India has strongly rebutted the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHRC) over its remarks on Kashmir and Manipur, urging the global body to take a “long and hard look in the mirror” before making “sweeping and generalised remarks.” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Arindam Bagchi, dismissed the comments made by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk as “unfounded and baseless.” In his address at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Bagchi asserted that India “continues to be a healthy, vibrant and pluralistic society.”
VIDEO | 58th regular session of the Human Rights Council: Here’s what India’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Arindam Bagchi said reacting to UN human rights chief Volker Turk’s remarks on Kashmir, Manipur.
“As India was mentioned by name, let me begin… pic.twitter.com/xlnoJvxydb
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 3, 2025
“As India was mentioned by name, let me begin by emphasising that the world’s largest democracy continues to be a healthy, vibrant and pluralistic society. Unfounded and baseless comments in the update contrast jarringly with ground realities,” Bagchi said, as quoted by PTI.
India took issue with Turk’s reference to “Kashmir,” stating that he had “erroneously referred to” the region instead of Jammu and Kashmir. Bagchi pointed out that the update ignored key developments, including high voter participation in provincial elections, rapid economic progress, and a thriving tourism industry.
Criticising the UNHRC’s approach, Bagchi said, “The High Commissioner has sensed a pervasive unease, but we would submit that a key element to addressing this is a long and hard look in the mirror by the Office of the High Commissioner.”
India also slammed what it called “cherry-picking of situations” and “misplaced concern,” arguing that the global update failed to provide an accurate representation of India’s democratic framework. “We would urge a better understanding of India and our civilizational ethos of diversity and openness, which continue to define our robust and often cacophonous civic space,” Bagchi added.
Turk, in his address, had expressed concerns about “violence and displacement in Manipur,” urging “stepped-up efforts to address violence and displacement in Manipur, based on dialogue, peacebuilding and human rights.” He also raised issues about “the use of restrictive laws against human rights defenders and independent journalists,” alleging a “shrinking civic space, including in Kashmir.”