IAMC Weekly India Human Rights Monitor (March 6, 2026)
This Week at a Glance
This week, in its 2026 report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended sanctions against the RSS and urged the State Department to designate India as a Country of Particular Concern. In West Bengal, outcry over voter roll revisions intensified after three suicides were reported over individuals who found their names “under adjudication”. A 13-year-old Muslim boy was found dead in Lucknow and a Muslim man was lynched in Assam. In Varanasi, demolitions affecting Muslim homes, shops and mosques, continued under a road-widening project for the Kashi Vishwanath temple, while separate incidents included the demolition of a dargah in Gujarat, police cases against Muslims for offering prayers in Malegaon, and a temple functionary in Uttarakhand forcing a minor Muslim girl to chant “Jai Sri Ram.”
Top Stories
USCIRF’s calls to sanction RSS for “severe violations of religious freedom”
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) has recommended that the US State Department impose targeted sanctions on India’s largest Hindu supremacist paramilitary group, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), for its “responsibility and tolerance of severe violations of religious freedom” against religious minorities. The recommendation came as part of USCIRF’s 2026 Annual Report. The body also recommended India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its severe violations of human rights and religious freedoms for the seventh consecutive year.
(Indian Express)
Three, including two Muslims, die by suicide; one dies of shock over voter roll revision
A 43-year-old woman from Malda died by suicide upon discovering that her name had been placed under the “under adjudication” category in the preliminary “final” electoral roll published by the Election Commission in West Bengal. Her death comes amid reports that as many as three persons whose names were placed under the shadow of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) adjudication died by suicide within 48 hours in the state. The Election Commission had also announced that 500,000 names have been deleted from West Bengal’s electoral rolls as part of the controversial SIR.
3-year-old Muslim boy found dead in UP; Muslim man lynched in Assam
A 13-year-old Muslim boy was found dead in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, with his family alleging that he was taken from his home and murdered. A complaint has been registered against four persons, including a relative of a BJP leader. Meanwhile, an incident of mob lynching has been reported from Assam’s Karimganj, where a group of seven to eight youths brutally assaulted a Muslim man.
Meta blocks Kashmir Life’s Facebook, Instagram pages in India citing India govt’s notice
The Facebook and Instagram pages of Kashmir Life, a Kashmir-based independent news portal, became inaccessible in India after Meta restricted access at the request of law enforcement authorities. Its verified Facebook page has approximately 1.8 million followers. Meanwhile, police booked Kashmiri parliamentarian Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi and suspended his Facebook account after he condemned the US-Israel attack on Iran.
Bulldozers Clear Dalmandi for Kashi Temple Access, Muslim Residents Hit Hardest
A demolition drive in Varanasi’s historic Dalmandi neighbourhood has left homes, shops, and parts of the area’s commercial hub in ruins as authorities clear space for a $24 million road-widening project aimed at improving access to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The project involves the demolition of around 180 structures, including shops, houses, and six mosques, most of them owned or run by Muslims.
Hate crimes and discrimination in India
This week, in Maharashtra’s Malegaon, police booked seven Muslims for offering prayers inside a municipal Electricity Department office, while in Gujarat’s Bharuch officials demolished three Muslim shrines citing alleged encroachment. In Uttarakhand, a viral video showed a temple functionary stopping a minor Muslim girl on the road and pressuring her to chant “Jai Sri Ram”. Along the Delhi–Dehradun Expressway, an Islamophobic message reading “This road is not for Muslims” was painted, while in Muzaffarnagar, Hindu extremists opposed a Muslim family purchasing a house in a Hindu-majority locality, calling it “house jihad.” In Andhra Pradesh, Kashmiri nursing students called out discrimination including restrictions on hijab and denial of Ramadan accommodations, while in Karnataka’s Bidar two Muslim school teachers were reportedly assaulted, drawing large protests demanding police action.
Resistance & Organizing
Iftar gathers families of political prisoners, calls for sustained solidarity
An iftar, dua and public meeting in solidarity with political prisoners was held at the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CESA) in Mumbai. Organized by Innocence Network India, the annual gathering, now in its eighth year, drew former prisoners and their families, who organisers said made up nearly 80 per cent of the audience.
Civil society groups demand release of Adivasi rights defender after one year in jail under UAPA
Civil society groups in Delhi have demanded the release of Adivasi human rights defender Raghu Midiyami as he completes one year of incarceration under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada. Midiyami, 25, is based in Bastar and had been raising his voice against alleged extrajudicial killings, corporatisation, illegal tribal land grabs, and displacement in the region.
Defenders of the Week
This week we remember Ehsan Jafri, former Member of Parliament and poet, whose name remains synonymous with the struggle for justice after the 2002 Gujarat violence. On February 28, 2002, Jafri was among the 69 people killed at Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad after a mob attacked the Muslim residential enclave. Survivors reported that Jafri made desperate calls to police officials and political leaders for protection as the mob surrounded the colony, but help never arrived. In the years since, his widow Zakia Jafri pursued a long legal battle seeking accountability from senior state officials, turning the Gulberg Society massacre into a central case in the quest for justice for victims of the Gujarat riots
Voices from the Ground
“Paying tribute to the memory of Ehsan Jafri on the anniversary of the Gulberg Society massacre. A former MP and a staunch voice for a secular India, his brutal martyrdom remains a chilling reminder of the 2002 Gujarat genocide and the horrific cost of communal hatred. We also honor the relentless struggle of Zakia Jafri, whose lifelong legal battle for justice against the architects of the genocide inspired every secular mind in this country. Their lives remain a powerful call to resist the politics of communal division and safeguard our democratic values.
Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala Chief Minister
IAMC in Action
- On our latest episode of Beyond the Taj, activist Sharjeel Usmani joins us for a heartbreaking and harrowing exploration of life as a Muslim in Modi’s India, from the impact of navigating a constant fog of oppression, to the ways in which individuals continue to hope, keep faith, and resist. Watch or stream this episode now on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify.
What to Watch Next Week
- Ramadan Mubarak! Our volunteers will be putting on a Ramadan roadshow to raise awareness about Hindutva and IAMC’s work at masajid across the country. If you’d like to invite IAMC for a presentation at your masjid this Ramadan, contact amin@iamc.com.
