IAMC Weekly India Human Rights Monitor (August 1, 2025)

This Week at a Glance 

This week, the Election Commission of India Over 2,000 Bengali-origin Muslim families were targeted in mass evictions in Assam, while a special court acquitted all Hindu supremacists accused in a terrorist attack – the 2008 Malegaon blasts – including BJP lawmaker Pragya Thakur. A Muslim student was lynched in Uttar Pradesh, another was killed in a suspected fake encounter in Jammu, and a disabled man’s postmortem confirmed brutal lynching injuries in Mangaluru. Christians, too, reported growing attacks and police apathy. Amid all this, jailed activist Sharjeel Imam announced his bid to contest elections from prison. On the US front, IAMC won a massive victory after our outreach pushed Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos to condemn the inflammatory and Islamophobic rhetoric of Indian Hindu supremacist leader Kajal Hindustani.

Top Stories

1. All Accused Including Hindu Extremist BJP Leader Acquitted in 2008 Blast Case

A special court acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon bombings, including Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Pragya Singh Thakur, citing lack of cogent evidence after a 17-year-long trial. The blasts, which killed six and injured over 100 during Ramadan in a Muslim locality, were initially investigated as a Hindutva terror conspiracy.

Image: Maktoob Media

2. India’s Voter Roll Review in Bihar Sparks Fears of Mass Disenfranchisement

A government effort to verify voters in Bihar is forcing millions, mostly poor, Muslim, and landless citizens, to prove their citizenship or risk losing the right to vote. Rights groups say the process mirrors a previous citizenship drive in Assam that left nearly two million people stateless.

Image: Maktoob Media

3. Assam Targets Over 2,000 Bengali Muslim Families in Massive Eviction Drive

The Assam government has launched a mass eviction drive in Golaghat district, targeting over 2,000 Bengali-origin Muslim families to clear 4,900 acres of land. Framed by officials as an anti-encroachment effort, the move is part of a series of recent evictions across Assam that have displaced thousands, drawing criticism for disproportionately targeting Muslims.

Image: Maktoob Media

4. Bengali-Speaking Muslim Migrants Flee Gurugram Amid Police Crackdown 

Thousands of Bengali-speaking migrants, mostly Muslims from Assam and West Bengal, are fleeing Gurugram as police intensify a sweeping crackdown, accusing them of being “illegal Bangladeshi nationals.” Meanwhile in Pune, Maharashtra, a mob of Hindu extremists stormed the home of a Muslim family accusing them of being “Bangladeshis” despite the fact that the family included two Indian Army veterans.

5. Two Young Muslim Men Killed in Separate Incidents in India

A 21-year-old Muslim man, Mohammad Parvez, was shot dead by police in Jammu during a raid his family alleges was a fake encounter. In another incident, 17-year-old Arish Khan was beaten to death with rods outside his school in Uttar Pradesh, with videos showing supporters of the accused celebrating the killing.

6. Hate crimes and discrimination in India

This week, in Mangaluru, the postmortem report of Ashraf, a mentally disabled Muslim man lynched by a Hindutva mob, revealed over 35 external injuries that cumulatively caused his death. In Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur, officials demolished the home of a Muslim man’s relative linked to an alleged conversion case. Just days ago in Kamrup, Assamese residents attacked Bengali-speaking Muslim workers, declaring that no “Miya” — a slur for Muslims of Bengali origin — would be allowed to live in the city. The Catholic Bishops Conference of India has warned of escalating violence against Christians following a BJP lawmaker’s call for attacks on priests and the recent arrest of two Catholic nuns in Chhattisgarh.

Resistance & Organizing

Image: Renan Khan

Prisoner of Conscience Sharjeel Imam to Contest Bihar Elections from Jail

Sharjeel Imam, a Muslim activist and scholar jailed since 2020 over his role in the protesting against a discriminatory and anti-Muslim citizenship law, has announced his intention to contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections as an independent candidate. Imam, widely credited as the architect of the iconic Shaheen Bagh sit-in, remains incarcerated under draconian anti-terror laws despite securing bail in most related cases.

Image: Observer Post

Delhi Workshop Trains Young Journalists to Build Stronger Alternative Media

In a bid to empower emerging voices, the Cogito Media Foundation hosted a national workshop in Delhi, training dozens of young journalists in ethical, independent digital media practices. Held in collaboration with Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind and the All India Muslim Development Council, the event featured experts from The Quint, Al Jazeera, and Times Group on skills like fact-checking, video editing, and AI in journalism. 

Defender of the Week

This week marks five years since Delhi University professor and anti-caste academic Dr. Hany Babu was jailed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the Bhima Koregaon case. A vocal advocate for Dalit and Adivasi rights, Babu has been imprisoned without trial, accused of inciting violence and Maoist links—allegations rooted in contested digital evidence. Despite his deteriorating health and multiple bail attempts, he remains in Navi Mumbai’s Taloja Jail, even as several co-accused have been granted bail. 

Voices from the Ground 

“I have witnessed so many people getting acquitted after a long period of incarceration, sometimes after close to a decade or sometimes even more. Hapless prisoners spending months or even years in prison even after being granted bail as they are unable to meet the bail conditions.”

• Dr. Hany Babu, prisoner of conscience 

IAMC in Action

• IAMC won a massive victory after our outreach pushed Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos to condemn the inflammatory and Islamophobic rhetoric of Indian Hindu supremacist leader Kajal Hindustani, after initially issuing a ceremonial citation recognizing Hindustani. You can read our statement on the issue here. 
• We’re continuing to catalogue daily hate crimes against Muslims and other minorities in India on our social media. Follow us on X and Instagram to keep up to date on the situation. 

What to Watch Next Week

• Our friends at Sikh Coalition are holding a teach-in on August 7 titled “Challenging the Darkness: A Teach-In on the Life and Legacy of Bhai Jaswant Singh Khalra,” which will discuss issues of human rights, transnational repression, and more. You can learn more here. ⁠
• Our friends at Hindus for Human Rights and the International Commission for Dalit Rights are now accepting submissions for their Student Art & Essay Contest. Check out this year’s prompt here. 
• The Savera coalition has begun releasing parts of our new zine, titled “Savera’s Guide to Recognizing Hindu Supremacy.” We will release new installments of the zine every week. You can start reading the zine from this post. 
• Our friends at CAIR National have just opened registration for their leadership & policy conference on Resilience, Resistance & Renewal in September. You can learn more here.