According to the 2021 data, UP alone hogs the lion’s share of human rights abuses in the country, at an alarming 40 percent of all violations and violence. As per the PUCL demand letter, “Not only Uttar Pradesh is at the forefront of violence against women, amongst all other States. In the case of Dalit atrocities, 25.8 percent of the incidents of Dalit atrocities in the entire country are from Uttar Pradesh, which is the highest. During the current rule of BJP's Yogi Government, the cases of fake encounters increased unexpectedly, which raised eyebrows in the country but also it raised deep concern amongst human rights organizations all over the world.”

In addition, patently illegal and unconstitutional laws are being framed, with UP being the cauldron of rightwing legal experimentation, pushing the boundaries of what is constitutionally acceptable, further endangering the poor and the vulnerable. PUCL underlines the State-led repression and communal polarization machineries that are at work all the time, and any efforts on the part of citizens to lodge democratic and peaceful protests are crushed brutally. UP Government’s indiscriminate and blatantly illegal imposition of the draconian laws such as NSA, UAPA, among others, on protesting students, farmers, workers, forest tribals, Dalits, has also been noted by human rights organisations, both domestic and international.

PUCL has demanded that respect for human rights be restored and the promise of such be prominently included in the election manifestoes of contesting parties. PUCL has cited the rising numbers of crimes against women committed in UP, especially the harrowing instances of crimes against women in Hathras and Unnao, among many others, which have been dealt with as inhumanly as the crimes themselves. Unlike CM Yogi’s claim that crime has disappeared from UP, it has, in fact, intensified against women, minorities, Dalits and others.

UP continues to be a hotspot for crimes against Dalits, with the numbers being the highest in the whole country. The PUCL letter cites the incidents in Hathras, Gohri and others to drive home the counternarrative, even as the BJP is trying to consolidate a united Hindu vote, disavowing the deplorable condition of Dalits in the state. 2019 data suggests UP accounted for 15.4 percent of the rapes of Dalit women, most of which were also caste crimes. Moreover, FIRs of Dalit women alleging rape against privileged caste men are often not registered by equally complicit police in UP. PUCL has demanded that ending caste oppression be included in the election manifestoes of the political parties.

PUCL also underlines the hateful climate of extreme communalism in the state, especially under the banner of Yogi’s own brand of militant Hindu nationalism. Crimes against Muslims are committed not just by the members of the majority community, but often with the aid of the government machinery. During the anti-CAA protests, the Yogi government left no stone unturned to project Muslims as terrorists. As the PUCL letter recounts, “On December 19, the government imprisoned hundreds of people due to the demonstrations across the state, the Chief Minister himself threatened to take 'revenge'. Officially 22 people were shot dead by police, including an 8-year-old child.

According to the report of human rights organizations, the death toll is 34. The most viciousness was meted out to the people in Lucknow and Kanpur. People were beaten up badly, tortured in police stations, women were molested. A large number of social workers were also put in jails and their bail was blocked by the government. In Lucknow alone, a charge sheet was filed against 297 people associated with this movement, in which 18 people were slapped with NSA and 68 accused with gangsters act cases, 28 people were charged under the Goonda Act. About 300 people were accused of causing damage to public property and a notice was sent to them to deposit Rs 64 lakh within 7 days.

Not only this, pictures of all these people, including many social workers, were released as criminals at intersections of Lucknow, although the allegation has not yet been proved. This is a violation of the privacy of anyone, which is a right given by the constitution. At this time, many human right organizations have released detailed reports, which reveal the whole story of the communalism within the government system, especially the police system. During this period, 120 cases of NSA from 32 districts of Uttar Pradesh came to the Advocate Forum constituted at Allahabad. All the accused in it were Muslims. Out of these, 94 detentions were 'quashed' by High Court.”

Foisting fabricated cases against Muslims accusing them of cow slaughter has also become commonplace in Yogi-led UP. In addition, fake encounters and the rampant criminalization of the police department paints a sorry picture of the state of affairs in UP. PUCL has urged the electoral parties to promise an immediate end to state-led repression of minorities in the manifestoes. (IPA Service)