In 2023, the already dire humanitarian and human rights situation in Indian-administered Kashmir (IAK) continued to deteriorate. This report enumerates select incidents illustrating longstanding, systematic violations in the region and emerging trends in the human rights crisis in IAK, including:
▪ Denial of the rights to freedom of expression, opinion and belief and the right to work through the termination of employment.
▪ Denial of the rights to freedom of expression, opinion and belief and collective punishment through the expropriation of homes and property.
▪ Denial of the rights to freedom of expression, opinion and belief through the criminalization of online speech.
▪ Denial of the rights to freedom of expression and assembly and the right to privacy through enhanced physical and electronic surveillance.
▪ Denial of the right to free expression and free movement through the cancellation of travel documents.
▪ Denial of social and political rights through the manipulation of nominally representative structures.
▪ Denial of economic rights, including through the systematic expropriation of land and related private investments.
▪ The acceleration of settler colonialism and forced demographic change.
▪ Denial of cultural rights, including through the Indianization of local names and systematic promotion of Hindi.

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In December 2023, Indian authorities continued to commit grave human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir (IAK). Indian forces killed at least five individuals, including three civilians who were killed in army custody. Indian authorities also continued to arbitrarily detain people and expropriate property based on purported links to terrorism. Indian authorities continued to target social media dissent through criminal charges, expand their digital surveillance capabilities including through AI-based facial recognition technology, and deny fundamental political rights in IAK, including through banning of two more pro-self-determination political parties.

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In November 2023, Indian authorities continued to commit grave human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir (IAK). Indian forces killed at least 12 individuals and destroyed at least 2 homes.Indian authorities continued to deny the exercise of the right to free expression, including specifically as related to the grave humanitarian situation in Palestine. Indian authorities substantially escalated their ongoing campaign of mass arbitrary detention by detaining hundreds of Kashmiris, including students for allegedly cheering for a team disfavored in India, continued their ongoing campaign of mass property expropriation and continued to block internet access in parts of Kashmir.

In October 2023, Indian authorities continued to commit grave human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir (IAK). Indian forces killed at least 12 and arbitrarily detained at least 6. Indian authorities banned a pro-self-determination political party, the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP), and initiated legal proceedings against Arundhati Roy, an Indian novelist, and Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a Kashmiri professor of international law, for participating in a public seminar on Kashmir in 2010.  Indian authorities increased surveillance, detained Muslim religious leaders and closed Muslim places of worship to ensure there was no assembly or expression in support Palestinian human rights.

The companion discussion guide to Complete Injustice: The Indian Supreme Court and the Misrule of Law in Kashmir summarizes key points in the report and provides additional resources and questions for consideration.