South Asians for Human Rights

17/10/2026

The brutal crackdown on peaceful protestors in New Delhi over the last weekend is alarming with mass detentions, unlawful use of force, the targeting of journalists, human rights defenders including lawyers, and internet shutdowns, said rights groups in a statement.

Amnesty International, CIVICUS, Front Line Defenders and South Asians for Human Rights call on the Indian authorities to release everyone arbitrarily detained for the exercise of their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and ensure accountability for abuses by security forces.

The statement can be accessed here:

https://southasianrights.org/joint-statement-india-india-end-the-crackdown-on-peaceful-protests-and-release-arbitrarily-detained-protestors/

15/10/2026

Indian student leader Neha Bora, one of the prominent activists who was detained last week as the authorities cracked down on the Cockroach Janta Party-led protest, has credited Bangladesh with inspiring the Gen Z movement in New Delhi and spreading across India.



https://www.facebook.com/reel/1629371252022838

15/10/2026

The leaders, who are also accused of violating a bond and obstructing a public servant from discharging their duties, were sent to a five-day judicial custody.

https://scroll.in/latest/1096362/cjps-ashutosh-ranka-saurav-das-arrested-for-trespassing-jantar-mantar-says-campaign?fbclid=IwY2xjawU9wBxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mAWJyaWQRMWRSaWx0Q3lCenM5YUlqSmpzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEefpmpoj9yI2JPSbECKQ8tWXidtxyRQro90r97LL6fosoLFCFVzG-ZdPSFLyQ_aem_t-cDnf6N4VZykYdDsTLxKA

The leaders, who are also accused of violating a bond and obstructing a public servant from discharging their duties, were sent to a five-day judicial custody.

15/10/2026

A coalition of six Sri Lankan media organisations has strongly condemned what it described as a campaign of hate speech, insults and incitement to violence targeting Sandya Ekneligoda following the reimprisonment of Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera.



https://www.newswire.lk/2026/10/12/media-organisations-condemn-hate-campaign-targeting-sandya-ekneligoda/?fbclid=IwY2xjawU9jYBleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mAWJyaWQRMXVseEJtNkZ6WklMelllM09zcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeId81hvsagfQ3eRpDJFXIjXy8RSHT9jT74N7r9e3cThKy0D2n1_u2QS5HdUI_aem_xxjd81CXV3lsU7zPqIkRfw

Media organisations condemn hate campaign targeting Sandya Ekneligoda News - Newswire

13/10/2026

Unfortunately, the speech that made headlines back home seemed to echo in an empty chamber at the UNGA. What was once the world’s foremost platform for international leaders has increasingly become a diminished arena—its authority weakened, its audience distracted, and its ability to compel collective action increasingly uncertain; the glaring absence of its most powerful audience, tragic and unmistakable.

What once was the biggest platform for international leaders has become an abandoned international arena today.

13/10/2026

Amnesty International India, said:
“Peaceful protesters must be able to demand accountability from those in power without facing intimidation, arbitrary detention, or sweeping restrictions on their freedoms.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/10/india-delhi-police-must-facilitate-right-to-peaceful-protest-amid-lockdown-like-restrictions-in-capital/

Responding to the sweeping and disproportionate restrictions imposed by the Delhi Police and the Government of India ahead of planned protests in the capital on Saturday 10 October, Aakar Patel, Chair of Board, Amnesty International India, said: “Peaceful protesters must be able to demand accounta...

13/10/2026

What is it about citizenship, or more precisely the right to vote, that arouses such strong and combustible emotions?
https://thewire.in/rights/why-the-protests-against-sir-have-completely-defied-coercion

What is it about citizenship, or more precisely the right to vote, that arouses such strong and combustible emotions?

13/10/2026

Bangladesh is navigating a deeply troubling period in its national life. Poverty is on the rise, yet neither the chronically poor nor the newly poor are being provided with adequate economic cushions to absorb the shocks.
https://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/op-ed/421648/cushioning-the-fall-the-urgent-need-to-protect

Bangladesh is navigating a deeply troubling period in its national life. Poverty is on the rise, yet neither the chronically poor nor the newly poor are being provided with adequate economic cushions to absorb the shocks. Worse, nearly 62 million people live just above the...

13/10/2026

India’s civic space is still rated as ‘repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. The authorities persist in targeting activists, journalists, students and civil society through the misuse of draconian laws, arbitrary detention, censorship and the criminalisation of dissent. Over the past year, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), counterterrorism provisions and public order regulations have been consistently deployed to silence government critics, restrict civil society, and deter peaceful protests.

https://monitor.civicus.org/explore/india-thousands-detained-in-crackdown-on-mass-protests-against-electoral-roll-manipulation-while-activists-and-journalists-are-criminalised/

India’s civic space is still rated as ‘repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. The authorities persist in targeting activists, journalists, students and civil society through the misuse of draconian laws, arbitrary detention, censorship and the criminalisation of dissent. Over the past year, the Un...

13/10/2026

There is a precedent for this. Environmental law in Pakistan was shaped less by legislation than by judges, who recognised that the right to life under Article 9 means more than bare survival and includes the right to a healthy environment.
https://www.dawn.com/news/2035861/animal-rights-in-pakistan

Animal law is not simply about preventing cruelty, but also about public health, biodiversity and good governance.