A mid-2026 human rights report jointly released by Amnesty International and the Civicus Monitor has raised serious alarms over the state of free speech in India. The comprehensive study documents the continuous and systemic use of colonial-era sedition laws and stringent anti-terror legislation to target individuals expressing critical views.

According to the findings, independent journalists, comedians, and academics are being increasingly criminalized for voicing dissent. Human rights watchdogs emphasize that these heavy-handed legal frameworks are actively undermining democratic values, creating a chilling effect across the nation’s media landscape and intellectual spaces.