The 60th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council once again ripped apart India’s carefully woven façade of being the “world’s largest democracy.” Beneath the veneer of democratic institutions and constitutional promises lies a grim reality: systemic repression, entrenched violence, and a relentless silencing of dissent. Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in Tamil Nadu and Indian Occupied Kashmir— two regions that have become emblematic of India’s deepening human rights crisis, forcing the international community to confront uncomfortable truths.
At Geneva, the Society for Development and Community Empowerment, an international NGO, delivered a damning oral intervention that pierced through New Delhi’s propaganda. It exposed the chilling reality in Tamil Nadu, where the targeted killings of social activists, environmental defenders, and even lawyers have become disturbingly commonplace under the governance of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party. These are not isolated tragedies but part of a deliberate campaign designed to quash opposition and stifle voices that dare to challenge entrenched political and corporate interests. Those who resist destructive industrial projects, advocate for land rights, or defend marginalized communities are often met with harassment, unlawful detention, and, tragically, assassination. Lawyers offering solidarity fare no better, as they too are dragged into the crosshairs of state-enabled violence.
This systematic brutality thrives in a culture of impunity. Police complicity, lethargic judicial mechanisms, and the political shielding of perpetrators create an environment where justice is denied, and oppression is rewarded. Tamil Nadu, often hailed as a bastion of cultural richness and progressive politics, is now being unmasked as a theatre of coercion where freedom of expression is smothered under the weight of unchecked authority. The UNHRC’s spotlight has pulled back the curtain on India’s desperate attempts to conceal its darker realities.
Simultaneously, Kashmiri diaspora groups orchestrated a symbolic yet piercing protest at the Broken Chair in Geneva, a global landmark of resistance against atrocities and impunity. Through tent expositions and stark poster displays, they unveiled the horrific plight of Kashmiris under Indian occupation. For decades, the Valley has been suffocated by a regime of militarization, characterized by extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and even mass blinding through the use of pellet guns. Since the revocation of Article 370 in 2019, the situation has only worsened, as Kashmir was stripped of its autonomy and plunged into an iron-fisted direct rule, marked by prolonged internet blackouts, media gags, and suffocating curfews.
The Kashmiri campaign served as a poignant reminder that the conflict is not an “internal matter,” as India repeatedly claims, but a dispute recognized by international law and underscored by UN Security Council resolutions. Kashmiris remain prisoners within their homeland, shackled by an environment of fear, censorship, and constant surveillance, while their right to self-determination is trampled underfoot.
India must be reminded that democracy cannot coexist with assassinated activists, muzzled lawyers, occupied territories, or covert terrorist networks. Until this cycle of impunity is broken— whether in Tamil Nadu, Indian Occupied Kashmir, or through RAW’s operations abroad— the myth of India as a beacon of democracy will remain shattered. The time for polite condemnation has passed; now is the moment for decisive international action. For the activists silenced in Tamil Nadu, the Kashmiris enduring relentless repression, and the wider region destabilized by India’s proxies, accountability is not a choice—it is a lifeline for survival.
Yet, India’s crisis of repression does not end in Tamil Nadu or Kashmir. Internally, the nation is fast transforming into a cauldron of violence across Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Ladakh, and beyond, where minorities and marginalized groups bear the brunt of state power. This is no longer a tale of isolated abuses but a nationwide architecture of intimidation and authoritarianism.
Externally, India’s conduct is equally alarming. Far from being a victim of terrorism, New Delhi has emerged as a patron of proxy violence across borders. Canada’s designation of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as a terrorist organization, India’s backing of insurgent groups like Fitnat-ul-Hindustan, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) in Pakistan, and the arrest of Indian intelligence operative Kulbhushan Jadhav— an irrefutable smoking gun— all underscore its role as an exporter of instability.
The litany of evidence does not stop there. In Qatar, eight RAW operatives were apprehended for espionage, while in Australia, Indian agents were caught red-handed pilfering sensitive defense information. These incidents are not coincidences; they are fragments of a broader mosaic revealing India’s covert campaign to destabilize not only South Asia but entire continents. It is a tale of two India’s: one that boasts of democratic ideals on the world stage, and another that crushes dissent internally while fanning the flames of terrorism externally.
The interventions at the UNHRC and the protests in Geneva converge on one undeniable conclusion: India’s human rights crisis is systemic, sprawling, and deeply corrosive. Its violations stretch from Tamil Nadu’s silenced activists to Kashmir’s besieged population and ripple outward in the form of clandestine operations that undermine regional and global security. Organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and UN Special Rapporteurs have consistently documented these abuses, yet New Delhi dismisses every charge as “foreign interference,” weaponizing nationalism to conceal its authoritarian drift.
What the world must recognize is that India’s violations are not parochial issues confined to its borders. The killings of activists in Tamil Nadu mock the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The repression in IIOJK contravenes the Geneva Conventions and shreds the principle of self-determination. Its proxy networks abroad flout international law and jeopardize collective security. India’s double game— claiming victimhood while acting as a perpetrator— cannot go unchallenged.
The silence of the international community is no longer an option. To remain passive is to be complicit. Nations that champion democracy and human rights must back their rhetoric with action— through diplomatic censure, independent investigations, and real consequences for violations. Anything less would embolden New Delhi’s authoritarian impulses and further endanger oppressed communities.
India must be reminded that democracy cannot coexist with assassinated activists, muzzled lawyers, occupied territories, or covert terrorist networks. Until this cycle of impunity is broken— whether in Tamil Nadu, Indian Occupied Kashmir, or through RAW’s operations abroad— the myth of India as a beacon of democracy will remain shattered. The time for polite condemnation has passed; now is the moment for decisive international action. For the activists silenced in Tamil Nadu, the Kashmiris enduring relentless repression, and the wider region destabilized by India’s proxies, accountability is not a choice—it is a lifeline for survival.
