Context: The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), in its first review of India since 2007, expressed “grave concern” over reports of violence and discrimination by law-enforcement agencies against minority ethnic and ethno-religious groups, Dalits and non-citizens.
- India had ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in 1968, but CERD noted inadequate updated information on government inquiries and sanctions concerning such allegations.
CERD’s Major Concerns
- Caste-based discrimination: India argued that caste does not fall under Article 1 of ICERD because caste is not synonymous with race; however, CERD’s interpretation covers discrimination based on inherited status.
- Manual sewer cleaning: Continued practice of manual cleaning of sewers despite legal prohibition was flagged as a concern.
- Rohingya Muslims: Concerns include hate speech, poor living conditions and mass refoulement of Rohingya.
- Citizenship and electoral rights: Concerns were raised over mass deprivation of citizenship through the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and large-scale deletions during Special Intensive Revisions (SIR) of electoral rolls.
- Civil society restrictions: Use of laws such as the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was flagged for allegedly restricting civil society organisations.
- Hate speech: The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was criticised for not expressly criminalising racist hate speech.
- Forest governance: The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act was criticised for exempting certain “national security” projects from consultative decision-making.
Data Deficit and Accountability
- Fragmented institutional remedies, the delayed Census and slow publication of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data have reduced the availability of disaggregated data on disadvantaged communities.
- This data deficit makes it difficult to independently assess government claims regarding progress in combating caste- and faith-based discrimination.
- Existing affirmative measures are based substantially on 2011 Census data, potentially masking changes or deterioration in the socioeconomic conditions of Scheduled Tribes and Adivasis.
Institutional Weaknesses
- The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) faces concerns regarding its independence and pluralism.
- The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) recommended downgrading the NHRC in the previous year, citing concerns including the appointment of police officers to investigative roles and inadequate pluralism.
- In this institutional vacuum, international bodies such as CERD are increasingly highlighting issues requiring domestic institutional scrutiny.
What Needs to Be Done?
- Restore NHRC independence and strengthen its institutional capacity.
- Criminalise racist and hate speech more explicitly and ensure effective enforcement against discriminatory violence.
- Strengthen affirmative action and protective measures for historically disadvantaged communities.
- Collect and publish regular, reliable and disaggregated socioeconomic and crime data.
- Improve transparency and accountability in electoral-roll revisions.
- Strengthen enforcement against discriminatory practices while ensuring that laws regulating national security and civil society are not misused.
International Accountability and Civil Society
- India’s attempt to exclude caste discrimination from international scrutiny on a technical interpretation of “race” and its dismissal of CERD’s concerns as politically motivated raise questions about international accountability.
- The issue highlights the importance of civil society, courts, human-rights institutions and multilateral mechanisms in providing checks against state actions that may normalise discrimination.
- India’s democratic commitment requires not merely constitutional equality in principle but effective institutional safeguards against discrimination based on caste, ethnicity, religion and inherited status.
