Experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Welcome its First Dialogue with India since 2007, Ask about Anti-Muslim Hate Speech and Freedom of Religion for Dalits
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today concluded its consideration of the combined twentieth and twenty-first periodic reports of India on its implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Committee Experts welcomed the State’s return before the Committee for the first time since 2007 and asked about measures addressing anti-Muslim hate speech and promoting freedom of religion for Dalits who converted to another religion.
Several Committee Experts welcomed that India was returning before the Committee after a long absence, with the last review of the State conducted in 2007.
Stamatia Stavrinaki, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, said independent monitoring recorded over 1,300 anti-Muslim hate-speech incidents in 2025, including recurring rhetoric attributed to senior officials. What measures addressed hate speech disseminated online and in political and electoral discourse?
Chinsung Chung, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, said that in a recent judgment of 24 March 2026, the Supreme Court pronounced that any act of conversion to other religions would result in immediate loss of Scheduled Caste status. What measures were taken to guarantee the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion by Dalits who converted to Christianity or Islam?
Introducing the report, Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India and head of the delegation, said the Indian subcontinent had, for millennia, been a meeting place of peoples, languages, faiths, cultures and traditions. Today, more than 1.4 billion Indians lived within this extraordinary diversity. If any discrimination or social prejudice arose, the Constitution committed the State to redressing it. India sought to ensure equality, dignity and opportunity for every citizen.
The delegation said legislation from 2023 criminalised acts amounting to hate speech and hate crimes. When offences were conducted against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, additional protections applied. There were redress mechanisms available for victims. The Supreme Court had detailed guidelines on the legal regime to be followed whenever hate speech took place.
Freedom of religion was a constitutional guarantee in India, the delegation said. There was no prohibition against conversion from one religion to another. The Supreme Court had judged that the removal of advantages from disadvantaged groups when they converted to another religion was constitutional.
In concluding remarks, Ms. Stavrinaki said India had a rich legal and institutional framework and a broad set of measures combatting historical injustices. She called on the State to establish a comprehensive anti-discrimination law and an equality institution, and to continue to lead international law and move equality forward.
Mr. Mehta, in his concluding remarks, said that, at a time of growing divisions globally, the ancient Indian concept that “the whole world is a family” had gained renewed relevance. Humanity’s collective future required respect for diversity and dignity. India looked forward to continuing its constructive engagement with the Committee in advancing these shared objectives.
Gün Kut, Committee Chair, in concluding remarks, said the Committee’s efforts were geared towards bringing the State’s attention to issues that it believed required a solution. The State party’s success in improving the situation in India was the Committee’s success in performing its mandate. Mr. Kut commended India for paying its regular budget contribution to the United Nations in full within the 30-day timeline.
The delegation of India consisted of representatives of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment; Ministry of External Affairs; Ministry of Minority; Ministry of Home Affairs; Office of the Solicitor General; and the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The Committee will issue its concluding observations on the report of India after the conclusion of its one hundred and eighteenth session on 25 August. The programme of work and other documents related to the session can be found here. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the meetings can be found here.
The Committee will next meet in public this afternoon, Wednesday, 12 August at 3 p.m. to consider the combined ninth to eleventh periodic reports of Honduras (CERD/C/HND/9-11).
Report
The Committee has before it the combined twentieth and twenty-first periodic reports of India (CERD/C/IND/20-21).
Presentation of Report
ARINDAM BAGCHI, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said the Convention was a key pillar of the global human rights architecture and among its oldest. The review presented India with an opportunity to reaffirm its steadfast commitment to the elimination of racism and racial discrimination, and to the goals of equality and non-discrimination. The delegation would participate in the review with an open mind and a willingness to learn and listen.
TUSHAR MEHTA, Solicitor General of India and head of the delegation, said the Indian subcontinent had, for millennia, been a meeting place of peoples, languages, faiths, cultures and traditions. Today, more than 1.4 billion Indians lived within this extraordinary diversity. Plurality was a defining feature of the national identity. There was harmony notwithstanding the myriad languages, faiths, regions, cultures and social practices. If any discrimination or social prejudice arose, the Constitution committed the State to redressing it. India sought to ensure equality, dignity and opportunity for every citizen.
Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution guaranteed equality before the law, prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of caste, creed, religion and sex, and ensured equality of opportunity. Article 21 protected life and dignity. Articles 29 and 30 protected cultural and educational rights, while article 51A called upon every citizen to promote harmony and preserve India’s rich composite culture. These guarantees were reinforced by an independent judiciary, democratic institutions, affirmative actions and an extensive framework of laws and public policies.
Having emerged from colonial rule, India was actively involved in the international struggle against colonialism, apartheid and racial discrimination and participated actively in the negotiations leading to the Convention. In this context, India also strongly supported the United Nations General Assembly resolution A/80/250, which declared the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised chattel enslavement to be the “gravest crime against humanity”.
Over the past decade, India’s governance philosophy had been “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas” – all together, development for all, and with the trust of all. Development programmes were need-based, targeted and demand-driven, without distinction of race, religion or any other factor. The results had been transformative. Extreme poverty had fallen dramatically. Hundreds of millions had gained access to bank accounts, health protection, sanitation, clean drinking water, housing, electricity and digital public services. Maternal and infant mortality had declined substantially; school participation had improved; and opportunities for women and historically disadvantaged communities had expanded.
Importantly, many of these gains had been greatest among those who started with the deepest disadvantages. India had complemented universal development with constitutionally mandated affirmative actions in education, public employment and political representation. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were politically represented at all levels. Around 1.2 million women today served as elected representatives in rural local bodies. The President, herself from a tribal community, embodied the possibilities created by India’s democratic and constitutional journey.
In a country of 1.4 billion people, challenges remained, and new ones would emerge as society changed. India addressed these challenges through constitutional governance, democratic accountability, judicial remedies, targeted public policy and sustained socio-economic development. As India moved towards the centenary of its independence in 2047, its objective was to become a developed country and ensure that the benefits of that development reached every Indian. The delegation looked forward to a frank, respectful and constructive dialogue with the Committee that helped the State advance its shared objective: a society in which every individual enjoyed equality, opportunity and dignity.
Questions by Committee Experts
STAMATIA STAVRINAKI, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, said this was the eleventh time that the State party had come before the Committee. The Committee welcomed the renewal of India’s engagement.
The State party’s report referred to 2011 census data with no cross-classification based on gender, age or disability. Why did refugee figures not include categories for migrants, asylum seekers or stateless persons? How would the current census launched in April enumerate race and ethnic origin? What self-identification safeguards were envisaged for caste and tribal status data? Could the State party provide updated disaggregated data for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes?
Did the Government intend to adopt the draft anti-discrimination and equality bill, and did it envisage comprehensive legislation defining direct and indirect discrimination in line with the Convention? What independent evaluation had been carried out regarding the impact of measures to reduce the incidence of untouchability practices? Did India envisage adopting a national action plan on racial discrimination? How did the State party intend to close the protection gap in the private sphere?
India still did not have a single, comprehensive law defining or regulating hate speech. The Committee noted with concern that the Supreme Court had declined to hear petitions against named officials in 2026, and that no statutory aggravating factor existed for caste-, racially or ethnically motivated offences. Would the State party introduce such a factor? Independent monitoring recorded over 1,300 anti-Muslim hate-speech incidents in 2025, alongside derogatory online terminology stigmatising Dalits and Ambedkarite, including recurring rhetoric attributed to senior officials. What measures addressed hate speech disseminated online and in political and electoral discourse? What was the State party’s response regarding statements by senior officials, and had any measure been taken against organizations that promoted or incited racial or religious hatred?
A 2019 amendment enlarged the membership and investigative capacity of the National Human Rights Commission. However, the Committee was concerned that in April 2025, the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions had recommended downgrading the Commission from “A” to “B” status. What was the substance of the Alliance’s concerns and how was the Government addressing them? What safeguards protected the independence of member appointment processes from the executive, and what mandate did the Commission apply to complaints of racial or caste-based discrimination? Why had all seven National Commission for Minorities seats remained vacant since April 2025, and when did the Government intend to fill them?
It was unclear whether new National Commissions addressing matters related to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes had been set up and were active. Was this the case? What outcomes had these commissions achieved? What enforcement powers did they have? Around 73 per cent of the around 70,000 cases registered in 2021 related to Scheduled Castes were closed by police at the investigation phase and classified as “false”. Only around 10,000 cases were disposed, leading to 3,600 convictions. Why was the rate of case closures so high? What safeguards protected complainants and witnesses from pressure to withdraw or dilute complaints, and what measures were being taken to reduce the backlog in the Special Courts? Could the delegation provide updated 2023–2026 conviction and disposition figures?
Did the State party maintain any stop-and-search or preventive-detention data disaggregated by caste, tribal status, ethnicity or national origin? Were racial profiling complaints recorded as a distinct category by the National Human Rights Commission? Attacks on people of African descent were not classified as being racially motivated in the State party report. What was the basis for this?
The Committee was concerned by reports describing a pattern of extrajudicial killings said to disproportionately affect Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam and Adivasi communities in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, including a 2025 state policy reportedly offering payments for persons “captured, dead or alive.” Could the delegation comment on these reports and clarify the legal basis of the 2025 policy? Could the State party provide data on human rights violations disaggregated by Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and indigenous status? Was there an independent mechanism mandated to investigate killings occurring during security operations in Scheduled Areas? What powers did it have?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the concept of “descent” should not encompass caste. The Convention did not address caste. India considered the Committee’s general recommendation 29, which sought to expand descent to caste-based discrimination, as unacceptable. India also did not consider indigenous peoples and Scheduled Tribes as synonymous categories. Further, India believed that questions on intersectionality extended beyond the Committee’s mandate.
India’s Constitution sought to ensure the full and equal enjoyment of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The Constitution guaranteed the representation of these groups in elected institutions. Following the 2024 general elections, out of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, 84 were reserved for Scheduled Casts and 47 for Scheduled Tribes. In public employment, 15 per cent of posts in the Government were reserved for Scheduled Castes and 7.5 per cent for Scheduled Tribes, with corresponding measures also implemented at the provincial level. The Government had dedicated development policies targeting these groups. Out of around 47,000 villages with high populations of Scheduled Castes, more than 17,000 had already achieved development goals. For these reasons, the Government did not see the need to set up an equality commission.
In 2024, the State party recorded around 55,000 cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes and 9,900 cases involving Scheduled Tribes. Several thousand Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe victims had received redress measures, including financial relief amounting to around 49 million rupees.
The 2027 census would collect data covering demographic, socioeconomic, educational, migration and culture-related issues. The census framework respected the principle of self-identification. Supporting documentation was usually not required for self-identification. Modalities for the inclusion of castes in the census were being finalised. The inclusion of racial or ethnic origin categories could produce misleading data. India’s approach was therefore to collect data related to its own constitutional and policy framework.
India had been facing severe left-wing extremism in the Bastar region over the last four decades, and the tribal population was a major victim of this extremism. The Government had implemented security measures in response, and on 31 March 2026, the Government announced that no district in India was classified as “left-wing extremist operated”. The Criminal Procedural Code required that magisterial inquiries were held in cases of extrajudicial killings, and the National Human Rights Commission had guidelines on investigating such cases.
In the absence of evidence establishing that offences were motivated by racial hatred, it was not appropriate to classify attacks against people of African descent as being “racially motivated”. However, police patrolling had been increased in areas with large populations of people of African descent to prevent such attacks.
The Government believed that the National Human Rights Commission complied with the Paris Principles and deserved “A” status accreditation.
Incitement to hatred or violence on the grounds of race, caste, language or other factors was punishable under national laws, including when it occurred online. Online service providers were required to observe statutory due diligence.
Questions by Committee Experts
STAMATIA STAVRINAKI, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, said the Committee believed that castes fell under the scope of the Convention, following its general recommendation 29. She welcomed that self-identification would be included in the 2027 census. Did this mean that everyone could identify as a member of a caste or tribe? Who was expected to substantiate racially motivated crimes? It was important that victims of racially motivated crimes were identified. The Committee had called for the special powers act to be repealed; had this been done?
CHINSUNG CHUNG, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, said the Committee’s early warning and urgent action procedure had received several cases related to India, but the Government did not reply adequately to communications from the Committee under this procedure due to its position on castes.
GÜN KUT, Committee Chair, said that the State party’s answer regarding castes indicated that it did not believe that it needed the Committee’s advice. It should reconsider this position.
Another Committee Expert asked questions on the criteria used by the State party for identifying caste categories.
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said India supported actions to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and had strong Constitutional protections against caste-based discrimination. However, it did not feel that the Convention covered caste-based discrimination or indigenous peoples.
The armed forces special power act aimed to address exceptional national security situations. The constitutional validity of the legislation had been upheld by the Supreme Court. Implementation of the act had been reduced in certain provinces in recent years. There were institutional safeguards against the abuse of powers under this act. Some 100 cases related to the actions of armed forces were pending before the judicial authority.
The development action plan for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was a national action plan. It included measures to support these persons to submit complaints of human rights violations and receive redress. Since 2014, approximately 823,000 victims had received relief and rehabilitation. The National Commissions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes had an overarching framework for monitoring such violations.
India’s Constitution abolished untouchability and prohibited its practice in any form. The Government remained committed to abolishing such practices completely.
Legislation from 2023 specifically criminalised acts amounting to hate speech and hate crimes. When offences were conducted against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, additional protections applied. There were redress mechanisms available for victims. State laws did not specifically define hate speech as hate speech could come in various forms and was thus difficult to define. The Supreme Court had detailed guidelines on the legal regime to be followed whenever hate speech took place. Discrimination was prohibited by the Constitution on any grounds. Thus, separate legislation on discrimination was not necessarily required.
Every provincial Government prepared lists of Scheduled Castes. These lists ensured that there was no discrimination against these groups. There was a formal mechanism for identifying Scheduled Tribes based on clear parameters.
Questions by Committee Experts
CHINSUNG CHUNG, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, said that in a recent judgment of 24 March 2026, the Supreme Court pronounced that any act of conversion to other religions would result in immediate and complete loss of Scheduled Caste status. Could the delegation explain this judgement? What measures were taken to guarantee the enjoyment of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion by Dalits who converted to Christianity or Islam?
India's State party report did not address sexual and gender-based violence against tribal women, but there were many reported cases of gang rape, sexual and physical assault by State police personnel. How was this addressed? There was no specific legislation that governed the working conditions of domestic workers. Could the State party present the legal framework for domestic workers?
Women belonging to marginalised groups had difficulties registering births due to various barriers, including limited knowledge of birth registration procedures, bureaucratic obstacles and financial barriers. How was the State party working to remove those barriers?
In March 2026, a panel of independent international experts found reasonable basis to believe that the systematic stripping of citizenship, legality and residence from Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam State amounted to a crime against humanity. What measures were taken to improve the situation? Forced evictions of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities in Assam State had intensified since 2016 in the context of expanding development projects, and in the process many Bengali-speaking Muslims were killed or injured. Over 17,600 families had been uprooted and approximately 1,200 homes demolished in Sonitpur district alone in January 2026. Why had this occurred?
Approximately 1.9 million persons had been excluded from the National Register of Citizens, disproportionately Bengali-speaking Muslims. In June 2026, the West Bengal State Assembly removed 77 Muslim communities from the state's “Other Backward Classes” list, stripping their entitlement to reserved quotas in public employment and education. How did the State ensure that the process of updating the National Register of Citizens did not lead to statelessness, detention or arbitrary deprivation of citizenship?
Extrajudicial killings, torture, unlawful confinement and enforced disappearances against ethno-religious groups in Jammu and Kashmir were often followed by systematic attempts to conceal these crimes. What measures were taken to prevent such practices and discrimination against ethno-religious groups in Jammu and Kashmir? Why did such grave violence continue? Since January 2024, the Chhattisgarh police and various units of the Central Armed Police Forces had operated under an informal “reward-for-killings” mechanism. Could this be explained?
What measures had been taken or envisaged to formally recognise all indigenous peoples, to protect their territories and right to exercise full control over their lands, territories and resources, and to ensure the right to consultation and free, prior and informed consent related to administrative and legislative procedures affecting them? There were reports of mining permits granted in Bastar without the consent required by domestic law and the repression of indigenous environmental and human rights defenders. Could the delegation comment on this? Mass illegal detentions and escalated surveillance of Adivasis reportedly continued. What measures had been taken in response?
The Shompen were subjected to exploitation and faced severe racism. The construction of tourist infrastructure on their island could lead to “human safaris” taking place among the Shompen. What measures were taken to ensure the enjoyment of their rights to life, health and a sustainable environment? What measures were in place to mitigate the adverse impacts of the Great Nicobar Island Project?
In 2024, the National Tiger Conservation Authority called for the relocation of approximately 89,800 tribal and forest dwelling families from 848 villages located inside 54 tiger reserves. How was the State protecting these peoples’ rights?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the issue of conversion of Dalits to Christianity or other religions had received serious attention, including in the Supreme Court. The State party’s position was that once Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes converted to another religion, the disadvantages attached to their status no longer applied.
There was no law in Rajasthan that permitted the segregation of Muslims. This was a bill that had yet to be assessed by the competent legislature. The citizenship amendment act sought to provide accelerated citizenship procedures for foreigners from six minority communities. Implementation of the act did not have any adverse impact on the citizenship of any Indian citizen. Other groups had not been included under this mechanism as they were not minorities in their respective communities.
There were no allegations of atrocities committed by State officials against tribal groups. Armed forces had taken actions to protect these groups from left-wing extremists.
There had been tremendous progress in development in Jammu and Kashmir, with more than 650 billion rupees allocated to development projects in the region. Kashmir had been connected to the national rail network for the first time. Smart schools and residential schools, hospitals and digital services had been developed in the region. Tourism and employment had increased in the region as a result of these efforts.
The implementation of the National Register of Citizens in Assam needed to be viewed in the context of longstanding and legitimate concerns regarding demographic change in Assam. This measure did not target any ethnic, religious or linguistic community. Citizenship determination was governed by the established legal regime. Some 100 tribunals had been constituted in Assam to review claims related to exclusion from the National Register, and many complainants had been referred to these tribunals.
The Shompen policy of 2015 sought to reduce contact with the Shompen tribe, as contact with the outside world could expose members of this tribe to harmful diseases and endanger their health and autonomy. The Government ensured the preservation of the Shompen habitat and minimal external contact. India was implementing a voluntary policy to relocate persons living in national tiger reserves but respected the wishes of communities wishing to remain in those reserves.
There had been an increase in cases of violence against women registered by the State over the reporting period, thanks to awareness raising efforts by the State. The 1969 act on registration of birth and death regulated birth registration, which was the responsibility of local authorities. The Supreme Court had established a taskforce to develop dedicated legislation on the rights of domestic workers.
Follow-Up Questions by Committee Experts
STAMATIA STAVRINAKI, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, said the National Commission for the Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes had endorsed the Committee’s recommendation to repeal the habitual offenders act. Would this be done?
Other Committee Experts asked questions on whether the Constitution or the Presidential Order of 1950 prevailed when legislating the removal of the rights of minorities such as Dalits who converted to another religion, and whether the State party planned to amend legislation so castes could enjoy their rights after converting to another faith.
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the habitual offenders act was a colonial-era piece of legislation that defined around 200 tribal communities as “hereditary criminals”. The act was repealed immediately after India’s independence. However, some provinces had legislation pertaining to habitual offenders, which sought to oversee individuals who habitually engaged in criminal acts. The National Commission for the Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes had called for such legislation to be repealed if it was not in line with the Constitution.
Freedom of religion was a constitutional guarantee in India. There was no prohibition against conversion from one religion to another. The Supreme Court had judged that the removal of advantages from disadvantaged groups when they converted to another religion was constitutional.
The Government was concerned about “fake encounters”, which were addressed by existing legislation. Courts could appoint investigative teams to assess whether encounters were fake or genuine. Victims could participate in investigations.
Public notices were sent out ahead of development projects. There was an elaborate mechanism to protect the rights of Scheduled Tribes which had been given rights to forest land and use.
Questions by Committee Experts
STAMATIA STAVRINAKI, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, said the State party report did not include information on outcomes for reducing segregation. Since 2014, minority welfare infrastructure had been rolled back. A 2026 study found markedly worse public service access in segregated Muslim areas. How did authorities measure segregation and did the State party plan to publish studies on segregation? What explained the Maulana Azad Fellowship and scholarship freeze since 2022? Did the State intend to restore welfare infrastructure?
Despite the 2013 manual scavengers act, at least 1,289 people had died cleaning sewers and septic tanks since 1993 — 52 in 2024 alone — but the State had never recorded a prosecution under it. What was the State party doing to eliminate this practice? With fewer than two per cent of bonded labourers rehabilitated since 1978 and the rehabilitation budget cut by 75 per cent, did the State party consider its current resourcing adequate? Given reported patterns of caste-based exclusion in domestic and platform-mediated work, did the State party intend to extend statutory protection to private employment? What measures were taken to ensure Dalit and other marginalised communities were not excluded from flood relief, compensation and recovery programmes?
As of March 2026, of 849 High Court judges appointed since 2018, only 33 (3.9 per cent) belonged to the Scheduled Caste category. Why was there no quota for appointments in the higher judiciary? How would the State improve diversity on the bench? Why was there a persistent gap between the 15 per cent Constitutional quota for representation of Scheduled Castes and actual rates in State administration and the foreign service? Could the delegation provide updated data on Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe representation within law enforcement?
Anaemia affected 69.5 per cent of Scheduled Caste children aged 6 to 59 months. Under-five mortality among Scheduled Castes stood at 49 per 1,000 live births, against 33 among other communities; and neonatal mortality was 29 against 20. What measures, beyond universal schemes, specifically targeted these gaps?
Since October 2024, Assam had converted over 1,200 Government-aided madrasas to general schools; Uttarakhand sealed over 170 madrasas in April 2025; and Jammu and Kashmir had seized over 270 schools linked to a banned organization. What was the legal basis for this? For Adivasi children, enrolment was comparatively high at 67.7 per cent, but primary-level drop-out was also high at 70.9 per cent. Why was this?
What monitoring mechanism was in place to assess the implementation of the foreign contribution regulation act, the prevention of money laundering act and the unlawful activities prevention act? In the Bhima Koregaon case, 16 lawyers, academics and defenders were arrested under anti-terror legislation, including Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest who had spent decades defending Adivasi land rights and who died in judicial custody in July 2021. There were reports of patterns of repeated prosecution on minor charges against land- and river-rights defenders in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh opposing displacement by infrastructure projects. What data did the State party maintain on incidents of harassment, intimidation or reprisal against defenders? Would the State party consider making a public statement to protect defenders from harassment by private actors?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that in the most recent civil service examination, 158 candidates out of a total of 958 were Scheduled Caste members and 73 were Scheduled Tribe members. These groups were provided with free coaching for these competitive examinations. In 2024 and 2025, 2.1 million Scheduled Caste students were provided with 4.6 billion rupees worth of scholarships. The Government reserved 60 per cent of housing allotments for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
India was committed to ensuring an open and safe environment for human rights defenders and civil society and had always condemned violence against civil society. There were laws and remedies under the Constitution that protected human rights defenders, including from private harassment. For the case of Bhima Koregaon, the persons accused were not facing investigation because they were human rights defenders but because they were suspected of breaking the law. Father Stan Swamy was hospitalised in the hospital of his choice and died of age-related issues.
The protection of women was a high priority for India. Women helpers had been established in police stations to make reporting more accessible and gender sensitive. A national database on sexual offenders had been set up. The criminal courts mandated audio-visual recording of victims’ statements and guaranteed free medical treatment for victims in all hospitals. Some 35,000 investigation officers, prosecutors and other officials had been trained in victim support. There were 864 one-stop support centres set up nation-wide, and there was a national helpline for counselling victims and responding to atrocities.
Infant mortality among the Scheduled Caste population declined from 45.2 per cent in 2015 to 40.7 per cent in 2019, and the under-five mortality rate decreased from 55.8 per cent to 48.9 per cent over the same period. India had a universal and non-discriminatory approach to healthcare. There was an elaborate framework of public health institutions, including village-level centres and mobile health clinics.
The Ministry of Minority Affairs had adopted a strategy that aimed to promote the socioeconomic development of minority communities, including measures to increase their employability through education and skill development and measures supporting infrastructure. The Maulana Azad Fellowship was discontinued from 2022, but benefits for already enrolled students would continue until 2031. A total of 83 million persons had benefited from State scholarships, which had not been discontinued. There were reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in private and public higher education institutions, and these groups were provided with scholarships.
Manual scavenging as defined under the 2013 legislation was prohibited. The State party had profiled 90,000 workers engaged in hazardous cleaning of sewerage and septic tanks, and had a programme providing training, protection equipment, health and social security coverage for these groups. It had also strengthened emergency response measures.
Follow-Up Questions by Committee Experts
STAMATIA STAVRINAKI, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, asked for more data on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Had police protocols for responding to gender-based violence led to an increase in reports and convictions?
Other Committee Experts asked about mechanisms to consult with and gain consent from indigenous peoples for extractive industry and energy projects on their land, and measures for protecting sacred sites, cultural heritage and the ways of life of indigenous peoples; the ratio of enrolment of minority students at all levels of education; and measures to combat hate speech from political leaders and convictions for such offences.
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said primary education was free and mandatory for all, including minorities. India was proud of its high net enrolment ratio at primary education level. Around two-thirds of scholarships provided from 2021 to 2026 were provided to Muslims, benefitting 146,000 Muslims.
There were dedicated welfare programmes and disaster response schemes for the Scheduled Castes and Schedules Tribes. The National Commissions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes had a mandate to monitor safeguards for these groups and investigate complaints of rights violations. There was an elaborate system for evaluating welfare schemes, which were prepared at village level and evaluated independently at provincial level.
The Constitution prohibited State funding to religious education. There were approximately 1,200 madrasas in Assam providing only theological education. These were converted to regular schools in line with State legislation.
India’s framework for funding non-governmental organizations was not exceptional or punitive in nature; it applied equally to all organizations without discrimination. It was modernised in 2010 and amended several times since, most recently through a 2026 bill that was being examined in Parliament. India’s approach to regulating foreign funding was consistent with international practice. India hosted three million non-governmental organizations, most of which were working with domestic funding. There were only 14,450 non-governmental organizations that had foreign funding.
Communities directly affected by development projects needed to participate meaningfully in the planning process and be informed about how the project would affect their lives. Village councils in scheduled areas were involved in consultations on such projects. The Government was implementing measures to mitigate the harms of such projects and ensure appropriate remedies when adverse impacts occurred. Projects on forest land needed to be approved under the forest conservation act and comply with the forest rights act. Affected persons could access remedies before the National Green Tribunal.
Rehabilitation assistance was provided to every rescued bonded labourer. Some 316,000 bonded labourers had been rescued and provided with over one billion rupees in rehabilitation. The Constitution prohibited trafficking in persons in any form. Legislation from 1976 abolished the bonded labour system and protected the residential rights of freed bonded labourers, who were provided with skills training and employment.
Questions by Committee Experts
VERENE ALBERTHA SHEPHERD, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, welcomed India before the Committee after a long absence. She said the lingering legacies of colonialism persisted in India. There seemed to be a disconnect between Indian legislation and the reality on the ground. For example, discrimination persisted on grounds of caste, race and gender in the world of work.
Did voluntary repatriation exceed the percentage of State deportation? What were the major challenges that India faced that led it to deport refugees, migrants and asylum seekers? What safeguards existed under the immigration and foreigners act 2025 to ensure that the detention, removal and treatment of foreign nationals was fully consistent with the Convention? Some refugees and migrants had remained in detention for long periods after completing criminal sentences related to irregular entry. What was the legal basis covering the duration of immigration detention? How did the State ensure that detention was not indefinite, and that migrants and asylum seekers had access to healthcare and education? Had the State party taken steps to accede to the 1951 Refugee Convention or enact national refugee legislation? What measures were in place to prevent statelessness, and to ensure that persons seeking international protection at India’s borders received individual assessments and did not face refoulement? What mechanisms assessed claims of ill treatment against refugees and asylum seekers by police? Could disaggregated statistics on the number of stateless persons in India be provided?
In what conditions were Rohingya individuals held, and what alternatives to detention did the State provide for these individuals? How were they provided with access to basic services, legal representation and an opportunity to challenge deportation orders?
Racially motivated actions were not specifically codified as aggravating circumstances. What measures were in place to respond to racially motivated attacks? How many cases of hate speech against migrants had been prosecuted? What awareness campaigns had been conducted to combat caste-based discrimination and racial and ethnic prejudice?
Of 1,300 professors in India, only 7.2 per cent were from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Was this being addressed? Did the State have a human rights education curriculum? How was the State party addressing allegations of textbook chapters on inequality and social justice movements being diluted, high dropout rates, and student suicides linked to caste discrimination? Did mandatory training for public service officials address caste-based discrimination?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the Government was committed to reserving places for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the judiciary. However, judges decided who was appointed to courts based on several factors, including merits, and did not consider reservation criteria.
India treated hate speech as a serious offence and punished it in accordance with the law. Human rights defenders could file petitions related to hate speech and seek redress. India was committed to preventing apartheid and discrimination based on skin colour. Each case of such discrimination was taken seriously, and victims were assisted.
Human rights education in India extended from schools and universities to the training of public officials. At school level, the national curriculum placed respect for diversity, equity and inclusion at the centre of education. These principles were reflected in new textbooks. Many teachers had received training on inclusive education and barriers faced by disadvantaged children. The National Human Rights Commission also conducted internships, training programmes and other outreach activities for students and public servants on human rights. The Ministry of Education conducted initiatives that encouraged cultural, linguistic and educational exchanges among provincial governments. Members of the 3.5 million police force were also trained on equality, diversity and access to justice.
India was not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or the 1967 Protocol on Refugees. Its approach to refugees, migrants and asylum seekers was governed by the immigration and foreigners act 2025, which implemented a transparent, modern framework that reduced ad-hoc, State-level enforcement. The law included provisions for registering foreigners on arrival, penalties for using forged documents and restrictions on entry into sensitive sectors. There had been no torture of people found to be illegal immigrants. Persons in detention centres were provided with food and legal aid.
Assertions of “reward-for-killings” schemes were not correct. Most left-wing extremists had surrendered voluntarily, which was welcomed by the local tribal populations.
Follow-Up Questions by Committee Experts
VERENE ALBERTHA SHEPHERD, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, said India had very good legislation to address the ills of society. She said she was interested in how effective the legislation had been, for example in reducing the number of stateless persons, reducing xenophobic actions, and strengthening the education system. The Committee called on the State party to implement the Committee’s general recommendations 38 and 39 with respect to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
CHINSUNG CHUNG, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, said the Committee had received reports of Bengali-speaking Muslims and Kashmiris who could not receive citizenship and had become stateless. Could the delegation clarify this?
STAMATIA STAVRINAKI, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, asked if there was an inspection mechanism for migrant detention centres. How was legislation on maximum detention periods enforced?
Other Committee Experts asked about how India would support the Committee to secure justice for crimes against humanity committed during the colonial era; strategies India had adopted to promote the Second International Decade for People of African Descent; and the extent to which the Government could influence university curricula on human rights.
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said statutory provisions applied equally to all, including public and private persons. Welfare programmes supported members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to access private sector education and employment. There was a 25 per cent quota for places in private schools for these groups. The Government’s health insurance scheme supported them group to access private sector healthcare.
When persons with high social status such as politicians engaged in hate speech, this was considered as an aggravating circumstance, and sentences were suitably enhanced.
The Legal Services Authority conducted periodic and surprise inspections of detention centres and gave recommendations to the Government based on these.
India had supported conversations at the United Nations on people of African descent, including the establishment of the International Decade for People of African Descent, the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent and a memorial to honour the victims of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. It had participated in fora on the preservation of memory, the restitution of cultural property and reparatory justice, and would continue to do so.
The delegation was not aware of cases of Bengali-speaking persons becoming stateless. The Committee needed to clarify this claim.
The Government maintained a monthly consumption survey, which indicated that per-capita expenditure had increased significantly from 2011 to 2024 for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes at a rate higher than for the general population.
The use of composite terms such as “ethno-religious identity” did not expand the scope of the Convention, which did not cover religious issues. Addressing areas beyond the mandate of the Convention placed additional burdens on States. The Committee needed to focus on obligations arising from the Convention.
Closing Statements
STAMATIA STAVRINAKI, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, expressed her genuine satisfaction at India’s return to dialogue with the Committee. She thanked the delegation and all staff members of the Indian Government who had contributed to the dialogue. India had a rich legal and institutional framework and a broad set of measures combatting historical injustices. Its Supreme Court had significantly advanced the concept of substantive equality and recognised indirect discrimination. But this could not replace a comprehensive discrimination and equality law or an equality institution with powers to investigate, issue binding decisions and provide remedies for victims. India had historically played a leading role in shaping international human rights law, but the quest for equality was a continuing journey. Ms. Stavrinaki called on India to continue to lead international law and move equality forward.
TUSHAR MEHTA, Solicitor General of India and head of the delegation, expressed sincere appreciation to the Committee for the dialogue, which had addressed the extraordinary complexity and diversity of India. The issues raised would receive the State party’s full attention. India attached particular importance to the Convention, which it was actively involved in drafting in the 1960s, at a time when newly independent countries were confronting colonialism, apartheid and racial discrimination. These issues had by no means disappeared. The world was witnessing a disturbing resurgence of racial discrimination and xenophobia, with migrants from developing countries increasingly facing discrimination and violence. India encouraged the Committee to engage constructively with States to address these trends and translate their objectives under the Convention into effective national responses.
At a time of growing divisions, the ancient Indian concept that “the whole world is a family” had gained renewed relevance. Humanity’s collective future required respect for diversity and dignity. India looked forward to continuing its constructive engagement with the Committee in advancing these shared objectives.
GÜN KUT, Committee Chair, said that the Convention left the possibility for the Committee to deliver its mandate according to its rules of procedure and working methods, upon which the Committee had full sovereignty.
Mr. Kut said that the Committee had not received a follow-up report from India after its last concluding observations were issued in 2007. Many of the issues raised in those concluding observations were still being discussed in this dialogue, suggesting a lack of improvement. The Committee would issue new concluding observations based on the current dialogue, which would include recommendations that could be implemented within one year. The Committee expected the State party to report on the implementation of these in a follow-up report in future.
The dialogue was not an interrogation. The Committee’s efforts were geared towards bringing the State’s attention to issues that it believed required the State party’s effort to find a solution and redress the situation. The State party’s success in improving the situation in India was the Committee’s success in performing its mandate.
Mr. Kut commended India for paying its regular budget contribution to the United Nations in full within the 30-day timeline. This was very important in the context of the current financial crisis facing the United Nations. He called on India to bring this issue up with other States parties that were not as punctual.
___________
Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the media;
not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.
CERD26.012E