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‘Rights’ Plan

No doubt the issue of human rights, rather violation of human rights, is now getting wide acceptance to the people of all walks of life, thanks to efforts made by small human rights groups that operate mainly in urban areas, particularly in metros. The people are realising that it is the duty of the state to provide protection of citizen’s economic, social and cultural rights ; provide protection for citizen’s civil and political rights ; provide protection for the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, women, children, senior citizens and the disabled; conduct education on human rights, fulfil obligations to international human rights conventions. But just reverse is happening in today’s India as not a single day passes with the media reporting on gross violations of human rights by state agencies and non-state actors as well across the country. Not that all abuses are reported on time but even what appears in national dailies throughout the country is bone-chilling. Rights are denied while ‘wrongs’ are perpetrated by the authorities with impunity.

For one thing all political parties, left and right alike, have their own frontal organisations among students, youth, peasants, workers and women. But no political party shows any desire to float human rights bodies with a definite action programme though they maintain contacts with human rights groups that are mostly non-governmental, to protect their own rights.

In truth political parties are no less responsible for the abnormal rise of human rights abuses as they encourage criminalisation of politics to further vested interests. They always view human rights question through their partisan prism while refusing to act beyond sectarian interests.

But human rights movement is still very weak in the country. Barring a few localised initiatives run by liberals and democrats with limited options and democratic space human rights issue is being increasingly addressed these days through state institutions both at national and state levels. As a result justice for the victims of rights abuses remains so skewed, minimal and non-reachable to a vast section of the under-privileged that violators do hardly get punishment they deserve for the crimes they commit. Rights Commissions, at the centre and in states finish their job by announcing some compensation to the kins of the victims.

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the apex body to monitor rights issues is more like a debating society of high-ranking retired government officials, organising seminars and workshops on noble themes all the time and adopting pious resolutions at their important meetings otherwise highly publicised, possibly for media consumption.

‘Police leaves accident victim to be muled to death by dogs’. ‘A minor girl employed as a domestic help rescued’. ‘Forcibly discharged woman delivers baby outside the hospital’. Well, these are some of the news items of NHRC’s latest newsletter dated May 2012. A glance at the fact-sheet prepared by NHRC—and facts are certainly inadequate—reveals a horrific situation detailing police excesses in different parts of the country.

The Commission in its five full sittings and ten sittings of Divisional Benches in April, 2012, recommended monetary relief amounting to a total of Rs 54,95,000 for the victims or their next of kin in 29 cases where it found public servants had either violated human rights or had been negligent in protecting them. As for custodial deaths and fake encounter killings, Andhra, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab feature prominently in the news bulletin. Bengal and Andhra apart, Assam too has, of late, earned special notoreity in custodial deaths and fake encounters on NHRC radar.

Wherever NHRC team opens hearing large number of people victimised by the government authorities come to lodge complaints. Despite so much talk of dalit empowerment, atrocities against scheduled castes and tribes seem endemic.

Institutionalising human rights issue is a shield for the government to pacify the aggrieved and make the authoritarian regime look humane. It looks more like labour commissioner’s office without implementing authority, to resolve labour disputes.

Not that north India is the only region where scheduled caste people historically and traditionally face social and administrative atrocities. In the east, in Orissa to be precise, inhuman treatment meted out to scheduled caste people is on the rise alarmingly.

Frontier
Vol. 45, No. 6, Aug 19-25, 2012