Rights Tracker
rights tracker

India

How well is India respecting people's human rights?

Use the tabs below to explore the scores.

rights tracker

Safety from the State - overview

(2023)

How well is India's government respecting each right?

Summary score

0

Score

10

Right to freedom from

Very bad

Bad

Fair

Good

Source: HRMI 2024 rightstracker.org

India's Safety from the State score of 3.8 out of 10 suggests that many people are not safe from one or more of the following: arbitrary arrest, torture and ill-treatment, forced disappearance, execution, or extrajudicial killing.

For civil and political rights, we don't have sufficient data across South Asia countries to allow for a regional comparison. However, when compared to the other countries in our sample, India is performing lower than average on the right to be safe from the state.

Over time

0510201720172018201920202021202220233.8

80% uncertainty band

0510201720172018201920202021202220235.6

80% uncertainty band

05102017201720182019202020212022202310.0

80% uncertainty band

0510201720172018201920202021202220234.6

80% uncertainty band

0510201720172018201920202021202220233.9

80% uncertainty band

Source: HRMI 2024 rightstracker.org

People at risk

(2023)

Which people in India were identified by human rights experts to be particularly at risk of having their

violated?

Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.

Source: HRMI 2024 rightstracker.org

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to arbitrary or political arrest and detention by government agents in 2023, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

  • People from tribal communities, especially Adivasi people from the Central Belt, and people of nomadic and denotified tribes
  • Indigenous peoples from North-Eastern states, especially activists and human rights defenders
  • People from oppressed caste communities such as the Dalit and Bahujan communities, especially women, journalists, activists, human rights defenders, and political leaders
  • People from Manipur, particularly in Meitei dominated areas in the Imphal valley where the state government has been accused of supporting the majority Meitei community against the Kuki-Zo communities during the ongoing ethnic violence
  • Peaceful protests by Dalit groups, such as Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, for land and forest protection led to arrests of its members and activists
  • Christian communities, especially pastors and school principals who are accused of alleged religious conversions
  • Muslims, especially refugees, men, boys, and those living in Assam and Uttar Pradesh
  • Muslim people in Kashmir are vulnerable to military and police actions
  • There are reports of Muslim people being penalised for praying, in both public and private spaces, and for interfaith marriages
  • People from Sikh communities, especially activists and farmers
  • People from Dalit and Muslim communities are arrested and often detained without trial or bail
  • People who oppose Hindutva or the Hindu nationalist ideology, especially people from minority communities
  • People who live near protest sites are reported to be arrested under false charges
  • Activists and human rights defenders, especially from Jammu and Kashmir, North-Eastern states, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, as well as women’s rights defenders
  • Protesters, including university students, risk being detained under anti-terror laws
  • Journalists, particularly independent journalists who are critical of the government, especially in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Kashmir, Manipur, and Madhya Pradesh
  • Some journalists who report on sensitive matters, such as ethnic violence in Manipur, are arrested under anti-terror laws, especially the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
  • Journalists, human rights defenders, and activists reporting human rights abuses risk being labelled ‘anti-national’ or engaged in ‘terrorist activities’ and having criminal charges framed under anti-terror laws and national security laws
  • Social media posts critical of the government or political leaders are taken down and those making them are arrested and prosecuted
  • Opposition party workers and leaders
  • Agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Directorate of Enforcement, and the National Investigation Agency are used to arrest and detain those criticising or opposing the Bhartiya Janta Party government or the Prime Minister
  • Students, human rights defenders, other protesters, and representatives of farmers, are detained pending trial for prolonged durations and often denied bail
  • People living in areas with a high military presence, especially Kashmir and the North-Eastern states
  • Human rights defenders, especially from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Kashmir, Jharkhand, Odisha, Manipur, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra
  • People living in areas affected by Naxalism
  • Stateless people
  • Migrants are harassed by police and non-state forces, especially in states with international borders
  • Rohingya refugees

 

When we asked survey respondents to provide more information about which caste-based groups were especially at risk for violations of this right:

  • 81% said Other Dalit communities (such as Muslims or Christians)
  • 69% said Scheduled Castes
  • 44% said Other Backward Classes (OBCs)

 

When we asked survey respondents to provide more information about which Indigenous communities were especially at risk for violations of this right:

 

When we asked survey respondents to provide more information about which religious communities were especially at risk for violations of this right:

  • 81% said Muslims
  • 75% said Christians
  • 47% said Sikhs
  • 17% said Hindus
  • 11% said Buddhists
  • 3% said Jains

Country details

Population

1,417.2m (2022)

GDP/capita

$2,411 (2022)

current US dollars

$7,112 (2022)

2017 PPP dollars

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