With an ongoing surge in attacks against minorities in India, over 20 UN experts signed a joint statement demanding an end to violent assaults as the country's national elections loom.

Since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014, the world's most populous country with 1.5 billion people has witnessed continued instances of violence mainly initiated by the majority Hindu population against the 200-million Muslim minority.

Critics have stated that the Indian government is utilizing the justice system to target political opponents, with several opposition figures currently under active criminal investigation.

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"We are alarmed by continuing reports of attacks on religious, racial and ethnic minorities, on women and girls... and on civil society, including human rights defenders and the media," they said.

The experts suggested that the situation is likely to deteriorate as the elections approached.

Requests for UN visits remain unanswered

The issues highlighted encompassed violence and hate crimes directed at minorities, incitement to discrimination and violence, targeted and arbitrary killings, as well as the misuse of official agencies against perceived political adversaries.

"We call on India to implement its human rights obligations fully... by reversing the erosion of human rights and addressing recurring concerns raised by UN human rights mechanisms," the statement read.

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They also pointed out that there had been no visits to the country by UN experts since 2017, and more than a dozen requests for visits remained unanswered.

"In light of continuing reports of violence and attacks against religious, racial and ethnic minorities, and other grave human rights issues... we are compelled to express our grave concern, especially given the need for a conducive atmosphere for free and fair elections," they added.

The signatories comprised the special rapporteurs on minority issues: freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, human rights defenders, violence against women, contemporary racism, and derogatory treatment.

Crackdown on Muslims

Modi, who holds Hindutva convictions -  an ideology that seeks to establish a state controlled by none but Hindus - passed a plethora of laws in the recent years that aim at marginalizing and restricting Muslims in India, depriving them of their most basic rights.

In 2019, the Indian Parliament proposed a citizenship amendment law that would check the “Indian-ness” of its citizens. After the law was passed, New Delhi mass-checked the identities of its citizens, which left 2 million Muslims in northeast India in 2021 at the mercy of becoming stateless despite having lived in India for generations.

Many of the Indian Muslims who did not find their names on the list of citizens faced the risk of being thrown into detention or a prison camp.