Human Rights Situation in India - A Million Mutinies Happening!
Pon Chandran
Introduction – India is witnessing million mutinies now. These rebellions are happening in the hearts and minds of the people against the Indian state. The anti-people policies of the government have created a situation, where protest and rebellion is the only option left for the people in this country. The resistance by the people is put down with iron hand leading to brutalities and human rights abuses in India. Although this is an ongoing phenomena since we got independence there is a spike being witnessed since the BJP government has come to power in 2014. It would be a difficult task to give a detailed account of the human rights abuses, but a random listing can contextualize the million mutinies going on in India.
Contemporary India is witnessing a grand shift from the proclaimed Socialistic pattern of Society, nurtured since the Nehruvian era, to blatant capitalism. The word socialism which finds space in the preamble of the constitution is becoming irrelevant in the country. The government is making consistent effort through privatization of several social sectors including education, mines, farms, forest, and water resources to corporatize these sectors.
Corporatization has led to the indiscriminate exploitation of the natural resources including the destruction of forests and the fauna and flora of this land. The wanton destruction of natural resources is threatening the very existence of indigenous people living in such habitats. Such destruction is hitting hard at the sustenance of the deprived people in the country. As a result, a rebellion is being witnessed against the anti-people policy of the state. Those who resist the anti-human government policies are being dubbed as the enemy of the State.
The present government has literally waged a war against its own people who are resisting the drive of corporatization of the natural resources. In fact, the government through its organs is partner in this anti-human crime. The government is a party in the displacement, disappearances, fake encounters, torture, rape, sexual violation, custodial deaths and the denial of the livelihood to its own people. This stark reality of gross human rights abuse is witnessed in the large part of Central India.
The Indian government has invoked oppressive laws entailing indefinite incarceration of large numbers of those protesting against environmentally destructive programmes like Nuclear reactors, extraction of methane and hydrocarbon gases, indiscriminate quarrying of sand, and minerals. Thus the Indian state is denying its citizens their liberties and freedom of expression. The people’s movements are put down heavily under the law of sedition which is more oppressive than the British government’s laws that were used to stop those taking part in India’s freedom struggle.
The right to dissent which is the hall mark of any democracy is obliterated in India. This is done by liquidating the persons who express their dissent. There is a long list of people who have been killed for raising their voices against injustices going on in the country. The killing of Gowri Lankesh, a renowned social activist from Karnataka, is a glaring example. She was a vociferous critic of right wing Hindutva politics and a valiant defender of human rights. Similarly, Professor M.M. Kalburgi, a progressive writer from Karnataka, Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, a renowned rationalist and Communist leader, and Govind Pansare of Maharashtra were all gunned down for opposing the undemocratic trait of the ruling Hindutva ideology. Their assassinations manifest the intolerant attitude of the right wing political groups in India. It also manifests the crude culture of communal fascism nurtured directly or indirectly by the present ruling establishment.
Human Rights defenders are being jailed under draconian laws. Dr. G.N. Saibaba, a professor from Delhi University who is on a wheelchair, is branded as a dreadful Maoist. He is incarcerated for life with three other students from JNU. They are charged for “waging war against the state”. Dr. Binayak Sen, a medical doctor and Vice President of People’s Union for Civil Liberties, was also jailed on similar charges.
The social activists who are protesting the injustices perpetrated by the state are framed under the obnoxious Goondas Act. This act was originally conceived to punish bootleggers, drug offenders, immoral traffickers, forest offenders, sand offenders, slum grabbers and video pirates is being now used against social activists and human rights defenders.
Goondas Act was clamped in Tamil Nadu against Thirumurugan Gandhi and three others for holding a Candle light vigil to commemorate civilian victims in Sri Lanka’s ethnic war. Similarly, Valarmathi, a student of journalism and social activist, was arrested under the Goondas Act for distribution of awareness pamphlets among students. She was released after 58 days of imprisonment.
Unlawful Assembly Prevention Act (UAPA) and National Security Act are other draconian laws used unreasonably against social activists in India. These draconian laws used against political activists are a blatant denial of right to freedom of expression. India is a signatory of ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) and CAT (Convention Against Torture) but these vital covenants and protocols are inevitably breached by the Indian state.
Custodial deaths continue unabated in India. Reports of custodial deaths emerge at regular intervals from the different parts of the country in the media. Though the places may differ, the pattern remains the same. The use of third-degree methods of interrogation is invariably common in all such deaths. The custodial deaths surface only after the intervention of the human rights bodies and a large number of such cases are buried under the hatchet as no one objects to such deaths.
It may be noted that as per the National Crime Records Prison status for the year 2015, more than 55 percent of the under trials across the country are Muslims, Dalits or Tribals, who together constitute 39% of the total population. The numbers of prisoners, particularly Muslims who are serving life sentences are quite high. In the 1998 “Coimbatore bomb blasts case” many Muslims are still languishing in jail without getting the benefit of remission. Even after 25 years these prisoners have got no relief from the court. These prisoners are awarded double punishment, which is against the principles of natural justice.
Similarly, those convicted for Rajiv Gandhi’s murder are languishing in the Vellore jail. This is despite the fact that the Supreme Court has discharged them from death sentence and even the Tamil Nadu government has set them free. This high profile case is seeing denial of justice to the seven prisoners, including Nalini, the woman assailant.
The human rights situation is appalling in the Northeast States of India. The entire area which is full of indigenous peoples is reeling under the atrocities and terror perpetrated by the Indian Armed Forces. The Indian security forces enjoy immunity under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). They can commit any crime during the course of their duty and cannot be tried by the Indian courts even after committing human rights abuses.
Here it needs to be mentioned that the people of the Northeast are subjected to untold hardship and are treated as chattels by the Indian Armed forces. It won’t be out of context to mention the event that took place on July 15, 2004, when 12 Manipur women disrobed in front of the Assam Rifles HQ in Imphal, the capital of Manipur. They were protesting against the killing of Manorama Thangjam who was raped by the Indian Army and killed. The protesting women held a banner at the gates of the Assam Rifles HQ, which read “Indian Army Rape Us.”
The legendary human rights activists, Irom Sharmila, went on an indefinite fast for fourteen years demanding the repeal of the draconian AFSPA. However her peaceful ‘Satyagraha’ could not move any hearts and she had to withdraw her fast because the central government showed no inclination to consider her just demand. The fact is, under the AFSPA Indian Army continues to commit innumerable atrocities. This includes the right to shoot and kill; powers of arrest and to occupy or destroy property calling it counterinsurgency operation. All this has led to widespread human rights abuse in the northeast region of India.
The situation in Jammu and Kashmir is even worse than the northeast. There are some seven lakh Indian soldiers stationed to guard ten lakh people to maintain ‘peace’. The Kashmir Valley is literally an open prison, where human rights are being trampled with impunity. People there are breathing their life under the shadow of the gun. This has led to rebellion and militancy and terror which are put down with an iron hand. The counter terror operations by the Indian Army that include Operation Rakshak, Operation Sarp Vinash, Operation Randori Behak and Operation All Out have killed scores of people rising in protest through armed means. This part of India is witnessing the worst kind of human rights abuse in the entire country.
Religious communalism is another form of human rights abuse. The communal violence against Muslims is a regular feature in India. To this another feature is added with the emergence of the Cow vigilante groups. This group targets Muslims who earn their livelihood through cattle trade. Several Muslims are lynched to death by the Cow vigilantes (Gau Rakshaks) when they are transporting cattle from one place to other. It is apparent that cow slaughter is a bigger crime in India than causing death to human beings. The amendment to Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCAA) is not only unconstitutional but violates Article 48 of the Constitution. It is also against the cultural and sustainable practices adopted by certain groups in India.
India’s diversity in languages, cultures, nationalities, faiths, religion and regions are at crossroads. The Hinduisation of India is leading to social unrest in the country. The Hindutva eruption is not only dictating to the people what language they should speak, also what they should eat and what kind of clothes they should wear, what to see or not to see and with whom should they make friends and whom they should love (Love Jihad). This is against the constitutional rights of the citizens of India.
The forceful homogenization of India is done through different methods. This includes through indiscriminate centralization of the administration even at the cost of erosion of the federal structure of India. The government, in order to bring uniformity, is using administrative and other means for the centralization of the country. The proposed New Education Policy and National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) is one such instance. The subject of education which is in the concurrent list is being taken over by the central government. It has brought a new education policy without consulting the State governments and has imposed a National Eligibility Entrance Test for getting admission in medical colleges. The system which is inherently unfair is being imposed on all the country denying the spirit of federalism and social justice enshrined in the Indian constitution.
One, Ariyalur Anitha, a medical aspirant from Tamil Nadu’s most oppressed community, committed suicide protesting this unjust system of NEET. She committed suicide as she could not afford the expensive coaching required for qualifying the NEET. The imposition of NEET is not only an intrusion into the State governments’ prerogatives, but also a blatant denial of the social justice to the Indian citizens.
Social apartheid or practice of untouchability is another form of human rights abuse that continues to be practiced in India even after being outlawed. The upper castes in India have a religious right over the body of the women belonging to the lower castse in India. There are several instances of such forms of social injustices being reported on a daily basis against Dalits in India. Even though constitutional justice is guaranteed, there is no respite from the practice of untouchability and atrocities against the Dalit in the country. It needs to remember that India which is moving towards a Hindu Rashtra will carry its caste baggage into sucha utopian state and there will be no respite from such human right abuse, belying all the attempts to achieve social justice in India.
Plight of farmers in India - The indifference and neglect of the farmers in India has led to the continued mutinies among this group in the country. Large scale farmers’ suicides are a case in point. The National Crime Records Bureau of India reported that as many as around 15 farmers and 15 agricultural laborers die by suicide every day in India. This amounts to nearly 7 per cent of the total suicide cases reported in India. Between 2017 and 2021, nearly 53,000 persons engaged in the farming sector died by suicide. Of these, close to 28,600 (55%) were farmers. The farmers commit suicide due to acute stress caused due to crops failure and insurmountable debts. They are hit hard due to the monsoon failure and lack of adequate support from the government.
The unimagined farm policy of the government had led to massive farmers’ protest in 2020-21 near the national capital. More than 702 farmers died during the yearlong agitation. The farm laws were eventually withdrawn by the government due to its impending impact on the Uttar Pradesh election. However, the callous attitude of the government towards the farming community is very much implicit in the farmer laws.
When one- third of the Indian population is living below the poverty line and cannot afford one square meal a day, the Central government is thrusting on them some capitalist projects. This is in the guise of modernization and development. Take the case of the “Bullet train project” which is a drain on the tax payer’s money. The Covid19 calamity has exposed the tardiness of health infrastructure in the country. Instead of addressing the health needs, the government is spending huge money for operating bullet trains. There are not numerous other such projects which are neither nature centric nor human centric but are pushed by the government in the name of development and modernization. In implementing those projects, national resources are being drained denying the people their urgent needs like providing health care and education amenities and other basic facilities. The power drunk government hardly bothers about the needs of the people and is busy in pursuit of catering to its capitalist hobby.
Last but not the least, to keep Tamil Nadu on the national radar a mention has to be made about the plight of Tamil fisher folks fishing near international waters near Sri Lanka. The Indian fishermen are being arrested and their fishing boats and nets seized and sometimes are even killed by the Sri Lankan Navy. In a one decade or so more than 600 Tamil fishermen have lost their life while pursuing livelihood activities in the Indian waters. The government has not given them any relief so far even though they are citizens of India.
In this context, mention about the plight of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees too needs to be highlighted. While some other categories of refugees who are staying in India are getting favorable treatment, the Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka are living in a pathetic condition. They are discriminated and denied basic amenities, under the guise that India is not a signatory of the UN convention on refugees.
Conclusion: The litany of violations of human rights is endless and in conclusion it can be said that the Indian state is indulging in the denial of justice on several fronts. Environmental justice, social, cultural and economic justice and self-determination justice, fundamental rights to various nationalities are all denied by the Indian state. This has led to the denial of civil rights, human rights and human dignity in India. Hence there is urgent need to correct this anomaly of Human rights abuses by invoking the rights enshrined in the UN Human Rights Charter and international principles to protect the citizens of this great country to make India a functional democracy.
Ponniah Chandran is Joint Secretary of PUCL, Tamil Nadu.
Note: The above is an updated version of the status report submitted to the UNHRC in September 2017.
[This report is also published in: “Essays on Changing Nature of Indian State” edited by Syed Ali Mujtaba. Indu Book Services, New Delhi, 2024].