Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned that India’s treatment of religious minorities and government critics reached “deeply troubling levels” in 2025, driven by discriminatory policies, hate speech, and politically motivated prosecutions.
In its newly released World Report 2026, the global rights organization said the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government fostered hostility toward religious minorities throughout 2025 and expelled hundreds of Bengali-speaking Muslims and Rohingya refugees after labeling them “illegal immigrants.”
The report states that authorities intensified crackdowns on critics and pressured media outlets into self-censorship, enabling a rise in human rights abuses by officials and BJP supporters alike.
Elaine Pearson, HRW’s Asia Director, said the Indian government has “normalized violence” against minorities, marginalized groups, and dissenters through discriminatory governance, inflammatory rhetoric, and arbitrary prosecutions. Rather than positioning itself as a global defender of human rights, she said, the government has damaged India’s international standing.
The 529-page report examines human rights conditions in more than 100 countries. In his foreword, HRW Executive Director Philippe Bolopion said the spread of authoritarian tendencies worldwide represents one of the most pressing challenges of this generation. Amid growing threats to the global human rights framework—including from the Trump administration and other major powers—he urged democratic governments and civil societies to build strategic alliances to safeguard fundamental freedoms.
The report also highlights escalating tensions in April last year, when a militant attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir triggered four days of armed conflict between India and Pakistan. In the aftermath, Indian authorities temporarily silenced independent media and dissenting analysts, arrested dozens for social media posts, and filed cases against scholars and satirists.
Hate speech linked to Hindu nationalist groups and attacks on Muslims surged during the year. Officials demolished Muslim-owned homes and property without due process, claiming they were illegally built, associated with militants, or occupied by “illegal immigrants”—actions HRW says contravened Supreme Court directives.
In September, protests over demands for greater autonomy in Ladakh turned violent, prompting police to fatally shoot four demonstrators. Protesters set fire to a police vehicle and a BJP office. Authorities imposed temporary mobile internet shutdowns and later arrested teacher and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act in what HRW describes as a politically motivated move.
The report further notes that several activists, including students, remain detained without formal charges under stringent counterterrorism laws. Civil society groups, opposition politicians, and rights defenders have faced harassment through the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), counterterrorism provisions, and what HRW calls “fabricated financial investigations.”
India’s Election Commission has also faced rising allegations of bias from opposition figures and human rights advocates, including claims of voter roll irregularities and electoral manipulation.
HRW urged Indian authorities to halt discriminatory policies and inflammatory rhetoric against Muslims, Christians, and other religious minorities; prosecute those responsible for hate crimes; and ensure justice for victims. It also called for an end to harassment of peaceful protesters, civil society organizations, and political opponents, along with the withdrawal of all politically motivated cases against activists and critics.
Source: Human Rights Watch.