Countries
India

The Republic of India is located in South-East Asia.  The first female President, Pratibha Patil, was elected in 2007. The Prime Minister is Manmohan Singh.

An alliance led by the Indian National Congress won the 2009 elections in the country. However this government has not yet met the most urgent needs of the population. Among these issues include: reform and improved training of police, who have often been the perpetrators of grave human rights abuses. The country struggles to provide adequate access to  medical care, and education to its population. Discriminations  against ethnic minorities, women and children is prevalent in the country.

In the last few years, several bombings have occurred in different parts of the country, killing hundreds of people, and leading to continuous tension with Pakistan. Under the strong pressure of public opinion, the government has intensified  legal measures in security, but they have not been put into practice. At the same time, suspects of terrorist attacks have been arbitrarily detained and tortured.

The lack of government protection of minorities and other vulnerable groups  has brought upon militant activism all over the country. This problem is worsened by extreme poverty, that affects 25% of the country’s population, reaching 70% in rural areas.