APCR report flags ‘hate politics’, violence against Muslims in Uttarakhand

The Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) in a recent fact-finding report highlighted the growing incidents of communal violence, displacement, and exclusion faced by Muslim residents of Uttarakhand.

A fact-finding team of the APCR, comprising lawyers, former bureaucrats, journalists and human rights activists, in its report – ‘Excluded, Targeted, & Displaced: Communal Narratives and Violence in Uttarakhand’ – released on January 21, warned that the hill State is witnessing systemic human rights violations driven by “hate politics” and a “steady erosion of constitutional safeguards”.

The report, which has documented several communal incidents that took place in the State between 2021 and 2025, stated that the last few years have seen a pattern of systemic targeting of Muslims in Uttarakhand that is not limited to acts of physical violence, but also economic and social boycott of the community. It also described how “strategic use of fear”, “distortion of history” and the state machinery was deployed to build a narrative of hatred against a particular community.

From hate speech given by religious leaders at a ‘Dharam Sansad’ in Haridwar in 2021 to communal tension in Uttarkashi’s Purola that broke out in 2023 over an alleged incident of “love jihad”, the report documented victim testimonies in detail.

The APCR is a non-profit civil rights organisation established in 2006.

It also pointed out that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led State government has amplified the “hate” through campaigns like “land jihad” and “mazar jihad” etc., and also by supporting the economic boycott calls of the Muslims.

During the release of the report, former Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung questioned the intent behind demolitions and targeted attacks, and stressed on police and government accountability.

Shadab Alam, an activist from Uttarakhand, pointed out the “misplaced” State priorities.

“Instead of addressing issues of unemployment, and migration, the government is fixated on religious polarisation,” he said.