India, Globally: A Judge Hounded, Kashmiris Rounded up and Zohran Mamdani on Umar Khalid
The Narendra Modi government frequently posits India as a ‘Vishwaguru’ or world leader. How the world sees India is often lost in this branding exercise.
Outside India, global voices are monitoring and critiquing human rights violations in India and the rise of Hindutva. We present here monthly highlights of what a range of actors – from UN experts and civil society groups to international media and parliamentarians of many countries – are saying about the state of India’s democracy.
Read the monthly roundup for July 1-31, 2026 here. One particular series of updates outdid all others this July – for this, we have a special compilation on the global reaction to the youth-led movement in India here.
International Media Reports
New York Times, US, July 9
Mujib Mashal and Pragati K.B. describe the extent of censorship in India through the journey of the film Satluj. The film took four years to pass through the state’s censors only to be taken down within 48 hours of being made available on a streaming platform. The film focuses on the work of Jaswant Singh Khalra who “documented police abuses, such as the disappearances of thousands of people and extrajudicial killings, that occurred during a government crackdown on the separatist insurgency in Punjab”. Mushal and Pragati highlight that the “film’s odyssey is the latest example of what filmmakers and activists say is a deeply entrenched state of censorship under Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. Conversely, the Modi government has supported films that critics call “propaganda for the Hindu nationalist government”.
BBC, UK, July12
Cherylann Mollan reports on the online abuse, rape and death threats issued against Tabassum Khan, a judge of a district sessions court in Madhya Pradesh, after she sentenced 14 cow vigilantes to life imprisonment for lynching a man to death. Mollan writes that the judge’s verdict has “made her the target of religious hate” with the abuse and videos implying that Khan sentenced the men “because they were Hindu”. Khan has said the abuse has traumatized her. Mollan highlights that “the scale of the abuse has prompted leading judicial bodies to rally behind her, and she has been given police protection”.
BBC, UK, July 13
Shubhangi Mishra and Sandeep Yadav collaborate to produce a video focusing on two survivors of cow vigilante-led mob violence and the continuing physical, mental and financial repercussions.
TRT World, Turkey, July 24
TRT reports that Indian security forces detained more than 3,000 “young Kashmiris in a single day” after the killing of a police officer in Anantnag, stating this “marks one of the largest crackdowns in Indian-administered Kashmir in recent years”. Political leaders and human rights organisations say the mass arrests, house raids and demolitions amount to collective punishment of civilians.
Parliamentarians and public officials advocate
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani invoked Umar Khalid during his keynote address at the inaugural Nelson Mandela Global Leadership Forum on July 16. He called attention to Khalid’s “sixth year in captivity” and on the necessity of “not letting bitterness consume oneself”, a reminder of resilience as in Mandela’s legacy.
US Congressman Jim McGovern and others have urged the US Congress and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to review US arms sales to India, citing allegations of “transnational repression”. McGovern also called on Congress to pass the Transnational Repression Policy Act, arguing that governments accused of intimidating people abroad should face greater scrutiny and accountability.
Experts say
Amnesty International reveals in a report that “India continued to supply arms to Israel despite the substantial risk they could be used in its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip”. Titled Made in India: The Supply of Weapons and Ammunition to Israel, the report documents how the Government of India is “a significant contributor to the supply chains that support Israel’s military operations”. Using “shipment-level trade data between India and Israel”, the report “reveals how Indian weapons, ammunition, parts and components have been shipped to large Israeli companies that supply the Israeli military”. Companies that are “directly owned and controlled by the Indian government” are also identified in the report. Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General says this research “reveals India’s continuing support to the Israeli military and defence sector despite the genocide in Gaza, which has been broadcast worldwide on an almost daily basis for years”.
Read the previous roundup here.
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