IAMC Weekly India Human Rights Monitor (October 17, 2025)
This Week at a Glance
This week, in Gujarat, over 180 Muslim homes and shops were bulldozed after communal clashes, while in Maharashtra, seven Muslim cattle traders were beaten by Hindu vigilantes despite carrying valid documents. The Bombay High Court granted bail to three accused in the 2015 murder of CPI leader Govind Pansare, including a Hindu extremist linked to the killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar. On the US front, IAMC and our coalition partners all expressed alarm over California Governor Gavin Newsom’s decision to veto a bill that would combat transnational repression, which affects Indian Americans throughout the state.
Top Stories
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoes bill aimed at combating transnational repression
California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed SB509, a bill aimed at protecting communities from transnational repression (TNR) from foreign governments, including from far-right authoritarian regimes such as that of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
California has the nation’s largest population of Indian Americans, and has seen multiple reports of TNR by the Indian government, including assassination attempts on Sikhs in Fremont and smear campaigns directed at anti-caste activists using Indian government-produced propaganda.
Anti-conversion bill, denial of burial rights hit Christians across Chhattisgarh
Over 400 villagers from 22 villages across Chhattisgarh state’s Kanker resolved to deny burial rights to Christians. These attacks on Christians’ basic rights have been deepened by the BJP-led government’s introduction of a “stringent” anti-conversion bill, which would criminalize conversions from Hinduism, and further legitimize anti-Christian persecution at the interpersonal level.
Muslims lose homes, shops to bulldozers after communal tensions in Gujarat
Nearly 180 houses and shops, overwhelmingly belonging to Muslims, were reduced to rubble by bulldozers in Bahiyal village in Gujarat, leaving scores of families without shelter days after communal tensions in the area. This incident is being viewed as yet another instance of collective punishment against Muslims, following a nationwide crackdown on Muslims linked to the “I Love Muhammad” campaign.
(CJP)
Seven Muslims injured as cow vigilantes assault cattle transporters in Maharashtra
A group of Hindu extremist cow vigilantes allegedly assaulted seven Muslim men, including a 62-year-old man, who were transporting cattle from a weekly market. Despite the victims’ explanation that the animals were meant for agricultural purposes and that they had valid purchase documents, the attackers allegedly beat them with sticks and logs.
Hindu extremists accused in Govind Pansare murder case granted bail
The Bombay High Court granted bail to three prime accused in the 2015 murder of Govind Pansare, a leader of the Communist Party of India. The accused included Virendra Tawade, a Hindu extremist leader, who was also named as the “key conspirator” in the murder of writer and rationalist Narendra Dabholkar. Hindu extremists shot Pansare near his house in February 2015, and he succumbed to his injuries five days later.
Hate crimes and discrimination in India
In Mumbai, police stormed the Tata Institute of Social Sciences campus and detained several students for holding a peaceful memorial for late human rights defender G.N. Saibaba. In Odisha’s Cuttack, around 6,000 Hindutva men wielding bamboo sticks attacked a Muslim-majority market, vandalizing shops and vehicles. In Uttar Pradesh, authorities invoked the National Security Act against a Muslim cleric accused of “instigating” last year’s Sambhal mosque-linked violence, while in Haryana’s Mewat, a 50-year-old Muslim man died after being assaulted and allegedly tortured in police custody. The week also saw Kerala’s Congress leadership demand accountability over the death of an RSS volunteer whose suicide note accused senior members of sexual abuse, and the Allahabad High Court granted bail to a Muslim youth falsely implicated in an alleged Al-Qaeda case, citing lack of evidence.
Resistance & Organizing
Nine years on, JNU students march demanding answers over Najeeb Ahmed’s disappearance
As October 15 marks nine years since the forced disappearance of JNU student Najeeb Ahmed, various student groups held a “Justice for Najeeb” march, raising their collective voice against impunity. Najeeb Ahmed, a student, was allegedly abducted and disappeared from outside his hostel at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Civil society groups in Karnataka launch campaign against Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision
More than 100 representatives from civil society organisations, political parties, trade unions, women’s groups and student unions met in Bengaluru to oppose the Election Commission’s decision to implement the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka. The participants adopted a resolution to launch a state-wide campaign titled “My Vote, My Right” to resist what they called an “NRC-like” process that could disenfranchise marginalized voters.
Opposition Minister urges ban on RSS activities in Karnataka’s public institutions
In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge urged a ban on all RSS activities in government institutions and public premises across the state, stating that such actions are contrary to India’s unity and the spirit of the Constitution.
Defender of the Week
This week, we’re spotlighting Iqra Hasan, a Member of Parliament associated with the Samajwadi Party. This week, after being subjected to abusive slogans and called a “terrorist” during her visit to Saharanpur’s Chapaur village following temple vandalism protests, Iqra stood her ground, condemning the language of hate and reaffirming her commitment to inclusive politics. In Parliament, Iqra has been a strong critic of discriminatory education policies and the erasure of minority history.
Voices from the Ground
- BJP workers lynch a Dalit man to death in Rae Bareli
- A man who subscribes to the RSS ideology hurls a shoe at CJI BR Gavai
- The suicide of Dalit IPS Officer Puran Kumar ji in BJP-ruled Haryana because he was fed up of caste-based discrimination
All 3 incidents in the last week alone.
IAMC in Action
- IAMC has expressed our alarm over California Governor Gavin Newsom’s veto of SB509. You can read our full statement 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.
