investment plans in the country which could be related to opening a new factory. Earlier, Elon Musk described providing Tesla electric vehicles in India as a ‘natural progression. 

Armed Conflict in Manipur 

• On April 13, Meitei militants allegedly killed two Kuki-Zo “village volunteers”, a term used to speak of armed civilians guarding villages in Manipur, in a collusion with members of central security forces. Videos of their corpses being mutilated after the firing were shared widely on social media. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum condoned the killings, and alledged that “a combined team of Arambai Tenggol and UNLF [United National Liberation Front] militants [have] been attacking tribal areas since [April 12] and openly posting about their activity on social media”. The event raises serious concerns about the state’s ability to protect the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR).  
• On April 15, the Supreme Court rejected a petition seeking special arrangements for over 18,000 voters, who fled Manipur due to the conflict. The Supreme Court disposed of a petition filed by voters from Manipur, who fled to cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Shillong and a few other places, saying it was too late for them to issue a directive to the Election Commission to make special arrangements for such voters. 
• On April 15, Al Jazeera reported that officials from Assam Rifles, the federal government’s paramilitary force with a long and controversial history in the state, had conducted an assessment on accountability in the ongoing Manipur conflict, which was reviewed by The Reporters’ Collective (TRC). TRC shared a presentation of the assessment to Al Jazeera, which found that the state government, headed by Chief Minister N Biren Singh, a member of Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and his “political authoritarianism and ambition” was to blame. 
• On April 19, the Election Commission of India declared the polling conducted at 11 booths across five Assembly segments in Inner Manipur on April 19 as void as violence broke out. After the main opposition Congress party had demanded a rerun at 47 Manipur polling stations, alleging that booths were captured and elections were rigged, repolling occurred on April 22, which was conducted peacefully as the state deployed huge amounts of security personnel.   
• On April 19, the youth and civil organisations in Manipur called for the boycott of elections in protest of the government’s response post the violence on 2 May 2023. “This is the way we signify our anger with the government for letting Manipur burn for a year,” Sam, a resident of Churachandpur in Manipur said. The Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) from the Kangpokpi District, which also saw the recent killings of two Kuki volunteers have said the whole community is abstaining from casting votes.  
• On April 24, an improvised explosive device (IED) blast blew up part of a vital bridge on one of Manipur’s two national highways connecting the state with the rest of India. The blast, which has still not been attributed, took place a day after the armed volunteers guarding the respective villages of the Kuki and Meitei communities engaged in a fight in the Imphal West district. The blast has cut off all traffic on the state’s most important access point to the rest of India, stranding nearly 200 vehicles, including trucks carrying essential commodities to Manipur’s capital Imphal.  
• On April 30, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) made its chargesheet from October 2023 on sexual violence in Manipur. The chargesheet pertains to the case of gang rape, sexual assault, and parading of two Kuki-Zo women by a mob of the Meitei community in May 2023. 

Edit on 02/05: An earlier version reported that the BJP won 10 seats unopposed in Arunachal Pradesh. This refers to earlier elections for the legislative assembly. The results for the Lok Sabha polls have not been announced yet. The reference was therefore removed for clarity.

Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 

• On March 11, the Indian government passed the rules to implement the controversial and discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The CAA 2019 permits the granting of citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian “illegal immigrants” from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India on or before December 31, 2014, but specifically excludes Muslims. India does not a have a refugee policy or law. Civil society actors have highlighted that the CAA violates Article 14 of India’s Constitution by denying equality and equal protection before the law. In addition, the CAA is very likely violating Articles 26 and 27 of the ICCPR, which guarantee equality and freedom of religion. Immediately after the announcement, Chief ministers of the governments of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala released statements expressing their condemnation of the CAA. 
• On March 10, Assam’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma reportedly said that political parties may face deregistration if they organised anti-CAA protests. He added that such protests would be considered a violation of a Gauhati High Court order dated March 19, 2023, which said that protests are “illegal and unconstitutional”. This raises serious concerns regarding freedom of speech and freedom of assembly (Article 19 and 21 ICCPR). 
• On March 11, politicians, activists and students protested against the implementation of the CAA in the state of Assam. Congress workers, led by the opposition leader in Assam, burnt copies of the new law in protest, while The Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), a student-led political party in the state, torched effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Assam Police issued notices to opposition parties, asking them to withdraw the hartal over the implementation of the CAA, and warned of “legal action”. Similar student-led protests also took place in the states of Meghalaya and Tripura. 
• On March 11, the police detained 55 student protesters from Delhi University as they were marching against the implementation of the CAA. The police claimed that the detentions were a preventative measure, but the police’s actions still raise serious concerns regarding the possible violation of Article 9 of the ICCPR, which prohibits arbitrary detention. Students in other regions including Assam also organised anti-CAA protests. 
• On March 12, the United Nations and the United States expressed worries about the discriminatory provisions of the new CAA. A spokesperson of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the office was worried that the Citizenship Amendment Act “is fundamentally discriminatory in nature and in breach of India’s international human rights obligations”. The US State Department also said it was concerned about the notification of rules and is monitoring the act’s implementation. The Act has a strong likelihood of violating Articles 26 and 27 of the ICCPR, which guarantee equality and freedom of religion.  
• On March 13, the Uttar Pradesh police arrested two student activists affiliated with the All India Students’ Association (AISA) for organising a protest against the CAA. On March 15, the police arrested two more students in front of the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) office in Prayagraj, where they had gone to provide legal assistance to the jailed activists. According to AISA leaders, one of the two students arrested on March 15 had not even participated in the protests, and police reportedly arrested him because of his participation in previous protests. All four have since been sent to Naini Jail, raising serious concerns about the right to peaceful assembly and expression, the protection from arbitrary arrest and detention, and the right to a fair trial (Articles 9, 19, 21, ICCPR). 
• On March 14, Amnesty International called the operationalization of the CAA a “blow” to the Indian constitutional values of equality and religious non-discrimination. Amnesty also called out the CAA for violating India’s international human rights obligations referring to the ICCPR and the ICESCR. The CAA strongly contradicts equality and the freedom of religion (Articles 26 and 27 ICCPR) and the right of cultural participation (Article 15 ICESCR). 
• On March 15, police in Uttar Pradesh allegedly kept Sumaiyah Rana – the national spokesperson of the Samajwadi party and vice president of the women’s wing of the party – along with her younger sister Uroosa Rana under house arrest from morning to evening for leading protests in 2020 opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act. On March 21, Rana was kept under house arrest again on what she believes to be attempts to prevent her participation in an expected protest. These house arrests likely violate the right to peaceful assembly, the freedom of speech and the protection from arbitrary arrests (Articles 19, 21, 9 ICCPR). 
• On March 19, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin called the CAA “divisive” and declared that it will not be implemented in the state. He deplored the act for reportedly going against the Indian Constitution. 

India in the world 

• On March 7, several United Nations Special Rapporteurs sounded the alarm over reports of attacks on minorities, media and civil society in India and called for urgent action in the runup to the country’s elections. The joint statement asked the Indian government to prohibit advocacy of religious hatred, including incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, and protect the religious freedom of minorities by repealing anti-conversion and anti-blasphemy laws. UN human rights experts criticised the Indian Government for its low response to UN communications on the issue. Out of the 78 communications sent by UN human rights experts over the past five years, the Indian government only gave 18 replies that could be made public. 
• On March 7, the Sweden-based Varieties of Democracy Institute (V-Dem) in its new report called India one of the “worst autocratisers” in the world in recent years. According to the report, India remained an “electoral autocracy” at the end of 2023 after first being categorised as one in 2018. V-Dem highlighted the Indian government’s continued suppression of religious freedoms, and intimidation of political opposition and dissent as key aspects behind their assessment. 
• On March 13, civil society group CIVICUS published their 2024 State of Civil Society Report, where it denounced Modi’s BJP government of supressing civil society while India held the 2023 Annual G20 summit, restricting environmental activism and failing to tackle LGBTQ+ domestic issues. This raises concerns about the freedom of speech (Article 19 ICCPR). 

• On March 21, Al Jazeera reported that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) allegedly approached the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a major Indian think tank, to develop a homegrown democracy ratings index. Inside sources have confirmed that the index will be published before India’s elections. This announcement came after numerous prominent think tanks such as Freedom House, the V-Dem Institute, and the Economist Intelligence Unit downgraded India in their democracy indexes.  
• On March 21, Member of the European Parliament Bert-Jan Ruissen submitted a written question to the European External Action Service, asking for updates on what it has done to urge the Government of India to stop violence in Manipur. The question comes after the European Parliament passed a resolution in July 2023 on the situation in Manipur, which urged the Indian government to take all necessary measures to stop the conflict, allow unhindered humanitarian access to the populations affected, and allow an international investigating into the violence. 
• On March 22, Germany’s Foreign Ministry announced that it has taken note of the arrest of New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, India’s longstanding face in India’s anti-corruption movement. Germany’s Foreign Ministry said that it expected “standards regarding the independence of the judiciary and basic democratic principles” to apply in Kejriwal’s arrest. With the investigation into Kejriwal being led by a central government agency widely believed to be under the influence of the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), Kejriwal’s arrest likely violates the right from arbitrary arrest (Article 9 ICCPR).  
• On March 25, Savera – an interfaith, multiracial, anti-caste coalition of Indian American and partner civil rights groups – released a declaration, sounding the alarm on the rise of Hindu supremacism in the US, and warned that Hindu supremacism “now finds itself in a deepening alliance with various facets of the American far-right”. Over 100 signed onto the declaration, which vows to take action to combat its spread in the US.  
• On March 28, Reporters Without Borders and Guernica 37 Chambers called on the EU to request member states to sanction Delhi Police officers responsible for the arbitrary raids against 46 journalists from NewsClick, an independent online media outlet. The Delhi Police arrested the founder and the human resources director of NewsClick, Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty, who remain in custody. The incident raises serious concerns regarding the freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention (Articles 9 ICCPR). 
• On March 31, United States Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said that involvement of a foreign government or its employees in an attempted assassination of a citizen of another country is a “red line” that should not be crossed. Garcetti was referring to an alledged plot in November 2023 under investigation to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist, in the United States. The killing may violate the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR).  

Human rights defenders, press and civil society 

• On March 5, the Bombay High Court acquitted professor and human rights defender G.N. Saibaba and five other co-accused, who were arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for alleged Maoist links. Nagpur Central Jail released Saibaba on March 7 after he suffered 10 years in prison, experienced the custodial death of his co-accused Father Stan Swamy, and suffered numerous health-related setbacks. Saibaba’s incarceration likely violated the right against arbitrary arrest and the right to a fair trial (Articles 9 ICCPR).  
• On March 16, Muslim activist and community leader Javed Mohammed walked out of Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria Jail after 1 year, 9 months and 5 days of incarceration, after getting bail in multiple cases against him over 2022 Prayagraj Violence. The police had arrested him on June 11, 2022, accusing him of organizing protests that turned violent against comments made by the then-active Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders insulting Prophet Muhammad and Islam.  
• On March 17, Human Rights Watch reported that Indian authorities are revoking visa privileges to overseas critics of Indian origin who have spoken out against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government’s policies. The Indian government has primarily targeted Indian-origin academics, activists, and journalists who have been vocal critics of the BJP’s Hindu majoritarian ideology, by removing their Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) status. OCI status grants residency and visa bypassing rights to foreign citizens of Indian origin and spouses of Indian nationals. The targeted cancellation of OCI statuses raises concerns about the right for all to be equal in front of the law (Article 26 ICCPR).  
• On March 20, the civil society group CIVICUS, along with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and others called for the immediate and unconditional release of Kashmiri journalist and human rights defender Irfan Mehraj, who remains detained since March 20 of last year. In June 2023, United Nations experts expressed serious concerns regarding the charges against and arrest of Mehraj, where they accused the ongoing detention to be an attempt to “delegitimize their human rights work and obstruct monitoring of the human rights situation in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir”. Mehraj’s detention likely violates the right against arbitrary arrest and incarceration (Articles 9 ICCPR). 
• On March 21, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace released a new report documenting women’s mobilisation around the world fighting for democracy. It documents how women-led movements led to several democratic victories in 2023, including India’s Parliament passing a law reserving one-third of legislative seats for women, women-led protests compelling the state government to finally address the conflict in Manipur in July, and women wrestlers protested sexual abuse by the president of the Wrestling Federation of India sparking solidarity from opposition parties and civil society groups. 
• On March 22, the Kilimanoor police arrested a Dalit (“untouchable”) man for peacefully protesting with 11 other Dalits for more accessible roads for motor vehicles. Due to the lack of a motorable road, ambulances refuse to come to the residence of one of the 11 Dalit men who remains disabled sustaining injuries from a casteist attack in 2005. The police filed an investigation report, stating that the protesters were disrupting official duties. The arrested Dalit man has reported these allegations to be false. The above raises serious concerns regarding the right of peaceful assembly, the protection from arbitrary arrests and detention, the freedom from discrimination, and the right to health (Articles 21, 26, 9 ICCPR and Article 12 ICESCR). 
• On March 28, a sessions court in Gujarat sentenced ex-police officer and human rights defender Sanjiv Bhatt to 20 years of prison in a second fabricated case dating back to 1996. Bhatt has been in jail since 2018 on reportedly fabricated charges after he blew whistle on the alleged involvement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2002 Gujarat riots. Already sentenced to life in jail, the court pronounced Bhatt’s conviction, as the human rights defender was not even allowed to testify or call witnesses. The case raises serious concerns regarding the upholding of rights from arbitrary arrest and detention, and the right to a fair trial (Article 9 and 14 ICCPR).  
• On March 30, the Delhi Police Special Cell filed an Unlawful Activities Prevention Act case against NewsClick founder and editor Prabir Puryakayastha, who has been in judicial custody since November. Puryakayastha’s Newsclick has been accused of allegedly receiving funds from China “with the intention of undermining India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” – but there appears to be no evidence to back this. The case raises serious concerns regarding the upholding of rights from arbitrary arrest and detention, and the right to a fair trial (Article 9 and 14 ICCPR). 

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

• On March 12, a court in Uttar Pradesh found ten persons guilty in the 2018 Hapur lynching case relating to the murder of 45-year-old Qasim. The court gave the culprits life sentences in prison.  
• On March 16, a group of Hindu supremacists reportedly attacked four foreign Muslim students and ransacked student dormitories at a Gujarat University student hostel. On March 17, India’s Ministry of External Affairs pledged to take “strict actions against the perpetrators” and announced that the local police had begun an investigation into the attack. 
• Between March 23 and 25, numerous groups of Hindu supremacist men celebrating Holi engaged in multiple incidents of molestation, violence, and harassment against Muslims, particularly women. In Uttar Pradesh, a mob of Hindu supremacist men reportedly harassed a Muslim man along with his sister and mother, returning from a doctor’s visit on March 23. Stand-by police reportedly did not intervene. In Gujarat, a group of Hindu supremacists reportedly assaulted, beat and forcefully coloured a rickshaw driver on March 25. The Hindu supremacists reportedly set his auto-rickshaw on fire while shouting Islamophobic slurs. In Uttar Pradesh, a group of teenagers shouting Hindu religious slogans surrounded a Muslim man and two Muslim women riding a bike, drenched the women in water and forcefully applied colour to the faces of the man and one of the women. In Jharkhand, a gang of 10 to 15 men celebrating Holi forcibly smeared mud on Muhammad Gulzar, a Muslim journalist, while he was on his way to a funeral. 
• On March 26, unidentified individuals reportedly threw a bomb outside Sadar Mosque in the state of Odisha after Maghrib prayer, injuring three Muslim men. The individuals appear to be Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters, as the bomb was in a box that allegedly bore the name of an Instagram handle “sbp mafia gang” with a bio that reads “Jay Shree Ram, Jay BJP.” 
• On March 28, an official reported that a case has been opened against Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Veer Singh Bhuria for allegedly violating the model code of conduct. On March 26, the MLA incited people to “cut of the hands” of people from JAYS – a tribal organisation with pockets of influence in tribal dominated areas – and anyone trying to split the vote during the upcoming general elections. The MLA’s comments likely violate article 20 of the ICCPR, which prohibits incitement to discrimination and violence. 
• On March 30, Maktoob media reported that the Kerala Police found 770 kg explosives from the residences of a local RSS leader and his relative. The RSS is India’s leading Hindu supremacist organisation. According to the police, preliminary investigations indicate that the explosives were intended for illegal distribution.  
• On March 30, a man from an upper caste allegedly brutally beat an 8-year-old Dalit (“untouchable”) boy for touching a water bucket. The child’s father filed a complaint to the police after the culprit refused to apologise and shouted casteist slurs instead. 

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

• On March 25, the Maharashtra Police filed a first information report after the words “Shri Ram” were found written on the wall of a mosque. The police acted after the local Muslim community had congregated outside the local police station seeking action.  
• The Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF), said to be ideologically close to the RSS – one of the leading Hindu supremacist groups – reportedly wrote to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) seeking cancellation of FCRA registration of two prominent NGOs — Caritas India, based in Delhi and Rural Development Trust based in Anantpur, Andhra Pradesh. LRPF alleged that both are involved in religious conversions to Christianity, a common allegation seeking to undermine India’s freedom of religion. 

Internet and Technology 

• On March 1, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) published its updated AI Advisory. The tech industry has criticized the advisory for being too vague, as it aims to regulate “AI model(s)/LLM/Generative AI, software(s) or algorithm(s)” without processes for compliance. In addition, the advisory asked tech firms to seek government approval before launching new AI tools, which incited concerns from critics saying that such a requirement could curb innovation and free speech. While the advisory is not legally binding, it does indicate the future of AI regulations in India. On March 12, India updated the advisory and removed the controversial government approval requirement.  

• On March 2, Meta revealed that it took down over 22.6 million pieces of actionable content in its compliance report in India. Of the other 8,488 reports through Meta’s India grievance mechanism where specialised review was needed, Meta acted on 4,632 complaints. 
• On March 8, Al Jazeera reported that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) posted an AI-generated campaign video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after hiring audio forensic experts to test the clip. The video features an AI-generated soundtrack of music icon Mahendra Kapoor singing an old patriotic Hindi song, with lyrics were modified to highlight Modi’s political ‘achievements’. The post follows another AI-generated post by India’s opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC) party, mocking Modi. Both posts did not explicitly disclose that the political content was fabricated using AI, which goes against Meta’s political advertisement policy and raises accountability concerns regarding disinformation ahead of the elections.  
• On March 11, the Bombay High Court refused to block the government from implementing a fact checking unit responsible for obliging platforms to take down “false”, “fake” or “misleading” information about the Indian government. India’s Government can now implement fully state-controlled fact checking units and hold companies liable for not cooperating with the government’s request, which poses serious concerns regarding the freedom of speech (Article 19 ICCPR). On March 21, the Supreme Court stayed the decision, which is scheduled to last as long as the Bombay High Court takes to decide the challenges to the IT Rules amendment 2023.   
• On March 15, Indians with a mobile phone, including diaspora, received a WhatsApp message from the government with an attached personal letter from Prime Minister Modi addressed to “My dear family member.” Opposition parties have criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) the message for being political propaganda disguised as citizen feedback request, while many recipients are also concerned over the perceived breach of their data privacy. The message targeting may violate India’s rules on data privacy, and Article 17 of the ICCPR on privacy.  
• On March 19, Meta announced its platform policy in preparation for India’s General Elections, which outlines how it aims to limit misinformation, block voter interference and increase transparency and accountability. The policy claims that content targeted as fabricated or manipulated will appear lower on Facebook feeds and be filtered out on Instagram. However, the new measures have been criticised for being vague, flexible and insufficient to handle rampant hate speech and disinformation during India’s elections. Meta noted that it will work closely with the Election Commission of India to flag unlawful content.  
• On March 28, opposition party Indian National Congress filed a complaint over a piece of fake news that circulated on March 27 by R Kannada news channel. The footage shared showed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s convoy blocking traffic and obstructing an ambulance. However, at the time, the Chief Minister was actually in Mysuru and had not travelled towards Bengaluru. The police have since filed a case against Republic TV chief editor Arnab Goswami for allegedly spreading fake news about the Karnataka chief minister and attempting to incite hatred. 
• On March 28, Software Freedom Law Centre India (SFLC.in), an NGO focused on digital policy, reported that it sent letters to the Election Commission of India (EC) and X, Facebook, Open AI, and Google to add stringent measures regarding generative AI and manipulated media. SFLC.in expressed concern that political parties’ IT cells, misinformation Campaigns, deep fakes, and AI-driven manipulation will threaten to shape the outcomes of the April-June elections in India. 
• MemeXpress, a pro-BJP Facebook page which has invested Rs 1 crore (USD 120,000) in political advertising, published four ads featuring the murder of Atiq Ahmed, one of India’s most dreaded gangster-politicians. The caption was “just one bulldozer is needed in Bengal; all the stubborn Shahjahans will fall in line”. Two versions of the ad ran interrupted between March 8 to March 15, raising concerns about Meta’s ability to effectively enforce its policies that prohibit content glorifying violence. 

Political Parties and Election Monitoring 

• The Independent Panel for Monitoring Indian Elections – a group of academic experts from Europe, Bangladesh and India – released its first “pre-election” baseline report in March 2024. The report recalls the exclusion of millions of Muslim, Dalit and Christian voters from electoral rolls in 2019; the BJP’s targeting of Opposition parties; religious polarisation as an electoral tactic; the lack of review of concerns regarding electronic voting machines; the mainstream media’s open affinity with the BJP; and an ineffective Election Commission.  
• On March 9, Arun Goel resigned from the Election Commission (EC) after Anup Pandey retired on February 15, leaving the 3-member election commission down to the chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar. Goel gave no reason for his resignation. The timing of this resignation alongside the ongoing electoral bonds case raises questions. 
• On March 9, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Karnataka MP Anant Kumar Hegde said that the party was planning to win 400+ seats in the 2024 legislative elections to give the party a 2/3 majority in Parliament to amend the Constitution. He stated that the BJP could overturn rules that allegedly oppress Hindus. 
• On March 16, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced the dates for the upcoming Lok Sabha legislative elections. Voting will be held in 7 phases, beginning from April 19 and ending on June 1, with results being declared on June 4. 
• On March 17, the Election Commission published a list of electoral bond buyers. Agence France-Presse found that 17 companies facing criminal investigations donated at least USD 94 million to political parties . Opposition lawmakers are claiming that the list shows that firms were donating to Modi‘s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the hopes of influencing the outcome of criminal probes. 
• On March 18, MP Saket Gokhale announced that he filed a complaint to the Election Commission (EC) against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for violating the EC code of conduct during a visit to the southern state of Andhra Pradesh on March 17. Modi had used an Indian Air Force helicopter to attend an election rally held in the state, explicitly prohibited by EC rules which ban the use of state machinery for campaigning. 
• On March 21, Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on charges of corruption by officers from the enforcement directorate (ED), an investigating agency under central government control. Kejriwal is the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a smaller opposition party which currently holds government in the capital region Delhi. All major opposition parties condemned Kejriwal’s arrest, including the former leader of the main opposition Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi, who likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a “dictator”. 
• On March 22, the former secretary to the Government of India E.A.S. Sarma made a complaint to the Election Commission (EC) about a speech Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made in Tamil Nadu earlier that week. Sarma complained that some of his remarks made on the opposition INDIA alliance violated the EC’s mode of conduct, saying that “invoking the religious sentiments by a political leader during elections brazenly violates the model code of conduct”. Sarma has also sent a letter to President Droupadi Murmu, raising concerns about Goel’s resignation being due to his possible dissent against the political executive. 
• On March 22, the Guardian reported that a near dozen new films promoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government’s Hindu supremacism have been released or will come out at cinemas ahead of the elections tabled to begin in April. Film critics and analysts have warned of several films pushing Islamophobic narratives and debunked anti-Muslim conspiracy theories. Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) filed a public interest litigation case against one of the films produced by a BJP MP, “Razakar: The Silent Genocide of Hyderabad” for promoting inflammatory and divisive content. These releases spark concerns of growing advocacy of national or religious that constitutes incitement to discrimination, prohibited by Article 20 of the ICCPR.  
• On March 24, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its fifth list of 111 candidates for Lok Sabha elections, which features Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut. The actress is an adamant supporter of the Modi government, and has posted numerous hateful comments on social media, including the labelling of protesting farmers as terrorists, the making of genocidal remarks against Sikhs, and the propagating of Islamophobia.  
• The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) called to encircle Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence in protest of the arrest of their leader, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a suspicious liquor corruption case by a central enforcement agency. In response, the police ramped up security measures at the residence and in other parts of Delhi. The opposition coalition block, INDIA, of which the AAP is a part of, held a rally on March 31 at Delhi’s Ramleela Maidan to protest the arrest.  

Executive 

• On March 7, The Union Cabinet approved the India Artificial Intelligence Mission for the next five years. The plan aims to make 10,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) available to start-ups. In addition, Research and Development facilities, alongside universities and other academic institutions are meant to benefit from the plan. The Minister of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that AI will be the cornerstone of India’s digital economy.  
• On March 13, the President of India Droupadi Murmu approved the Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, 2024, making Uttarakhand the first state in India to pass the controversial bill. The bill imposes the mandatory registration of live-in relationships, with a prison sentence of up to 5 months or a fine of Rs 25,000 in cases of non-compliance, and has sparked concerns from civil society groups for imposing a uniform set of laws upon domestic relationships that potentially infringes upon the rights of religious and cultural minorities to practice their personal laws. This could violate cultural and religious freedoms (Article 26 ICCPR).  
• On March 17, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that 700,000 Muslims were left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for the state. The NRC is a register that is meant to identify and deport “illegal” immigrants by listing residents that proved that their ancestors has entered Assam before March 24, 1971. But a total of 1,900,000 people who had applied to be on the list were left out of the final list. Sarma said that some of those excluded from NRC could apply for citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). However, as the CAA does not allow Muslims the right to fast-track citizenship, and India has no refugee policy, this would not apply for the 700,000 Muslims omitted. 
• On March 27, security forces reportedly killed six alleged Maoists in Chhattisgarh. Since the beginning of 2024, 37 Maoists, 17 civilians and six security personnel have been killed in Chhattisgarh, raising concerns about an escalation of violence and violations of the right to life of uninvolved civilians.  

Judiciary 

• On March 4, the Delhi High Court adjourned all cases related to the compensation of victims during the 2020 Northeast Delhi violence. The courts discharged the 11 accused persons in the 2020 Delhi riots, stating that there was no specific evidence to show existence of criminal conspiracy among the accused persons. The communal violence reportedly began after Kapil Mishra, now allied to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), incited his followers to clear anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters. The call led to some of the worst recent Hindu-Muslim violence in India, which saw 53 deaths.  
• The Supreme Court ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to submit all the details of electoral bonds, including the unique codes linking donors to political parties by March 6, which was later extended to March 12. Until now, the election funding system, called electoral bonds, allowed people and companies in India to anonymously donate money to political parties. On February 15, the Supreme Court had ruled that the electoral bonds scheme was unconstitutional, violating the right to information.  
• On March 21, the Supreme Court refused to stay the order to stop blocking the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023. The Act removes the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel appointing election commissioners, and replaces the Chief Justice with a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister, which raises concerns around the executive influence in the election commission’s activities. The centre government of India rejected claims of possible executive influence and overreach. 
• On March 22, the Supreme Court quashed a bail condition imposed by the Orissa High Court on Siba Shankar Das, a former Mayor of Berhampur Municipal Corporation. The High Court had ordered that Das could be released on bail upon the condition that he “not be involved in any political activities, directly or indirectly”. The Supreme Court renounced the order, stating that such conditions would breach fundamental rights.  
• On March 22, the Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh banned Islamic schools by striking down a law governing madrasas. The court ruled that the Madrasa Act of 2004 was unconstitutional and ordered the state government to move students enrolled in the Islamic system into mainstream schools. This raises concerns about the freedom of religion (article 18 ICCPR) and the right to education (Article 13 ICESCR). 

• On March 30, a court in Kerala acquitted all three RSS – one of the leading Hindu supremacist groups – workers who were accused in the 2017 Riyas Moulavi murder case. Justifying the decision to acquit the RSS activists, judge K K Balakrishnan said, “it can be safely concluded that the investigation is not up to the standard and one sided. So, the accused are entitled to benefit of doubt.”  
• On March 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared an open letter on social media by a group of over 600 lawyers. The letter, addressed Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, alleged that a “vested interest group” is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and undermine public faith in the courts. Most of the prominent signatories to the letter are lawyers associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party, and multiple activists have criticised Modi’s posting of the letter as political interference into judicial matters. 

Business and Economy 

• On March 6, Scroll released an investigation into Foxconn, a contract manufacturer producing iPhones. The findings show that Foxconn factories are keeping women workers isolated, as they are housed in hotels that restricts their movement. Activists claim this is to keep a lid on their working conditions.  
• On March 10, India and Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland signed a Free Trade Agreement. Beyond lowering trade tariffs and facilitating customs for trade, the new trade deal will see investments in India of $100bn according to India’s trade minister, particularly in the pharmaceuticals, machinery and manufacturing industries. While the agreement includes a Trade and Sustainable Development Section, the agreement denotes a low level of ambition and lack of binding commitments in relation to environmental, labour and gender issues. 
• On March 22, the BBC reported that India applied for two more deep-sea exploration licenses to access valuable minerals crucial to a cleaner future. India already has two existing licences in the Indian Ocean, and the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is convening in Jamaica between March 18-24 to discuss regulations on mining licences. If the ISA approved India’s new requests, India will have as many licenses as Russia and one behind China to access deep ocean deposits of critical minerals like cobalt, nickel, and copper. 
• On March 23, the Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM) organised an assembly in Delhi against the corporate exploitation of forests and natural reserves in Chhattisgarh. FACAM released demands ahead of the assembly, which included calls to stop the “genocide” against tribal peoples in the form of “fake encounters, aerial bombings, bogus arrests, forced fake surrenders, sexual violence etc.”; stop the forceful grabbing of adivasi lands and displacement of adivasi peasants; and stop “massive militarization” of mineral-rich regions through hundreds of paramilitary camps in a bid to intensify corporate “loot”. 
• On March 26, the International Labour Organisation, along with India’s Institute for Human Development, released the India Employment Report 2024. Based on data from 2000-2022, the report examines the serious challenges of youth employment. In 2022, young people made up 83% of India’s total unemployed; women accounted for 95% of youth “not in education, employment or training”. Many highly-educated young people would rather remain without work than take on the low-paying jobs that are available. The report shows a rise in contractualisation and informalisation of the workforce, as well as a reverse movement to agriculture in recent years. In all cases the situation was much worse for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories, especially women. 

Armed Conflict in Manipur 

Since May 3, 2023, there has been an ongoing armed conflict in Manipur, North-Eastern India, after longstanding ethnic conflict between the Kuki (mostly Christian) and the Meitei (mostly Hindu, but also Christian and Muslim). 

• On March 4, the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) – the first paramilitary group to sign a ceasefire in Manipur’s 59 years of insurgency –  apprehended three persons at Langol with weapons and ammunition on the charge that they were causing “trouble and fear” among the public. 
• On March 5, Mizoram Excise and Narcotics Minister Lalnghinglova Hmar said that the smuggling of drugs in Mizoram has increased due to the ethnic violence in neighbouring Manipur. The Mizoram Excise and Narcotics Department allegedly seized 15 kg of heroin, 96.5 kg of methamphetamine tablets and 238.6 kg of marijuana since January this year. Hmar revealed that 10 people have died due to drug abuse since January. 
• On March 8, an army officer was abducted from his home in Manipur by unidentified individuals. Hours later, the army rescued the officer, and the police opened an investigation into the case.  
• On March 11, the Supreme Court sought reports from the Manipur government, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the status of the probe into incidents of ethnic violence in Manipur. The Supreme Court additionally requested answers on whether chargesheets had been filed in any case.  
• On March 13, India’s National Intelligence Agency arrested top leaders from the United National Liberation Front (UNLF). The Federation of Civil Society Organization, an umbrella of over 10 civil bodies of the valley, declared a 48-hour strike starting March 14 against the arrests.  
• On March 24, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum urged members of the Kuki-Zo community in Manipur not to contest the Lok Sabha elections and encouraged them to vote. MLAs from the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar community urged the Election Commission to allow voters who had been displaced in the state to cast their ballots on the basis of their Aadhaar cards or other valid identifying documents, as many of them are likely to have lost their voter IDs.  

India in the World 

● On February 2, the third EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum took place in Brussels, with the purpose of strengthening partnerships between EU and Indo-Pacific countries, including India. All participants, including representatives of EU member states and India, reaffirmed their commitment to uphold international law. 

● On February 8, the European Union (EU) and India held their first roundtable on countering terrorist use of drones. The roundtable was part of the EU project on Enhancing Security Cooperation In and With Asia (ESIWA), in partnership with the National Security Guard of India and the EU delegation to India. The roundtable primarily centred around the emerging threats linked to consumer grade drone technology, and what regulatory, tactical and investigative responses to drone threats in both regions should be established as best practices.  

● On February 19, India and the EU began the seventh round of negotiations on the free trade agreement (FTA), investment protection agreement (IPA) and a pact on geographical indications (GIs) in New Delhi.  

● On February 21, experts from the EU and India joined for a roundtable on measures to increase cooperation in disinformation responses in both regions. Both sides discussed insights into their respective approaches against disinformation with a special focus on safeguarding free speech and privacy. The roundtable also allowed for experts to identifying opportunities for EU-India cooperation.  

● On February 21, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) hosted the second edition of the India Europe Business & Sustainability Conclave, which aimed to establish business perspectives, priorities, opportunities, and challenges between India and Europe. Some of the main topics addressed were upskilling, healthcare, defence, sustainability, the Free Trade Agreement, the diversification of supply chains, and digital transformation.  

● On February 21-23, the Observer Research Foundation in partnership with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs held the 9th edition of the Raisina Dialogue. The dialogue was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister of Greece, and officials from France, Germany, Austria, the UK, Portugal, Spain and more gave speeches. The theme was “Chaturanga: Conflict, Contest, Cooperate, Create”, and participants discussed technological regulations, climate finance, military conflict, postcolonial multilateralism, UN Sustainable Development Goals, and democratic challenges.  

● Carnegie Europe and the European Partnership for Democracy published their European Democracy Support Annual Review 2023, which recognised that the numerous elections being held in 2024, including India’s April elections in 2024 will “be an important test given the rise of forces that are hostile to democracy and human rights across the world”. The report highlights the need to maintain electoral integrity to uphold democracy. 

Civil society, human rights defenders and journalists 

● On February 1, the police arrested twenty-five members from the Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisations, a fact-finding team, as they were investigating the aerial bombing on areas in the state that occurred in January. A statement by Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM) published in January documented that Indian state security forces may have used drones for aerial bombings in Mettaguda, Errapali and Bottethong in Chhattisgarh, on January 13. In another recent incident, police and paramilitary forces killed Ramesh Poyam on January 30. An independent inquiry into these allegations would be necessary, and the arrests thereby likely violate article 19 of the ICCPR on the freedom to impart information. 

● On February 2, officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided the home of former bureaucrat Harsh Mander, a prominent human rights defender. The CBI also raided offices of the Centre for Equity Studies (CES) in New Delhi, a think tank linked to Mander, claiming financial irregularities under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act. Human Rights Watch observed that “raids or allegations of financial irregularities seem to have become a norm for the authorities to silence peaceful criticism.” 

● On February 9, supporters of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attacked a vehicle transporting journalist Nikhil Wagle, human rights defender Vishwambhar Choudhary and human rights lawyer Asim Sarode on their way to an event. Earlier, the event had received threats from the city unit of the BJP over Wagle’s attendance, who had recently made reportedly contentious remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leader LK Advani. In response, the Vishrambaug police station has filed a case against Wagle under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 500 (defamation) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). This raises serious concerns about the state’s ability to protect citizens’ safety (Article 6 ICCPR).   

● On February 12, in response to a takedown order by India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), The Caravan Magazine took down an article on torture and killings by the Army stationed in Jammu & Kashmir. The MIB leveraged Section 69A of the IT Act and the IT Rules, 2021, likely in violation of the freedom to impart information (Article 19 ICCPR) 

● On February 16, the Indian Government expelled French journalist Vanessa Dougnac after officially revoking her India Oversees Citizen of India (OCI) Card in January. Her status was taken away on the grounds of “malicious” reporting that created a “negative perception” of India. Approximately 30 foreign correspondents in India signed a letter of solidarity with Dougnac, urging the Indian Government to mitigate adverse effects on her career and family. The expulsion likely violates the right to work and the right to impart information (ICESCR, Article 6; ICCPR, Article 19).  

● On February 13, authorities from Haryana and Delhi sealed the Shambhu border to Punjab as over 200 farmers’ groups organised a march in favour of enacting a law providing a minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Authorities deployed the Border Security Force and the Rapid Action Force along with cranes and containers to prevent protesters from crossing into Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. Union Ministers met with farmer leaders in Chandigarh for a 4th round of discussions to resolve protests after the first three rounds, held on February 8, 12 and 15 failed to curb protests.  

● On February 14, Amnesty International published a position piece on the Indian government’s actions against protesting farmers. Aakar Patel, chair of board at Amnesty International India, said: “Instead of facilitating the right to protest, the Indian government is yet again going to great lengths to quash the farmers’ peaceful protests in the country” and calls on authorities to “urgently de-escalate the situation and guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and movement”. Official police reports document that on February 13, police used approximately 4,500 tear gas grenades during six hours. 

● On February 21, a farmer died during ongoing farmers’ protests after police shot him. Additionally, according to the Punjab Health Minister, at least three farmers have reportedly lost their eye sight from being hit with pellets in the eye, and a dozen others suffered injuries from pellet guns. The Haryana state police is reportedly specifically harsh. Pellet guns have reportedly been used in conflict zone Kashmir for crowd-control, but there have been no reports of them being used against civilians in protests. Human rights groups have therefore sought urgent intervention of India’s Supreme Court. Following the farmer’s death and sustaining numerous injuries caused by police action, Farmers’ unions in India decided to pause the march. 

● On February 23, India’s Bengaluru airport denied the entry of Nitasha Kaul, a professor at the University of Westminster in London, due to “orders from Delhi”. Officials “informally made references to [her] criticism of the RSS, a far-right Hindu nationalist paramilitary from years ago”. Despite having a valid visa, Kaul was held in a cell for 24 hours under CCTV observation, where the airport refused to provide her with basic needs, such as a pillow and blanket, before she was deported back to London. This likely violates the freedom from arbitrary denial of entry (Article 12 ICCPR), and the freedom from arbitrary detention (Article 9 ICCPR).  

● On February 27, Kashmiri journalist Asif Sultan was released from prison after serving five years under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for allegedly providing logistical aid to a prohibited militant organisation. On 5 April 2022, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had approved his release on bail, citing the investigative agencies’ inability to prove his association with any militant group, but the district magistrate of Srinagar maintained his detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA). Nearly two years later, the journalist has been released after the Jammu and Kashmir High Court annulled his detention under the PSA, stating that procedural steps for lawfully detaining an individual without trial have not been adequately followed.  

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

● On February 8, the Haldwani Municipal Corporation demolished mosques and Muslim religious schools in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. The demolitions fueled protests, where the police killed 6 Muslim people with live ammunition. The Haldwani authorities have since given shoot-on-sight orders, imposed a curfew, suspended internet services, closed schools and banned large gatherings, actions that may violate Articles 19, 21, 6 of the ICCPR and Article 13 of the ICESCR. The police reportedly arrested 31 people and detained over 90 people for questioning, and has brutally beaten people at the site of their arrest, resulting in severe injuries. The police raided journalist Saleem Khan’s home and fractured the hands of his wife and children. The above developments likely violate Articles 7, 17, and 19 of the ICCPR.  

● On February 10, a mob of Hindu supremacists reportedly beat a Muslim man and forced him to chant “Jai Shri Ram” [Hail Lord Ram] on a train as he was travelling with his wife and children. The victim, Asif, complained to the train officials, but they reportedly did not do anything to remedy the situation. The incident likely violates the prohibition of religious hatred that incites violence (Article 20 ICCPR).  

● On February 10, OP Jindal Global University expelled two students after they organised a public discussion on the Ram Mandir, a Hindu temple under construction on a demolished mosque site in Ayodhya. The students were expelled for one semester after labelling the Ram Mandir of being a “project of Hindutva [Hindu Supremacist] fascism”. From February 8, two Hindu supremacist organisations – Abhinav Bharat and ABVP – had threatened the two students with rape and murder. The suspension likely violates the right to education (ICESCR, Article 13). 

● On February 11, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, two Hindu supremacist militant organisationsl reportedly organised an event to distribute Trishul Dikshas, three-pronged weapons, to the attendees. The groups used the occasion to encourage hate speech targeting Muslim minorities. The event likely violates Article 20 of the ICCPR – the prohibition of incitement to discrimination. 

● On February 25, India Hate Lab released a report that found 668 hate speech events targeting Muslims in 2023. 498 (75%) of the events took place in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states, union territories (administered by the BJP-led central government), and the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi (police and public order comes under purview of the BJP-led central government). 

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

● On February 2, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) reportedly tore down the centuries-old Akhonji mosque, which also housed a school and an orphanage. The Muslim community in the area filed a case in court alleging that no prior notice had been given before the demolition. The DDA has responded that it acted in compliance with an order to remove “illegal structures”. The demolition likely violates Articles 11 and 13 of the ICESCR and Articles 18 and 20 of the ICCPR.  

● On February 6, the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the police of Mumbai reportedly demolished houses in Panchsheel Nagar, a settlement in Mumbai. These demolishings were conducted only in the presence of young children and elders, and left 110 families homeless. Locals reported that authorities gave no prior notice for the demolitions. These actions violate the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance, and Redevelopment) Act, and likely violate international law (Article 11 of the ICCPR). On a separate occasion, authorities in Kishangarh Bas, Rajasthan demolished 12 houses of Muslims and eradicated mustard and wheat crops on 44 acres of land over allegations of cow slaughter. In addition, the police arrested 8 Muslim men. The event raises questions regarding the right to a fair trial (ICCPR, Article 9), the right to work, and the right to housing (ICESCR, Article 6 and 11). 

● On February 7, Amnesty International published two reports on the practice of extrajudicial demolitions of Muslim properties in India, documenting the demolition of Muslim properties in five states – Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. These demolitions are reportedly being carried out as part of a hate campaign “punishing” Muslim minorities following episodes of religious violence or protest against discriminatory government policies. The reports document 128 demolitions with at least 33 instances of repeated use of JCB-branded bulldozer equipment, and at least 617 people rendered homeless or deprived of their livelihoods. Amnesty International states that these demolitions “violate the rights of those affected including the rights to a fair trial, adequate housing, dignity and non-discrimination” (Article 11 ICESCR; Articles 9, 10, 20, 26 ICCPR). 

● On February 7, a Hindu Supremacist group in New Delhi reportedly gave Christian schools in the state a 15-day ultimatum to remove all Christian symbols and religious clothing worn by priests, nuns, and brothers on their campuses. The ultimatum also demands the removal of churches located on school complexes, in the aim of “preventing Christian missionaries from using schools for conversion activities”. This likely violates Articles 25-28 of Indian Constitutional Law on religious freedom, and international law (Article 18 ICCPR). 

● On February 9, protests erupted in Uttar Pradesh state after police arrested Muslim scholar Tauqeer Raza Khan for giving a “jail bharo” call, a peaceful protest tactic commonly used in India where protesters voluntarily let themselves get arrested. Khan made the call after Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reportedly stated that Muslims should wilfully give up their claim of the Gyanvapi mosque in light of a court ruling allowing Hindus to worship at the site. The mosque is one of the main sites that BJP-backed right-wing groups are seeking to reclaim. 

● On February 10, police reportedly arrested four Christian worshipers in the state of Uttar Pradesh on charges of unlawful religious conversion, following the complaint from a Hindu supremacist group. The arrests may violate the freedom to choose one’s own religion (Article 18 ICCPR). 

● On February 11, police arrested between 17 and 18 members of a Hindu supremacist group after they held protests outside the screening of a film on Kashmir, which allegedly portrays the Indian Army negatively. The police later stated that the event was not disrupted due to the protests, with no mention of whether protests became violent.  

● On February 13, a group of Hindu supremacists reportedly attacked 21 Christians over a land dispute, linked to the widening of a public road near the Methodist Church in the village. 12 people were admitted to a hospital, while three of them were in critical condition. The attack likely violates Article 20 of the ICCPR – the advocacy of religious violence.  

● On February 14, NGO Open Doors presented its World Watch List report 2024 in the European Parliament , which documents Christian persecution across a ranking of 50 states. India is ranked 11th as Open Doors rated Christian persecution in the country as ‘extreme’, with violence against Christians at 99%. This flags India’s failure to protect the right to freely choose one’s own religion (Article 18 ICCPR) and the right of minorities to practice their own religion (Article 27 ICCPR). 

● On February 21, the Education Department suspended three Muslim teachers in the state of Rajasthan. The education department reportedly received a memorandum from Sarv Hindu Samaj, a local confederation of Hindu supremacist organisations, which accused the three teachers of being involved in ‘Islamic Jihadist Activities,’ ‘Religious Conversion,’ and ‘Love Jihad’. The acting principal of the school, and where the three teachers taught denied the allegations, while 12 other teachers, who are all Hindu, have defended the three teachers, stating that allegations made by Sarv Hindu Samaj were false. The suspensions raise possible international law violations, including the right to work (Article 6 ICESCR). 

● On February 26, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) revealed that it arrested 16 Muslim persons for allegedly conspiring and carrying out a communal attack while numerous Hindu Supremacist groups were celebrating Ram Navami in West Bengal during March last year. The attack in question had escalated into anti-Muslim violence, raising concerns regarding whether those arrested are being treated equally before the law (Article 26 ICCPR).  

● On February 27, police allegedly killed a Dalit teenager and injured two students in Uttar Pradesh state. Congress demanded an inquiry into the killing, while the deceased family and local villagers registered a case under sections 302 (murder) and 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code.  

Internet and Technology 

● On February 1, a joint investigation by Global Witness and the Internet Freedom Foundation revealed that two social media platforms, YouTube and Koo, are “failing to act” on hate speech complaints. The complaints concern hate speech against women and marginalised groups.  

● On February 14, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook withheld more than a dozen accounts that had been posting content about the ongoing farmers’ protest, in response to government demands. The pages of farmer leaders, including Sarvan Singh Pandher, Tejveer Singh Ambala, Ramandeep Singh Mann, Surjit Singh Phull and Harpal Sangha, have been withheld in India. The X accounts of journalists Sandeep Singh and Mandeep Punia, who were reporting on the farmers’ protest, were withheld. This raises concerns about censorship in violation of freedom of speech under Article 19 ICCPR. 

● On February 14, a report by The Information divulged that Meta has cut the budget for fact-checking on WhatsApp, meaning that fewer fact-checkers will be monitoring political discussions on Meta’s WhatsApp right ahead of India’s elections. Given the number of elections being held in 2024, Meta’s budget cuts in fact-checking are likely to have far reaching consequences across the globe. 

● On February 15, The Citizen published an article documenting the increase women and vulnerable groups being targeted by AI. It documents two apps that emerged on Github, “Sulli Deals” and “Bulli Bai”, were used to humiliate prominent Muslim women. The Delhi Police eventually opened an investigation into both apps, arresting 6 people in connection with both apps, in order to address potential violations of Articles 17 and 26 of the ICCPR.  

● On February 20, the Indian American Muslim Council in collaboration with Saldef, Equity Labs, and Hindus for Human Rights published a joint report on digital harassment in India. The report documents the existence of a political IT cell, built by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress and active since 2010, which disseminated and amplified certain political content in India’s social media landscape. In addition, the report delves into the censorship of Muslim voices and advocacy groups, alongside Big Tech’s failure to protect caste equity. All these instances are likely to seriously violate Articles 19 and 26 of the ICCPR.  

● On February 29, the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) ordered the television news channels News18 India, Times Now Navbharat and Aaj Tak to delete videos from five shows for spreading the “love jihad”, a debunked Hindu supremacist conspiracy theory that accuses Muslim men of trapping Hindu women to convert them to Islam through romantic relationships.  

Political Parties and Election Monitoring 

● On February 10, the Education Department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Mumbai sent letters to numerous civic and government schools compelling teachers into election duty starting February 11. The letters stated that any failure to comply would result in action taken against teachers. Several teachers’ organisations have demanded to be excused, citing provisions from the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which recommends that teachers shouldn’t be provided with non-academic work. In addition, the Education Department’s orders likely violate Article 13 of the ICCPR, which makes primary education compulsory to all.  

● On February 15, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) revealed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received nearly 90% of all corporate donations in the 2022-23 financial year. Total donations declared by the BJP were five times higher than the total donations declared by Congress.  

Legislative 

● On February 6, the Gujarat legislative assembly unanimously passed a resolution requesting the BJP government to support the implementation of teaching the “Bhagavad Gita”, a foundational Hindu text, in schools. The Minister of State for Education Praful Pansheriya framed the Gita as a text that exposes students to “Indian culture”.  

● On February 7, the Uttarakhand Assembly introduced the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) of Uttarakhand 2024, a bill which seeks to replace religion-specific law with a uniform set of family laws on inheritance, marriage, divorce and more. A national UCC is one of the major promises of the BJP, which has sparked worry amongst India’s minority groups as they worry that the rules agreed upon in the UCC would be skewed towards the majority. Uttarakhand’s UCC is reportedly also the first law in India to impose rules on live-in relationships. Following the passing of the bill, all residents in Uttarakhand must receive a relationship certificate from the registrar, who has the power to approve or disapprove certificate requests. Couples who fail to comply with the new bill could face a fine of up to Rs 25,000, a prison sentence of up to 6 months, or both. The passing of the law could have serious implications for the right to privacy and the freedom of association (Articles 17 and 22 ICCPR). 

● The Chhattisgarh Assembly is reportedly planning to introduce a new Bill, which will force people to declare their wish to convert religions to the district magistrate to be assessed by the police. The current draft states that conversion “cannot be done from one religion to another by the use or practice of abuse, force, undue influence, coercion, inducement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage”. This could potentially infringe upon Article 18 of the ICCPR. 

● On February 29, opposition parties in Assam state met with the Governor urging the local government to block the implementation of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which facilitates citizenship for non-Muslims in contradiction with the Assam Accord. Protests against the CAA have intensified since 2019, but the Chief Minister has dismissed the protests, stating that those who oppose the law should go to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had left petitions about the CAA pending. The OCHR called the CAA “fundamentally discriminatory in nature”, as it adds a religious criterion to citizenship, and the European Parliament expressed concern about it for violating freedom of religion (Article 18 ICCPR).    

Judiciary 

● On February 8, the Madras High Court gave a ruling emphasising the need to acknowledge psychological impacts of hate speech on target individuals or groups. The high court found that statements made by the BJP president for the state of Tamil Nadu, K Annamalai, showed a fraudulent intent to portray a Christian NGO as acting against Hindu culture. The court refused to quash the summons issued to the President during the case. The BJP President then approached the Supreme Court, which paused the ongoing criminal case, stating there was no hate speech after reviewing the transcript featuring alleged hate speech.  

● On February 9, the Supreme Court declined an urgent hearing of a petition by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) challenging the systems’ integrity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). According to the ADR, the EVMs and VVPATs used in India’s elections raise concerns about transparency, especially regarding the limited visibility in the electronic system which conflicts with voters’ right to understand the electoral process. 

● On February 15, the Supreme Court ruled against the Narendra Modi government’s 2018 electoral bonds scheme for anonymous political funding, stating that the scheme would be unconstitutional. The court criticised the law for violating the rights of freedom of speech and the right to information safeguarded by the Indian Constitution.  

● On February 20, a court heard a petition by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Hindu Supremacist organisation, filed in the state of West Bengal after a Zoo put a lioness names Sita (as a Hindu goddess) in the same enclosure as a lion names Akbar (also the name of a Muslim ruling emperor).  

Business and Economy 

● On February 1, the Government of India released an interim budget. Key points include the lowering of the fiscal deficit, reportedly improved investment ratings, and a greater focus on boosting the rural economy in the wake of India’s upcoming elections. Budget cuts reduce food subsidies, a point that has sparked concern as demand for the country’s Food for Work program has grown over the last year.  

● On February 7, genocide experts and scholars from around the world wrote a letter to India’s President Droupadi Murmu expressing their “utmost concern” that India’s proposals for development projects on India’s Great Nicobar Island threaten “genocide” of the island’s indigenous Shompen people.  

● On February 7, Bloomberg reported India is close to finalizing a first-of-its-kind trade deal that could see a small group of European nations invest as much as $100 billion over 15 years in exchange for easier trade access to the world’s most populous nation, according to people with knowledge of the matter.  

● On February 23, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said at the Raisina Dialogue that India will not conclude and sign free trade agreements (FTAs) unless the trade deals are equitable and fair. FTA talks between the EU have stalled due to disagreements over the EU’s carbon tax. The UK and India are also still in consultations over their FTA deal after they passed the initial 2022 deadline.   

● On February 23, the EU imposed sanctions against approximately two dozen companies, including one from India for allegedly backing Russia’s war in Ukraine. Several analysts suspect the Indian company, Si2 Microsystems Pvt Ltd, which manufactured integrated circuits for commercial, military and space activities was added on the EU sanctions list for facilitating semiconductor shipments to Moscow. 

● On February 28, the European Commission published the conclusions of a trade and sustainability impact assessment, aimed at assessing the potential negative implications of a planned EU-India Free Trade Agreement. The impact assessment found that the trade agreement would have a negative impact on religious minorities, and finds that the trade agreement would have a direct impact on religious minorities’ freedom from slavery and forced labour.  

Armed Conflict in Manipur 

Since May 3, 2023, there has been an ongoing armed conflict in Manipur, North-Eastern India, after longstanding ethnic conflict between the Kuki (mostly Christian) and the Meitei (mostly Hindu, but also Christian and Muslim). 

● On February 13, security personnel allegedly killed Okram Sanatom as a large number of armed civilians attempted to access the Manipur Police Training College, which stores a large number of weapons. In a separate incident, a man named Sagolsem Loha was killed as firing between Meitei and Kuki armed groups was intercepted security forces from the Assam Rifles and Indian Army. It is still unclear who – either armed group or security personnel – fired the deadly shot. In addition, a third person was also killed in a gunfight, with no mention of who might be responsible for the death. The incidents pose serious concerns relating to the state’s ability to protect the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR).  

● On February 15, security forces killed two people and injured scores in Churachandpur district, northeast Manipur. Security forces began firing at a mob after it attacked a complex where the offices of the police chief and the district administration are located. The district police had ordered the suspension of a Kuki constable after purported images of him with armed men surfaced on social media. About 400 people stormed the district police chief’s office in protest, demanding the order be revoked. On February 16, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, an umbrella body of the Kuki-Zo community, demanded that the superintendent of police and deputy commissioner be replaced by cadre officers from the Kuki-Zo community. Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh stated on February 17 that legal action will be taken against a political leader from inciting the violence at the government complex. The episodes pose serious concerns about the state’s ability to protect the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR).  

● On February 22, the Manipur High Court ordered the removal of a paragraph from its March 27, 2023, order which directed the Manipur government to include the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe List, which gives listed communities the right to buy land in the hill areas of Manipur. Ethnic strife between both communities commenced shortly after the order, made public in April 2023, was appealed by numerous tribal bodies. The Kuki-Zo community in particular expressed concern over the potential addition of the Meitei community to the list given their ongoing persecution and the worry that the wealthier Meitei people could push them out.  

● On February 27, Arambai Tenggol (AT), a Meitei group of 200-armed people abducted a police officer as they stormed into the residence of the Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) to release Robin M., chief of AT, who was arrested the day before. The police officer was later rescued and sent to a hospital for treatment. On February 28, police personnel across Meitei-dominated valley districts in Manipur laid down their arms in protest of the abduction. Police have reported increased support for AT amongst the local community of Manipur, and have said that civil society groups have stopped supporting the police.  

● On February 28, Manipur’s Governor, Anusuiya Uikey revealed that 219 people have been killed and 60,000 people have been displaced since May 3. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is reportedly investigating 29 cases related to the violence, while the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is looking into one case. Uikey said that four more cases will be transferred to the CBI and another five to the NIA. The revelation by Manipur’s Governor puts into question the state’s ability to protect the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR). 

India in the World 

● On January 7, the Maldives government suspended three deputy ministers who made allegedly derogatory comments about Indian Prime Minister Modi. Among others, one deputy minister had on social media called PM Modi a “clown”, after Modi posted a picture of himself snorkelling to promote tourism. Relations between India and the Maldives have reportedly been strained since Maldives President Muizzu came to power in November, with the Maldives demanding India withdraw its 75-personnel military presence. On January 14, the Maldives government gave India a March 15 deadline to comply. 

● On January 11, Human Rights Watch published its World Report 2024, which noted that the Indian government “undermined its aspirations for global leadership as a rights-respecting democracy during 2023 with its persistent policies and practices that discriminate and stigmatize religious and other minorities”. It also notes that the BJP-led government also arrested activists, journalists, opposition politicians, and other critics of the government on politically motivated criminal charges, including terrorism. These policies and practices violate Articles 18, 26 and 27 of the ICCPR, which prohibit discrimination against and demand the equal treatment of people from religious minorities, and Article 19, which protects freedom of opinion and expression.  

● On January 12, an initiative of Georgetown University published a factsheet on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, noting that “under his leadership, India has experienced a rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes and hate speech”. On January 4, Georgetown University also published a factsheet on the Hindu Swayamvewak Sangh (HSS), which it describes as “a right-wing Hindu non-profit organization” in the United States. The HSS is the foreign wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), which a separate factsheet describes as a “Hindu nationalist, paramilitary” organization whose founders reportedly drew inspiration from fascism.  

● On January 17, the European Parliament adopted a recommendation report on EU-India relations, which seeks to move human rights and democracy “from an appendix to the heart of EU-India relations”, Among other recommendations, the Parliament calls on the other EU institutions to “condemn acts of violence, increasing nationalistic rhetoric and divisive policies and call on leaders to cease making inflammatory statements” and to counter and condemn “hate speech that incites discrimination or violence against any religious minority”. 

● On January 20, Home Minister Amit Shah announced the discontinuation of Free Movement Regime with Myanmar. The border will now be fenced and a visa will be required even for border residents. There are ongoing concerns about pushbacks of Rohingya refugees at the border, in violation of their right to seek asylum under Article 14 UDHR and the absolute prohibition of non-refoulement. The Kuki Inpi Manipur, a Kuki organisation in conflict-affected Manipur, expressed concern over the decision and reported that India and the European Union will hold the seventh round of negotiations over a proposed free trade agreement in mid-February. The discussions will reportedly cover matters related to services and investments after discussions on goods and public procurements in previous rounds. 

● On January 26, French President Emmanuel Macron participated as guest of honour at India’s Republic Day celebrations. This comes as India, for the first reported time, is threatening to expel a French journalist, Vanessa Dougnac, who has been based in New Delhi since 2001. Dougnac, who is married to an Indian citizen, received a formal notice from the Indian authorities on January 18, demanding she surrender her residence permit. In September 2022, the government stripped Dougnac of her right to practice her profession, a decision that the Indian government has yet to justify. The French embassy in India was not able to revoke the decision. This may have serious implications for the right to freedom of expression and the right to impart and receive information (Article 19 of the ICCPR). 

Civil society, human rights defenders and journalists 

● On January 3, news reported that Kashmiri journalist Sajad Gul remains in jail, even though the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in November quashed his detention of journalist Sajad Gul. Gul was arrested in January 2022 under the “Public Safety Act”. The court said that there was no specific allegation against him to show that his activities could be “prejudicial to the security of the state”. His prolonged and arbitrary arrest therefore appears to violate the right to liberty (Article 9 ICCPR).  

● On January 5, the Editors Guild of India voiced concern over the reported abuse of criminal defamation laws against journalists. This comes after the Jharkhand Police filed charges against news editors for their coverage on the state’s liquor mafia.  

● On January 10, the Ministry of Home Affairs cancelled the Foreign Contributions Regulations act (FCRA) license of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR). CPR is a leading think tank in India, and a government official said CPR received the cancellation order for publishing reports on “current affairs programmes” that “are likely to affect the economic interest of the state and the violations are grave in nature.”. This development raises questions about the government’s potential violations of the freedom to seek, receive and publish information (Article 19 ICCPR). 

● On January 22, police in Jammu and Kashmir arrested two individuals for allegedly making comments condemning the demolition of the Babri Mosque on social media, violating freedom of expression (Article 19 ICCPR). This took place as Prime Minister Modi inaugurated a Hindu Ram Temple at the site of the demolished mosque. 

● On January 25, police in Kerala state registered a case against a 62-year-old Muslim activist for holding a one-man protest on January 22 against the demolition of the Babri Mosque, possibly violating the right to peaceful assembly (Article 21 ICCPR). Police charged him for “giving provocation with intent to cause riot”. This took place as Prime Minister Modi inaugurated a Hindu Ram Temple at the site of the demolished mosque. 

● On January 28, human rights defender Sharjeel Imam has spent four years in pre-trial detention. Imam was arrested in 2020 accused of conspiracy during the Delhi Riots 2020, and has been repeatedly denied bail. On January 30, the Delhi High Court directed a trial court to decide on a fresh bail application by Imam within ten days. His prolonged detention without trial violates their right to “a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal established by law” (Article 14 ICCPR) and the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of liberty as established in Article 9 ICCPR.   

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

● On January 3, a family allegedly killed their adult daughter for marrying a Dalit (“untouchable”) man. Caste discrimination is pervasive and families often refuse to marry their children outside of their caste, raising serious concerns about the state’s ability to protect citizens’ right to life (Article 6 ICCPR). 

● On January 6, students reportedly tricked a Dalit (“untouchable”) student into drinking urine, which raises questions about the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 7 ICCPR).  

● On January 7, Hindu supremacists associated with Bajrang Dal (“Brigade of God Hanuman”) allegedly attacked a Christian missionary school in Madhya Pradesh state, with a video of the purported attack circulating on social media. On January 9, Hindu supremacists reportedly attacked two teenagers from the Muslim community in Karnataka state, after the teenagers had reportedly offered chocolates to a Hindu girl. On January 14, Hindu supremacists reportedly attacked a rikshaw-driver of the Muslim community, after one of his passengers accidentally spat tobacco on one of them. On January 22, Hindu supremacists reportedly assaulted and paraded a teenager from the Muslim community naked for allegedly disrespecting a Hindu flag. The police reportedly arrested the teenager instead of his attackers. All these incidents raise doubts about the state’s efforts to prohibit advocating religious hatred that incites discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).  

● On January 7, police in Maharashtra state reportedly filed a case against two legislators from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly making speeches involving incitement to violence against Muslims at a rally. The incident may constitute a ruling party lawmaker advocating for religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR). 

● On January 15, police filed a case against a headmistress of a school, who allegedly forced students to clean the school’s toilets under threat of physical violence. This may violate the prohibition of “manual scavenging” under India’s domestic law, i.e. the manual cleaning of human faeces and sanitation systems, which Dalits have historically been forced into, and which violates human dignity and constitutes inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 7 ICCPR).   

● On January 16, police reportedly killed a young man from the Muslim community in a so-called “encounter” killing, violating the arbitrary deprivation of life (Article 6 ICCPR) 

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

● On January 3, Uttar Pradesh police arrested two Hindu supremacists who had reportedly posed as Islamists and threatened to blow up a Hindu temple. Photos on their social media reportedly show the two men posing with leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This adds onto a list of cases in which people reportedly assume Muslim names when committing crimes.  

● On January 5, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh state government on a plea challenging the constitutional validity of its November ban on halal-certified products. An official spokesperson claimed that the certification was being used to spread “propaganda” and “exploit religious sentiment”. The incident raised questions about the state’s ability to protect its citizens’ right to publicly manifest their religion (Article 18 ICCPR).  

● On January 5, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea against a High Court order that dismissed a petition seeking to recognise the Shahi Idgah mosque as the birthplace of Hindu Lord Krishna. There have been several similar petitions filed by Hindu supremacists, and previous similar disputes have led to violence, most notably with a mob extrajudicially demolishing the Babri Mosque in 1992.      

● On January 6, Uttar Pradesh police reportedly arrested a Muslim man for praying at the ruins of a 250-year-old mosque, on allegations of “promoting enmity”. According to a 1940 order by British colonial rule, praying at the ruin is prohibited, which may violate Article 18 of the ICCPR which protects the right to manifest one’s religion. 

● On January 7, a catering service filed a complaint against a customer, who reportedly refused to pay the catering bill over the fact that a waitress was Muslim. The customer held this reason in writing in a note. This incident may have implications for hostility and religious hatred, for which advocacy shall be prohibited under Article 20 ICCPR. 

● On January 7, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) former deputy Chief Minister KS Eshwarappa reportedly said that it would be better if Muslims voluntarily vacate mosques allegedly built on sites of temples, if they do not want to face repercussions. The incident may constitute a ruling party lawmaker advocating for religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR). 

● On January 8, police arrested eight people in Madhya Pradesh state after people threw rocks at participants of a Hindu religious procession organised to celebrate the consecration ceremony for the Ram Temple. The police also imposed a ban on public gatherings, which may violate Article 22 of the ICCPR which guarantees the right to association.  

● On January 8, Mumbai police registered a case against the creators of the film “Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food” on grounds of “hurting Hindu religious sentiment”. The film follows a dominant caste Hindu woman, who becomes India’s top chef, and also begins eating meat. The case was reportedly registered based on a complaint by a Hindu supremacist group, and may arbitrarily restrict freedom of expression (Article 19 ICCPR)  

● On January 8, two groups clashed with each other after a Hindu supremacist procession by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad passed by. Police imposed a ban on public gatherings and on January 9 reportedly extrajudicially demolished two Muslim-owned properties, in violation of Article 11 of the ICESCR, which established the right to housing without discrimination based on religion. 

● On January 15, police in Karnataka state filed a case against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anantkumar Hegde after he reportedly said that a mosque in Bhatkal would be destroyed like the Babri Masjid in Uttar Pradesh was in 1992. Hegde also reportedly said that “the Hindu community won’t rest until more mosques are reclaimed”. This raises concerns about the state’s ability to prohibit religious hate speech that incites discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR). 

● On January 21, violence erupted when Muslim locals stopped a group of Hindu supremacists chanting “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Ram) in Mumbai, Maharashtra. On January 23, authorities extrajudicially demolished fifteen shops in Muslim-dominated area as retaliation, constituting a violation of the right to work (Article 6 ICESCR). Amnesty International called on the authorities to stop the punitive demolition of Muslim properties, noting that Article 11 ICESCR prohibits forced evictions.  

● On January 22, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which has been described as a turning point in making India into a “Hindu nation”. 22 Indian diaspora groups warned that Prime Minister Modi inaugurating the temple would set a “dangerous precedent” and move India towards a “Hindu nation”, as opposed to a secular republic. In 1992, Hindu supremacists had extrajudicially demolished a mosque in the town, as they claimed that the site is the birthplace of God Ram, and riots erupted. Ahead of the inauguration of the temple, police had removed witness protection from victims of these riots. On January 9, Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister announced that all educational institutions in the state would be closed on the day, as the inauguration is a “national festival”. Central government offices were closed until the afternoon to “enable employees to participate in the celebrations”. Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Assam declared January 22 a “dry day” without alcohol. On January 10, the Congress Party said it would not attend the inauguration, claiming that it is serving the electoral interests of the BJP. The celebration, which reportedly gives legitimacy to vigilante violence, further encouraged religious hostility, with a wave of communal clashes and targeted attacks in the days before and after the inauguration. This raises serious concerns about the state’s reported complicity and non-intervention in religious hatred that incites discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR). 

● On January 26, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Acharya made comments on the hijab (Muslim veil) at a school, asking: “What is this deal with hijab? Are the girls married?” In response, Muslim students started protests for the right to wear the hijab. Another state in India had imposed a ban on hijabs in school, arguably in violation of the right to “manifest [one’s] religion or belief in workshop, observance, practice or teaching” (Article 18 ICCPR) and their right to education (Article 13 ICESCR).  

● On January 28, Union Minister Shantanu Thakur reportedly announced that the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would be implemented within the next seven days. The CAA allows the government to fast-track asylum claims of irregular immigrants from specific communities, but not Muslims. The OHCHR called the CAA “fundamentally discriminatory in nature”, as it adds a religious criterion to citizenship, and the European Parliament expressed concern about it for violating freedom of religion (Article 18 ICCPR). 

● On January 28, police in Chhattisgarh state arrested a school headmaster after he encouraged following Buddhism and discouraged belief in Hindu Gods. Police charged him for promoting enmity between different groups. This may violate the right of everyone to “manifest his religion or belief in workshop, observance, practice or teaching” (Article 18 ICCPR) and to freedom of expression (Article 19 ICCPR).    

Internet and Technology 

● On January 10, the World Economic Forum in its “Global Risks Report 2024” concluded that misinformation and disinformation pose the greatest risk to India ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections. The report gives the example of a BBC documentary examining Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, which was taken down by X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube last January at the behest of the BJP government to highlight how “a crackdown on real or perceived foreign interference could be used to consolidate existing control”.  

● On January 10, at least two review petitions were filed before the Supreme Court challenging its December 2023 judgement that had upheld the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status. The Supreme Court had left petitions on the abrogation of Article 370 pending since 2019. Following the abrogation in 2019, the government imposed a crackdown, with the longest internet shutdown ever recorded in an alleged democracy, violating the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and freedom of association under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR.  

● On January 15, the Editors Guild of India made public a letter from 2022, in which they addressed the Minister for Information and Broadcasting with concerns over the newly introduced Broadcast Services Regulation Bill. They warned that the new bill would prove “adverse to the spirit of freedom of speech and freedom of the press guaranteed by the Constitution”, which is also guaranteed under Article 19 ICCPR, and would pave the way for the establishment of an “overarching censorship framework.” 

● On January 16, X reportedly withheld the account of Hindutva Watch in India, following a demand by India’s central government, violating rights protecting the freedom of speech (ICCPR Article 19) and potentially breaching the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which sets out a corporate responsibility to protect Human Rights. On January 31, the Indian government blocked access to their website and that of India Hate Lab. Hindutva Watch is a research initiative that monitors hate speech and incitement to violence.  

● On January 31, the Bombay High Court delivered a split verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the Information Technology Rules, which was amended in April 2023 to empower the government to identify and label “fake news”. While some judges criticised that the state would decide what is true and false, others noted that the Rules “were not directly penalising” and “did not bring any chilling effect on their rights.” The petitions will need to be reheard by an uneven number of judges. The judges must ensure that when restricting freedom of speech under Article 19 ICCPR, the Indian government does not do so for arbitrary reasons not listed in Article 19(3). 

Political Parties and Election Monitoring 

● On January 3, the Assocation for Democratic Reform published a report that found that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received more than 70.6% of total donations from electoral trusts in 2022-23.  

● On January 9, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh state appointed a leader who was accused in the 2018 Bulandshahr violence case, during which a police officer was killed, as the party’s zonal president.  

● On January 14, Congress opposition party leader Rahul Gandhi began a “yatra” (journey) across India, in which he announced to want to march for 6700km and engage with people across the country ahead of India’s general elections. Gandhi previously did a “yatra” in September 2022. On January 21, Hindu supremacists reportedly attacked the yatra, leading to Gandhi being evacuated and others being injured. On January 23, participants of the yatra reportedly tried to push through police barricades, resulting in minor violence. Police later registered a case against Gandhi and others for “acts of violence, provocation, damage to public property and assault on police personnel”, which may on further investigation have implications for the right to freedom of assembly (Article 21 ICCPR). 

Legislative 

● On January 10, the term of panchayats (local village councils) in Jammu and Kashmir ended. This leaves residents in Jammu and Kashmir without any elected representatives and gives effective control to central government appointed authorities, in potential violation of the right to take part in the government of one’s country through freely chosen representatives (Article 21 UDHR). 

Executive 

● On January 6, West Bengal police filed a case against Enforcement Directorate officials for alleged “criminal trespass” and “intending to outrage a woman’s modesty”. The officials had reportedly “attempted to force their way into” the home of a female Trinamool Congress party leader in connection with an alleged ration distribution scam.  

● On January 7, news reported that a police officer in Uttar Pradesh state was charged for allegedly repeatedly raping a 23-year-old woman and forcing her to have an abortion. On January 14, a Muslim couple filed a complaint against seven police officers, for alleged torture resulting in kidney failure in police custody in 2023. These incidents constitute a violation of Article 7 of the ICCPR, which protects individuals from torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 

● On January 10, Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM) held a protest against the reported killing of a 6-month-old infant in Bastar region, Chhattisgarh, on 1st January 2024. This incident may have implications on the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR) and the prohibition of targeting civilians under International Humanitarian Law, which applies in the Bastar conflict area. 

● On January 18, AlJazeera reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly held backdoor negotiations with the Finance Commission of India to significantly cut funds allocated to the country’s states. According to AlJazeera, this relevation comes after a top government official admitted publicly that the prime minister and his team tried to restrict states’ finances. 

Judiciary 

● On January 8, India’s Supreme Court quashed the remission given to 11 Hindu supremacists and ordered their return to prison for having gang raped then pregnant Bilkis Bano and murdered her relatives during the 2002 Gujarat riots. The attackers had been granted remission in August 2022 by the Gujarat government. The United Kingdom has concluded that Narendra Modi, who was then Chief Minister of Gujarat state, was “directly responsible” for the systematic violence in the 2002 Gujarat riots.    

● On January 8, the Karnataka High Court questioned the implementation of the prohibition of manual scavenging, the manual removal and cleaning of human excreta, which is predominantly done by Dalits (“untouchables”). It noted that there has not been “even a single conviction” under the law. Manual scavenging violates human dignity and constitutes inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 7 ICCPR).   

● On January 9, the Gujarat High Court dismissed human rights defender Sanjeev Bhatt’s appeal against his life sentence. Bhatt’s requests to provide additional evidence had been denied. Additionally, the Supreme Court of India had imposed a fine of 3 lakh rupees (3424.2 Euros) on Bhatt for filing petitions in court, raising questions about access to justice and the right to equality before the law under Article 26 of the ICCPR. Bhatt, a former police officer, has been in jail since 2018 on reportedly fabricated charges after whistleblowing on the alleged involvement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2002 Gujarat riots.  

● On January 15, the Guwahati High Court sought an explanation from the Assam state government on the alleged extrajudicial demolition of the homes of five Muslims as extra-legal punishment for an alleged crime in 2022. The demolitions likely contradict the right to housing (Article 11 ICESCR). 

● On January 17, the Supreme Court declined to prohibit a rally by a Hindu supremacist group and BJP legislator T Raja Singh, who are known for hate speech and incitement to violence. However, the Court ordered authorities to take appropriate steps to prevent hate speech at the rally. 

● On January 19, a Delhi court added charges of “attempt to murder” to the chargesheet of human rights defenders Ishrat Jahan, Khalid Saifi and others in the Delhi Riots case. Them and other human rights defenders protested against the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act, when riots erupted in North East Delhi in 2020, which they are accused of having incited. Bail petitions have been repeatedly denied, due procedure in related cases was not followed, and trials are pending, in violation of their right to “a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal established by law” (Article 14 ICCPR) and the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of liberty as established in Article 9 ICCPR. 

● On January 20, news reported that Rohingya refugees in Delhi filed a Public Interest Petition (PIL), seeking protection under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, right to life as they face violence “as a result of dissemination of hate remarks targeting them on the basis of their ethnicity and religion” on Facebook. The petitioners claim that Facebook’s inaction against hate speech on its platform harms them and that the posts that target them have Indian origin. On January 30, the Delhi High Court disposed the petition, stating that “prior censorship of any publication of Rohingyas on Facebook is an example of ‘a treatment that is worse than the disease’”. The petitioners are “at liberty to avail the redressal mechanism as per IT Rules, 2021, with respect to any objectionable posts.”