Published on 10 December 2020
A statement from global academics
On Human Rights Day 2020, we the undersigned express our deep concern over the deterioration of the human rights situation in India, in particular the treatment of minority groups (especially Muslims) students, activists and journalists who are denied their constitutional right to dissent and protest peacefully.
Since the present government, led by Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, inflammatory hate speech, vigilante nationalism, and violent acts against Muslims, other minorities, intellectuals and activists have risen dramatically. These have only got more pronounced and virulent in his second term with the promotion of a majoritarian right-wing Hindutva agenda. Examples include revoking Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in an undemocratic manner leading to arbitrary detentions and widespread human rights violations in the state and beyond. This was followed by the discrimi