HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH'S 'WORLD REPORT 2023' - REPORT AND
INDICES
News: India
intensified crackdown on activists, media in 2022: Human Rights Watch report
What's in the news?
● The
Human Rights Watch’s 'World Report 2023' said that Indian authorities had “intensified and broadened” their crackdown on
activist groups and the media through 2022, adding that the “Hindu
nationalist” Bharatiya Janata Party-led government used “abusive and
discriminatory policies to repress Muslims and other minorities”.
Key takeaways:
● The
Human Rights Watch Report 2023 has equated
India with China in their suppression of dissent and free expression and
“systematic discrimination against religious minorities".
Human Rights Watch's 'World Report 2023':
● Human
Rights Watch has published its report on the status of human rights in more
than 100 countries and territories.
● Human
Rights Watch has said in its annual world report that Authoritarianism across the
world is leading to a “sea of human
suffering”.
● The
712-page report put a spotlight on the deterioration of civil liberties for
women and girls in Afghanistan, as well as human rights in war-torn Ukraine,
and that governments around the world were called to do more to uphold civil
liberties.
India and Human Rights Watch's 'World Report 2023':
● Authorities
throughout India arrested activists, journalists, and other critics of the
government on what it called “politically
motivated” criminal charges, including that of terrorism.
● Authorities
also "misused" laws in the
name of forced religious conversions "to target Christians, especially
from Dalit and Adivasi communities".
● The
Indian Government had "intensified
and broadened" its crackdown on activist groups and the media in 2022
while harassing rights groups through tax raids, allegations of financial
irregularities, and use of the FCRA.
● The
authorities in several BJP-ruled states demolished Muslim homes and properties
without legal authorization or due process as summary punishment for protests or alleged crimes.
● It
mentioned Bilkis Bano Case and said that the release of the 11 men convicted
and sentenced to life in jail for the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder
of 14 members of her family highlighted the government's discriminatory view toward minority communities even
in cases of violence against women.
● In
Jammu and Kashmir even after 3 years of removal of Article 370, the government
continued to restrict free expression,
peaceful assembly, and other basic rights there.
● The
human rights groups, social activists, and non-governmental organizations were harassed by authorities throughout the
country through tax raids, the use of the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act,
and other allegations of financial irregularities.
● The
report appreciated the liberal steps
taken by the Supreme Court of India, including the ruling to stop the use
of the Sedition law, which was misused to arrest critics of the government and
its policies. It also appreciated:
○ The
court's ruling on extending abortion rights to all women regardless of marital
status.
○ The
court banned the two-finger tests to protect survivors of sexual assault.
● It
criticized the Supreme Court of India
for its verdict on whether Muslim female students can wear a hijab, or a
headscarf, in educational institutions in Karnataka.