Human rights in India

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The situation of human rights in India is a complex one, as a result of the country's large size and tremendous diversity, its status as a developing country, and its history as a former colonial territory. It is often held, particularly by Indian human rights groups and activists, that members of the Dalit or Untouchable caste have suffered and continue to suffer substantial discrimination. Although human rights problems do exist in India, the country is generally not regarded as a human rights concern, unlike other countries in South Asia^[1].

Contents 1 Chronology of human rights in India 2 Human Rights Watch and India 2.1 Allegations of bias against India 3 References 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Chronology of human rights in India

• 1829 - The practice of sati was formally abolished in British India after years of campaigning by Ram Mohan Roy against this Hindu funeral custom of self-immolation of widows after the death of their husbands.
• 1929 - Child Marriage Restraint Act, prohibiting marriage of minors is passed.
• 1947 - India achieves political independence.
• 1950 - Constitution of India establishes a democratic republic with universal adult franchise. Part 3 of the Constitution contains a Bill of Fundamental Rights enforceable by the Supreme Court and the High Courts. It also provides for reservations for previously disadvantaged sections in education, employment and political representation.
• 1955 - Reform of family law concerning Hindus gives more rights to Hindu women.
• 1973 - Supreme Court of India rules in Kesavananda Bharati that the basic structure of the Constitution (including many fundamental rights) is unalterable by a constitutional amendment.
• 1975-77 - State of Emergency in India - extensive rights violations take place.
• 1978 - SC rules in Menaka Gandhi v. Union of India that the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution cannot be suspended even in an emergency.
• 1985-6 - The Shah Bano case, where the Supreme Court recognised the Muslim woman's right to maintenance upon divorce, sparks protests from Muslim clergy.
• 1989 - Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 is passed.
• 1989-present - Kashmiri insurgency sees increasing violence between militants and security forces, resulting in heavy loss of lives.
• 1992 - A constitutional amendment establishes Local Self-Government (Panchayati Raj) as a third tier of governance at the village level, with one-third of the seats reserved for women. Reservations were provided for scheduled castes and tribes as well.
• 1992 - Babri Masjid demolished by Hindu mobs, resulting in riots across the country.
• 1993 - National Human Rights Commission is established under the Protection of Human Rights Act.
• 2001 - Supreme Court passes extensive orders to implement the right to food.^[2]
• 2002 - Violence in Gujarat, chiefly targetting its Muslim minority, claims many lives.
• 2005 - A powerful Right to Information Act is passed to give citizen's access to information held by public authorities.^[3]
• 2005 - National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) guarantees universal right to employment.
• 2006 - Supreme Court orders police reforms in response to the poor human rights record of Indian police.^[4]

India has a strong and vibrant media which does not allow any atrocity to go totally unnoticed. The Indian media has, if not helped the cause of propagating human rights, at least created channels to let human rights violations come to the notice of the public consciousness.

[edit] Human Rights Watch and India

Human Rights Watch has recently published several reports attacking the Human rights situation in India. Allegations have been made of anti-India and anti-Hindu bias on the part of this and other organizations.

[edit] Allegations of bias against India

Yatindra Bhatnagar, chief editor of "International Opinion", has criticized Human Rights Watch representatives and those of related organizations of having an anti-India bias with regards to their reports of communal riots in India between Hindus and Muslims, particularly in reference to the 2002 Gujarat violence. He writes that, instead of trying to heal the wounds of such incidents, organizations like Human Rights Watch focus disproportionately on blaming Hindus exclusively for the incident and trying to deflect attention from the violence perpetrated by Islamists in the Godhra Train Burning that precipitated the riots. In particular, he criticizes Human Rights Watch representative Smita Narula and her colleagues for providing a "blatantly one-sided" account of events and dismissing his concerns to that effect. ^[5]

In addition, the reports on the Gujarat riots compiled by Human Rights Watch have been criticized by Arvin Bahl, a guest contributor to the "South Asia Analysis Group", as "one-sided" and "biased". He claims that the reports generally "are based on half-truths, distortions and sometimes outright falsehoods". He points out that Human Rights Watch's claims about the Bharatiya Janata Party advocating a Hindu Nation as its core ideology are false. He further says that his analysis of the reports accuse the Gujarat government for planning the riots but do not provide any evidence to back those assertions. He also criticizes Human Rights Watch's labeling of the attacks on Hindus by Muslims during the riots as "retaliatory". In his analysis he states that while he does not deny that Hindu extremists were responsible for the riots, he "objectively analyze[s] the complexity of communal conflict in India and avoid[s] the generalizations associated with Human Rights Watch reports."^[6]

[edit] References

1. ^ India, a Country Study,United States Library of Congress
2. ^ The Right to Food
3. ^ Right to Information
4. ^ Police Reforms ordered by Supreme Court
5. ^ Hours of Anti-India, Anti-Hindutva Rhetoric at “Indian” Muslim Meet, bu Yatindra Bhatnagar,International Opinion.
6. ^ Politics By Other Means: An Analysis of Human Rights Watch Reports on India,saag.org

[edit] See also

• Mohandas Gandhi
• Homosexuality in India
• Prostitution in India
• Human rights in Russia
• Human rights in China
• Human rights in the United States
• Human rights in Europe
• Censorship in India
• Vigil India Movement
• Indian Emergency (1975 - 77)

[edit] External links

• Dalit Human Rights (DHR)
• Freedom of Expression in India - IFEX
• Street Children
• Human Rights Law in India