The Indian government has dismissed as 'politically motivated' and 'highly malicious' observations made by the United Nations' racial discrimination watchdog regarding allegations of targeting against Rohingya refugees and Bengali-speaking Muslims.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a statement on Wednesday, rejecting as politically motivated and highly malicious the observations made by the United Nations' Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) about alleged targeting of Rohingya refugees and Bengali-speaking Muslims by Indian law enforcement agencies. The CERD's comments were based on an increase in law enforcement operations targeting these groups, particularly following a 2017 directive from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack. The 2017 directive detailed instructions for the deportation of undocumented migrants, including Rohingyas, while the post-Pahalgam directive asked states and Union Territories to verify the credentials of persons suspected to be undocumented migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar. Subsequently, police in several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states have been detaining Bengali-speaking Muslims, with some being forced into Bangladesh due to their inability to prove Indian citizenship. Some of those mistakenly sent to Bangladesh have since returned to India after the state authorities proved their citizenship. Randhir Jaiswal, MEA spokesperson, stated that India participated in the CERD review in a spirit of constructive engagement and highlighted its constitutional safeguards, legal framework, pluralism, and efforts to protect disadvantaged communities during the process. However, the Indian inter-ministerial delegation led by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had already rejected the sweeping generalizations, unsubstantiated allegations, or tendency to exceed the convention's mandate during the review meeting.
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