Human Rights in India @ whatisindia.com

As important as civil and political rights in the Indian context are the rights of the marginalized -- women, tribals, Dalits or lower-castes, and the poor whose survival depends on access to natural resources. It is the rights of the marginalized and of the minorities in the country today that are in peril. The challenge is to empower the poor and marginalized to demand their rights and participate in the public sphere.

The Constitution of India is one of the most rights-based constitutions in the world. Drafted around the same time as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Indian Constitution captures the essence of human rights in its Preamble, and the sections on Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy.

The Constitution of India is based on the principles that guided India's struggle against a colonial regime that consistently violated the civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights of the people of India. The freedom struggle itself was informed by the many movements for social reform, against oppressive social practices like sati (the practice of the wife following her dead husband onto the funeral pyre), child marriage, untouchability etc. Thus by the mid-1920s, the Indian National Congress had already adopted most of the civil and political rights in its agenda.

The movement led by Dr B R Ambedkar (one of the founding fathers of the Constitution) against discrimination against the Dalits (the erstwhile outcasts or so-called untouchables who formed the lowest strata of the caste hierarchy and who currently number more than 170 million or 16.5% of the total population of India) also had an impact on the Indian Constitution.

In spite of the fact that most of the human rights found clear expression in the Constitution of India, the independent Indian State carried forward many colonial tendencies and power structures, including those embedded

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in the elite Indian Civil Service. Though the Indian State under Jawaharlal Nehru took many proactive steps and followed a welfare state model, the police and bureaucracy remained largely colonial in their approach and sought to exert control and power over citizens. The casteist, feudal and communal characteristics of the Indian polity, coupled with a colonial bureaucracy, weighed against and dampened the spirit of freedom, rights and affirmative action enshrined in the Constitution.

Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today agreed that human rights violations were rampant in the Kashmir valley and custodial disappearances were also prevalent before the Congress took over the reins from the PDP two years ago. (Human Rights Violations Have Declined, Claims Azad , Tribune, Tejinder Singh Sodhi, Nov 08, 2007)

Attempting to divert attention from the real problems facing BPO workers, and to evade responsibility for such tragic incidents by accusing them of being irresponsible, will only tarnish the reputation of ITES companies themselves. (Who Killed Jyoti? , Deccan Herald, A N Sudarsan Rao , Nov 08, 2007)

Lately, saving Africa has become very fashionable. Hollywood celebrities are adopting African babies. (Time For The British To Pay Up In Kenya, Tribune, A N Sudarsan Rao , Nov 08, 2007)

Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan made a haggard-looking appearance in a video issued from hiding today, calling for protests against President Pervez Musharraf’s state of an emergency. (Imran Issues Video Message From Hiding, Tribune, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Journalists in Nepal have been staging protests against the Maoist party after it admitted to killing a reporter, Birendra Sah. (Nepal Anger At Killing By Maoists , British Broadcasting Corporation, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

A local court in the Indian state of Bihar has given bail to a member of the state assembly who was arrested last week for an attack on journalists. (Bail Granted To Bihar Politician , British Broadcasting Corporation, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

The scare tactics used by the U.K.’s MI5 chief this week may win a few headlines to help the state, but do grave long-term damage. (Fear Speeches Are Utterly Self-Defeating, Hindu, Simon Jenkins, Nov 08, 2007)

From India's point of view, what can be the worst case scenario in Pakistan? It is the replacement of President Pervez Musharraf by a coalition of the Jamaat-e-Islami (Jamaat) and its allies, the Taliban-Al Qaeda combine and the fundamentalist . . . (Draft A Plan Of Action, Pioneer, Hiranmay Karlekar, Nov 08, 2007)

THE imposition of emergency rule throughout Pakistan on Nov 3 is a clear indication of the failure of the policies pursued by General Musharraf both as president and the patron saint of the ruling PML-Q which forms the rubberstamp government . . . . (Back To The Drawing Board, Dawn, Syed Shahabuddin, Nov 08, 2007)

GEORGE Orwell understood both tyranny and language very well. One of his many insights in this context is that tyrannical governments change the meaning of words. (Emergency Or Martial Law?, Dawn, Editorial, Dawn, Nov 08, 2007)

A housekeeper, who was allegedly enslaved by multi-millionaire Indian American couple, gave graphic and chilling details of torture she suffered at the hands of her employers and showed the jury how she was made to scrub the floor three times a day and ho (Indonesian Accuses Nri Couple Of Abusing Her, Hindustan Times, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Behind the public rage of Pakistan’s lawyers, who protested for a third day on Wednesday, lies a long-smoldering resentment toward the country’s military President, who at first held out a promise for educated, politically moderate Pakistanis. . . (Why Pak Lawyers Are At The Centre Of Protests Against General Musharraf, Indian Express, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

A local court on Wednesday granted bail to JD(U) MLA Anant Singh and five others arrested on charges of assaulting journalists here last week. (Attack On Scribes: Jd(u) Mla, Others Granted Bail, Indian Express, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Controversial JD (U) MLA Anant Singh, who was remanded to judicial custody for assaulting journalists last week, was granted bail by a local court here on Wednesday (Ex-Minister Out On Bail In Murder Case , Deccan Herald, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan made a haggard-looking appearance in a video issued from hiding on Wednesday, calling for protests against President Pervez Musharraf’s state of emergency. (Imran Khan Issues Video Message From Hiding, Indian Express, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan made a haggard-looking appearance in a video issued from hiding on Wednesday, calling for protests against President Pervez Musharraf's state of emergency. (Imran Issues Video Message From Hiding, Hindustan Times, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

The Tehelka sting operation underscores the urgency of simultaneously pursuing the prosecution of the culprits and fighting Hindutva politically in a spirited way. (Unfinished Agenda, Frontline, Praful Bidwai, Nov 08, 2007)

It is no accident that those who advocate war for humanitarian reasons end up justifying torture. (Torture And ‘Humanitarian War’, Hindu, John Laughland, Nov 07, 2007)

United Nations top officials, including secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, have demanded that the military regime in Pakistan should immediately release all persons detained in the wake of imposition of emergency, including lawyers, judges . . . . (Un Rights Envoy To Visit Myanmar , Tribune, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)

Developing nations are being pushed to grow crops for ethanol, rather than food, all thanks to political expediency. Using food to produce biofuels might strain supplies of arable land: IMF The cost of rice has risen by 20% over the past year, maiz (North Biofuel Appetite Causing South Starvation, Hindu, George Monbiot, Nov 07, 2007)