India Persecution Tracker | 2024/4

Overview of human rights abuses and violations against India’s religious minorities from 1 May to 31 August, 2024.

During the period under review, May to August 2024, India concluded the seven-phase General Election (GE) to its national parliament. The election period was marked by a significant worsening of anti-minority rhetoric and other abuses, with the top leadership of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, demonising and dehumanising India’s Muslims while seeking votes. There were also serious violations of electoral integrity, as India’s once-vaunted Election Commission (ECI) acted like a virtual arm of the government.

The results of the GE, announced on 4 June, confirmed that the BJP had emerged, yet again, as the largest single party. Since then, the BJP has formed a government, in coalition with other members of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) bloc that it leads. The BJP’s reduced margin of victory (securing only 240 seats out of 543 on its own, compared to 303 in 2019) led several commentators to remark that India’s democracy had triumphed, and that a resurgent opposition—along with less-sectarian members of the ruling alliance—would act as a bulwark against the BJP government’s authoritarian impulses, as well as human rights abuses against Muslims and other minorities.

Instead, the BJP quickly appeared to signal that it was unwilling to relent: within ten days of the election results, authorities in Delhi sanctioned the prosecution of prominent writer Arundhati Roy and academic Showkat Hussain over allegedly contentious speeches they had made in Kashmir in 2010, and registered a case against four journalists in Delhi who had alleged that they had been assaulted by a Hindu mob while reporting in 2020. During the swearing-in ceremony for new parliamentarians a BJP MP ended his oath by hailing a Hindu Rashtra (Nation). Notably, for the first time ever in India’s history, there is not a single Muslim, Christian or Sikh MP in the ruling alliance.

Indeed, the situation for India’s minorities, particularly Muslims, has significantly deteriorated since May ‘24. Below are some of the highlights from the period under review:

  • Major abuses by state actors included extrajudicial killings of Muslims (Kashmir, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand), and their arbitrary arrests and detention on various pretexts across the country, torture, punitive and arbitrary demolition and attachment of property (Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh), and the advocacy of religious hatred amounting to incitement. BJP-led state governments in Assam and Uttar Pradesh announced discriminatory policy measures targeting Muslims. Extrajudicial killings of Adivasis too occurred in the reporting period (Chhattisgarh)
  • Hindu extremist non-state actors with close links to the BJP also escalated their violent targeting of minorities –  at least 12 Muslims, an Adivasi Christian woman, and a Hindu youth mistaken for a Muslim, were murdered in cases of religiously-motivated mob lynching. Religiously-motivated mass violence against Muslims was reported from five states, on various pretexts, resulting in dozens of injuries. Muslims in at least four states faced ‘retaliatory’ attacks following reports of anti-Hindu violence in neighbouring Bangladesh. At least 132 more individuals, mostly Muslims, were injured in other religiously-motivated hate crimes, including by self-styled vigilantes emboldened by India’s cow-protection laws. The perpetrators of such violence continued to be accommodated, rewarded, and promised protection by BJP leaders.
  • Hate speech and the use of communal rhetoric demonising and dehumanising minorities, particularly Muslims, reached a fever pitch in May, during the elections campaign period, before moderating in June and July. In August, following reports of anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh, the advocacy of religious hatred spiked again, particularly in states that are heading for provincial elections in the coming months. Between August and May, we documented a total of 112 ‘top’ level hate speeches, each constituting direct incitement to hostility, discrimination, or violence.
  • Against this backdrop, India’s domestic mechanisms continued to largely fail to ensure effective remedy and accountability for these and past abuses, with state institutions and the criminal justice system remaining skewed towards powerful Hindu nationalist interests, and against minorities.
  • In July, the UN Human Rights Committee reviewed India’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), after a gap of 28 years. After a two-day long dialogue during which Indian officials resorted to denials and obfuscation of facts, the Committee issued a strong set of recommendations relating to, inter alia, violence against religious minorities, gender-based violence, the use of counter-terror and other national security laws to suppress dissent, and high levels of corruption. (See our statement on the Committee’s Concluding Observations here.)
Key figures (1 May to 31 August, 2024):
State Actors

18
extra-judicial killings by state actors. (6 Muslims, 12 Adivasis)

100+
instances of arbitrary arrest or detention.

10
Muslims grievously injured in ‘half encounters’ by police in Uttar Pradesh. (24+ since February 2024)

Dozens of
punitive demolitions or attachment of Muslims’ property across Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

NON-STATE ACTORS

12 Muslim men, 1 Adivasi Christian woman, 1 Hindu man
killed in mob lynching incidents by suspected Hindu extremists.

5
states where religiously-motivated mass violence by Hindu extremists was reported.

4
states where Indian Muslims faced ‘retaliatory’ attacks following reports of anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh.

132+
injured in other religiously-motivated hate crimes by Hindu extremists.

During the period under review, violent actions by state actors led to at least 18 deaths in various parts of India. Twelve Adivasis, labelled as Maoist insurgents by police, were shot dead in Chhattisgarh, though locals claim they were innocent villagers. In Kashmir, a Muslim man allegedly died due to custodial torture. Assam saw the deaths of two unarmed Muslim men shot by forest guards, and another Muslim man reportedly being drowned while in police custody. Uttar Pradesh witnessed the death of a Muslim woman during a beef raid by police, and in Uttarakhand, a Muslim man died after being allegedly thrown into a pond by the state police’s cattle protection squad.

Kashmiri Muslim man dies in police custody, allegedly due to torture

5 June, 2024 (Pulwama, Kashmir): A 38-year-old Kashmiri Muslim man (Imtiyaz Ahmad Pala) died in police custody, allegedly as a result of torture. The victim’s family alleged that the victim’s body bore signs of torture, and that the police threatened them with posthumous framing of the victim on militancy or drug-related charges.

Unnamed polices sources quoted in a news report later claimed that the victim passed away after his condition ‘deteriorated’ during his interrogation in connection with a drug-related case.

No arrests have been reported in connection with the death. 

Two unarmed Muslim men shot dead by forest guards in Assam

22 June, 2024 (Nagaon, Assam): Two unarmed Muslim men (Samaruddin, Abdul Jalil) were shot dead in a wildlife sanctuary by state forest guards who reportedly suspected them of being poachers. The victims, who were brothers, received bullet injuries to the chest.

The state Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who ordered a probe into the incident, claimed that the victims were ‘trespassers’ who were shot in self-defence’. Under Sarma, who has been CM since 2021, Assam has seen over 50 extrajudicial killings of Muslims by state police.

Muslim woman dies of ‘panic attack’ during beef raid at her house

27 August, 2024 (Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh): A 55-year-old Muslim woman (Razia) died amidst a raid being conducted at her residence by police officials. Police had reportedly received a tip-off that beef was being stored in the premises.

The victim’s family alleged that police barged into their home, ransacked the household, and misbehaved with the residents, leading her to have a ‘panic attack’ that resulted in her death.

Police insisted that the death was unrelated to the raid, and instead blamed the victim’s asthma condition as the cause of her death. The four police constables who had conducted the raid—and failed to find any beef—were temporarily withdrawn from field duties. An inquiry has been ordered.

Muslim man dies while in police custody; police claim he ‘slipped and fell’

24 August, 2024 (Nagaon, Assam): A 24-year-old Muslim man (Tafazul Islam) died in police custody, reportedly while he has being taken to a crime scene. The victim had earlier been arrested and accused in a case relating to the gangrape of a 14-year-old girl.

Police claim the man ‘slipped and fell’ into a pond and drowned while attempting to escape as he was being taken to the crime scene for investigation.

The gangrape had been followed by multiple calls by extremist groups for the expulsion of Miya (Bengali-speaking) Muslims from Assam. On the same night as Islam’s death, around a dozen Muslim labourers in another district had been assaulted by armed men. State Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has, in recent months, doubled down on his hateful rhetoric against Assam’s Miya Muslim community. (see section on Advocacy of religious hatred)

Muslim man dies after being flung into pond by Uttarakhand Police’s cattle protection squad

28 August, 2024 (Haridwar, Uttarakhand): A 24-year-old Muslim gym trainer (Wasim Qureshi) died after he was reportedly thrown into a pond by members of Uttarakhand Police’s cattle protection squad.

Police claimed that the six-member police squad was patrolling the area in search of cattle smugglers, and that the victim had jumped into the pond while trying to evade them.

The victim’s family alleged that he had been apprehended and assaulted by six police officials before being flung into the pond. They have further alleged that the victim’s legs were found tied, and that there were injury marks on his face. While three FIRs were reportedly registered in connection with the incident, they pertained to charges of cow smuggling, assaulting the police, and sharing communally sensitive material online. The family’s complaints of murder against the police were reportedly not registered.

Twelve Adivasis shot dead by police in ‘encounter’ in Chhattisgarh

10 May, 2024 (Bijapur, Chhattisgarh): 12 Adivasis were shot and killed, in what police claimed was a security forces operation against left-wing extremist militants.

Locals, however, alleged that those killed were innocent tribals who had been picked up from two villages, branded militants, and subsequently shot dead. They further alleged that among those killed were at least two minors, including one with an unsound mind.

Police have denied these allegations, and claimed that those killed were armed extremists who had a collective bounty of ₹ 4.1 million (around $50,000) on their heads.

Chhattisgarh is one of several provinces where the Indian state has been in a protracted non-international armed conflict with left-wing extremists. More than 2100 civilians have been reported killed in the conflict since 2010, with both security forces and armed rebels being accused of grave human rights abuses. Violence has spiked since late-2023, when a BJP government assumed power in the state. As of May 2024, official figures had put the number of alleged militants killed at 104, up from 30 for the whole of 2023. Civil society groups have alleged that more than 50 of those killed were unarmed tribal villagers.

During the period under review, there were 12 reported instances of communally-motivated mob lynching, across six states, resulting in a total of 14 deaths. The victims included 12 Muslims, an Adivasi Christian woman, and a Hindu youth who had reportedly been mistaken for a Muslim. The assailants in all cases were suspected Hindu extremists who are alleged to have targeted the victims specifically for their religious identity. Six of the killings were carried out by self-styled ‘cow vigilantes’.

(Additionally, in incidents where a communal motive is yet to be alleged by witnesses or police, three Muslim clerics were murdered across Uttar Pradesh and three Hindus were lynched across West Bengal. Also lynched were two Adivasi labourers in Gujarat, and an Adivasi teacher in Tripura.)

14 killed by suspected Hindu extremists, across six states (12 Muslims, 1 Christian, 1 Hindu)

  • 7 June, 2024 (Raipur, Chhattisgarh): Three Muslim men who were transporting buffaloes from Uttar Pradesh to Odisha were accosted and lynched by Hindu extremists. While two of the victims (Chand Miya Khan and Guddu Khan) were found dead, the third victim (Saddam Qureishi) succumbed to his injuries ten days later in hospital.

    Four men were reportedly arrested in connection with the murders, including a leader of the BJP’s student wing. Hindu extremists launched mass protests seeking the release of the accused men. One of the protests was reportedly led by BJP MLA Mukta Raja.

    Later, in August, the police’s Special Investigation Team that had probed the case alleged in its chargesheet that the three victims were not assaulted but had ‘jumped’ to their deaths.

  • 18 June, 2024 (Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh): A 35-year-old Muslim man (Mohd Fareed, also known as Aurangzeb) was lynched by a Hindu mob that reportedly suspected him of theft.

    Four arrests were reported in connection with the murder. 11 days after the incident, police registered an FIR against the victim and six other Muslim men on charges of dacoity and assaulting a woman.

    A civil society fact-finding report found that the mob that had attacked Fareed had specifically confirmed his Muslim identity before assaulting him. The report further alleged that the murder probe was being delayed in a bid to protect the accused.

  • 22 June, 2024 (Diyodar, Gujarat): A Muslim truck driver (Mishri Khan Baloch) was lynched to death by Hindu extremists, reportedly after he was accosted while transporting cattle.

    The victim’s family and other locals alleged that the assailants belonged to an extortion gang that targets vehicles transporting animals, and that they had initially demanded a bribe from him.

    While 13 arrests were reported, police have refused to characterise the case as a lynching. Of the five main accused in the case, one had been involved in another similar incident in July 2023, when a Muslim man had been assaulted by cow vigilantes.

  • 22 June, 2024 (Anand, Gujarat): A 23-year-old Muslim man (Salman Vohra) was lynched by a mob at a cricket tournament. Witnesses alleged that Muslim players had been heckled by Hindus among the crowd for performing well, and that the victim was assaulted with cricket bats and knives.

    Nine arrests were reported, but witnesses alleged that two men who led the assault – including one who is reportedly related to a BJP MLA –  were not arrested.

  • 24 June, 2024 (Dantewada, Chhattisgarh): An Adivasi Christian woman was murdered by her relatives who reportedly disputed her claim to family land following her conversion to Christianity.

    Two arrests were reported. The victim’s sister, who had also converted to Christianity, alleged that the police denied permission for a Christian funeral in the village.

  • 26 June, 2024 (Kolkata, WB): A Muslim man (Irshad Alam) was tied up and lynched by a mob that accused him of theft. The victim, a TV mechanic, was rescued by police and taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

  • 2 July, 2024 (Koderma, Jharkhand): A Muslim cleric (Maulana Sahabuddin) was lynched by a mob, reportedly after his bike collided with a woman and caused her minor injuries.

    While the victim’s family alleged that he was targeted on the basis of his religious identity, police refused to treat the case as a communally-motivated lynching. The state Chief Minister assured ‘full justice’, but no arrests have been reported so far.

  • 4 July, 2024 (Shamli, UP): A Muslim man (Firoz Qureshi) was beaten to death by a mob that reportedly accused him of theft.

    A day after the incident, police registered an FIR against two journalists and three others – all Muslims – for allegedly promoting religious enmity by sharing ‘malicious’ posts and false information about the killing.

    An FIR has also been registered in connection with the killing (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), but no arrests have been reported. Police have reportedly denied the lynching claims, and instead foregrounded aspects of the victim’s ‘drug addiction’ and ‘unruly behaviour’ in their public statements to media.

  • 7 July, 2024 (Ranchi, Jharkhand): A 30-year-old Muslim man (Akhtar Ansari) was lynched by a mob that reportedly accused him of stealing a goat.

    Police have registered an FIR in connection with the killing (murder), but have denied that the killing was communally-motivated. No arrests have been reported.

  • 30 July, 2024 (Pakur, Jharkhand): A 22-year-old Muslim man (Samiul Sheikh) was beaten to death by a mob that accused him of theft. A group of villagers had found the victim wounded and taken him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

    Three arrests were reported.

  • 27 August, 2024 (Charkhi Dadri, Haryana): A Bengali Muslim migrant worker was lynched by a Hindu mob that accused him of cooking and consuming beef.

    A witness alleged that he and the victim had been lured to a shop by the assailants, where they were assaulted. While the witness managed to escape, the victim’s body was later found near the shanties where he lived.

    Five people were arrested and two minors were detained in connection with the incident.

  • 3 September, 2024 (Faridabad, Haryana): A 17-year-old Hindu youth travelling in a car was chased and killed by alleged ‘cow vigilantes’ who reportedly mistook him for a Muslim cattle smuggler.

    The five assailants, who have since been arrested, opened fire at the car, first hitting the victim near the neck and then in the chest. One of the attackers was later reported to have expressed remorse for ‘killing a Brahmin’.

    Police denied social media reports that the assailants belonged to Haryana’s official cow protection force. However, at least one of the assailants is known to have previously worked closely with police in ‘cattle smuggling’ cases.

The period under review was marked by arbitrary arrests and detentions of Muslims and Christians under multiple pretexts. In Assam, dozens of Muslim were declared non-citizens and sent to mass detention camps.

25+ Muslims arrested or detained across the country on various pretexts

Throughout the period under review, Muslims across the country continued to be arrested or detained on various, spurious charges. Some reported instances included:

  • 15 June, 2024 (Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh): A Muslim café-owner was arrested – and his café sealed – for allegedly selling beef burgers, reportedly upon the complaint of a Bajrang Dal leader.
  • 23 June, 2024 (Kushinagar, UP): Nine Muslims were arrested for offering Eid prayers on government land, on charges of promoting enmity between religious groups. Two Hindus, including the village head, were also arrested, apparently for not stopping the Muslims from praying. Police claim that the land is the site of a dispute between Muslims and Hindus, and that authorities had prohibited any activity there.
  • 28 June, 2024 (Bharuch, Gujarat): Two Muslim clerics were arrested on charges of promoting enmity between religious groups, after they allegedly made social media posts describing the rules of animal sacrifice as per Islamic law. 
  • 24 June, 2024 (Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand): Muslim woman arrested for allegedly storing beef in her home.
  • 13 July, 2024 (Darbhanga, Bihar): Three Muslims were arrested after they reportedly waved a Palestinian flag at a Muharram procession.
  • 17 July, 2024 (Nawada, Bihar): Two Muslims were arrested after they reportedly waved a Palestinian flag at a Muharram procession.
  • 20 July, 2024 (Raipur, Chhattisgarh): Muslim woman arrested for allegedly storing beef in her home.
  • 23 July, 2024 (Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh): Four Muslim men arrested for waving Palestine flag during Muharram procession.
  • 15 August, 2024 (Cachar, Assam): A Muslim youth was arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, after he was accosted by Hindu extremists while speaking to a Hindu girl, accusing him of involvement in ‘love jihad’. Despite video evidence of the incident, the assailants were not arrested.
  • 31 August, 2024 (Barpeta, Assam): A 31-year-old Muslim man was arrested after he uploaded a protest song on YouTube critiquing the discriminatory treatment faced by Assam’s Bengali-speaking Muslims.

59+ Christians arrested across the country under anti-conversion laws

India’s stringent anti-conversion laws, which are now in place in 12 states, continued to be weaponised against Christians. During the period under review, we documented 59 arrests under these laws, all in BJP-governed states.

  • 5 May, 2024 (Noida, Uttar Pradesh): 6 Christians arrested over accusations of being part of ‘conversion racket’.
  • 7-23 June, 2024 (Uttar Pradesh): 14 Christians arrested in UP over accusations of ‘conversion activities.
  • 5 July, 2024 (Bharatpur, Rajasthan): 28 Christians (including 20 women) detained at prayer meet.
  • 17 July, 2024 (Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh): 3 Christian nurses arrested over allegations of illegal religious conversion.
  • 29 July, 2024 (Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh): Two Christians, including a pastor, arrested on charges of ‘forceful conversions’.
  • 29 August, 2024 (Betul, Madhya Pradesh): 6 Christians arrested for alleged religious conversions.

Also arrested under conversion laws was a Muslim woman in Thane (Maharashtra), whose mother alleged that she had been ‘brainwashed’ into converting to Islam. The woman was arrested along with another person. (Also see section on Religious Freedom for more on the abuse of provincial-level anti-conversion laws.)

During the period under review, state police forces in Uttar Pradesh continued to injure Muslims in staged ‘half-encounter’ shootings. India also saw a significant escalation in communal mob violence and communally-motivated hate crimes, particularly since the conclusion of the 2024 General Election.

During the period under review, Uttar Pradesh police continued its suspected staged ‘encounters’ that have disproportionately targeted Muslims.
(Additionally, there were also three suspected cases of custodial death as a result of torture by police, across the country. See section on Deprivation of Life.)

UP Police grievously injure 10 more Muslims in continuing ‘half-encounter’ shootings

During the period under review, police forces in Uttar Pradesh shot at and injured at least 10 alleged ‘cattle smugglers’, in seven separate instances across the state. The victims in each case were Muslims, who sustained bullet injuries in the leg before being ‘apprehended’ by police officials in the presence of media.

These 10 shootings, known as ‘half encounters’ in local parlance, were in addition to at least 15 other similar shootings we have documented so far this year, all in Uttar Pradesh. It is widely alleged that many, if not most, such shootings are staged by police, usually against individuals already in their custody.

Since 2017, when the BJP’s Yogi Adityanath assumed charge as the state’s Chief Minister, UP Police has shot and killed over 190 individuals—disproportionately Muslims—in such alleged staged ‘encounters’, as part of his ‘thok do’ (knock down) policy, purportedly to curb crime. By April 2023, they were also reported to have injured 5,046 individuals in ‘half-encounter’ shootings not resulting in death.

‘Half-encounters’ reported since May included:

  • 11 June, 2024 (Hafiz Ganj, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh): Police fired at an alleged “cattle smuggler” who sustained bullet injury in leg.
  • 16 June, 2024 (Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh): Police fired at an alleged “cattle smuggler” who sustained bullet injury in leg.
  • 19 June, 2024 (Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh): Police fired at an alleged cattle smuggler, who sustained a bullet injury in his leg.
  • 20 June, 2024 (Mathura, Uttar Pradesh): Police fired at two alleged ‘cattle smugglers’ who sustained bullet injuries in the leg.
  • 25 June, 2024 (Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh): Police fired at an alleged cattle smuggler, who sustained a bullet injury in his leg.
  • 28 June, 2024 (Rampur, Uttar Pradesh): Police fired at two alleged ‘cattle smugglers’ who received bullet injury in the legs.
  • 30 June, 2024 (Khushinagar, Uttar Pradesh): Police fired at two alleged ‘cattle smugglers’ who received bullet injury in the legs.

During the period under review, episodes of religiously-motivated mass violence initiated by Hindu extremists were reported from five states, mostly around or during Muslim festivals, resulting in dozens of injuries. Reports of anti-Hindu violence in neighbouring Bangladesh in August were followed by ‘retaliatory’ attacks against India’s Muslims in at least four states. And throughout the period under review, Muslims and Christians, including the Dalits and Adivasis among them, continued to be violently targeted on various other pretexts, such as cow protection, religious conversion, and inter-faith relationships.

Dozens of Muslims injured in religiously-motivated mass violence by Hindu extremists across five states

Throughout the period under review, episodes of religiously-motivated mass violence initiated by Hindu extremists were reported from five states, resulting in dozens of injuries. Reported instances included:

  • 15 June, 2024 (Medak, Telangana): Ahead of Baqr Eid, Hindu extremists violently attacked Muslim men transporting cattle from an Islamic seminary to a slaughter house, leading to communal clashes that resulted in dozens of injuries.

    Amid the violence, Hindu extremists reportedly attacked a hospital and injured a doctor, apparently for treating a Muslim patient.

    Local Muslims alleged that they were transporting only oxen (which is legal in Telangana), while Hindu groups claimed that 90% of the cattle were cows.

    Around 30 men have been arrested so far. All 16 Hindu accused, including the BJP’s district and town-level presidents and the local president of the BJP’s youth wing, were granted bail, after a BJP MP appeared as a lawyer on their behalf. All 14 Muslim accused were denied bail.

  • 17 June, 2024 (Balasore, Odisha): In Odisha, where a BJP-led government assumed power at the state level, communal violence was reported from several locations in Balasore district, after Hindu extremists objected to animal slaughter during Eid.

    At least 20 persons were injured in the violence. Police claimed that 34 individuals were arrested, but did not specify whether the arrested included Hindu extremists who initiated the violence.

  • 18 June, 2024 (Nahan, HP): A Muslim-owned textile shop was vandalised by a large Hindu mob after the shop owner allegedly posted a WhatsApp video showing animal slaughter during Eid. The mob subsequently attacked several other shops in the vicinity owned by Muslims.

    A video of the attack showed that it was carried out in the presence of police personnel who refused to intervene.

    Three Hindu men who were seen on video inciting the violence later openly threatened further violence a week later. The men are yet to be arrested.

    Local alleged that all 16 Muslim shop owners in the area were forced to shut their businesses and flee.

  • 19 June, 2024 (Jodhpur, Rajasthan): Communal violence erupted after Hindu extremists protested the construction of a gate behind an eidgah. At least two policemen were injured in the violence, and a shop was set on fire.

    51 individuals were reportedly arrested.

  • 15 July, 2024 (Kolhapur, Maharashtra): Amid an anti-encroachment drive targeting a small Muslim-majority hamlet, Hindu extremists destroyed dozens of houses and vehicles owned by Muslims. A mosque too was reportedly targeted. At least six civilians and 12 policemen were reported to have sustained injuries.

    The violence occurred in Gajapur, a Muslim-concentration area at the foothills of the Vishalgad Fort, a historical fort used during the Maratha Empire. A few days before the violence, Hindu extremist leader and former MP Sambhaji Raje had called for the removal of ‘encroachments’ from the area, and also asked his followers to march to the area. The police are known to have detained 21 individuals in connection with the violence and vandalism, but no action is known to have been initiated against Raje.

  • 18 August, 2024 (Udaipur, Rajasthan): After reports that a 15-year-old Muslim school boy had stabbed his Hindu classmate, Hindu extremists ransacked dozens of Muslim-owned shops, and shouted slogans outside mosques. Authorities later took the boy and his father into custody, and razed the rented home in which they were living.

  • 25 August, 2024 (Bhilwara, Rajasthan): After reports that a cow’s severed tail was found near a temple, Hindu extremists pelted stones at Muslim-owned houses and vandalised Muslim-owned shops. At least two Muslims were also assaulted. Eight arrests were reported.

Dozens of Muslims injured in ‘retaliatory’ attacks in four states following reports of anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh

Reports of violence against Hindus in Bangladesh, in the aftermath of the student protests that had culminated in the resignation of the nation’s Prime Minister, resulted in multiple ‘retaliatory’ attacks against Muslims in India. Reported incidents included:

  • 8 August, 2024 (Shastri Park, New Delhi): Hindu extremists reportedly led by Daksh Chaudhary of the Hindu Raksha Dal assaulted Muslim scrap collectors, falsely accusing them of being illegal Bangladeshi migrants. The assailants, who live streamed the incident, claimed that the attacks were in retaliation for the targeting of Hindus in Bangladesh.

  • 9 August, 2024 (Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh): Hindu extremists, led by Pinki Chaudhary who heads the Hindu Raksha Dal, assaulted dozens of Muslim slum-dwellers and sent their shanties on fire. Witnesses alleged that the attackers asked the residents about their religious identity and spared the Hindus among them. The assailants again justified the attack as being in retaliation for the targeting of Hindus in Bangladesh. Police, who confirmed that the victims were not Bangladeshis, arrested Chaudhary and some of his associates.

  • 10 August, 2024 (Odisha): Violent attacks against Bengali-speaking Muslim labourers were reported from at least four districts (Jagpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Sambalpur). In one such incident, in Sambalpur, workers of the BJP’s youth wing are alleged to have illegally detained 34 individuals and ‘handed them over’ to the police, who released them after confirming they were not Bangladeshis.

  • 16 August, 2024 (Maharashtra): Violence and stone-pelting were reported from four districts during protests by Sakal Hindu Samaj against alleged atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh. The Sakal Hindu Samaj’s protests coincided with protests local Muslims had organised against derogatory remarks a popular Hindu priest had made against Islam’s Prophet Mohammad. Clashes between the protestors resulted in dozens of injuries.

Reports of anti-Hindu atrocities in Bangladesh also caused a spike in anti-Muslim hate speech across India. (See section on Advocacy of Religious Hatred)

132+ injured in other violent assaults by Hindu extremists across India

During the period under review, religious minority Muslims and Christians continued to face violent attacks by Hindu extremists, including many with close links to the ruling BJP, and often in collusion with police forces. Attacks against Muslims continued to be fuelled by cow protection laws that are now in place in 20 of India’s states, and attacks against Christians continued to be fuelled by anti-conversion laws now active in 11 states.

  • 3 May, 2024 (Ahmednagar, Maharashtra): Two truck drivers were assaulted by Hindu extremists for allegedly transporting cattle.
  • 17 May, 2024 (Jaipur, Rajasthan): Two men were assaulted by Hindu extremists for allegedly transporting cattle.
  • 2 June, 2024 (Jaipur, Rajasthan): A truck driver assaulted by Hindu extremists for allegedly transporting cattle.
  • 3 June, 2024 (Aligarh, UP): A Muslim man was stripped and assaulted by Hindu extremists for talking to a Hindu girl. The man was later arrested by the police for harassment.
  • 9 June, 2024 (Julana, Haryana): Three men were assaulted by Hindu extremists for allegedly transporting cattle.
  • 10 June, 2024 (Kaithal, Haryana): A 45-year old Sikh man was assaulted by unidentified extremists who referred to him as a ‘Khalistani’. Police claimed the incident was an instance of road rage, and not a religiously-motivated hate crime.
  • 11 June, 2024 (Bangana, Himachal Pradesh): A Muslim businessman was assaulted by Hindu extremists.
  • 12 June, 2024 (Pune, Maharashtra): Three Christians were assaulted by Hindu extremists who accused them of being involved in illegal religious conversions.
  • 13 June, 2024 (Dehradun, Uttarakhand): A Muslim man was assaulted by Hindu extremists who accused him of being with a Hindu girl.
  • 14 June, 2024 (Raichur, Karnataka): A Muslim youth assaulted by Hindu extremists for allegedly transporting cattle.
  • 15 June, 2024 (Mewat, Haryana): Armed Hindu extremists wielding guns stormed into a Muslim-concentration village and assaulted two men, accusing them of slaughtering cattle. A viral video of the incident showed uniformed policemen along with the assailants.
  • 15 June, 2024 (Dhule, Maharashtra): Hindu extremists vandalised a car and assaulted 2+ occupants over allegations they were transporting cattle.
  • 15 June, 2024 (Rourkela, Odisha): Hindu extremists attacked a church and assaulted two Christians pastors, before looting the premises. Police alleged that there was no communal motive behind the attack, claiming that it was only a case of violent robbery.
  • 16 June, 2024 (Khordha, Odisha): Hindu extremists chanting religious slogans barged into a Muslim household and seized the meat in their refrigerator, alleging that it was beef.
  • 17 June, 2024 (Dhule, Maharashtra): Hindu extremists set up a checkpoint to inspect auto-rickshaws, and subsequently ‘handed over’ four rickshaws carrying Muslim passengers to police, alleging that they were transporting beef.
  • 17 June, 2024 (Chandwad, Maharashtra): Two truck drivers were assaulted by Hindu extremists who accused them of transporting cattle.
  • 18 June, 2024 (Faridabad, Haryana): Hindu extremists assaulted a Muslim meat shop owner, as well as two Hindus who were purchasing chicken from the shop.
  • 19 June, 2024 (Basti, Uttar Pradesh): Hindu extremists assaulted a rickshaw driver after accusing him of carrying beef.
  • 22 June, 2024 (Meerut, Uttar Pradesh): Two Muslim men were assaulted by Hindu extremists for allegedly transporting cattle.
  • 24 June, 2024 (Raichur, Karnataka): A truck driver assaulted by Hindu extremists for allegedly transporting cattle.
  • 24 June, 2024 (Mandi, Himachal Pradesh): A truck driver attacked by Hindu extremists for allegedly transporting cattle.
  • 25 June, 2024 (Bundi, Rajasthan): A truck driver was assaulted by Hindu extremists for transporting cattle.
  • 28 June, 2024 (Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh): A truck driver and another occupant were assaulted by Hindu extremists for transporting cattle.
  • 30 June, 2024 (Berhampur, Odisha): A truck driver was assaulted by Hindu extremists for allegedly transporting beef.
  • 30 June, 2024 (Manali, Himachal Pradesh): A truck driver was assaulted by Hindu extremists for allegedly transporting cattle.
  • 30 June, 2024 (Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh): Two Muslim youth were assaulted by a Hindu mob. Police claimed that a fight had arisen over a local dispute, and that the Muslim boys had initiated the fight. Cases were registered against the boys as well as members of the mob.
  • 30 June, 2024 (Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh): A Muslim doctor was assaulted at a petrol station by Hindu extremists who first ascertained his religious identity. Six persons were arrested.
  • 2 July, 2024 (Sadulpur, Rajasthan): Two Hindu men were assaulted by Hindu extremists over false allegations of transporting cattle.
  • 2 July, 2024 (Meerut, UP): A Muslim fruit vendor was assaulted by a Hindu mob.
  • 2 July, 2024 (Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh): Two Muslim truck drivers were assaulted by Hindu extremists for transporting cattle.
  • 6 July, 2024 (Haryana): A Muslim truck driver was assaulted by Hindu extremists for transporting cattle.
  • 8 July, 2024 (Ghazipur, Delhi): 2+ Muslim men were assaulted by Gau Raksha Dal leader Rocky Rana for transporting cattle.
  • 10 July, 2024 (Manglaur, Uttarakhand): 4+ Muslims alleged they were assaulted by Hindu extremists while on their way to cast votes during Assembly bypolls.
  • 14 July, 2024 (Dehradun, Uttarakhand): 5+ members of a Christian family were assaulted inside their home by Hindu extremists who barged into the premises and accused them of illegal religious conversions.
  • 18 July, 2024 (Pali, Rajasthan): An Muslim truck driver was assaulted by Hindu extremists for transporting cattle.
  • 18 July, 2024 (Gurugram, Haryana): A Muslim truck driver was assaulted by cow vigilantes for transporting cattle.
  • 18 July, 2024 (Dhule, Maharashtra): A Muslim truck driver and his assistant were assaulted by Hindu extremists for transporting cattle.
  • 19 July, 2024 (Ajmer, Rajasthan): A Muslim truck driver was assaulted by Hindu extremists for transporting cattle.
  • 19 July, 2024 (Sirohi, Madhya Pradesh): 3+ Muslim truck drivers were assaulted by Hindu extremists for transporting cattle.
  • 20 July, 2024 (Surat, Gujarat): A Muslim man was tied up and assaulted for allegedly slaughtering cattle.
  • 21 July, 2024 (Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh): A Christian pastor assaulted by Hindu extremists who accused him of ‘illegal conversion’.
  • 22 July, 2024 (Pali, Rajasthan): A mini-truck driver was assaulted by Hindu extremists for transporting buffaloes.
  • 28 July, 2024 (Indore, Madhya Pradesh): An inter-faith couple was assaulted at hotel by members of Bajrang Dal.
  • 29 July, 2024 (Mira Road, Mumbai, Maharashtra): Hindu extremists assaulted two Muslim youth for transporting buffalo meat.
  • 29 July, 2024 (Ranchi, Jharkhand): A Muslim youth was assaulted and forced to chant Hindu religious slogans.
  • 11 August, 2024 (Muzaffarpur, Bihar): A Muslim youth was assaulted and forced to chant Hindu religious slogans by Hindu extremists.
  • 15 August, 2024 (Cachar, Assam): A Muslim youth was assaulted by a Hindu mob over allegations that he was involved in ‘love jihad’. Despite video evidence of the incident, no arrests were made for the attack. The victim was later arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
  • 15 August, 2024 (Jamshedpur, Jharkhand): 4 Muslim youths drinking tea at a café were assaulted by Hindu extremists who first ascertained their religious identity. Police denied that the incident had a communal angle.
  • 16 August, 2024 (Spiti, Himachal Pradesh): A Muslim truck driver was assaulted by Hindu extremists for transporting cattle.
  • 17 August, 2024 (Samastipur, Bihar): An elderly Muslim man assaulted by Hindu mob that accused him of transporting cattle.
  • 19 August, 2024 (Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh): A Muslim truck driver and his assistant were assaulted by Hindu extremists for transporting cattle. Both victims were arrested.
  • 20 August, 2024 (Bhilwara, Rajasthan): A truck driver and two passengers were assaulted by Hindu extremists for transporting cattle.
  • 20 August, 2024 (Khordha, Odisha): A truck driver and his assistant were assaulted by Hindu extremists for transporting cattle.
  • 20 August, 2024 (Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh): A Muslim delivery agent was assaulted by four men to whom he had delivered food. The victim alleged that the men held him hostage for over an hour, poured alcohol on him, and subject him to religious abuse. One of the four accused was reported to have been arrested.
  • 21 August, 2024 (Alwar, Rajasthan): A truck driver was assaulted by suspected associates of Monu Manesar for allegedly transporting cattle.
  • 24 August, 2024 (Sirsa-Delhi highway, Haryana): Two truck drivers were assaulted by Hindu extremists for transporting cattle.
  • 24 August, 2024 (Assam): Around a dozen Miya Muslim labourers, who had fled from Nazira town in Choraideo district following calls for the expulsion of Bengali-speaking Muslims from the state, were assaulted by armed men who forced them to chant slogans in support of indigenous Assamese. (see section on Advocacy of Religious Hatred to see how state Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has inflamed ethnic tensions against Bengali-speaking Muslims.)
  • 28 August, 2024 (Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh): Muslim boy assaulted by Hindu mob over allegations of ‘eve teasing’.
  • 28 August, 2024 (Dadri, Haryana): At least six Muslim men assaulted by Hindu extremists who barged into their homes and accused them of cooking beef.
  • 28 August, 2024 (Sivsagar, Assam): 12 Bengali-Muslim labourers stripped and assaulted by Hindu extremists.
  • 31 August, 2024 (Igatpuri, Maharashtra): An elderly Muslim man was assaulted by Hindu extremists aboard a train after being accused of carrying beef. A video of the incident went viral on social media.
  • 31 August, 2024 (Rajkot, Gujarat): Three Muslim men were harassed and assaulted by a Hindu extremist leader.

The perpetrators of such anti-minority violence at the local level are often accommodated and rewarded by the BJP. For example, two elected BJP legislators—T. Raja Singh of Telangana and Nitesh Rane of Maharashtra—have continued to promise protection to Hindus who engage in violence against Muslims in the pursuit of ‘Hindu causes’ such as the protection of cows. In recent months, these legislators as well as the leaders of  ‘cow vigilante’ groups have urged their associates to apply for gun licences en masse. Violent Hindu outfits such as the Bajrang Dal have also continued to organise camps across the country where participants are being distributed weapons and trained in their use. (See section on Advocacy of Religious Hatred).

In other sections of this Tracker, which focuses on the persecution of religious minorities, we highlighted various human rights violations that underlined the intersectional marginalisation faced by women from religious minority communities. These included:

  • The death of a 55-year-old woman in Uttar Pradesh, apparently due to a panic attack, while her house was being raided by police forces in search of beef. (See section on Deprivation of Life – Non-State Actors)
  • The incarceration of 8 Bengali-speaking Muslim women in a mass detention camp in Assam, after they were declared to be non-citizens by a Foreigners Tribunal.  (See section on Arrests and Detentions)
  • The arrest of several Muslim women, on charges such as storing beef in their homes. (See section on Arrests and Detentions)
  • The arrest of around 20 Christian women, and separately, a woman who had recently embraced Islam, for violating India’s draconian anti-conversion laws. (See section on Arrests and Detentions)
  • Continuing religious discrimination and harassment faced by Muslim girls seeking to wear hijab at educational institutions, or offer prayers. (see section on Discrimination in Access to Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights)
  • The lack of remedy for women from tribal communities, many of whom were also Christians, who faced gender-based violence during the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur. (see section on Fair Trial Rights and Lack of Effective Remedy)

The broader pattern of endemic, gender-based violence, including sexual violence, against India’s women and girls—across social groups—received wide attention during the period under review. Deep-rooted flaws in India’s criminal justice system too came to the fore, and received widespread condemnation.

Kolkata Doctor’s Rape and Murder in August, 2024: Institutional Failures

What brought about this renewed attention was the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at a government-run hospital in Kolkata (West Bengal), on 9 August, 2024. The hospital authorities and the Kolkata police initially attempted to portray the death as a suicide, but an autopsy confirmed that the victim had been raped and murdered. There was a delay on the part of hospital authorities in reporting the incident. Moreover, the Kolkata police are also reported to have violated a number of procedural requirements, including a delay of 14 hours in recording a First Information Report (FIR), delay in securing the crime scene and collecting evidence, and not registering the death as unnatural until after the post mortem examination was conducted. As a result, and in the face of widespread public outrage, on 13 August 2024, the Kolkata High Court ordered transfer of the case from the Kolkata Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court noted serious lapses on part of the hospital administration, as well as lack of progress in the police investigation and possible destruction of evidence. Reports also indicate that the alleged perpetrator is a civic police volunteer worker and had unrestricted access to the hospital building as a result.

On 18 August 2024, the Supreme Court of India took suo motu cognizance of the case, focusing on the need for safety laws for medical professionals and doctors. The Supreme Court, on 20 August 2024, ordered the formation of a 10-member National Task Force (NTF) to monitor safety of doctors in India, intended to prevent violence, including gender-based violence against medical professionals; and also provide an enforceable national protocol for dignified and safe working conditions for medical professionals. While the focus of the outrage and the courts was largely on security risks faced by the medical staff in India, the underlying issue of widespread violence against women has been sidelined to a large extent.

Systemic barriers in investigating and prosecuting sexual violence, particularly against women from marginalised communities

In the specific case highlighted above, the public outrage, country-wide protests, and strikes by doctors across the country were instrumental in speeding up response of the authorities. However, in most cases of sexual violence, issues such as non-registration or delayed registration of FIRs, interference with the crime scene and flawed investigations are standard practice. This is particularly so in cases where the victim belongs to a marginalised community. Below, we have set out thirteen such cases that took place just between 19 July 2024 and 26 August 2024. The victims in many of these cases are Dalit women, and often minors. This list is merely illustrative and not exhaustive.

  • 19 July 2024; Gonda, Uttar Pradesh: On the night of Friday, 19 July 2024, two men raped a 16-year-old Dalit girl in Gonda district, Uttar Pradesh. The girl and her mother had gone out of their house to urinate/defecate, when two men came on a motorbike, dragged the girl into a field and raped her. They later fled the scene leaving the motorbike behind, as other villagers approached, alerted by the shouts of the mother.
  • 30 or 31 July 2024; Uttarakhand: A man was arrested for raping and killing a nurse who was returning home from work on the night of 31 July 2024. The nurse, who was missing for over a week, was found to have been raped and strangled, and her head was smashed with a brick.
  • 8 August 2024; Amethi, Uttar Pradesh: A 13-year-old Dalit girl from a village in Amethi district in Uttar Pradesh accused her inebriated father of raping her while she was alone at home on 8 August 2024. She informed the police of the incident after the funeral of her mother, who died on 10 August 2024.
  • 11 August 2024; Muzaffarpur, Bihar: A 14-year-old Dalit girl was murdered in in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar in the night of 11 August 2024. Sanjay Rai, a 45-year-old “upper caste” man from the same village is alleged to have kidnapped the girl and perpetrated the brutal attack along with five others. The attack appears to have followed the refusal of a marriage proposal made by the main accused. The family reported that the girl had dropped out of school due to fear after facing pressure from the main accused to marry him. The girl’s body was found in a pond near her village on 12 August 2024, her legs were tied with a rope and cut marks were found on her neck, head and arms. The police have not yet confirmed allegations made by the girl’s family that she was raped. Some of the perpetrators in this incident have now been arrested by the police.

    Soon after the girl’s body was recovered, local media claimed that the girl’s breasts were cut and there were severe injuries in on her private parts, suggesting rape. These claims were amplified on social media as well, but refuted by the police.
  • 12 August 2024; Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh: Gajendra Singh, a 57-year-old government official in Bulandshahr raped a six-year-old Dalit girl and committed bestiality with a goat. Both incidents were recorded on the phone by a neighbour’s child, a boy of a similar age to the girl. The Uttar Pradesh state government has suspended the official and announced assistance of INR 825,000 to the girl’s family. However, it is yet to be seen if the perpetrator will be held accountable by the criminal justice system.
  • 15/16 August; Nandigram, West Bengal: A 32-year-old woman in Nandigram, West Bengal, was beaten, stripped naked and dragged allegedly by local BJP workers, before being abandoned about 300 meters from her home. Disputing accounts suggest that the assault may be linked to a dispute over water drainage issues, or be linked to political revenge since the assaulted woman and her family had recently shifted their allegiance from the BJP to a different political party, the TMC.
  • 17 August 2024; Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh: A doctor in Moradabad district raped a 20-year-old Dalit nurse working at his hospital. Around midnight while the nurse was on night duty, another nurse and a ward boy told the survivor that the doctor had called her at his residence inside the hospital campus. When she refused to go there, they dragged her to the room and bolted the door from outside. The perpetrator also threatened to kill the nurse if she reported the incident. The doctor and his aides have been arrested by the police.
  • August 2024; Badlapur, Thane, Maharashtra: Two minor girls aged three and four years are reported to have been repeatedly sexually abused by a male attendant over a period of 15 days at their school in Thane district, Maharashtra.
  • 24 August 2024; Dharashiv, Maharashtra: Vijay Ghadge, a 25-year-old man, is accused of intercepting a 15-year-old girl who was on her way to a grocery shop and raping her after inviting her to his house. Reports indicate that four other men were present and two other men also sexually assaulted the girl.

Another factor relevant to note in the aftermath of the 9 August 2024 incident in Kolkata, as well as in some of the other cases listed above is the spread of misinformation about the nature of the crime, particularly via social media. In the case of the Kolkata incident, a Muslim man was wrongfully accused on social media, misinformation was spread about the kind of injuries and assault, and the victim’s name and photographs were also shared on social media, contrary to legal requirements in India. 

The problem of violence against women was most recently highlighted by the UN Human Rights Committee, in its recent Concluding Observations on India’s fourth periodic review under the ICCPR, issued on 25 July 2024. The committee noted with concern the endemic violence against women and girls in India, highlighting the prevalence of gang-rapes and public humiliation of women, noting also that such violence is exacerbated when directed against women and girls inter alia from ethnic and religious minorities and lower castes. 

The endemic nature of this deep-rooted problem is evident from the findings of a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms and New Election Watch, released on 21 August 2024. This report shows that a total of 151 sitting Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly have declared cases of crimes against women, with the BJP having the highest number of such legislators among political parties. 16 of these are cases related to rape.

Another example of the open disregard by elected officials is also evident from recorded statements that have surfaced which are allegedly made by the chief minister of Manipur in connection with the incidents of sexual assault against Kuki women in May 2024, among large scale anti-Kuki violence in that state, which drew global attention and outrage. A voice purportedly belonging to chief minister Biren Singh can be heard making light of the crime and claiming that Meitei civil society groups should have asserted that they were the ones who saved the women, clothed them and sent them home. He was dismissive of the allegations of sexual violence and cast doubts on the testimony of the survivors. As highlighted above, proceedings in these cases remain pending, with investigations not completed or trials yet to begin.

Another trend to highlight is of threats and further violence meant to target and intimidate survivors of sexual violence and their family members. A few examples of cases are set out below, involving brutal violence and gang rape of women and girls belonging to marginalized communities, where police and perpetrators have threatened the survivor and her family members to force them to drop the case or enter a “compromise” with the accused perpetrator:

  • In September 2020, a 19-year-old Dalit girl was gang-raped and brutally assaulted near her home in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. She died in the hospital two weeks later and was forcibly cremated by the Uttar Pradesh police without conducting a proper post mortem examination or collecting evidence. Consequently, three of the accused perpetrators have been acquitted and have returned to the village, living as neighbours of the family, with the family’s own movements being restricted for their own safety. The family has not yet been relocated or given a job as they had been directed by the court in July 2022.
  • In June 2017, former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar along with his driver and other unnamed men raped a 17-year-old Dalit girl in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. The miscarriage of justice in this case has been unabashed and blatant. The police initially conspired with the perpetrator Kuldeep Singh Sengar, a former BJP MLA, to falsely arrest the girl’s father who was killed while in custody. Thereafter, a truck collision in 2019 led to the survivor and her lawyer being seriously injured and two of her relatives being killed. These were only some of the threats and attacks that the survivor and her family members faced. In this case as well, there were a number of public protests at various stages of the case, leading to eventual intervention by the Supreme Court and transfer of associated pending cases to courts in Delhi.
  • In a separate case in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, after being released on bail in July 2024, two persons accused of committing rape killed the rape survivor’s mother and attacked and injured the survivor herself as well as three of her family members. 

  • During the period under review (1 May to 31 August, 2024), we documented 469 instances of hate speech by senior political and religious figures. Of these, 276 (59 per cent) were reported during the 2024 General Election campaigning period.
  • 112 (24 per cent) of these speeches appeared to meet the UN’s threshold for ‘top’ level hate speech. (‘Top’ level hate speech is prohibited by international law, constituting direct incitement to hostility, discrimination, or violence.) 359 (76 per cent) met the threshold for ‘intermediate’ level hate speech. (‘Intermediate’ level hate speech may be prohibited by states—and are prohibited by India—to protect the rights or reputations of others, or for the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health or morals.) All 469 speeches appear to violate India’s domestic laws – these include provisions of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), which applies to election speeches, as well as hate speech provisions in India’s penal code (the Indian Penal Code, as well as Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which replaced the IPC in July.)

Anti-minority hate speech during the 2024 General Election:

  • Top offenders during the election period included Prime Minister Narendra Modi (61 speeches), Home Minister Amit Shah (43 speeches, as well as Yogi Adityanath (73 speeches), Himanta Biswa Sarma (22 speeches), and Pushkar Singh Dhammi (10 speeches), the state Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and Uttarakhand, respectively. None of these speakers faced any meaningful action from the police, electoral authorities, or the courts. (See more detailed coverage of the content of these election-time speeches in our previous Hate Speech Monitor here.)

Post-election trends and developments:

  • While the conclusion of the General Election was followed by a relative lull in the incidence of hate speeches (1.6 hate speeches per day in June and 1.4 in July), the rate of hate speech more than doubled in August (to 3.3 hate speeches per day). This uptick was driven by two main factors: reports of anti-Hindu atrocities in neighbouring Bangladesh, and impending legislative assembly elections in multiple states. Maharashtra, where elections are speculated to be held in November, and where the BJP and its allies are expected to face a tough contest from opposition parties, witnessed 40 hate speeches in August (38.5 per cent of the monthly total).
  • 94.3 per cent (182) of the hate speeches reported during the post-election period (since 1 June, 2024) were in states or Union Territories where the BJP and its allies are in power, or where law & order is under the control of the BJP-led central government.
  • While most of the BJP’s star campaigners at the national level appeared to tone down their rhetoric upon the conclusion of the General Election, several of the BJP’s elected legislators continued to openly incite hostility, discrimination, and violence against minorities. Nitesh Rane (10 ‘top’ level hate speeches) and T. Raja Singh (6 ‘top’ level hate speeches) were the worst offenders during the post-election period.

Excerpts from some ‘top’ level hate speeches by BJP MLA Nitesh Rane (since 1 May, 2024)

Date and locationExcerpts
27 June, 2024

(Mumbai, Maharashtra)		“Cut Asaduddin Owaisi’s tongue and bring it to me, I will reward you. How did Owaisi freely walk out of the parliament saying ‘Jai Palestine’? No nation leaves alive a person who does such an act.”
3 August, 2024
(Mumbai, Maharashtra)		“To protect our religion, we can pick up swords. […] Once we get on the field, no one will be able to save you. […] If you kill one of ours, we will make sure to kill two of yours.”
18 August, 2024   (Pune, Maharashtra)“Don’t mess around with Hindus, this is a BJP government. We will kill you one by one. […] Once we come after you, your mother and father won’t be able to save you.”
1 September, 2024

(Ahmednagar, Maharashtra)		“I am leaving after threatening you in the language which you understand. If you do anything against our Ramgiri Maharaja, they will come inside your mosques and kill you one by one. Keep this in mind.”

Highlights of some ‘top’ level hate speeches by BJP MLA T. Raja Singh (since 1 May, 2024)

Date and locationExcerpts
12 August, 2024   (Surajpur, Chhattisgarh)“If you want to kill a land jihadi, love jihadi or cow killers, please join Bajrang Dal. […] If the CM of Chhattisgarh creates a task force to kill cow killers, love jihadis, land jihadis, nobody will stop you. […] There are 1 crore Rohingyas in India, that’s why you need to learn how to use weapons. Learn how to use swords and sticks, but if you can, apply for a licensed firearm. […] We have to root out all the people who do conversion.”
27 August, 2024 (Amravati, Maharashtra)“If you want to kill a love jihadi, join Bajrang Dal. […] I like Hindus who can kill Muslims.”
  • While both Rane and Singh are known to have had dozens of FIRs registered against them across the country, there has been no meaningful progress in any of the investigations. Both have remained free to continue to incite hostility, discrimination and violence.
  • Also noteworthy has been the continuation of anti-minority rhetoric by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. During the election campaign, Sarma had repeatedly exhorted the anti-Muslim polices and measures his provincial government had initiated. On multiple occasions, he had claimed that ‘36 per cent of Assam’s population’ (the share of Muslims in the state total) were ‘infiltrators’, and that those ‘infiltrators’ would be ‘kicked out someday’.  At least one other speech by Sarma had contained threats of violence. (‘We will just break their legs once and no one will do love jihad again.’) There has been no let-up in Sarma’s rhetoric even after the conclusion of the GE – in fact, he has doubled down on his attacks against Assam’s ‘Miya’ Muslim (Bengali-speaking) community. Since June, Sarma has:
    • Referred to the increase in Assam’s Muslim population as a ‘matter of life and death’.
    • On multiple occasions, blamed ‘minority people of Bangladeshi origin’ and ‘people of a particular community’ voting for the opposition as the reason for the BJP’s poor performance in the GE. 
    • Raised alarm over ‘criminal activities’ by ‘a section of people from a particular religion’, during a Facebook livestream when he listed a series of recent crimes where the accused perpetrators were Bengali-speaking Muslims. Separately, Sarma also baselessly linked crimes against women to migration, calling it ‘part of a large encroachment strategy’, and alleging that culprits ‘scare families and then grab their land.’
    • Accused a university run by a Muslim foundation of engaging in ‘flood jihad’ and causing floods in Assam.
  • When confronted over his partisan rhetoric against Muslims, Sarma was unrepentant in his response: ‘You, Miya Muslims, will take over the whole of Upper Assam. We won’t let you take… I will take a side, what will you do? I will take a side, do whatever you can.’

    While Sarma’s rhetoric does not cross the threshold to qualify as prohibited hate speech, it appears to be having dire consequences for Assam’s Bengali-speaking population. Since May, there have been multiple calls by extremist groups for the forced expulsion of Bengali-speaking Muslims from Assam. On 24 August, the same day a Muslim man who had been arrested and accused of a gangrape—and three days after Sarma’s Facebook livestream—around a dozen Miya Muslim labourers, who had fled from Nazira town in Choraideo district, were assaulted by armed men who forced them to chant slogans in support of the indigenous Assamese community. Local civil society activists estimate that between 100 to 1000 Bengali-speaking Muslims have fled their homes in eastern Assam in recent months due to such attacks and threats.

    Sarma’s government has also doubled down on its anti-Muslim policies and measures. During the period under review, Sarma announced plans to introduce a law regulating inter-faith marriages, as well as plans to mandate prior consent from the Chief Minister for land transactions between Hindus and Muslims. (see section on Religious Freedom.)
  • Excerpts from other noteworthy speeches by BJP leaders include:
Date, location and speakerExcerpts
27 June, 2024 – Delhi   Karnail Singh
(State Convenor, BJP Delhi)		“If the same incident happened at a mosque, if Hindus had dumped a slaughtered pig, there would have been riots by now. Hindus are still tolerant. Do whatever you want to do within that period. 150,000 or 200,000 Muslims live here, I will slaughter all of them. I will hand a sword to every person here and slaughter all Muslims. I won’t leave anyone alive.”
18 July, 2024 – Begusarai, Bihar

Giriraj Singh
(Union Minister of Textiles)		“The biggest mistake was to let Muslims live here. If the country was partitioned on religious lines, why were Muslims allowed to remain here? Had they not been allowed to live here this situation would not have been created.”
  • Other Hindu nationalist leaders, all aligned to the BJP, also continued to organise public events where local-level leaders demonised minorities by peddling common conspiracy theories—such as the ‘love jihad’ charge against Muslims, and the charge of unlawful mass conversions against Christians, and of India’s Hindu majority being at risk of demographic overhaul—and openly incited discrimination, hostility, and violence. Open calls for social and economic boycotts, as well as open calls for violence, were common and continued to be reported throughout the period under review. These events were organised by groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal (BD), militant outfits spawned by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)* to, according to scholars, act as its armed wing, as well as lead various grassroots-level ‘everyday communalism’ campaigns that keep majoritarian attitudes and religious hostilities alive. These shock troops continued to mobilise and radicalise young men and women on a massive scale. During the period under review, we documented 16 events where participants were distributed weapons, including guns and swords, and/or trained in their use.

    *The RSS is the ideological fountainhead of modern Hindu nationalism, and the BJP has acted as its political wing.

During the period under review, BJP-governed Uttar Pradesh amended its anti-conversion law, introducing stricter penalties for conversions out of Hinduism. BJP-governed Assam announced plans to introduce a range of policy changes with the potential to disproportionately impact Muslims, including a proposed law against ‘love jihad’. Minority places of worship and other religious structures were targeted in multiple states, by both state actors as well as non-state actors.

Additionally, BJP-governed states continued to abuse provincial-level anti-conversion laws to criminalise and incarcerate Christian faith leaders and Muslim men accused of being in inter-religious relationships. (See section on Arrests and Detentions.)

Uttar Pradesh introduces stricter penalties for religious conversions out of Hinduism

The Uttar Pradesh state assembly enacted amendments to its anti-conversion law, introducing stricter penalties and broadening its scope. The maximum punishment for unlawful religious conversions is now life imprisonment (from 10 years previously), along with an enhanced fine. Bail conditions too have been made more stringent. Any person can now report violations of the law – previously, only victims or their close relatives were allowed to register complaints.

UP is one of eight BJP-governed states that have, since 2017, introduced new laws or added more stringent provisions to existing laws to regulate religious conversions out of Hinduism. These new laws, like other pre-existing laws elsewhere in the country, proscribe religious conversions by means of force, coercion, fraud, and other prohibited laws. Additionally, they have also specifically sought to leverage and fuel the ‘love jihad’ conspiracy theory, by introducing restrictive conditions on inter-faith marriages. Conversions to Hinduism are specifically kept out of the ambit of these laws. These laws have continued to be abused to criminalise and incarcerate Christian faith leaders as well as Muslim men in inter-religious relationships. (See section on Arrests and Detentions.)

India’s Supreme Court is yet to hold substantive hearings on the constitutional validity of the newly-enacted anti-conversion laws, all of which have been challenged on various grounds, including for infringements of the rights to privacy and freedom of religion.

Central government proposes changes to Waqf Act

The BJP-led central government has proposed changes to the Waqf Act, which regulates properties donated by Muslims for religious, educational, or charitable purposes.

Currently, each state has a Waqf Board responsible for managing such properties. The central government has announced 44 changes to the Act, including curbing the authority of the Boards, allowing non-Muslims to be part of the Boards, and giving the government greater overall control over them, potentially enabling the takeover of waqf properties.  

The proposed amendments are now under the consideration of a joint parliamentary committee.

Assam announces plans for wide range of policy measures targeting Muslims, including a ‘love jihad’ law

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced plans to introduce a stringent ‘love jihad’ law, imposing life imprisonment for individuals found guilty of coercing someone into marriage with the intent of religious conversion.

Additionally, Sarma has also announced plans to introduce a new domicile policy, restricting eligibility for government jobs only to individuals born in Assam. Sarma also plans to introduce regulations requiring the CM’s consent for land transactions between Hindus and Muslims.

While portrayed as measures to protect the interests of the indigenous Assamese population from uncontrolled demographic chang, these moves are widely seen as singling out the state’s Bengali-speaking Muslim community, against whom Sarma has also escalated hateful rhetoric. (see section on Advocacy of Religious Hatred)

Earlier this year, Sarma’s government had repealed the laws governing marriages and divorces among Muslims, and announced plans to introduce a Uniform Civil Code in the state. (On 15 August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for a ‘Secular Civil Code’ to be enacted across India, replacing current laws that govern family and personal matters within different religious communities. While such a move has been a key poll plank of the BJP, a national-level law is not currently expected, owing to the BJP’s diminished position in the national parliament. Instead, BJP-governed states have moved to enact such changes at the provincial level.)

Instances of religious minority places of worship and other structures being targeted by state actors

  • 12 June, 2024 (Ahmedabad, Gujarat): Municipal authorities partially demolished a mosque in Viratnagar, claiming that parts of it were constructed without securing necessary building permits.
  • 25 June, 2024 (Jamnagar, Gujarat): Authorities demolished a Muslim shrine, alleging that it was constructed illegally.
  • 21-26 June, 2024 (Delhi): Within the span of a week, municipal authorities partially demolished mosques in two areas of Delhi (one in Bawana, and another in Mangolpuri), alleging that they were encroaching on government land. Preet Sirohi, a Hindu extremist with a large social media following, claimed that both demolitions were carried out upon his complaints.
  • 29 June, 2024 (Kathua, J&K): Authorities attempted to demolish several structures, including a mosque, alleging they were encroachments. The demolition drive was disrupted by violent protesters, who reportedly injured five policemen.
  • 11 August, 2024 (Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh): A church allegedly built on ‘encroached land’ was demolished by local authorities.

Instances of minority religious structures and prayer services being targeted by Hindu extremists

  • 3 July, 2024 (Dadar, Mumbai, Maharashtra): A Christian prayer meeting was disrupted by a BJP leader.
  • 14 July, 2024 (Dehradun, Uttarakhand): A Christian prayer meet was disrupted by Hindu extremists.
  • 19 July, 2024 (Ahmedabad, Gujarat): Hindu extremists placed Hindu idols in a dargah that had been revered by both Hindus and Muslims.
  • 29 July, 2024 (Vellore, Tamil Nadu): A Christian prayer meet was disrupted by Hindu extremists.
  • 31 July, 2024 (Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh): Hindu extremists disrupted a Christian prayer meet over allegations of illegal religious conversions.
  • 1 August, 2024 (Hapur, Uttar Pradesh): Hindu kanwariya pilgrims pelted stones at an Islamic seminary, alleging that they were spat at.
  • 11 August, 2024 (Seoni, Madhya Pradesh): A BJP leader accompanied by police disrupted a Christian prayer meet, alleging illegal religious conversions.
  • 16 August, 2024 (Karnal, Haryana): Hindu extremists installed idols and saffron flags atop a Waqf Board-owned property.

The incidents listed above are in addition to instances where religious structures were targeted by Hindu extremists during episodes of communal mass violence. (See section on Torture – Non-State Actors)

The trends and violations detailed in previous sections also continued to have discriminatory impacts on minorities’ access to economic, social, and cultural rights, including livelihoods and education. There were also instances of minority housing and livelihoods being directly targeted by state actors.

Continuing punitive demolition and attachment of Muslim-owned property by authorities in BJP-governed states

During the period under review, authorities in BJP-governed states—particularly Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh—continued the trend of collectively punishing Muslims through arbitrary demolitions of their property, as well as arbitrary attachment of their property.

Cases reported included:

  • 14 June (Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh): Authorities razed homes of two Muslim man following allegations that they threw a cow’s head outside a temple.
  • 15 June (Mandla, Madhya Pradesh): Authorities razed 11 houses owned by Muslims, claiming that beef had been recovered from them, and that the houses were illegally built on government land. 16 other supposedly ‘illegal’ houses in the same neighbourhood were reportedly left untouched, as beef was apparently not recovered from them. Police confirmed that the National Security Act (NSA) would be invoked against the owners of five of the razed houses, claiming they were ‘repeat offenders’.
  • 24 June, 2024 (Seoni, Madhya Pradesh): Homes belonging to two Muslim men bulldozed following allegations that they were involved in cow slaughter.
  • 27 June, 2024 (Morena, Madhya Pradesh): Authorities demolished houses belonging to two Muslim men following allegations that they had stored beef in their houses.
  • 28 June, 2024 (Gonda, Uttar Pradesh): Authorities confiscated properties of five Muslim men for their alleged involvement in cattle slaughter.
  • 28 June, 2024 (Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh): Local authorities demolished six houses belonging to Muslim families who were accused of attempting to kidnap and convert a Hindu woman to Islam. The woman and a member of one of the Muslim families had reportedly been in a relationship. The woman had initially claimed that the relationship was consensual, but subsequently changed her statement, alleging that she was ‘forcibly’ converted.
  • 5 July, 2024 (Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh): Authorities confiscated property belonging to a Muslim man over allegations that he was involved in cattle smuggling.
  • 5 July, 2024 (Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh): Authorities confiscated a house and other property belonging to a Muslim man over allegations that he sold beef.
  • 24 July, 2024 (Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh): Authorities demolished 16 ‘illegal constructions’, including at least nine house belonging to Muslims who had allegedly been involved in violence during a Muharram procession. A mosque too was reportedly demolished.
  • 31 July, 2024 (Bhilwara, Rajasthan): Authorities demolished the property of a Muslim man who was accused of harming a cow.
  • 11 August, 2024 (Gonda, Uttar Pradesh): Police confiscated a house belonging to an alleged ‘cattle smuggler’.
  • 18 August, 2024 (Udaipur, Rajasthan): Municipal authorities razed the rented house inhabited by the family of a Muslim school boy who had been accused of stabbing his Hindu classmate. Four other families—all Muslims—were also living in the same house. Authorities alleged that the structure was illegally built on government land. 
  • 23 August, 2024 (Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh): Authorities demolished the house of Haji Shahzad Ali, a leader of the opposition Congress Party, and damaged his vehicles. Ali had been accused of leading a protest following an anti-Muslim hate speech made by a local Hindu monk. Ali claimed that he was, in fact, trying to stop and disperse an angry crowd upon the request of police officers. A viral video had shown police parading Muslim men who had been arrested during the protest.

The President of the Congress Party condemned the demolition as ‘inhumane and unjust’.

In a report published in February, Amnesty International had investigated similar punitive demolitions of 128 properties belong to Muslims that had been carried out In Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi between April and June 2022, all in Muslim-concentration localities. The report found that at least 617 people, including men, women, and children, were adversely impacted by these demolitions, being either rendered homeless or deprived of their sole livelihood. The investigation further concluded that there was an ‘absolute failure of the state authorities to ensure that the survivors of these demolitions were afforded due process protections, including an opportunity for genuine consultation, adequate and reasonable notice, and provision of legal remedies and access to legal aid.’

The cases listed above were in addition to other ‘anti-encroachment’ drives that also disproportionately impacted Muslims and other marginalised groups. Some of these included:

  • 11 June (Lucknow, UP): Authorities completed a demolition drive in the Muslim-concentration Akbarnagar locality in Lucknow, razing each of the 1800+ structures that had stood in the area, including around 1200 houses. The demolition drive, which had begun in December last year, is reported to have impacted around 40,000 residents. A mosque in the area was left standing, to be demolished in the end, with a drone video of the operation circulated widely in media/social media. 

The Supreme Court had, earlier this year, approved the demolitions, which were carried as part of a plan to develop the region as a riverfront.

  • 24 June, 2024 (Morigaon, Assam): Hundreds of residential buildings inhabited by Muslims were demolished by local authorities, ostensibly as part of an ‘anti-encroachment drive’. Around 1500 families were reportedly rendered homeless. The residents alleged that they had been living on the land for generations, and that buildings inhabited by Hindus were left untouched by authorities. The demolitions were carried out even after a stay order issued by the state High Court earlier in the morning. Officials claimed that they halted the demolitions as soon as they received a hard copy of the order in the afternoon.

In September, while hearing pleas from two Muslim men seeking remedy for the punitive demolition of their homes, the Supreme Court announced its intention to frame uniform, pan-India guidelines for demolitions of ‘illegal constructions’.

Authorities in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand order eateries to display names of owners, endangering Muslims

Ahead of the kanwar yatra, an annual Hindu pilgrimage, authorities in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand issued directives to eateries and other business establishments along the pilgrimage route to prominently display the names of their proprietors and of those working for them.

The directives, which were justified as measures to ‘avoid confusion’ among the pilgrims and to maintain law and order, drew criticism for enabling the easy identification of establishments owned and operated by Muslims, for targeting by Hindu extremists.  

Hindu extremists in UP and Uttarakhand, and in other regions, have made long and sustained calls for the social and economic boycott of Muslims. They have specifically targeted shops selling meat, and sought to enforce vegetarianism, including (but not only) during Hindu festivals.

Opposition leaders likened the directives to apartheid and untouchability.

The orders were first issued by police in Muzaffarnagar district (UP), and reiterated by the office of the UP Chief Minister. Subsequently, police authorities in Uttarakhand too announced similar measures.  In Uttarakhand, authorities in several places were also reported to have ‘covered up’ mosques and Muslim shrines along the pilgrimage route, with white screens, to ‘keep religious places of the minority community away from public view’ and ensure that there was no ‘unnecessary excitement or provocation from any side’.

Media reports revealed that the orders were being coercively implemented against Muslims. Muslim shopkeepers in multiple districts alleged that they were coerced by the authorities into signing documents stating that they were consensually vacating their shops. There were also allegations that Muslim employees of Hindu-owned eateries in some districts were ordered by police to be dismissed for the period of the yatra.

While the directives were later temporarily stayed by the Supreme Court, Hindu extremists in several locations managed to circumvent the SC order, getting Hindu shopkeepers to display nameplates, effectively enabling the identification of Muslims. The yatra itself was marked by multiple reports of violence and vandalism by the pilgrims – against Muslims as well as others, across both UP and Uttarakhand. In Muzaffarnagar, a Muslim man was assaulted by Hindu pilgrims who falsely alleged that his car had brushed against them.

Continuing discrimination by non-state actors against Muslims in access to housing

  • 10 June, 2024 (Ahmedabad, Gujarat): Hindu residents of a housing complex protested the allotment of a dwelling unit in the complex to a Muslim woman. The woman, a government employee, was allotted a unit in 2017 as part of a state government housing scheme for low-income groups, but is yet to be able to move in.

    Unnamed officials quoted in news reports said that the matter must be resolved by approaching courts. The state High Court refused to take cognisance of reports on the protests.
  • 25 August, 2024 (Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh): In another similar incident, the residents of a locality protested the purchase of a house by a Muslim woman, claiming that her presence in the area could lead to ‘conflicts’ in the future. The original seller of the house, a Hindu, wrote a letter to the police alleging that locals had made false allegations about the sale and attempted to spread communal disharmony. The Muslim woman said that she and her family had decided to sell the property to any Hindu if an appropriate price was offered. A police official told journalists that the police were ‘in talks’ with both parties.

Continuing discrimination against Muslim students in access to education

Discrimination against hijab-clad girls at private educational institutions: In June, a private college in Mumbai (Maharashtra) imposed a new dress code for its students, specifically banning burqas, hijabs and other religious identifiers. The state High Court approved the ban, relying on a similar order by the Karnataka High Court in 2022, which had upheld a government directive banning the wearing of hijabs in government-funded educational institutions. In August, the Supreme Court temporarily stayed the order.

Days after the SC order, Muslim female students at another private college in Bijnor (Uttar Pradesh) were reportedly denied entry to class for wearing hijabs.

Muslim girls harassed by Hindu extremists inside school premises while offering prayers: In another incident, on 27 August in Wanaparthy (Telangana), a group of Hindu extremists barged into the premises of a private school and harassed a group of Muslim girls who were offering prayers in an enclosed space.

7-year-old Muslim boy expelled for carrying non-vegetarian food: In an incident that was captured on video in early-September, the principal of a private school in Amroha (Uttar Pradesh) ‘expelled’ a seven-year old Muslim student for bringing non-vegetarian food to school. In the video, the principal can be heard making multiple derogatory remarks about the boy’s religious identity, claiming that he wouldn’t teach ‘children who will demolish temples when they grow up.’ District authorities have reportedly begun an investigation into the incident.

New study confirms Muslims, Dalits and women bore brunt of COVID-19 pandemic

A new research study found that the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic may have disproportionately impacted India’s Muslims, Dalits (Scheduled Castes), and women.

According to the study, the life expectancy for Muslims went down by 5.4 years in 2020, and 2.7 years for Dalits, compared to 1.3 years for ‘upper’ caste Hindus. The pandemic also disproportionately impacted women: while life expectancy fell by 2.1 years for the average Indian male, it fell by 3.1 years for women.

Speaking to a news outlet, one of the authors said: “Muslims have been facing marginalisation for a long time, and it has been intensified in the last few years. We do not have any data to suggest that one group or community had more infection than others. However, when Muslims did get COVID, findings show that they were really shunned, faced stereotypes and lacked access to healthcare. The marginalised communities were left to their devices.” The study, based on data from the Indian government’s National Family Health Survey (NFHS), also appeared to confirm that India’s actual death toll in 2020, during the first phase of the pandemic, was eight times the official estimates.

During India’s recently-concluded General Election, there were multiple instances of minority voters reportedly being denied the right to exercise their franchise, in addition to those still disenfranchised due to previous voter suppression measures in Assam.

(For detailed analysis of other electoral integrity violations during the GE, see reports of the Independent Panel for Monitoring Indian Elections.)

Hundreds of Muslims in Gujarat, UP denied the right to vote

7 May, 2024 (Sambhal, UP): Dozens of Muslim voters, including women, in the Sambhal parliamentary constituency alleged that they were assaulted, denied the right to vote, and chased away by police personnel. Among those who were reportedly denied the right to vote was Zia-ur-Rehman, the candidate of the opposition Samajwadi Party. Police authorities made counter-claims that they had caught more than 50 ‘suspicious persons’ while trying to cast ‘fake votes’

7 May, 2024 (Devbhumi Dwarka, Gujarat): Around Muslim fishermen in the harbours of Gandhvi and Navadra were unable to vote after their names were deleted from the latest electoral rolls. The ECI claimed that it had followed due process while deleting the names. The fishermen’s homes had been demolished by local authorities in several targeted demolition drives since October 2022, over claims that they were ‘illegally built’ on government land.

20 May, 2024 (Amethi, Uttar Pradesh): Violent assaults against Muslim voters by policemen were reported from at least two poll booths near Muslim-concentration areas.

Separately, in Uttarakhand (Manglaur) in July, several local Muslims alleged that they were violently assaulted by Hindu extremists while on their way to cast their votes during by-elections to the state legislative assembly.

Continuing impacts of past voter suppression tactics against ‘illegal migrants’ in Assam

Close to 100,000 Assam residents who have been declared as ‘doubtful voters’ (D-voters) by the Election Commission of India (ECI) over past decades continued to be denied the right to vote during the ongoing General Election. Designation as ‘doubtful voters’ – and subsequent denial of voting rights – by the ECI is one of several state-led efforts to target and penalise alleged ‘illegal migrants’ to the state.

In August 2019, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published in Assam, as the culmination of a separate, multi-year administrative exercise to identify ‘genuine’ Indian citizens and exclude ‘illegal migrants’. While over 33 million persons had applied for inclusion in the NRC, over 1.9 million Assam residents – around 6 percent of the state’s population – were excluded. The status of these NRC-excludees remains in legal limbo. While they were not barred from voting in post-2019 assembly elections by the ECI, it is unclear how many of them have found their names in electoral rolls during the 2024 General Election. The north-eastern state has, historically, been the site of tensions between the dominant Assamese-speaking community and minority Bengali-speakers. The rise of the BJP has resulted in the broader ‘anti-migrant’ movement in the state assuming a more overt communal character, targeting Muslims exclusively.

As referred throughout previous sections, India’s domestic mechanisms continue to largely fail to ensure accountability for the violations. The judicial process continued to be skewed towards powerful Hindu nationalist interests, and against minorities. Victims and families seeking justice were routinely harassed and intimidated. And even when India’s courts, including the Supreme Court, have attempted to step in, a sense of permissiveness and impunity have continued to prevail among State and non-State actors accused of violations. For instance, recent court directives on curbing the proliferation of hate speech have gone largely unheeded, including during the recent General Election, particularly by public authorities in BJP-governed states. Below are accounts of emblematic cases of the lack of domestic remedy.

Electoral authorities and higher judiciary fail to act to curb election-time spike in anti-minority hate speech

As detailed in the section on Advocacy of Religious Hatred, India’s 2024 General Election was marked by an unprecedented escalation in anti-minority hate speech, including by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior state officials.

However, India’s electoral authorities, which enjoy expansive powers, refused to take any meaningful action regarding this communal fearmongering, which had formed the core of the BJP’s election messaging. Regarding contentious speeches by Modi—including those where he made direct references to Muslims—the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued only a notice to the BJP’s President, without mentioning Modi. It took no further action despite Modi and other senior BJP leaders continuing their incendiary sectarian rhetoric through to the end of the election period.

In violation of the Supreme Court’s 2022 and 2023 directives to all state governments to take suo motu action in cases of hate speech, police in no state registered suo motu cases during the GE. Despite this flagrant refusal of the authorities to comply with its own directives, the SC and state-level High Courts refused to entertain pleas by petitioners seeking remedy.

Lack of remedy for victims of 2023 anti-Muslim violence in Haryana

The residents of Nuh (Haryana) marked the completion of one year since the anti-Muslim mass violence that had resulted in six deaths in July-August 2023, and in thousands of Muslims being forcibly displaced. In the post-violence state action that followed, government authorities had exclusively targeted Muslims, summarily demolishing over 1200 Muslim-owned residences and businesses, and conducting discriminatory mass arrests of over 400 Muslims. The vindictive state action had led a court to remark whether it was an ‘exercise in ethnic cleansing’.

Media reports revealed anecdotes of the continuing legal struggles faced by the region’s Muslims, and the fear and uncertainty that continues to grip them. Of those arrested, at least 30 people, including teenagers, are still languishing in jail.

Lack of remedy for victims of continuing ethnic violence in Manipur

Occasional outbreaks of violence continued to be reported from the north-eastern state of Manipur, which has been rocked by inter-ethnic violence since May 2023, between members of the predominantly-Hindu Meitei group and the predominantly-Christian Kuki-Zo tribes. The latest outbreaks took the total death toll to over 225, with Kukis accounting for the bulk of the casualties.  The BJP-led state government in Manipur has been openly hostile towards the Kukis, who it has deemed terrorists and drug traffickers.

An Amnesty report condemned Indian authorities for being ‘missing in action’ and failing to end the cycle of violence and displacement, and for perpetuating impunity for members of armed Meitei militant groups. Amnesty found 32 instances of members of armed Meitei groups committing gender-based violence against those belonging to ethnic tribal communities, with none inviting prosecution by authorities. Amnesty also found at least three instances of members of tribal communities barriers in getting their complaints officially registered by police. Despite the Indian Supreme Court forming a committee in August 2023 to look into survivor relief, Amnesty found that the conditions in shelter camps, which still hold more than 50,000 internally displaced persons, continued to be dire. 

Lack of remedy for victims of 2020 anti-Muslim violence in Delhi

The Delhi High Court ordered the transfer of the investigation into the death of a Muslim man, allegedly at the hands of police during the 2020 anti-Muslim violence in Delhi, to the Central Bureau of Investigation. A video of the incident had shown 23-year-old Faizan, along with several others, lying semi-conscious on the road while being assaulted by police officials and goaded to sing the national anthem.

The Court remarked that Delhi Police’s probe into its own officials so far had born ‘too little, too late’. The court also noted that the investigation had appeared to ‘conveniently spare’ police officials who were suspected to be involved in the incident. Delhi Police officials had been accused of involvement in at least 3 killings of Muslims during the 2020 violence that had left 53 dead in North-East Delhi. No arrests have been reported so far in any of these cases.