India News Updates Archives

Every month, we send a newsletter with news updates containing an overview of politics and human rights in India. You can read the archives here.

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

● 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.”

● On January 31, a Varanasi court passed a court order allowing Hindus to worship inside a sealed basement of Gyanvapi mosque, likely violating India’s 1947 Places of Worship Act, which froze the status of all existing places of worship and prohibits their conversion. Beyond domestic legislation, the court order also violates Article 26 of the ICCPR, whereby all persons are guaranteed equality before the law without any discrimination.

Business and Economy

● On January 3, the Supreme Court refused to transfer an investigation into alleged money laundering by the Adani Group to a special investigation team. The Adani Group is accused of serious market manipulation and accounting fraud, and previous investigations have identified close ties to and favouritism by the Modi government.

● On January 16, news announced that India bought exploration and production rights to lithium blocks in Argentina in its first such overseas deal, worth $24 million, aimed to reduce dependency on China for the key green technology metal. India imported $33 million worth of lithium in 2022-2023, with more than two-thirds imported from China.

● On January 22, a report from the Marathwada divisional commissioner’s office revealed that 1088 farmers died by suicide in eight districts of the region in Maharashtra in 2023. This is 65 more such deaths than were reported in 2022. These suicides question the state’s ability to provide the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living (Article 11 ICESCR) and the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR).

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 January 1, unidentified armed persons wearing police uniforms killed four and injured 14 other people in Manipur state. This has consequences for the state’s ability to protect the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR)

● On January 5, the Manipur police arrested Dhanabir Maibam, the editor of a local newspaper in Manipur state, on charges of allegedly promoting enmity between communities. This came after he reported on the deterioration of law and order in a border town, raising concerns regarding police limitations on the freedom of expression (Article 19 ICCPR). On January 7, a court granted him bail.

● On January 9, Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh said that an all-tribe committee would decide whether the Kuki community would be removed from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list, which gives them the right to buy land in the hill areas of Manipur. There are concerns that this will not address the root causes of the conflict and rather fan further tensions, while likely violating Article 26 of the ICCPR, whereby states are obliged to treat all persons equally before the law. In April 2023, the Manipur High Court had directed the state government of Manipur to give recommendations to the Central government for the inclusion of the Meitei community in the ST list. Local activists accuse the BJP government of targeting Kukis over the past years. Kukis feared that granting Meitei an ST status would enable them to purchase land in the prohibited hilly areas, and following a peaceful rally on May 3, 2023, violence escalated.

● On January 11, security personnel found three missing men dead. The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity, a Meitei organisation, then demanded that Chief Minister Singh replace the security adviser of the state, arguing that the “prevailing security arrangements have undeniably failed” and that the role of the security adviser over the past eight months of the conflict in the state “has been utterly ineffective, with no discernible signs of improvement.”, raising concerns about the state’s inability to protect the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR).

● On January 17, assailants reportedly killed two Meitei police officers using grenades. On the same day, a mob injured three Border Security Forces personnel. Local women took to the streets to protest the killings and demanded more state security forces, illustrating the inability of the state to protect the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR). Police later arrested two men, one of them reportedly a local BJP leader, in connecting with the killing.

India in the World

• On December 6, the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee voted on a draft report on EU-India relations. The report emphasises human rights and democratic values, and was passed with an overwhelming majority in favour. The final vote in plenary will take place in January 2024.

• On December 6, the US Senate held a hearing about findings that an Indian government official was reportedly involved in attempting to assassinate a US citizen of Indian origin on US soil. Senate speakers compared it to transnational oppression conducted by China, Russia and Iran. On December 4, the US Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Finer met with India’s National Security Advisor Doval and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar to discuss the matter. A few days before, India had set up an inquiry committee into the allegations. On December 20, Prime Minister Modi said that India will “definitely look into” the evidence. Earlier this year, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau alleged that there is “credible evidence” linking India to the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil. Both men targeted were reportedly militant Sikh separatists. A member of Parliament in Australia therefore called on the Australian government to give “a clear and direct assurance” that proactive measures are being taken to ensure the safety of Sikhs in the country.

• On December 7 to 9, European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski visited India with a delegation of over 50 European businesses. They showcased EU products and held meetings with India’s Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and the Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying to discuss agricultural policy and market access.

• On December 12, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) found that 74.1% of Indians were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2021, a decrease from 76.2% in 2020.

• On December 13, India voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. This was the first time India has supported this demand.

• On December 18-19, Members of the European Parliament and Members of the Indian houses of parliament met in Delhi for the 15th EU-India Inter-Parliamentary Dialogue (IPM). They discussed the political situations in India and the EU ahead of their 2024 elections, trade, and geostrategic issues of mutual concern. Among them, a security and defence delegation met with India’s External Affairs Minister, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Secretary of Defence, the Chief of the Indian Defence Staff, members of the Defence Committee of the Lok Sabha, and representatives of the defence industry and civil society.

Civil Society, Human Rights Defenders and Journalists

• On December 1, police registered a case against medical doctor Dr. Kafeel Khan in Uttar Pradesh state on charges of publicising his book. His book raises awareness about the government reportedly failing to supply oxygen to a hospital, causing the death of infants. Khan was previously arrested in 2017, as the government argues the book tarnishes the image of the state government and instigate minority communities for communal riots. The arrest and new case violate freedom of expression under Article 19 of the ICCPR.

• On December 9, police in Chhattisgarh state reportedly arrested eight social activists. The activists were commemorating the second anniversary of a movement against the construction of a Border Security Forces camp, which was reportedly done without the consent of the village council. 12 civil society organisations issued a statement condemning the arrests, which may violate the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of liberty (Article 9 ICCPR) and the right to freedom of association (Article 22 ICCPR).

• On December 10, police in Kerala state reportedly registered a case against TV reporter Vinita VG, where she reported on a student union protest. The police claims she knew that protestors were planning to throw a shoe, but did not inform law enforcement about it.

• On December 12, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court quashed the preventive detention of journalist Aasif Sultan and ordered his release. Sultan was arrested over five years ago under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA). His prolonged and arbitrary arrest appears to violate the right to liberty (Article 9 ICCPR).

• On December 16, news reported about the “Rules of Discipline and Proper Conduct of Students” by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), which sparked concerns and criticism from students and activists. As per the new manual, JNU students may be subject to fines of up to Rs 20,000 (220 Euros) for engaging in any form of protest, including hunger strikes and peaceful sit-ins, within a 100-meter radius of academic and administrative buildings. Such curtailment of the right to protest appears to violate the rights to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly and freedom of association under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR.

• On December 17, news reported that social activist Kirity Roy filed a complaint against a Border Security Forces officer for allegedly threatening and abusing an elected member of the Gram Panchayat, the village council, who is from the Muslim minority. According to the complaint, the officer threatened the man with a false cow smuggling case, which indicates threats to the rule of law and right to due process.

• On December 20, the Bombay High Court noted that there is “no material to infer senior journalist and accused Gautam Navlakha had committed a terrorist act”. Human rights defender Navlakha was arrested in the Bhima-Koregaon (BK16) case under India’s Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in 2018, and has been kept in pre-trial detention since. His arrest, which therefore according to the court is based on unsubstantiated facts, violates the right to liberty and prohibition of arbitrary detention (Article 9 ICCPR).

Media and Technology

• On December 10, the Washington Post published a report on the “Disinfo Lab”, an anonymous website that reportedly discredits human rights groups and progressive Indian diaspora by spreading disinformation. The report alleges that Disinfo Lab is run by an Indian intelligence officer. This raises serious concerns about Indian officials’ commitment to the protection of human rights defenders, especially to the action points in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

• On December 8, India’s Electronics and Information Technology Ministry told Parliament that it had asked social media platforms to block at least 36,838 URLs between 2018 and October 2023 under the IT Act. It also said that between 2018 and October 2023, the Centre sent 13,660 blocking orders to social media platform X, formerly Twitter, 10,197 blocking orders to Facebook, 3,023 to Instagram, 5,759 to YouTube, and 4,199 to other unspecified social media intermediaries. The number of blocking orders for X saw a steady increase from just 224 in 2018 to 3,390 in 2023 till October. This raises concerns about censorship in violation of the freedom of expression of journalists under Article 19 of the ICCPR.

• On December 18, the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) tabled the Telecommunications Bill 2023. The bill has drawn concerns about enabling surveillance and allowing for blanket internet shutdowns in violation of human rights law. Under the bill, internet shutdowns would be allowed on grounds of “sovereignty, “integrity or national security”, “friendly relations with foreign states”, “public order”, and “preventing incitement to an offence”. Blanket internet shutdowns violate the rights to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly and freedom of association under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR. These rights may only be restricted on limited grounds, i.e. national security, public order, public health, morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

• On December 17, the Adani Group announced it acquired a 50.5% equity stake in the news agency IANS. The Adani Group is accused of serious market manipulation and accounting fraud, and previous investigations identified close ties to and favouritism by the Modi government. In 2022, Adani already bought NDTV, in what commentators called a “blow to independent media”.

• On December 18, the Delhi Police arrested four people in connection with a leak of the Indian Council of Medical Research data. Two months before, the personal data, including passport records, of over 810 million Indians had been leaked and put up for sale on the dark web, in serious violation of the right to privacy (Article 17 ICCPR).

• On December 20, the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) passed the Telecommunications Bill 2023, in absence of most opposition members. It has drawn severe criticism over concerns for privacy, free expression and human rights more broadly. The law provides for the Union government to temporarily take control of telecom services in the interest of national security or in case of public emergencies. It also provides for the interception of messages and their transmission to be stopped in case of a public emergency.

• On December 26, the central government issued an advisory to all social media corporations to comply with the Information Technology Rules amid “growing concerns around misinformation powered by AI-deepfakes.” In November, following a high-profile deepfake, the central government had issued a similar advisory, ordering them to remove deepfakes within 36 hours of complaints.

• On December 28, Amnesty International and the Washington Post released evidence that an unknown government agency has used the Pegasus spyware to target the phones of two journalists in India, Siddharth Varadarajan of The Wire and Anand Mangnale of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. This is at least the second time the Pegasus spyware has been used.

Political Parties and Election Monitoring

• On December 3, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won state elections in three states. It recorded a landslide victory in Madhya Pradesh’s state elections. The BJP also won with over half the seats in the Rajasthan state elections, and secured an absolute majority in the Chhattisgarh state elections.

• On December 15, Bhajanlal Sharma was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Rajasthan following the BJP’s election win in the state. Sharma is reportedly an active member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu supremacist organisation that is the ideological parent entity of the BJP. He was also reportedly actively involved in the agitation to build a Hindu temple at the site of the Babri mosque, which Hindu supremacists extrajudicially demolished in 1992.

• On December 31, Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the Kashmiri separatist party, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) will be declared an “unlawful association” for five years under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

In focus: National Crimes Record Bureau

On December 3, India’s National Crimes Record Bureau released its annual crimes statistics and the Prison Statistics India for 2022. It finds:

• Crimes against Scheduled Castes increased by 13.1%. For the third consecutive year, Uttar Pradesh state reported the highest number of crimes against Scheduled Castes at 15,368 cases, an increase from 13,146 in 2021. Rajasthan ranked second with 8,752 cases, an increase from 7,524 in 2021.

• Crimes against Scheduled Tribes increased by 14.3%.

• Cases for “promoting enmity between different groups”, which covers hate speech, increased by 31.25% from 2021. Most cases were registered in Uttar Pradesh state, followed by Rajasthan.

• Crimes against women increased by 4%.

• Crimes against children increased by 8.7%.

• Cyber crimes increased by 24.4%, suggesting a growing digital impact on criminal activities.

• Over 75% of prisoners in Indian jails were under-trials.

• Indian prisons had an occupancy of 131%.

• The reasons for 63 unnatural prison deaths in 2022 were unknown.

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities

• On December 4, Hindu supremacists reportedly attacked a 15-year-old boy from the Muslim community as he was returning from school in Uttar Pradesh state. The attackers filmed the incident and shared it on social media.

• On December 5, three people reportedly beat to death a man from the Muslim community in West Bengal state. The attackers had accused the victim of being a thief. This raises questions about the state’s ability to protect citizens’ right to life (Article 6 ICCPR) and about the right to be assumed innocent until proven guilty.

• On December 14, the United Christian Front, an Indian human rights group working with Christian minorities, published new data that shows two Christians are attacked daily in India on average. Via their helpline, they recorded at least 687 incidents of violence in the 334 days of 2023 so far. This raises questions about the state’s ability to protect citizens’ right to life (Article 6 ICCPR) regardless of their religion (Article 2 ICCPR).

• On December 6, Hindu supremacist leaders met to celebrate the demolition of the Babri Mosque at an event organised by the militant Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its youth wing, the Bajrang Dal. Hindu supremacists extrajudicially demolished the Babri mosque in 1992. At the event, the speakers engaged in hate speech. For instance, one speaker reportedly said: “This is not the country of Gandhi anymore who preached of offering another cheek if someone slaps you at one, this country is changed. If a Muslim tries to slap you, cut his hand and give it in another hand.” These incidents raise questions about the state’s ability to prohibit advocating religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

• On December 16, India’s Home Minister Amit Shah reportedly justified the 2002 Gujarat Riots that killed at least 1044 people, claiming that they taught Muslims “a lesson”. Shah reportedly said: “In 2002, there were riots and thereafter Modi saheb taught a lesson to not repeat the act. Have there been riots thereafter? The rioters were taught such a lesson in 2002 that to date no one dares to cause riots in Gujarat.” The incident constitutes a senior minister advocating for religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR). The United Kingdom concluded that Narendra Modi was “directly responsible” for the systematic violence.

• On December 17, the Rajasthan Police arrested one person for reportedly raping a 20-year-old Dalit (“untouchable”) woman in a bus on December 9. Such a gender- and caste-based atrocity raises questions about the state’s ability to protect its citizens’ rights regardless of their caste and gender.

• On December 17, police arrested a teacher and principal of a government-run school in Karnataka state, as they allegedly forced Dalit (“untouchable”) students to manually clean a septic tank. This violates 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 December 29, Karnataka police arrested a man in a 31-year-old rioting case, which took place ahead of the extrajudicial demolition of the Babri Mosque by Hindu supremacists in 1992. The Karnataka Police commented that the arrest is part of routine efforts to address long-pending cases.

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights

• On December 1, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Union Minister Giriraj Singh called for the closure of “illegal madrasas [Islamic schools]” in Bihar state, alleging that they pose a “threat to the internal security of the state and the nation.” In his speech, he also claimed that the “people of Bihar” will face “a major threat to their wealth and their faith” without action against Islamic schools, thereby circulating dangerous disinformation. The incident may constitute a ruling party lawmaker advocating for religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR), and advocates for violations of the right of parents to “choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children” (Article 26 UDHR).

• On December 1, the Uttar Pradesh Police filed a case against 42 people and arrested nine of them for allegedly luring poor and tribal people to convert to Christianity. Several BJP-ruled states have passed laws criminalising professing one’s religion and converting, in violation of the right to family life (Article 23) and right to freedom of religion (Article 18) in the ICCPR. Such laws have also emboldened vigilante groups, who engage in extrajudicial violence against people from religious minorities in response to alleged violations of these laws.

• On December 4, a video circulated showing newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Balmakund Acharya ordering the closure of all meat stalls run by the Muslim community in his constituency in Rajasthan state. The BJP had won the election in Rajasthan state just days before and Acharya was not yet sworn in. On December 6, he apologised for his actions. This violates the right to work under Article 6 ICESCR, which includes the right of everyone to “the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts”.

• On December 8, a public school reportedly dismissed a teacher in Uttar Pradesh state from duty after Hindu supremacist groups claimed that “he did not respond appropriately” to a student’s Hindu religious greeting. The principal issued an apology and promised “measures to prevent such incidents in the future.” This may violate the right of everyone to “manifest his religion or belief in workshop, observance, practice or teaching” (Article 18 ICCPR).

• On December 8, the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) reportedly announced it would end the 30-minute break allowed for Muslim lawmakers to perform Friday prayers. A break for Friday prayers has been the norm for over 60 years. This may violate the right of everyone to “manifest his religion or belief in workshop, observance, practice or teaching” (Article 18 ICCPR).

• On December 25, a Hindu supremacist group held a rally in Tripura state, demanding that tribals who converted to Christianity should be removed from the “Scheduled Tribes” list, which guarantees certain reservations and benefits. Such a demand may violate the right to freedom of religion (Article 18) in the ICCPR.

• On December 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi organised Christmas celebrations in his residence. Following this, approximately 3200 Christians, among them one MP, signed a statement protesting against community leaders who participated in the celebrations, citing “continued attacks and vilification” of the Christian community by the BJP government.

• On December 26, authorities in Madhya Pradesh state reportedly demolished the homes of persons accused of having harmed a cow. However, the police claimed that the demolitions were in connection with a separate case of illegal construction.

• On December 28, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma deleted and apologised for a social media post which reinforced caste hierarchy. In the post, he had argued that lower caste people have “natural duties” towards dominant caste people.

Legislative

• On December 6, Parliament passed two legislations on Jammu and Kashmir, a conflict region that India unilaterally stripped of its constitutionally guaranteed semi-autonomy in 2019. The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 introduce reservations in politics and government jobs for marginalised groups and migrants, the scope of which has been criticised.

• On 12 December, the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Indian Parliament) passed the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Bill, 2023. The Election Commissioners will now be appointed by 3 people: The Prime Minister, a person appointed by the Prime Minister, and the opposition leader. This raises crucial concerns about the independence of the appointment process and of India’s upcoming 2024 elections.

• On December 20, the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) passed the three proposed criminal law reform bills, which had come under severe criticism. India’s President Droupadi Murmu gave assent on December 25. Civil society notes that the Bills proposed first expand police powers, create a new offence that de facto widens the definition of “sedition”, and do not include procedural safeguards against false implication in terrorism cases. The proposed bill also also expands the definition of “terrorism” to include “economic security”. On November 6, the standing committee of the Lok Sabha (Parliament) had adopted a report on the new proposed Criminal Law reform Bills, and on December 12, the Home Ministry revised the proposed bills. The revised Bills tabled on December 12 are shorter, but reportedly retain the same problematic issues.

• Throughout December, the two houses of Parliament disqualified 141 members of Parliament. This came after December 13, when two men jumped on the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) floor from the visitors’ gallery and ignited canisters of yellow smoke, and shouted “Long Live India”. This took place just hours after MPs paid tribute to those who died in a terror attack on the Parliament in 2001, triggering panic among the MPs. According to officials, one of the accused said during questioning that he wanted to “get the attention of the Prime Minister so the government looks after issues such as inflation, poverty, etc.” Subsequently, the two houses of Parliament began a wave of MPs being suspended: On December 14, 14 MPs were reportedly suspended, after they reportedly called on the Home Minister to give a statement explaining the security breach. On December 18, an additional 34 MPs from the Lok Sabha were reportedly suspended. On December 18, the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) also reportedly suspended 45 MPs via voice vote for the rest of the winter session, for “causing disturbance” when they continued to demand a statement. By December 20, 141 opposition MPs were disqualified.

• On December 13, amidst MPs from the opposition being suspended, the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2023, to increase women’s quota in Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry Assemblies. Amendments to the bills proposed by Opposition MPs John Brittas, Binoy Viswam, and V Sivadasan were reportedly not considered as the members were not in their seats to move them.

• On December 8, the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) expelled female Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra. She was accused of taking bribes in return for asking questions in Parliament and sharing her log-in details to the Parliament website with third parties. Moitra was reportedly not given space to defend her case, and opposition members allege that the investigation involved “unethical” and “offensive” personal questions.

Executive

• On December 6, a video circulated showing local authorities in Chhattisgarh state bulldozing predominantly Muslim-owned shops over allegations of encroachment, on directions of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Brijmohan Agarwal. The BJP had won the election in Chhattisgarh state just days before. The process followed for these demolitions raises concerns about due process and the right to equal protection of the law (Article 26 ICCPR) and the right to housing (Article 11 ICESCR).

• On December 2, the Jammu and Kashmir police dropped charges under India’s anti-terror-law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), against seven University students. The police had arrested the students on November 20 after they allegedly made pro-Pakistan statements following Australia’s victory against India in cricket. The arrests may violate the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of liberty (Article 9 ICCPR) and the right to freedom of expression (Article 19 ICCPR).

• On December 14, authorities in Madhya Pradesh state extrajudicially demolished the homes of three Muslim men accused of attacking a BJP worker. This took place a day after the BJP’s Mohan Yadav was sworn in as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister. The process followed for these demolitions raises concerns about due process and the right to equal protection of the law (Article 26 ICCPR) and the right to housing (Article 11 ICESCR).

• On December 22, security forces in Jammu and Kashmir detained eight civilians for questioning after militants reportedly killed five Indian army personnel. Three of them were found dead that night. Family members and political leaders have claimed that the three were beaten to death by the Indian army, which would constitute a grave deprivation of the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR). Additionally, one of the detained civilians reported that they were “stripped, beaten and smeared with ‘chilli powder on the wounds’ until they lost consciousness”, in violation of the absolute prohibition of torture (Article 7 ICCPR).

• On December 23, Gujarat police charged Congress leader and former MP Virji Thummar with defamation over “objectionable” comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Thummar had publicly claimed that PM Modi is showing favouritism toward specific large corporations.

• On December 29, the central government, Assam state government and the separatist organisation United Liberation Front of Asom reportedly signed a peace accord, ending a decades-old insurgency.

• On December 29, the Gujarat government reportedly revoked the security that had been given to witnesses, lawyers and a former judge in cases related to the 2002 Gujarat riots.

• On December 30, Uttar Pradesh arrested three people for alleged gang-rape of a student. Among the arrested are reportedly two members of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) IT Cell.

Judiciary

• An analysis of eight politically sensitive cases shows they were moved to a single judge of the Supreme Court over the past four months, even though the rules of assignment say they should remain with the senior judge or before a judge hearing a similar case. This raises questions about the independence of the judiciary.

• On December 8, the Supreme Court noted that the governor of Tamil Nadu state is obstructing 12 new bills from being passed, which it called a “matter of serious concern”. This year alone, Telangana, Punjab and Kerala have approached the Supreme Court with allegations that their governor was obstructing legislative and executive work. Commentators note that these are all states ruled by the opposition. As the governor is appointed by the central government, they expressed concerns about the central government potentially using governors to stifle democratically elected state governments.

• On December 11, the Supreme Court upheld the unilateral abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in 2019, which stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status. The Court also ordered Jammu and Kashmir to hold local elections by September 30 2024. On the day of the verdict, the Jammu and Kashmir police reportedly placed several Kashmiri political leaders under house arrest, including two former Chief Ministers, and suspended University classes. The Supreme Court also directed the central government to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible, and one judge recommended an “impartial truth and reconciliation commission” be set up in Kashmir to investigate human rights violations by both “state and non-state actors” over the past few decades. 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.

• On December 14, the Allahabad High Court approved a survey of the Shahi Idgah mosque by a court-appointed and monitored advocate commissioner, and the Supreme Court on December 15 refused to stay the order. This is in response to petitions filed by Hindu supremacists, who claim that the mosque stands on the birthplace of Lord Krishna (a Hindu God). Previous similar disputes have led to violence, most notably with a mob extrajudicially demolishing the Babri Mosque in 1992.

• On December 15, the judge who presided over the “Delhi riots conspiracy” case was transferred. Human rights defenders and activists have been targeted and falsely implicated in the case. Their 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 (Article 9 ICCPR).

• On December 15, a court in Uttar Pradesh state sentenced a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator to 25 years in jail for raping a 15-year-old girl in 2014.

Business and Economy

• On December 6, the Union Power Minister refused to answer questions over allegations against the Adani group. On October 12, the Financial Times had published an investigation that found that the Adani Group “appears to have imported billions of dollars of coal at prices well above market value”. The data supports long standing allegations that Adani, the country’s largest private coal importer, has been inflating fuel costs and led millions of Indian consumers and businesses to overpay for electricity.

• On December 15, the Indian Defence Research Wing reported that in a move to bolster India’s defence capabilities, Adani Defence partnered with Elbit Systems, an Israeli defence firm.

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).

• On December 3, the Manipur government restored mobile Internet services until December 18, except for areas within a 2-kilometre radius of areas dominated by Kuki and Meitei, the two ethnic groups involved in the conflict. This is a minor improvement, as the internet has been shut down in Manipur since May 2023, making it the second longest shutdown in India, following a previous one in Kashmir. Such blanket internet shutdowns violate the rights to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly and freedom of association under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR.

• On December 4, security forces found the bodies of 13 men injured by bullets, more than 100 kilometres from their homes.

• On December 4, the Supreme Court said that the approximately 4747 students who have fled due to the violence in Manipur can pursue their studies online.

• On December 5, the Supreme Court stayed criminal proceedings against independent journalist Makepeace Sitlhou, after she made critical remarks on Twitter against the Manipur government’s alleged failure to control the spiralling violence in the state.

• On December 14, the Manipur government airlifted the bodies of 64 victims and returned them to their respective families.

• On December 15, the Supreme Court directed the Manipur government to inform a court-appointed committee about the steps it has taken to secure places of worship in the state, especially ahead of Christmas.

India in the World

• On November 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the deaths of civilians amid Israel’s war on Gaza: “India has condemned the heinous terrorist attack in Israel on October 7. We also strongly condemn the deaths of civilians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.” Simultaneously, research shows that Indian actors, including BJP social media accounts, are a major source of disinformation about the conflict.

• On November 18, the Maldives said it has asked India to remove its military presence from the island country. According to the Maldivian defence forces, in 2021 there were 75 Indian military personnel in the Maldives.

• On November 22, India resumed e-visa services for Canadian nationals. They were paused two months ago due to recent bilateral tensions, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that there were “credible” allegations linking Indian agents to the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June. India’s External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said India does not rule out an investigation into the killing, and asked Canada for evidence.

• On November 22, the Financial Times reported that US authorities allegedly thwarted a conspiracy to assassinate a Sikh separatist on US soil. The US authorities issued a warning to India’s government over concerns it was involved in the plot, and noted the target is a US citizen. On November 29, US authorities arrested a man of Indian origin for attempted assassination. The same day, India said it has constituted a high-level inquiry committee to examine the allegations.

Civil Society, Human Rights Defenders and Journalists

• In November, the Delhi High Court announced that it will hear afresh in January the bail petitions of human rights defender Sharjeel Imam and others who were accused of conspiracy during the Delhi Riots 2020. Their 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.

• On November 3, the Supreme Court granted protection from arrest to two journalists of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project who had been summoned by the Gujarat Police in connection with their report on alleged stock manipulation by the Adani Group. The Adani group reportedly has close ties to the BJP government. The police harassment arguably threatens freedom of expression of journalists under Article 19 of the ICCPR.

• On November 7, the India-based Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project told media that the smartphone of one of their journalists was allegedly targeted using Pegasus spyware in August. This raises concerns about the right to freedom of expression, the protection of human rights defenders (Article 22 ICCPR), and the right to privacy and freedom from arbitrary or unlawful interference with one’s home (Article 17 ICCPR). India acquired the Pegasus spyware from Israel as part of a defence deal in 2017. At least 160 Indians, including prominent activists, lawyers and politicians, have been spied on using the Pegasus malware. The Indian government did not cooperate in the Supreme Court’s investigation.

• On November 9, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court quashed the detention of journalist Sajad Gul, who 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 November 16, India’s National Press Day, the Kerala Police summoned and interrogated a Maktoob Media editor and reporter over an article they had published on alleged anti-Muslim bias of police. The police filed a case against them for “provocation with intent to cause riot” in relation to the article, a reprisal which may threaten freedom of expression of journalists under Article 19 of the ICCPR. Maktoob Media condemned the case, calling it a “threat” to the “journalistic independence of reporting stories without reprisal”, and 40 organisations released a statement expressing solidarity with Maktoob.

• On November 16, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur at an event by the Press Council of India said there are “there are individuals and media outlets that consistently spread fake propaganda against Bharat, both domestically and internationally.” While the statement does not violate human rights, it reportedly refers to so-called “anti-India” journalists, who report independently on human rights violations and are therefore exercising their legitimate freedom of expression.

• On November 17, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court granted bail to journalist Fahad Shah, who was arrested on charges of supporting terrorism 21 months ago. The Court noted that “no evidence has been brought on record” and that not a “single witness” supports the allegations. His prolonged and arbitrary arrest therefore appears to violate the right to liberty (Article 9 ICCPR).

• On November 20, Maharashtra Police arrested over 20 people and beat with sticks Adivasi (indigenous) protestors who were holding a peaceful sit-in against six proposed mines. The arrests may contravene the rights to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly and freedom of association under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR.

• On November 22, the Delhi High Court ordered news portal The Wire to take down a report that linked the son of the Delhi Chief Secretary to a case related to inflated valuation of land. This may have consequences for the right to freedom of expression (Article 19 ICCPR).

• On November 22, human rights defender Khurram Parvez marked two years of being arbitrarily imprisoned without trial. The UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner condemned Parvez’s arrest as violating the right to liberty (Article 9 ICCPR).

• On November 25, a court sentenced four men to life imprisonment for the murder of woman journalist Soumya Vishwanathan in 2008. The murder raised questions about the protection of journalists’ right to life (Article 6 ICCPR).

• On November 29, the Supreme Court again adjourned the bail hearing of human rights defender Umar Khalid. Khalid has been detained without a trial since 2020, when he was arrested under the UAPA and sedition laws for his participation in protests against India’s discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act. Khalid’s bail petitions have been repeatedly denied, thereby contravening the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of liberty as established in Article 9 ICCPR.

Media and Technology

• On November 1, opposition leaders urged the Lok Sabha (Indian Parliament) to seek accountability for potential state-sponsored attacks on iPhones. On October 31, Apple had sent threat notifications to users in multiple countries, including journalists and opposition politicians in India, warning that their Apple devices and accounts were targeted by “state-sponsored attackers”, in violation of the right to privacy under Article 17 ICCPR. However, on November 25, it emerged that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team was recently exempted from the Right to Information of Indian citizens, hampering accountability.

• On November 8, following a deep fake about an actress, the central government issued an advisory to social media corporations to remove deep fake videos within 36 hours of receiving a complaint. On November 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that deep fakes have become “a matter of serious concern for the country”. On November 21, the Minister of Electronics and ITC announced the central government would soon frame regulations on deep fakes.

• On November 10, the central government proposed a Bill that seeks to regulate online streaming platforms, including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. The Bill proposes to only allow films and shows that are “duly certified” by a “content evaluation committee” to be offered. Streaming services have reportedly faced police cases in India on charges of hurting religious sentiments, and many have reportedly self-censored content in the last few years. On November 20, the Washington Post reported that under pressure from Hindu supremacists, Netflix and Amazon in India have dropped projects touching on political and social issues, and documentaries, and have re-edited scenes showing prayers or the names of Gods. Additionally, following a controversy about the movie “Tandav,” Netflix executives in India reportedly feared arrest. The practice and proposed legislation may have severe consequences for the right to freedom of expression (Article 19 ICCPR).

• On November 24, India’s Information Technology Ministry reportedly criticised social media platforms for not having aligned their terms of service with India’s internet laws and told them to immediately start informing their users what can and cannot be posted on their platforms. The relevant Minister stated that India’s IT Rules prohibit platforms from hosting deep fakes, misinformation, and content that spreads obscenity, among other things, and offered to assist citizens with filing cases against social media corporations for violating the rules.

• On November 27, Dutch cybersecurity firm Surfshark reported that in the third quarter of 2023, India experienced approximately 370,000 online account breaches, such as sharing of sensitive information to unauthorised third parties. India therefore ranked tenth globally in terms of numbers of breached accounts, raising questions about the state’s ability to protect citizens’ right against arbitrary interference with privacy, family and home (Article 17 ICCPR).

Political Parties and Election Monitoring

• The Global State of Democracy 2023 report by International IDEA notes that India saw significant declines in the credibility of its elections and the freedom of opposition parties. Out of 173 countries, India ranked 66 in representation (a decrease from 2021), 83 in participation (the same as 2021), 104 in rights (a decrease from 2021), and 74 in rule of law (an increase from 2021).

• On November 4, “Maoist insurgents” reportedly killed a BJP leader in Chhattisgarh state, three days before elections. This raises questions about the state’s ability to protect citizens’ right to life (Article 6 ICCPR

• On November 4, a former Chief Minister from the ruling BJP demanded that another BJP leader who called for mosques and gurudwaras (Sikh temples) to be destroyed should face legal action. On November 5, the BJP expelled the leader for his call for destruction. The incident constitutes a ruling party lawmaker advocating for religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

• On November 5, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh state Yogi Adityanath at an election rally promised action against “love jihad”. Love Jihad is an Islamophobic conspiracy theory purporting that Muslim men target Hindu women for forced religious conversion. The incident constitutes a ruling party lawmaker advocating for religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

• On November 14, the Election Commission issued notices to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly making unverified and false statements about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They had in separate instances alleged links between Modi and corporate leaders.

• On November 15, Telangana police filed a case against BJP legislator Raja Singh for reportedly engaging in hate speech against Muslims during an election meeting. The incident constitutes a ruling party lawmaker advocating for religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

• On November 22, a Lok Sabha (Parliament) committee summoned a legislator from the ruling BJP, Ramesh Bidhuri, for hate speech made during parliament session. On September 21, Bidhuri had reportedly called another politician of the Muslim community a “militant”, “terrorist” and “pimp”, and demanded to “throw this mullah [derogatory word for Muslim] out”. On September 26, the BJP then reportedly appointed Bidhuri as in-charge for polling in one district. The incident constitutes a ruling party lawmaker advocating for religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

• On November 28, the Association for Democratic Reforms published their annual analysis of criminal background of candidates in several regional assembly elections. They found that at least 18% of candidates contesting in the selected elections have criminal cases against them.

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities

• On November 2, police arrested six people for allegedly assaulting, stripping, robbing and urinating on two men from the Dalit (“untouchable”) caste. The incident may violate the prohibition of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under Article 7 of the ICCPR.

• On November 10, a police sub-inspector reportedly raped a four-year old Dalit (“untouchable”) girl in Rajasthan state, which constitutes a gross violation by the state of children’s rights and human rights more broadly. The police issued an order of dismissal against the sub-inspector and filed a case.

• On November 10, a teacher reportedly slapped a 13-year old female student from the Muslim community, after she reportedly said that her father is a beef vendor. The attack may constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment prohibited under Article 7 of the ICCPR.

• On November 11, the Supreme Court condemned as “shocking” the Uttar Pradesh government’s behaviour in a case filed against a teacher for encouraging violence. The case concerns a video, which reportedly shows the teacher making religiously discriminatory comments and ordering her second-grade students to slap a Muslim classmate for not doing his homework. These incidents raise questions about the state’s ability to prohibit advocating religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

• On November 12, a Muslim man died after a Hindu man threw a firecracker at him during Diwali celebrations. The police stated that the two knew each other, but did not receive information about a dispute or whether there was a religious reason for the attack. The incident raises questions about the state’s ability to protect its citizens’ right to life (Article 6 ICCPR) regardless of their religion (Article 2 ICCPR).

• On November 19, a leader from the ruling BJP reportedly attacked a group of Muslim youths at a petrol pump. A video of the incident reportedly shows him shouting communal slurs, including the Hindu war cry “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Ram). The incident raises questions about the state’s ability, and government leaders’ willingness, to protect its citizens regardless of their religion (Article 2 ICCPR).

• On November 23, police filed a case against a businesswoman and several employees for reportedly forcing a Dalit (“untouchable”) worker to apologise with her shoe in his mouth for demanding his salary. The incident may violate the prohibition of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under Article 7 of the ICCPR.

• On November 30, police filed a case after two men assaulted an elderly man of the Muslim community and forced him to chant “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Ram, a Hindu war cry) in Karnataka state. The incident may violate the prohibition of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under Article 7 of the ICCPR.

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights

• On November 12, Delhi Police reportedly issued a notice to mosque imams, instructing them not to include prayers for Palestine during religious services. Several political leaders and lawyers denounced the police notice for arbitrarily infringing upon freedom of worship, as the incident raises questions about the state’s ability to protect its citizens’ right to publicly manifest their religion (Article 18 ICCPR) and right to freedom of association (Article 22 ICCPR) regardless of their religion (Article 2 ICCPR)

• On November 19, the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh state government imposed a statewide ban on “halal”-certified products. The incident raises questions about the state’s ability to protect its citizens’ right to publicly manifest their religion (Article 18 ICCPR). An official spokesperson claimed that the certification was being used to spread “propaganda” and “exploit religious sentiment”. A day before, police had reportedly already filed a case against a company and three organisations for providing “illegal halal certificates”. In the first three days, the police seized 2275 kg of food products.

• On November 19, Uttar Pradesh police extrajudicially killed a Muslim man and injured another in police firing. The police claimed the two men were “going to slaughter a cow”. The incident raised questions about the state’s ability to protect its citizens’ right to life (Article 6 ICCPR) regardless of their religion (Article 2 ICCPR).

• On November 20, an elderly woman in Assam state after three years of legal battle proved she is an Indian citizen. Although her father was a freedom fighter for Indian independence, she was among the 1.9 million people who were de facto left stateless during the National Registry of Citizens process. The Foreigners Tribunals she appealed to set their own rules, which gives rise to arbitrary procedure that violates the Rule of Law principle, especially by derogating from the due process of law.

• On November 22, news reported that India’s federal education body is considering including the story of the Hindu deity Ram into school curricula. In April, the federal education body had removed numerous sections from textbooks, raising concerns that it is contorting Indian history and falsely presenting India as a “Hindu nation”, in contravention of its secular constitution.

• On November 25, the police in Tamil Nadu state filed a case against a former director general of police for allegedly “spreading false propaganda”. On WhatsApp, he reportedly circulated the false claim that thousands of temples in Tamil Nadu have been destroyed over the past two years with the help of the police.

• On November 26, the Minister of State for Home Affairs said that West Bengal state would frame rules for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by March 2024. 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.

• On November 27, a campaign of over 3000 civil society organizations released a report reviewing Indian government policies and schemes, and found that the government’s policies “resulted in systematic exclusion of marginalized communities.”

Legislative

• On November 6, the standing committee of the Lok Sabha (Parliament) adopted a report on the new proposed Criminal Law reform Bills. Opposition members submitted dissenting reports expressing serious concerns. Civil society notes that the new Bills expand police powers, create a new offence that de facto widens the definition of “sedition”, and do not include procedural safeguards against false implication in terrorism cases.

Judiciary

• On November 13, the Armed Forces Tribunal suspended the life sentence of and granted bail to an army captain who had been found guilty of killing three men in a staged encounter in Kashmir in 2020. The tribunal cited an alleged lack of evidence.

• On November 17, a Delhi Court reprimanded the Delhi police for filing cases against three persons accused in the 2020 Delhi Riots based on “hearsay evidence”. On November 20, a Delhi Court acquitted seven persons accused of rioting and vandalising a shop during the riots, stating that there was a “big mishap in the case of prosecution and evidence brought on the record”. Their prolonged and arbitrary arrests therefore appear to violate the right to liberty (Article 9 ICCPR), and add to a list of concerns, including by Human Rights Watch, about police bias in the investigations after the Riots, in which 53 people died.

Business and Economy

• On November 14, news for the first time reported that a key advisor to Adani, a multinational corporation, is now a member of a committee before which the company’s projects come up for government approval. This raises questions about due process, independence and conflict of interest.

• On November 26, the Financial Times reported that India is seeking to revive underground coal mining. According to FT, India’s Coal Ministry has outlined plans to triple output from underground coal mines by 2028, preparing to auction new blocks, accelerate environmental clearance and roll out incentives to promote foreign investment and domestic equipment manufacturing.

Armed Conflict in Manipur

• On November 2, all legislators in Manipur from the Kuki community accused the police of “unprofessional conduct and inhumane excesses”, such as molesting women and assaulting Kukis during the conflict in Manipur.

• On November 7, a Meitei mob allegedly abducted four people from the Kuki community. The incident led to heavy firing between security forces and the mob.

• On November 13, the Ministry of Home Affairs extended for five years a ban on several Meitei militant organisations under India’s anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), for advocating the secession of Manipur through armed means. On November 29, the Union Home Ministry constituted a tribunal to adjudicate whether there are “adequate reasons” to declare them unlawful. Several UN Special Procedure experts have warned that the UAPA violates human rights obligations under the ICCPR.

• On November 15, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum, a frontal organisation of Kukis in Manipur, reportedly gave the Union government two weeks to decide on its demand for a separate administration for Kuki-dominated areas. It claimed that afterwards, it would set up a “self-government whether the Centre recognises it or not”. The day after, the Manipur police filed a case against the group’s leader for sedition.

• On November 16, unidentified persons ambushed and attacked a patrol vehicle of the government paramilitary Assam Rifles, without injuries. The People’s Liberation Army, a Meitei insurgent group, claimed responsibility for the attempted improvised explosive device blast.

• On November 20, a Meitei group reportedly shot dead two people from the Kuki community in a fresh resurgence of violence.

• On November 23, the internet shutdown in Manipur crossed its 200 day mark, making it the second longest shutdown in India, following a previous one in Kashmir. Such blanket internet shutdowns violate the rights to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly and freedom of association under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR.

• On November 24, a mob reportedly stormed a hospital after a person from Myanmar, which Manipur borders, was taken there for bullet injury treatment. Meiteis have frequently alleged that the conflict in Manipur is being stoked by people from Myanmar.

• On November 26, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that his government is allegedly holding negotiations with an “underground” insurgent group, which he did not name, and a peace accord will be signed soon. On November 29, the United National Liberation Front, a Meitei militant group, signed a peace agreement with the Central government, agreeing to “renounce violence”.

India in the world

• On October 3, India reportedly told Canada to withdraw 41 of its 62 diplomatic staff from the country. On October 20, Canada complied. The US State Department and the UK Foreign Office expressed concern regarding the legality under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. This comes amid escalating diplomatic tensions between the two countries, in which India also suspended all visa services for Canadians. India resumed select visa services on October 25.

• On October 6, Member of the European Parliament Markéta Gregorová (Greens/EFA) in a written question to the European Commission questioned whether India’s data privacy law is compatible with the priorities of the EU-India relationship. “India has recently enacted a comprehensive data privacy law that will dictate how tech companies process users’ data, amid criticism that it will likely lead to increased surveillance by the government. It is therefore crucial that the Commission assess this law’s adequacy with regard to data protection standards,” she wrote.

• After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, disinformation from Indian right-wing sources “flooded social media”, news report. According to fact-checkers from BOOM, Indian right-wing sources spreading such disinformation included “verified accounts” on X.

• On October 11, the UK and India met for further negotiations on a free trade agreement, with the aim to conclude and sign the agreement by October 2023. However, commentators note that the agreement has missed previous deadlines.

• On October 12, the Global Hunger Index report ranked India 111 among 125 countries, four positions worse than in the previous years.

• From October 16-20, Indian and EU officials reportedly met in Brussels for the sixth round of negotiation for a free trade and investment agreement. On the last day, Spanish Deputy Trade Minister said: “There is an enormous interest from the [EU] member states, but only if there will be an access to the real market, without which the deal would be emptied.”

• On October 16, news reported on a request for asylum in Ireland on grounds of religious persecution in India. The man in question sought asylum in August 2017 due to “cow vigilante” attacks against him. The final asylum decision is pending.

Human rights defenders, press and civil society

• On October 3, the Delhi Police reportedly raided 46 locations associated with independent media outlet NewsClick, and arrested two staff – the founder and the human resources head – under India’s anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Following the first incident, authorities from the Central Bureau of Investigation and other investigative agencies conducted additional searches of private homes of NewsClick journalists. In response, 18 journalist bodies wrote to the Chief Justice of India, raising alarm about attacks on free press, and a national farmers’ organisation held a nationwide protest following the crackdown. India currently ranks 161 of 180 worldwide in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index. By October 5, Newsclick had reportedly not yet been provided with a copy of the First Information Report against it or “informed about the exact particulars of the offences with which we have been charged.” By October 11, five different agencies were investigating Newsclick. Initial allegations concerned alleged ties with China, which the police interrogation, however, reportedly did not address. These incidents raise concerns about freedom of expression, as protected under Article 19 of the ICCPR.

• On October 3, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh state Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced several welfare schemes for journalists – including a fellowship for women scribes and a committee to frame a journalists’ protection law – and ensured advertisements for small newspapers. This comes just days after seven cases were registered against journalist Jaalam Singh over an “objectionable” video he reported on, and Singh was arrested, raising concerns about freedom of expression under Article 19 of the ICCPR.

• On October 4, Index on Censorship nominated fact checker and co-founder of AltNews Mohammed Zubair for the 2023 Freedom of Expression Award. Zubair has faced judicial harassment and arrest for his work, threatening freedom of expression under Article 19 of the ICCPR.

• On October 10, the Uttar Pradesh police arrested ten human rights defenders, mostly Dalit (“untouchable”), after they participated in a protest for land rights. The police charged them with “attempt to murder” and “criminal conspiracy”, but did not specifically mention large-scale violence in its police report. On October 28, a local court granted bail to the activists, pointing to inconsistencies in the police report. The arrests raise questions about the protection of rights to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly and freedom of association under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR.

• On October 10, the Delhi government authorised the prosecution of author and social activist Arundhati Roy and former professor Sheikh Showkat Hussain in a 2010 case on provocative speeches, raising questions about freedom of expression under Article 19 of the ICCPR. Roy won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997.

• On October 11, the National Investigation Agency reportedly conducted a search at the Mumbai home of prisoners’ rights activist Abdul Wahid Shaikh, who is known for his advocacy against fabricated cases involving Muslim youth in India. This raises concerns about the right to freedom of association and the protection of human rights defenders (Article 22 ICCPR), and the right to privacy and freedom from arbitrary or unlawful interference with one’s home (Article 17 ICCPR).

• On October 13, the Ministry of Home Affairs published new data on the number of NGOs who received a licence to receive foreign funds under the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA). Over the past nine years, 407 of such NGOs reportedly had a religious purpose, of which 194 were reportedly Christian. Conversely, in March, the Union Minister of State for Home had told the Parliament that 1,827 NGOs had their licences cancelled between 2018 and 2022, with the number of religious organisations being unknown. In December 2021, the Centre had refused to renew the FCRA licences of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity. The denial of permission to seek foreign funds and accompanying criminalisation may contravene the rights to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly and freedom of association under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR.

• On October 18, the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in Uttar Pradesh State arrested two activists for alleged links to left-wing extremists. The ATS initially interrogated them four years before, but did not arrest them due to a lack of physical evidence. The arrest now took place on the basis of alleged letters and literature found on their devices that were linked to banned Maoist groups. The arrest raises questions about rights to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly and freedom of association under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR.

• On October 31, the Campaign Against State Repression reported that police allegedly arrested two activists after they emailed the Principal Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister requesting a meeting with the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to discuss unemployment. The arrests may constitute intimidation for human rights work, threatening freedom of expression under Article 19 of the ICCPR.

Executive

• On October 1, the administration in a village in Madhya Pradesh state reportedly issued backdated notices to seven Muslim families demanding they produce proof their homes were built legally within 24 hours. Failure to present documents in the time frame, the notices reportedly state, will result in demolitions. The incident takes place following violence in the town, in which Hindu supremacist groups reportedly set homes on fire. The process followed for these demolitions raises concerns about due process and the right to equal protection of the law (Article 26 ICCPR) and the right to housing (Article 11 ICESCR).

• On October 12, police arrested a 20-year old in Karnataka state for allegedly posting a WhatsApp status that reportedly contained the phrase “Palestine Zindabad” (long live Palestine), which the authorities deemed as “provocative” slogans. Police later released him with a warning. Police have arrested others across the country for participating in pro-Palestine protests. The police action against protestors raises questions about the protection of rights to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly and freedom of association under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR.

• On October 22, The Wire reported that since Yogi Adityanath became Chief Minister in Uttar Pradesh state in March 2017, police reportedly shot dead 190 persons in incidents of alleged exchange of fire that the state terms as “encounters”. In the same period, the Uttar Pradesh police also reportedly shot and injured 5,591 persons in “encounters”. In February 2022, a specialist group of international criminal and human rights lawyers had filed a formal submission with the United States government seeking targeted sanctions against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath, for his role in extra judicial killings allegedly committed by the state’s police forces between 2017 and 2021. The submission argues that the encounter killings constitute extrajudicial killings and therefore “serious human rights abuses”.

Internet and technology

• On October 6, India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT issued notices to social media platforms X, YouTube and Telegram, warning them to remove child sexual abuse material from their platforms on the Indian internet in accordance with the IT Rules 2021.

• On October 11, the INDIA coalition of opposition parties sent letters to Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, and Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, expressing concerns about the purported involvement of their social media platforms in “aiding communal hatred” in the country. They also called upon them to maintain neutrality in the forthcoming elections.

• On October 14, Indian American Muslim Council and Hindus for Human Rights, two Indian diaspora organisations working for human rights in India, learned that their X accounts were withheld in India in response to a “legal demand” from the Indian government. The censorship raises questions about the protection of the right to freedom of expression (Article 19 ICCPR).

• On October 16, Bellingcat published a new investigation that found that YouTube has auto-generated at least 114 low-budget music videos with a combined view count of over 5.4 million promoting the expulsion of Muslims from India. These videos, categorised as “Hindutva Pop,” feature static images with Hindu supremacist symbols and incendiary lyrics that have incited violence at religious rallies.

• On October 18, the Bombay High Court held that sharing or retweeting a post containing “obscene” content on social media can amount to “transmission” under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.

• On October 31, Apple sent threat notifications to users in multiple countries, including journalists and opposition politicians in India, warning that their Apple devices and accounts were targeted by “state-sponsored attackers”. In India, civil society organizations, journalists, and activists have previously faced unchecked and unlawful surveillance, as Amnesty reports, in violation of the right to privacy.

Hate speech and hate crimes against minorities

• On October 22 the BJP revoked the suspension of Raja Singh from the party. Singh was suspended following offensive comments in 2022, but has reportedly continued to make offensive and hateful comments. On October 1, BJP legislator Raja Singh reportedly at a public event said he wants to “chase away and shoot down” several opposition politicians from a Muslim-dominant political party. Police filed a case against him based on a complaint filed by the Law and Policy Research Institute, which urgently called for action against the hate speech. His statement and revoking of his suspension indicate inability or unwillingness of the state to prohibit advocating religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

• On October 1, the police reportedly detained two constables in Andhra Pradesh state for subjecting a Dalit (“untouchable”) man to severe physical abuse which resulted in a fracture of his right leg. The incident may violate the prohibition of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under Article 7 of the ICCPR.

• On October 3, the Association for Democratic Reforms released a new report on hate speech by members of Parliament. It finds that 33 of the total 763 sitting MPs and 74 of the 4,005 sitting MLAs are facing cases related to hate speech. Nearly 40% of them are from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This raises serious questions about the state’s ability to prohibit advocating religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

• On October 12, Hindu supremacists with loud music celebrated the release from jail of Hindu supremacist Vaibhav Raut, who was imprisoned for his alleged involvement in a plot to bomb the Sunburn music festival in Pune in 2017. Following his arrest, police had found weapons in his home. He was released on grounds that he had been incarcerated for more than five years and the trial was not likely to conclude in the near future.

• On October 15, the wife of a BJP legislator and two others reportedly stripped and molested a tribal woman in order to take her land. A video of the incident circulated online, and police filed a complaint. The attack may constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment prohibited under Article 7 of the ICCPR.

• On October 21, news reported that a police investigation found that a railway security constable shot and killed a colleague and three passengers on a train in July was mentally stable. In a verified video, he said: “If you want to live and vote in Hindustan [India], I am telling you, it’s only Modi and Yogi,” thereby suggesting the attack has a political motive. Local BJP leaders had initially asserted that the incident was not a hate crime, as they claimed the constable was mentally unstable. The incident raises questions about the state’s ability to protect its citizens’ right to life (Article 6 ICCPR) regardless of their religion or political opinion (Article 2 ICCPR).

• On October 23, students across universities in Uttar Pradesh state launched protests after a University proctor attacked a Dalit (“untouchable”) student the week before. In a video circulating on social media, the proctor hits the student with a stick. No action has reportedly been taken against him, although the attack against the Dalit student may constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment prohibited under Article 7 of the ICCPR.

• On October 25, police arrested two persons after a group of people reportedly lynched a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh state during the Hindu holiday Dussehra. The incident raises questions about the state’s ability to protect its citizens’ right to life (Article 6 ICCPR) regardless of their religion (Article 2 ICCPR).

• On October 27, a video circulated that reportedly shows a BJP legislator, Mr Mehta, saying that “people with beards and caps” seen around temples “will be beaten”. By this, he arguably means people from the Muslim community. This raises concerns about the state’s ability to prohibit advocating religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

• On October 27, a group reportedly tied up and beat to death a Dalit (“untouchable”) worker who demanded his unpaid money. The incident raises questions about the state’s ability to protect its citizens’ right to life (Article 6 ICCPR) regardless of their identity (Article 2 ICCPR).

• On October 31, police registered a case against BJP Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, for hate speech online. The police registered the case as “provocation with intent to cause riot” and “promoting enmity between different groups”. In a social media post, he had claimed that Palestine solidarity protests were linked to an attack on Jehova’s witnesses earlier that week in India.

• On October 31, a new tracker by the Minority Coordination Committee found that at least 55 attacks on minority communities took place in 2022 in Gujarat state alone. The report notes that “Gujarat has been the epicenter of targeted violence against minorities”, but concludes that “the nature of violence has now changed”; while “earlier the violence was prominently in big cities”, now violence has “reached the villages”.

• On October 30, news reported that a group insulted, attacked and inappropriately touched a 12-year-old Muslim girl playing in her neighbourhood in Mumbai. One of the attackers reportedly shouted: “You Muslims are bad; you should be fed pig meat.” Police filed a case. The incident raises questions about the state’s ability to prohibit advocating religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

Religious freedoms

• On October 11, authorities demolished a church in Uttar Pradesh state, for allegedly being illegally constructed on government land. A notice was reportedly pasted on the gate a week in advance. However, in June 2022, three United Nations Special Rapporteurs had condemned demolitions across India, which they allege deliberately target Muslims through “collective punishment”, and therefore potentially constitute discrimination on grounds of religion.

• On October 13, police reported that local youth engaged in “moral policing” and questioned two male Muslim students who were standing with a female Hindu student at a bus stop. The incident raises questions about the state’s ability to protect its citizens’ right to publicly manifest their religion (Article 18 ICCPR) and right to freedom of association (Article 22 ICCPR) regardless of their religion (Article 2 ICCPR)

• On October 21, the principal of a primary school in Uttar Pradesh state was reportedly suspended after a video circulated showing the students of the school offering namaz (Muslim prayer) at a designated prayer area on the premises. The incident raises questions about the state’s ability to protect its citizens’ right to publicly manifest their religion (Article 18 ICCPR).

• On October 21, an engineering college in Uttar Pradesh state reportedly suspended two teachers for asking a student to not greet the audience at a cultural event of the institute with the Hindu religious slogan “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Ram). The slogan has been used as a “war cry” by Hindu supremacists. Their suspension raises questions about the prohibition of advocating religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

Communal violence

• On October 1, communal clashes reportedly erupted in Bihar state following a religious procession. Hindu supremacists reportedly vandalised a mosque. These clashes raise questions about the state’s ability to counter religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

• On October 1, communal clashes erupted in Karnataka state during a religious procession, resulting in 12 people being injured and 60 being arrested. These clashes raise questions about the state’s ability to counter religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

Conflict in Manipur

• On October 1, the Manipur government reportedly extended the blanket internet shutdown that was imposed in the ongoing armed violence in the state. The shutdown has now lasted over 150 days. Such blanket internet shutdowns violate the rights to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly and freedom of association under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR.

• On October 4, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) issued a statement expressing concern over “credible reports of excessive use of force and use of pellet guns by security forces” during student protests in Manipur on 26 and 27 September, which left 170 injured. Such use of pellet guns against protestors violates the right to freedom of assembly (Article 21 ICCPR) and the absolute prohibition of torture and cruel treatment (Article 7 ICCPR).

• On October 5, approximately 30 people attacked and vandalised the home of Human Rights Defender Babloo Loitongbam, who has been appealing for peace in the ongoing conflict in Manipur. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and the United Nations OHCHR expressed alarm about the attack. The attack followed threats against Babloo Loitongbam by the radical Meitei Leepun, who allege he “falsely accused” them of violence and demanded he apologies. Following the incident, Mr Loitongbam recorded a video clip in which he reportedly apologised.

• On October 9, the Supreme Court allowed Dr Kham Khan Suan Hausing, a professor of political science, to file a petition before the Manipur High Court in a case against him. Dr Hausing faces a criminal case for giving an interview to The Wire on the ongoing armed conflict, an Indian media outlet, raising concerns about his right to freedom of expression (Article 19 ICCPR), and 32 academics issued a statement in solidarity with him.

• On October 19, the Manipur High Court allowed tribal organisations to appeal against its March 27 order. The order is considered the trigger for the ongoing armed conflict as it directed the Manipur government to recommend the Scheduled Tribe status for the Meitei community.

Judiciary

• On October 3, the Supreme Court of India imposed a fine of 3 lakh rupees (3424.2 Euros) on Sanjeev Bhatt for filing petitions in court. Bhatt is sentenced to life on reportedly fabricated charges after he blew whistle on the alleged involvement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The Supreme Court judge reportedly said: “How many times have you been to the Supreme Court? At least a dozen times?” This raises questions about access to justice and the right to equality before the law under Article 26 of the ICCPR.

• On October 16, a court granted bail to Hindu militant leader Monu Manesar. Manesar had been arrested on September 12 in connection with the Nuh violence case, where a religious procession escalated and six people died. However, Manesar remains in jail in another case, in which he is accused of killing two Muslim men by setting them on fire. The incident raised questions about the state’s ability to protect its citizens’ right to life (Article 6 ICCPR) regardless of their religion (Article 2 ICCPR).

• On October 17, the Supreme Court of India delivered its judgement in a petition for marriage equality. The court was in agreement that marriage equality overall must be decided by Parliament, not the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of India also noted that the state must recognise queer unions, even without marriage, and provide legal safeguards and rights to them.

• On October 19, the Gujarat High Court convicted four police officers over an incident where they flogged Muslim men in public in October 2022. A video of the incident went viral, in which a crowd cheers while the police flog the men. The police officers were only convicted of “contempt of court” and sentenced to 14 days imprisonment, although the incident may violate the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under Article 7 of the ICCPR.

Economy

• On October 9, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation published the annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data, for July 2022 to June 2023. It reports that India’s unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 and above has reached a six-year low, standing at 3.2%. However, most are working in the informal sector or are self-employed.

• On October 12, the Financial Times published an investigation that found that the Adani Group, a “politically connected conglomerate that dominates large parts of India’s economy”, “appears to have imported billions of dollars of coal at prices well above market value”. The data supports long standing allegations that Adani, the country’s largest private coal importer, has been inflating fuel costs and led millions of Indian consumers and businesses to overpay for electricity.

India in the World

• On September 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit in Jakarta, which reportedly included a new initiative to boost India-ASEAN maritime security cooperation.

• Starting September 7, India’s main opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi, visited Europe for a five-day tour, visiting Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Norway. According to Gandhi’s statements at a press conference, during a roundtable with Members of the European Parliament, he discussed India’s “relationship with EU parliamentarians, the subcontinent’s changing role in the global sphere and […] India’s challenges”, including an “attack on our democratic institutions”. Apart from meeting MEPs in Brussels, Gandhi also reportedly met with officials from the European External Action Service.

• On September 9-10, the annual G20 Summit took place in New Delhi, India, under the rotating G20 Presidency of India.

• On September 5, news circulated showing invitations for a G20 dinner sent out by India’s President Droupadi Murmu, which described her position as “President of Bharat” instead of “President of India”. Commentators note that India’s constitution refers to “India, that is Bharat” as interchangeable names, while others speculate whether India is planning to drop “India” as its official name.

• On September 8, in his remarks before the G20 Summit, European Council President Charles Michel thanked “Prime Minister Modi and India for their leadership over the past year, and for their priorities”.

• On September 8, the Peoples’ 20, a global network of civil society actors that engage with the G20 process towards social justice and human rights, published their recommendations for the G20.

• On 10 September, the G20 leaders published their final declaration. In this culmination of the G20 process, clause 78 notes that the G20 “strongly deplore all acts of religious hatred against persons, as well as those of a symbolic nature without prejudice to domestic legal frameworks, including against religious symbols and holy books”. It also “emphasize[s] that freedom of religion or belief, freedom of opinion or expression, the right to peaceful assembly, and the right to freedom of association are interdependent, inter-related and mutually reinforcing and stress the role that these rights can play in the fight against all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief.” The final declaration does not include the word “democracy”, nor does it condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

• On September 10, US President Joe Biden said that he raised the issue of respecting human rights, especially press freedom, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in discussions on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

• On September 11, UN human rights chief Volker Türk discussed the violence in Haryana and Manipur and called for India to “redouble efforts” to uphold the rights of all minorities. He said his office “frequently receives information that marginalised minority communities are subjected to violence and discrimination”, and noted that “Muslims are often the target of such attacks, most recently in Haryana and Gurugram, in northern India.”

• On September 13, in her annual State of the Union speech, European Commission President Ursual von der Leyen commended a project to build an India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, signed in early September.

• On September 18, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly said Canada was looking at “credible allegations” potentially linking the Indian state to the murder of a Canadian citizen of Indian origin on June 18 on Canadian soil. The Indian government dismissed the allegations as “absurd”. The Canadian government subsequently expelled an Indian diplomat, and India responded by also expelling a senior Canadian diplomat. India also reportedly stopped processing visa applications by Canadian citizens. Some Facebook users report that their posts on the incident are allegedly disappearing and that their accounts are being suspended. Canada also recently put on hold negotiations for a free trade agreement with India, citing “political issues“.

• On September 19, the European Parliament’s Human Rights Subcommittee held an exchange of views on the human rights dimension of the negotiations on an EU-India Free Trade Agreement. The discussion took place in camera, i.e. it was not public.

• On September 19, a senior US official reportedly said that the US is “in active talks with the Indian government to look at producing military systems in areas related to ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance)” and “ground-based conventional warfare”.

• On September 20, UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Fernand de Varennes, told the US Commission for International Religious Freedoms (USCIRF) that there is a “steady” and “alarming” erosion of fundamental rights, particularly of religious and other minorities, in India.

Manipur

• On September 2, the Editors’ Guild of India (EGI) submitted its findings from a fact-finding mission to Manipur. The Manipur police then filed a case against the fact-finding team from the Editors’ Guild of India (EGI). “The state government has filed an FIR against the members of the Editors’ Guild for trying to create more clashes in the state of Manipur,” chief minister N. Biren Singh said. The criminalisation of the fact-finding mission may potentially contravene the rights to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly and freedom of association under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR.

• On September 2, security personnel reportedly forcibly evacuated 24 Kuki residents who had stayed in their home city during ongoing violence. One among them alleged that the evacuation was forced and that it felt “more like an abduction”. In the four months since violence erupted in Manipur, thousands of people from the Kuki-Zomi community have fled. The “evacuation” may potentially contravene the right to freedom of movement (Article 12 ICCPR) and the right against arbitrary interference with privacy, family and home (Article 17 ICCPR).

• On September 4, UN human rights experts issued a press release expressing their alarm over the scale of human rights violations involved in the Manipur violence and at the “inadequate humanitarian response” in its wake. They said the situation was “grave” and pointed out that it has involved alleged acts of “sexual violence, extrajudicial killings, home destruction, forced displacement, torture and ill-treatment”. India responded to the UN experts by saying these comments are “unwarranted, presumptive and misleading.” As of September 14, according to the government: Around 175 people have died and more than 70,000 are displaced, of which at least 10,000 are children. 1118 people have sustained injuries and 32 are officially missing. At least 5,172 cases of arson have taken place, including 4,786 houses and 386 religious places. The internet shutdown has lasted over 3050 hours.

• On September 6, the Supreme Court asked the Manipur government to act on the estimated 5668 weapons which have been looted by civilians during the violence. The free circulation of looted weapons poses a serious risk to the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR), which states must protect.

• On September 12, 21 British MPs tabled an early day motion calling on the UK government to “raise the issue of human rights violations in Manipur with the Indian government and to halt negotiations towards a UK-India free trade agreement (FTA) while such violations continue to occur.”

• On September 27, news reported that the Manipur government has extended the application of the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in all of Manipur, with only a few exceptions. AFSPA has been in force in Manipur since 1980 and provides sweeping powers to soldiers, including the power to shoot to kill civilians and to arrest people without warrants. AFSPA is widely recognised as allowing gross human rights violations, and has been severely criticised by several UN experts, including the Special Rapporteurs on violence against women, its causes and consequences, on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and on the situation of human rights defenders.

Civil society and human rights defenders

• On September 5, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out coordinated raids in Uttar Pradesh state targeting activists associated with Bhagat Singh Students Morcha and Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). PUCL national president Kavita Srivastava accused the NIA of carrying out a “witch hunt” and a “tyrannical act” and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the First Information Report in the case, and a halt to the investigation. The targeting of these activists may potentially contravene the rights to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly and freedom of association under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR.

• From September 7-9, the Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers’ Movement (ICCFM) held a three-day forum, where they discussed among other things ongoing trade negotiations in which India is engaged and the impact of the climate crisis on Indian agriculture. The forum took place under three layers of police security, as one of the attending persons had reportedly received several threats to his life due to his role in the farmers’ protests of 2021.

• On September 21, a High Court granted bail to human rights defender and forest rights activist Mahesh Raut. Raut has been in pre-trial detention since 2018 under India’s draconian terror law, charges which the High Court noted the evidence does not appear to support. After the National Investigation Agency challenged, the Supreme Court extended the bail on September 27. His prolonged and arbitrary arrest appears to violate the right to liberty (Article 9 ICCPR).

• On September 27, Amnesty International published a new report which finds that the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – a global body responsible for tackling terrorism financing and money laundering – have been abused by the Indian authorities to bring in draconian laws. This suggests that the FATF provides legitimacy to the criminalisation of people working in civil society organisations that want to improve human rights and democracy, in violation of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

• On September 28, the OHCHR (United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) published a report documenting over 220 people and 25 organisations worldwide who faced reprisals for cooperating with the UN on human rights. The OHCHR documents several reprisals in India.

Hate crimes against minorities

• On September 1, members of the women’s wing of the Hindu supremacist Vishwa Hindu Parishad assaulted a missionary from the Ahmadiyya Muslim community at a book fair, who had reportedly noted the contact details of female visitors to his stand. A 29-second video reportedly shows the assault. The assault raises questions about the state’s ability to protect the right to freedom from degrading treatment, including by non-state actors (Article 7 ICCPR) and the obligation to prohibit advocating religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

• On September 6, police in Uttar Pradesh state registered a case against a district president of the ruling BJP for allegedly raping a 17-year-old Dalit (“untouchable”) girl and killing her father on August 28. The incident raises concerns about the state’s protection of the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR) and women’s right to freedom of violence (Article 2 CEDAW)

• On September 12, a mob beat to death a 20-year old Muslim in Rajasthan state. Witnesses allege that the attack took place in retaliation for previous violence between two communities. The attack raises questions about the state’s ability to protect the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR) and the obligation to prohibit advocating religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

• On September 23, a man reportedly abducted and assaulted a Dalit (“untouchable”) woman. This happened after she filed a harassment complaint against him; the police brought in for questioning and released him later. The assault raises concerns about the state’s protection of gender equality in matters of civil and political rights (Article 3 ICCPR) as well as women’s right to freedom of violence (Article 2 CEDAW)

• On September 26, Hindu supremacists tied a 26 year-old man of Muslim faith to an electric pole and beat him to death in Delhi allegedly for stealing “prasad” (ceremonial offering) from a temple stall. The police are reportedly investigating. This attack raises questions about the state’s ability to protect its citizens right to life (Article 6 ICCPR), right to humane treatment (Article 7 of the ICCPR) and to address acts of religious violence and discrimination as laid out by the ICERD.

Religious freedoms

• On September 6, the Supreme Court condemned how the police in Uttar Pradesh state are handling a case filed against a teacher for encouraging violence. The case concerns a video, which reportedly shows the teacher making religiously discriminatory comments and ordering her second-grade students to slap a Muslim classmate for not doing his homework. This follows similar incidents in schools: On August 31, a teacher in Karnataka state reportedly made hateful remarks against two fifth grade students of Muslim faith. She reportedly told the students: “This is not your country; this is the country of Hindus. You should go to Pakistan. You are our slaves forever.” These incidents raise questions about the state’s ability to prohibit advocating religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

• On September 9, Hindu supremacists vandalised a mosque in Himachal Pradesh state. Additional videos circulated of Hindu supremacists vandalising Muslim shrines across the country. The incidents raise questions about the state’s ability to prohibit advocating religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR). This came on the same day as the New Delhi Declaration of the G20 “strongly deplore[d] all acts of religious hatred against persons, as well as those of a symbolic nature without prejudice to domestic legal frameworks, including against religious symbols and holy books”.

• On September 11, the principal of a private school in Goa state was suspended after Hindu supremacists filed a police complaint that he took a group of Class 11 students to a mosque. The principal responded that the field trip was part of an initiative to promote communal harmony.

• On September 26, the police reportedly filed a case against Milind Ekbote, the president of a Hindu supremacist organisation, for making “provocative speeches” at a rally. The speech involved demanding the removal of allegedly illegally built constructions, a demand which is increasingly resulting in extrajudicial demolitions of Muslim homes in India. Ekbote is already implicated in other cases, including for hate speech in 2021 and instigating violence in 2018. The incidents raise questions about the state’s ability to prohibit advocating religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

• On September 21, BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri reportedly called another politician of the Muslim community a “militant”, “terrorist” and “pimp”, and demanded to “throw this mullah [derogatory word for Muslim] out”. The BJP has not taken any action against Bidhuri despite his hate speech in parliament, though the deputy leader of the Parliament reportedly “expressed regret” over the remarks and the Parliament Speaker reportedly warned Bidhuri of “strict action” if this happens again. On September 26, the BJP reportedly appointed Bidhuri as in-charge for polling in one district. The incident constitutes a ruling party lawmaker advocating for religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

• On September 24, Hindutva Watch released its annual report documenting 255 documented incidents across 17 states verified instances of hate speech by far-right Hindi groups against India’s Muslim minorities in the first half of 2023. A notable portion of these incidents occurred in states preparing for upcoming legislative elections, raising suspicions of hate speech being exploited for political gains.

• On September 30, organisers of an event at the National Law Institute University, Bhopal, reportedly distributed literature “hostile” to religious minorities and put up posters “deriding academics”. The event was reportedly inaugurated by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav. The event raises questions about the state’s ability to prohibit advocating religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (Article 20 ICCPR).

Press, media and technology

• On September 1, the BBC published a year-long investigation into the state of journalism in Jammu & Kashmir. Soon after, the Jammu & Kashmir police responded on X, formerly Twitter, that the State Investigation Agency (SIA) “reserves the right to initiate further legal action” against the BBC for “misreporting facts in a case which is sub judice.” The threat of legal action may have consequences for the right to freedom of expression (Article 19 ICCPR).

• On September 6 at 4am, police in West Bengal state reportedly arrested Debmalya Bagchi, a journalist for ABP news, on the basis of a sexual assault complaint. Bagchi was released on bail on September 14. One of Bagchi’s colleagues, however, reportedly told the Committee to Protect Journalists that he was likely arrested because of his recent reporting on illegal liquor production. This could indicate a violation of the right to freedom of expression (Article 19 ICCPR).

• On September 10, communal violence erupted after an “objectionable” post on social media in Maharashtra state. One person died and at least ten were injured, and police imposed a blanket internet shutdown. Such blanket internet shutdowns violate the rights to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly and freedom of association under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR.

• On September 13, the opposition alliance “INDIA” announced its decision to collectively abstain from programmes or shows hosted by 14 TV anchors, on the basis that these allegedly spread hate or partisanship towards the government.

• On September 19, police in Kerala state removed the name of a woman journalist from a First Information report in a case of alleged defamation and conspiracy to tarnish the reputation of a student leader. She had been charged in June over news she broadcast about a student’s name featuring in a student list although he had not attended relevant exams. Her arrest raised questions about the right to freedom of expression (Article 19 ICCPR).

• On September 20, Meta released its second annual Human Rights Report. Meta claims it has increased the number of groups designated as “Designated Organizations and Individuals” in India, claims it is putting in place measures for election periods in India, and claims it is putting in place a specific program for civil society engagement. Meta has previously been criticised for not disclosing the results of a Human Rights Impact Assessment for India. Despite Meta’s new claims, civil society documents systematic failure to remove content that incites violence.

• On September 25, news reported that the Jammu and Kashmir Police have reportedly secured direct cooperation from major social media platforms (including Meta, X, Snapchat, TikTok and more), granting them access to track individuals deemed involved in “anti-national” activities. This may have serious implications for the human rights impact of these corporations, as well as on the right to privacy (Article 17 ICCPR).

Parliament

• On September 19, the Union government introduced the 128th Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2023, to bring in 33% reservations for women in the Lok Sabha and all state Legislative Assemblies. At present there are 82 women MPs in the Lok Sabha, out of 543 total MPs. Opposition leaders criticise that the Bill will only enter into force following contentious changes to the delimitation of political constituencies across the country.

• On September 19, an opposition leader criticised that newly printed copies of India’s Constitution distributed in the Parliament have reportedly removed the words “socialist and secular” from the Preamble. The words were added in 1976, and the Law Minister reportedly responded that the version printed corresponds to the “original”. The controversy erupted amidst calls by Hindu supremacists to turn India into a “Hindu nation”.

Executive

• On September 5, the Crime Investigation Department in Assam state arrested several police officers who reportedly wrongfully detained a Muslim man in July and thereby violated Article 9 on the right to liberty of the ICCPR. The complainant alleged that the police wrongfully detained him, told him to pay a large amount of money, threatened to kill him in an “encounter” and justify his killing by accusing him of having “links with Pakistani and Bangladeshi jihadi elements”.

• On September 9, videos circulated of police in Madhya Pradesh state parading 8 men half naked through the streets, after they were accused of having thrown stones. The incident may potentially violate the prohibition of degrading treatment or punishment under Article 7 of the ICCPR.

• On September 10, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the state would launch the second round of its crackdown against child marriage within the next few days, during which he said another 3,000 people would be arrested. In February this year, the Assam government had launched an unprecedented, punitive crackdown against child marriage in the state in which around 3,141 people had been arrested within a span of a month. An analysis of records of those arrested in the last crackdown showed that 62.24% of those arrested were Muslims, while the rest were Hindus and people from other communities.

• On September 12, police arrested Hindu supremacist Bajrang Dal member Monu Manesar for his alleged involvement in inciting the communal violence in Nuh in August, in which at least six people died. Manesar also faces a case for his alleged involvement in the deaths of two Muslim men, who were burnt alive earlier this year.

• On September 13, police registered a case against the anchor of Aaj Tak, Sudhir Chaudhary, for “spreading false and communally inflammatory news against the Karnataka government” in connection with his show aired on Monday, 11 September. Aaj Tak has previously been fined for spreading disinformation and is considered partial to the ideology of the ruling government.

• On September 19, police in Uttar Pradesh state shot dead a man accused of murder after he allegedly fled from police custody. A thorough investigation into the killing is pending. There are serious concerns about extrajudicial “encounter killings” that violate the right to life (Article 6 ICCPR) in the state, with police reportedly killing 179 criminals in 10,814 encounters since Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath came to power in March 2017.

Judiciary

• On September 5, the Supreme Court reserved its judgement on the unilateral abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which guaranteed semi-autonomy to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir. It had been hearing a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation, which had been left pending since 2019.

• On September 26, the Delhi High Court dismissed a plea by youth climate activist Disha Ravi challenging her bail condition to obtain prior permission from court every time she wants to travel abroad. Disha Ravi was arrested in 2021 for publishing a “toolkit” on social media to support farmers protesting against new farm laws. Her case raises questions about arbitrary deprivation of her liberty (Article 9 ICCPR) and her freedom of movement (Article 12 ICCPR).

India in the world

• On August 2, European Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli arrived in Gujarat state for the G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment 2023, where she gave a statement on education and STEM.

• In a new report on “future shocks“, the European Parliament Research Service notes “recent democratic failure or erosion in countries such as […] India“, and warns that this poses a risk that “extremist and anti-democratic political forces could instrumentalise economic malaise to gain power either through elections or through violent insurgency”.

• On August 15, India celebrated its 77th Independence Day. Indian diaspora in London gathered to protest against the ongoing violence in Manipur and Haryana, and were joined by British MPs.

• On August 25, Prime Minister Modi visited Greece as the first Indian PM to do so in 40 years. Greek news reported that Modi expressed India’s interest in gaining access to ports in Greece.

• On August 26, European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis told ANI news agency that the EU is not setting any “specific deadline” for the conclusion of free trade negotiations with India. The signing of the free trade agreement between India and Europe might take a while, as he noted that its “substance” matters more than a deadline and further discussion is needed.

• A new article by the Financial Times investigates potential front men used by the Adani Group to bypass rules for Indian companies that prevent share price manipulation. This follows an investigation by the short seller Hindenburg, which accused the Adani Group of running the “largest con in corporate history”.

Communal Violence and Riots

Violence in Manipur

• On August 1, the Supreme Court said that the state machinery in Manipur has “completely failed” and there is no law and order left in the violence-hit state.

• Prime Minister Modi’s government fails to respond to the conflict. On August 6, over 110 former civil servants urged the Central government to impose President’s rule in Manipur. On August 2, a newly founded opposition party alliance met the Indian President Murmu and urged for her “intervention” in establishing peace in Manipur.

• On August 7, the Manipur police suspended five officers, who were reportedly involved in the May 4 incident in which three Kuki women were paraded naked by a mob. The video sheds light on systematic gang rapes in India, and further evidence of targeted sexualised violence has emerged.

• Mobile internet remains shut off in Manipur, in violation of human rights law, despite an urgent need for accurate information.

• The state government of Manipur has asked its governor to convene a special session on the armed conflict on August 21, but Kuki members of the legislative assembly declared they would not attend such a session.

• Armed violence by civilians continues to escalate. On August 3, a mob of approximately 500 people looted police armoury and weapons. According to The Hindu, about 4,000 weapons have already been looted, of which only 1,600 weapons have been recovered. On August 5, five more persons were killed, and the death toll rose to at least 187. On August 18, three more people were killed. More than 150 people have lost their lives in the violence and tens of thousands have been displaced.

Violence in Haryana

• On Monday, July 31, communal violence erupted in the Nuh district of Haryana during a procession by the Hindu supremacist groups Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal. The conflict killed at least six people and injured over 50. Prior to the procession, known cow vigilante Monu Manesar, who is absconding from the police in a murder case, called on people to participate in the procession. Unidentified police officials told the Hindustan Times and News18 that Manesar’s call might have incited the violence. The participants were armed, raising questions why the procession received permission. As violence erupted, the Home Minister of the state falsely claimed that “Muslim rioters” had taken Hindus hostage, further escalating the violence. A 19-year-old deputy Imam of the mosque in Gurugram was stabbed 13 times and killed by a Hindu supremacist mob. Hindu supremacists set numerous mosques on fire and destroyed numerous shops. Violence continued until at least August 7, and spread to Gurugram, a business hub in India home to international companies. Migrant workers and Rohingya refugees have been left homeless and displaced, and are fleeing Haryana.

• Twenty companies of central forces were deployed in Haryana. A total of 18 cases have been registered in Gurugram and at least 116 have been arrested: On August 15, police arrested militant Hindu supremacist Raj Kumar, alias Bittu Bajrangi, in connection with the Haryana communal violence. Bajrangi is the head of a cow vigilante group active in Faridabad, Haryana. The charges against him include assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty, voluntarily causing harm to deter a public worker from doing his duties, rioting, and Section 25 of the Arms Act.

• Local Hindu supremacist groups threatened local Muslims: On August 1, a group of men went around the locality threatening the Muslims to leave, and thousands of residents fled their homes. On August 6, Hindu supremacist group “Hindu Samaj” organised a “religious congregation” despite a blanket ban on public gatherings. At the event, participants called for a social and economic boycott of Muslims. On August 13, another “religious congregation” framed nine demands, which include that the district should become “cow slaughter-free” and that “the government should provide arms […] for self-defence” to locals.

• Following the violence, the government responded with further human rights violations: The district administration suspended internet services until August 11. On August 3, the Haryana government demolished the shanties of more than 250 Muslim migrant workers, who had fled the violence. Additional demolitions continued for the following days, and residents alleged they were not given any prior notice. On August 5, over 45 shops in the riot-affected area were demolished for being allegedly constructed “illegally”. Over five days, over 1200 buildings, overwhelmingly owned by Muslims, were reportedly demolished. On August 7, the Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo moto cognisance of the demolitions and ordered them to stop. In its order, the High Court asked whether the demolitions were “an exercise of ethnic cleansing”. The case was then passed on to another bench, in violation of procedure, which requires it to be passed on to the Chief Justice.

• In early August following the violence, over 50 village councils in the state released identical letters demanding that Muslims living in the villages submit their identity documents to the police, and barring the entry of Muslim traders.

• On August 17, Delhi police detained more than 50 people for protesting against the Haryana violence in New Delhi.

Human Rights Defenders and civil society

• On August 1, the Indian government suspended the passports of several Kashmiris, including journalists, arguing the affected parties “were a threat to Indian security” despite no reported charges against them. Recently, officials suspended the passports of two Kashmir-based journalists and one local politician and activist.

• On August 1, tweets by journalist Rana Ayyub, fact-checker Mohammed Zubair, and politician Asaduddin Owaisi on a reported hate crime were removed from Twitter, following a demand from the Indian government. They referred to an incident on July 31, when an Indian railway security constable shot and killed a colleague and three passengers on a train. In a verified video, he says: “If you want to live and vote in Hindustan [India], I am telling you, it’s only Modi and Yogi,” thereby suggesting the attack has a political motive.

• On August 1, the National Investigation Agency raided multiple locations in Kashmir, including the residence of human rights lawyer Parvez Imroz, in an NGO-funding case registered in the year 2020.

• On August 9, the Supreme Court adjourned the bail hearing of human rights defender Umar Khalid, after a judge recused himself from the case. Khalid has been detained without a trial since 2020, when he was arrested under India’s anti-terror law UAPA and sedition laws for his participation in protests against India’s discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act. Khalid’s bail petitions have been repeatedly denied.

• On August 14, the Supreme Court gave Professor Kham Khan Suan Hausing, professor at Hyderabad University, protection from coercive action. Professor Hausing is facing criminal proceedings for giving an interview on the ongoing armed violence in Manipur.

• On August 15, an assistant professor at Ashoka University resigned from his post weeks after he published the research paper “Democratic Backsliding in the World’s Largest Democracy”, which explores the possibility of electoral manipulation in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The University had publicly distanced itself from the paper. On August 22, the Intelligence Bureau visited the university campus to speak with the former professor about the paper.

• On August 21, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor and UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Gerard Quinn called on India to end the inhumane detention of human rights defender GN Saibaba. Saibaba, who suffers from a spinal disorder, has been in pre-trial detention since 2014.

• On August 27, Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan marked five years of being arbitrarily imprisoned. Sultan is accused of “complicity” in “harbouring known terrorists” under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, India’s counter-terrorism law that reverses the burden of proof. In 2019, Sultan was given the John Aubuchon Press Freedom award.

• On August 28, police arrested tribal rights activist Nitin Varghese, who is with Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, a group campaigning for Forest Rights. Police charged Varghese with criminal conspiracy and inciting to violence.

• On August 29, the house of Muslim woman journalist Khushboo Akhtar burnt down. Akhtar supposes that the house caught fire as an attack against her work as a journalist.

Hate crimes against minorities

• On August 3, police arrested three persons, including a member of the Hindu supremacist Bajrang Dal, for assaulting Dalit (“untouchable”) villagers in Madhya Pradesh state.

• On August 15, a video circulated on social media showing a Hindu supremacist mob beating a Muslim man at a train station, condemning him for going out with a Hindu woman. The mob then shouted “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Hindu God Rama). The incident reportedly took place in July.

• On August 12, Hindu supremacists lynched a Muslim man with mental health conditions in North-Eastern Assam state on alleged suspicion of cow theft. Police have arrested six persons. On August 17, two more people were lynched in separate incidents in North-Eastern Assam state, allegedly for theft.

• On August 17, Hindu supremacists reportedly threatened and attacked a Muslim food vendor in Himachal Pradesh state. The attack took place following a Facebook post of the week before, in which a Hindu supremacist called on others to boycott Muslim-owned businesses.

• On August 18, a middle-aged Muslim couple was reportedly beaten to death in Uttar Pradesh, supposedly in retaliation for the fact that their son had eloped with a Hindu woman a few years before. According to The Indian Express, the woman’s family members are suspected to have carried out the attack.

• On August 19, a group of Hindu supremacists reportedly beat to death a 27-year-old Muslim man and two others, allegedly for illegally chopping wood in a forest in Rajasthan state.

• On August 20, members of the Hindu supremacist group Bajrang Dal reportedly attacked Christians who were praying inside a church in New Delhi. They carried speakers blaring the slogan “We will make a Hindu nation.”

• On August 25, six persons in Maharashtra state reportedly attacked a Dalit (“untouchable”) man, tied him upside down, urinated on him and forced him to lick their shoes. The incident was recorded on video, and police arrested one accused.

Children’s rights

• On August 2, the body of a 14-year-old was found in Bhilwara, Rajasthan state, near a furnace where she had allegedly been set on fire, after reportedly being gang-raped by a group of men. Seven persons have reportedly been arrested.

• On August 4, a group of men reportedly forced two boys, ages 10 and 15, in Uttar Pradesh state to drink urine on suspicion they had stolen money. The men reportedly also thrust chillies into the boys’ anus. Six men were arrested after videos of the incident circulated online.

• On August 6, a video of the gang rape of two minor Muslim girls, aged 14 and 16, was circulated on social media. The incident itself reportedly took place in July.

• On August 25, a 14-year-old boy and three adult members of his family in Uttar Pradesh state reportedly killed their 15-year-old sister and daughter, allegedly because she had spoken to a Dalit (“untouchable”) boy over the phone.

• On August 24, a teacher forced children to beat their 8-year old Muslim classmate in Uttar Pradesh state. The incident was captured on video, which shows the teacher insulting the boy for being Muslim and scolding the children for not beating him hard enough.

• On August 26, police registered a case against two teachers in Rajasthan state, after a tenth-grade Dalit (“untouchable”) student committed suicide following reported caste discrimination and abuse.

• On August 27, a group reportedly beat to death a Dalit (“untouchable”) teenager over a sexual harassment case filed by his sister in 2019 in Madhya Pradesh state. His sister and mother were also beaten and stripped, and allege the attackers wanted them to withdraw the case.

Religious freedoms

• On August 1, a video circulated showing Hindu supremacists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal taking an oath to turn India into a “Hindu nation”. Hundreds of sharp-edged tridents were reportedly distributed among Hindu men.

• On August 15, India celebrated its 77th Independence Day. Meanwhile, several video clips surfaced on social media unambiguously showing hate speech against the Muslim community during the celebrations. For example, in Jammu, participants in an Independence Day rally shouted slogans calling for violence against Muslims, such as, translated from Hindi, “When Muslims are chopped, they will cry Ram Ram”.

• On August 17, members of Hindu supremacist groups including Bajrang Dal held a rally, giving an ultimatum that local Hindus vacate shops and homes rented by Muslims within two days or face consequences, in Haryana.

• On August 27, a group of Hindu supremacists reportedly attacked two Muslim households and vandalised Muslim fruit vendors’ carts in the presence of law enforcement and media.

• On August 28, members of the Hindu supremacist group Sri Ram Sena (“God Ram’s army”) reportedly attacked two Muslim cattle traders in Karnataka state. They were admitted to hospital for treatment.

Actions by state actors

• On August 5, Kapil Mishra was appointed Vice President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Delhi unit. Mishra, according to the Delhi Minorities Commission, in February 2020 incited riots in North Eastern Delhi, in which at least 53 people died. Mishra called to “shoot the traitors of the nation”.

• On August 6, police in Uttar Pradesh state arrested a 35-year-old businessman for being the administrator of a WhatsApp group in which an allegedly “derogatory” comment against Hindu supremacist Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was posted.

• On August 9, the authorities notified residents in the Nai Basti slum in Uttar Pradesh state that their houses were illegally constructed. Subsequently at least 135 houses were demolished. Commentators note that the slum is located merely 600 metres from the spot claimed by some to be the Hindu god Krishna’s birthplace, suggesting an ulterior motive. The Supreme Court ordered a stay on the demolitions.

• On August 16, the Uttar Pradesh government issued an order directing officials to investigate “negative” news items published by media outlets. The order said officials concerned must seek explanations from the media houses if the facts in the story were found to be “twisted” or “false” in order to tarnish the image of the government.

• On August 19, Delhi Police prevented people from entering a meeting venue in New Delhi, where a meeting critical of the G20 summit took place, citing that the organisers did not have “permission” for the event.

• On August 22, police registered a case against actor Prakash Raj over a tweet in which he reportedly mocks India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission to the moon. Hindu supremacist organisations had reportedly filed a complaint.

Legislative

• On August 7, the Parliament passed a Bill that gives the BJP-led central government control over posting and transfers of bureaucrats in the capital Delhi. The Supreme Court had previously in May passed a verdict that the power over bureaucrats in the national capital lies with the state government, not the central government. This is now nullified.

• From August 8 to 10, the Indian Parliament debated a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Modi, filed over his lack of response to Manipur. On August 10, the motion was defeated by voice vote. This is the second time that Mr Modi’s government is facing a no-confidence motion since it came to power in 2014. Opposition parties demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement in Parliament, but the government has so far only agreed to a short duration discussion. In a 2-hour speech defending his government during the vote, Modi criticised the motion as an attempt by opposition parties to “defame India“. Modi only addressed the violence in Manipur when the opposition walked out on his speech after an hour.

• On August 10, the Central government tabled a Bill which proposes that the members of the Election Commission of India be selected by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition, and a Minister nominated by the Prime Minister. Legal experts note that the Bill will give more power to the executive over the Election Commission and violate an order by the Supreme Court from March. The Election Commission oversees the integrity of India’s elections.

• On August 12, Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three bills to replace the Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian Evidence Act. There are serious human rights risks associated with the penal code reform: While the government frames this as a measure to reduce colonial legacy in India’s penal system, others note that it expands police powers, and creates a new offence that de facto widens the definition of “sedition”. The new Bills also do not include procedural safeguards against false implication in terrorism cases.

Judiciary

• On August 4, the Supreme Court put a stay on the conviction of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi for defamation. Following a remark on the “Modi” surname, Gandhi was convicted to the maximum sentence of two years in prison, which is the minimum needed to disqualify him from Parliament. The suspension of Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as Member of Parliament was subsequently overturned.

• On August 8, the Supreme Court started hearing a batch of petitions challenging the revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution which unilaterally took away the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. The petitions had been left pending since 2019. Notably, on August 29, the Supreme Court asked the Union Government to provide a time-frame or roadmap for the restoration of statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, noting that it “cannot be a Union Territory” under direct control of the centre “permanently”. The Supreme Court also noted that “restoration of democracy is important”.

• On August 24, a Delhi court acquitted a Muslim man in a case related to the 2020 riots after observing that the police made “artificial statements” against him. This is the second time in a month that the court pulled up the Delhi Police over its investigation in a case related to the riots, in which at least 53 people died. On August 16, the same court said the police had “manipulated evidence” in another case.

Internet and technology

• On August 4, a coalition of 35 civil rights groups called on Reuters news agency to terminate its partnership with ANI, an Indian news agency, due to its reported Islamophobic reporting and dissemination of false information.

• On August 8, 20 current and former faculty members of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore have called in a letter on Indian corporates to defund “the spread of misinformation and hate speech through news channels and social media”, warning that “rapidly increasing levels of radicalization” are “fermenting an atmosphere conducive to large-scale violence.”

• On August 10, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill was passed in the upper house of Parliament. Opposition MPs had staged a walkout due to another issue and were absent from the vote. The Bill is widely criticised, including by transparency activists, who note that the Bill restricts the Right to Information Act and allows public authorities to withhold critical information in the name of data privacy; that the Bill does not require actors to tell users with whom their data is shared, how long it will be stored, and if their data will be transferred to other countries; and that the Bill does not provide adequate safeguards against government surveillance.

• On August 19, Indian authorities blocked Indians from accessing the independent Kashmiri news outlet The Kashmir Walla and all its social media platforms, triggering strong criticism by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

India in the world

• From July 3-5, UN Deputy Secretary General Amina J Mohammed visited India on an official visit. Her visit focused on digital technology, Sustainable Development Goals, and India’s ongoing G20 Presidency.

• On July 3, Indian diaspora held a protest in front of the United Nations Palais des Nations in Geneva to raise awareness of the persecution of Christians and Muslims in India.

• On July 8, US Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya, arrived in Delhi. During her visit, according to the State Department she discussed “the deepening and enduring U.S.-India partnership, including advancing shared solutions to global challenges, democracy, regional stability, and cooperation on humanitarian relief”. She met civil society organisations working on media freedoms, gender equality, restrictions on NGOs and “marginalised religious and ethnic minorities”.

• On July 19, India and the UK concluded their 11th round of negotiations for their free trade agreement. They reportedly made significant progress on five chapters dealing with contentious issues such as digital trade, environment and labour in the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations.

European Parliament Resolution

• On July 13, the European Parliament adopted an urgency resolution warning of the existence of “Hindu majoritarianism” in India. The resolution also calls on the Indian government to “put an urgent end to the ethno-religious violence”, which is ongoing especially in the state of Manipur.

• In its resolution, mainly negotiated by French MEP Pierre Larrouturou (S&D), the European Parliament “denounces in the strongest possible terms all nationalist rhetoric” and calls on the Indian authorities to “refrain from criminalising those who are critical of government’s conduct”.

• In addition to the resolution’s recommendations, MEPs from EPP and ECR in the plenary debate on July 12 called on the EU Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion, Frans van Daele, to urgently visit India. Other MEPs called on the European Commission to act more strongly on human rights in its engagement with India. The European Commission responded on behalf of the High Representative Borrell that they are closely monitoring the situation.

• Ahead of the vote, India’s Foreign Secretary rejected the motion for the resolution, saying Manipur is “totally internal”.

• Alber & Geiger, a lobbying firm that lists its services to the Indian government on their website, contacted MEPs urging them not to table the resolution. The Indian government in a Right to Information request, however, “refused” to admit that it hired Alber & Geiger.

• Following the vote, India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned the resolution as reflecting a “colonial mindset” and as “interference” with India’s internal affairs.

Narendra Modi’s visit to France

• On July 13-14, India’s Prime Minister Modi visited France for a diplomatic visit. Modi was the “guest of honour” on Bastille Day, which serves to celebrate democracy in France. During the visit, France and India announced several deals, including a naval fighter deal and a fighter jets deal.

• On July 10, Justice For Myanmar (JFM) asked Macron to raise the sale of Indian arms and weapons technology to the Myanmar military regime, and asked him to impose a condition that French arms and technology would only be exported to India if it does so.

• On July 11, French MP Arnaud le Gall posed a question in the French general assembly on human rights in India. He questioned why Modi is the “guest of honor” on Bastille Day, which celebrates French democracy.

• On July 13, Indian diaspora and French MPs protested against Modi’s presence at Bastille Day, with significant media coverage.

• On July 14, President Macron bestowed Modi with the “Legion d’honneur”, the highest civilian award in France. Since its creation in 1802, approximately one million people have received the award.

Communal Violence and Riots

• On July 8, municipal elections took place in West Bengal. In the runup to the elections, at least 11 people (45 according to BJP) were killed and dozens more injured, according to the Press Trust of India. The Hindu supremacist BJP came second, while the centrist Trinamool Congress came first.

• On July 16, clashes erupted in Gujarat state over a social media post on the controversial movie “The Kerala Story”. 8 people were injured and 10 have been arrested, with the police accused of bias. The movie depicts the alleged conversion of women from Kerala to Islam and their recruitment by the Islamic State. Clashes over the movie across the country have resulted in at least one death.

• On July 27, the central government introduced the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, which would give Paharis – a linguistic minority in Jammu and Kashmir – the “Scheduled Tribe” status. The Gujjars and Bakerwals, other communities in Kashmir, have threatened protests. Commentators see parallels to protests over tribal recognition in May in Manipur, which triggered the ongoing armed violence.

Violence in Manipur

• The ongoing conflict is conducted with sophisticated firearms, as civilians have looted at least 4000 guns and as there are 35117 active gun licences in Manipur. A recent investigation shows that since the current BJP Chief Minister Biren Singh came to power in 2017, 8000 gun licences have been issued to civilians.

• On July 2 alone, four people were killed in Manipur. Police say one of them was beheaded.

• On July 3, the Supreme Court ordered the Manipur government to file a “detailed status report” about the “situation on the ground” in the ongoing conflict in the state.

• On July 7, the Manipur High Court ordered the State government to lift the internet ban in the state. On July 10, the Supreme Court heard a plea challenging the restoration of the internet.

• On July 8, the National Federation of Indian Women received a criminal charge for conducting a fact-finding mission into the ongoing violence. They were charged with sedition and conspiring to commit offences of waging war against India.

• On July 6, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said that the violence and killings in Manipur are a matter of “human concern”, and the US is willing to help India “if asked”.

• On July 12, Amnesty International published the results of its investigation into the violence in Manipur. They note complicity by police and right-wing groups affiliated with the ruling BJP in the violence, and note that the government’s response to the violence, including shoot-on-sight orders and an internet shutdown, has violated human rights.

• On July 12, the Forum for Restoration of Peace in Manipur called on Prime Minister Modi to visit Manipur and take steps towards restoring peace in the state within the next 10 days.

• On July 19, a video of two Kuki women being paraded naked by a mob emerged from Manipur. A police complaint filed by the relatives of the women states that one of the women was subsequently gangraped. The incident is estimated to have taken place on May 4, a day after violence broke out in Manipur state. Police arrested one person after the video surfaced, despite the complaint having been registered already in May. The victims allege the police were complicit in the incident. The Indian government asked Twitter and other social media platforms to take down the video. The video sheds light on systematic gang rapes in India. On July 20, Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his 79 day silence on the Manipur violence through a 30-second statement. Specifically responding to the video showing women being paraded naked, he said his heart was filled with “with pain and anger” over the situation in Manipur. “The incident that has come to light in Manipur is a shameful incident for any civilised society… I am filled with anguish and anger. The incident of Manipur brings shame to the society… What has happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven, the guilty will not be spared.” Apart from the delay, Modi’s speech has been criticised for being inappropriate, as Modi apparently equated violence in Manipur with law and order issues across India. On July 28, Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that the viral video had been released as a “conspiracy to embarrass the Modi government” ahead of the monsoon session of the Parliament.

• On July 20, a Border Security Forces Head Constable sexually assaulted a woman in a grocery store in Manipur, as CCTV footage shows. The Head Constable has been suspended from duty and arrested.

• On July 21, an 18-year-old woman approached the police in Manipur reporting she had been abducted, assaulted and gang raped on May 15. She reports that she was handed over to armed men by women, with “clear instructions” to kill them.

• On July 25, the Manipur state government decided to allow broadband internet access with strict conditions. Mobile internet remains suspended. This comes after a total internet shutdown of almost three months, which violates human rights law.

Human Rights Defenders and civil society

• On July 19, the Supreme Court granted bail to social activist Teesta Setalvad. She had been arrested in June and accused of fabricating evidence against Prime Minister Modi. On July 1, the Gujarat High Court directed social activist Teesta Setalvad to “surrender immediately” in a case against her. The Supreme Court, however, said that the High Court’s observations were “perverse” and “contradictory”. Setalvad has been advocating for an investigation in Prime Minister Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but last year, the Supreme Court in passing accused Setalvad of conspiracy. The police initially arrested her in June 2022, which Amnesty India and Human Rights Watch called an attack on civil society and demanded her release.

• On July 3, a group of prominent civil society members, including economists, lawyers and retired IAS officers, issued a statement condemning the silence of the country’s senior leadership on ongoing wrestlers’ protests. Female wrestlers are protesting against the President of the Wrestling Federation of India, whom they accuse of sexual harassment and who is also a member of Modi’s BJP. The Wrestling Federation’s President was finally arrested after months of protest, but granted bail on July 19.

• In March, Union Minister of State for Home told the Parliament that the registration certificates of 1,827 non-profits to receive foreign contributions had been cancelled between 2018 and 2022. A day later, Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) filed a Right to Information application seeking access to all 1,827 cancellation orders. In July, the Ministry responded, did not disclose this information, and instead told CHRI that details were available on the FCRA website. The website, however, only listed the 1,808 organisations and had a single order from October 2019. There are no detailed cancellation orders for every organisation that has lost its FCRA licence.

• On July 12, the Delhi High Court granted bail to Tahir Hussain in five different cases registered against him. Hussain, who reportedly participated in peaceful protests against the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act, was accused of conspiracy to incite the 2020 Delhi riots, in which at least 53 people died. However, Hussain will still remain in judicial custody, as he is also charged under India’s anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

• On July 28, human rights defenders Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira were granted bail after five years of jail without trial. They were arrested alongside fourteen others – the “BK16” – under India’s counterterrorism law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), for alleged association with Maoist groups. Evidence was found to have been planted on their laptops. One of the other accused, Father Stan Swamy, died in custody in 2022.

• On July 29, police arrested 93-year-old human rights defender Ayinoor Vasu, over a protest he led seven years ago against alleged extrajudicial killings by police. Police claim they arrested Vasu as he had failed to appear before a court.

Political opposition

• On July 17, nine opposition parties in Assam state moved the Supreme Court to challenge the Election Commission’s proposal to change the election constituencies in the state of Assam. Some Muslims in the region fear that the proposed change will divide voters on religious lines and that sitting legislators will lose their seats. Protests erupted and several protestors were detained.

• On July 18, Prime Minister Modi called an alliance meeting of opposition leaders a “hardcore corruption convention”. Leaders of 26 opposition political parties in India have united to form an alliance in an attempt to oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 general election. The roadmap of the “Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance” (INDIA) reportedly focussed significantly on countering polarisation, hatred and religious divisions.

• On July 26, the Lower House of Parliament accepted to debate a “no-confidence” motion against Prime Minister Modi, filed by opposition parties. The date for the debate is to be decided. Commentators note that the move is merely procedural and symbolic, and that the BJP government is “at no risk of being voted out”.

Judiciary

• On July 9, a Delhi court framed charges against six men for burning a Muslim man alive during the 2020 Delhi riots, in which 53 people died. The court observed that the accused were part of a mob that planned to commit riots.

• On July 10, Kerala High Court criticised the state’s police for seizing a journalist’s mobile phone in a probe involving an online media organisation. The court orally observed that it was a violation of the fundamental rights of the journalist.

• On July 11, the Supreme Court after 3 years and 11 months heard a set of petitions filed challenging the change of Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomy. In 2019, the central government had unilaterally removed Article 370 of India’s constitution, which governs Jammu and Kashmir’s status in the country. The Central government argued that its decision has brought an “unprecedented era of development, progress, security and stability to the region.” The Supreme Court dismissed this as irrelevant, noting that political arguments do not have a bearing on the constitutional legality. The petitions had been left pending, and the Supreme Court in July set up a new constitution bench for the matter.

• On July 21, the Supreme Court heard the plea by India’s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi against a Gujarat High Court order that refused to put on hold his conviction and a two-year jail term in a defamation case. Gandhi was convicted in March in a case related to his speech ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi. This led to his immediate disqualification as an MP.

• In late July, civil society actors filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Gujarat High Court seeking a judicial inquiry into police behaviour. On June 16, the police had reportedly publicly flogged Muslim men.

• On July 28, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a Public Interest Litigation filed National Federation of Indian Women raising alarm over an increase in cases of lynching and mob violence against Muslims, particularly by ‘cow vigilantes”. In a previous 2018 judgment, the Supreme Court had already issued guidelines to the union and state governments regarding the prevention of lynching and mob violence.

Actions by state actors

• On July 1, a BJP legislator, Sharanu Salagar, and several of his supporters reportedly barged into a Muslim electrician’s home and abused his family members claiming that they were slaughtering cows during Eid Al-Adha festival. The BJP legislator was criminally charged later.

• On July 8, police filed a case against a young man on the basis that his social media post “was against Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

• On July 11, India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said that “no religion is under any threat” in India. He claimed: “India has successfully managed to provide space for all its citizens, regardless of their religious, ethnic or cultural backgrounds.”

• On July 17, police filed several complaints against the Chief Minister of Assam state, Himanta Biswa Sarma, for hate speech against Bengali-speaking Muslims. The Chief Minister had called on Assamese youth to take up farming to “push the ‘Miyas’ out of business”.

• On July 18, a video was posted showing BJP leader Naveen Dhul forcing Muslim-owned restaurants in Haryana state that serve meat to be closed, citing an ongoing Hindu festival.

• On July 18, the BJP mayor of Kanpur city demanded that the state government pass legislation preventing Muslims from buying a house from a Hindu and vice versa. She further reportedly said: “We are angry with their [Muslims] behaviour as they throw waste, dirt in temples.”

• On July 26, police in Bihar state shot and killed at least two people who were protesting against power outages, irregular power supply and tariffs.

• On July 31, an Indian railway security constable shot and killed a colleague and three passengers on a train. In a verified video, he says: “If you want to live and vote in Hindustan [India], I am telling you, it’s only Modi and Yogi,” thereby suggesting the attack has a political motive.

Religious freedoms

• Following the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha on June 29, police reportedly filed a case against 40 Muslims for praying in public in Kanpur.

• The work on the controversial Ram Temple in Ayodhya reportedly gathered pace in July, as the number of workers working around the clock increased from 550 to 1,600 and a deadline of January 2024. In 1992, Hindu supremacists had extrajudicially demolished a mosque in the town, as they claimed that the site is the birthplace of God Rama, and violence erupted. In 2020, India’s Prime Minister inaugurated the construction of a new temple at the site.

• In early July, government officials denied a Muslim registration for his newly built house, because they reportedly did not want a Muslim to live in their village. “Registration cannot be done because the concerned person is from the religion of Islam,” the officials wrote on the front page of the application.

• On July 1, the last day of the Eid celebrations, a Muslim juice vendor was reportedly harassed and heckled by a group of Hindu women for religious identity reasons in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun. In a video recorded by the women, one of those women says: “We don’t eat anything prepared by Muslims, we don’t eat spitted food).”

• On July 11, a video went viral showing a woman asking a bus conductor to remove his religious cap, which identifies him as Muslim. After an argument, the Muslim bus conductor takes off his cap.

• On July 17, police arrested a man in Uttar Pradesh, accusing him of converting 230 Dalit (untouchable) families to Christianity. Police registered a case against him under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2021, following a complaint by a Hindu supremacist group. The Uttar Pradesh law has been challenged by civil society for violating India’s constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion.

• In mid-July, officials in Maharashtra state temporarily sealed a 16th century mosque. The move comes after Hindu supremacists claimed that the mosque was constructed on the remains of a demolished Hindu temple.

• In mid-July, the Indian Railways issued a notification to two historical mosques in Delhi, telling them they had been built without permission on its land, and demanding the mosques be removed. One of the mosques is reportedly 400 years old, and therefore older than the Railways.

• On July 26, child rights officials of Madhya Pradesh state reportedly raided a Christian orphanage. Citing attempts to convert children to Christianity, the orphanage has been closed down.

Hate crimes against minorities

• The United Christian Forum (UCF) reports that India witnessed 400 incidents of violence against Christians across 23 states in the first half of 2023 alone, Uttar Pradesh state leading with 155 incidents. In the same period last year, 274 incidents were reported.

• In the first week of July, a mob of Hindu supremacists reportedly beat the principal of a school in Pune city in Maharashtra state for allegedly teaching Christian education in the school.

• In the first week of July, Hindu supremacists in Uttar Pradesh state reportedly raided Muslim-owned meat shops and forced them to close down. In Delhi, members of Hindu supremacist groups Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal forced numerous Muslim-run meat shops to keep stores shut on Tuesdays, citing a need to honour “Hindu sentiments.”

• In early July, Hindu supremacists assaulted a Muslim man in Madhya Pradesh state. A video shows him being forced to lick the assaulter’s feet.

• In early July, a prominent Hindu supremacist TV anchor, Suresh Chavhanke, organized an anti-Muslim hate speech event in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Madhya Pradesh along with several Hindu extremist monks, to incite violence against Muslims. Another monk called for Muslim men in interfaith relations to be hanged, shot to death in public, or burnt alive. Last year, Chavhanke had administered a genocidal oath to a Hindu group in India’s capital, New Delhi, that said, “We take an oath and make a resolution that till our last breath, we shall fight, die for and if need be, kill, to make this country a Hindu Rashtra (nation).”

• In early July, an electricity department lineman forced a Dalit (untouchable) man to lick his slippers, and subjected him to humiliation and physical abuse in Uttar Pradesh state.

• On July 3, a 14-year-old Dalit (untouchable) boy in Bihar state was reportedly tied to a tree and physically assaulted for 10 hours after being accused of stealing a one-rupee (0.01 Euros) coin. Two people were arrested.

• On July 4, Hindu supremacists reportedly barged into a Muslim man’s house, sexually assaulted his 18-year-old daughter, injured other family members and vandalised vehicles in Uttar Pradesh state.

• On July 4, a video went viral showing a man urinating on a tribal person. The man was reportedly an “aide” of a BJP legislator in the state, and the video is supposedly several months old. In response, the police arrested the man. On July 5, local authorities demolished the house of the accused, alleging it had been “constructed illegally”.

• On July 6, Hindu supremacists reportedly assaulted two Muslims students, who were accompanying their friend, a female Hindu, to watch a movie in Karnataka state. The police filed a case against the attackers, and the Chief Minister of the state condemned acts of moral policing.

• On July 8, Hindu supremacists in Rajasthan state assaulted a young Muslim man and forced him to chant “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Hindu God Ram), as he was going to buy groceries. Police arrested three men in connection with the incident.

• On July 11, Hindu supremacists vandalised, turned over and set on fire the car of a Muslim couple.

• On July 13, an upper-caste man attacked a student from the Dalit (untouchable) caste who had urinated in his field. The upper-caste man also forced the Dalit student to manually remove his excreta, which is a crime under the Scheduled Tribes/Scheduled Castes Prevention of Atrocities act.

• On July 16, police arrested three persons for gangraping a minor Dalit (untouchable) girl in front of her boyfriend in Rajasthan state. The police claimed that the accused are campaigning for the ABVP, the student wing of the RSS, which is the ideological parent of Narendra Modi’s BJP.

• On July 21, an upper-caste man in Madhya Pradesh state reportedly smeared faeces on the face and body of a Dalit (untouchable) man. The victim initially reported the incident to a local council, but was fined Rs 600 (approx. 6 Euros). When he filed a police complaint, the police detained the accused.

• On July 23, approximately 30 Hindu supremacists reportedly attacked a Christian pastor and his family as they were getting ready to begin Sunday worship. The family was injured, and police reportedly held the pastor and his wife for 24 hours for forced conversions.

• On July 25, a mob beat a man to death on suspicion of cattle theft in North-Eastern Assam state. Police who intervened were injured and required treatment in hospital.

• On July 26, two young men reportedly stripped and beat a Dalit (untouchable) woman and tied her to a tree, where she remained overnight.

• On July 27, two men working for the trust managing a known Hindu temple in Madhya Pradesh state reportedly raped a 12-year-old girl. The two men were arrested.

• On July 28, four unidentified men reportedly attacked and attempted to rape a Muslim physiotherapist on her way home from work in Madhya Pradesh state. A woman neighbour reportedly came and supported the attackers.

• In mid-July, a middle-aged man reportedly raped a 5-year-old Muslim girl in Uttar Pradesh state and left her in a field.

Refugees

India is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention, and India does not have a refugee law or policy. State governments have been conducting a drive against “illegal immigrants” on orders of the Central government:

• On July 12, news reported that the Manipur police detained ten people from Myanmar for illegally entering India without valid documents. It is not clear whether they are Rohingya refugees or whether they fled the coup. They have been undergoing treatment at Churachandpur district hospital for bullet injuries. Officials confirmed that the bullet injuries are not related to the violence in Manipur, but likely came from the Indian Armed Forces.

• On July 18, Jammu and Kashmir authorities allegedly shot and tear-gassed a group of more than 200 Rohingya refugees, resulting in several people being injured. Among the Rohingya were pregnant women, disabled persons, and sick and elderly persons who required urgent care and attention. On July 20, a one-month-old baby subsequently died at a refugee “holding centre”, and her parents attended her burial in handcuffs according to photos.

• On July 22 and 23, 718 Myanmaris, including 301 children, reportedly fled to India due to the ongoing unrest in Myanmar. The Manipur government ordered the paramilitary Assam Rifles to “push them back”.

• On July 24, the Uttar Pradesh state Anti-Terror Squad detained 74 Rohingya refugees, among them 5 minors, according to its official statement.

• On July 25, the Uttar Pradesh police estimated that 9000 Rohingya refugees live in Uttar Pradesh state. Police have been asked to send these details to the state government in order to start deportation.

Evictions and demolitions

• On July 17, a woman was killed during violence following an eviction in Assam, north East India. She was killed by gunshots during “retaliatory firing”. Five months before, 2000 people had been evicted by the forest department, which bulldozed their homes.

• On July 19, the district administration in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh state, demolished the home of a Muslim man, as it was allegedly a “dangerous building”. The demolition was accompanied by people banging drums and playing music. The demolition notice, issued the day before, was reportedly only pasted outside the home half an hour before the demolition. On July 17, the man had also reportedly spit on Hindus at a procession, causing outcry.

• From July 22, 210 poor families in North Eastern Assam state received eviction notifications by the forest department, ordering them to vacate their homes within 15 days. The forest department alleges the villagers are “encroaching” on forest land. Evictions due to alleged encroachment are increasing in India, and residents rarely receive sufficient time to prove their case before bulldozers arrive.

Internet and technology

• On June 30, a court in southern India dismissed a lawsuit brought by Twitter that challenged broad censorship orders issued by Indian authorities. Twitter had filed the lawsuit in July 2022 after receiving orders from Indian officials between February 2021 and February 2022 to remove more than 1,400 accounts on the grounds that they undermined India’s “sovereignty and integrity.” In dismissing the lawsuit, the judge noted that “many of [the accounts] have outrageous content; many are treacherous & anti-national.”

• On 13-14 July, Nneena Nwakanma called on India to “stop shutting down the internet anytime” at a G20 conference on “Crime and Security in the Age of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Metaverse”, where she was a panellist.

Environment

• On July 13, the central government reportedly cleared amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, to allow commercial mining of 6 critical minerals: lithium, beryllium, titanium, niobium, tantalum and zirconium. Previously, private companies were not allowed to mine these minerals. The amended law also allows pitting, trenching and sub-surface excavation, which were previously prohibited. Earlier this year, India announced it had discovered its first lithium deposits in the conflict region Jammu and Kashmir.

• On July 26, the Parliament passed the controversial Forest Conversation (Amendment) Bill. On July 13, more than 100 former civil servants had written to all members of parliament in India expressing their concern with the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023. They said they were worried both by the contents of the Bill, which redefines a “forest”, and the process being followed in passing it, as objections by stakeholders did not lead to amendments. The Bill passed without discussion.

India in the World

• From 11-12 June, European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, was in Varanasi, India, to participate in the G20 Development Ministers meeting. She took part in the official session on ‘Multilateralism – Collective Actions for Acceleration Progress towards SDGs’ and ‘Green Development – a LiFE approach’.

• On June 13, at a Civil Society Dialogue with Sabine Weyand of DG TRADE, Weyand noted that India is a “difficult” partner during the ongoing negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement. Asked about human rights concerns, Weyand argued that geopolitical imperatives require the conclusion of an agreement, including compromises.

• On June 16, at a Civil Society Dialogue on the human rights and sustainability impact assessment of the EU-India trade agreement, civil society raised concerns regarding repression of civic spaces and human rights issues. Additionally, the preliminary assessment predicts an increase in production in sectors that cause high water pollution and foresees an increase in CO2 emissions.

• From 19-23 June 2023, the EU and India met for their fifth round of negotiations for trade and investment agreements in Delhi. Indian civil society actors report that the minutes of civil society consultations by India are confidential. In a joint statement, more than 130 Indian actors expressed concern at the lack of transparency and non-inclusive consultation processes adopted by India in its FTA negotiations. EU and Indian citizens called on them to take human rights and democratic values seriously in a Twitter campaign under the hashtag #SellGoodsNotValues.

• A new The Guardian investigation shows that since 2021, senior Indian officials have held at least four meetings to discuss India’s global democracy rankings, which widely do not consider India a democracy. Meeting minutes suggest that India’s Prime Minister Modi is concerned about the reputation of India’s democracy abroad.

• According to a recent YouGov poll conducted prior to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US, 4 out of 5 Indians are concerned regarding the state of their democracy. The YouGov poll was commissioned by Friends of Democracy, a new network of citizens devoted to protecting and promoting democracy globally.

• On June 27, the United Nations Secretary-General published its report on children and armed conflict, and for the first time since 2010 did not name India as a country with recruitment of children by armed groups. The report said India has been “removed from the report in 2023” in view of measures taken by the government to “better protect children”.

PM Modi’s visit to the United States

• On June 20, Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for a three-day state visit to the United States. India and the US agreed to a cooperation roadmap for defense industries, aiming to enhance collaboration in co-production, co-development, and supply chain management, bolstering trade and investment relations, technology sectors such as telecommunications, space, and manufacturing.

• On June 26, former President Barack Obama expressed concern in an interview about human rights violations in India under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership. He said that if a US president meets with Modi, “then protection of the Muslim minority in a majority-Hindu India, that is something worth mentioning.” He also said: “By the way, if I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, who I know well, part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, then there is a strong possibility that India, at some point, starts pulling apart.”

• The visit was met with widespread criticism from civil society and US legislators. In a joint effort, U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal and U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen led a letter signed by over 70 congresspersons across both chambers of Congress. The letter appeals to President Biden to prioritize discussions on safeguarding human rights and upholding democratic values in India. Bernie Sanders urged President Biden in a tweet to raise human rights concerns.

• On June 20, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch organized a screening of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question”, which is banned in India. The documentary screening took place before Modi attended a state dinner and addressed a joint session of Congress during his visit.

• On June 23, three Congresspersons and the USCIRF Commissioner held a briefing on India, which addressed growing authoritarian rule and human rights abuses in India.

• Several Congresspersons announced their decisions on Twitter to boycott Prime Minister Modi’s address to Congress.

• A journalist with the Wall Street Journal has faced harassment online, including from the ruling BJP’s communications head Amit Malviya, after she posed a question on minority rights to Modi during a joint press conference in the US. The White House spoke out in support of the journalist.

• Over a dozen Indian diaspora groups, community advocates and organizations staged a National Teach-In on June 13, and hundreds attended a protest against human rights violations in India outside the White House.

• For a more extensive list of civil society efforts around Modi’s US visit, see this resource.

Communal Violence and Riots

• After more than a month of ongoing violence in Manipur, the death toll has risen to over 100, and incidents of firings continue to occur in various regions of the state. On May 4, violent clashes erupted between tribals and non-tribals in multiple locations across the northeastern state of Manipur, and the government imposed a blanket internet shutdown that continues to date. Prime Minister Modi has not spoken on the violence, while expelled opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on June 29 traveled to Manipur, but police stopped his convoy.

• On June 19, protests erupted in various cities due to a controversy surrounding the movie “Adipurush”. It adapts a Hindu mythology, the Ramayana, and criticism concerns the portrayal of certain characters from the mythological epic.

• On June 25, Hindu supremacist groups in the state of Himachal Pradesh held a rally in which they engaged in hate speech and incitement to violence. Examples include “When Muslims get chopped, they will cry Ram Ram” (a Hindu God), and demands for social boycott and expulsion from the state.

• On June 25, different religious communities held a rally in Maharashtra in support of inter-faith harmony.

• On June 27, one person from a political party died in reported clashes between political opponents from the BJP and the TMC in West Bengal. Since June 9, when nominations for local polls began, 11 people have died due to political violence.

Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society

• On June 5, Malini Parthasarathy, journalist and former chairperson of The Hindu Group Publishing, announced her resignation via a tweet. She cited a diminishing “space and scope” within the publication for her “editorial views” as the reason for her departure.

• On June 13, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) suspended the foreign funding license of CARE India due to alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. CARE India, a non-governmental organization and a member of the CARE International Confederation, has been actively involved in combating poverty and promoting social inclusion for the past 70 years.

• On June 14, the Ministry of Home Affairs revoked the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) license of the Centre for Equity Studies, an organization affiliated with Nobel Peace Prize nominee Harsh Mander, for a period of 180 days. The ministry cited as a reason that Harsh Mander and colleagues have consistently contributed columns to prominent newspapers. Amnesty India stated that this cancellation “is an alarming reminder of the wide, arbitrary, and overly broad power FCRA provides the Indian government in restricting the legitimate work of NGOs”.

• On 5 June, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released an opinion urging the Indian authorities to immediately release human rights defender Khurram Parvez, who has been held in arbitrary detention since November 22, 2021.

• Renowned author Salman Rushdie has been awarded the German Peace Prize. The jury highlighted Rushdie as a “passionate defender of freedom of thought and expression”.

Hate Crimes and Attacks against Minorities

• After receiving eviction notices pasted on their homes and businesses, approximately twelve Muslim families were forced to leave Purola, located in Uttarakhand state in northern India. The threats were primarily issued by two Hindu supremacist organizations, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its youth wing, the Bajrang Dal. Hindu supremacists ordered Muslims to leave town before June 15. Hindu supremacist groups organized several rallies demanding the expulsion of Muslims from the area. Additionally, some Muslim shops were reportedly vandalized and signboards bearing Muslim names were removed, forcing most Muslim-owned businesses in Purola to close down. At least three abandoned homes of Muslims have now been put up for sale.

• The state of Uttarakhand responded to a petition filed by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) seeking to prevent a Hindu supremacist gathering, and denied permission to the gathering. The gathering was planned for June 15, in the context of the ongoing eviction notices towards Muslim families. The gathering was called in response to an alleged incident on May 26, where two individuals, among them one Muslim, were accused of attempting to abduct a 14-year-old Hindu girl. Minority groups and NGOs have expressed concerns that the proposed gathering specifically targets individuals from a particular community and could potentially escalate tensions, leading to a further decline in peace within the state.

• On June 8, a Muslim man was lynched and another injured after they were assaulted by a Hindu supremacist group in Maharashtra state. The police alleged that the perpetrators were associated with the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal, and arrested six persons in the case.

• On June 14, a Dalit man was attacked by Hindu supremacists from an upper caste, in an instance of caste-based violence. The Dalit man had tried to stop the Hindu supremacists from felling a tree on his property. He reported that the attackers tried to chop off his private parts, injuring them, and attacked his pregnant wife.

• On June 14, a 28-year-old Muslim man was reportedly assaulted after being accused of mobile phone theft in Uttar Pradesh. He was reportedly tied to a tree, physically assaulted, had his head forcibly shaved, and was coerced into chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’ (hail Lord Ram). The police initially arrested the victim, claiming to have found a knife in his possession, while taking no action against the perpetrators despite video recordings of the incident.

• On June 17, an estimated 500 Hindu supremacists tortured and publicly humiliated two Muslim men in Orissa state, binding them with ropes, stripping them, parading them through piles of garbage, shaving their beards, and filming the torture over suspicions of them carrying cattle meat.

• On June 24, a Muslim man was reportedly beaten to death on his birthday, and another severely injured by Hindu supremacists in Maharashtra state. They were traveling in a car and were accused of transporting beef. While police arrested 11 accused, they also charged the two Muslim men under the cow protection law.

• At a briefing on June 26 for European Parliament representatives, former ICC Prosecutor Dr Fatou Bensouda, former United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues Stephen Rapp, human rights defender Cedric Prakash, and President of the PUCL Kavita Srivastava warned that there is credible evidence of crimes under international law committed against religious minorities in India. As Prime Minister Modi is expected to visit Europe next month, they called for immediate action at the highest level.

• On June 27, Hindu supremacists with the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) tore down the wall of an under-construction church near Kanpur and wrote “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Ram) on the walls. Police filed a case but has not made arrests despite CCTV footage.

• On June 28, a Muslim truck driver was beaten to death by Hindu supremacists, who accused him of transporting beef.

• On June 29, during the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, a mob of an estimated 200 people reportedly attacked a Muslim family in Mumbai that was transporting a goat in accordance with the traditions of the holiday.

Action by State Actors

• On June 20, four people, including a lawmaker from the ruling BJP, allegedly set on fire a mosque in Alwar, Rajasthan. They were later arrested.

• On June 23, after former US President Barack Obama expressed concern about religious minorities in India, the Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on Twitter that “there are many Hussain Obama [sic.] in India itself. We should prioritize taking care of them.”

• On June 24, Indian military personnel reportedly entered a mosque in Kashmir during prayers and forced Muslims to chant “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Ram), a Hindu religious slogan that has been turned into a warcry by Hindu supremacists.

• On June 25, BJP leader and a former deputy chief minister of Karnataka state at a party gathering called for mosques to be demolished to make way for the construction of temples.

• On June 27, the Hindu supremacist Chief Minister of India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, claimed that an “international syndicate” is operating in India to illegally convert people to other religions.

• On June 27, the Karnataka police filed a case against the head of the ruling party BJP’s communications (IT cell) head, Amit Malviya, over a video reportedly spreading disinformation on opposition leader Rahul Gandhi. Malviya is accused of “conspiring to create enmity among voters”.

Religious freedoms

• According to a new research paper, the degree of segregation experienced by Muslim and Scheduled Caste communities in Indian cities is comparable to the segregation issues faced by Black and White racialized populations in the United States.

• On June 9, a Muslim family alleged that railway staff subjected them to Islamophobic treatment during a train journey. Two railway staff members reportedly inquired about her religion. Once the family confirmed being Muslim, the woman alleged her family was served unsanitary food. The personnel reportedly admitted the food was retrieved from the garbage.

• On June 10, Hapur police arrested a man for allegedly offering namaz (Muslim prayer) on the premises of a Hindu temple. Members of Bajrang Dal alleged that the incident was a “conspiracy to disturb the communal harmony in the region”. Despite no evidence of the man offering namaz, the police arrested him based on footage of where he is seen entering and leaving the temple.

• While on an official state visit in the US, Prime Minister Modi during a joint press conference denied religious discrimination in India, and referred to constitutional safeguards for religious and ethnic minorities.

• On June 26, a video circulated of Hindu students chanting “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Ram) at Muslim students praying in a coaching institute. Fact-checkers established that it is recent.

• On June 27, a Catholic school in a central Indian state was reportedly forced to hold online classes after police claimed ownership of the approach road and blocked it overnight and prevented entry of students.

• On June 26, the Hindu supremacist Vishwa Hindu Parishad issued a warning to hotels in the city of Ahmedabad, warning them of consequences if they gave rooms to interfaith couples.

• On June 28, the administration in the Muslim-majority region of Jammu and Kashmir prohibited prayers from taking place in the largest mosque, Jama Masjid, on the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. Police in the state of Uttarakhand told local Muslims to celebrate the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha in another town, 40km away.

Executive

• On June 15, fourteen individuals were arrested in a town on the Indo-Bangladesh border, for attempting to cross the border to India. Among them were four Rohingya refugees, including two infants. A report by the Border Security Force (BSF) revealed that at least 59 Rohingyas were arrested in Tripura in 2022 alone. Additionally, India regularly engages in illegal pushbacks of Rohingya refugees.

• On June 15, Karnataka’s Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister announced that the new Congress government will repeal amendments to the Karnataka Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021 introduced by the previous BJP government. The bill prohibits the act of converting from one religion to another through misrepresentation, force, fraud, allurement, or marriage. The Minister also took decisions on changes made by the BJP in school textbooks, and said it would remove lessons on the founder of the Hindu supremacist RSS and Hindu supremacist ideologue Savarkar.

• In the week of June 19, the Election Commission proposed a change to the election constituencies in the state of Assam. Some Muslims in the region fear that the proposed change will divide voters on religious lines and that sitting legislators will lose their seats. Protests erupted and several protestors were detained.

Judiciary

• On June 10, a Delhi Court acquitted a Muslim man of rioting in the 2020 Delhi Riots, targeted religious violence which killed at least 53. The court noted that the police had “falsely” cited the complainant as a witness, and questioned the failure to stop the riots by the police.

Media and Technology

• During a statement on June 9, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, emphasized that while Artificial Intelligence (AI) is disruptive, it is unlikely to pose an immediate threat to the job sector. Chandrasekhar further mentioned that India intends to regulate AI by focusing on potential harm to users. He stated that the government plans to introduce regulations for online gaming, which will be based on three core principles: preventing harm, addressing addiction, and tackling betting practices, all with the aim of safeguarding digital citizens.

• On June 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions with Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the company creating ChatGPT. The conversation covered a range of topics related to AI, including the importance of global regulation in this field.

• During an interview on June 12, Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, alleged that the Indian government had issued threats of shutting down the platform in the country because Twitter did not comply with its orders to take down content. Dorsey claimed that Twitter received numerous requests from the Indian government to block accounts related to farmers’ protests and posts critical of the government. He further stated that the Indian government had threatened Twitter with threats of raids at its employees’ homes in the country.

• On June 12, reports emerged that a bot on the messaging platform Telegram was allegedly leaking sensitive information about politicians, bureaucrats, and other individuals from the CoWIN portal, India’s Covid-19 vaccination tracking platform. A special unit of the Delhi Police arrested a man for allegedly leaking the data.

• On June 14, an Indian court ordered a temporary halt to broadcasting the AlJazeera documentary “India… Who Lit the Fuse?” investigating hate crimes by Hindu supremacist groups against Muslims. The court stated that broadcasting the movie could lead to “evil consequences”.

• On June 14, Human Rights Watch published a report that revealed that internet shutdowns in India have a disproportionate impact on poor communities who rely on the government’s social protection measures for sustenance and livelihood. Since 2018, India has imposed the most internet shutdowns worldwide. A mid-year report by AccessNow finds that India has imposed a total of 33 internet shutdowns already in 2023. Although many of these shutdowns continue to be implemented at a local or even neighborhood level in response to religious anniversaries, protests, and communal violence, authorities have also imposed sweeping state-wide shutdowns and extended shutdowns across the entire country.

• On June 21, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX CEO, in New York. Musk expressed his admiration for PM Modi, referring to himself as a “fan”.

India in the World

• A new investigation shows that the Modi government reportedly widely distributed fortified rice before fully understanding its impact on human health. This reportedly provided a Dutch company with significant profits. Despite concerns raised by the finance ministry dismissing the project as “premature”, the government proceeded with its plan.

• According to government and industry sources, India intends to submit a formal complaint to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) concerning the European Union’s proposal to impose tariffs ranging from 20% to 35% on imports of high-carbon goods, such as steel, iron ore, and cement from India. With this, New Delhi aims to combat the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

• On May 15, Fernand de Varennes, the UN’s special rapporteur on minority issues, issued a statement saying the G20 was “unwittingly providing a veneer of support to a facade of normalcy” whilst human rights violations are ongoing in Kashmir. China and Saudi Arabia boycotted a G20 meeting held in Kashmir. Civil society actors also called for a boycott, citing human rights concerns.

• On May 16, the European Union’s foreign and security policy chief, Josep Borrell, called on the EU to crack down on India for reselling fuels produced with Russian oil.

• From May 19-21, Prime Minister Modi attended the G7 Summit in Japan to reportedly represent “the voice of the global south”. Important agenda points included the impacts of Russia’s war on Ukraine, but India chose not to explicitly condemn the invasion.

• On May 22, a 19-year-old Indian-origin man crashed a truck into security barriers near the White House in the United States. The driver told the authorities he would kill the president and expressed personal admiration for Hitler. He was detained and convicted afterward.

• On May 24, human rights groups, including Amnesty International, organised a screening of the BBC documentary, ‘India: The Modi Question’ at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra during PM Modi’s Australia visit. The documentary, which was released in January this year, examines responsibility for riots in Gujarat, India in 2002, in which at least 1044 people died, and reports partial responsibility of India’s current Prime Minister Modi.

• On May 25, the European Commission’s Climate Policy Chief, Frans Timmermans, began his two-day visit to India. Frans Timmermans engaged in discussions with government officials, stakeholders, and civil society regarding the upcoming COP28 UN Climate Change conference.

• On May 25, EU Special Representative Eamon Gilmore met with HRD Avinash Kumar to discuss mounting human rights challenges in India, including the situation of minorities.

• Global labor unions condemned the Indian government’s decision to disrupt the participation of independent unions at the G20. The Indian government has insisted on the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), affiliated with Prime Minister Modi’s ruling party and known for its Hindu nationalist stance, chairing the Labour 20 working group.

• The United States urged India to condemn religious violence one month ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit. The US has expressed concerns about incidents of violence against religious minorities in India.

• India is shifting its focus from being a major arms importer, to becoming a defense manufacturing hub and export leader. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced plans for India to become the world’s largest defense manufacturing base. The government aims to increase defense exports by $5 billion over the next two years. India’s defense exports have reached a record high of approximately $1.95 billion for the fiscal year 2021-2022, marking an increase of more than 10 times in six years and sales to over 70 countries.

• For the second time, the re-accreditation of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India has been postponed by a UN-affiliated agency for a year. The re-accreditation process occurs once every five years. Without this accreditation, the NHRC will be unable to represent India at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Communal Violence and Riots

Violent clashes on May 4 erupted between tribals and non-tribals in multiple locations across the northeastern state of Manipur:

• These clashes come after a longstanding ethnic conflict between the Meitei (mostly Hindu) and the Kuki (mostly Christian) over special protections under the constitution. There have also been concerns about a rise of Meitei nationalism, and an increase in militant groups, coinciding with the BJP assuming power in Manipur in 2017. The Manipur High Court on 20 April directed the Manipur government to consider the request of the Meitei community to include them in the Scheduled Tribe category.

• In response, the state government imposed a curfew, shut down internet services, and issued “shoot-on-sight” orders on May 4 to enforce the curfew. The Indian Army deployed an estimated 10,000 troops and paramilitary forces.

• It is reported that more than 80 people have been killed and at least 35 000 have been displaced (according to the Chief Minister) in this violence. At least 250 churches have been reportedly burned. Within the first four days, at least 1700 homes were destroyed.

• The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement that the violence in Manipur “revealed the underlying tensions between different ethnic and indigenous groups”. He urged the authorities to “respond to the situation quickly, including by investigating and addressing root causes of the violence in line with their international human rights obligations”.

On May 5, the controversial movie “The Kerala Story” was released in theatres:

• The film allegedly depicts the conversion of women from Kerala to Islam and their recruitment by the Islamic State. Initially, the filmmakers asserted that 32,000 women from Kerala had been converted to join the Islamic State. However, when pressed for evidence, they modified the trailer, now stating that the movie is a “compilation of the true stories of three young girls”.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi argued that the film revealed a “terror conspiracy” and shed light on the “ugly truth of terrorism”.

• Movie screenings of “The Kerala Story” have been used by the Hindu supremacist Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to recruit people, such as in this video which records VHP getting the audience to make an oath to take action.

• On May 8, the West Bengal government banned the screening of the movie. On May 18, the Supreme Court issued a stay order on the West Bengal government’s ban, after the Kerala government approached the Supreme Court challenging the ban. Two state governments, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, have made the film tax-free.

• On May 13, a heated argument on social media regarding the film escalated into violent clashes in Akola, Maharashtra. One group threw stones and caused damage to properties and vehicles. The violence resulted in the death of a 40-year-old man and left eight others severely injured. The local police responded by arresting around 147 individuals, implementing curfews, and suspending Internet services.

Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society

• In May, a new report published by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre documented that India, Brazil, and Mexico had the highest number of attacks against human rights defenders. Next to the United Arab Emirates, India also had the highest number of attacks related to companies, such as JSW Steel, a prominent Indian steel and coal manufacturer.

• On May 3, independent journalist Sakshi Joshi was assaulted by police. According to Joshi, she was trying to capture footage of the police deployment at a protest organized by women wrestlers against alleged sexual harassment. Joshi was detained for approximately an hour and released without any charges.

• On May 3, India dropped to rank 161/180 in the Press Freedom Index published by Reporters without Borders (RIF). Between 2010-2020, 154 journalists were arrested, detained, interrogated, or harassed for their work in India.

• On May 6, 75-year-old human rights activist and lawyer, Mohammad Shoaib, renowned for taking up the cases of individuals falsely accused of terrorism, has allegedly been arrested by the anti-terror squad of Uttar Pradesh police.

• Teesta Setalvad, journalist and HRD, was awarded the PEN international ‘Empty Chair’ award at the 55th International Writers for Peace Committee Meeting in Bled, Slovenia.

• On May 12, sixteen human rights organizations issued a joint appeal to the Indian authorities, urging them to immediately cease the retaliatory actions taken against human rights defenders and organizations in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly targeting individuals such as Khurram Parvez, Irfan Mehraj, and the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS). Khurram Parvez has been subjected to arbitrary detention since 22nd November 2021 as a punitive measure for his dedicated human rights activities, which involve documenting and advocating for the rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

• After the BBC documentary ban and the office raid, the BBC has now been summoned by the court in a defamation case on 22 May.

Hate Crimes against Minorities

• On May 4, a 24-year-old Dalit groom and others were allegedly physically assaulted during a wedding procession. A group of 20-25 reportedly upper caste individuals, reportedly attacked the groom armed with sticks and iron rods. The groom’s mother-in-law reported that Dalit women who intervened were molested.

• On May 17, a Delhi-based cow vigilante group reportedly stormed a slaughterhouse and assaulted two Muslim men. Cow vigilante groups have been accused of increasingly cracking down on cow slaughter through violence, often resulting in assaults and lynchings of Muslims. Several similar incidents took place across May.

• On May 19, a man from Rajasthan was allegedly beaten to death by his wife’s family due to their interfaith marriage. Three members of the wife’s family have been arrested and sent to judicial custody.

• On May 25, a Muslim man was reportedly beaten by a mob in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, who stopped him on the pretext of asking for directions. Locals claim he was targeted because of his faith.

• During May, there were three separate instances of events where speakers delivered anti-muslim speeches in Maharashtra alone. One of these events was attended by Shrikant Shinde, a Member of Parliament from the Shiv Sena party and the son of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. During two of the rallies, it was noted that at least one speaker made references to weapons.

• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Uttarakhand, Yashpal Benam, has decided to stop his Hindu daughter’s marriage to a Muslim man due to “current circumstances”. Following the circulation of the wedding invitation online, groups associated with the Hindu supremacist Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal organized a protest against the inter-faith marriage.

• During May, several Hindu supremacist groups reportedly organised weapons training, such as the Durga for minor girls in Madhya Pradesh.

• The Rashtriya Bajrang Dal, a group led by Hindu supremacist Pravin Tagodia, reportedly organised a training camp for youth in Ahmedabad, in which firearms training was held. In several places, the Hindu supremacist Bajrang Dal (“God Hanuman’s army”) reportedly held camps in which they also practiced using firearms. This came after the Bajrang Dal and other Hindu supremacist groups are increasingly holding street marches with weapons.

• On television, recorded in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, Bajrang Muni called on Hindus to pick up weapons. Bajrang Muni is a Hindu religious leader who is known for having threatened to rape Muslim girls in retaliation for harassment of Hindu girls. Similarly, television personality Suresh Chavhanke, whose hate speech is extensively documented in this report by The London Story, again called for Hindus to keep swords ready. Similar incidents took place across May.

• The province president of the Hindu supremacist Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Kapil Khanna, threatened that Rohingya refugees will not be allowed to live in Delhi. India continues to deport Rohingya to Myanmar. Amit Shah has a consistently hostile approach to refugees, as is visible when he referred to Rohingya as being “termites” in 2019.

• In Nawagarh, Chattisgarh, Hindu supremacist groups reportedly organized a mass rally against the opening of a church in the village.

• Hindu supremacist leader Sadhvi Prachi engaged in hate speech against Muslims at a movie screening of the Kerala Story, and was subsequently charged with “delivering provocative speech”.

Demolitions and Evictions

• At least 1,600 homes have been forcibly demolished in India’s capital over three months, which has left approximately 260,000 people homeless. Demolition squads frequently served notices as they carried out the four destructions. Additionally, Delhi demolished homeless shelters. This is in the context of a “beautification” plan for Delhi, as it prepares for G20 summit meetings scheduled on 9 and 10 September. These incidents follow a surge in demolitions that violate due process across India, colloquially called “bulldozer raj”, including in Kashmir, Delhi, and across the country. In June 2022, three United Nations Special Rapporteurs condemned the demolitions across India, which they allege deliberately target Muslims through “collective punishment”.

Executive

• On May 3, an order from the Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC) revealed that Myanmar refugees had been detained in Manipur’s state jails for longer than the prescribed detention period. The MHRC has instructed their release and urged the state government to address the issue with the Union Home Minister for their immediate deportation to Myanmar.

• On May 10, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), lost the elections in the state of Karnataka, a key stronghold for the BJP. The defeat is seen as a significant setback for Modi and raises questions about his ability to secure a third term as prime minister in the upcoming national elections in 2024.

• On May 15, police raided a house where Christian community members were holding a prayer in Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh. Latest reports suggest police have confiscated their religious books and launched an investigation into allegations of religious conversions.

• On May 16, the Chief Minister of Assam announced that 300 more madrassas (Muslim religious schools) will be closed, which may be in violation of the freedom of religion enshrined in India’s constitution.

• On May 20, the Central Government issued an ordinance to strip Delhi’s power to control bureaucracy. This violates a ruling from the Supreme Court given on May 11. The constitution bench determined that the legislature has authority over bureaucrats in the administration of services, except in areas that fall outside the legislative powers of the National Capital Territory (NCT). The three areas outside the control of the Delhi government are public order, police, and land.

• On May 23, the Academic Council (AC) of Delhi University approved several modifications to the syllabi, one of which involved the removal of a Muslim poet from the BA political science syllabus. This revisionism comes against a larger trend. In 2022, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) of India conducted a textbook “rationalisation” exercise. In this, it reportedly deleted several passages and even entire chapters that concern controversial historical events, and education on democracy. For instance, the entire chapter “Key Elements of a Democratic Government” was omitted in one textbook. India also cut out periodic tables and evolutionary theories from textbooks last month. Both will not be taught anymore to under 16-year-olds.

• On May 25, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building in Delhi amidst major criticism. Earlier this week, 20 opposition parties decided to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building, demanding that President Draupadi Murmu, rather than PM Modi, conduct the ceremony.

• On May 28, several prominent female wrestlers and supporters were violently detained by the police. This incident unfolded as a culmination of the ongoing protests against the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, whom they accuse of sexual harassment. It was reported that officers “forcefully dragged and detained” the protesters.

• An article published on May 29 shows that according to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-21 carried out by the Ministry of Education, while the enrolment rates of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in higher education witnessed improvements, there was a decline by 8% in the enrolment of the Muslim community. This is reported to be partially influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the economic challenges faced by the community, because many students are compelled to seek employment after completing school rather than pursuing higher education.

Judiciary

• On May 24, a Delhi court sentenced Kashmiri separatist leader and the chief of the banned Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Yasin Malik, to life imprisonment in a case related to terror funding. The National Investigative Agency (NIA) had previously sought the death penalty for Malik after he pleaded guilty to charges connected to terror funding, spreading terrorism, and engaging in secessionist activities in Kashmir back in 2017.

Media and Technology

• On the recommendation of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Indian government has to blocked 14 mobile applications, including the secure messaging app Threema. Central intelligence agencies claimed they were being used by terrorists and their supporters in Jammu and Kashmir.

India in the World

• On April 4, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)’s General Secretariat expressed profound concern over the incidents of violence and destruction perpetrated against the Muslim community in multiple Indian states during the Ram Navami processions.

• On April 6, the Indian government condemned the recent vandalism of a Hindu temple in Canada‘s Ontario province with “anti-Hindu and anti-India graffiti” and has called for action against the perpetrators. Local authorities launched an investigation into the matter and described the vandalism as a “hate-motivated incident”.

• On April 12, a coalition of 10 NGOs published a joint statement on human rights concerns in the EU-India Free Trade Agreement, urging the EU and India to put strong commitments on TSD and all human rights at the core of their negotiations.

• On April 17, Russia announced they are negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India to strengthen economic ties between the two countries and expand trade relations. Despite Western attempts to impose sanctions on Moscow and exclude Russia from global supply chains, trade between Russia and India has increased significantly since the invasion.

• On April 23 to 24, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen visited New Delhi where she met the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, and PM Narendra Modi. On April 24, Von der Leyen and Modi announced the recently launched joint Trade and Technology Council and reaffirmed commitment to negotiations for an EU-India Free Trade Agreement, an Investment Protection Agreement, and an Agreement on Geographical Indications.

Communal Violence and Riots

Human Rights Watch has said India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was using Hindu festivals “to rally voters, leading to an increase in violence”. Clashes and riots include:

• A recent communal clash on April 8 between Hindu and Muslim communities in Chhattisgarh left several people dead and injured. In response, a statewide shutdown was initiated by right-wing groups, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal. Residents from Biranpur village have reported that tensions had been developing since January. This was allegedly due to a meeting held by members of the Sahu community, which urged Hindus to cut connections with the Muslim community and prevent interfaith marriages.

• On April 9, communal violence broke out in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, between members of Hindu and Muslim communities over the alleged desecration of a Hindu religious Ram Navami flag. As per the police, there was tension in the region since April 8 after a piece of meat was found wrapped in the flag. The incident led to the imposition of an internet shutdown and a prohibition of gathering more than four people in a public place. Muslim leaders have alleged that members of Hindu supremacist organizations and the Jharkhand police targeted Muslims and their properties during the outbreak.

• According to an officer, the Delhi Police denied permission to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other Hindu supremacist organizations to carry out a “Hanuman Jayanti” (birthday of God Hanuman) procession in Jahangirpuri on April 6. During the processions last year, communal violence broke out that left nine people injured.

Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society

• On April 6, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation into Oxfam India for alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), which led to a raid of Oxfam’s office in Delhi on April 19. The ministry alleged that Oxfam India continued to transfer foreign contributions to different entities in violation of the FCRA. Oxfam India is the second NGO to be recommended for a CBI inquiry for FCRA violations by the Home Ministry in a month, with the first being Aman Biradari, an NGO founded by human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Harsh Mander.

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a case against environmental lawyer Ritwick Dutta and his non-profit organization, Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE), for allegedly violating the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA). The CBI has claimed that LIFE was receiving foreign funds from non-profits based in the US with the intention of “targeting and stalling” coal projects in India.

• On April 19, the Supreme Court of India overturned the Bombay High Court’s order acquitting former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba. In 2014, Saibaba was arrested for his alleged involvement in terrorism, which the initial acquittal order concluded was “bad in law and invalid”. Saibaba is wheelchair-bound and considered 90% disabled.

Hate Crimes against Minorities and Extrajudicial Killings

• On April 4, a delegation of Muslim leaders met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah to raise concerns about “violence committed against Indian Muslims” in the country, inter alia, during the Ram Navami processions. They requested Shah to “take stern action” against the culprits. Jamiat spokesperson Niaz Ahmad Farooqui said that Shah was “very positive” and that “he will take action on the matter”.

• On April 7, Adivasi people in the Bijapur district of Bastar, in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, were targeted by an aerial bomb attack. The bomb attack was carried out using drones. Immediately following the bombing, the government forces deployed three helicopters to discharge heavy machine gun fire on villagers. The attack on 7 April 2023 is the 4th such aerial attack in the past three years. Adivasis are indigenous people, who live in areas of India where mining for precious minerals takes place. The attacks are part of the ongoing Operation SAMADHAN-Prahar, a military policy against indigenous people who resist mining and environmental destruction.

• An online video has emerged allegedly depicting a 12-year-old boy from a minority community in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, being forced to chant religious slogans after being stripped. As a result, Indore police have filed a First Information Report against three minors who are accused of the act. The incident took place on April 12.

• A group of men in Barmer, Rajasthan beat a Dalit man to death with sticks, reportedly due to an old dispute over a piece of land.

• A Hindu supremacist mob tied a 20-year-old Muslim man to an electric pole and beat him to death over allegations of theft in a village near Ranchi, Jharkhand. Three men were arrested and the police reportedly have filed two First Information Reports; one for the man’s murder and another for attempted theft.

• A leader of the BJP youth wing, Shubhankar Dwivedi, has been charged by the Raipur police for allegedly posting hateful content on his social media page regarding communal violence in Biranpur village. He allegedly posted a video of a burning house with the caption ‘Relaxing anger in the heart of Bemetara’. The situation in the village has been tense since leaders of the Hindu supremacist Hindu Samaj called for a social boycott of Muslims who engage in interfaith marriages.

• Rajasthan police have arrested two of the eight suspects in the murder case of Junaid and Nasir. On February 14, the two Muslim men were allegedly kidnapped and burnt alive in Haryana by members of the Hindu supremacist Bajrang Dal on the pretext of cow slaughter. A First Information Report has been registered against the accused.

• On April 12, four members of the Hindu supremacist group All India Hindu Mahasabha were arrested for filing a fake complaint against four Muslims for slaughtering a cow. Based on their complaint filed in Agra during Ram Navami festivities, a First Information Report was registered but the police investigation revealed the innocence of the four men. Rishi Trivedi, the state unit president of All India Hindu Mahasabha, claimed that implicating his group members is “[…] part of a conspiracy”.

• On April 15, two brothers, who are gangsters and former politicians, were shot dead on live TV while in police custody in the state of Uttar Pradesh. One of the three shooters shouted “Jai Shri Ram” (“Hail Lord Ram”) as he surrendered to police, a slogan that has become a war cry for Hindu supremacists. Uttar Pradesh has witnessed a disproportionate amount of extrajudicial killings since the ruling BJP came to power. Specialist international criminal lawyers have filed a formal submission for Magnitsky sanctions against the Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, for his alleged role in extrajudicial killings.

• On April 22, the Uttar Pradesh Police booked more than 1,700 Muslims for offering “namaz” on the roads outside mosques in Kanpur on the occasion of Eid Al Fitr.

• During an interview held by the president of the US think tank Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) in the US, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman claimed that widespread violence against Muslims is not taking place in India.

Demolitions and Evictions

• Three churches in Manipur, India, have been demolished by the administration for alleged illegal construction on government land.

• A Muslim man consumed poison along with his two children after administration officials informed him that his house would be demolished because it was allegedly built on government land. The man and one of his children died. The executive has been bulldozing houses without due process over the year.

• On April 7, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, announced in a video shared on Twitter that all illegal mazars (Islamic shrines) in the state will be demolished. “[…] No one should even think about encroaching on land here, let alone doing it […] We will not allow ‘land jihad’ because we trust in the law”, Dhami says in his speech.

• On April 9, a mob of about 15-20 men vandalized a mosque in Sonipat and attacked people offering prayers. At least nine people were injured and the police reportedly registered First Information Reports against 19 people.

• A school in Dehradun, India, was vandalized by protesters after Muslim students performed a play to celebrate Eid. Previously, parents and local organizations lodged a complaint with the Dehradun district administration, alleging that their children were forced to participate in Eid festivities and learn Urdu.

Executive

• On April 3, five alleged Maoists were killed in Jharkhand during a joint operation by the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force.

• In April, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) began implementing a school textbook “rationalisation” exercise, in which it reportedly deleted several passages and entire chapters. For instance, the entire chapter “Key Elements of a Democratic Government” was omitted in one textbook. Additional changes include the removal of references to the 2002 Gujarat riots, as well as of key passages about Muslim rule during the Mughal empire. Critics argue that erasing Muslim contributions from Indian history is a dangerous move.

• The Congress party accused the Modi government of targeting Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen following an eviction notice from Visva Bharati University, which demands that he vacate 13 decimals of land on the campus that is allegedly “illegally occupied”. The eviction order is, however, not a demolition order.

• On April 24, the Tamil Nadu government put on hold the Factories Amendment Bill 2020 which was passed on April 21 after facing opposition from trade unions. The bill includes provisions for extending the daily working hours of factory workers from 8 to 12 hours in the event that they choose to work a four-day week.

• India’s Ministry of Environment has stopped providing public access to information on projects affecting the environment, citing confidentiality and sensitivity. This move comes after the Ministry decided last September to only disclose information when sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Judiciary

• On April 3, a court in Surat granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and suspended his sentence until the outcome of his appeal seeking a stay on his conviction in a defamation case related to his 2019 Modi surname remark. Gandhi was granted bail with a surety of Rs 15,000, and his request for a suspension of conviction will be heard by the court on April 13. The same court, however, has declined to stay the conviction, and Gandhi remains suspended as an MP.

• On April 11, the Supreme Court dismissed the objections of the Tamil Nadu government and upheld a ruling by the Madras High Court permitting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu supremacist organization associated with the BJP, to conduct route marches in the state. On March 3, the Tamil Nadu government told the Supreme Court that certain restrictions shall be imposed on the ability of the RSS to hold marches in the state due to violent outbreaks.

• On April 13, a court in India acquitted all 13 police officers accused in the 2007 gang-rape case of 11 tribal women in Andhra Pradesh.

• On April 20, all the 67 accused in the “Naroda Gam” case, including BJP leader Maya Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, were acquitted by the Gujarat High Court. On February 28, 2002, 11 Muslims were burnt to death in Naroda Gam during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

• On April 21, the Supreme Court of India granted bail to eight men convicted in the 2002 Godhra train burning case in which 59 people were burnt to death by a mob. Four other convicts were denied bail in view of their involvement in the case and the evidence found against them. Civil society actors express concern about the increasing trend of acquitting many of the accused in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases.

• On April 23, controversial self-styled preacher Amritpal Singh was arrested in Punjab under the National Security Act (NSA) after having been on the run for over a month. On February 23, armed supporters of Amritpal Singh stormed a police station in Punjab. Singh supports the Khalistan movement seeking to create a separate Sikh homeland.

• The Rajasthan High Court has ordered a stay on the arrest of yoga guru and businessman Baba Ramdev in connection with a case of hurting religious sentiments. On February 2, Ramdev made controversial remarks during a public gathering in which he accused Muslims of “resorting to terror” and “abducting Hindu women”. He furthermore alleged that both Christianity and Islam had no intent other than converting people.

Media and Technology

• Twitter has been accused of censorship in India after blocking more than 120 accounts in recent weeks, including those of activists, journalists, and politicians. The move came after the Indian Government introduced an internet shutdown in Punjab during the search for Sikh separatist leader Amritpal Singh, after which the government allegedly sent notices to Twitter requesting the removal of certain people from its platform. Twitter’s action drew criticism from free speech advocates who accused the platform of giving in to government pressure and cracking down on dissent.

• On April 8, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal criticized the Indian government’s recent amendments to the Information Technology rules, which allows the Ministry to appoint a fact-checking unit to determine whether online information related to the Central Government is accurate. All platforms are required to take down any news that has been flagged as “fake” by the Press Information Bureau’s appointed fact-checking unit. The unit has frequently faced criticism, and civil society expressed concerns about press freedom.

• The Indian government is reportedly in the process of procuring a new spyware system to replace the controversial Pegasus software and has allocated a budget of up to $120 million for the new contracts. The move comes in the wake of the Pegasus scandal, which had raised concerns about privacy violations and government surveillance.

India in the World

• On March 2, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that no joint communique was issued after the G20 Foreign ministers meeting in Delhi due to irreconcilable differences on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

• The 2023 report released on March 3 by the Swedish Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute placed India among the “worst autocratizers” in the last 10 years.

• From March 1-4, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, visited New Delhi to attend the G20 Ministerial Meeting and the Raisina Forum. During his visit, Borrell had bilateral meetings with his counterparts from different countries to discuss regional and bilateral issues. Human rights organizations criticized his silence on human rights topics.

• On March 10, PM Modi expressed concern over several incidents of Hindu temple vandalism during a bilateral meeting with Australian PM Anthony Albanese. Modi reportedly did not bring up violence within the diaspora more generally. For example, in 2020, a member of the Indian diaspora was deported from Australia for a hate crime he committed against people of the Sikh faith.

• On March 17, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami raised the issue of human rights violations in India in front of different G20 delegates.

• On March 20, the US State Department released a report listing “significant human rights issues” occurring in India throughout 2022, including the targeting of religious minorities, dissenters, and journalists.

• On March 23, the Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with India, Morten Løkkegaard, welcomed Members from the Parliament of India for the 14th EU-India Inter-parliamentary Meeting (IPM). The agenda covered the G20 Presidency of India, trade, investment, green transition, and digital transformation.

• The 4th round of negotiations for the EU-India Free Trade Agreement took place. Insights from DG Trade and the chief negotiator Christophe Kiener suggest significant divergences across the board, including on labor, environmental, and human rights protections. These suggest that the concerns will not be able to conclude the agreement by the ambitious deadline before 2024.

• On March 29-30, the second Summit for Democracy was jointly hosted by the United States, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, and the Republic of Zambia. During the Summit, a declaration was drafted that reaffirms the leaders’ “commitments or obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights”. Whilst India endorsed it, they denoted a reservation or disassociation for Preambular Paragraph 3 (Rule of Law & Justice), Operative Paragraphs 4 (Military Accountability), and 14 (Business & Human Rights). Civil society organizations from India and their international allies urged the participating states to call on India to pledge to ensure constitutionally guaranteed democratic freedoms.

Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society

• On March 1, one of the leading public policy think tanks in India, the CPR, said it had been “intimated” by the Ministry of Home Affairs that its registration under the FCRA had been “suspended for a period of 180 days”. Following amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), there has been a decline of 40 percent in funding to NGOs in India between 2015 and 2018. The European Parliament called on the EU to “address the harmful effects of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) on civil society organisations”.

• On March 20, the Ministry of Home Affairs recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry against Aman Biradari, an NGO founded by human rights activist and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize nominee Harsh Mander, for allegedly violating the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA). Between 2018 and 2022, the registration of 1,827 associations was reportedly canceled due to violations of the FCRA.

• On March 20, Kashmiri Journalist Irfan Mehraj was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under India’s counter-terror law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for an alleged case of terror funding. Mehraj is the senior editor of twoCircles.net, a non-profit and digital news platform, and also the founding editor of Wande magazine.

• Khurram Parvez, who had already been in detention since November 2021 over terrorism allegations, was arrested for the second time on 22 March 2023 by India’s main counter-terrorism agency, the National Investigation Agency. He stands accused of funding terrorism under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act through his work with the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS). Ms. Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, called on India to immediately end its crackdown on Kashmiri human rights defenders.

Hate crimes against minorities

During March, xenophobic violence and discrimination continued to erode Indian civil society, with news of discrimination, mob violence, Islamophobic assaults, and killings. As the list of incidents is extensive, with several documented incidents a day, this list is illustrative and not comprehensive. For a more comprehensive list, see the documentation by HindutvaWatch.

• In March, 50 hate speech rallies against the Muslim community reportedly took place over 4 months in the state of Maharashtra alone. At almost all of these events, party leaders from the local BJP MLA and MP were present, and speakers called for an economic boycott and attacks against Muslims.

• On March 3, the Hindu supremacist leader of the Antarashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP), Pravin Togadia, engaged in anti-Muslim hate speech. Statements recorded on video include: “We will control the state power, and we will decide what the police and army will do. Then we will not have to fight”.

• On March 4, members of the Hindu supremacist groups Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) targeted two churches in Kanpur accusing members of the Christian community of “forced religious conversions”. The police detained six people from the church, allegedly including minors. On March 5, another church in Kanpur was attacked by members of Bajrang Dal during prayers. The pastor and members of the church were taken into police custody but were later released.

• On March 7, Hindu supremacists beat a Muslim man to death in Chhapra.

• On March 7, members of Bajrang Dal and the cow vigilante group Gau Raksha Dal assaulted a Muslim man for allegedly transporting beef. On the same day, members of the Gau Raksha Dal assaulted another Muslim man over allegations of cow smuggling.

• On March 10, members of several Hindu supremacist organizations, including Bajrang Dal, protested in Jammu, claiming a murder of a woman to be a case of “love jihad”. Love Jihad is an Islamophobic conspiracy theory purporting that Muslim men target Hindu women for forced religious conversion.

• Hindu supremacist leader Radha Semwal Dhoni was invited to a Holi celebration organized by the far-right group Hindu Raksha Dal. She received a bouquet of flowers and was introduced as someone who has “demolished 370” Muslim shrines. It has been reported that Dhoni frequently indulges in hate crimes, such as demolishing shrines and harassing Christian NGO workers.

• On March 26, unidentifiable individuals entered a mosque in Anwa village, Maharashtra, and physically assaulted an Imam who had been leading a prayer. The attackers demanded that he chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ (“Hail Hindu God Ram”), and beat him up upon his refusal.

• On March 29-30, communal violence broke out across several cities during processions for the Hindu holiday Ram Navami, leaving more than 20 people injured.

Executive

• An analysis of data submitted in the General Assembly revealed that 62.24% of those arrested in Assam’s crackdown on child marriages are Muslims. From February 3 on, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Assam launched a massive crackdown on “child marriages”, leading to the arrest of about 2,500 people and the filing of 4,074 cases.

• After posters with remarks critical of PM Modi were found in India’s capital, the Delhi Police registered 44 First Information Reports and arrested four persons on March 22. The four persons worked for example as drivers or in the printing press. At least 2,000 posters were reportedly removed and about 2,000 more were seized by the police.

• On March 22, actor Chetan Kumar was arrested by Karnataka police for criticizing the Hindu supremacist ideology in a tweet, following a complaint by a Hindu supremacist. Last February, Kumar was already arrested for tweeting against a judge who was hearing pleas against banning Muslim girls from wearing hijabs in schools.

• On March 25, one of the convicts who was granted remission in the 2002 Bilkis Bano gangrape case, Shailesh Bhatt, was present at an event by a state government. Officials claimed to have no knowledge of who invited him.

Judiciary

• The Karnataka state legislative assembly on March 1 passed an amendment to its labor laws, thereby increasing the previous limit of nine-hour shifts to 12 for four consecutive days before taking three days off and allowing women to work at night. According to an official, Karnataka modified its labor legislation following “extensive inputs” from multinational firms Foxconn and Apple.

• On March 2, the Supreme Court of India appointed an expert committee to investigate allegations made against the Adani Group, a major Indian conglomerate. On January 24, Hindenburg research found that the Indian conglomerate Adani Group has engaged in serious market manipulation and accounting fraud over the last decades.

• On March 3, the Tamil Nadu government told the Supreme Court that certain restrictions shall be imposed on the ability of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organization associated with the BJP, to hold marches in the state. The speaker highlighted that there had been explosions in Coimbatore previously, and therefore, the state told the RSS to not march openly in such sensitive areas. On March 27, the Supreme Court reserved its verdict on the plea of the Tamil Nadu government challenging the Madras High Court order allowing the RSS to hold rallies in the state.

• Seven Hindu men accused of killing two Muslim men during the Delhi riots in 2020 have been granted bail by a Delhi court, citing a lack of serious evidence against them. As per the police investigation report, the prime accused were members of a WhatsApp Hindu supremacist group called “Kattar Hindut Ekta”, formed by rioters the night before the killings. The charge sheet stated that group members bragged about “killing Muslims” and offered weapons.

• In the Hathras gang rape and murder case, three of the four accused were acquitted. One was sentenced to life imprisonment. The victim was a 19-year-old Dalit woman who was gang-raped in September 2020 and later died of her injuries.

• On March 23, Rahul Gandhi, a member of India’s main opposition party, was convicted under India’s criminal defamation law for remarks made over PM Modi’s surname during an election campaign in 2019. The court sentenced him to 2 years in jail and imposed a fine of 15,000 Rs, leading to Gandhi’s disqualification from the Indian Parliament on March 24. Gandhi also recently criticized the Modi government during his speech at Cambridge University in London. During a press briefing on March 30, the German Foreign Ministry spokesperson took note of the case.

• On March 29, the Supreme Court of India stated that hate speech continues to occur due to the state’s inability to take effective action against it. The court made the remarks while hearing a plea by a Kerala journalist who sought contempt proceedings against Maharashtra Police for not acting to restrain hate speeches at rallies.

• The Rajasthan High Court has acquitted four Muslim men who were convicted and sentenced to death in 2019 in connection with the Jaipur bomb blast case. The Court stated that “apparent manipulations and fabrications have been done during the investigation”.

• New research shows that while India has a unique law that mandates companies to pay for reforestation if they are responsible for deforestation, the allocation of funds has been hindered by unused funds and the unsuitability of the land allocated. This has led to a lack of progress in meeting India’s reforestation and climate change goals.

Media and Technology

• The Indian government is reportedly planning to amend clause 17 in the new Data Protection Bill which would allow cross-border dataflow to all geographies by default but includes an official blacklist of countries where transfers would be restricted. Another expected change concerns excluding private entities from the provision of ‘deemed consent’ for processing personal data. Clause 8 of the original draft implies that if a user has willingly shared their data with an entity for a specific purpose, the entity may assume given consent for other related purposes.

• On 18 March, authorities in Punjab imposed an internet shutdown, leaving 30 million people without access. The shutdown was launched as an operation to search for Amritpal Singh, leader of the Khalistani separatist organization Waris Punjab De. Although the shutdown was lifted in most districts, restrictions were extended until March 23 in five. Sikhs abroad launched a protest in front of the European Parliament in Brussels on March 27 demanding condemnation of India’s ongoing mass targeting of Sikhs in Punjab.

India in the World

• On February 5, India, France, and the United Arab Emirates finalized their plan for a trilateral cooperation initiative in defense, energy, and technology.

• On February 6, the EU and India strengthened their relationship as strategic partners by setting up a new Trade and Technology Council (TTC).

• On February 6, the Managing Director of the European External Action Service (EEAS) publicly expressed concern about India. At an event organized by the Swedish Council Presidency, she said that when India abstained from the Russian vote at the UN, the EU saw it as a “signal of where we are failing in promoting democracy” and “of where we should possibly engage more.” India is a “democratic system which is under a lot of threat.” Days before this speech, the European Parliament called on the EEAS to make more public statements about the safety of journalists and human rights abroad.

• On February 21, Kyiv sought support from Delhi on a resolution to be presented at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

• From February 25 to 26, German chancellor Olaf Scholz visited India. In their meeting, Scholz and Modi agreed on a vision statement to strengthen collaboration in the areas of innovation and technology and highlighted their strong economic ties.

• In February, a new report by internet rights group Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition documented India as the world leader of Internet shutdowns for the fifth consecutive year. India imposed 84 internet shutdowns in 2022.

Business: Adani Group

• Opposition parties in India have held protests across the country in the context of new findings regarding the Adani conglomerate. Opposition parties in India have previously demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee against the Adani Group and questioned the silence of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on the matter. On 24 January, Hindenburg research found that the Indian conglomerate Adani Group has engaged in serious market manipulation and accounting fraud over the last decades. Previous research identified close ties to and favoritism by the Modi government. For instance, a protest outside the BJP headquarters in New Delhi alleged that the ruling BJP favors the Adani group.

Human Rights Defenders

• On February 2, the Kerala High Court granted bail to journalist Siddique Kappan, who was arrested while on his way to report on the gang rape of a Dalit girl in Uttar Pradesh in 2020. Although the Supreme Court had granted him bail on September 9, he remained in pre-trial detention on terrorism charges.

• On February 16, human rights defender Khurram Parvez was awarded the prestigious Martin Ennals Award in Geneva. Parvez was arrested in November 2021 and falsely charged with criminal conspiracy to wage war against India, and participation in and financing terrorist activities.

Hate crimes against minorities

• On February 3, the Maharashtra government informed that it would only allow a public meeting organized by the Sakal Hindu Samaj in Mumbai on the condition that “no hate speech will be made by the participants”. Sakal Hindu Samaj is an umbrella organization of Hindu nationalist groups opposing interfaith marriages and religious conversion. It reportedly engaged in anti-Muslim hate speech during a previous event held on January 29.

• On February 5, several Hindu supremacist groups held events at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar where speakers made offensive remarks about minority communities. In one video, a monk asks Hindus to stock weapons to kill Muslims and Christians.

• On February 12, a church in Madhya Pradesh’s Narmadapuram district was vandalized.

• On February 14, two Muslim men were allegedly kidnapped and burnt alive in Haryana by members of the Hindu supremacist Bajrang Dal on the pretext of cow slaughter. A first information report (FIR) has been registered against the accused. Members of the Hindu supremacist Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal rallied in Haryana to support one of the accused, Monu Manesar, the leader of Bajrang Dal. Protesters gathered across Haryana and Rajasthan in support of the Muslim men and demanded justice.

• On February 14, Valentine’s Day, Hindu supremacists harassed and assaulted couples. In Gujarat, several Bajrang Dal members were detained for wielding sticks in a park to intimidate couples. In Uttar Pradesh, a Bajrang Dal group publicly humiliated a Muslim man and called him a “Rohingya Muslim”. At least 50 Bajrang Dal members harassed couples in Jamshedpur city. Members of the Hindu supremacist Shiv Sena (“Shiva’s army”) wielded oil-soaked sticks, shouting: “Wherever couples are found they will be given befitting treatment.” In the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, mobs associated with the Hindu supremacist Bajrang Dal stormed the apartments of people in interfaith relationships in Indore city.

• On February 15, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal members vandalized a mosque in Uttar Pradesh, claiming it was illegal.

• On February 16, members of the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti organized a protest in Panvel demanding India be declared a Hindu nation and the death penalty for “love jihad.”

• On February 19, Christians held a protest against the vandalization of churches in India and the ongoing violence carried out against Christians. The United Christian Forum, a human rights group based in Delhi, recorded 598 incidents of violence against Christians in 21 states in 2022.

• During the Hindu Janakroash Morcha rally on February 26, Hindu supremacist leader Raja Singh made open calls for violence against Muslims. He threatened that if the government does not pass laws on love jihad, religious conversions, and cow slaughter, then “Hindus will take law into their own hands and use swords”.

Judiciary

• On February 3, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre on petitions challenging the ban on the BBC documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’. The court will hold the first hearing in April.

• On February 6, Justice K M Joseph of the Supreme Court stated that “there is no room for hate crimes in a secular country” like India and reiterated the country’s constitutional duty to protect the freedom of individuals irrespective of caste and religion. This statement occurred in the context of a July 2021 incident, in which a Muslim man alleged that a gang that robbed him also mocked his religious identity. The Uttar Pradesh Police, however, did not label the incident as a hate crime against the man’s religious identity.

• On February 20, the Supreme Court imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000 on former police officer Sanjiv Bhatt for challenging the fast-tracking of a Gujarat High Court order in a drug planting case from 1996, which critics say punishes him for exercising his legal right. Bhatt had alleged that he was falsely implicated in the case and had sought a stay on the proceedings against him. Sanjiv Bhatt is a whistleblower who claims that Modi was complicit in the Gujarat riots in 2002. He was charged with several false charges, and sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2018.

Demolitions

• From February 4 on, authorities in Jammu and Kashmir demolished the homes and properties of residents without due process. The demolitions are based on a circular issued by the Jammu and Kashmir administration, which is under the control of the central government, to remove “all encroachments on state land”. Several residents alleged that they did not receive any prior notices nor any opportunity to provide proof of ownership. Amnesty International described the ongoing incidents as a “gross violation” of human rights.

• On February 16, authorities in Sonitpur district in the North-Eastern state Assam evicted over 2,500 families, predominantly Bengali-speaking Muslims, who allegedly live illegally on forest land. On February 27, the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority in the North-Eastern state Assam launched an eviction drive, reportedly to make Guwahati city “flood-free”. The evictions have caused mass displacement.

• These incidents follow a surge in demolitions that violate due process across India, colloquially called “bulldozer raj”. In June 2022, three United Nations Special Rapporteurs condemned the demolitions across India, which they allege deliberately target Muslims through “collective punishment”.

Executive

• From February 3 on, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Assam launched a massive crackdown on “child marriages”, leading to the arrest of about 2,500 people and the filing of 4,074 cases. Chief Minister Biswa has been accused of targeting religious minorities with this, especially as people accused of “child marriage” have been detained in “transit camps” meant for immigrants.

• On February 14, Indian tax authorities raided the BBC’s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai alleging that they detected “irregularities and discrepancies” in BBC’s taxes. The BBC defended its documentary and said it was complying with the tax investigation. The crackdown on BBC has raised new concerns about press freedom in India.

• On February 23, Pawan Khera, a senior member of India’s main opposition Congress party was arrested for allegedly insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India’s Supreme Court ordered Khera to be released on interim bail. For context, 96% of sedition cases after 2014 have been filed against citizens criticizing the government and politicians.

Media and Technology

• According to a report published in February, a software linked to an Israeli company is allegedly being used to operate fake social media campaigns and spread disinformation online in several countries, including India. The “Team Jorge” unit has been linked to using “hacking, sabotage, and automated disinformation online”.

• On February 27, the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 against four shows hosted by news anchor Aman Chopra of the popular news channel News18 India for making objectionable statements about Muslims.

Tensions

• Since mid-February, Sikh activists are holding protests in a tent camp in Punjab demanding the release of Bandi Singhs. ‘Bandi Singhs’ is a term given to Sikh prisoners who were convicted and imprisoned for involvement in militancy in Punjab three decades ago. The issue became current after a signature campaign was launched by the Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC) in November 2022.

• On February 23, armed supporters of controversial self-styled preacher Amritpal Singh Amritpal Singh stormed a police station in Punjab. Singh supports the Khalistan movement seeking to create a separate Sikh homeland.

In focus: BBC Documentary Ban

• A new BBC documentary, “India: The Modi Question” examines responsibility for riots in Gujarat, India in 2002, in which at least 1044 people died, and reports partial responsibility of India’s current Prime Minister Modi. On January 19, India’s Ministry of External Affairs put out a statement that the BBC documentary is “propaganda” and “lacks objectivity”.

• On January 21, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting reportedly invoked its emergency powers under the IT Rules 2021 to direct social media platforms to block links to the documentary. The Supreme Court will hear petitions challenging the centers’ ban on the documentary in February.

• Twitter complied with the direction from India’s government to block the documentary, sparking criticism among diaspora and digital rights NGOs. Indian diaspora members who tweeted about the documentary received notices from Twitter that the Indian government issued a legal removal request.

• On 24 January, a campus screening of the BBC documentary at the Jawaharlal Nehru University was disrupted by a power shutdown. One day later, at least 70 students were detained at Jamia Millia Islamia university ahead of a planned screening. While the police released a majority of the students on the same day, the remaining 13 detained students were only released after the Republic Day parade on 26 January.

• On January 29, Indian diaspora members in London protested against the Modi documentary and asked the BBC to cease broadcasting it.

India in the World

• On 5 January, the Regulator of the University Grants Commission presented a draft legislation to facilitate the entry and operation of foreign universities in India.

• On 10 January, the UK’s Foreign Affairs Committee held a formal oral evidence session exploring India’s evolving geopolitical role, the UK’s relationship with the country, and an in-depth examination of India’s human rights record with a special focus on Kashmir. The recording can be found here.

• On 13 January, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told his counterparts from the developing countries that “choosing peace, cooperation and multilateralism” is the course that the world must take.

• On January 17, Guernica 37 Chambers in London filed a criminal complaint under the principle of universal jurisdiction before the General Prosecutor in Switzerland against the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, for crimes against humanity. Adityanath is reported to have ordered the false imprisonment, torture, and murder of civilians to suppress protests against adopting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in India.

• On 18 January, the European Parliament adopted its annual report on human rights and democracy in the world. The 2022 report calls on the EU to adopt specific local strategies to combat caste-based discrimination. It affirmed the importance of protecting Dalit rights and called for stepping up consultations with communities and the adoption of a policy addressing intersectional discrimination. The European Parliament published its annual report on the Implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, which calls to strengthen the EU’s strategic partnerships with India in a comprehensive way. The report also calls for human rights and democratic values to be adequately addressed in this partnership and expresses concern about India’s stance on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

• On 25 January, Alviina Alametsä, the European Parliament’s Standing Rapporteur on India spoke at an event by think tank The London Story. She said: “The celebrations of Republic Day are overshadowed by urgent human rights violations.” And: “Defending human rights should be at the core of the EU-India partnership. When freedom of speech and democratic opposition are at risk within a country, their international partners must cooperate and hold each other accountable.”

• On 26 January, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi attended India’s Republic Day celebration as the chief guest. India and Egypt maintain a strategic partnership.

Business

• On 16 January, a report by the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar noted that companies from India support Myanmar’s military with raw materials, training, and machinery, and are thereby reportedly complicit in human rights violations. The Myanmar military is under EU sanctions.

• On 24 January, Hindenburg research found that the Indian conglomerate Adani Group has engaged in serious market manipulation and accounting fraud over the last decades. Previous research has identified close ties to and favoritism by the Modi government, and Adani has previously been the focus of 4 major government fraud investigations which have alleged money laundering, theft of taxpayer funds and corruption, totaling an estimated U.S. $17 billion. While most private investment companies have halted their investments in the Adani Group following the revelation, the government-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India continues to invest in Adani. In total, it has invested more than $4 billion into the group. Gautam Adani has refuted Hindenburg’s findings as an “attack on India”.

Human Rights Defenders

• Activist Hidme Markam was acquitted in four cases and granted bail in one after the police failed to prove charges. Markam works as forest rights and prisoners’ rights activist, was accused of involvement in Naxal activities and arrested nearly two years ago.

• On 9 January, the Supreme Court extended the house arrest of social activist Gautam Navlakha once more until February 17. On November 10, the Supreme Court allowed Navlakha to be placed under one-month house arrest due to his medical condition. He has been in custody since April 2020 on fabricated charges of supporting terrorism.

• On 27 January, Emmy-nominated US-based journalist Angad Singh was deported from India because his documentary India Burning allegedly presented a “very negative view of India’s secular credentials”.

Hate crimes against minorities

• In its most recent report, the Early Warning Project ranks India 8th highest-risk of concern for mass atrocities among 162 countries.

• On 2 January, approximately 50 people barged into a school in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district and attacked the Sacred Heart Church that shares its premises with the school. The mob attacked a police team that was trying to stop them.

• On 7 January, over 100 retired lawmakers and civil servants sought legal action against BJP MP Pragya Thakur, who recently delivered a speech urging attendees of a conference to “keep weapons sharpened” so they can be used if Muslims attack. Thakur is the prime accused in the Malegaon terror attack in September 2008.

• On 9 January, a Dalit man was allegedly assaulted by a group of people for trying to enter a temple in Uttarkashi district. Four days later, five persons were arrested in connection with the incident. In its annual report on human rights, the European Parliament affirmed the importance of protecting Dalit rights.

• On 23 January, a video went viral of Hindu supremacists beating up a Christian man in Bihar, accusing him of encouraging religious conversion.

• On 28 January, the family of a 22-year-old Muslim claimed that he was beaten to death by Bajrang Dal members for allegedly transporting a cow in Haryana. The police claimed that the man died after a car collision, although videos show he was assaulted.

• On 29 January, at least 10,000 people participated in the Hindu Janakrosh Morcha (“Hindu public outrage rally”) in Mumbai. There, suspended BJP leader T Raja Singh publicly engaged in hate speech and provocative comments against the Muslim community. The police have issued a notice.

Judiciary

• On 9 January, former senior Supreme Court judges warned that branches of the executive and other oversight bodies had been “turned into extended arms of the central government” and had been “ignoring the Constitution of India”.

• On 3 January, Justice Nagarathna delivered a separate judgment on the extent of free speech available to public functionaries, reiterating their duty to be more responsible and restrained in their speech. Nagarathna also touched on the aspect of hate speech and said that “[…] whatever its content may be, [hate speech] denies human beings the right to dignity”.

• On 5 January, the Supreme Court stopped the Uttarakhand High Court’s direction to evict people living in Haldwani, north of Delhi. On 20 December, the order declared 4,365 houses “illegal” and ordered their demolition. The Supreme Court stated that they cannot be uprooted overnight and rehabilitation schemes are necessary for those claiming legal rights in the land.

• On 9 January, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea challenging the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand and Gujarat. The plea contended the law violates constitutionally guaranteed religious freedom.

• On 13 January, the Supreme Court made a strong oral observation against TV anchors who engage in hate speech.

• On 16 January, the Supreme Court sought a response from the Union government on several pleas seeking the criminalization of marital rape, which is currently legal.

Media and Technology

• On 4 January, a tribunal declined Google’s request to block an antitrust ruling that had fined Google for exploiting its dominant position in markets. Google said that denying their request would hurt consumers and also the firm’s financial viability.

• On 17 January, the Union Information Technology Ministry introduced a draft amendment to the Information Technology Rules, 2021, which will make it mandatory for online platforms to take down any content deemed fake by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) or any other agency authorized by the government. The PIB has frequently faced criticism, and associations expressed concerns about press freedom.

India in the World

• On 1 December, India assumed the monthly rotating presidency of the UN Security Council (UNSC). Two signature events took place, an open debate on Reformed Multilateralism and a Counter-Terrorism meeting.

• On 1 December, India formally assumed the G20 presidency. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said New Delhi will seek to emerge as the “voice of the Global South”. PM Modi presented the theme of the G20: “One Earth, One Family, One Future”.

• From 4-6 December, German Foreign Minister Baerbock visited India. She and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discussed the Russian war against Ukraine, cross-border terrorism and they signed a mobility partnership pact, which will make it easier for people to study, do research, and work in each other’s countries.

• On 7 December, Member states of the UN Economic and Social Council voted to grant consultative status to the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN). With 15 years, the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) held the record for the longest pending application in the history of the UN NGO Committee, as India had blocked its application.

• On 26 December, 185 Rohingya refugees were rescued in Aceh, Indonesia, after their boat drifted in the Andaman sea for a month. It was one of five Rohingya boats fleeing the overcrowded refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. Approximately 180 Rohingya refugees died. The UNHCR stated that previous calls for intervention were ignored by surrounding countries. Indian diaspora organizations published an open letter appealing to governments for their rescue.

Human Rights Defenders

• On 13 December, a US-based forensic firm found that digital evidence was planted on the computer of Human Rights Defender Father Stan Swamy. Swamy was then arrested, and died in custody in July 2021 while denied bail on medical grounds.

• On 13 December, the Supreme Court extended the house arrest of social activist Gautam Navlakha until the second week of January. On November 10, the Supreme Court allowed Navlakha to be placed under one-month house arrest due to his medical condition. He has been in custody since April 2020 on fabricated charges of supporting terrorism.

Academic freedom

• On December 8, author Farhat Khan received an arrest notice while in hospital and was charged with “insulting religious feelings” with her academic book Collective Violence and Criminal Justice System (2011). Members of the Hindu supremacist ABVP, the student wing of the RSS to which Narendra Modi belongs, had alleged that Khan’s book contains objectionable content against Hindus and Hindu supremacist organizations. Khan is suffering from kidney ailment and needs dialysis on a regular basis.

Hate crimes against minorities

• The government recorded over 2,900 cases of communal or religious rioting in the country between 2017 and 2021.

• Christians were attacked ahead of Christmas. On one day, there were 20 coordinated attacks in the state of Chharrisgarh alone, with 200 people forced from their homes. On 20 December, a Hindu supremacist mob in Gujarat state attacked a man who was distributing chocolates while dressed as Santa Claus.

• On 1 December, the Hindu extremist group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), affiliated with the ruling BJP through a common parent entity, released a list of 400 alleged ‘love jihad cases’. Love Jihad is an islamophobic conspiracy theory purporting that Muslim men target Hindu women for forced religious conversion, and the release of the names puts the couples at risk.

• On 4 December, BJP leaders such as minister KC Narayana Gowda and district president Umesh joined a Hindu supremacist mob in an attempt to barge into a mosque in Karnataka and claim it as a Hindu temple. None of the BJP leaders complicit in the violent mob has faced any consequences or condemnation from party leadership.

• On 6 December, police in Uttar Pradesh state, which is ruled by the BJP, allegedly harassed and assaulted Muslims to stop them from casting their votes in the current elections. A number of videos went viral showing Muslim residents reporting about the police allegedly taking away their voter ID cards, and verbally abusing and beating them.

• The Hindu extremist group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has announced that swords, knives, and sticks will be distributed freely to BJP members in Uttar Pradesh. Such groups are increasingly offering violent training sessions across India.

• On 14 December, Hindu extremist leader Pravin Togadia stated that India will become a Hindu Nation in which Muslims will have no constitutional rights.

• On 15 December, a video surfaced showing a bus passenger who was brutally assaulted in Southern India by RSS members, an organization to which Narendra Modi belongs. The bus conductor accused him of misbehaving with a woman when he offered to hold her bag and handed him over to the RSS members.

Judiciary

• On 5 December, the Supreme Court heard a plea seeking directions against ‘forced religious conversion’ and noted that forced religious conversion is a “very serious issue”.

• On 8 December, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by the organization ‘Roots in Kashmir’ seeking a probe into killings of Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu and Kashmir during 1989-90 and subsequent years.

• On 14 December, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a petition by a gay couple seeking legal recognition of their marriage in India after their requests have been refused repeatedly.

• On 17 December, the Supreme Court dismissed Bilkis Bano’s plea seeking a review of its May 2022 order which affirmed the early release of 11 convicts who gang-raped her and murdered 14 persons during the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat.

• On 20 December, an order passed by the Uttarakhand High Court declared 4,365 houses in Haldwani, north of Delhi, “illegal” and ordered their demolition. This would forcibly evict over 50 000 people. In January, the Supreme Court stayed the order.

Executive

• On 7 December, the Rajya Sabha was informed that the government canceled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA) registration of 6,677 NGOs between 2017 and 2021 for alleged violations of the law. Under the FCRA, Amnesty International was previously forced to cease its operations in 2020, leading several countries to recommend India amend the FCRA at the UN Universal Periodic Review.

• On 25 December, BJP MP Pragya Thakur delivered a speech urging attendees of a conference to “keep weapons sharpened” so they can be used if Muslims attack. “Just like how knives cut vegetables, it will also chop mouths and heads,” she said. While her speech was widely condemned, she has faced no consequences from the BJP. Thakur is the prime accused in the Malegaon terror attack in September 2008, was arrested in October that year, and has been out on bail since April 2017 on medical grounds.

• The Election Commission of India concluded that Home Minister Amit Shah’s remark during the Gujarat Assembly election campaign did not violate the model code of conduct. During his November 25 speech, Shah claimed the BJP has “taught a lesson” to rioters since communal violence 20 years ago.

Media and Technology

• In December, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology invited feedback from the public on the draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022 published in November. However, more than 70 notable citizens wrote to MPs, such as former Supreme Court judge Justice A.P. Shah and social activist Medha Patkar, expressing concern over the undemocratic manner of this consultation.

India in the World

• On November 10, India’s human rights record was assessed during the Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). 130 UN member states issued their recommendations and urged India to increase their efforts to combat gender-based violence, religious discrimination, and religious hatred, and stop the broad application of anti-terrorism legislation.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not attend COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Instead, the Indian delegation at COP27 was led by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, who strongly supported the decision for a climate fund for poorer nations. India, however, is expanding its fossil fuel infrastructure and increasing imports of coal.

• On November 8, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar indicated that New Delhi would continue purchasing Russian oil as it benefits India’s access “on the most advantageous terms” during the current natural resource crisis.

• On November 14, India abstained from the vote in the UN General Assembly for a resolution that called on holding Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine. India has also previously abstained from resolutions related to the Russia-Ukraine war.

• On November 15 and 16, Modi attended the G20 Summit held in Bali, which reaffirmed collaboration on food security, international financial resilience, energy security, and other topics. India’s Presidency of the G20 starts on December 1 and will be grounded in the theme “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – Hindi for “one earth, one family, one future”.

Human Rights Defenders

• On November 10, the Supreme Court allowed jailed human rights activist Gautam Navlakha to be placed under one-month house arrest due to his medical condition. Although the Court indicated it would process his release within 48 hours, Navlakha was still in prison until the evening of the 14th. Navlakha has been in custody since April 2020 on fabricated charges of supporting terrorism.

• On November 18, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Dalit rights activist and scholar Anand Teltumbde. Teltumdbe was arrested in 2020 for his alleged connection to the Bhima Koregaon violence of 2018, and has been repeatedly denied bail.

• On November 22, UN experts and several NGOs, including The London Story, called for the immediate and unconditional release of Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez. The day marked the 1-year anniversary of Parvez’s arbitrary arrest on terrorism charges. His detention has been prolonged five times by the NIA Special Court under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

Judiciary

• On October 31, a court rejected the bail plea of journalist Siddique Kappan. Kappan was arrested in 2020 when traveling to report on the rape of a Dalit girl and is held in pre-trial detention on terrorism charges. Although the Supreme Court granted him bail on September 9 in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act case, he remains in jail.

• On November 9, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud was sworn in as the 50th Chief Justice of India. He will have a tenure for two years. Chandrachud is seen as progressive; in the past, his judgments have touched upon crucial issues of fundamental rights, privacy, rights of women, and LGBTQ+.

• On November 30, Bilkis Bano approached the Supreme Court challenging the premature release of the 11 convicts who gang-raped her and murdered members of her family during the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

Hate crime against minorities

• On November 3, Hindu supremacists assaulted and publicly humiliated two Dalits for allegedly selling beef in Chhattisgarh. They beat the two with a belt and paraded them half-naked, while bystanders filmed the attack.

• On November 29, several men attempted to lynch a Muslim man, Adam Khan, in Maharashtra. Police arrested five men after videos of the assault went viral on social media. Khan has been hospitalized with head injuries and a fractured leg.

Religious freedoms

• On November 14, the Supreme Court termed “forced religious conversion” a serious issue in need of action. However, anti-conversion laws have been criticized for being routinely used to target religious minorities and arrest them on false charges of forced conversion. Hard data is missing on those alleged conversion cases.

• A false report made by a Hindu supremacist on November 21 led to six Christians being charged for alleged forced conversions in Uttar Pradesh state. Several Christians have now sought action against misuse of the state’s recently enacted anti-conversion law to harass and persecute religious minorities.

• The upcoming Bollywood movie “The Kerala Story” has been condemned for circulating the false claim that over 30,000 Hindu women were converted to Islam and forced to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The wide circulation of the trailer resulted in outrage over the film’s mobilization of anti-Muslim propaganda. Several movies in recent months circulate propaganda against Muslims.

Places of worship

• On November 9, a Karnataka court ruled in favor of the Hindu supremacist group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) demanding to probe an 800-year-old mosque in Mangaluru city. The VHP falsely claims that remnants of a Hindu temple are located in the mosque. Although the management of the mosque had filed a plea to protect the place of worship, it had been rejected in court.

• On November 14, a Varanasi court indicated that it will rule on the validity of a petition that seeks a ban on entry of Muslims to the Gyanvapi Mosque. The petition was filed by Vishwa Vaidik Sanatan Sangh, who also seek permission to worship the “Shivling” (symbol of Hindu God Shiv) claimed to be inside.

State actors who advocate hatred

• On November 14, BJP politician Pratap Simha threatened that he would demolish a bus stand because it resembles a mosque. In response to the threat, the local government changed the appearance of the bus stop. This threat comes against a backdrop of BJP leaders calling for and inciting the destruction of Muslim properties, including places of worship.

• On November 20, supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) welcomed Uttar Pradesh’s openly extremist Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with bulldozers and the Hindu religious chant “Jai Shree Ram” as he arrived in Gujarat state for his election campaign.

Executive

• In the beginning of November, the Gujarat state Ministry of Home Affairs announced an anti-Muslim citizenship policy. The policy provides Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, and Jain communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh with citizenship certificates, but denies them to Muslims. Critics have called this out as a move to subject Muslims fleeing danger to further persecution and discrimination.

• Home Minister Amit Shah ordered intelligence officials to identify 100 refugees (“infiltrators”) in each state and deport them. Shah indicated that this should be continued even if the countries do not accept the refugees back. India has not signed the Refugee Convention and continues to deport Rohingya to Myanmar. Amit Shah has a consistently hostile approach to refugees, as is visible when he in 2019 referred to Rohingya as being “termites”.

Media and Technology

• On November 17, Meta appointed Sandhya Devanathan as the new upcoming head and vice president of Meta India. Meta also appointed Shivnath Thukral as its new director for public policy in India. Investigations reported that when Thukral was the India and South Asia public policy director at Facebook from 2017 to 2020, he ignored hate speech violations by BJP leaders and had close ties to the BJP.

• On November 22, the Adani Group, a conglomerate run by Asia’s richest man Gautam Adani, initiated the process of acquiring a majority stake within the popular media firm NDTV, intending to take it over fully. Experts stated that Adani moving closer to acquire the platform poses a serious threat to independent media because of his strong ties to the BJP government.

India in the World

• The UN appointed Indian Dalit Ashwini K.P as the UN Special Rapporteur for Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance. Dalits in India face increasingly severe violence. Caste discrimination is formally recognized as discrimination around the world and is especially of concern among the Indian diaspora.

• The EU and India met for the second round of trade negotiations in Brussels. India was skeptical towards the EU’s proposed ‘trade and sustainable development’ chapter, which includes the possibility of resorting to commercial sanctions for non-compliance with core labour standards and with Paris Agreement commitments.

• During his official visit to India from 18-20 October, UN Secretary-General Guterres reminded India of the power of diversity and emphasized the importance of a strong domestic commitment to inclusivity and human rights.

• On 28-29 October, India hosted a UN Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) special meeting on countering the use of new technologies for terrorist purposes. The resulting ‘Delhi Declaration’ calls for respect for human rights while countering terrorism. Conversely, the UN has previously condemned India’s approach to counter-terrorism for violating human rights law, including the right to a fair trial.

Human Rights Defenders

• The Peace Research Institute Oslo shortlisted Indians Mohammed Zubair, Pratik Sinha, and Harsh Mander for the Nobel Peace Prize 2022. Zubair and Sinha are the co-founders of the fact-check site AltNews. Earlier this year, Zubair was arrested for one month as part of a crackdown on independent journalism, which MEPs publicly condemned. Mander launched a campaign to support victims of hate crimes, but the Indian government has raided his home and the orphanages he founded.

• On 10 October, Kashmiri political prisoner Altaf Shah passed away in custody. Shah, a Kashmiri leader, was convicted in 2018 for alleged terrorism. He was diagnosed with cancer but did not receive medical attention nor bail on health grounds. Human rights organizations are concerned about human rights in Kashmir, such as over 60 instances of crackdowns on journalists and human rights defenders since August 2019.

• On 15 October, Kashmiri photojournalist and Pulitzer prize winner Sanna Irshad Mattoo was arbitrarily banned from traveling to the US by immigration authorities at Delhi airport, despite having a valid visa and ticket. She was given no official reason. The government has imposed travel bans on at least 22 journalists, several of whom have faced raids, threats, and detention.

• On 15 October, the Supreme Court suspended the order which previously acquitted Human Rights Defender Prof. G.N. Saibaba. In 2014, Saibaba was arrested for his alleged involvement in terrorism, which the initial acquittal order concluded was “bad in law and invalid”. Saibaba is wheelchair-bound and considered 90% disabled. One of Saibaba’s co-accused, Father Stan Swamy, died in custody, which MEPs publicly condemned.

• On 18 October, the Delhi High Court again dismissed the bail application of student activist Umar Khalid. Despite a lack of evidence, Khalid has been in custody for over two years for his alleged conspiracy to incite violence in the February 2020 riots in New Delhi. Earlier this year, MEPs expressed deep concern and demanded Khalid’s immediate release.

Hate crime against minorities

• On 4 October, police officers tied nine Muslim men to a pole and publicly flogged them in Gujarat for allegedly throwing stones at a Hindu celebration. Videos of the incident went viral on social media platforms, showing that a civilian crowd cheered on the police.

• On 12 October, a Hindu extremist mob attacked Muslims offering prayers in a mosque near Delhi. Surendra Jain, the leader of the VHP, a Hindu supremacist group affiliated with the ruling BJP through a common parent entity, publicly congratulated the mob and said that the extremists “taught the Muslims a lesson”.

• On 25 October, a man shot and killed a Dalit man and his parents in Madya Pradesh for allegedly stalking the perpetrator’s wife.

• On 29 October, several men tied two minors to a vehicle and dragged them on a road in Madhya Pradesh after they allegedly stole from a local market. The boys, aged 13 and 17, have been treated in a hospital and police filed a case against the perpetrators.

• Hindu extremists of the Bajrang Dal group dragged a Muslim man to the police falsely claiming that he lured a Hindu woman into a hotel room.

State actors endorse hate

• On 19 October, BJP lawmaker Ranbir Gangwa and party leaders from Haryana state attended an online event of rape-and-murder convict and religious cult leader Ram Rahim Singh.

• On 23 October, BJP leader Radheshyam Mishra and others assaulted a Dalit man, blackened his face, and shaved his head after accusing him of theft. Two people have been arrested but Mishra remains on the run.

• India’s Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed the early release of 11 Hindu extremists. The men were previously convicted for gang-raping a Muslim woman and murdering 14 persons during the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat.

Abuses by executive

• On 14 October, a tribunal recovered damages from people who allegedly caused destruction during riots in Khargone in April 2022. A new law authorizes the government to do so through quasi-judicial tribunals, which use principles of ‘natural justice’ and do not have the safeguards of a criminal trial. Among those on trial is a 12-year-old boy.

• On 26 October, police detained three activists who were opening a museum in the North Eastern state of Assam for their alleged association with terror outfits.

Judiciary

• On 21 October, the Supreme Court called anti-Muslim hate speech in India a “very serious issue” and directed the police to take action in hate speech cases, irrespective of religion of the speaker, and without waiting for a formal complaint to be registered. Hateful anti-minority rhetoric has become commonplace in India. NGOs draw attention to how stakeholders have failed to address hate content and hateful actors targeting religious minorities in India.

• On 27 October, the Supreme Court dismissed Amnesty International’s plea to unfreeze their bank accounts, which previously forced the organization to shut down their operations in the country.

• On 29 October, the Supreme Court issued notice to the central government regarding a petition to allow women under 35 to have a prenatal diagnostic test. Preventing this, the petition argues, is a restriction on the reproductive rights of women. The case is one of many on women’s rights in recent weeks, such as one on increasing access to abortion. Women’s rights remain dire in India, and the Global Gender Gap Report 2021 ranks India at 140 of 156 countries.

Surveillance and Technology

• On 28 October, the Indian government announced its new Information Technology Amendment Rules 2022, which effectively grants the government control over content moderation decisions of social media platforms. The amended rules provide for the creation of a government panel to hear complaints from social media users. Critics are concerned that this law may open the door to a censorship body, thereby incentivizing platforms to remove content that does not suit the government’s political agenda.

Harassment of journalists and HRDs

• Despite being granted bail by the Supreme Court, journalist Siddique Kappan remains in prison as a case by the government’s Enforcement Directorate against him is “still pending.” Kappan was arrested in 2020 when travelling to report on the rape of a Dalit girl and held in pre-trial detention on terrorism charges.

• Police in Gujarat are continuing the judicial harassment of HRD Teesta Setalvad by filing fresh charges against her. She had been arrested in June and accused of fabricating evidence in a petition to the Supreme Court seeking to investigate Prime Minister Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. More than 2.200 writers, activists and other parts of civil society worldwide signed an open letter demanding her release, and MEPs and UN Special Rapporteurs came out in her support.

• Gujarat police arrested four people on September 26 before their march in solidarity with Bilkis Bano, a Muslim woman who was gang-raped and left for dead in a pogrom in 2002. Her convicted attackers had been granted remission in August. After public outcry, the police released one of the marchers, social activist Sandeep Pandey. The V-Dem institute’s data on peaceful assembly shows that India often arbitrarily denies citizens the right to assemble peacefully.

Foreign policy

• On August 24, India for the first time voted against Russia during a procedural vote at the UN Security Council. India had previously abstained in all votes because of its historical and contemporary ties. India has sharply increased its imports of oil, coal and fertiliser from Russia, while India rarely bought Russian oil before the Ukraine war.

• Indian negotiators reportedly visited Brussels for trade negotiations with the EU. Experts note that many of India’s priorities do not align with those of the EU.

Diaspora

• International media reported on Indian diaspora mobs in the UK mobilising to “defend the community” in patterns they describe as reminiscent of mob violence in India.

Judiciary

• After a delay of nearly three years, the Supreme Court announced it would begin hearing the over 200 petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 2020. Protests against the act had erupted across the country, as its provisions add a religious criterion to citizenship.

• Indian Christian leaders filed a petition with the Supreme Court of India for protection of Christians citing 300 attacks in the first six months of 2022. The Supreme Court then in a welcome move directed eight states to investigate and verify these claims.

• After 10 days of hearing, the Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its judgment on petitions to lift a recent ban on hijab in schools in the state of Karnataka, which de facto prevents Muslims girls from attending school. The choice of clothing falls under the fundamental right to freedom of expression, which can under the Indian Constitution and international human rights law only be infringed upon on grounds of public order.

Violence against minorities

• On September 7, an upper-caste social science teacher assaulted his 10th grade student, a Dalit, for reportedly writing the wrong answers on a test. The boy died soon after. Despite constitutional protections against caste discrimination, discriminatory treatment and violence remains endemic.

• Following communal violence in Bihar state, police arrested dozens of Muslim men from a local mosque for allegedly inciting violence, including an 8-year-old boy. The family of the boy reported that police demanded money in exchange for his release. He was kept in custody for several days and finally granted bail. He sustained injuries.

• A new report by the Indian government’s National Crime Records Bureau shows that Muslims make up almost 30% of all detainees in Indian prisons in 2021, despite the minority group having a demographic percentage of only 14.2%. In Assam state, 61% of inmates on death row and 49% of those awaiting trial were Muslims.

• A former member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) disclosed that RSS members “carried out many bomb blasts across the country and with the help of biased police and one-sided media blamed them on Muslims. That helped them in 2014 Loksabha [Parliamentary] elections.” Senior members of the Indian government, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are members of the RSS.

• Hate speech and calls to violence against religious minorities continues. Yati Narsinghanand called for the Aligarh Muslim University to be “bombarded”, and for “students associated with these institutions should be lodged in detention centres.” He is a Hindu supremacist leader known for organising Dharam Sansads “religious congregations” where attendees pledged to exterminate Islam in December 2021.

• Mob violence against religious minorities continues. A Hindu extremist mob attacked a Muslim family travelling through Madhya Pradesh state and filmed the incident. Hindu extremists in Uttar Pradesh attacked a group of Muslim men for praying by the side of the road. Police did not take any action against them, saying only that praying by the road was “not allowed”, which is legally incorrect.

• Over the summer, xenophobic violence and discrimination continued to erode Indian civil society, with news of discrimination, mob violence, Islamophobic assaults, plunderings, killings, lynchings and illegal detentions.

• In June, India signed the “Joint Statement of G7 and Partner Countries (2022 Resilient Democracies Statement)”, committing itself to defend democracy and to enable open and pluralistic debates. Ironically, this statement was signed on the same day that the HRD Zubair was arrested (see below). India had already fallen eight ranks in the World Press Freedom Index this year and ranks 150 of 180 countries.

• In June, HRD Mohammed Zubair was arrested for a tweet dating back to 2018 which “insulted Hindu religious beliefs”. He is the co-founder of Alt News, an Indian non-profit fact checking website. Alt News monitors viral social media posts and news to expose manipulations, lies and misinformation used to promote right-wing and Islamophobic narratives, often exposing the government itself. By adding new charges to the original reason for arrest, authorities were able to keep Zubair detained until the Supreme Court finally granted his application for bail in July.

• In June, Indian civil rights activist and journalist Teesta Setalvad was arrested. She was accused of fabricating evidence in a petition to the Supreme Court seeking to investigate Prime Minister Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. Amnesty India and Human Rights Watch called this is an attack on civil society and HRDs and demanded her release. More than 2.200 writers, activists and other parts of civil society worldwide signed an open letter demanding her release.

• Several BJP-led states in India are demolishing Muslim homes with bulldozers as reprisals for protests without due process. This is backed by BJP politicians, either directly stating that this is a reprisal for participants of the protests, or claiming these demolitions are carried out in efforts against illegal constructions.

• On July 15, the 10th EU-India Human Rights Dialogue took place. Both parties reiterated their commitment to protecting and promoting all human rights and exchanged views about civil and political rights and their importance in civil society. Meanwhile, critical journalists are prosecuted or kept from travelling abroad and activists are detained under fabricated charges. The human rights organizations FORUM-ASIA, CIVICUS, Front Line Defenders, OMCT and FIDH expressed their disappointment at the failure of the EU to speak up about the continuous attacks on HRDs.

• Droupadi Murmu, a member of the right-wing Hindu supremacist BJP, is the first person from a tribal community to become President of India. This has been criticized as mere tokenism by the BJP to deflect from its policies such as the discriminatory citizenship laws and attempts at implementing draconian forest laws which endanger the livelihood of tribals. While many hope that she can move beyond symbolism and bring attention to the vulnerable position and economic, social and cultural injustices tribes face in Indian society, the role of the Indian President is mainly ceremonial and therefore restricts her potential for bringing about change.

• On the 15th of August, India celebrated 75 years of Independence. Their vision of India was multiethnic and secular, but many fear that this picture of India is increasingly being attacked and replaced by the ideologists of a Hindu nation, which leaves little space for minorities to live freely. Since Modi’s government took power in 2014, legislative, institutional and societal changes have put India on the path towards an autocratic Hindu supremacist state.