Overview

The human rights situation sharply deteriorated as authorities continued their assault on dissent. Sedition and anti-terror laws were used to criminalize journalists, comedians, academics and students exercising their right to freedom of expression. Social media platforms were ordered to block dissenting voices. Peaceful protesters were detained. Journalists and activists were arrested and prosecuted, while those already detained, such as the Bhima Koregaon activists, Umar Khalid and other Muslim activists remained behind bars. Religious and ethnic minorities faced escalating persecution, including Muslims targeted through discriminatory laws on marriage. Mass forced evictions of Muslims in Assam state left thousands homeless and punitive demolitions in Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir continued. Rohingyas and Bengali-origin Muslims were unlawfully deported or pushed back, and new immigration rules stripped asylum seekers of protection. Environment policy changes dismantled safeguards for Indigenous Peoples, exposing them to displacement. Floods, landslides and heatwaves continued to claim hundreds of lives, underscoring the government’s failure to act decisively to address the climate crisis. Climate policies and targets remained “highly insufficient”, and coal reliance persisted. Caste-based violence against Dalits continued.