![The UN Human Rights Committee's review challenges the image of India’s democracy, uncovering systemic abuses and global repression. [Illustration by Nithya Subramanian via Scroll]](https://southasiatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/128956-dedqtlwlvc-1570868544.webp)
The facade of India’s democracy is rapidly unraveling under international scrutiny. This scrutiny exposes a regime committed to transnational repression and systematic human rights abuses. The July 2024 review by the United Nations Human Rights Committee of India’s fourth periodic report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) offers a glaring indictment of India’s deliberate evasion of accountability.
For over two decades, India stonewalled the submission of this report, which had been delayed since 2001. This delay revealed a calculated strategy to avoid confronting its appalling record on human rights. Despite sending a high-powered delegation of over 30 officials, India’s attempt to sanitize its actions met with sharp criticism from the Committee and numerous NGOs. The review spotlighted India’s global human rights violations. It particularly highlighted the alarming trend of extraterritorial repression, where Indian intelligence agencies have extended their authoritarian reach to target dissenters abroad. These revelations confirm what many have long suspected: India’s claims to democracy are mere rhetoric. They mask a sinister agenda that threatens both regional stability and international human rights standards.
Systematic Evasion and Defiance
India’s non-compliance with UN recommendations is not an isolated incident but part of a consistent pattern of defiance. Since the 1997 review, India has largely ignored the Human Rights Committee’s recommendations on freedom of expression, assembly, and the rights of minorities. The prolonged delay in submitting its ICCPR report has stretched over two decades. This delay reflects India’s calculated disregard for international norms and its unwillingness to be held accountable. The delay is no mere bureaucratic lapse; it represents a strategic evasion. This evasion allows India to intensify its domestic crackdown on minorities and dissidents without facing scrutiny from the international community. The failure to address these long-standing issues reveals the hollowness of India’s democracy. Superficial reforms and cosmetic changes distract from the harsh realities on the ground.
The Illusion of Women’s Rights
India’s much-touted legislative advances on women’s rights are nothing but a smokescreen for its abysmal record on gender-based violence. The 128th Amendment Act reserves 33% of parliamentary seats for women. It serves as a classic example of India’s strategy to divert attention from its failure to protect women. Despite this legislative showpiece, authorities either poorly enforce or completely disregard laws like the Dowry Prohibition Act and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.
The Committee rightly pointed out that the delayed implementation of the 128th Amendment, set to take effect only after the 2029 general elections, underscores India’s lack of genuine commitment to addressing these issues. Behind the façade of progress lies a reality where dowry-related violence, domestic abuse, and sexual harassment remain rampant. The government turns a blind eye to the suffering of women. This duplicity reveals the deep-rooted misogyny within India’s social and political fabric. Patriarchal power structures sacrifice the rights of women. The inadequacy of India’s democracy in addressing gender-based violence becomes evident through this facade.
State Repression Through UAPA and AFSPA
The Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) serve as tools of state repression. They specifically target minorities and stifle dissent. Under the guise of national security, these laws facilitate arbitrary detentions, custodial torture, and extrajudicial killings. They do so particularly in regions like Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and Manipur. The Committee’s findings expose the real purpose behind these laws: the subjugation of Muslim, Christian, and other marginalized communities through systematic state violence. The UAPA allows authorities to detain individuals for up to 180 days without charges. Combined with the blanket impunity granted to security forces under the AFSPA, these laws have led to countless cases of custodial deaths, sexual violence, and disappearances.
These laws have become the backbone of India’s strategy to suppress any challenge to its authoritarian rule. They are especially targeted at areas resisting its occupation. The international community must recognize that these laws are not about protecting national security. They are about enforcing a brutal regime of control over populations that India considers expendable.
Suppressing Dissent
Despite its claims of being a free society, India’s crackdown on freedom of expression and assembly exposes its authoritarian tendencies. The arbitrary detention of activists like Khurram Parvez exemplifies India’s intolerance toward any form of opposition. Authorities have held him for prolonged periods under the UAPA simply for voicing dissent. In regions like Jammu and Kashmir, officials meet dissent with brutal suppression. These actions reveal a state that is terrified of losing its narrative.
The Committee’s observations on the cancellation of over 20,000 NGO licenses, including high-profile cases like Amnesty International India, point to a systematic effort to silence civil society. This effort aims to cripple human rights advocacy. India’s authoritarian grip is tightening not just within its borders. It extends to anyone, anywhere, who dares to challenge its actions. This relentless campaign against dissenting voices is a direct assault on the very principles of democracy that India falsely claims to uphold.
India’s Extraterritorial Repression
India’s authoritarian ambitions extend far beyond its borders, casting a dark shadow over its diaspora and critics abroad. The allegations suggest that Indian intelligence agencies were involved in the assassinations of terrorism suspects and separatist leaders. These incidents occurred in countries like Canada, the United States, and Pakistan. They reveal a regime willing to violate international law to maintain its grip on power.
This extraterritorial repression extends beyond high-profile assassinations to include visa cancellations, entry bans, and harassment campaigns against overseas critics. These actions reflect a government determined to silence opposition wherever it exists. It uses the full machinery of the state to intimidate and eliminate dissenters. Such behavior not only violates international norms but also sets a dangerous precedent for other authoritarian regimes. The global community must recognize the threat posed by India’s extraterritorial operations. These operations undermine the principles of sovereignty and the rule of law. They further challenge the credibility of India’s democracy.
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Impunity and Violence
The complete impunity enjoyed by Indian security forces in conflict zones like Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur is a damning indictment of the state’s role in perpetuating violence. The ethnic violence in Manipur since May 2023, which has resulted in over 200 deaths, highlights the government’s failure to protect vulnerable communities. The use of pellet guns in Kashmir, leading to widespread injuries and blindness, starkly shows the state’s disregard for human life. Despite international condemnation, the government’s refusal to hold security forces accountable speaks volumes about its commitment to protecting human rights. The reality is that these forces are not peacekeepers but enforcers of a brutal occupation. They use unchecked power to crush any form of resistance. The Committee’s findings reaffirm the need for greater international pressure on India to end the culture of impunity that enables such atrocities.
Systemic Discrimination and “Bulldozer Justice”
The rampant discrimination against Dalits, Muslims, and Christians in India is not an aberration but a reflection of the state’s complicity in perpetuating violence against marginalized communities. The practice of “bulldozer justice,” where Muslim homes and businesses are demolished as collective punishment following communal clashes, exemplifies the BJP’s agenda of using state machinery to target minorities. Such actions, often celebrated by ruling party figures, reveal a state that has institutionalized bigotry and weaponized the law to carry out its sectarian objectives. The Committee’s findings highlight the persistent caste and religious discrimination that defines India’s social order, where marginalized communities are treated as second-class citizens. This systemic oppression is not just a domestic issue; it has regional implications, fueling tensions and destabilizing the broader South Asian landscape. The exposure of such practices underscores the severe limitations of India’s Democracy in addressing and rectifying these deep-seated inequalities.
A Call to Action
The UN Human Rights Committee’s review of India’s ICCPR report is a wake-up call for the international community. India uses transnational repression, systemic discrimination, and extraterritorial abuses as part of a broader strategy to entrench its authoritarian regime. This regime disregards international norms to maintain its dominance. The world can no longer afford to overlook India’s actions, which threaten to erode the global human rights framework. The time for diplomatic niceties and appeasement is over. The international community must hold India accountable, demand transparency, and take decisive action to curb its repressive practices. Failing to do so will embolden other regimes to follow suit, leading to a global environment where human rights are sacrificed for political expediency. The world must stand united in confronting India’s blatant disregard for human rights before it sets an irreversible precedent.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of the South Asia Times.
Haris Bilal Malik is an Islamabad-based independent researcher and policy analyst specializing in contemporary South Asian issues. Formerly a researcher at the Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS) in Islamabad, he holds an M.Phil in International Relations from the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad. His expertise lies in regional and international security, particularly nuclear security. He has also worked with the Strategic Vision Institute (SVI), Muslim Youth University (MYU), and the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (SASSI).
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