Authorities raid premises of prominent social activist

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided two premises linked with the prominent social activist, author and former civil servant Dr Harsh Mander on 2 February.

The raids were conducted in Dr Mander’s Delhi-based residence as well as his office premises, in connection with a probe related to an alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), which regulates access to foreign funding for individuals, associations or companies, including non-governmental organisations, in India.

A First Information Report (FIR), which is required for the police to open an investigation, was registered against Dr Mander and the thinktank Centre for Equity Studies (CES), where Dr Mander currently serves as chairperson, on 31 January.

Dr Mander is known for openly criticising India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for fuelling communal disharmony. In 2002 he resigned from the Indian Administrative Services in which he had served for 22 years in protest of the Indian government and then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of the 2002 Gujarat riots, which are considered one of the worst cases of communal violence since India’s independence.

In September 2017, Dr Mander launched the Karwan-e-Mohabbat (‘Caravan of Love’) campaign in solidarity with victims of communal and religiously motivated violence in India. He is also the author of several books on communal violence in India.

Dr Mander has often been subjected to harassment and intimidation by investigative agencies, but despite multiple allegations he has never been charged in court. In 2021, the CES and another NGO founded by Dr Mander called Aman Biradari were subjected to a money laundering probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), during which the ED raided Mander’s residence whilst he and his wife were in Germany for a six-month fellowship at the Robert Bosch Academy. In April 2023, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs recommended that the CBI open an inquiry into Dr Mander and the CES.

Over 250 activists and scholars have issued a joint statement condemning the raids on Dr Mander’s offices, labelling them a ‘vindictive witch hunt’. The statement called for the closure of all investigations into Dr Mander and the CES, adding, ‘these egregious attacks on Harsh Mander and the CES are an attack on all of civil society in India and all those who work to promote constitutional values.’

The statement also quotes Dr Mander, who says that his life, his writings and his work are his only response to the raids and allegations.

CSW sources suggest that the targeting of Dr Mander in this manner is indicative of the BJP’s tactics to silence its critics ahead of India’s general election. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the BJP has been criticised for systematically targeting individuals, civil society organisations and non-profit organisations, since coming into power in 2014 through the use of the FCRA, allowing hateful rhetoric towards human rights defenders to go on, and enforcing ‘anti-terror’ laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) to silence anyone who highlights and challenges human rights violations in India. In 2020 Father Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, was arrested and falsely charged under the UAPA. Father Swamy died in judicial custody in 2021; in 2022, forensic experts discovered that incriminating evidence was planted in his computer.

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘CSW stands in solidarity with Dr Harsh Mander; we condemn the raids on his offices and call for an end to the investigations against him, which are clearly a response to his continued human rights advocacy. The trend of harassing anyone who speaks up against violations of human rights in India and labelling them “anti-nationals” must stop. While India prides itself as the world’s largest democracy, the heavy-handed approach that the BJP takes towards civil society and human rights activism is totally unjustified and goes against the fundamental principles of democracy and international human rights.’