Tejas Bhatia

To what extent does the Modi government violate the international covenant on civil and political rights?

Started June 4, 2023

Abstract or project description

The Republic of India is widely regarded as the world’s largest democracy, which guarantees, through its constitution, fundamental civil and political rights — ranging from the freedom of speech and expression to the right to practice any religion. International governments must be held accountable for upholding the rights and privileges guaranteed to their citizens by their constitutions and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In the case of India, the Modi government has faced scrutiny by several United Nations members for not upholding the fundamental democratic principles enshrined by the ICCPR, specifically through religious discrimination against Indian Muslims and the implementation of freedom of speech and expression. In June of 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the United States for an official state visit hosted by the Biden administration. However, the visit was widely criticized due to the Modi government’s record on human, civil, and political rights, leading to several prominent Congressional representatives boycotting Modi’s address to a joint session of the United States Congress. As such, the relevant question is in what ways, if any, does the Modi government violate the international covenant on civil and political rights in Kashmir? To answer this question, I undertook literature reviews and qualitative interviews. For the literature review, I resorted to academic journals, and reports from non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the UN such as Amnesty International to understand the broader context of this topic. In addition, I conducted interviews with practitioners in human rights who have faced suppression of rights under the Modi government to provide additional evidence to answer the central question, while also gaining the perspective of the Indian government for a more nuanced understanding of the state of human rights in Kashmir, and broadly, in India. My research paper examines the status quo of civil liberties in India — ultimately providing the international community with greater means to enforce the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to protect the world’s largest democracy.