(This article is part of the View From India newsletter curated by The Hindu’s foreign affairs experts. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Monday, subscribe here.)
In this week’s newsletter let’s turn the spotlight inward, on the ‘View of India’ in recent times.
In the latest episode of our Worldview series, our Diplomatic Affairs Editor Suhasini Haider zooms into the question on many people’s minds — is India being singled out over its handling of protests?
The question is prompted by reactions from many international rights bodies and others to how Indian authorities are responding to the ongoing Gen Z-led protests, demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner of India, over very serious concerns about the disenfranchisement of some 13 crore people. As thousands of young Indians took to the streets in a peaceful protest to register their anger, Delhi police responded with sweeping detentions, including of ID-wearing journalists who were there simply to cover the agitations in the national capital.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on October 10, 2026, said it was “concerned” by reports of “mass detentions” at the Delhi protests demanding that CEC Gyanesh Kumar resign. The UN body urged Indian authorities to ensure that the right to peaceful protest is respected and that all those detained “arbitrarily” be released immediately and unconditionally.
The government responded sharply, calling the concerns “misplaced” and calling the OHCHR’s statement “unwarranted interference in the internal affairs of India”. New Delhi also accused the office of the UN Human Rights Chief of “extreme selectivity” and “double standards”, referring to other protests in our neighbourhood.
The spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs said: “India is the world’s largest democracy, where the right to peaceful assembly is guaranteed by our Constitution and safeguarded by robust institutions, an independent judiciary and a free media.” Spokesman Randhir Jaiswal was right about the constitutional guarantee. The concern, however, is that law enforcement authorities appear either to forget or to disregard it, with little consequence. When anyone spotted at a protest site becomes a potential detainee; when scores of video clips provide evidence of police brutality, sexual harassment, and violence against protesters; and when the whereabouts of detained activists remain unknown for hours on end, simply stating the constitutional right hardly suffices. While there is a strong case to be made for respecting countries’ sovereignty and their right to make independent decisions, the world cannot be expected to remain silent as it watches naked injustice unfold on the streets. No government has responded so far, but rights groups exist precisely to monitor our rights, even if governments — preoccupied by other strategic and geopolitical considerations — choose to remain silent, as many do in the case of Gaza.
As the global rights watchdog Amnesty International rightly observed: “The right to protest is not dependent on government approval. It is protected by the Indian Constitution and international human rights law.”. Human Rights Watch too weighed in: “Indian authorities should allow people to protest peacefully by resuming transport services, removing unnecessary barricades, restoring the internet, and ensuring media freedom,” its statement said. In another joint statement, Amnesty International, CIVICUS, Front Line Defenders and South Asians for Human Rights called on the Indian authorities to ensure peaceful protesters are able to demand accountability from those in power without facing intimidation, arbitrary detention, or sweeping restrictions on their freedoms.
It is not just “outsiders” or “external agencies” commenting on the troubling developments in India. Citizens who stand for democracy and democratic rights were as concerned. As were many within the legal and media fraternity. The Hindu editorial on the development said: “Instead of ensuring peaceful assembly, as per the law of the land, the Centre ordered a countrywide swoop, where thousands of young people were taken into preventive detention and Delhi was locked down as if under martial law. Trains were cancelled and stopped, passengers waylaid, and journalists, activists, academics, and lawyers assaulted and detained, all in shocking misuse and weaponisation of the law against democracy itself.”
International media too took a strong view. The Guardian noted: “Young protesters have exposed the limits of a strongman’s authority. Crushing dissent risks deepening the democratic crisis he should confront.”
The Financial Times said: “India has long prided itself on the strength of its democratic institutions, robust enough to withstand protests and the occasional ministerial resignation. But the handling of the demonstrations in New Delhi, which were called to demand the resignation of India’s chief election commissioner, suggests an unedifying sense of insecurity.”
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is the mother of democracy. If the perception is to be shared by everyone within, and all those committed to democratic values anywhere in the world, introspection is key. The Financial Times noted: “Modi hails India as the ‘mother of democracy’ but has been less enthusiastic about preserving free expression and the space for vigorous opposition.”
The persisting dissent in India, which the government appears intolerant to, and the reactions its actions have elicited from diverse commentators within and outside India, all tell an important story. There is only so much that can be done to control the narrative.
New podcast alert!
Have you checked out our new podcast series? The View from India by The Hindu, brings you perspectives from diplomats, policymakers, academics, journalists and specialists in India and around the world as they make sense of an age of flux. From conflicts and shifting alliances to international cooperation and great-power rivalries, the podcast goes beyond the headlines to explore India’s place in the world and the world’s growing interest in India. International relations, with Indian characteristics. Do have a look and let us know what you think!
Poll question
