Advocacy groups warn of growing repression in India |
KARACHI:
As the European Commission president prepares for her visit to New Delhi, leading advocacy groups are sounding the alarm. They warn that in its pursuit of stronger diplomatic ties, Brussels must not turn a blind eye to a decade-long assault on civil liberties, press freedom, and religious minorities under Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party government.
In a letter to the College of Commissioners and Ursula von der Leyen, a dozen rights organizations—including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, and Reporters Without Borders—accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government of eroding democratic institutions, stifling dissent, and persecuting minorities with increasing impunity. This charge sheet comes days before von der Leyen’s rare diplomatic pilgrimage to India and weeks after her remarks at the World Economic Forum, where she expressed a desire to strengthen EU-India ties.
While the letter brings to fore a number of violations that have been simmering throughout the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) three terms in power, Claudio Francavilla, Associate Director for Advocacy at Human Rights Watch (HRW), expressed concern over the EU’s failure to address these issues directly. “We have reasons to be concerned,” he said, noting that apart from the European Parliament and a few tweets from the former EU Special Representative for Human Rights, the EU has never publicly raised human rights concerns regarding India.
Francavilla, who recently shared his concerns about India with the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, emphasized that under President von der Leyen’s leadership, human rights have slipped lower on the EU’s agenda. However, he pointed out that the bloc cannot ignore its treaty obligations. “That doesn’t erase Article 21 of the EU Treaty, which binds the bloc to promote human rights and international law in its foreign policy,” he said. “A non-democratic, increasingly authoritarian India would not be in the EU’s strategic interest, and we encourage the EU to do all it can to address Modi’s authoritarian drift.”
He also pointed out the stalled negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), which have long been underway but have failed to advance due to India’s reluctance to include binding human rights language in the agreement, among other issues. “The EU cannot give up on its standard practice,” Francavilla said, emphasizing that the FTA could become a meaningful tool for human rights progress if designed and implemented correctly.
He further explained that the interest in bilateral ties is mutual. “Human rights must underpin this relationship,” he said, adding that the progress of this partnership should be linked to tangible human rights advancements and reforms.
Weaponized laws
In their three-page submission, human rights defenders list a series of concerns against the Indian government, accusing it of weaponizing federal laws to target political opponents and civil society organizations, often on charges of financial misconduct. They highlight the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), an anti-terror law that has been repeatedly used to detain human rights activists, journalists, and academics. Rights groups also claim that hate speech from government officials and ruling party figures has surged in recent years, fueling violence against marginalized communities, while authorities consistently fail to hold perpetrators accountable.
This growing concern has caught the attention of international bodies. Last year, the United Nations Human Rights Committee called for a review of these laws, and the Financial Action Task Force urged India to ensure that counterterrorism measures were not used to suppress non-governmental organizations.
Under the BJP government, India has increasingly relied on counterterrorism and anti-money laundering laws to curb the activities of human rights groups and nonprofits. One of the most prominent casualties is Amnesty International, which was forced to shut down its operations in the country in 2020 after its accounts were frozen over alleged violations of foreign funding regulations. Laws such as the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act have severely restricted civil society groups’ access to international funding, effectively crippling their work.
Aakar Patel, the former head of Amnesty in India and now chair of its board, told that the Indian government generally views any criticism of its human rights record negatively. “There is not much international attention to what has been going on here,” he said. He pointed to two instances where international attention could have made a difference: House Resolution 745 (2019) in the US Congress on Kashmir, which was tabled but did not progress, and a European Parliament motion on the Citizenship Amendment Act (2020), which was also tabled but never voted on.
On the impact of the joint letter from leading advocacy groups to the European Commission, Patel remarked, “Raising specific issues is always helpful. While its effectiveness is hard to gauge, it likely falls somewhere between completely effective and totally ineffective.”
Repression of minorities
The Modi administration has also come under criticism in the letter for its treatment of religious minorities. The Citizenship Amendment Act, which came into force in March 2024, grants fast-track citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from neighboring countries, a policy that critics say discriminates against India’s 200 million Muslims. The law, combined with the proposed National Register of Citizens, has raised fears that India’s Muslims could face disenfranchisement.
Religious minorities also face legal and extrajudicial persecution, human rights groups warned. ‘Anti-conversion laws,’ enacted in 10 Indian states, the letter said, have been used to target Christians from Dalit and Adivasi communities, emboldening vigilante groups. Muslim-owned properties have been demolished in what BJP-led state governments call ‘law enforcement actions,’ a practice recently condemned by India’s Supreme Court.
This pattern of persecution, Kiri Kankhwende, Press and Public Affairs Team Leader at Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), argues, has been unfolding for over a decade. “Religious minorities have been subjected to mounting pressure from both state and non-state actors promoting a form of Hindu nationalism known as Hindutva,” she said.
According to Kankhwende, adherents of this ideology believe that religious minorities must conform to the demands of majoritarian rule or risk being branded anti-national. Hindutva, she explained, portrays Christianity and Islam as foreign imports, products of past colonialism, while those who practice these religions are often viewed as former Hindus coerced into conversion. Dalits, already contending with caste discrimination, she said, find themselves further marginalized if they choose to follow Christianity or Islam.
As Kankhwende pointed out, rural communities, grappling with economic hardship, inadequate support systems, and a limited understanding of their constitutional rights, are particularly vulnerable to such pressures. According to CSW, attacks on minorities – particularly Christians – have risen over the past decade. Local sources documenting such incidents told the religious freedom watchdog that reported cases increased from 127 in 2014 to 834 in 2024.
The CSW spokesperson noted that hate speech and incitement to violence against religious minorities were increasingly being aired on open platforms and social media, often by state officials or religious leaders. “We have seen calls for the seizure of properties, the destruction of places of worship, and even direct calls for physical violence,” she said.
During election campaigns, she added, minorities have been frequently targeted through false narratives and business boycotts. “Perpetrators are often shielded from investigation or prosecution, and in many cases, tacit approval from officials seems to be the norm,” Kankhwende told .
Asked what factors are driving the shift in India, Kankhwende said the country, once known for its religious and cultural diversity, is increasingly being defined by majoritarianism. She argued that Hindu nationalism has become embedded in political rhetoric, granting one religion an exclusive status while pushing minorities to the margins. Despite constitutional guarantees of religious freedom, she said, the space for minority communities to practice their faith is steadily shrinking.
This pressure, she noted, extends into nearly every aspect of daily life. According to CSW, religious minorities face a wide range of restrictions, from running schools and places of worship to holding private prayer meetings and providing aid to marginalized communities. The London-based religious freedom watchdog has documented cases of employment discrimination and barriers to business.
Some, Kankhwende added, are even coerced into adopting religious practices or dress codes that do not align with their beliefs. “Religious minorities are being forced into fear and submission,” she said. If these trends continue, she cautioned, India risks losing the pluralism that once defined its independence movement—an outcome far removed from the vision of its founding leaders.
Kankhwende said India’s discriminatory laws and policies were having a “cumulative negative effect” on religious minorities. CSW, she noted, was particularly concerned about efforts by both state and national authorities to weaken the position of religious minorities.
Kashmir, surveillance and dissent
In the Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir, where the BJP government revoked the region’s autonomy in 2019, advocacy groups noted that journalists and activists have faced repeated arrests and restrictions on their movement.
Meanwhile, in Manipur, a northeastern state that has witnessed over 20 months of ethnic violence, more than 250 people have been killed since 2023. Detailing India’s democratic backsliding, the letter from advocacy groups brings to the European Commission President’s notice that the federal and state governments have failed to restore peace or hold those responsible for the violence accountable.
According to rights organizations, the BJP government has also used technology to suppress dissent. The country, they noted, leads the world in internet shutdowns, frequently imposing blackouts during protests or times of unrest.
The government’s surveillance capabilities have expanded through the Personal Data Protection Act and the Information Technology Act, which allow authorities to monitor citizens and restrict online content. In addition, they raised concerns over reports indicating that India has used Pegasus, the spyware produced by the Israel-based company NSO Group, to surveil activists and political opponents.
Assassinations, foreign media, and diaspora
The letter also raises concerns about India’s actions beyond its borders. In October 2024, Canada accused Indian agents of orchestrating the assassinations of dissidents whom the Modi administration brands as separatists and terrorism suspects on Canadian soil.
Similar allegations have surfaced in the United States, where an Indian government employee has been charged over a failed plot to kill a prominent Sikh advocate in New York, and in Pakistan, where Indian intelligence has been linked to multiple assassinations.
Advocacy groups say these cases have intensified scrutiny of India’s covert operations abroad. Meanwhile, Indian authorities have reportedly moved against foreign journalists and critics in the diaspora by revoking visas and denying entry.
Demands from advocacy groups
Toward the end, the document—backed by 12 prominent advocacy groups—expresses growing alarm over the European Union’s reluctance to publicly condemn what they describe as a profound human rights crisis in India. While the EU has struggled in the past to hold India accountable for democratic backsliding, leading rights organizations are now urging President von der Leyen to adopt a firmer and more consistent approach. They warn that Brussels must not allow strategic interests to overshadow fundamental human rights in its dealings with New Delhi.
Francavilla from Human Rights Watch, when asked about the EU’s human rights dialogues with India, said such discussions should not be reduced to ‘box-ticking exercises’ that shield high-level meetings from addressing difficult issues. He argued that the EU’s sporadic and narrow focus on rights fails to capture the scale and severity of repression in India—particularly against minorities, peaceful critics, and human rights defenders.
While acknowledging that the EU has faced its own share of criticism over human rights, Francavilla emphasized that this should not prevent Brussels from calling out abuses elsewhere. “You need not be perfect to raise human rights concerns, and a mature relationship with India—between two of the world’s biggest ‘democracies’—should allow space for reciprocal scrutiny, including in public.”
For European Commissioners and President von der Leyen, who are set to arrive in New Delhi on February 27, the message is clear — press Indian authorities to release jailed human rights defenders and peaceful critics, amend or repeal laws restricting free expression and assembly, and end discriminatory policies against religious minorities.
The letter also calls for an independent investigation into the violence in Manipur and the repeal of laws long criticized for enabling arbitrary detentions and obstructing justice, including the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, the National Security Act, and the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. The groups are urging the Indian government to address systemic violence against marginalized communities, including Dalits and Adivasis, and to ensure accountability for gender-based violence.
Concerns over press freedom are raised, with these rights groups urging India to withdraw restrictive regulations like the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, which critics argue stifle free speech. They are also calling for an end to retaliatory actions against foreign journalists, including visa restrictions and residency permit revocations.
The letter concludes with a call for greater accountability, urging India to implement recommendations from international human rights bodies, including the UN Human Rights Committee and the Universal Periodic Review. Without clear benchmarks for progress, the groups warn, the EU risks legitimizing an increasingly authoritarian government in India at the expense of fundamental rights. They argue that human rights must be at the heart of Brussels’ partnership with India, not an afterthought in diplomatic negotiations.
Kankhwende, from CSW, said that while India has institutions in place to uphold the rule of law, under Narendra Modi, it is beginning to resemble an elected autocracy. “CSW, alongside other NGOs, will continue to call on the EU to hold India to account for human rights violations,” she added.
She acknowledged that economic interests had played a significant role in Brussels’ reluctance to speak out. “The EU’s economic interests in India are certainly a key reason for its hesitance to address the human rights situation,” she said. While stronger economic ties could, in theory, create opportunities to raise sensitive issues, she added, the EU often fails to pursue this, even when the frameworks and leverage are available.
