India urged to cease 'use of excessive force' to curb protests

United Nations experts have urged India to cease the use of excessive force in recent crackdowns on protests, where demonstrators sustained injuries and some reported ill-treatment. Opposition parties and student organizations staged protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a voter list revision they claim favors Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Mass protests over exam-paper leaks in the summer led to the resignation of the education minister. Despite the peaceful nature of the assemblies, law enforcement reportedly deployed force against unarmed students, including baton charges, and prevented thousands from joining the protests. The experts called on authorities to immediately cease the use of excessive force, rescind blanket assembly bans, and refrain from misusing digital surveillance, including biometrics and Internet disruptions.

India has dismissed such criticism as interference in its internal affairs, while protesting groups argue that the removal of 130 million names from voter lists disenfranchised eligible voters, disproportionately affecting poor and homeless people, as well as ethnic minorities like Muslims, who are unlikely to vote for the Hindu nationalist BJP.