India: Indigenous movement banned, protests stifled while activists and journalists targeted

India’s civic space is rated as ‘repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. In recent years, the government has misused the draconian anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and other laws to keep activists behind bars and fabricate cases against activists and journalists for undertaking their work. The authorities have blocked access to foreign funding for NGOs and human rights defenders, using the restrictive Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).

In November 2024, human rights organisations wrote to the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) to highlight serious concerns regarding the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRCI) ahead of the 2025 review of its accreditation status. The groups urged GANHRI-SCA to amend the current “A” rating of the NHRCI to accurately reflect its failure to comply with the Paris Principles and address the deteriorating human rights situation in India.

In January 2025, Human Rights Watch (HRW) highlighted in its annual report that the Indian authorities used abusive foreign funding laws such as the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), counterterrorism laws, trumped-up financial investigations, and other means to unlawfully attack civil society groups and activists. HRW found that the government also censored peaceful expression online through arbitrary and disproportionate orders to block websites or suspend social media accounts.

On 8th February 2025, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 42 seats of the 70-member legislative assembly elections in Delhi, for the first time in 27 years, defeating the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who had governed the federally-administered territory since 2013. Civil society organisations and student activists warn that the victory of the BJP in Delhi could mean a drastic increase in crackdowns on academic institutions, and student leaders already facing incarceration.

On 13th February 2025, the office of the Indian President Droupadi Murmu announced that federal rule had been imposed in the troubled north-eastern state of Manipur following the resignation of Chief Minister N Biren Singh. Singh, from the governing BJP, has been facing months of pressure to step down as a result of the ongoing inter-ethnic violence in Manipur between the Meiteis and Kukis communities, which erupted in May 2023.

In recent months, the government has banned an indigenous Adivasi movement, activists have been charged, threatened, abducted and attacked while a charge sheet was filed against Oxfam. Activists linked to the Bhima Koraegon case and human rights defender Khurram Parvez remain in detention under the draconian UAPA law. Students were detained for a protest at Jamia Millia Islamia campus, protesting farmers were arrested in Noida while 12 individuals remain in pre-detention on flimsy charges five years after the Delhi riots. The criminalisation, harassment and attacks on journalists have persisted while the government revoked the nonprofit and tax status of news outlets and censored a cartoon online.

Association

Government bans indigenous Adivasi movement

On 30th October 2024, the BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh government banned the Moolvasi Bachao Manch (MBM), an indigenous Adivasi movement, under the draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005.

In a notification on 30th October 2024, the state government stated that the reason for the ban was that the movement continuously opposed developmental works being carried out by the Central and State Governments in the Maoist-affected areas and opposed the camps of the security forces being built for the operations of these development works and incited the general public against them.

A coalition of civil society organisations, including the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), issued a statement in November 2024, opposing the ban. The statement described the move as an alarming misuse of state power aimed at suppressing activism and intimidating protesters advocating for tribal rights. MBM has been peacefully agitating against the repression of tribals in the guise of anti-Maoist operations, against their displacement from their forests, lands and water sources, and for the protection of their constitutional rights.

This is the latest crackdown by Chhattisgarh’s newly elected Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, who, with backing from the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has announced a ‘zero tolerance’ of Naxalism (ideology of the Naxalites, a grouping of political and insurgent groups).

RTI activist in Meghalaya threatened for seeking information

On 4th November 2024, lawyer and Right to Information (RTI) activist Napoleon S Mawphniang from Meghalaya was targeted for filing a RTI application with the Social and Conservation Department seeking information pertaining to the implementation of government schemes.

Local leader Henry Nongrum from the National People’s Party, which is in power in the state, visited the activist and threatened to kill him if he did not withdraw his RTI application. Mawphniang’s RTI request focuses on schemes implemented in Shakoikuna village, where Nongrum also serves as the Rangbah Shnong (village headman).

The RTI activist has filed a complaint with NPP national president and Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.

Human rights defender in Manipiur abducted by armed men

On 11th February 2025, human rights defender Yambem Laba was abducted from his home in the State of Manipur by a group of armed men. According to Front Line Defenders, for over seven hours following his abduction, there was no information concerning his whereabouts. The human rights defender was subsequently released after he was forced to apologise for statements criticising militant groups in Manipur and promise not to make any further public appearances or statements.

It is believed that the abduction was a reprisal against his public statements regarding the violence in Manipur and his comments on the political context following the resignation of Chief Minister of Manipur Bhiren Singh, on 9th February 2025.

Yambem Laba is a senior journalist and a special correspondent with the Statesman, an English language daily newspaper. He is the former acting chairperson of the Manipur Human Rights Commission. The human rights defender has been critical of the government of Manipur’s Chief Minister, due to their failure in curbing the ethnic violence which has impacted the State for over a year and a half.

Social activist in Tamil Nadu exposing illegal stone quarries attacked

On 20th December 2024, social activist M. Gnanasekaran from Vadipatti in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, was attacked with an iron rod by an unknown assailant who sneaked up behind him on a bike while he was walking towards his home from a neighbouring village.

On witnessing the attack, bystanders started screaming and running towards Gnanasekaran and his assailant, leading to the assailant fleeing the scene. Sources say that the attack is linked with Gnanasekaran’s work in opposing illegal stone quarrying activity in Kachaikatti (Vadipatti Taluk, Madurai District). His police complaint filed via a digital app has resulted in the arrest of V Murugan, a stone quarry employee. Gnanasekaran has now sought police protection and is awaiting a response.

On 28th December 2024, members of various political parties and civil society organisations held a demonstration condemning the attack, and demanding that the district collector inspect both expired and active quarries in the area that are accused of operating without a valid licence.

Tamil Nadu social activist who took on mining mafia killed

On 17th January 2025, while environmental activist Jagabar Ali was returning home on his motorcycle after offering prayers at a mosque, his motorbike was knocked down by a large truck, and he died on the spot. Initially registered as an accident, it was soon discovered upon further investigation that it was premeditated murder.

Jagabar Ali, a resident of Vengalur, also in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, was a social activist known for his work against illegal mining activities in his area. He frequently filed complaints with the district administration, providing evidence of quarry operators extracting minerals beyond permitted limits and causing significant environmental and financial loss to the state.

Police have arrested four persons in connection to the case.

Activist charged for holding an exhibition in Hyderabad on violations

Nadeem Khan, a human rights activist and National Secretary of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), was booked on 30th November 2024 by the Delhi Police under charges of ‘promoting enmity and criminal conspiracy’ for a community exhibition held in Hyderabad.

The stall exhibited evidence of hate crimes, hate speech and other human rights violations over the last ten years against Muslims and other minority communities in India. The stall also featured cases fought by APCR in different courts, and legal guidelines for the victims of hate crimes and arbitrary arrests.

The Delhi Police attempted to detain him illegally just hours after filing a first information report. This followed a search conducted by the Delhi police at the organisation's office in Delhi on 29th November 2024.

Charge sheet filed against Oxfam

In January 2025, The Central Bureau of Investigation filed a chargesheet against NGO Oxfam India and its executive director Amitabh Behar for alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). Registration under the Act is mandatory for non-profit organisations in India to receive foreign funds.

In an order on 9th January 2025, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Nishant Garg of the Rouse Avenue Courts set 4th March as the date of consideration on the charge sheet,

Oxfam India was among 5,932 non-government organisations whose registrations under the Act had lapsed on 1st January 2022, because the home ministry refused to sanction their applications for renewal.

In April 2023, the Central Bureau of Investigation registered a first information report against Oxfam India and its office-bearers for alleged violations of the Act. Searches were also carried out at the organisation’s office in Delhi.

The CIVICUS Monitor has documented how the FCRA of 2010 and its amendments in 2018 and 2020 impose discriminatory restrictions on CSOs’ access to funding and make their authorisation procedure difficult to navigate and highly bureaucratic, under the pretext of preventing foreign influence in India. Over the years, the FCRA been invoked against human rights groups to justify an array of highly intrusive measures, ranging from official raids on NGO offices and freezing of bank accounts to suspension or cancellation of registration.

In November 2024, the Union ministry of home affairs explicitly listed for the first time the reasons for denying the clearance needed under the FCRA to receive funds from abroad. These include involvement in anti-development activities; inciting protests with malicious intentions; and the existence of links with radical organisations.

Two activists linked to the Bhima Koregaon case released on bail

Activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale were released from jail in Navi Mumbai on 24th January 2025, more than two weeks after the Bombay High Court granted them bail in the Bhima Koregaon case.

The High Court granted them bail stating that the activists had been in jail since 2018 and “there is no possibility of the trial to conclude in the near future”.

Dhawale is the founder of the Dalit rights organisation Republican Panthers. He is also a well-known poet, political commentator and publisher of the left-leaning Marathi magazine Vidrohi. Wilson is an activist from Kerala and one of the founding members of the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners.

Other human rights defenders linked to the Bhima Koraegon case remain in jail under the draconian UAPA. They are Surendra Gadling, Hany Babu, Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor, Mahesh Raut and Jyoti Jagtap. They are accused of provoking caste-based riots and of having links with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and have been charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the repressive UAPA. Seven others are out on bail.

Three years of arbitrary detention of Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez

22nd November 2024 marked three years since Khurram Parvez, a prominent Kashmiri human rights defender, was detained on unsubstantiated charges of terrorism and related offences under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) of 1967- an anti-terror law notoriously used to persecute activists and dissenters. Currently held in Rohini Jail in New Delhi, Khurram has been repeatedly denied bail, subjected to prolonged pre-trial detention, and slapped with additional charges.

Khurram Parvez has long championed justice and accountability for victims of human rights abuses, at immense personal risk. He is the Coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), Chairperson of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), and the Deputy Secretary-General of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).

US politician denied visa in retaliation for her critical views

On 4th February 2025, it was reported that Kshama Sawant, a former Seattle City Council member and Indian-American, has twice been denied visas by Indian authorities, preventing her from visiting her elderly mother who requires urgent medical attention.

The denials came despite Sawant's appeals highlighting her mother's critical health situation and her need to be present for her care. An emergency visa application submitted recently has also not been approved so far.

Kshama has alleged that the denial of her visa is in retaliation for her stance on caste, her left-leaning politics and her past critique of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union government.

In 2023, Kshama was part of the efforts to ensure Seattle became the first city in the US to make caste a protected category - a move that would protect lower-caste persons from discrimination.

Peaceful Assembly

Students detained for protest at Jamia Millia Islamia campus

On 13th February 2025, security guards detained at least 14 students who were protesting at the Jamia Millia Islamia campus. They were then handed over to the Delhi Police who were inside the campus. Later, the students were detained at different stations in Delhi for almost 12 hours without being informed of any grounds for detention, or access to lawyers. The university also suspended 17 of the protesting students, including many of those who were detained.

These 14 students were part of a sit-in protest which commenced on 10th February 2025 in front of the central canteen in the university. They were demanding the revoking of the disciplinary action against four students who were targeted for organising a remembrance day on 16th December 2024, the fifth anniversary of the police crackdown on the university campus during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act-National Register of Citizens (CAA-NRC) in 2019.

There are also growing concerns at the increasing police involvement in campus affairs, with the appointment of a retired Delhi Police officer being appointed as the university’s ‘security advisor’.

Protesting farmers arrested in Noida

In December 2024, police arrested more than 160 protesting farmers, including the president of Bharatiya Kisan Parishad Sukhbir Yadav 'Khalifa', who were holding a sit-in at the 'Dalit Prerna Sthal' in Noida after their march to Delhi on land compensation and other demands was stopped a day earlier.

The protesters, who had gathered in Gautam Buddh Nagar from different parts of Uttar Pradesh on the call of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), had threatened to resume their march to the national capital if their demands were not met within a week.

Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shiv Hari Meena said that they were arrested under Section 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the new Criminal Procedure Code. The provision allows the police to carry out arrests to prevent the commission of a cognisable offence.

Condemning the police action, the SKM said it was a violation of the constitutional right of peaceful protest and urged the judiciary to intervene.

12 remain in pre-detention on flimsy charges five years after the Delhi riots

At least 12 people remain behind bars following protests against the discriminatory Citizenship (Amendment) Act in 2020 and the Delhi riots that erupted, believed to be triggered by inflammatory speeches by the leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party against those protesting against the act

According to Scroll, an examination of the five charge sheets spanning over 30,000 pages, and interviews with eight defence lawyers reveal a troubling picture. Gaps in evidence have been filled with questionable witness statements, and individuals implicated on the basis of tenuous evidence.

The Delhi police instead booked 20 leaders and participants of the anti-CAA movement under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. They were accused of orchestrating the riots as the culmination of a plan they had created over several months. Five years after the riots, 12 of them – all Muslim – continue to languish in prison, with the trial yet to even begin.

Scroll’s analysis shows that a predetermined narrative runs through the charge sheets, rarely reflecting the facts on the ground. The prosecution’s case seems to be based on fragile foundations, with little direct evidence, dangerously blurring the lines between legitimate protest and terrorism.

Expression

Criminalisation, harassment and attacks on journalists

India is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the media. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), journalists who are critical of the government are routinely subjected to online harassment, intimidation, threats and physical attacks, as well as criminal prosecutions and arbitrary arrests.

In November 2024, a right-wing account on social media platform X shared the personal phone number of investigative journalist Rana Ayyub and asked followers to harass the journalist. She told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) she received at least 200 phone and video calls and explicit WhatsApp messages throughout the night, including repeated one-time password requests from various online commerce platforms.

In January 2025, a Delhi court ordered the registration of a police case against prominent journalist Rana Ayyub over a lawyer’s complaint alleging that Ayyub’s social media posts from 2013-2016 allegedly insulted Hindu deities and spread “anti-India sentiment”.

According to CPJ, Ayyub’s reporting has previously led to online trolling and official intimidation. She has faced criminal investigations, received rape and death threats, and is currently fighting a money laundering case in court.

Journalist Anand Mangnale was the target of an online smear campaign that began on 5th December 2024 when Nishikant Dubey, a member of parliament with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), linked Mangnale to an effort to “derail” the Indian government through foreign funding in Parliament. The official BJP account on social media platform X amplified Dubey’s claims, alleging that Mangnale fundraised for the opposition party and gave “Chinese money” to a person accused of involvement in the 2020 Delhi riots.

Mangnale, the South Asia regional editor at the investigative news outlet Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), is known for his reporting on alleged corporate malfeasance, financial irregularities, and corruption involving the Adani Group, one of India’s largest conglomerates.

Journalist and fact checker Mohammed Zubair has been accused by the police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh of “endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India”. Zubair is wanted in connection with a post he put out on X in October 2024 spotlighting hate speech by a controversial Hindu priest. In December 2024, the Allahabad high court briefly heard his petition. The charge is non-bailable, and a conviction could mean a minimum of seven years in jail and fine, or even life imprisonment. Zubair, who is a co-founder of the fact-checking website called AltNews, denies all the accusations against him.

Freelance journalist Mukesh Chandrakar was found dead on 3rd January 2025 – with 15 skull fractures, a punctured heart and liver, and a broken neck – in a septic tank, in Bijapur, in the east-central state of Chhattisgarh. This was shortly after he reported on the poor state of a road built by a local contractor, who has been arrested as the main suspect.

Government revokes nonprofit and tax status of news outlets

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Indian government has revoked The Reporters’ Collective’s (TRC) nonprofit status and the tax-exempt status of The File.

The Reporters’ Collective said in a 28th January 2025 statement that the loss of its nonprofit status “severely impairs” its ability to do work and “worsens the conditions” for independent journalism in the country.

The revocation of a nonprofit status means entities will be taxed as a commercial entity, subjecting donations to taxation, which could discourage potential funding. The tax could potentially be applied retrospectively. TRC is known for its investigative reporting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling government, ranging from corruption and government accountability, to allegations of corporate cronyism and unethical business practices against the Adani Group, one of India’s wealthiest conglomerates.

The directive against TRC follows a disturbing pattern of financial and legal pressures on independent media. In December 2024, the Bengaluru-based Kannada website The File, which has conducted investigations into all political parties in the southwestern state of Karnataka, also faced a similar tax order. The order revoked its tax exemptions, deeming its activities commercially oriented despite its public interest reporting.

In February 2023, income tax authorities in India searched the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai as part of an income-tax investigation, weeks after the broadcaster aired a documentary critical of Modi.

Website blocked for cartoon of Modi and Trump

On 17th February 2025, it was reported that the government had allegedly moved to block access to the website of the Vikatan group. The action – taken without prior notice or official explanation – has sparked widespread outrage, with many seeing it as a blatant attempt to silence critical journalism. The measure targets a publication group with a century-old legacy.

The website became inaccessible soon after the Tamil Nadu cadre of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took exception to a cartoon published by its digital magazine. The cartoon, published on 10th February 2025, showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting shackled next to US President Donald Trump.

N. Ram, eminent journalist and director of The Hindu group, voiced strong criticism. “What they have done is utterly illegal and deeply concerning. As editorial comment and satire, the cartoon was perfectly legitimate journalism."