IAMC Weekly India Human Rights Monitor (July 3, 2026)
This Week at a Glance
This week, a report documented around 50 incidents of communal violence, harassment and intimidation targeting Muslims during Eid Al-Adha. One year after its launch, the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision has removed nearly 60 million voters from electoral rolls nationwide. In separate incidents, a Muslim man was assaulted on a train in UP for wearing a beard and skullcap, and a Muslim youth died after a mob attack over a children’s cricket dispute. West Bengal’s BJP government passed legislation removing 77 Muslim communities from the state’s OBC list and cutting the reservation quota from 17 to 7 per cent. An APCR fact-finding report found the killing of a 71-year-old Muslim man in Bengal’s Hooghly was part of organized post-poll violence, and three Muslim women were arrested in UP’s Kaushambi for allegedly cooking beef at home.
Top Stories
Around 50 incidents of violence and intimidation reported during Eid Al-Adha celebrations
A report documented around 50 separate incidents of communal violence, harassment, arrests and intimidation targeting Muslims during Eid Al-Adha celebrations across India. The incidents ranged from disruptions to Eid prayers, protests and confrontations over animal sacrifice, attacks on worshippers, and criminal cases filed over social media posts related to the festival. The findings align with an earlier APCR report which had documented 46 anti-Muslim hate crimes between May 11 and May 29, with 30 directly linked to Eid, including three deaths.
One year of SIR: Nearly 60 million voters deleted from electoral rolls across India
The Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has completed one year since its pilot launch in Bihar, with nearly 60 million names removed from electoral rolls nationwide. Opposition parties and civil society groups have repeatedly accused the Election Commission of acting at the behest of the BJP to disenfranchise citizens. In a separate case, the Gauhati High Court declared a Muslim man a “foreigner” despite 15 documents backing his citizenship claim. A senior journalist reported that his passport renewal was stalled after his name was deleted from the voter rolls during the SIR process.
Muslim man assaulted on UP train for wearing beard and skullcap; Muslim youth dies after mob attack
A Muslim man from Bihar alleged that he was assaulted on a train in Uttar Pradesh by co-passengers who targeted him because of his beard and skullcap. Separately, a Muslim youth in Uttar Pradesh died after being beaten by a mob following a cricket dispute among children.
West Bengal removes 77 Muslim communities from OBC list, cuts reservation quota from 17% to 7%
The West Bengal Assembly passed two amendment Bills restoring the pre-2010 Other Backward Classes (OBC) list and reducing the OBC reservation quota from 17 to 7 per cent. The legislation removed 77 Muslim communities that had been included in the OBC category. The Bills were passed with 186 votes in favour and 17 against. Opposition leaders say the move is expected to impact reservation access for Muslim communities, affecting education and government employment opportunities across the state.
APCR report finds Muslim man’s killing in Hooghly was part of organized post-poll violence
A fact-finding report by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) has concluded that the killing of 71-year-old SK Shahaalam in Hooghly district, was not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of organized post-poll violence in West Bengal. Shahaalam, a daily-wage labourer and the sole breadwinner of his family, was dragged out of his home by a group of men and brutally assaulted with bamboo sticks, bricks and iron rods. Women who tried to intervene were also attacked. His family said the attackers were BJP supporters who accused him of supporting the opposition TMC.
Three Muslim women arrested in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly cooking beef at home
Three Muslim women were arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi district after police raided their home over allegations that they were cooking beef. Police registered a case under the UP Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act despite the seized meat still being sent to a forensic laboratory for confirmation.
Hate crimes and discrimination in India
This week, a video surfaced showing a Muslim woman alleging communal harassment on a bus. In Kolkata, Bajrang Dal members threatened Muslim meat vendors, telling them to “stop selling halal or leave.” In UP, bulldozers demolished an under-construction mosque in Peharuwala after a complaint by the Hindu Raksha Dal. In Haryana’s Karnal, two Muslim cattle traders were assaulted by cow vigilantes and then handed over to police. In Meerut, a man named Sheman Khan alleged that police shot him in a 2019 encounter, leaving him paralyzed for seven years. “Muslims prohibited” posters appeared at a shrine complex in Saharanpur. Hindu extremist leader Narsinghanand backed a call for the massacre of Muslims. A Muslim principal in Telangana was assaulted over Urdu classes and then booked by police as well. In Gujarat’s Kutch, 30 structures including mosques and homes were demolished with residents alleging no prior notice.
Resistance & Organizing
Hindus and Muslims unite in Rajasthan’s border villages against mosque demolitions
In Rajasthan’s border districts, Hindu and Muslim communities organized joint protests under the banner “Sarvadharma Shanti Sabha” (Peaceful Assembly of All Religions) against the state government’s demolition drive targeting mosques near the Pakistan border. Hundreds gathered outside the Barmer District Magistrate’s office and submitted a memorandum to the President of India demanding an immediate pause on demolitions.
23 opposition parties write to CJI over SIR; Tamil Nadu challenges cow slaughter ban
Twenty-three opposition parties, including the DMK and AAP, jointly wrote to the Chief Justice of India raising concerns over the SIR exercise and its impact on voters. The Tamil Nadu government moved the Supreme Court challenging the Madras High Court’s cow slaughter ban order.
Defender of the Week
This week, we’re spotlighting Surtaram Meghwal, a two-time elected Dalit Sarpanch from Paradia village in Rajasthan’s Barmer district, who emerged as one of the leading voices in the interfaith movement against the BJP government’s demolition drive targeting mosques along the India-Pakistan border. As notices were issued to around 350 mosques across four border districts under “Operation Sweep,” Meghwal organized and led joint Hindu-Muslim demonstrations under the banner “Sarvadharma Shanti Sabha” (Peaceful Assembly of All Religions). He publicly challenged the legality of the state’s actions, arguing that if mosques were being checked and demolished, temples should be examined under the exact same legal standards.
Voices from the Ground
“It is heartbreaking and enraging the way this government has weaponised the judicial process to punish dissenters and its critics. This led to the death of 84 year old Father Stan Swamy. A death the Indian judiciary should answer for. How long must Umar (Khalid) suffer?!”
– Swara Bhasker, Actor
