'Verify before she vilifies': India rejects UN rapporteur's claims on youth protests

India has dismissed a report by a UN human rights expert that claims Indian youth face retaliation or stigmatization for discussing mental health or gender justice, describing the allegations as "hearsay." The Indian delegation to the United Nations presented an objection during the 81st Session of the UNGA Third Committee, delivered by Anuj Swarup, the First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN.

Swarup stated that the report's assertion that young people in India face such consequences is based on anonymous and unverified claims, which is not evidence but rather hearsay dressed up as a UN report. He emphasized that relying on such anonymous inputs to generalize for India's 1.4 billion people does a disservice to the mandate held by the special rapporteur.

Swarup urged the Special Rapporteur to verify her claims before vilifying issues using unverified statements.