India Enabling Environment Snapshot

Period covered by the report: December 2025 – March 2026

The enabling environment for civil society in India continues to be shaped by a complex blend of laws, policies, administrative practices, and prevailing social attitudes. During January to March 2026, the civic space remained under significant pressure from restrictive regulations, specifically the recent FCRA amendments with securitised governance.

At the same time, socio-geopolitical tensions, including the fallout from the India–Pakistan conflict in 2025 and wider regional insecurity, continued to narrow the space for dissent, peacebuilding, and cross-border civil society engagement. In conflict-affected and politically sensitive areas - such as North-East, Jammu & Kashmir regions - civil society actors faced heightened surveillance, movement restrictions, and suspicion, which further discouraged independent advocacy and public participation.

In early 2026, the political environment was further shaped by the state election cycle for Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, which heightened scrutiny of civil society actors engaged in voter awareness, transparency, misinformation monitoring, and electoral accountability. Election periods tend to intensify political polarisation and place civil society under greater scrutiny, particularly organisations engaged in media monitoring, and rights-based advocacy. In such contexts, CSOs and independent media often face accusations of bias, stronger monitoring of their digital and field activities, and greater risk of intimidation or content restrictions, all of which can discourage public-interest participation and reduce room for civic dialogue. In Meghalaya, internet services were suspended in West Garo Hills in March 2026 after election-related unrest and reports of social media misinformation, directly limiting communication, mobilisation, and civic coordination in the region.

There were, however, a few limited openings. In Ladakh, the Ministry of Home Affairs revoked the National Security Act detention of activist Sonam Wangchuk in mid-March, suggesting that dialogue remained possible in some contexts. Maharashtra also signed multiple MoUs with Tata Trusts and Naam Foundation, and some state-level consultations continued to involve civil society in policy and service delivery. Even so, these openings were narrow and did not alter the broader pattern of tightening scrutiny, digital constraints, and reduced operating space for independent civic actors.