IAMC Weekly India Human Rights Monitor (September 5, 2025)
This Week at a Glance
This week, the Delhi High Court denied bail to nine Muslim activists, including Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, after more than five years without trial under draconian anti-terror laws. Human Rights Watch accused India of expelling nearly 200 Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh and forcing others into Myanmar. The Home Ministry moved to protect non-Muslim refugees while excluding Muslims, even as courts questioned petitions targeting Muslim shrines and migrants. Bulldozers razed Muslim homes and shrines in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and hate crimes continued with clerics assaulted, families forced into hiding, and attacks tied to cow protection and “love jihad” claims. On the US front, IAMC announced that the Human Rights & Religious Freedom Journalism Grant 2025 is now open for applications from courageous journalists covering stories affecting the vulnerable and marginalized in India. We also put out a statement decrying the denial of bail to Umar Khalid and other activists.
Top Stories
Image: Maktoob
India Denies Bail to Muslim Activists After Five Years Without Trial
The Delhi High Court has refused bail to nine activists, including Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who have spent more than five years in jail under India’s sweeping anti-terror law for their role in peaceful protests against the anti-Muslim Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Human rights groups condemned the decision as a “grave miscarriage of justice,” warning it exemplifies the government’s weaponization of the judicial system to silence dissent.
India Expels Rohingya Refugees to Bangladesh and Myanmar, Says HRW
Human Rights Watch has accused India of violating international law by deporting nearly 200 Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh and forcing dozens more into Myanmar waters since May. The human rights group documented beatings, confiscation of documents, and the assault of children during these inhumane deportations.
India Allows Non-Muslim Refugees to Stay Without Passports, Excludes Muslims
India’s Home Ministry announced that Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians fleeing persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan will be allowed to remain in the country without passports if they arrived before December 31, 2024. The order, issued under the new Immigration and Foreigners Act, pointedly excludes Muslims, deepening concerns over India’s discriminatory citizenship and refugee policies.
Indian Courts Question Targeting of Muslims in Encroachment and Deportation Cases
The Delhi High Court questioned a Hindu supremacist-aligned NGO for repeatedly singling out Muslim shrines and places of worship as “encroachments,” while the Supreme Court demanded answers on the detention and deportation of Bengali-speaking Muslim migrants. Judges stressed that selective petitions against Muslim sites and blanket presumptions of citizenship based on language reflect bias.
Bulldozer Crackdown Targets Muslims in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand
Authorities in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand demolished Muslim homes and shrines in a series of actions critics say reflect selective “bulldozer justice.” In Jalaun, the house of a Muslim man accused in local violence was razed before trial, while shrines in Dehradun and Sitapur were torn down along with homes and shops, leaving families homeless without warning.
Hate crimes and discrimination in India
This week, in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda, a Muslim cleric was assaulted, his beard pulled, and skull cap snatched, while being forced to chant Hindu slogans. In Haryana’s Nuh, a Dalit family that converted to Islam has gone into hiding after Hindu groups accused them of “systematic conversions,” sparking tension and police action. Meanwhile, Hindu extremists perpetrated violence linked to cow protection and “love jihad” claims, with trucks torched in Uttarakhand, drivers harassed in Rajasthan, and a Muslim man beaten before being handed to police. Authorities in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, have also booked seven people for hoisting a Palestinian flag on a school.
Resistance & Organizing
Odisha NGO Takes on Big Tech Over Silencing of Social Justice Voices
In a landmark move, the Sadaqat Welfare Foundation in Odisha has launched legal action against LinkedIn and Microsoft, accusing them of arbitrarily restricting the account of its founder, Manoj Kumar Das, who advocates for Dalit, Adivasi, migrant, and minority rights. The NGO says the case isn’t just about one account but about safeguarding digital rights for India’s marginalized communities, pledging to set a precedent against Big Tech’s unchecked power.
Bank Employees in Kerala Defy Beef Ban with Protest Lunch
In Kerala’s Kochi, Canara Bank employees staged a spirited protest against a manager’s attempt to ban beef in the office canteen by serving beef outside the branch. Organized by the Bank Employees Federation of India, the action highlighted both workplace harassment and the right to food choice.
Image: Seyid Fahri
Hundreds rally against Gaza genocide, targeting of press
Over 700 protestors rallied at a solidarity gathering in support of Palestine in Kerala’s Kannur, as part of the Student Islamic Organization’S (SIO) month-long campaign Tahya Filasteen (“Long Live Palestine”). In Mumbai, journalists, media workers, and activists gathered for a solidarity meet and mourned the “unprecedented killing” of media professionals in Gaza, condemned the targeting of press workers, and pledged solidarity with Palestinian reporters.
Defender of the Week
Image: Maktoob
This week, we’re spotlighting Former Planning Commission member and human rights activist Syeda Hameed who has come under attack from right-wing groups and the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), which filed police complaints demanding her arrest over remarks made during a civil society visit to Assam. Hameed, alongside Harsh Mander, Wajahat Habibullah, Prashant Bhushan, and others, highlighted the precarious plight of Bengali-speaking Muslims facing evictions, detentions, and statelessness under the Himanta Biswa Sarma government’s policies.
Voices from the Ground
“We strongly believe that this judgment (denial of bail to anti-CAA activists) will have a chilling effect on peaceful protest and free speech, particularly impacting minority voices and student activists. The real perpetrators of the riots are still at large, while those who protested peacefully languish in prison. This is not justice.”
– Malik Moatasim Khan, Vice President, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH)
IAMC in Action
- IAMC is pleased to announce that submissions are now open for the 2025 HRRF Journalism Grant Program. The program offers grants to independent journalists pursuing in-depth stories that highlight urgent human rights and religious freedom issues in India and across its global diaspora. Apply now here.
- We released a statement decrying the recent denial of bail to several prominent human rights defenders, including Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and seven other activists in a blatant move to punish the activists for speaking out against government repression.
- 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
- This weekend, our Raleigh chapter will be holding a meeting to discuss ways to further our chapter’s activities, reach, and participation. We’re open to new volunteers and interested individuals of all backgrounds. Reach out to amin@iamc.com for more details if you’d like to attend.
- For California residents: our friends at SALDEF have put together a form that allows you to contact your representatives and urge them to pass SB509, which will recognize and provide tools to push back against the growing threat of transnational repression from governments like India. Take action here.
- The Savera coalition is continuing to release installments 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.
