Introduction Rising majoritarian nationalisms have accompanied severe challenges to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in most of South Asia. Religious minorities are at particularly high risk of violent attacks, hate speech, and intimidation, and these violations are frequently met with lack of accountability. This occurs against a backdrop of long-standing social, economic and cultural marginalisation and exclusion, particularly for those who face intersectional discrimination, such as women from religious minorities, indigenous peoples adhering to minority religions, and those facing caste-based discrimination. In India, there has been a rise in vigilante violence since the election of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2014, particularly targeting the Muslim (14.2 per cent) and Christian (2.3 per cent) populations. Divisive rhetoric on the part of the ruling party coupled with discriminatory legislation, including anti-cow slaughter and anti-conversion laws, have emboldened vigilante groups, fostering hostility towards religious minorities who have been targeted by these laws and also face vigilante mob violence. With the return of the BJP to power following the 2019 election, its anti-Muslim rhetoric has escalated and rapidly transformed into action through measures such as the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC)1 in the state of Assam and the federally mandated Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which appears driven by the sole objective of discriminating against Muslims by granting citizenship to those belonging to almost all other major religious groups other than Muslims.2 1 The NRC was prepared after the 1951 Census of India as a registry containing information on the citizens of India. The update was conducted in Assam following a 2013 Supreme Court order and was conducted in the backdrop of decades-long anti-foreigner sentiments in the state. 2 The CAA states that ‘any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before the 31st day of December, 2014’ will receive