NEW DELHI, 16 January 2022, (TON): The Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its annual report criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in India for adopting discriminatory policies against minority communities, including Muslims.

In its World Report 2022, the HRW said “this, coupled with the vilification of Muslims by some BJP leaders and police failure to take action against BJP supporters who commit violence, emboldened Hindu nationalist groups to attack Muslims and government critics with impunity.”

It added “the Indian government cracked down on activists, journalists, peaceful protesters, and even poets.”

The HRW said actors, and businesses increasingly risked politically motivated harassment, prosecutions and tax raids.

It said “authorities shut down rights groups using foreign funding regulations or allegations of financial irregularities.”

About Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), it said "allegations of torture and extrajudicial killings persisted with the National Human Rights Commission registering 143 deaths in police custody and 104 alleged extrajudicial killings in the first nine months in 2021."