Preface -
Introduction: Human Rights in India: From Aspirations to Ashes by Anand Teltumbde -
PART I: Perspectives on the Subversion of Human Rights:
1. Dignity, State Violence and the Challenge to Impunity by Kalpana Kannabiran -
2. Democracy, Development and the Ghost of Urban Naxal by Ajay Gudavartby and G. Vijay -
3. Supreme Court and Human Rights by Mibir Desai -
4. Facilitating Persecution Hindutva Style by Aakar Patel -
5. Making of New India: Towards a Fascist Society by Vinecth Srivatuava Bhagyanagar -
6. Bulldozer (In)justice: Collective Punishment as Vengeance by Subhash Gatade -
7. The Hollowing Out of the Gujarat Model by Testa Setałvad -
8. The Process as Punishment: Undertrials' Plighr in Indian Prisons by Gatam Navlakha -
9. It Started with Words. India's Dangerous Hate Speech Epidemic by Harsb Mander -
PART II: Lives on the Edge: Vulnerable Communities in Modis India -
10. Whither Human Rights of Muslims by Ifan Engineer -
11. Adivasis and Human Rights by Virginius Xaxa -
12 Dalits under the Modi Raj by Anand Teltumbde -
13 Whither Prisoner Rights by Vermon Gonsalves -
14. Constitutional Rights and the Persecution of Christians in India by Langy Loba -
15 On the Protection of the Rapist and the Molester in 'Amrit Kaal' by Ranjana Padhi -
16 Children on the Periphery of the Human Rights Discourse by Mabarukh Adenualla
Contestations During the BJP's Fascist Rule -
17 Trailblazing Trans and Queer Histories and Their by Bittu K.R. -
Contributors -
Notes and References -
Select Bibliography -
Index.

Whither Human Rights in India, edited by Anand Teltumbde, one of India’s prominent human rights activists, is a searing and indispensable anthology that brings together some of the most important thinkers, activists and human rights defenders of our time. The essays trace the historical and ideological roots of India’s human rights discourse—from colonial legacies and constitutional guarantees to the challenges posed by majoritarian politics, state violence and systemic inequality.
Contributors critically examine institutions and practices shaping the current landscape: judicial responses, hate speech, impunity, ‘bulldozer justice’ and contested models of development. They also turn to the lived realities of vulnerable communities—Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, Christians, women, children, LGBTQI+ people and prisoners—whose struggles for dignity illuminate the larger battle for justice and democracy.
Featuring incisive contributions from Harsh Mander, Kalpana Kannabiran, Aakar Patel, Teesta Setalvad, Gautam Navlakha, Mihir Desai and others, this volume offers an unflinching exploration of human rights at a critical juncture in India’s history.
Dedicated to the memory of Father Stan Swamy and Prof. G. N. Saibaba, Whither Human Rights in India is both a record of resistance and a call to rethink the future of democracy and human dignity.