India News Updates Archives

India in the World 

• On the 4th of August, US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Indian goods over India’s continued purchase of Russian oil, accusing Indian oil refiners of prioritizing ‘big profits’. President Trump had already announced 25% tariffs on Indian imports in July, and, on the 6th of August, announced an additional 25% tariff to be imposed on Indian goods from the 27th of August, ‘To deal with the national emergency described in Executive Order 14066’ (relating to Russia’s actions in Ukraine). In response, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs reasserted its position that the additional tariff is “extremely unfortunate” and stated that the US and EU continue to trade with Russia themselves. The Ministry added that “India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests.” Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, has labelled the 50% tariff “economic blackmail.”  The US and India are seeking to establish a free trade agreement; however, US officials cited India’s protectionist market as well as “geopolitical issues” (including India’s membership of the BRICS and purchases of Russian oil) as the current issues standing in the way of an agreement. 

• Both the EU and US have sanctioned Indian companies for purchasing and exporting Russian oil and supplying Russia with dual use technologies, enabling the Russian government to circumvent sanctions. Despite that, Russian-backed Indian refiner Nayara Energy exported its first shipment of gasoline on the 5th of August.  

• On the 9th of August, just one day after the US imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that the government ‘welcomes’ a US-Russia summit as it holds ‘the promise of resolving the Ukraine conflict and unlocking opportunities for peace.’  

 Civil society, human rights defenders, and journalists 

• On the 7th of August, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with senior Indian journalists in Jerusalem to answer their questions and sign autographs during a visit that also involved discussions with the Indian ambassador to Israel about expanding bilateral cooperation in security and economic areas. The meeting came as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and 15 other media and human rights organisations issued a joint letter demanding an end to the forced starvation and killing of journalists in Gaza by Israel. In its joint statement, the CJP said that “the journalistic community and the world bear an immense responsibility to support our colleagues in this noble profession”.  

• On the 21st of August, eighteen opposition political party MPs have have released a statement to the media expressing concern at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Assam government’s repeated use of a sedition law against the founding editor of The Wire – an Indian independent news website-, its editors, journalists and columnists who have written for it. In the statement they express concern over the harassment by the Assam Police to the journalists, misusing Section 152 of the BNS, a section of the Indian criminal code against acts that endanger India’s sovereignty. “The summons to journalists is a blatant attack on press freedom and democracy itself. The BJP government in Assam is misusing rebranded sedition laws to intimidate independent voices and silence criticism”, part of the statement reads.  

• On the 22nd of August, the Assam police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Delhi-based journalist Abhisar Sharma under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) over a video in which Sharma mentions critical remarks by high court judge Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi about Assam’s government’s transfer of tribal land to a private company. In the video, Sharma also accuses Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of using communal hate and violence for political gain. The complaint against Sharma alleges that the video “contained statements ridiculing and denigrating the duly elected Governments of Assam and the Union of India” and the Assam Police in its FIR against Sharma has invoked section 152, charging him of acts “endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India”. The incident, which happened days after the Assam Police summoned some of The Wire’s journalists under Section 152, highlights how sedition laws are weaponized to silence criticism and intimidate the press. 

• On the 30th of August Deep Saika, an Indian reporter, was shot in a Naga village in the Senapati district of Manipur. One week before the incident, on the 23rd of August, the reporter was threatened by Nagaland deputy Chief Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Y. Patton for a news report for Hornbill TV in which Saika accused Patton of not having visited Naga villagers while the Assam government was carrying out an eviction drive at the Rengma Forest Reserve, a land which has a boundary dispute case in the Supreme Court. Deep Saika is now in a stable condition. Hornbill TV has issued a statement condemning the attack as “not just an assault on his person but a direct attack on press freedom”.  

 Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

• On the 10th of August in Assam, a state in northeastern India, a Miya Muslim man was allegedly threatened by a group of people who told him to “leave this place” and accused him of not being “a proper Bangladeshi”, despite having shown them his Aadhaar card. Shortly after, the group of people came with a bulldozer and allegedly demolished the maktab, a traditional Islamic elementary school, in which the Muslim man was working. The incident is not an isolated case, but part of a wider pattern of intimidation and displacement, with Miya Muslims being the most affected. The Chief minister of Assam has repeatedly referred to the evicted families as “illegal Bangladeshis” in several posts on X, and these statements have fueled at least 18 incidents across 14 districts. The incidents included celebrations of forced evictions of Muslims, hate speech on social media and public calls for further demolition of settlements belonging to “illegal immigrants”. Many of these attacks were organized or supported by Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJP) leaders and their affiliates as part of a broader rise in evictions across Assam since the BJP came to power in 2016. 

• On the 22nd of August, an independent Indian news website published a report on the growing phenomenon of mass evictions targeting specific groups, such as Muslims and Bengali speakers, with the pretext that the affected individuals are not Indian citizens. The report came days after Sunali, an eight-month pregnant woman, was detained by the Delhi police on suspicion of being “Bangladeshi”, before being allegedly blindfolded and pushed into Bangladesh during the night alongside her husband and eight-year-old son. The family of the woman claims that, even though the couple showed police ID cards, police still handed them over Border Security Forces (BSF) accusing them being “Bangladeshi”.  Since Sunali and her family are undocumented in Bangladesh, they now have to stay in hiding, meaning that Sunali cannot get access to the healthcare she needs as a pregnant woman. Bhadu Sheikh, Sunali’s father, has now filed a case in the High Court. This episode is one of many incidents of harassment against Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant workers that have occurred in India’s states in recent months.  

• On the 28th of August, the BBC published a reportage on 40 Rohingya refugees who were allegedly deported by the Indian government to Myanmar in early May 2025. On the 6th of May, the refugees, who had UNHCR refugee cards and lived in different parts of Delhi, were allegedly taken to their local police stations under the guise of collecting biometric data- process mandated by the Indian government. The next day, after being transferred to the Inderlok Detention Centre, they were flown from Hindon airport, east of Delhi, to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an Indian territory in the Bay of Bengal. Once there, they were allegedly bound, blindfolded and taken onto a naval vessel, where some were beaten and humiliated. On the 8th of May they were forced into small boats, given life jackets, and told to swim ashore. They later discovered they had been left in Myanmar, where local fishermen found them. Commenting on the news, Thomas Andrews, the UN’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, says there is “significant evidence” proving these allegations. On the 17th of May two family members of the refugees filed a petition urging India’s Supreme Court to bring them back to Delhi, to immediately stop similar deportations and to offer compensation to all 40 individuals. India’s Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on the 29th of September to decide whether Rohingya can be recognized as refugees. 

 Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

• On the 2nd of August, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) granted bail to two catholic nuns from Kerala and a tribal man who were initially charged with religious conversions and human trafficking. The three were arrested on the 26th of July at Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh, accused of converting and trafficking three tribal women who were travelling with them. According to the allegations, the nuns were accompanying the women to place them in convents in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, for domestic work. The incident escalated when a railway ticket examiner asked the women for their tickets, and the nuns intervened to say that they had them. Shortly after, the examiner informed local members of Bajrang Dal, a Hindu extremist militia organisation, who arrived within minutes and pressured police officers to register a First Information Report (FIR). Despite family members of the three women confirming they were already Christians prior to the incident, the police proceeded with the arrests, backed by Bajrang Dal members who allegedly forced the three tribal women to give false statements against the nuns. The arrests sparked outrage among political and religious leaders in Kerala, who questioned why police acted despite evidence showing no forced conversion or human trafficking had taken place. The case is seen as part of a broader pattern of Hindu extremist organisations weaponising the so called ‘Anti-Conversion Laws’ to target religious minorities.   

• On the 4th of August, the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFIRLC) released a report in which it documented 334 incidents of systematic targeting against Christians across India between January and July 2025. The incidents are all verified and reflect an “alarming consistency” of targeting Christian communities across 22 states and union territories. Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh emerged as “primary hot spots” not only for the immediate violence, but also for the misuse of laws, including the Anti-Conversion Laws, to intimidate Christians. The report also disclosed 13 cases in which Christian families were denied burial rights, in some cases even on private property.  

• On the 8th of August, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) released a statement, strongly condemning the mob attack against two Catholic priests and a catechist which took place on the 6th of August in Jaleswar, Odisha. One media outlet reported that the mob comprised of nearly 70 Bajrang Dal members, which “stopped, abused, manhandled and falsely accused of religious conversion”. The police failed to intervene and, so far, no FIR had been filed against the perpetrators. The CBCI highlighted in their statement that this attack was not an isolated incident, but part of the increasing violence against Christian minorities in India and defined it as a violation of constitutional rights and human dignity of minorities. 

• On the 10th of August a group of people attending a Sunday prayer at a local pastor’s premises in Bihar were attacked by 30-40 members of the Hindutva militant organisation Bajrang Dal carrying iron rods, sticks and pistols. Bajrang Dal district president Poddar declared that the group found evidence of “conversion activities”. Police are investigating and have identified those involved in the assault, filing charges against them.  

• On the 10th of August, St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai cancelled its annual lecture commemorating Jesuit priest Fr. Stan Swamy, an Adivasi rights activist who was one of the 16 human rights activist and academics arrested by the National Investigating Agency after being accused of being part of a “chilling Maoist conspiracy” to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Swami, who was 84 at the time of his arrest, died in custody due to pre-existing health conditions and Coronavirus. The annual lecture at St Xavier’s College was organised as part of the World Indigenous Day celebrations, but it was cancelled after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) -a Hindu nationalist student organisation- accused the college’s administration of glorifying a person accused in a “terror case.” The ABVP is a Hindu nationalist student organisation.   

 Internet and Technology 

• On the 6th of August, a review of court filings conducted by the news agency Reuters showed that federal and state agencies ordered X to remove around 1,4000 posts or accounts between March 2024 and June 2025. More than 70% of these removal notices were issued by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, which is within the Home Ministry headed by Home Minister Amit Shah. This agency developed the Sahyog Portal, where all social media platforms are supposed to register, but X has not joined defining it as a “censorship portal”. To counter X in court, the government filed a 92-page report drafted by the Cybercrime Unit to show that X is “hosting illegal content”. The unit analysed 300 posts it deemed unlawful, including misinformation, hoaxes, and child sexual-abuse material.  In the June 24th filing, X said some of the blocking orders issued by officials “target content involving satire or criticism of the ruling government, and show a pattern of abuse of authority to suppress free speech”. The government’s decision to allow police and all central and state agencies to issue takedown notices for “any information which is prohibited under any law” is seen as a direct threat to free speech and ability to dissent, two rights expected to flourish in a democracy.  

 Political Parties    

• On the 1st of August, the Election Commission of India (ECI) published the draft voter list after conducting a ‘Special Intensive Revision’ (SIR) ahead of the Bihar state elections. The draft list excluded 6.5 million voters due to their death, permanent relocation or replication of their name in the electoral list. The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation submitted a complaint after finding legitimate voters’ names being removed “without any reason”. The party also stated that “Voters from disadvantaged economic backgrounds are mainly in the list of names which were deleted.” Similarly, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, mainly based in Bihar, submitted a complaint to the Chief Election Officer, alleging that many deceased voters’ names were in the list whilst genuine voters had been removed.  

• On the 7th of August, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi held a press briefing, in which he alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) ‘colluded with the BJP to win the Maharashtra elections’ and to ‘steal elections’ in one Karnataka constituency during the 2024 Indian general election. Gandhi raised multiple allegations including duplicate votes, invalid or fake addresses, an unusually larger number of voters registered at the same residence and misuse of the new voter registration form. On the 8th of August, Gandhi released a video in which he questions the neutrality of the ECI, and reiterates the claim of a ‘vote chori’ or ‘vote theft’, adding that, during multiple state elections both the Congress Party and INDIA opposition bloc found that the results did not reflect the ‘public mood’ on the ground. Priyanka Gandhi, leader of the Indian National Congress Party, supported her brother’s claims, adding that ‘there’s been massive foul play.’ The BJP responded to the claims by accusing Gandhi of ‘selected outrage’ for only questioning the ECI in elections they lost. In response to the allegations, on the 8th of August the ECI challenged Gandhi to submit his ‘vote theft’ claims under oath or ‘stop misleading the public.’  

• On the 11th of August, the leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Tejashwi Yadav, claimed that the Deputy Chief Ministry of Bihar, Vijay Kumar Sinha, holds two voter cards and is registered to vote in two constituencies. Hours later, the Election Commission of India served a notice to the Deputy Chief Minister, seeking to understand why he has two IDs. Bihar, which is currently led by the BJP government, is headed to the polls in October or November, with many viewing the upcoming election as a test of the ECI’s independence.  

 Police and authorities 

• On the 21st of August, two Jammu and Kashmir police officers and four police personnels were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for their involvement in the custodial torture of a policeman in 2023. The incident had taken place in February 2023 in Kupwara, when Khursheed Ahmad Chohan, a police constable was illegally detained during what was presented as a narcotics inquiry. According to the Supreme Court documents, he was allegedly tortured for six days, during which his testicles were surgically removed and “vegetative particles” forced into his rectum. When Chohan’s wife told the Kupwara police about the severity of the assault, they did not act against the alleged perpetrators and insinuated that Chohan suffered a self-inflicted wound. The case reached a turning point when Chohan’s wife filed a Right to Information Act (RTI) in order to obtain Chohan’s medical examination report conducted after the alleged torture. On the 21st of July 2025, the Supreme Court criticised heavily the police investigation, observing that it “reveals a disturbing pattern of systematic cover-up” and “abuse of authority”. 

Judiciary 

• On the 4th of August, the Supreme Court of India stayed proceedings in the ongoing defamation case against Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi. The case was instituted against Mr Gandhi in 2023, after he made comments to the media that China had taken over 2000 square kilometers of Indian territory during border skirmishes between Indian and Chinese soldiers. The retired Border Roads Organisation officer, which instituted the defamation case, argued that Gandhi defamed the Indian Army. During the recent court proceedings, Justice Dipankar Datta criticised Gandhi for his remarks, asking if he had ‘any credible proof’, adding that Gandhi should have aired his views in Parliament rather than on social media, arguing that freedom of speech does not mean a ‘responsible leader of the opposition would do all this.’ In response, Gandhi’s advocate argued that the law of defamation ‘cannot be used to freeze dissent to government policies.’ The opposition INDIA bloc parties released a statement on the 5th of August, calling the judges’ comments ‘unwarranted’, adding that ‘it is the responsibility of political parties, especially of the Leader of the Opposition, to comment on issues of national interest. When a government fails so spectacularly to defend our borders, it is very citizen’s moral duty to hold it accountable.’ Congress Party leader Priyanka Gandhi defended her brother stating that he has the upmost respect for the Army and would never say anything against it.  

• On the 12th of August, Mintu Paswan, a Bihar resident who was declared dead by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in its ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), appeared in the Supreme Court, demonstrably alive. Paswan declared in an interview that while striking off his name from the list “they did not ask for any documents” but to add his name “they are asking for so many”. Paswan is among the 6.5 million voters who have been left out of the draft elector poll published by the ECI on the 1st of August. Activist Yogendra Yadav, who is challenging the ongoing exercise in Bihar with the aim of showing how electors have been wrongfully deleted by the poll body, said in court that “mass exclusion is not a failure of implementation of SIR, it’s a design.” 

• The Election Commission has told the Supreme Court, as part of the poll body’s controversial Bihar Special Intensive Revisions, that claims and objections on the draft electoral rolls can be filed even after the 1st of September. Since the start of Bihar’s SIR, new reports of arbitrary removals, deletions and the withholding of information were received. The Court was reported to say that “the process (of filing objections) will continue until the last date of nominations, and all inclusions/exclusions are integrated in the final roll”.  

 Business & economy 

• On the 6th of August, the US put a 50% tariff on Indian cotton exports. As a response, the Indian government removed the 11% import duty on foreign cotton. Cotton plays a big role in Indian economy, sustaining six million farmers and forty-five million people through the textile workforce. The decision allowed cheap cotton from countries like Australia and Egypt to be imported, determining a price fall of 4% within days after duty removal. Many farmers, who were already selling below the minimum support price (MSP), will be dramatically affected.  

• On the 12th of August, a video clip showing Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi reacting to the allotment of 3,000 bighas of land in Assam’s Dima Hasao district to a private cement company went viral. The video was filmed during a Gauhati High Court hearing in which emerged that land had been allotted for 30 years to Mahabal Cement Pvt. Ltd. The land in question had been used, until now, by indigenous communities for their cultivations. Protests erupted when excavation machines arrived on the land to clean it, without the indigenous communities’ consent. Meanwhile, political tensions rose after Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi accused Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of transferring tribal land to the Mahabal Cement. Since December 2024, residents of the allotted area have challenged the decision in Court, claiming their families have lawfully lived on and cultivated these lands since 1975. 

India in the World 

• On the 2nd of July, Prime Minister Modi embarked on his multi-nation diplomatic visit to Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia for the BRICS Summitt in Rio de Janeiro. In a statement, PM Modi declared to be “confident” that the trip “will reinforce bonds friendship across the Global South,” and said that the conversation with Argentinian counterparts will focus on “cooperation the areas of agriculture, critical minerals, energy, trade, tourism, technology, and investment.” 

• On the 14th of July, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar arrived in Beijing to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and to meet with Chinese vice-president Han Zheng and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi. In his opening statement, Mr Jaishankar affirmed that relations with China had “been steadily improving” since President Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2024. The meeting was the first high-level dialogue between the two countries since the 2020 military incursions in the Galwan Valley, Ladakh, which led to a de-escalation of relations for four years. Since the meeting between the Prime Minister and President, relations between the two countries have started to normalise.  

• On the 31st of July, US President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on Indian imports to the US, which came into effect on the 7th of August. The President also alluded to further tariffs, adding that India will face ‘a penalty’ for importing Russian energy and military equipment. In his announcement on the social media platform Truth Social, the President added that India has ‘the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country’. In response to the announcement, the Indian Ministry of Commerce stated they are studying the implications of the tariff, adding that ‘The Government attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs.’ They reiterated their commitment to signing a bilateral trade deal with the US by the end of 2025, adding they will ‘take all steps necessary to secure the national interest.’ 

Civil society, human rights defenders, and journalists 

• On the 13th of July, the Ballia police station in Uttar Pradesh registered a First Information Report (FIR) against veteran journalist Ajit Anjum over his coverage of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar. The SIR is the preparation of electoral lists through house-to-house visits to determine the eligibility of households, as indicated by Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act of 1950, which permits it to revise electoral rolls “in such manner as it thinks fit”. The SIR has been criticized for the additional documents that it requires electors to furnish to determine their citizenship and right to vote. In the video posted on his YouTube channel on the 12th of July, Mr Anjum alleged large-scale irregularities in the voter list in the Sahebpur Kamal assembly constituency. He has been charged with spreading disinformation. The district administration described the contents of Mr Anjum’s video as “baseless”, “misleading” and intended to “incite public sentiment”. On his account on X, Mr Anjum said that he had received threats to remove the video, but he refused.  

• On the 4th of July, female journalist Sneha Barve was attacked by a mob and beaten whilst she was reporting on allegations of illegal construction on disputed land in the state of Maharashtra. Barve, who founded the YouTube based news channel Samarth Bharat Pariwar, was struck by a wooden rod before being taken to hospital. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that Barve has previously been targeted for reporting on similar issues at least two other times. In 2023, another journalist, Sashikant Warishe was murdered after he reported on a land dispute in the state.   

• On the 24th of July, the Committee to Protect Journalists urged the Chief Minister of Maharashtra to ‘urgently guarantee Sneha Barve’s safety to send a clear message that attacks on the press will not be tolerated.’ The statement was made after Barve, who was assaulted on the 4th of July, received new death threats for her reporting. Barve was accosted by one of her attackers on the 24th of July, who told her ‘this time, we should finish the matter for good.’ Just a few days earlier, on the 18th of July, the son of Barve’s alleged main attacker visited the journalist’s father, threatening to harm her whole family.  CPJ India’s representative, Kunal Majumder reiterated that whilst Barve and her family face new threats, ‘the main suspect in her assault walks free.’ The case is representative of the violence journalists are increasingly facing for their reporting, and the impunity perpetrators receive.  

 Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

• A report released by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights has documented a systematic increase in hate speech against Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis, and Christians minorities. Key findings of the report include a total of 947 hate crime incidents recorded in the first year of Prime Minister Modi’s third term in office, out of which 345 were hate speech incidents and 602 were hate crimes. Out of the 345 hate speech incidents, 178 were made by individuals associated with the BJP, with the highest number in BJP-governed states, including Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. 

 Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

• Since the resumption of hostilities between two anti-military junta forces in Myanmar on the 2nd of July, around 4,000 refugees from Myanmar have sought protection in the Indian state of Mizoram, which borders Myanmar. Robert Zoremtluaga, head of the Champhai District Committee on Myanmar refugees said that the newly arrived are currently placed in Zokawthar and in a community hall in Saikumphai. Refugees from the country have been seeking refuge in Mizoram since 2021. Despite demands from the central government not to let refugees enter the country, the state government, civil society and residents of Mizoram have provided humanitarian assistance to the refugees, as they share ethnic and familial ties with them. However, since March 2025, activists and village councils have asked refugees to stop trading and leaving their designated camps, as the uncontrolled movement was ‘threatening national security, changing the demography, and draining local resources.’ The situation is further complicated by India’s lack of specific legislation on refugees and failure to ratify the Refugee Convention, which means refugees are treated as illegal migrants. 

• On the 2nd of July, a team of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) members conducted a fact-finding exercise in the villages of Paud and Pirangut in Pune district of Maharashtra, after Muslims residing in these villages were allegedly forced to flee due to intimidation, communal violence and economic boycotts. The PUCL and APCR opened their  investigation after reports that illegal posters calling for a boycott of Muslims surfaced. Whilst many members of the Muslim community have resided in the villages for decades, the posters referred to them as ‘non-native’. The PUCL and APRC found that the posts, in combination with harassment and threats have created ‘a palpable climate of fear, shuttered businesses, disrupted lives, and displaced families.’  

• On the 18th of July, the Foothills Naga Coordination Movement (FNCC) declared an indefinite bandh or general strike to protest the movement of the Kuki ethnic community in Naga inhabited areas of the foothills of Manipur. The ‘peaceful but firm protest’ was launched against ‘threats to ancestral land, identity and security’ of the Naga community, one of the ethnic communities in the state of Manipur. One of the main sources of concern is the construction of the ‘German’ Road, which was constructed during the ongoing ethno-religious conflict in Manipur to connect Churachandpur to Kangpokpi. The road was allegedly named after a Kuki militant leader German. H. Kuki. The FNCC also opposes further construction of proposed roads which currently pass through Naga ancestral communities but have been planned without the ‘prior knowledge or consent of the Naga people.’  

• The Wire documented human rights abuses against Bengali-speaking migrant workers from West Bengal in multiple BJP-led states, including Odisha, Delhi, Assam, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Victims of the abuses recount being taken by law enforcement and Border Security Forces (BSF), beaten, having their documents removed and being falsely accused of being “Bangladeshi infiltrators”. A similar episode occurred in June, when the BSF initially deported 140 migrant workers to an interrogation camp in Pune and later to West Bengal. The episodes are part of a pattern of human rights abuses against Bengali-speaking migrant workers. Numerous people describe being arbitrarily arrested in Maharashtra, despite showing valid Indian identification and Voter IDs, and expressed fear of speaking Bengali in public. According to the Migrant Workers’ Unity Forum, there is no clear count of how many workers are missing or have been deported to Bangladesh.   

• On the 23rd of July, Human Rights Watch reported that Indian authorities ‘unlawfully expelled’ hundreds of Bengali Muslims to Bangladesh. Between the 7th of May and 15th of June, Border Guard Bangladesh reported that India expelled over 1500 Muslims to Bangladesh, including 100 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. Human Rights Watch Asia Director Elaine Pearson stated that ‘the authorities’ claims that they are managing irregular immigration are unconvincing given their disregard for due process rights, domestic guarantees, and international human rights standards.’ She added that the expulsions of Bengali Muslims are ‘fueling discrimination’ in the country. In the aftermath of the Pahalgam Terrorist Attack, authorities in BJP-led states deliberately targeted Muslims, accusing them of being illegal migrants and launching campaigns which targeted Muslims regardless of their citizenship status. In some cases, border guards have been accused of threatening and beating detainees to force them to cross the border to Bangladesh. 

 Internet and Technology 

• At the end of June, a draft of the Karnataka Misinformation and Fake News (Prohibition) Bill was leaked to the press. The Bill has been met with huge controversy and labelled a ‘tool of repression disguised as well-intentioned legislation.’ The Bill has been criticised by a multitude of organisations, including Foundation The London Story and Internet Freedom Foundation, for criminalising speech without clear definitions, independent oversight or meaningful safeguards to stop the legislation becoming a tool for repressing freedom of expression. The scope of the Bill is particularly contentious, as the regulating authority is tasked with curbing content deemed ‘disrespectful of Sanatan symbols’. The term is not defined in the draft, and ‘risks shielding not just religious belief but majoritarian ideology from scrutiny’, as many proponents of violent Islamophobic content use Hindu imagery and values as a unifying label. In response to the uproar from civil society, on the 26th of July, the Karnataka government dropped the ‘Fake News’ clause in the latest draft of the Bill, including any reference to ‘disrespect of Sanatan symbols’.  

• On the 11th of July, Radhika Yadav, a 25-year-old state-level tennis player, was allegedly shot dead by her father in Gurugram. Whilst Yadav’s father allegedly confessed to the crime, a parallel narrative propogated by Hindu nationalist extremists on social media platforms framed the murder as an act of honour to protect her from ‘Love Jihad.’ The police have not corroborated any allegations that she was in a relationship with a Muslim man. Some posts suggested that by killing her, Radhika’s father had ‘prevented a worse outcome’, if she had converted to Islam. The case is representative of how Hindu nationalist extremist actors continue to use online platforms to frame women as part of broader ideological battles.  

• On the 29th of July, arguments on the constitutionality of the Sahyog Portal in the X vs Union of India case were concluded. The case began in April 2025, when X filed a petition in the Karnataka High court challenging its forced onboarding into the Sahyog Portal, where government agencies issue takedown notices. The portal was originally created as a health and public safety tracking tool, enabling different ministries and law enforcement agencies to coordinate their work and combat pandemic misinformation and fraud campaigns. In late 2024, the portal was repurposed to focus on content regulation, a decision made internally by the Ministry of Home Affairs without a debate in the Indian parliament or implementation of new legislation. The portal enables agencies to issue takedown notices to social media companies whilst circumventing the provisions and procedural safeguards set out in Section 69A of the IT Act. If platforms fail to comply, they can lose their intermediary immunity. Platforms have reported that they do not receive legal reasoning behind orders they receive via the portal and there is no built-in appeals mechanism. In their case, X argues that the Sahyog portal ‘effectively creates a parallel regime with no statutory basis, violating the doctrine of due process and constitutional free speech guarantees.’ 

Political Parties    

• Police in Kerala’s Kasaragod district have filed three separate cases against individuals accused of orchestrating a hate campaign on social media targeting the late V.S. Achuthanandan. Achuthanansan, who died on the 21st of July, was a former Chief Minister of Kerala and Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The cases, registered under non-bailable provisions related to hate speech, were filed at the Bekal, Kumbala, and Nileswaram police stations. The individuals booked include Abdullah Kunhi (under Kumbala police jurisdiction), Fayaz Thotty (under Vehicle Station limits), and Rashid Moidu (in the Nileswaram area), who posted inflammatory content on Facebook and promoted the alleged hate campaign through their WhatsApp statuses. According to authorities, the accused intentionally circulated defamatory material meant to demean Achuthanandan’s legacy in fighting for labour rights, land rights, education, women’s right, anti-corruption measures and environmental protection, with the potential to incite public unrest and communal tensions. 

Police and authorities 

• On the 21st of July, the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 men who were convicted of “participating” in the deadly serial train attacks of the 11th of July 2006. The High Court bench, comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak, found that the “confessional statements were not found to be truthful and complete” and the men confessed after being subject to torture. The family of one of the formerly convicted men- Shaikh Mohammed Ali Alam Shaikh- denounced the abuses by law enforcement over the years. According to their testimonies, members of Mumbai’s police kept visiting Mr Alam Shaikh’s family to intimidate them. The case sheds light on the use of torture by police to extort confessions.  

• A report by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, which denounces hate crimes against minorities in India, exposed the police’s inactions, alleging that law enforcement’s response remained largely passive or complicit during crimes committed against minorities. As reported by The Wire, of 602 hate crimes documented in the year, only 13% resulted in first information reports. 

Judiciary 

• On the 14th of July, Delhi University professor Apoorvanand and human rights defender Aakar Patel filed a petition to the Supreme Court asking for a temporary halt of the directives issued by Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand state governments which require restaurant owners to display their names. The petitioners argue that the state governments’ orders violate several constitutional provisions as well as the previous Supreme Court judgement which found that they were not ‘backed by law nor necessary for the stated purpose of public order or food safety compliance.” The petitioners also argue that the orders impact the privacy and dignity of restaurant owners as it will lead to ‘discriminatory profiling’.  

• On the 15th of July, two Supreme Court justices expressed the need to enact a law to give victims of wrongful incarceration compensation. Whilst acquitting a death row convict who was wrongly incarcerated, Justices Karol, Mehta and Math noted that wrongful incarceration infringes on the right to life and personal liberty as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution. As a result, victims they are entitled to compensation, although the criteria for awarding such compensation may vary in different jurisdictions.  

• On the 16th of July, the Calcutta High Court has sought an affidavit (written statement of facts) from the West Bengal government, the Central government, and the Delhi government in response to a petition filed by relatives of a Bengali migrant who was arrested and deported from Birbhum district. A division bench comprising Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra requested the affidavits after learning that similar petitions had also been filed in the Delhi High Court. The petitioners’ lawyer stated that, following the filing of the petition, the petitioner’s relatives were also detained by Delhi police but were subsequently released. The case seems to be one of many arrests of Bengali citizens. Commenting on the order signed by the High Court, senior counsel for the state remarked: “Who will decide (to detain)? The appropriate authority is not the police or constable. You cannot pick up someone just because they are speaking Bengali. […]”. 

 Business & economy 

• On the 7th of July, Adani Properties, the real estate firm of Adani Group, signed an agreement with state agency Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) for the redevelopment of Motilal Nagar in the suburb of Goregaon (Mumbai). In the inauguration ceremony,  Mhada vice-president and CEO Sanjeev Jaiswal, declared the project a ‘Special Project’ which will deliver 397,100 square metres of apartments and commercial spaces. The redevelopment, the second largest after the Dharavi slum, has met the resistance of Motilal Nagar’s residents. Yuvraj Mohite, president of Motilal Nagar Vikas Samiti, said that residents- who now fear eviction and deportation- remain firm in their opposition to the redevelopment plan, which was approved without their consultation.  

India in the World 

• On the 12th of June, flight AI171 from Ahmedabad, Gujarat to London crashed moments after the take-off. The plane crashed into the residential campus of the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College and Civil Hospital, killing 241 passengers and 29 people on the ground, including 5 medical students.  In the aftermath of the crash, vigils were held across the world for the victims who came from India, the UK, Portugal and Canada.  

• On the 1st of June, India’s foreign ministry announced that, over 1,000 Indians have been deported from the US since January, as part of President Trumps ongoing campaign against undocumented migrants. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal advised that over one hundred of nationals were deported on US military flights, while the rest have taken commercial flights back to India. He also reiterated the “close cooperation between India and the United States on migration issues”. Mr Jaiswal also added that in 2023-2024, 330,000 Indians students had gone to the US for studies, making India the largest source of international students in the country.   

• On the 3rd and 4th of June, Australian deputy prime minister and minister for defence Richard Marles visited India for a two-day trip and met with his counterpart Rajnath Singh. In the meeting with the Chief Defense Staff in Delhi, Mr Marles expressed condolences to the families of the victims of the Pahalgam attack and condemned the terrorists. The discussions encompassed Indo-Australian defense, strategic cooperation and security, including industry collaboration, cyber and new emerging technologies, counterterrorism, and maritime security, at the end of which “both countries expressed satisfaction at the growing strategic convergence between the two countries”.  

• On the 4th of June, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar advised that the chance of the recent India- Pakistan conflict restarting  is remote, as ‘the ceasefire is holding and all steps regarding withdrawal of troops have been implemented by the two sides in letter and spirit.” Despite these reassurances, on the 20th of June, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the Indus Water Treaty, which was suspended in the aftermath of the Pahalgam Terrorist Attack, ‘will never be restored.’ The treaty guarantees 80% of Pakistani farms’ access to water. Whilst legal experts have clarified that the treaty cannot be suspended unilaterally, Shah has advised that a canal will be constructed to redirect water which was originally flowing to Pakistan to the Indian state of Rajasthan.  

• Hours after United States announced the strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian for the first time since the start of the conflict between Iran and Israel. In a post on X, PM Modi stated he expressed “deep concern at the recent escalations and called for restoration of regional peace, security and stability.” The Prime Minister added that “the two leaders reiterated a shared commitment to continue to work for strengthening bilateral cooperation in different areas including trade and economic cooperation, science and technology”.   

• On the 11th of June, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic met in Brussels to discuss the EU-India Free Trade Agreement. Both parties stated they are satisfied with the progress of negotiations. Minister Jaishankar reflected that progress towards a ‘comprehensive, balanced, and meaningful FTA agreement’ has been made. Commission Sefcovic described the negotiations as ‘valuable’. Both parties are expected to come to an agreement by the end of 2025. 

Civil society, human rights defenders, and journalists 

• On the 1st of June, around 500 people joined the peaceful rally organized by grassroots civil society group Mumbai for Peace denouncing growing hatred and intolerance across the country and calling for peace and inclusion. The protesters marched from Kotwali garden to Dadar, known as the “nerve centre of Ethno-Nationalist Hindutva politics” in the city. Dadar is also home to the resting place of Dalit leader and chief of architect of the Indian constitution Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The end location was deliberately chosen to ‘reassert the commitment of the citizens to the Indian constitution in its 75th year and its values of equality, non-discrimination, dignity, secularism and unity.’ One of the attendees of the march, Chayanika Shah, shared in an Instagram post that people gathered together to spread the message that “we all belong”! That we stand for inclusion, for love, for friendship, for respect”.  

• On the 9th of June, The Quint published an opinion piece written by Umar Khalid, one of the student activists arrested and detained under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in the Delhi Riots case.  In the article, which Khalid wrote from Tihar Jail, Khalid reflects on Dostoevsky’s The House of the Dead, which is a fictional account based on the author’s own experience of imprisonment under the Tsarist regime in 19th century Russia. He reflected on ‘how little has changed when it comes to experiences of imprisonment’ adding how he ‘felt as if he was narrating things and occurrences that I see around myself here at Tihar.’ He added that his own experience of returning to jail after being granted 7 days of interim bail had invoked the feeling that ‘makes one feel like a state somewhere between life and death’, something which Dostoevsky refers to as ‘The Graveyard of the Living in the book.‘ He added reflections on nurturing hope in prison. The article was released shortly before the fifth anniversary of Khalid’s incarceration. He remains incarcerated along with other human rights defenders who, like Khalid, have been accused of being ‘masterminds’ of the 2020 Delhi Riots.  

• On the 4th of June, the Supreme Court requested a response from the Madhya Pradesh government regarding a petition by two journalists who claimed they were assaulted by police while covering illegal sand mining. The bench, consisting of Justices Sanjay Karol and Satish Chandra Sharma, declined to provide temporary protection from arrest to the journalists who have allegedly been threatened while working in Madhya Pradesh, suggesting seeking protection from the Madhya Pradesh or Delhi High Courts. 

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

• On the 3rd of June, the Vice President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Malik Motasim Khan, condemned the recent waves of violence against Muslims, Dalits and other minorities. Khan’s comments were made in response to the recent anti-Muslim violence in Aligarh, where four Muslim men were accused of transporting beef and beaten with belts and sticks by an angry mob. Mr. Khan denounced the violence adding, it is representative of “a disturbing pattern of mob lynchings and hate crimes against Muslims, Dalits, and other marginalized groups, often under the guise of cow protection or love jihad”. He also condemned the “climate of impunity” for mob lynchings and the illegal demolitions of Muslim properties, homes, and educational institutions.     

• In a statement published on the June 23rd, UN experts demanded India immediately end “its practice of arbitrary and punitive demolitions affecting low-income households, minorities and migrants”, which they labelled as ‘an aggravated form of human rights violations.”. The experts, which included the UN Special Rapporteurs on Adequate Housing, Freedom of Religion or Belief, Minority Rights and Human Rights of Migrants, noted that, despite the Indian Supreme Court’s landmark ruling which established safeguards against arbitrary demolitions, cases of so called ‘bulldozer justice’ persist. What’s more, authorities seek to justify these measures by citing vague concerns over national security, and illegal migrants. However, demolitions continue to be undertaken without any inquiry into the veracity of such allegations. The experts added that “India must ensure that urban development is pursued in a manner consistent with both domestic guarantees and international human rights standards.” 

• On the 26th of June, the Global Torture Index 2025, developed by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), classified India as a “high risk” country for torture and ill-treatment. The factsheet highlights that incidents involve beatings, custodial deaths and extrajudicial killings specifically directed at “marginalised communities such as Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, LGBTQIA+ individuals and migrant labourers”. Similarly, the report published on the 27th of June by Redress, an international organisation that works for justice for survivors of torture, denounced a systematic pattern of torture “carried out by State authorities with impunity”, particularly against minority communities including Dalits, Adivasis, and religious minorities; and against “civil society dissenters”. 

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

• The Association for Protection of Civil Rights has published data on hate incidents against Muslims in India in the weeks after the Pahalgam Terrorist Attack. In  the two weeks following the attack, the Association registered 184 incidents, including mob assaults, vandalism, hate speech and killings in 19 states, affecting 316 victims. These episodes are part of the wider systematic persecution of minorities and marginalised communities in India, fomented by the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party. Senior Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan remarked that“BJP politics in India today depends most entirely on fomenting hatred against Muslims and minorities, and on polarizing the country between Hindus and minorities”. This was evident in the aftermath of the attack, when “the focus was shifted to bashing Pakistan and bashing Indian Muslims.” The findings have been echoed by Suchitra Vijayan, Executive Director of The Polis Project, who described the violence against minorities in India as “a state-backed blueprint” affecting in particular BJP-led states, which have increasingly become a “laboratory of violence”. UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Professor Nicolas Levrat, reiterated the comments when he condemned India’s failure to protect Muslims after the attack.  The Special Rapporteur stressed that India is a party to theInternational Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and must therefore guarantee the freedom of religion or belief for all citizens. He added that, given the systematic violence against minorities, “India is not living up to its standards”.    

• On the night between the 8th and the 9th of June, the discovery of suspected cattle remains from a temple in Dhubri, Assam, led to violent clashes and 38 arrests. The incident took place in the Muslim-majority district in western part of Assam, where Hindus and Muslims pelted stones at each other, causing panic in the city. The arrests took place under the Assam Cattle Preservation Act (which regulates the slaughter, transportation, and sale of beef in Assam) and provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to acts intended to outrage religious feelings. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma ordered the police to arrest “all criminals in Dhubri” and issued night-time “shoot at sight orders”. Nazrul Hoque, local MLA from the All-India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) alleged that the Chief Minister’s directives were disproportionate to the situation on the ground. 

• On the 11th of June, a coalition of 18 human rights organisations, including the Indian American Muslim Council, Genocide Watch, Hindus for Human Rights and The Polis Project, organised a panel with Professor Nicolas Levrat, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues. According to Mr Levrat, “India very obviously failed to live up to its international obligations to protect Muslims from a wave of hate crimes following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir”. Citing 184 anti-Muslim hate incidents across 19 states within six days, Mr Levrat spoke of “incendiary violence” and urged India to uphold its duty under international law to protect religious freedom. 

• On the 15th of June, tensions erupted in Manipur between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities over an alleged dispute over farmland. There is no official confirmation on the exact number of victims, but Manipur police deployed additional personnel in the area to restore order. In one of the alleged videos that went viral, members of different communities were seen throwing stones at each other after Meitei farmers attempted to plough a paddy field near a Kuki village. The episode is part of the ongoing ethno-religious conflict between the two groups, which began in May 2023.  

• On the 30th of June, the government of Maharashtra officially withdrew its decision to make Hindi the compulsory third language in primary schools. The announcement, made by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the State Assembly, came after protests from opposition parties and civil society organizations, which accused the government of deliberately attempting to impose Hindi at the expense of regional languages and cultural identities. The Chief Minister also announced that a new expert committee has been formed to advise the government on the National Education Policy (NEP), which requires schools to teach three Indian languages. In April, the government chose Marathi, English and Hindi as compulsory languages, sparking protests from the opposition and civil society for not taking into consideration linguistic minorities.  

Internet and Technology 

• On the 6th of June, Starlink received a license to launch commercial operations in India. The Department of Telecommunications has previously granted licenses to OneWeb and Reliance Jio, the second of which is owned by Modi-backed oligarch Akesh Ambani’s company Reliance Industries. Elon Musk previously met Prime Minister Modi during Modi’s visit to the US, where they discussed Starlink and the Indian governments’ concerns over the satellite internet constellation’s security issues. Whilst Starlink now has a commercial license, the company cannot start operating in India before obtaining a separate license from India’s space regulator.  

Political Parties    

• On the 1st of June, during his visit to West Bengal, Union Home Minister Amit Shah harshly criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of prioritising appeasement politics over national interest to obtain Muslims’ votes. Speaking to BJP members and to his supporters, Mr Shah also accused Banerjee of “insulting people of this country” by opposing Operation Sindoor in the aftermath of Pahalgam terrorist attack. 

• On the 2nd of June, the Chhattisgarh Police arrested Brijmohan Singh, a serving Congress leader from the Durg district, and Arun Tiwari, an ex-MLA, for allegedly making “objectionable” remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media. Mr. Tiwari was taken into custody under sections section 296 (obscene act) and 352 (intentional insult) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, while Congress leader Brijmohan Singh was arrested under sections 296 (obscene act) and 353 (public mischief). 

Police and authorities 

• On the 2nd of June, members of the Indian community abroad issued a statement condemning the extrajudicial killings carried out by the security forces in Bastar, Chhattisgarh on the 21st of May. In their statement, organisations including The London Story, InSAF India, India Labour Solidarity and Hindus for Human Rights condemned “in the strongest possible terms, the continued killing of people by state and central forces in Adivasi regions” and described the state’s actions as a “pattern of calculated cruelty to kill its own citizens without any due process.” The killings were part of Operation Kagar, launched by the government of India in April 2025 to make India “Maoist-free” by March 2026. In response to the operation, on the 9th of June, five Indian political parties sent an open letter to PM Modi, urging him to stop the “extrajudicial killings” and the “militaristic approach that treats the Adivasis” in Chhattisgarh “with unmitigated hostility”. 

Judiciary 

• In June, the Madras High Court stated that, while the Supreme Court has not legalized same sex marriage, “the concept of family has to be understood in an expanded sense […]” and that “marriage is not the sole mode to start a family […]”. The High Court’s comments were part of a sentence in the case of a woman who filed a petition against her parent for illegally detaining her for being a lesbian. The Court also condemned the police (who deliberately ignored the SOS calls from the woman) and emphasised the police’s duty to intervene in any situation, including when is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community asking for help.  

• On the 4th of June, the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) strongly criticized the Government’s plan to launch a digital platform to register all Waqf properties across India. The ‘UMEED portal’ has been met with strong criticism from Muslim communities, and the AIMPLB argued that it amounts to ‘contempt of court’, as they argue the portal is based on recommendations from the recent Waqf Amendment Bill, which is still being challenged in the Supreme Court.  The Board plans to challenge the latest government initiative in the Supreme Court.  

• On the 11th of June, the Supreme Court affirmed that the state cannot forbid to two consenting adults belonging to different religions to live together. The Supreme Court’s comments were made while granting bail to a Muslim man from Uttarakhand who spent almost six years in prison for marrying a Hindu woman. The judges’ bench also added that the state “cannot have any objection” to adults from different religions getting married or living together. 

Business & economy 

• On the 5th of June, International Solidarity for Academic Freedom in India (InSAF India) and London Mining Network held a dialogue with Rinchin and Prashant Paikray, experts on violations of Adivasi rights in the areas of north Chhattisgarh and Odisha. The panel highlighted how India has enabled Indian and foreign corporations to perpetuate environmental destruction and human rights and Adivasi land rights abuses, justifying it as “national development and climate responsibility”.  

• U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, and Second Lady Usha Vance began their 4 day visit to India on the 21st of April. During his visit, Vance met Prime Minister Modi to discuss India-US ties. Both countries are seeking to enhance their cooperation in defence, strategic technologies and energy. The visit comes as the US and India work towards signing a trade agreement.
• On the 22nd of April, 26 people were killed and 10 injured in a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir. 25 of those killed were Indian and 1 was Nepali. Survivors of the attack have stated that the terrorists deliberately targeted Hindu men, asking victims for their  name and religion, before killing them. They also highlighted how local Kashmiris came to their aid during the attack. The Resistance Front (TRF), a terrorist organisation that emerged in the region in 2019, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Since then, tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated, and there has been a huge surge in Islamophobic hate speech online, leading to anti-Muslim rallies and attacks on the Muslim and Kashmiri communities in India. In response to the heightened India-Pakistan tensions, leaders and politicians around the world, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres,  called for both countries to defuse tensions.
• On the 29th of April, Prime Minister Modi congratulated Mark Carney on his election win, with Carney becoming the new Prime Minister of Canada. In his post on X, Modi described Canada and India as “bound by shared democratic values and a steadfast commitment to the rule of law”, and declared he is ready to “strengthen their partnership”. The comments mark the restoration of diplomatic relations between India and Canada, which declined in 2024 due to allegations made by the Canadian government that Indian government officials, including Home Minister Amit Shah, were involved in the assassination of a Sikh separatist in Canada.  The tensions between the two states led to the withdrawal of diplomats in October 2024, however New Delhi and Ottawa are now working to restore bilateral ties, starting with the reinstatement of India’s High Commissioners to Canada.

• For the first time since the start of the ethno-religious conflict in Manipur in May 2023, organisations from both sides involved in the conflict met for talks in New Delhi. On the 5th of April, delegates from Meitei and Kuki-Zo organisations met officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs to initiate a dialogue to end the ongoing ethno-religious conflict. Measures proposed to end the conflict comprise an “appeal to their people” to refrain from violence against members of the other community, an appeal to the administration to act against those not cooperating, and a programme to facilitate the return of civilians displaced by the conflict. The two parties collaborated for the drafting of a six-point document which was ultimately not signed by the Kuki-Zo side.

• On the 7th of April, Mr. Neingulo Krome, Secretary General of the Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights, was prevented from boarding an international flight to Kathmandu. As a human rights defender and advocate for the protection of Indigenous Peoples in Asia, Mr. Krome has been banned by the Government of India from travelling abroad. The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) condemned the episode, calling it an example of the “marked intensification of legal and administrative measures affecting non-governmental organizations, community leaders, and human rights defenders” implemented by the Indian Government in recent years. Concerns were also expressed by the Asia Indigenous People’s Pact (AIPP), which argued that the travel restriction had no “valid explanation or legal justification”.

• The Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), has recommended downgrading India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) from ‘A’ to ‘B’ status. The decision marks the first time the NHRC, which is responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights in India, faces a downgrade. The SCA report noted that the institution has been under review since 2023, with accreditation deferred for two consecutive years. The downgrade will take effect in a year’s time, meaning the body could retain it’s a status if it is able to demonstrate compliance with the Paris Principles. During GANHRI’s 45th session held in March, the SCA reiterated several concerns it has with the NHRC, including the involvement of police in human rights violation, potentially creating a conflict of interest, the lack of transparency in the selection process for committee members and the lack of pluralism in the committee. The SCA has also criticised the NHRC for failing to address the “shrinking civic space and increased instances of targeting human rights defenders, journalists and perceived critics”. The NHRC’s downgrade to category ‘B’ means the institution is now  only “partially compliant with the Paris Principles”  The  NHRC  responded that the SCA’s statements are “misplaced” and “far from reality”.

• Speaking at an online event on the 4th of April, Supreme Court Justice A S Oka declared that most of the hate speech cases presented to the Supreme Court are against “religious minorities or oppressed castes which are in the minority”. According to the Judge, most instances of hate speech are politically motivated, as part of an effort to incite violence and harassment against religious minorities in India. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have regularly used hate speech to dehumanise religious minorities and polarise Indian society, including during the 2024 elections.
• Following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, India Hate Lab (IHL) has recorded a huge surge in anti-Muslim hate speech across 9 states in India. Between the 22nd of April, when the attack took place, and the 2nd of May, IHL documented 64-in person hate speech events, where Muslims were referred to as ‘green snakes’, ‘piglets’, insects and ‘mad dogs.’ During the rallies, Right-wing Hindu nationalist influencers and religious figures made explicit calls for violence against Muslims, economic boycotts targeting Muslim businesses and the eviction of Muslim tenants. Most of the events were organised by Hindu nationalist groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parish (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal (a Hindu nationalist militia with close ties to the BJP).
• Similarly, in the aftermath of the terrorist attack, Hindutva pages, influencers, journalists and politicians made explicit calls for genocidal violence against Indian Muslims and Kashmiris on social media. Platforms such as X and Facebook have become hotbeds for anti-Muslim and anti-Kashmiri hate speech, incitement to violence and disinformation. The online content has real world ramifications, as on the 24th of April, the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association reported that Kashmiris students across the country were allegedly asked to leave their rented apartments. Many students were called “terrorists” and harassed and attacked in Himachal Pradesh. Social media platforms have failed to implement their platform content moderations policies, making them complicit in the avalanche of violent content and subsequent attacks on minority communities.

• On the 2nd of April, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) called on secular parties and BJP allies to reject the Waqf Amendment Bill in Parliament, arguing that it grants ‘sweeping and arbitrary powers to the government’ and cautioning that its approval will lead to nationwide protests. The Waqf Amendment Bill introduces changes to the system of governing Waqfs. Waqfs are donations made by Muslims for the benefit of the community, Mosques, schools, orphanages and graveyards. The AIMPLB has warned that the new provisions will allow the government more control over Waqf properties, calling the Bill unconstitutional for infringing on the rights of Indian Muslims. Prime Minister Modi argued that the Bill is a “watershed moment” for accountability and wrote that it “will boost transparency” in property regulations. On the 4th of April, the Bill was approved by the Lok Sabha and sent to India’s President Murmu for her final approval. Meanwhile, protests erupted across India with people demanding the withdrawal of the Bill.
• On the 8th of April, nine people were taken into police custody and thirteen into judicial custody after protests against the Waqf Amendment erupted in Murshidabad, West Bengal. The violence escalated when 100 protestors clashed with police. Officials reported that the protestors torched police vehicles and attacked police personnel, and that tear gas was used to disperse the crowd. Immediately after the wave of violence, the District Magistrate of Murshidabad passed a 48-hour order to prohibit assemblies of five or more people to prevent similar episodes, and the West Bengal Home Secretary imposed a 48-hour internet shutdown. Following the protests, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reassured minority populations that she would “protect them and their properties”. Meanwhile, the president of the BJP West Bengal, Sukanta Majumdar, demanded Banerjee’s resignation condemning her for “playing the appeasement game”.
• In the week following the Pahalgam terrorist attack, authorities and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir detained more than 1,500 people for questioning, and demolished properties allegedly belonging to the families of militants in the state.  Whilst leaders in the state have supported action against militants, they have also cautioned the government to distinguish between the terrorist insurgents and civilians in the valley. Kashmiris living in other states have been subjected to harassment and violence in the aftermath of the attack, with killings of Kashmiri Muslims reported in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. Human rights defenders and activists are warning that Hindutva groups are carrying out a “a demonization campaign”. Meenakshi Ganguly, the deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, urged that the attack ‘should not become a pretext to engage in reprisals and attacks on minorities, including arbitrary arrests or summary punishments.’

• On the 10th of April, MPs from the opposition INDIA bloc sent a joint letter, signed by 120 parliamentarians, to the Union Minister for Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, demanding the repeal of Section 44(3) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA). The provision undermines people’s capacity to obtain critical information under the Right To Information (RTI) Act, as it seeks to exempt all personal information from RTI disclosures. Previously, personal information could be withheld only if it was unrelated to public activities or interests, or if its disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. However, the amendment removes a crucial proviso in Section 8(1), which stated that information which could not be denied to state or union legislature could also not be denied to people. In the letter, the members argued that the DPDPA provision has a ‘draconian impact’ on citizen’s rights and freedom of the press.
• On the 18th of April, Prime Minister Modi had a telephone conversation with tech billionaire and X-owner Elon Musk to discuss a potential collaboration between India and the US on “technology and innovation”. Modi and Musk’s conversation, which began in Washington D.C earlier this year, comes as India is working to secure a bilateral trade agreement with the US to minimize the effects of the Trump administrations’ tariffs. Describing the interaction with Musk, Modi wrote in an X post that “India remains committed to advancing our partnerships with the US”. Musk, who remains close to the Trump Administration as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is also seeking to make inroads in India, having previously signed a Starlink deal with two of the biggest Indian telecommunications firms in March. Musk-owned Tesla is also seeking to expand to India.
• On the 30th of April, the Supreme Court of India found that ‘the right to digital access emerges as an indistinctive component of the right to life and liberty.’ The decision came in response to cases brought by a group of acid attack survivors and a visually impaired person, who asserted that disabled people find it extremely difficult to complete digital processes, such as the Know Your Customer process. The two-justice bench found that the state is obligated to ‘provide an inclusive digital ecosystem to the marginalised, vulnerable, disabled, and historically excluded sections of society.’ They also issued 20 directions to the government to make Know Your Customer processes more accessible.  The decision comes as more and more services are digitised in India, but digital ecosystems and digital public infrastructure remains inaccessible to many, including rural populations who do not have adequate internet access.

• Earlier last month, Akhilesh Yadav, leader of Samajwadi Party- the secular socialist party- harshly criticized the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government for fostering  an “underground army” that ‘is activated from time to time to defame and insult people.” Speaking at a press conference, Yadav accused the BJP of fomenting hostilities between communities and of protecting corrupt officials.
• A dispute between the JMM (Jharkhand Liberation Front) and the BJP erupted when Jharkhand minister Hafizul Hassan declared that he prioritises Shariat over the Indian Constitution. Speaking at the protests against the Waqf amendment on the 13th of April, Hassan said that a Muslim “keeps the Quran in his heart and the Constitution in his hand” and accused the BJP of targeting Muslims “to send them to jail”. The BJP responded by calling his words “a blatant insult to Indian democracy”, adding “for those who have Sharia in their hearts, the doors to Pakistan and Bangladesh are open.” Hassan later clarified his words, saying that as a Minister he ‘believes in the Constitution and function sin accordance. Shariat too has its own place.”
• On the 16th of April 2025, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary and leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami declared there would be no coalition government in case of an AIADMK- BJP alliance victory in the 2026 Assembly elections. The announcement came one week after the two parties strengthened their electoral ties, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah declaring that a “coalition government” would be formed after the elections. The AIADMK-BJP alliance will run under the leadership of AIADMK general secretary Palaniswami against the incumbent Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DKM) government. However, speaking to media days after the announcement,  Palaniswami specified that no coalition government will be formed in case of AIADMK’s victory and argued that Minister Shah did not speak of “power sharing in the State”.  He also stated that the AIADMK is expecting other parties to join the coalition before next years’ elections.
• On the 17th of April, the Indian government informed the Supreme Court that the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) had completed the forensic report on the authenticity of audio recordings which allege former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh played a role in the ethno-religious conflict in Manipur.  The audio clips, which were released in August 2024, allegedly recorded Mr. Singh declaring in private that he had “initiated the war against the Kuki-Zo people to save Meitei civilization”. In the tape, Mr. Singh also allegedly said that Meitei groups were allowed to loot arms and ammunition from the Manipur state government. Upon the release of the tape, Mr. Singh denied the authenticity of the recording, however, the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) have argued that the tape proves the ‘complicity and involvement of the State machinery’ in the violence against the Kuki-Zo community.  The forensic report will be presented during the Supreme Court’s hearings starting in May.
• In the aftermath of the Pahalgam Terrorist Attack, Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described himself as “shocked beyond belief”, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti called for “an investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice and examine potential security lapses”. People’s Conference leader Sajad Lone condemned the “cowardly act aimed at destabilising Kashmir’s tourism industry and economy.” On his post on X, PM Modi wrote that he will ensure that those responsible of the attacks will “not be spared” and that his “fight against terrorism is unshakable and it will get even stronger”.

• On the 29th of April, the Supreme Court strongly condemned the Madhya Pradesh government for protecting the policemen involved in the murder of Deva Pardhi, a 24-year-old man from the Pardhi tribe. Deva and his uncle were allegedly arrested by police during his Haldi ceremony, a pre-wedding Hindu ceremony. Both were severely tortured by the police whilst in custody. Despite medical reports identifying police brutality and violence as Deva’s cause of death, the police officers identified as responsible remain free with no charges filed against them. Deva’s mother filed a petition to the Supreme Court, which called the state’s behaviour  “inhumane”. This killing is part of widespread and systematic abuses against the Pardhi community; nearly every family in the community has experienced human rights violations and police brutality.
• A report published in early April by the NGO Common Cause and Lokniti Programme of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) found that Indian law enforcement authorities act with prejudice and societal bias. The report, titled ‘The Status of Policing in India Report (SPIR) 2025’, is based on a survey of members of the Indian Police Service from over 17 States. The survey found that members of law enforcement act with prejudice on caste, religion and political affiliation and that there is a lack of compliance towards arrest procedures in the Indian state (with 70% of Karnataka’s and 94% of Kerala’s police officials acknowledging that they “rarely follow prescribed procedures”). Among other worrying findings, more than a quarter of interviewed police personnel declared to condone mob violence in cases of reprisal- legitimising vigilantism. Gujarati police expressed the highest prejudice against Dalits and Adivasis- who they believed were “naturally inclined to commit crimes”- and more than 60% of police in New Delhi defined Muslims as “naturally inclined towards crime”. Commenting on the report, Mihir Desai, vice president of People’s Union for Civil Liberties, told Frontline that there is a need for a reform in the police sector to hold the police accountable.

• On the 7th of April, the Supreme Court of India reprimanded the Uttar Pradesh Police for converting civil  disputes into criminal cases, describing the practice as a ‘complete breakdown of the rule of law.’ In the case the Court presided over, the police had converted a civil case over a monetary transaction into a criminal case in order for the money to be recovered. The Court warned the Uttar Pradesh Police that they will be sanctioned if the police continue this practice. The Court also asked the Director of Police to sign an affidavit on the measures taken to comply with the Court’s direction.
• On the 17th of April, a three-judge bench comprising of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice KV Viswanathan passed an interim order on the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The interim order focuses on two aspects of the Amendment, specifically the provisions which permit to nominate non-Muslims members to the Waqf Council and the expropriations of Waqf properties. Thanks to the interim measures, no elected members will be replaced by non-Muslims and no waqf properties will be expropriated. The interim measures will stay in place until the next hearing, scheduled for the 5th of May 2025.

India in the World 

• On the 16th of March India and New Zealand resumed free trade negotiations after a 10-year break, with talks set to begin this month. The decision was made during New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s visit to New Delhi, where he met Prime Minister Modi. Both countries also signed a defence pact to boost maritime security and discussed digital trade cooperation. Previous trade negotiations between the two countries stalled over India’s protectionist dairy sector. The renewed talks come as India expands global trade ties. 

• On the 21st of March, India expressed hope for rebuilding ties with Canada ‘based on mutual trust and sensitivity’. The statement was made after Mark Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada. Relations between the two countries declined in October 2024, when Prime Minister Trudeau accused Indian agents of potentially being involved in the assassination of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. Both countries subsequently expelled diplomats. Recently, Canadian intelligence chief Daniel Rogers visited India, signalling efforts to mend ties. Both nations reportedly see Trudeau’s exit as a chance for a fresh start. 

• On the 28th of March, the Kremlin confirmed that President Vladimir Putin has accepted Prime Minister Modi’s invitation to visit India later this year. The announcement was made in Moscow by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the “Russia and India: Together Towards a New Bilateral Agenda” conference. The visit, which has been met with surprise in diplomatic circles in India and internationally, will be Putin’s first trip to India since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin for alleged war crimes. In July 2024, both countries engaged in bilaterial talks where they discussed developing “balanced and sustainable bilateral trade in the long term” with increased Indian exports to Russia, industrial cooperation and investment partnerships. Putin’s visit is expected to coincide with an Indo-Russian Strategic Partnership.   

Civil society, human rights defenders, and journalists 

• On the 4th of March, human rights activist Khalid Saifi, who was jailed for five years in the 2020 Delhi Riots conspiracy case, urged the Delhi High Court to grant him bail. Saifi, who co-founded United Against Hate, remains incarcerated under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). His lawyer argued that there is no substantial evidence linking him to the Riots, and joining a protest is not grounds for invoking the UAPA against him. He was ultimately granted 6 hours of parole in order to visit his family for Iftar on the 27th of March.  12 of the 18 activists accused of being part of the Delhi Riots ‘main conspiracy’ remain incarcerated under the UAPA. 

•  On the 21st of March, award winning journalist Irfan Mehraj marked two years in jail under the draconian UAPA. Mehraj was arrested by the National Investigation Agency in March 2023 over alleged links to ‘NGO terror funding’. The Journalist Federation Kashmir (JFK) stressed that press freedom is vital for democracy and urged authorities to ensure journalists can work without fear. The organisation also called for his immediate release, condemning his prolonged detention. 

• On the 25th of March, Dilwar Hussain Mozaumdar, a journalist covering a protest outside a bank in Assam, was called to report to a police station and subsequently arrested. The outlet Mozaumdar works for has repeatedly reported on financial issues at the bank where the protest was held. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is a director of the bank. The Committee to Protect Journalists called the arrest ‘a blatant attempt to intimidate and silence independent journalism’ and demanded his immediate release.  

 Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

• On the 16th of March, a statue of Mary was reportedly vandalized at St. Mary’s Church in New Delhi. Police have obtained CCTV footage and are investigating the incident, but the attacker’s identity remains unknown. Since the BJP came to power, there has been an increase in anti-Christian violence; according to the United Christian Forum (UCF), 834 cases of violence against Christians were registered in 2024.   

• On the 18thof March, a 13-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly killed by a son of former district president of LJP-R, a party in alliance with the BJP. According to the girl’s father, she was taking part in Holi celebrations with her cousin, when two men started shouting casteist comments and crashed into the girls, killing one of them. The event has caused public outrage. Ved Prakash, a member of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Bihar, remarked that the incident is “shocking”, especially as police have still failed to make any arrests.  

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

• A violent clash broke out in Nagpur (Maharashtra state) when Hindutva groups reportedly demanded the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb in mid-March. During the clashes, stones were thrown, and vehicles were set ablaze, with an effigy of Aurangzeb allegedly burnt by Hindu extremsists including members of the VHP and Bajrang Dal. Muslim groups protested against the violence and have argued that the police sided with the Hindu right-wing extremists. The case is the latest example of the systematic destruction of non-Hindu cultural heritage in India.   

• On the 6th of March, a Police Officer in Uttar Pradesh sparked outrage after saying ‘If Muslims cannot accept being coloured during Holi, they should stay at home.’ The Hindu religious festival fell on a Friday during Ramadan this year, meaning many Muslims did not wish to have colours thrown on them as they were visiting the mosque to pray. Despite the significance of the day for both communities, the police officer added that ‘If people of the Muslim community feel that the colours of Holi will corrupt your religion, then do not step out of the house that day.’ On the 9th of March, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath defended the officers’ remarks, saying ‘he spoke the truth and people should accept it’. Days later, on the 15th of March, a Muslim man who objected to having Holi colours thrown on him, was beaten to death by a Hindu mob in Uttar Pradesh. His death has sparked tensions in the area, prompting a heavy police presence and protests demanding justice. 

• On the 8th of March, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister announced plans to introduce the death penalty for those convicted of forced conversions. His statement comes amid rising rhetoric around “love jihad,” a conspiracy theory used by Hindu nationalist groups to allege Muslim men are coercing Hindu women into conversion through marriage. The proposal has sparked criticism from the Opposition; Congress leaders questioned the definition of forced conversion and accused the government of failing to protect women victims of rape in the state.  

• On the 11th of March, the Immigration and Foreigners Bill was introduced by Union Minister Nityanand Rai. The bill allows authorities to deny entry or expel foreigners deemed a threat to national security, with no option for appeal. It also mandates strict penalties for visa violations and requires universities and carriers to report foreign nationals. The Congress Party warned that it grants the government unchecked powers to bar foreigners, including dissenters, and lacks an appeal process, violating Article 14 of the Indian Constitution. 

• On the 17th of March, the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) held a protest in Delhi, against the Waqf Amendment Bill, which it claims is an unconstitutional attack on Muslim religious rights. A waqf is a charitable or religious donation which Muslims can make to benefit the community. Properties donated as a waqf cannot be used for another purpose or sold. Waqf donations hold significant cultural value to the Muslim community in India, as they comprise mosques, Muslim schools, graveyards and orphanages. Under the Bill, the government will have more control in regulating waqf properties and adjudicating disputes. The AIMPLB have accused the government of targeting Waqf properties, whilst temple properties remain untouched. The political opposition has also accused the BJP of ignoring the myriad of dissenting voices that have challenged the bill, calling the suppression of these voices ‘undemocratic.’     

Internet and Technology 

• On the 5th of March, X (formerly Twitter) filed a lawsuit against the Indian government, accusing the government of unlawfully censoring content online. In the suit filed in the Karnataka High Court, X accused the Indian government of using ‘an impermissible parallel mechanism’ to block online content and enable government and ministry officials to remove content whilst bypassing a judiciary process set out in the Information Technology Act. The new mechanism, set out in Section 79(3)(b) of the Act enables officials to remove online content by simply sending a notice via the ‘Sahyog’ portal, without judicial review. Apar Gupta, co-founder of the Internet Freedom Foundation stated that ‘through the parallel censorship mechanism, the government had taken an illegal step. There is merit to the claim being made by X in this instance.’  The government responded to X ’s accusations saying that the decision is necessary to stop harmful online content. 

• In March, X AI bot Grok sparked controversy when it responded to questions using misogynistic Hindi insults. As more users engaged with the bot, they found that it is more critical of incumbent BJP Prime Minister Modi than other opposition leaders, with the AI tool stating that Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi is more honest than the Prime Minister. In response to these remarks, the Information and Technology Ministry has contacted X and is looking into why the bot used abusive language.  

 Political Parties   

• On the 7th of March, tensions erupted in the Rajasthan Assembly when Gopal Sharma, a BJP member of the Legislative Assembly, repeatedly addressed Rafeek Khan, the opposition’s chief whip, as “Pakistani”. Sharma’s comments were met with outrage; leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully called Sharma’s comment “intolerable and condemnable” and Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra declared that the remarks are part of the BJP’s “feelings of hatred and violence” against the opposition.   

• In West Bengal, BJP politician Suvendu Adhikari made an Islamophobic speech against a Muslim Member of the Legislative Assembly. Adhikiri said: “We will defeat Speaker Biman Banerjee and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. After the BJP assumes power […] [we will] throw them out of the House”. In response to the remarks, the incumbent Trinamool Congress (TMC) asked Adhikari to withdraw his comments, but BJP legislators defended the politician. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused Adhikari of using Hinduism “to deny fundamental rights of Muslims” and stated that his words were an attempt to win the BJP’s favour in the hope of being appointed state president. Adhikari called Banerjee “anti-Hindu” and blamed her for not respecting Hindu traditions.  

• On the 17th of March, BJP politician Asha Nautiyal asked for restrictions on the access of non-Hindus to Kedarnath, the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Nautiyal stated that ‘Pilgrims should return from Char Dham [four significant Hindu-pilgrimage sites] with the same faith with which they arrive.’ In response to her remarks, Congress state vice president Suryakant Dhasmana accused Nautiyal of repeatedly targeting religious minorities to create communal divisions and distract people from economic issues such as rising unemployment. The BJP has backed Nautiyal, stating that her words represent the BJP’s vision.   

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has declared that his state will not implement the National Education Policy (NEP) introduced by the central government in 2020. The NEP, mandates three languages to be taught in schools, two of which must be “native to India”. The Chief Minister is against the policy as it will impose Hindi- widely spoken in the North- as a mandatory language in Tamil Nadu. Many southern states like Tamil Nadu see this policy as another example of the central government’s preference for Hindi over other languages, such as Tamil. After Stalin’s announcement, a debate exploded in India’s Parliament, where federal Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan defined Stalin’s party- the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam- as “undemocratic” for its attempts to “raise language barriers”.  

Police and authorities 

• On the 6th of March, the Punjab Police detained hundreds of farmers on their way to Chandigarh for a protest organized by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a coalition of over forty Indian farmers’ unions. The farmers, who were supposed to start a one-week protest to demand a legal guarantee for minimum price support for basmati rice, potatoes, maize and other crops, were faced by barricades and heavy security measures put in place by the police. According to The Indian Express, several SKM leaders were arrested and detained. In response, protesters burnt effigies of the Aam Aadmi Party led government and the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.  

• In Madhya Pradesh, celebrations after India’s victory against New Zealand in the Champions Trophy erupted into communal violence. On the 9th of March, a Hindu mob gathered in the main square of the city of Mhow, throwing stones at residents and torching vehicles and shops. The police have only investigated allegations against Muslims and have failed to take action against the rioters. After investigations, 12 Muslims were arrested. The inaction of police against Hindu members of the mob sparked a wave of protest among residents, who have complained about police bias.  

• On the 17th of March, six Muslim students were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police following a demonstration outside IIMT University in Meerut. The students were part of a larger student protest which demanded the release of a Muslim student who was sent to jail for allegedly sharing a video of namaz (Muslim prayers) being offered on campus. The protesting students have accused the Police of initially agreeing to talks at the police station, only to then detain them once they arrived.  

Judiciary 

• A report published in early March by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) denounced a decline in the Indian judiciary’s independence. The ICJ condemned the lack of transparent procedures for the selection of judges, enabling appointments based on ‘improper means and motive’. The ICJ criticised the ‘insular and ineffective’ judicial accountability mechanisms, which make ‘real accountability near impossible.’ The report also highlighted that only 13% of women judges are appointed in the High and Supreme Court, and the judiciary has disproportionately comprised of judges from the Hindu community. The ICJ recommends that the government, with Supreme Court approval, establishes a Judicial Council responsible for judge selection, passes a binding code of judicial conduct to ensure accountability, and calls for greater transparency in case allocation, ensuring judges’ impartiality. 

• A coalition of thirty-four unions, human rights organisations, and political parties appealed to the Bombay High Court to stop a resolution passed in February in the Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar district. The resolution forbids Muslim sellers to sell their products and to set up stalls in the annual Shri Kanifnath Yatra, a month-long Hindu festival beginning on Holi (March 14). Members of the coalition called the resolution “arbitrary,” and “discriminatory as it damages Muslim traders.” The Bombay High Court subsequently banned the resolution until April 2025, stating that “the right to work, equality, and protection from discrimination are fundamental rights of all citizens under the Indian Constitution, irrespective of the community or religion they belong to”.   

• On the 23rd of March, 5 Supreme Court and High Court judges visited Manipur, in an effort to push for peace in the state. During their visit, the judges visited relief camps where they spoke with both Meiteis and Kukis who had been displaced due to the ongoing ethno-religious conflict. The judges expressed hope that there is a constitutional solution to the conflict.

Business & economy 

• On the 8th of March, while the world celebrated International Women’s Day, Kerala’s Accredited Social Healthcare Activists (ASHAs) marked the 26th day of their protests for fair wages and job recognition. Despite their crucial role in healthcare, especially during COVID-19, Kerala’s largest women’s workforce remains overworked and underpaid. The state refuses to negotiate, calling the protests unnecessary and blaming lack of Union funds. Protests in other states have led to wage hikes, but Kerala’s ASHAs continue their fight for justice. 

India in the World 

• On the 12th of February, the U.S. deported 104 undocumented Indian migrants, including women and children, as part of President Trump’s immigration policy. Visuals of detainees in chains during the 40-hour flight to Amritsar have sparked outrage in India. Opposition leaders protested outside parliament, questioning Modi’s close ties with Trump. Despite the U.S government’s promises on humane treatment, reports indicate that some women and children were allegedly restrained throughout the flight. While the Indian government insists it is working to ensure dignified treatment, critics argue it has failed to protect its citizens from degrading deportation practices. The next day Modi met Trump at the White House, announcing the US and India will strengthen ties on trade and security. They agreed to double bilateral trade by 2030 and vowed to fight terrorism together.
• From the 12th to the 14th of February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Paris to co-chair the AI Action Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron. At the Summit, Prime Minister Modi called for collective global efforts on AI governance standards. He also announced India will hold the next Summit at the end of this year. During the visit, Modi held bilateral talks with Macron, reaffirming his commitment to the India-France partnership, signing several cooperation agreements in defence, nuclear energy and space. They also launched an India-France AI Roadmap.
• On the 15th of February, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha  at the Munich Security Conference to reportedly discuss efforts towards resolving Russia’s ongoing illegal War of Aggression in Ukraine. The meeting came the day after Modi reiterated his position on Russia’s illegal War, stating ‘we are on a side, and that is peace.’ Modi also reaffirmed his view that the two sides must meet at the negotiating table.
• On the 24th of February, India and the UK restarted free trade talks after nearly a year. UK Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds met Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi, calling the deal a “top priority.” Negotiations have been ongoing since 2022, but no agreement has been reached. India reportedly wants easier work and study visas, while the UK is pushing for better access to its exports.
• On the 28th of February, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, together with the rest of European Commissioners, visited India. Von der Leyen announced that she had agreed with Prime Minister Modi to finalise a Free Trade Agreement by the end of the year. Additionally, the EU and India will develop their security and defence, and connectivity ties, with India connecting the EU to the Indo-Pacific region. The EU and India have been locked in trade negotiations for 16 years due to the Indian Government’s refusal to comply with EU sustainability obligations including the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which is a tariff on carbon intensive products like steel. Von der Leyen’s unexpected announcement about finalising a trade deal soon is concerning for civil society who seek to ensure the European Commission puts human rights at the heart of its relationship with India.  

Civil society, human rights defenders, and journalists 

• On the 1st of February, Zakia Jafri, a key figure in the fight for justice after the 2002 Gujarat Riots, passed away at 86, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Jafri was the wife of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was one of the 1,000 people killed during the anti-Muslim pogrom. Zakia spent decades seeking accountability for the riots and filed a petition to hold then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi and other officials responsible for their role in the riots. Her case went to the Supreme Court of India, which ultimately dismissed her plea in 2022. Despite legal setbacks, Jafri worked to ensure the riots and victims were not forgotten. She will be remembered as a relentless advocate for justice.  

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

• On the 2nd of February former Miss India, Ishika Taneja, sparked outrage for an islamophobic speech she made at a religious event. Taneja called for Hindu unity in India, stating that a ‘pinch of vermillion’, the saffron colour associated the Hindu far-right extremist BJP, ‘saves us from the halala, triple talaq and love jihad.’ Taneja made the speech in front of prominent Hindu priests and BJP leader and former actress Hema Malini. Her Islamophobic rhetoric and explicit reference to the conspiracy theory ‘Love Jihad’, which falsely claims Muslim men lure Hindu women into marriage and forcibly convert them, led to widespread criticism of the widely shared video. 

• A Muslim student, Rezaul Islam Mondal, was allegedly assaulted by a group of 10-12 Hindutva men on a train in West Bengal, who beat him, pulled his beard, and accused him of being a “Bangladeshi.” The attack reportedly lasted for an hour, despite Mondal insisting he was Indian. His friend’s attempt to record the assault was met with threats. Mondal later filed a complaint, which led to an investigation. 

• On the 14th of February, a Dalit student was brutally assaulted by three upper-caste Hindu men in Tamil Nadu. The attackers allegedly shouted caste slurs before attacking him while he was returning home. Villagers rushed him to a hospital, where he is receiving treatment. The attack is representative of the persecution Dalits continue to face in India.  

• Hindutva influencer Aadesh Soni has reportedly called for violent attacks on Christians in Chhattisgarh’s Bishrampur, Ganeshpur, and Jhanakpur villages. In a disturbing social media post, Soni allegedly urged his followers to kill Christians, violate their women, and destroy their homes, accusing them of “brainwashing children” through conversion. He also set a date for the attack claiming support from local authorities.  

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

• On the 22nd of February, a village in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district passed a controversial resolution banning Muslim traders from the Kanifnath Yatra, a 700-year-old religious festival held at the Kanifnath shrine. The festival, which has historically welcomed traders from all communities, is now being reshaped by Hindutva groups as a Hindu-only event. Legal experts and rights groups have condemned the ban as unconstitutional, arguing it violates fundamental rights. The district administration has launched an investigation, but right-wing leaders continue to defend the decision. Muslim traders, many of whom have been part of the festival for decades, are preparing to challenge the ban in court, calling it an attack on their livelihoods. 

• Jamia Millia Islamia University is facing criticism for allegedly failing to follow its 50% reservation policy for Muslim students in PhD admissions for 2024-25. The university is required to reserve 30% of seats for Muslims, 10% for Muslim women, and 10% for Muslim from lower castes, but several departments reportedly ignored these quotas. The controversy began after Vice-Chancellor Mazhar Asif changed the university’s policy language, making minority reservations optional instead of mandatory. Critics say this was a deliberate attempt to reduce Muslim representation and weaken JMI’s minority status. A legal challenge has been filed in the Delhi High Court, demanding the university restore the reservations and follow its own rules. 

• On the 22nd of February in Madhya Pradesh, an interfaith couple was allegedly assaulted by lawyers inside a district court while registering their marriage. The attack began after the woman, wearing a burqa, revealed her Hindu name. The man was told to confirm his religious identity and upon doing so the lawyers accused him of “love jihad” and allegedly beat him. More lawyers reportedly joined in, escalating the violence. A case has been filed, but no arrests have been made.  

• On the 24th of February, authorities in Malvan, Maharashtra, demolished a Muslim man’s scrap shop after locals accused him of shouting “Pakistan Zindabad” during an India-Pakistan match. The man and another person were detained and handed to police. The demolition reportedly followed pressure from Hindutva groups and BJP leader Nilesh Rane, who afterwards praised the demolition on social media. The demolition comes months after the Supreme Court of India ruled that such extrajudicial demolitions were illegal, calling them ‘highhanded and arbitrary actions.’   

Internet and Technology 

• PM Narendra Modi met SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in Washington on the 13th of February, discussing opportunities in space, mobility, artificial intelligence, and governance. Musk stated that the recently appointed head of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency has been exploring collaboration between Indian and U.S. tech sectors.  

• Meta has reportedly removed multiple accounts and pages linked to BJP legislator T Raja Singh after an investigation by India Hate Lab exposed his continued use of social media to spread anti-Muslim hate speech despite an official ban. Singh had been banned under Meta’s Dangerous Individuals and Organisations (DOI) policy, yet his supporters allegedly created proxy groups to amplify his speeches, including during the 2024 Indian general elections. On the 20th of February, Meta removed two Facebook pages and three Instagram accounts tied to Singh, which had a over 1.1 million followers on the platforms. 

Political Parties  

• On the 8th of February, the BJP won 48 out of 70 seats in the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has been in power since 2015, secured only 22 seats, while the Congress party failed to win a single seat. Political analysts attributed AAP’s defeat to recent corruption scandals, disconnect from the middle class and the concerns over unfulfilled development promises made by the party in their last term. Additionally, the targeting of Muslim activists and AAP’s failure to protect the minorities, contributed to voters perceiving the party as inactive against Hindutva politics, leading to further dissatisfaction with their term. 

• On the 9th February, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh resigned. On the 13th of February, President’s Rule, one of the three emergency measures outlined in the Indian Constitution, was imposed on the state, as the BJP failed to agree upon a replacement for the Chief Minister. Under the measure, the Manipur State Assembly was also suspended. Manipur now holds the record for the state with the most impositions of President’s Rule, with the current imposition marking the 11th time the emergency measure has been used.  On the 20th February, Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla announced a seven- day period where militia organisations could surrender their weapons to the state. He later extended the weapons surrender until the beginning of March. Human rights defenders and civil society organisations are concerned that the Indian security services will not uphold the rule of law as the ethno-religious conflict continues, especially as there is now no democratic oversight from the State Assembly. 

Police and authorities 

•   On the 13th of February Delhi Police reportedly detained Jamia Millia Islamia students for 12 hours without informing their families after protests against a university directive restricting demonstrations. Students alleged police were violent, with male officers assaulting women. The university accused protesters of vandalism, but students called the crackdown a deliberate attempt to silence dissent. The students were subsequently suspended, raising concerns over the right to protest at the university. 

• On the 24th of February, nine Muslim youths were arrested for alleged molestation and forced religious conversion in Rajasthan. Police reportedly framed the case as part of a “conversion racket,” due to pressure from Hindutva groups. However, there is no evidence of forced conversion. Authorities demolished the home of one of the accused, and sent demolition notices to the local mosque and cemetery, raising concerns of collective punishment. Legal experts and activists have condemned the demolitions, citing the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that demolishing homes without due process is ‘high-handed and arbitrary’. Whilst the ruling called for authorities who commit acts of so called ‘bulldozer justice’ to be held accountable, the local right-wing Hindu extremist groups, the VHP and Bajrang Dal, held rallies to demand demolitions.  

 Judiciary 

• On the 10th of February, a Chhattisgarh High Court acquitted a man convicted of sexually assaulting his wife before her death. The decision has sparked outrage and renewed calls to criminalize marital rape in India. The trial court convicted him in 2019 based on the woman’s dying declaration and medical reports confirming severe internal injuries. However, the High Court overturned the verdict, citing India’s refusal to recognize marital rape as a crime.   

• On the 12th of February, the Supreme Court emphasized that no child should be denied education while hearing a plea seeking to give Rohingya refugees access to public schools and hospitals in Delhi. The refugees hold United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cards but were being denied access as they do not have an Aadhaar card (Indian social security card). On the 28th of February, the court ruled that the refugees can approach government schools to enrol, and if they are still denied admission, are able to take their case to the Delhi High Court.  

Business & economy 

• On the 12th of February, the Guardian reported that the Indian Defence Ministry amended security protocols on the Indo-Pakistani border to enable the Adani Group to develop a renewable energy park on what was previously commercially inviable, sensitive territory. The Group is building solar panels and wind turbines just 1 kilometre from the Pakistani border in the Rann of Kutch, which has previously been targeted in India-Pakistan conflict. In response to the report, the Congress Party asked Prime Minister Modi to explain why the decision to amend security protocols was taken and argued that ‘The Modi government’s cronyism is a threat to our national security.’ Prime Minister Modi’s close personal relationship with Gautam Adani, founder and Chairman of the Adani Group has come under increasing scrutiny since Mr Adani’s indictment for a bribery and fraud scheme by the US government. 

• On the 14th of February, Prime Minister Modi stated to reporters that he had not brought up the US charges against Gautam Adani during his meeting with President Trump. In response to a question posed to him during his visit to the White House, Modi stated ‘I believe every Indian is mine. Two prominent leaders of two countries never discuss such individual issues.’ In response to Modi’s remarks, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised Modi’s lack of transparency on the Adani corruption charges, stating ‘If you ask questions in the country, there is silence. If you ask abroad, it is a personal matter! Even in America, Modi Ji covered up Adani Ji’s corruption!’ 

India in the World 

• On the 5th of December, the BJP accused the US State Department, along with the Indian National Congress party, of being part of a ‘deep state’ conspiracy, seeking to destabilise the Indian government. The BJP argued that ‘issues like Pegasus, Adani, caste census, ‘democracy in danger’, Global Hunger Index, religious freedom and press freedom- all appear to draw heavily from international sources.’ The US Embassy responded that the accusations are disappointing. The BJP’s accusation has been met with confusion given the recent events in Canada where Indian officials were expelled for the role they played in the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader, demonstrating the regime’s own role in foreign interference. 

• On the 8th of January, the Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with the Taliban’s acting Foreign Minister in Dubai. India has been increasing engagement with the Taliban since re-opening the Indian Embassy in Kabul in 2022, however, the official meeting is the first high level engagement between both governments. After the meeting, the Taliban called India a ‘significant regional and economic partner’, and India’s foreign ministry remarked that they were considering development projects in the country in a bid to boost trade. The Taliban government has continued to erode the basic human rights of women and girls and persecutes religious minorities, such as the Hazara community, in the country.   

• On the 8th of January, representatives from the European Commission and Indian government met in New Delhi for the 11th Annual EU-India Human Rights Dialogue. The dialogue was initially scheduled for August 2024, but the Indian government cancelled at the last minute. In the rescheduled dialogue, both sides discussed critical issues such as freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression and safeguarding the rights of human rights defenders, civil society organisations and journalists. This year, the EU-India Strategic Partnership Roadmap comes to an end, and the EU is seeking to establish a Free Trade Agreement and Digital Partnership with India. In the future, both blocs must agree on concrete steps to ensure they uphold their human rights obligations, so that the dialogue does not become a box ticking exercise before an FTA or Digital Partnership are established. 

• On the 19th of January India and the European Union reportedly agreed to strengthen economic ties by developing advanced technologies and securing critical raw material supply chains. During a meeting in Brussels, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic discussed building a commercially meaningful trade agenda and expediting negotiations for a fair and equitable Free Trade Agreement. India has allegedly promised to reduce dependence on non-market economies and enhance supply chain resilience. The next round of FTA negotiations is scheduled for March 10-14 in Brussels. Amid these developments, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced that her first trip in her new term will be to India, reportedly to upgrade the EU-India strategic partnership alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  

• On the 20th of January, Prime Minister Modi congratulated Donald Trump on his inauguration as the 47th U.S. president, emphasising that he looks forward to working together. S. Jaishankar attended the inauguration.  

• India and France have reportedly agreed to strengthen cooperation in high-end technology sectors, including defense, space, and artificial intelligence, during Foreign Office Consultations in Paris. These discussions took place right before Prime Minister Modi visited France to co-chair the AI Action Summit.  

• On the 21st of January, China reportedly urged India to handle bilateral ties from a “strategic height and long-term perspective,” emphasizing the need to restore stable relations and engage in cooperation. The statement comes in response to External Affairs Minister Jaishankar’s recent remarks that India-China ties remain entangled in post-2020 border tensions and require deeper reflection on their future interactions. 

Civil society, human rights defenders, and journalists 

• On the 18th of December, a Delhi Court granted Umar Khalid interim bail for 7 days from the 28th of December to the 3rd of January. Khalid has been in prison under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) since 2020, after he led the Citizenship Amendment Act protests. His bail was granted to allow him to attend a family wedding, however, his regular bail plea, like other Delhi Riots activists Gulfisha Fatima and Khalid Saifi, is still pending. Khalid marked 4 years in prison in September 2024 and remains one of many activists who is incarcerated under the UAPA.   

• Journalist Mukesh Chandrakar’s body was discovered on the 3rd of January in the compound of a septic tank. The victim was allegedly murdered, which may be linked to Chandrakar’s recent exposure of corruption in Chhattisgarh. The authorities have arrested the contractor he had implicated in the corruption story, along with two others. Chandrakar, was known for fearless reporting on government abuses and tribal hardships, which he exposed on his Youtube channel. His work covered wrongful police detentions and the struggles of villagers caught in the crossfire between Maoists and security forces. The investigation continues, but his death is a grim reminder of the threats faced by those who dare to speak truth to power. 

• On the 10th of January, special judge Vivekanand Sharan Tripathi controversially questioned the motives of longstanding NGOs and human rights organisations, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Alliance for Justice and Accountability and Citizens for Justice and Peace, in providing legal aid to accused persons and conducting fact finding investigations. Whilst imposing life sentences to 28 people, at the National Investigations Agency Court in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, the judge remarked that in cases under the UAPA, ‘NGOs- primarily advocating Muslim interests-promptly provide legal aid. This contradicts constitutional principles, as it boosts the morale of undesirable elements.’ He added that to ‘prevent their unwarranted interference in the judicial process’ a copy of his decision should be sent to the Bar Council of India and principal secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs. In response to the remarks, the PUCL stated fact-finding or providing accused with legal aid ‘can by no stretch of imagination be considered as anti-national activity.’ All three groups were not present in the court when the remarks were made or given any notice that remarks would be made against them.   

• On the 24th of January, after almost 7 years behind bars, two human rights defenders of the so-called BK-16 have been granted bail. Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale were amongst the 16 activists arrested by the police in 2018 following violence at a Dalit community commemoration event. Despite the fact that police initially blamed pro-Hindutva leaders for the violence and many of the activists were not at the event, they were accused of ‘waging war against the nation’, arrested and detained. No charges have been brought against the BK-16, but after 6 years in prison, only 8 have been bailed. In 2021, one of the activists, a Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy, died in prison. Wilson and Dhawale were granted bail by the Bombay High Court after the court concluded that ‘there is no possibility of the trial concluding in the near future.’ 

•  The Allahabad High Court has extended the stay of Mohammed Zubair’s arrest until January 27. Police in Ghaziabad had filed a case last month, accusing Zubair of allegedly promoting enmity after he posted a video of Yati Narsinghanand’s hate speech. Zubair calls the case a malicious attempt to silence him for exposing communal rhetoric. Authorities have added charges under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, accusing him of allegedly endangering India’s sovereignty. 

• On the 28th of January, The Reporters’ Collective (TRC), a media outlet known for its investigative work, announced that the Income Tax Department had revoked its non-profit status. Allegedly the given reasoning was that TRC’s journalism doesn’t serve a “public purpose,” even though the outlet exposed key stories like the RSS and BJP links to Sainik Schools and the electoral bond scheme. TRC responded, saying that investigative journalism is crucial for democracy and protects the marginalized. Reportedly such notices have been given to at least two other media outlets which function due tax exemptions. 

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

• On the 30th  of December, the Indian Home Ministry announced that the prison manual rules have been revised to ensure ‘that there is no discrimination/classification/segregation of prisoners on the basis of their caste.’ The revision comes months after an October Supreme Court judgement, which found caste-based provisions in Indian prison manuals unconstitutional and for all states to amend their prison manuals. Despite the Indian constitution upholding equality for all, regardless of their caste, lower caste and Dalit peoples continue to face discrimination in the country.  

•  On the 1st of January, a Hindutva mob allegedly killed Shahideen Qureshi, 37, in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, accusing him of cow slaughter. The vigilantes filmed a video of the lynching, which has gone viral, and Quereshi’s family filed a murder complaint. However, the police have yet to arrest any suspects. Instead, officers reportedly arrested Mohammad Adnan, Qureshi’s friend, charging him with cow slaughter. 

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

• On the 5th of December, the North-Eastern state of Assam banned the public consumption of beef, including in restaurants and at events. The BJP led state expanded upon a 2021 ban, which outlawed the consumption of beef in Hindu, Sikh and Jain areas and within the vicinity of Hindu temples. Cows are sacred in Hinduism, and the BJP has a long history of tacitly supporting of militia groups who attack religious minorities under the guise of cow protection. Conversely, in BJP ruled states in the south of India, such as Goa, cow slaughter and beef consumption have not been banned. In response to the ban in Assam, the Vice-President of the BJP in Kerala, Major Ravi, remarked that ‘beef is not cow’ and ‘there should be freedom to eat what you want.’   

• On the 6th of December, a Muslim couple were forced to sell their home in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, after their Hindu neighbours demanded they leave the residential bloc because of their religion. One neighbour remarked ‘we cannot tolerate a Muslim family living right in front of our local temple. This is also a question of the safety of our women.’ After protesting, shouting slogans at the Muslim couple and demanding the cancellation of the sale, city representatives mediated between the different parties and the Muslim owners re-sold their home to a Hindu family. Muslims in many cities, including in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and the capitol New Delhi, have increasingly found it difficult to buy or rent property in Hindu neighbourhoods due to their religion. 

• On the 20th of December, United Christian Forum (UCF), a civil society organisation based in Delhi, announced that 745 incidents had been reported to their helpline by the end of November 2024. This number does not include the human rights violations and attacks to churches which were perpetrated by militia groups in Manipur, where the ethno-religious conflict continues. UCF has called upon the Prime Minister to ‘consider setting up a national level inquiry’ into the rising number of persecuted Christians. 

• On the 31st of December, 400 senior Christian leaders and 30 church groups urged the Indian government to take immediate action to address the increasing anti-Christian violence. At least 14 cases of violence, threats and disruptions against Christians and congregations were reported during the Christmas season in India. The Anti-Conversion Laws, ongoing attacks to freedom of religious belief, the rise of hate speech and the refusal of the government to give Dalit Christians the status of Scheduled Castes were all highlighted as key concerns by the leaders. The appeal also highlighted the ongoing ethno-religious conflict in the state of Manipur, where 360 churches were destroyed. The leaders called for Prime Minister Modi to actively work to foster peace in the state. 

• On the 19th of January, the Indian government announced it would hold a meeting with protesting farmers on the 14th of February to discuss their demands, including minimum price support (msp). In response to the announcement, one of the leaders of the protest, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, agreed to medical aid on the 54th day of his fast-unto-death hunger strike. Earlier in January, 121 farmers had joined Dallewal’s fast in solidarity, but they ended it after his decision to take medical aid. Farmer leaders continue to press for a legal guarantee on msp, warning that the agitation will escalate if their demands are ignored. 

Internet and Technology 

• On the 19th of December, X (formerly known as Twitter) submitted a written submission to the Delhi High Court, criticising the court’s global blocking orders for content. The platform wrote that global blocking orders will mean that internet content is governed by the country with the most restrictive laws, adding ‘such global takedowns also set a dangerous precedent that could legitimise practices of authoritarian governments.’ X’s submission was made in relation to a 2019 global blocking order for defamatory content on Baba Ramdev, an Indian guru and businessman, after a book containing ‘unfounded claims’ was stopped from publication and distribution by the court. Historically, the Indian government has used Indian blocking orders to force social media companies including X to take down accounts and content that are critical of the government or share information relating to protests, such as the Farmer’s Protests. However, the global blocking order is not geo-located to India, meaning even if Indian users access X via VPN, defamatory content on Baba Ramdev cannot be viewed.   

• On the 15th of January, Meta issued an apology after Mark Zuckerberg claimed on a podcast that India’s ruling party lost the 2024 elections. Meta India’s vice president, clarified on X that the statement was incorrect and emphasized Meta’s commitment to India, calling it a key market for the company. Polititians Vaishnaw and Dubey had criticized the misinformation, calling it disappointing and urging Meta to uphold credibility. Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale questioned Meta’s alleged political bias, urging the IT panel to examine claims that the company allows certain parties to spread propaganda while failing to enforce rules on hate speech and misinformation. Gokhale argued that Meta’s influence on elections and its perceived bias undermine India’s democracy.  

• Meta has reportedly paused its plan to remove fact-checkers in India, following concerns that this move would increase misinformation. Fact-checking groups in India rely on Meta’s support to flag false news on Facebook and Instagram. They warn that cutting these partnerships would weaken efforts to fight misinformation and financially harm smaller organizations. Meta aims to replace fact-checkers with Community Notes, a system where users vote on corrections. However, critics argue that this approach fails to address political misinformation effectively, given the reports from 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Meta has not yet confirmed whether it will renew its contracts with fact-checkers, which are set to expire soon. 

• On the 24th of January, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs announced that French President Emmanual Macron had invited Prime Minister Modi to co-chair the 2025 AI Action Summit. The Summit brings together heads of state, civil society organisations and tech companies to discuss the future of AI, including global governance.   

Political Parties    

• On the 2nd of December, both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha were adjourned after members of the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc interrupted proceedings and raised slogans over the Adani corruption indictment, violence in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, and the ongoing violence in the Manipur conflict. The Parliament had to adjourn due to similar protests the week before. The Opposition has been vocal about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal relationship with BJP backed oligarch Gautam Adani, as well as the failure of the government to end the ongoing violence in Manipur.   

• On the 18th of December, the Congress Party demanded Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation over comments he made about DR. B. R. Ambedkar. Ambedkar was a Dalit social reformer who drafted the Indian Constitution. In his remarks, Shah said ‘It has become a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. If they had taken God’s name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven.’ Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge remarked on X that Ambedkar is a god-like figure to millions of people in India, including Dalits, tribal peoples and other minorities. Shah’s remarks have caused outrage across the country. Dalit groups protested across the country at the end of December and protests have continued into the New Year.   

• On the 20th of December, investigations into the Andhra Pradesh state elections showed that candidates who belonged to vulnerable minorities, including the Dalit community, had their welfare benefits stopped before the election, as they were viewed by the former ruling party, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) as more likely to vote against them. Meda Ramana, who was elected head of the village council, and her husband Sagar, uncovered the scandal after looking through lists of wrongly excluded families. YSRCP developed voter profiles of citizens based on personal data collected by volunteers who were paid to deliver welfare benefits to vulnerable people. Volunteers conducted surveys of households which included information on their caste, religion and education. The profiles were used during the elections by the government to develop campaign strategies and crucially deny voters who were perceived as opposition supporters, access to their welfare benefits. The Indian government has failed to adopt a data protection law that prohibits the misuse of citizen’s personal data by both state and non-state actors.     

• On the 26th of December, former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh died at the age of 92. Singh was Prime Minister from 2004-2014 and led a coalition government in implementing economic reforms. He was the first Sikh to become Indian Prime Minister and publicly apologised in the Parliament for the Congress Party’s role in the 1984 anti-Sikh Pogrom, where 3,000 Sikhs were murdered in Delhi.  Prime Minister Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi both commemorated Singh on social media. Modi wrote that ‘India mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished leaders’. Gandhi stated he had ‘lost a mentor and guide.’ 

• On the 17th of January, the Election Commission of India (ECI) stated that it did not have records on the number of pre-numbered slips issued to voters during the 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra elections. Activist Venkatesh Nayak, who submitted the Right to Information Request which revealed this huge oversight, has demanded transparency and questioned why the ECI lacks this crucial data despite election rules requiring presiding officers to maintain such records. The Congress Party has raised concerns over a sudden surge in votes after 5 PM on polling day and a sharp rise in registered voters between the two elections. While the ECI dismissed these concerns, critics argue that full disclosure of hourly voter turnout data and the number of slips issued would help ensure transparency and restore public trust in the electoral process.   

• A week left before the Delhi elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal of being “against Dalits and minorities” for not supporting a caste census. He also slammed Kejriwal for allegedly failing to protect people during the 2020 Delhi riots and the COVID-19 crisis. Gandhi alleged that both the AAP and BJP are neglecting job creation and promised that Congress would address unemployment and financial aid if elected. AAP denied the claims, citing government data that reportedly shows Delhi has one of the lowest unemployment and inflation rates in India. In response, Kejriwal launched a sharp attack on Congress, urging Delhi voters not to “waste” their votes on the party. Speaking at a rally in Timarpur, he alleged Congress and the BJP of agreeing on a secret deal to defeat AAP.  

• On the 29th of January, the Haryana government  filed a case against AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal for alleging that the BJP-led Haryana government was “poisoning” Delhi’s water supply by releasing toxic waste into the Yamuna. The case, registered in a Sonipat court under the Disaster Management Act, accuses Kejriwal of spreading false alarms and causing public panic. Haryana Minister Vipul Goel dismissed Kejriwal’s claim arguing that the same water is consumed by top government officials. He accused Kejriwal of using false allegations to cover up AAP’s failures before the Delhi elections on February 5. Haryana CM then drank Yamuna water at the Delhi border to prove his counter argument. AAP leaders challenged Saini to publicly test the water’s ammonia levels and accused him of pretending to drink the water and then spitting it out. 

• AAP accused the BJP of using the Election Commission and Delhi Police to target them ahead of the Delhi elections. Officials allegedly attempted to raid Punjab Chhief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s Delhi residence after a complaint about cash distribution, but AAP claimed BJP leaders were openly handing out money and gifts without facing action. Earlier, Delhi Police seized a Punjab-registered car with cash, alcohol, and AAP pamphlets. AAP alleged the BJP planted the car to falsely accuse them, pointing out that its number plate belonged to an Army officer. Arvind Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh called it a political conspiracy. 

Police and authorities 

• On the 30th of December, 26 people, including the former District Magistrate, several police officers and administrative officials, were charged for their involvement in an alleged criminal conspiracy surrounding the illegal demolition of journalist Manoj Tibrewal’s house. In November, the Supreme Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to pay Tibrewal compensation for unlawfully demolishing his home, remarking that ‘Bulldozer justice is simply unacceptable under the rule of law.’ Tibrewal has alleged that his home was demolished as retribution for his father in law’s demand for an investigation into corruption surrounding the construction of the National Highway -730, which was reported in the local newspaper. 

Judiciary    

• On the 8th of December, a Gujarat Court acquitted former police officer and whistle blower Sanjiv Bhatt in his custodial torture case. Bhatt is a key whistleblower on Prime Minister Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat Riots, when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat. Bhatt claimed that he attended a meeting with then Chief Minister Modi during which Modi told the Police to allow Hindus to commit atrocities against the Muslim population in the state. Since filing affidavits with these claims, Bhatt was charged and sentenced to prison time in three cases, including life imprisonment for a 1990 custodial death case, which he will continue to serve. The cases have been viewed as politically motivated.  

• On the 9th of December, the Allahabad Hugh Court Justice spoke at a VHP event and remarked that ‘Hindustan would run as per the wished of the majority people.’ He also made implicitly anti-Muslim comments, calling halala, the triple talaq and having multiple wives ‘unacceptable’. He said ‘You can’t disrespect a woman who has been recognised as a goddess in our Shastras and Vedas’. He added that whilst non-Hindus are not expected to follow Hindu traditions, other communities are ‘definitely expected not to disrespect the culture of this country, the great personalities, and the god of this land.’ The Justice has previously made controversial comments, calling for cow protection to be declared a ‘Fundamental Right of Hindus’. As India’s rule of law declines, more attention has been paid to members of the judiciary who have personal relationships with BJP leaders or who attend events hosted by Hindu right-wing organisations such as the VHP. 

• On the 18th of January, a Kolkata court convicted Sanjay Roy of raping and murdering a 31-year-old female trainee doctor in August 2024. The victim was attacked after her shift and her body was found in a hospital seminar hall. The crime triggered nationwide protests, with demands for better safety for healthcare workers and justice for the victim. Roy, who denies the charges, was sentenced to life in prison on the 20th of January.  

• On the 20th of January, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued notices to both State governments to respond to a petition challenging the constitutionality of 50-year-old laws that criminalize begging. The petition argues that these laws violate Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution by treating poverty as a crime and failing to uphold citizens’ right to a dignified life. The laws, based on the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, define begging broadly, including acts like singing, fortune-telling, and selling items without fixed prices. The petition calls this definition arbitrary and excessive. The petition cites past judgments by the Delhi and J&K High Courts that ruled against criminalizing begging. 

• On the 30th of January, the Supreme Court of India directed that manual scavenging and sewer cleaning must be stopped in six major cities—Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. Manual scavenging is the removal of human excreta from dry latrines, railroads and sewers. 1.3 million Dalits are employed to take on this task, which the International Dalit Solidarity Network has termed a ‘hereditary occupation form of slavery.’ The ruling criticized the Union for lacking clarity on how to end these practices. The Court ordered each city’s chief officer to submit a detailed plan by February 13, warning that failure to comply would have consequences. While the Union reportedly stated that 456 out of 775 districts no longer have manual scavenging, authorities in Delhi allegedly have not complied with previous orders. 

Business & economy 

• On the 9th of December, Adani Watch reported that the Adani Group is planning to build a coal-power plant in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The plant is expected to have a negative impact on the local tiger population as the project is located near several protected tiger reserves which were designed to protect endangered species. In their Plant proposal, Adani Power Limited stated that ‘there is no wildlife corridor within 15km radius of the project site.’ However, the environmental impact consultant reiterated that the ‘proposed project area falls under medium to high tiger connectivity area’, adding that by failing to mention the wildlife corridor in their proposal, ‘the project proponent is trying to misguide the ministry.’  In March 2024, the Adani Group announced they would be investing $8.9 billion into the BJP ruled state, just 6 months before applying for the power plant. Since the indictment of Gautam Adani and other Adani Group officials by the US Government, the well documented personal relationship between Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Modi has come under increasing scrutiny. 

India in the World 

• On the 2nd of November, the Indian government filed a complaint with the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi about the alleged surveillance of Indian diplomats in Vancouver. Relations between the two countries have been strained by Canada’s investigation of the Indian authorities’ role in the assassination of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil. India was also reacting to an October 30th report in which the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security placed India in the category of “cyber threat from state adversaries.” 

• On the 6th of November, Prime Minister Modi congratulated U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on his victory and expressed eagerness for renewed collaboration. Modi emphasised India’s commitment to strengthening the India-U.S. partnership in technology, defence, and energy. The Indian Foreign Minister  added that while many states feared Trump’s re-election India was not one of them. 

• Prime Minister Modi had a bilateral meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the G20. They reportedly discussed strengthening technology, trade, and defence ties. Modi also remarked that ‘India-Italy friendship can greatly contribute to a better planet.’ Modi’s discussion with Meloni comes just weeks after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz endorsed an ‘ambitious’ EU-India Free Trade Agreement. Though the European Parliament mandated that the European Commission put human rights at the centre of EU-India relations, the EU-India Human Rights Dialogue continues to be postponed.  

• The Indian Prime Minister also met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the G20 summit. Starmer’s office announced after talks that the UK will seek a ’new strategic partnership’ with India and move ahead with trade talks. The UK will also deepen cooperation in security, education, technology and climate change. 

• Similarly, on the 20th of November, India and Australia agreed on a renewable energy partnership and are working towards ‘an ambitious, balanced and mutually beneficial’ Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.   

• In late November, the Canadian government denied that they had direct evidence that Prime Minister Modi was linked to violence in Canada, after news outlets reported that the Prime Minister was aware of the assassination plot. The announcement comes just weeks after the Canadian Foreign Ministry alleged that Amit Shah, India’s Minister of Home Affairs and other top Indian officials were directly linked to the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada last year.  

• Afghanistan has expressed interest in developing greater partnerships with India. Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid, Afghanistan’s Defence Minister, has reportedly assured New Delhi that the Taliban will not allow Pakistan-backed anti-India terror groups to operate in the country. Mujahid met with Indian official JP Singh in Kabul, where they also discussed plans to expand India-Afghanistan humanitarian and development partnerships. Since coming to power in Afghanistan, the Taliban has stripped women of basic rights, including access to education and employment, forcing many parents to sell their daughters into marriage in order to be able to feed their family. Many states in the international community, have therefore, refused to engage with the group.  

• In late November, the Canadian government moved to expedite the trial of four Indian citizens accused in the murder of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The special measure, which is rarely implemented, would mean skipping a preliminary hearing in a lower court in favour of allowing the trial to proceed with the Canadian Supreme Court. The four men are accused of acting as shooters and drivers and doing reconnaissance during the alleged assassination. 

Civil society, human rights defenders, and journalists 

• On the 8th of November, eight members of the Moolvasi Bachao Manch, an Adivasi (Indigenous) civil group that has faced repression at the hands of the local government were detained by joint forces working for local authorities in Chhattisgarh. Several prominent activists were also detained. On the same day, security forces encircled nine villages and rounded up villagers, killing one child and one young man in the process. These events are part of a larger pattern of violence across Chhattisgarh, including encounters with authorities which have ended in civilian deaths and increasing militarisation. While the government has explained such militarisation as consistent with anti-Naxalite measures, the militarisation of the region, which regularly leads to extrajudicial killings and attacks on civilians, seems to be more closely related to taking the land of Indigenous groups, as it is rich in minerals.  

• On the 8th of November, investigative journalist Rana Ayyub’s phone number was released on X (formerly Twitter) by a right-wing content creator. She was subsequently sent over 200 rape and death threats. Ayyub commented on the Maharashtra police’s inaction over the threats, remarking ‘These heinous acts take place because authorities look the other way as women are publicly harassed.’ Women journalists and activist in India often face gendered threats because of their work.  

• On the 11th of November, the Supreme Court of India once again denied bail to Gulfisha Fatima, a student activist. Fatima has been detained for four years without bail after her arrest stemming from an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest in Delhi. After initially being granted bail, she was charged under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), which UN experts and others say is often weaponised against activists to silence them. Such arbitrary detention may violate Article 9, ICCPR. 

• The 22nd of November marked 3 years since Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez was incarcerated on terrorism charges. Parvez was arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which is commonly weaponised by authorities to detain human rights defenders, journalists, students and activists. He has remained in pre-trial detention for three years. The misuse of the UAPA and subsequent imprisonment for multiple years without a trial violates ICCPR, Article 9. 

• Meena Kotwal, an Indian journalist and founder of online news channel The Mooknayak won the SheThePeople’s Digital Women Awards 2024 in late November. The Mooknayak is focused on social justice, broaching issues of caste-violence and hate and gender inequality by reporting on stories that are often ignored by mainstream media. 

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities – Tracking the Manipur Conflict 

• On November 7th, in Manipur’s Jiribam district, armed extremists reportedly brutally shot, captured, and burned to death a woman from the Hmar tribe, which is related to the majority Christian Kuki-Zo ethnic minority group. They also torched several homes in her village, escalating the ongoing ethnic violence in the state.  

• On the 11th of November, a market close to a makeshift relief camp in Manipur housing displaced Meitei persons was attacked by an armed group of men from the Hmar tribe. Hmars, part of the Kuki-Zomi tribes have also been involved in the ethnic and religious conflict in Manipur. The market was located a few hundred metres from a police station, but the police could not locate the kidnapped villagers, among whom were several women and children. This led to protests against the Manipur government for alleged inaction, however, the kidnapped villagers were found dead the next day. The attack of the Meitei villagers was allegedly retaliation against an earlier attack on the 7th of November. 

• On the 18th of November, authorities recovered the bodies of 6 Meitei women and children, who had allegedly been kidnapped and murdered by Kuki militias. The attack has been regarded as revenge for the rape and murder of a Kuki woman on the 7th of November. The BJP state authorities have imposed another curfew and internet shutdown, choosing to continue to suffocate civil society and peace builders who are unable to operate in the region. The European Parliament Urgency Resolution on Manipur, passed in July 2023, explicitly called for the Indian government stop imposing curfews and internet shutdowns. At least 20 people have been killed due to the ongoing conflict in Manipur in November. 

• On the 27th of November, a tribal council in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam decided to send 1,000 Kuki-Zo migrants, who had fled the religious and ethnic violence, back to Manipur. Karbis are the largest ethnic group in the district. Last month, a Karbi literary body argued there was an ‘exodus’ of Kuki refugees coming from the state and demanded they were not given land but were placed in state-supervised shelters. The Kuki-Zo are a minority ethnic group in Manipur, which is mostly Christian.  

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

• On November 8th , the Supreme Court ruled that Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) can claim minority status, despite being established by an Act of Parliament. Overturning the 1967 Azeez Basha judgment, the bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud stated that a minority institution only needs to be founded by a minority, not necessarily administered by one. The court clarified that Article 30 protections apply even to minority institutions established before the Constitution came into force. A regular bench will now review AMU’s specific minority status based on this framework. 

• On the 10th of November in Karnataka, a group of villagers moved a religious idol in a local temple, after Dalits were granted access to the temple. Dalits were given permission to enter Kalabhairaveshwara Swamy Temple after talks between the local government and police around the systemic exclusion of Dalits. Dalits have faced centuries of caste discrimination in India – including incidents like this one, where they are excluded from religious institutions.  

• On the 19th of November, Hindutva groups disrupted a Muslim marriage ceremony in Uttar Pradesh. The groups argued that the Muslim ceremony could not take place at the venue, a community hall which is associated with Hindus, as it was offensive to Hindu cultural and religious identity. Protesters demanded for the ceremony to stop and the venue to be vacated by the wedding party and guests. The Police took the family to a new venue, despite confirming that the community hall could be rented by all members of the community, regardless of their religion.   

• Three Muslim men were killed on the 24th of November in clashes between the police and protesters in Sambal, Uttar Pradesh. The protests started after a court ordered surveys of a Mosque as part of a process to determine if it was built on the site of a Hindu Temple. The local Muslim community opposes the surveys and there is significant concern and fear that as with the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, this mosque will also be demolished and replaced with a Hindu temple. Opposition politicians argue that the subsequent violent clashes are ‘a result of the politics of hated done by this [BJP] government’ and are demanding a judicial inquiry.  

• The Trinamool Congress chief warned in a speech on the 28th of November that the Waqf Amendment Bill would disproportionately affect Muslims. Waqf, properties dedicated to religious, educational, or charitable causes under Islamic law are governed under the waqf law- which has not been amended since 2013. If the proposed amendments are passed, the authority of waqf boards would be lessened, the government would have more control over waqf properties, and non-Muslims would be able to join waqf boards. The donation of properties would also be restricted. Members of the Opposition stressed that this amendment would violate the right to freedom of religion. 

Internet and Technology 

• The Competition Commission of India imposed a $25.3 million fine on Meta after finding WhatsApp violated the Competition Act. Meta was fined as the CCI found that WhatsApp’s 2021 policy update, which made data sharing with Meta mandatory for users, was an unfair condition. The failure to provide users with an opt-out for their data to be shared to the wider Meta Group undermined user autonomy, especially given Meta’s leading position in the online advertising market in India. Meta is expected to appeal the decision.   

• A new report by civil rights groups alleges that the BJP spent over $270,000 on Meta platforms to fuel a hate campaign targeting Adivasi Chief Minister Hemant Soren ahead of Jharkhand’s elections. The report claims a shadow network of 87 pages spread dehumanizing ads and communal propaganda against minorities, reportedly violating electoral laws. Critics accuse Meta of enabling this by accepting unverifiable advertiser details and amplifying divisive content. Activists urge stricter regulation to prevent the misuse of digital platforms for spreading hate and targeting marginalized communities. 

• On the 10th of November, the Ranchi Police in Jharkhand state filed an FIR and requested that unnamed social media platforms remove several videos posted by the BJP’s Jharkhand unit. This was reportedly in response to a complaint filed by the Congress party in which it was alleged that the local BJP posted ‘false and misleading’ videos which made ‘baseless’ allegations on their social media accounts just ahead of the Jharkhand Assembly elections. 

• A report by several civil society organisations found that Pro-Mahayuti ‘shadow accounts’ spent significant funds on communal Facebook adverts ahead of the 20 November Maharashtra elections. Mahayuti is the BJP led political coalition that won the state elections. These accounts overspent the opposition more than sevenfold and regularly featured hate speech and Islamophobic conspiracy theories. As has been reported by other NGOs tracking hate and extreme content on Meta’s platforms (such as Instagram and Facebook), these accounts were not removed despite violating the platform’s community standards. The advertisements also failed to meet Meta’s standards for declaring advertisements. 

• On the 19th of November, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) allegedly shared an AI-generated clips targeting Opposition leaders in Maharashtra on it’s X (formerly Twitter) account. The clips, published hours before the polls opened in Maharashtra for state Assembly elections, was allegedly part of ‘leaked recordings’ showing evidence of opposition party wrong-doings. Fact-checkers at BOOM analysed the clips and determined that three of the four clips shared were generated by AI, while the last clip was too short to analyse. 

• In late November, the case that news agency Asian News International brought against OpenAI was heard in the Delhi High Court. The case concerns a claim of copyright infringement against the artificial intelligence platform, raising new concerns about whether or not such platforms can be charged for copyright infringement as they operate based on the accumulation of materials that have already been produced by others. Due to the lack of existing precedent, the case will have a significant impact on how copyright claims against AI platforms are handled in India. 

Political Parties    

• On the 7th of November, a scuffle between the ruling INDIA bloc MLAs and the opposition BJP broke out in the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly. The two sides were arguing over the restoration of Article 370 in the state, which gives J&K special status and was revoked by the BJP in 2019. The assembly passed a resolution to restore the special status, however local BJP politicians tore up copies of the document.  

• On the 8th of November, Prime Minister Modi stated that Article 370, which gave the State of Jammu and Kashmir a special status before being revoked in 2019, would never be restored. Modi also accused Congress and members of the opposition INDIA bloc of encouraging the ‘Pakistan agenda’ in the state, arguing that they wanted to remove the constitution from Jammu and Kashmir. Modi’s remarks come 3 weeks after elections were held in the state, for the first time since 2019. 

• On the 16thof November, during campaigns for elections in the state of Jharkhand, BJP Home Minister Amit Shah referred to Muslims as ‘infiltrators’, who ‘grab the jobs of the youth in Jharkhand.’ His xenophobic remarks were made in an attempt to gain support from the indigenous community in the state, who have historically voted with the Muslim population for the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha party.  

• Similarly, throughout the election campaign for the Maharashtra elections, the BJP once again pushed the ‘Vote Jihad’ conspiracy theory which was used in the national elections. The conspiracy theory is premised on the idea that when Indian Muslims do not vote for the BJP, it is part of a wider, anti-national conspiracy. BJP Home Minister Devender Fadnavis called for voters to counter ‘Vote Jihad’, and BJP MLA Nitesh Rane remarked that ‘we will ensure this vote jihad does not happen during the State elections.’ MLA Rane has a long history of Islamophobic hate speech and has multiple cases against him due to this. 

• On the 17th of November, the National People’s Party in Manipur withdrew support for the BJP-led government, citing the resurgence of the ethnic, religious violence in the region. Party leader Conrad Sangma accused the Manipur government of completely failing to resolve the crisis. Over just the ten days leading up the announcement, violent flareups left 17 people dead, including infants, children, and women. 

• On the 23rd of November, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won the Maharashtra state elections, winning 235 of the 288 assembly seats. Their campaign was marred by hate speech from key figures such as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

• On the 28th of November, the former Chief Minister of Mizoram state, which neighbours Manipur, called for the current Chief Minister of Manipur to step down, stating that his ‘inaction and misuse of power have only worsened the situation [in Manipur].’ He continued that Manipur Chief Minister’s ‘leadership has not only failed to resolve the crisis but has also perpetuated the suffering of innocent people.’ The former Chief Minister made the statement on behalf of his party, the Mizo National Front, which is crucially part of the NDA coalition government with the BJP.  

• On the same day, in response to the Mizo National Front’s comments, the Manipur government released a statement, calling the MNF an ‘anti national party’ and accusing the parting of ‘constant meddling’ in internal Manipur affairs. The BJP Manipur state government also argued that the MNF used ‘a shrill wave of anti-national pro-Myanmar refugee propaganda and anti-Manipur stance’ when contesting the Mizoram Assembly elections last year. The Manipur government continues to scapegoat Myanmar refugees in an attempt to explain the ongoing ethnic conflict.  

Police and authorities 

• On the 20th of November, villagers in the remote village of Kwath village (located in Jammu) were allegedly subjected to torture at the hands of the army. The alleged torture was said to have occurred after repeated interactions between the army and local villagers in which they were asked to perform odd jobs for the army. This assault was verified by a local army unit on their X (formerly Twitter) account after several videos and posts appeared on social media. Whilst they have reported that an investigation is being launched, villagers stated that they were dissuaded from reporting events to the police. Such acts of torture would be in violation of the Article 7, ICCPR. 

• Just one day after clashes broke out around the Sambhal mosque survey, the chairperson of the mosque’s managing committee reportedly said he witnessed police firing into the crowd of protestors in the incident which left four Muslim civilians dead. These claims stand in contradiction of the police’s reports, in which they indicate no lethal weapons were used to control the crowd, only tear gas, batons, and rubber pellets. The chairperson further alleged that police damaged their own vehicles in the incident though the police have denied his claims, calling them politically motivated. 

• Conflicts broke out between police, other authorities, and protesters after protests formed in reaction to a new ethanol factory in Telangana’s Nirmal district on the 27th of November. Villagers who were allegedly protesting out of fear that the new factory would be harmful to their crops and way of life, allegedly vandalised the vehicle of a Nirmal Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) the evening before.  The RDO’s vehicle was surrounded after leaving the protest site to speak with protestors. Police intervened and arrested several villagers for vandalism. 

• In late November, the Uttar Pradesh police accused fact-checker Mohammed Zubair of endangering India’s ‘sovereignty, unity and integrity’ related to a social media post he made. Zubair’s post was reportedly about hate speech from Hindu leader, Yati Narsinghanand in which Narsinghanand allegedly made hateful remarks against the Prophet Muhammad. Civil society groups inside and outside of India regard the police accusations as legal intimidation against Zubair to stifle free speech. If these claims are accurate, this could be a violation of Article 19, ICCPR. 

• On the 30th of November, the Delhi Police registered a case against Nadeem Khan, the National Secretary of the Association for the Protection of Civil Rights. The police argue that Khan is ‘trying to raise a war inside the country’, after he allegedly spoke in a YouTube video which covers the Modi government’s crackdown on activists, journalists and human rights defenders, particularly during and after the 2020 Delhi Riots. The police also argue that Khan is ‘trying to disrupt communal harmony’ by ‘portraying a particular community as victims’ which they view as incitement.  Khan was not in Delhi when the case was registered, however, 4 police officials flew to Bengaluru, found Khan at a private residence and attempted to detain him despite failing to produce a warrant or having jurisdiction in the state. They stayed with Khan for 4 hours until he agreed, under duress, to ‘voluntarily’ return to Delhi with them. The decision to file a case against Khan is viewed by civil society as a wider move against journalists and demonstrative of the wider crackdown on freedom of expression by the Indian government.  

Judiciary    

• The Supreme Court has condemned the reported demolition of homes in Muslim localities in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi’s Jahangirpuri. The court stated that these actions were unconstitutional and violated fundamental rights. It criticised the use of bulldozers allegedly targeting individuals accused of crimes, emphasising that such actions undermine the rule of law and the principle of innocence until proven guilty. The Court further stated that no demolitions should occur without prior notice, adequate time for appeal, and adherence to legal procedures, and called for accountability among officials engaging in such actions, stressing that these practices amount to collective punishment. 

• The Supreme Court sentenced Uttar Pradesh authorities for demolishing a house in 2019 without proper notice. The case started in 2020 with a petition by a Maharajganj resident, who reported that officials used a loudspeaker to announce the demolition. The Court criticised the lack of due process and ordered compensation for the resident while directing an inquiry into the officers and contractors involved. 

• The Bombay High Court held in mid-November that sex between a married couple in which the wife is a minor would be considered rape, regardless of whether or not it was consensual. The court thus upheld the 10-year sentence of a man who appealed the sentence delivered to him in 2021. The complaint against the man was originally filed by his minor partner, who alleged that during their four-year relationship, she has been pressed into sex with him. 

• In late November, a local Ajmer court issued notices to the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and the Ajmer Dargah Committee regarding a petition filed about a local mausoleum. The petitioner, a right-wing Hindu organisation, claimed that that a Shiva temple was built under the Ajmer Sharif Dargah mausoleum and requests a survey of the building. The survey request was condemned by the building’s custodian who felt it was motivated by Islamophobia. Historically, such requests for surveys of buildings belonging to religious minorities have led to the demolitions of these buildings which hold significance as cites of cultural and religious heritage.  

Business & economy 

• On the 1st of November, the BJP government granted approval to Adani Power Limited for the expansion of its Raipur coal-power plant in Chhattisgarh. The approval proceeded despite concerns from the local population. The plant is still burning coal with a higher ash content than its target level, causing more harmful emissions than what was originally outlined. Among their other complaints, villagers claim that fly ash from the plant is affecting their farms and water quality and that they were not kept abreast of plant operations years earlier. 

• Four ambassadors to India, from the EU, Denmark, Belgium and Germany, visited the Adani Group renewable energy park and India’s largest port, both located in Gujarat. The ambassadors were met by Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, who led the tour and posed with the diplomats, holding hands. The tour took place just a few days before the G20 in Brazil, where Prime Minister Modi expressed how India will play an important role in global sustainability. 

• Just 10 days after the tour, Adani and other members of the Adani Group were indicted by the US government on fraud and bribery charges. Adani Green Group, which operates the renewable energy park the Ambassadors visited, is central to the indictment, with the US Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that the scheme was initiated so that Adani Green and Azure Power would capitalise on an Indian government solar energy project, worth billions of dollars. Adani’s close relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come under increasing scrutiny since the indictment, with the Opposition demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee into their relationship. Modi, who also hails from Gujarat is viewed by many as patronising Adani and other business monopolies to sustain his political hegemony. 

India in the World 

• On 14 October, the Canadian government named the Indian High Commissioner and other Indian Diplomats ‘persons of interest’ in their ongoing investigation into the 2023 murder of pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.  
• Also, on 14 October, the Canadian government expelled 6 Indian diplomats, including the High Commissioner. The Indian government responded by expelling 6 Canadian diplomats and advising that it had withdrawn the Indian envoy to Canada.  
• The British government called for the government of India to cooperate with the Canadian investigation as did the US State Department, remarking that the Indian government is currently failing to do so. 
• The US State Department met with the Indian government on the 16 October to discuss an Indian government employee’s alleged involvement in an assassination attempt against a Sikh separatist in New York in November 2023. 
• On 18 October, the office of the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced they had brought charges against a former Indian intelligence officer, Vikash Yadav for allegedly directing the assassination plot. Yadaz currently resides in India and no longer works for the government. The US is expected to seek his extradition.  
• India did not sign a letter supported by 104 other countries and the African Union in which Israel was criticised for declaring UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres persona non grata. In early October, Israel declared Guterres persona non grata after accusing him of failing to condemn attacks initiated by Iran and Hamas – a claim Guterres disputes, citing that he always denounced these actions.   
• On 12 October, India called on Bangladesh’s interim government to ensure the safety of minorities following a series of attacks during Durga Puja celebrations. Minority groups raised concerns about violent attacks, which reportedly target mostly Hindus in the country since the interim government was put in place with the Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhist, Christian Unity Council recording 2,010 violent attacks, mostly against Hindus in the month of August alone. 
• Chinese President Xi and Prime Minister Modi held their first formal talks in 5 years at the 2024 BRICS summit on 28 October. They already agreed to increase communication and cooperation to help resolve conflicts at the Himalayan border. Tensions have risen between the two countries due to these clashes.  
• At the BRICS Summit, hosted by Russian President Putin 36 world leaders met to discuss further collaboration, including possibilities to limit the effectiveness of US sanctions by reducing dollar transactions. However, the Indian envoy said India remains reluctant to do so due to fears of retaliatory sanctions.  
• Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany, met with Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi to publicly endorse an ‘ambitious’ free trade agreement between India and the EU. Whilst in India, Scholz signed increased cooperation agreements on defense, trade, clean energy and information technology. These bilateral agreements continued despite the Indian government missing the EU-India Human Rights Dialogue, which was postponed in August of this year.   
• In late October, the Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister allegedly confirmed that the Canadian government suspects Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah of orchestrating a campaign of ‘violence and intimidation’ which targets Sikh activists. 

Civil society, human rights defenders and journalists 

• Mahesh Langa, a senior journalist with The Hindu was arrested on 8 October allegedly in connection with a Goods and Services Tax scam. His arrest has been called into question by rights groups as he is one of few independent voices in Gujarat amid an oppressive climate for independent journalists in India. A case was filed against Langa on October 22. The Press Council of India, which is mandated to protect press freedom, has not intervened.  
• On 9 October, Hindutva Watch was named as the recipient of the Take Action Against Hate award. The Take Action Against Hate awards are granted to groups and individual persons who ‘work to counter hatred in any of its forms.’ 
• The release of two men accused in the 2017 murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh this month stirred controversy after both were given a warm welcome by some Hindutva groups. Both men, along with others accused, were released on bail on 11 October, after being imprisoned for over six years. Lankesh, known for her critical stance on Hindutva politics, was shot dead outside her home.  
• The 37-day strike of the Samsung India Workers Union (SIWU) ended on 16 October after management agreed to all the demands of the striking union. The striking workers demanded, among other things, the recognition of SIWU. Since 2023, they have been working to get their union recognised by the state government, a process stalled by Samsung, which refused several requests from SIWU for dialogue and tried to end the strikes. 
• Junior doctors protesting the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Hospital ended their hunger strike on 21 October after 10 days. The group was protesting for a 10-point charter, which included changes like the dismantling of the ‘threat culture’ in the state’s medical sector.  Although they reportedly exited talks with the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, and others empty-handed, they are said to be planning new protest actions and charting their next steps. 
• On 21 October, the Supreme Court granted human rights activist Teesta Setalvad permission to travel to Amsterdam for the world premiere of her documentary CycleMahesh. Setalvad was originally detained in 2022, in connection with her human rights work for religious minorities. Various groups, like the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) consider her arrest and continued travel restrictions part of the Indian government’s systemic suppression of activists and NGOs working on issues involving religious minorities. Her arrest and the continued suppression of activists and NGOs raise concerns about the right from arbitrary arrest and detention (Article 9 ICCPR) and the freedom of assembly and the freedom of expression (Articles 19, 21 ICCPR). 
• A recent report from the World Association of News Publishers exposed Indian authorities’ alleged misuse of laws like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to suppress independent media. It focuses on the progressive news service NewsClick as a case study. If Indian authorities are misusing the law to silence dissent by independent media, this would be a violation of Article 19, ICCPR.   

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

• On 7 October, six men were arrested in Ghaziabad after protests erupted around Hindutva leader Yati Narsinghanand for allegedly making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. The arrests followed clashes where stones were thrown at police. Narsinghanand has been booked in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana for hate speech after an alleged video of his inflammatory sermon from last month went viral.  
• A traders’ body in Uttarakhand allegedly passed a resolution calling for approximately 15 Muslim families to leave the town by the end of the year. Families failing to leave face both legal and punitive consequences, and those who rent to Muslim tenants face a fine of Rs 10,000. The motivation behind the order is said to be the protection of Hindu women against members of the minority community, however, no evidence has been presented to justify these concerns. 
• On 24 October, a right-wing group in Uttarakhand held a protest rally for the demolition of a mosque they claimed was built illegally. Senior police officials and other authorities stated that records confirm the mosque’s legal registration. The march reportedly led to injuries among both civilians and police, some participants are accused of attacking officials with stones. Reportedly, 200 people face charges like attempted murder and use of criminal force towards women. 

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

• In Gujarat, a Dalit family was allegedly assaulted for attending a religious dance event in early October. Other attendees, who were reportedly upper-caste Hindus, were said to have used casteist slurs and abused the family. The case is representative of growing violence against marginalised groups, including Dalits, across the country.   
• On 3 October, the Navratri Festival, a 9-day Hindu festival, began. In two BJP-ruled states, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, young Muslims were attacked for joining the festival. A female Muslim artist who was invited to perform at the event was banned from performing and the electricity was cut until she left.  
• At the same festival, a right-wing Hindu missionary group allegedly told non-Hindus to leave a dance event, threatening physical violence against those who refused to do so. At another event in Guna, Madhya Pradesh, the same group physically assaulted young Muslim people attending an event. One man was handed to the police who proceeded to assault him.  
• On 12 October, Indian human and indigenous rights activist Dr. G.N. Saibaba, who was unlawfully incarcerated for 10 years, died. Saibaba, an ardent defender of the Adivasi community, was arrested in 2014 on charges of belonging to the illegal Communist Party of India (Maoist) and allegedly being a danger to the Indian state. He was denied access to medical care despite being over 90% disabled and even subjected to solitary confinement. His arbitrary detention is representative of a systemic rule of law breakdown in India and could be in violation of ICCPR Article 9. 
• On 22 October, the Chief Justice of India spoke out against a recent ruling of the Allahabad High Court, striking down an act that regulated madrasa education. He shared his concerns that madrasa schools, which are religious Islamic schools, were unfairly being targeted and ‘ghettoised.’  In his remarks, the Chief Justice stressed that religious education exists for various religious groups, not just Muslims and that the Court could ensure the quality of such education without banning or restricting it.   
• The state of Himachal Pradesh reportedly introduced a discriminatory policy forcing restaurants to publicly display the names of employees. This policy, which already exists in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, is regarded as a way to facilitate economic boycotts of Muslim businesses since names are often an indication of which religious community one belongs to. Multiple businesses in both states have already fired Muslim staff. The state administrations allege that the policy is part of a food hygiene measure, a claim that seems to support the  ‘Spit Jihad’ conspiracy theory that Muslims were contaminating Hindu food with their saliva or other impurities.  
• On 14 October tensions flared between Hindu and Muslim communities in Bahraich. Tensions allegedly stemmed from the death of a Hindu man who was reportedly shot while replacing an Islamic flag with a Hindu symbol on top of a house in a Muslim district. In response, the Hindu community allegedly targeted multiple Muslims and their homes and businesses. In the same area, officials ordered the demolition of multiple properties, most of them belonging to Muslims and a few to disadvantaged castes. 

Internet and Technology 

• Deepak Sharma, a Hindutva figure best known for spreading hate speech and islamophobia on X (formerly Twitter), had his X account suspended again. Sharma has had his account suspended multiple times over a period of several years, for consistently violating community guidelines as he continues to target minorities and post open calls to violence against the Indian Muslim community. Despite his failure to follow community guidelines, Sharma’s account has always been unsuspended, enabling him to continue to polarise Indian society and instigate violence, unchecked.  
• Samsung India Electronics Private Ltd. (SIEPL) informed the Madras High Court that it suffered an estimated $100 million loss due to a 38-day strike by employees seeking recognition of their trade union, Samsung India Thozhilalar Sangam, affiliated with CITU. The company allegedly opposed the union’s use of “Samsung” in its name, arguing it could harm its reputation. In response, the union’s legal representative countered that this was not a trademark issue and that the Trade Unions Act of 1926 does not prohibit using a company’s name in union titles.  

Political Parties   

• On 8 October, the results of the Haryana Assembly elections became known. Some candidates, like Brijendra Singh from the Indian National Congress, lost by just a few votes. The elections were a mix of success and setbacks for Haryana’s political heirs. 
• On 12 October, Mumbai politician Baba Siddique was assassinated. Siddique, who was a member of the Nationalist Congress Party, one of the ruling parties in Maharashtra, was shot dead outside of his son’s office. The Bishnoi gang is alleged to be behind the assassination, however, police are still investigating.    
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi renewed his membership as the first active member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 16 October, marking the launch of the party’s 2024 membership drive. Modi explained that to qualify as an active member, a BJP worker must register 50 new members in a booth or Vidhan Sabha seat, which also makes them eligible to contest elections for positions in the party’s Mandal Committee and beyond. 
• Omar Abdullah was sworn in as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on 16 October. He is the first Chief Minister since the removal of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in 2019. Abdullah is the Vice-President of Jammy and Kashmir’s oldest regional party, the National Conference (NC), which promised to restore the autonomy and statehood to the territory.  
• On 17 October, Nayab Singh Saini took his oath as the new Chief Minister of Haryana. This is his second term as the Chief Minister of the state.  
• The INDIA block released the names of 21 candidates for the Jharkhand Assembly elections in late October. The Assembly elections will take place in two phases next month on 13 November and 20 November. 
• On 18 October, the far-right Hindutva party, Shiv Sena announced that Shrikant Pangarkar, who is currently on bail for his involvement in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, had been given charge of the party’s electoral campaign in one Maharashtra constituency. The next day, the party removed him from the position, following public outrage. Nearly half of the Members of Local Assemblies (MLAs) have registered cases against them; 28% have serious criminal cases against them, including attempted murder, murder, kidnapping and crimes against women. At the Union level, criminal cases have been filed against 46% of sitting MPs. The state of Maharashtra goes to the polls at the end of November.  

Police and authorities 

• On 3 October, the Union Home Ministry told the Supreme Court that criminalising marital rape is ‘excessively harsh’. In an affidavit to the court, the state advised that the criminalisation of marital rape could ‘lead to serious disturbances in the institution of marriage.’ Marital rape has been criminalised in over 100 countries, however India, where 4% of women report facing sexual violence within their marriage, it is yet to be outlawed.  
• The Supreme Court of India declined to take further police action against Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation on 3 October. This comes after the foundation’s centre was raided by police following a Madras High Court order related to criminal cases allegedly linked to the foundation. The Supreme Court has taken over the case.  
• Academics and teachers’ groups expressed concerns after the Union government allegedly asked that all centrally funded higher educational institutions (CFHEIs) undergo regular staff reviews to ensure teachers’ “doubtful integrity.” These groups stressed that transparency around the idea of “doubtful integrity” was needed to avoid authorities’ abuse of such an opaque term to retaliate against educators with critical views of the government. 

Judiciary   

• On 10 October, the remaining 8 accused persons in the infamous case of India’s last sati were acquitted. The almost 40-year-old case concerned 18-year-old widow Roop Kanwar, who was reportedly burnt alive against her will with the body of her husband who passed away days earlier. The practice has been banned since 1829 under the British and following her death in 1987, the glorification of sati was also banned. Despite this, several individuals stood accused of glorifying her death; most had been acquitted decades ago. 
• On 15 October, the Madhya Pradesh High Court granted bail to a man who allegedly shouted the phrase ‘Pakistan Zindabad Hindustan Murdabad’ [Long live Pakistan, Death to India.] The conditions of his bail are that he must salute the flag of India 21 times whilst shouting the phrase ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai [Long Live Mother India]’ twice a month.   
• On 17 October, the Supreme Court of India stated it would hear a plea for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood. In 2019, the court upheld the Abrogation of Article 370, which removed special status from the then state. The court has more recently stated that statehood needs to be restored to the territory ‘at the earliest.’ 
• On the same day, the Supreme Court found Article 6A of the Citizenship Act to be constitutional. The verdict means that Bangladeshi migrants who entered  Assam after 25 March 1971 are not entitled to Indian citizenship. This date was the beginning of the Bangladeshi Liberation War from the state of Pakistan.  
• On 21 October, Supreme Court Chief Justice D.Y.Chandrachud allegedly said that when making his decision on the high-profile Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case he ‘sat before the [Hindu] deity and told him he needed to find a solution.’ The Babri Mosque was demolished in 1992 by Hindutva activists who claimed the mosque had been built on land which was the birthplace of the Hindu God Lord Rama. The 2019 ruling found that the land was given to the Hindu community for a Hindu temple to be built and the Muslim community was given another piece of land to build a mosque.   
• The Supreme Court aired its concerns that the Punjab and Haryana governments were failing to implement important environmental rulings related to stubble burning on 23 October. Stubble burning is the burning the crop residue from various grains after harvest and has been linked to air pollution. The Court raised concerns that while an Act delivering penalties for stubble burning was enacted, little was put in place to ensure its implementation. 
• The supreme court deferred hearing various petitions for the criminalisation of marital rape on 23 October. The hearing is delayed until a Chief Justice retires and a new bench takes over in about a month’s time. Petitioners are seeking to challenge sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) which provide exemptions for forced-sexual intercourse (rape) against one’s wife. 

Business & economy 

• Ratan Tata, leader of the Indian conglomerate Tata Group, passed away on 9 October. Despite its massive business success, Tata Steel is also known for its blatant violation of indigenous rights, displacement of Adivasi communities, and exploitation of natural resources through the state machinery. In 2006, 13 Adivasis were shot dead during protests against the building of a Tata Steel plant in Odisha. The massacre is remembered within the indigenous community as a Black Day.  
• October 9, The Delhi High Court expressed concern over Wikipedia’s refusal to identify the editors responsible for allegedly defamatory content on the Asian News International’s (ANI) Wikipedia page. ANI filed a defamation complaint, in reaction to the platform’s claims that it acts as a “propaganda tool” for the Indian government. The court warned Wikipedia that withholding the names of editors could jeopardize its “safe harbour” protection under the Information Technology Act. Wikipedia, which allows anonymous editing by volunteers, argued for protecting user anonymity. Experts believe that the case could have a chilling effect on free speech in India (a possible violation of Article 19, ICCPR). 

India in the World 

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

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

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

Civil society, human rights defenders and journalists 

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

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

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

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

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

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

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

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

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

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

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

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

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

Internet and Technology 

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

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

Political Parties  

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

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

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

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

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

Police and authorities 

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

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

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

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

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

Judiciary  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Business & economy 

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

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

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

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

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

Manipur 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

India in the world 

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

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elections and Political Parties 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Judiciary 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Executive  

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

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

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

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

Tech and Internet 

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

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

India in the World

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

Civil society, human rights defenders and journalists

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

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities

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

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

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights

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

Internet and Technology

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

Political Parties

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

Police and authorities

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

Judiciary

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

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

Business & economy

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

Conflict in Manipur

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

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

India in the World 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elections 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Election violence 

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

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

Civil society, human rights defenders and journalists 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Internet and Technology 

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

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

Political Parties 

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

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

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

Executive 

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

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

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

Demolitions 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Judiciary 

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

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

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

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

Conflict in Manipur 

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Indian General Elections

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

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

Election Violence

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

Social Media and Elections

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

Free and Fair Elections

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

Journalists, Civil Society, Human Rights Defenders

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

Hate Speech and Hate Crimes against Minorities

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

Religious freedoms and minority rights

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

Digital Rights

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

Judiciary

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

Executive

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

India in the World

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

Election violence 

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

India in the World 

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

Civil society, human rights defenders and journalists 

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

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

Arvind Kejriwal and AAP case 

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

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech against Minorities 

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

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

Religious Freedoms and Minority Rights 

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

Internet and Technology 

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

Political Parties and Election Monitoring 

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

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

Executive 

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