As the world observed Human Rights Day, India, home to the world’s largest democracy, stands at a critical crossroads. Despite constitutional guarantees of equality, dignity, and freedom, the country continues to grapple with deep-rooted human rights challenges. From custodial deaths and arbitrary detentions to suppression of dissent and discrimination against marginalised communities and minorities, India’s human rights record demands urgent scrutiny. Leading human rights activists warn that the situation has reached a point where silence is complicity and complacency is dangerous.
Civil liberties in India have come under significant pressure in recent years. The frequent use of stringent laws like UAPA, PSA, and sedition-related laws has raised alarm among legal experts and human rights defenders.
Prominent activist Harsh Mander has repeatedly argued that “India is witnessing the shrinking of democratic spaces where dissent is treated as a threat rather than a constitutional right.” He stresses that the criminalisation of peaceful protest, particularly seen during the anti-CAA demonstrations and various farmers’ protests, marks a disturbing shift in the state’s approach to public criticism.
Similarly, Shabnam Hashmi, founder of ANHAD, said: “The assault on civil liberties is systematic. Independent voices, whether students, journalists, or activists, are being targeted through intimidation, surveillance, and legal harassment.”
These concerns gain sharper relevance as we observed Human Rights Day which reminds that the right to speak, question, and criticise is central to any functioning democracy.
Custodial deaths remain one of India’s most troubling human rights failures. According to rights groups, hundreds of people die each year due to torture in police or judicial custody. This reflects both systemic impunity and a culture of normalised violence.
Former IPS officer and activist Dr. K.S. Subramanian once argued: “Custodial torture is not an aberration; it’s built into the structure of policing inherited from colonial times.” Despite multiple judgments by the Supreme Court prohibiting torture, the absence of a comprehensive anti-torture law weakens accountability.
The case of the father-son duo Jayaraj and Bennix from Tamil Nadu, who died after brutal custodial torture in 2020, continues to symbolise the urgent need for police reforms. But little has changed. For many families, justice remains elusive as inquiries drag on and officers frequently go unpunished.
Reports of violence, discrimination, and exclusion against religious minorities, Dalits and Adivasis remain widespread. Human rights activists argue that the narrative of majoritarian politics has emboldened vigilante groups and weakened institutional neutrality.
Veteran activist Teesta Setalvad warns: “Institutional prejudice and selective impunity have placed minorities at heightened risk. When rule of law collapses for one community, it endangers everyone.”
The rise in hate crimes, mob lynching incidents, and targeted harassment campaigns reflects a growing atmosphere of fear. Activists highlight that many victims’ families face intimidation, delayed FIRs, or pressure to withdraw complaints.
For Adivasi communities, displacement from forests, mining-induced evictions, and militarisation in “disturbed” regions continue to undermine their basic rights. Land and resource conflicts intensify as corporate interests gain precedence over constitutional protections.
India’s declining ranking in global press freedom indices is a reflection of growing pressures on journalists, arrests under anti-terror laws, sedition charges, raids on media houses, and threats against reporters investigating powerful interests.
Noted journalist and activist Rana Ayyub states: “The Indian press is functioning under an environment of unprecedented fear. Independent journalism is increasingly equated with anti-national activity.”
Several journalists, especially those in conflict-prone or politically sensitive areas, face harassment for reporting on human rights abuses, corruption, or police excesses. Their vulnerability is heightened by inadequate institutional protections and weak legal safeguards.
The alleged use of spyware like Pegasus, coupled with expanding digital surveillance infrastructure, has raised major concerns about the erosion of privacy. The absence of an independent data protection regulator and broad government exemptions in the Digital Personal Data Protection Act pose additional threats to citizens’ rights.
Activist Anand Patwardhan highlights: “Surveillance is the modern form of control. When citizens know they are being watched, dissent automatically diminishes.”
On Human Rights Day, digital rights advocates emphasise that privacy is not a luxury but a fundamental right essential to autonomy, free expression, and political freedom.
While India has made progress in gender representation and legal reforms, systemic issues remain pervasive. High rates of violence against women, slow judicial processes, and the stigmatisation of survivors continue to undermine justice.
Human rights lawyer Indira Jaising stresses: “The gap between law and implementation is enormous. Survivors face humiliation at police stations, medical facilities, and courtrooms. Patriarchal attitudes embedded within institutions perpetuate injustice.”
The increasing weaponisation of social media for gendered harassment, including deepfake imagery and stalking, further threatens women’s freedom and safety.
Human rights concerns in Kashmir remain acute, with activists highlighting communication blackouts, arbitrary detentions, restrictions on the press, and excessive militarisation.
Activist ParveenaAhanger, founder of Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), says, “For families of the disappeared, every day is Human Rights Day, because every day we fight for truth and accountability.”
The absence of political dialogue, coupled with extended detentions under PSA and UAPA, has deepened alienation.
On Human Rights Day, activists collectively argued that India’s greatest strength, its constitutional framework, must guide its future. They call for:
- Police and judicial reforms to end custodial violence,
- Repeal or amendment of draconian laws that enable arbitrary detention,
- Protection of minorities and strict action against hate crimes,
- Strengthening freedom of press and safeguarding journalists,
- Ensuring digital rights and privacy protections, and
- Measures to address gender-based violence and institutional patriarchy.
As Harsh Mander poignantly puts it, “Human rights are not abstract ideals, they are the lived experiences of people. A nation’s moral worth is measured not by the power it wields but by the dignity it protects.”
On Human Rights, India faces a pressing reality, progress is impossible without acknowledging its injustices. The call from activists is clear, restore the constitutional promise of justice, liberty, equality, and dignity for all.