Seldom does a day pass without some reports of human rights violations launched on the subject somewhere in the world. On one hand the concept of human rights has been elevated to the status of global religion but on the other hand human rights remain a controversial issue which has divided people as much as it has united them. Today the absence of discourse on human rights in our socio-political life has led to a misunderstanding about how and why human rights need prominence. This inadequacy is attributed to the dearth of data and the enforcement of human rights particularly through the regional mechanisms and institutions put in place. In the light of the recently published Country Reports (with reference to India) on Human Rights Practices for 2018 (Report of 2018) by the U.S. Department of the State, have revealed glaring human rights violations committed in India by the State. Here, I would be contending that the constant indulgence in violence by the State with impunity has led to legitimate suspicions as to the utility of human rights discourse today. This problem has been compounded by the belief of infallibility of the State’s own judgments and prescriptions. The Report of 2018 questions the global consensus on human rights in the contemporary human rights movement and also highlights the fragility of the consensus among the Nation States. In the Indian context the report categorically mentions about the lack of accountability and widespread impunity in human rights violations committed by the State and non-state actors. Today as we speak the human rights discourse in India is being centrally commanded monolithic entity with an immutable set of characteristics and poses a grave threat to the survival of human rights itself.
Arbitrary Deprivation of Life
The Report of 2018 mentions the Ministry of Home Affairs 2017-18 data, where the Investigation Division of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) reported 59 nationwide encounter deaths. Placing reliance on the Asian Center for Human Rights’ Torture Update India report, the Report states that more than five custodial deaths per day have occurred on average between April 2017 and February 28. The Report of 2018 have cited the NGO Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative noted in its 2016 report that, of 186 complaints of human rights violations reported against the armed forces in states under the AFSPA between 2012 and 2016, 49.5 percent were from the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Report of 2018 estimated civilian deaths by security forces ranged from 130 to 145, and between 16 to 20 killings by armed groups documenting alleged violations committed by security forces from June 2016 to April 2018 as published the Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Kashmir, by The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). This examination done in the Country Report indicates the assault done on human rights and democracy under the garb of legitimacy of powers. The fundamental right to life is not extended to the people of this country. The rise of arbitrariness and the unmistakable bias in not upholding right to life have forced us to question the appropriateness of human rights agencies to undertake the task of delivering justice.
Torture: The Compromise of Law
As an absolute and universal norm, the ban on torture cannot be derogated under any circumstances, not even in a state of war or public emergency. States should not only desist from exerting any form torture but are required to take preventive measures from it occurrence and investigate any allegations of torture. And yet, Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment continues to be practiced in some of the most democratic countries including India. The Report of 2018 mentions ghastly atrocities which happened on the State turf “On July 13, a 45-year-old Dalit man, B. Murthy, was found hanging in a police station in Mandya, Karnataka. On August 2, activist Talib Hussain was allegedly tortured in the custody of Samba police in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and suffered a fractured skull, according to the NGO Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.” The Report of 2018 cites the meagre compensation of Rs 300,000 which was paid by the State Government on the direction of the Odisha Human Rights Commission to the family of Abhay Singh, an antiques dealer, who died while in police custody in June 2017. The Report highlighted the inadequacies and the idiosyncrasies which have contributed to the prevailing culture of torture. The unwillingness to report crimes, police official’s refusal to register sexual assault cases compounded by a perception of a lack of oversight and accountability in the democratic institutions have given rise to the torture team of the State. Today the world’s largest democracy needs to answer these questions that falls from its actions. How can the prohibition of torture be enforced in practice? What are effective mechanisms, procedures and processes to prevent torture and ill-treatment? And how can continued public and political support for the prohibition of torture be secured in an age of rising populism, public insecurity and ebbing enthusiasm for human rights?
Prisoner’s of Prison: From Capacity to Conditions
According to the National Crimes Records Bureau’s (NCRB) Prison Statistics India 2015 report, there were 1,401 prisons in the country with an authorized capacity of 366,781 persons. The actual incarcerated population was 419,623. Persons awaiting trial accounted for more than two-thirds of the prison population. The law requires detention of juveniles in rehabilitative facilities, although at times authorities detained them in adult prisons, especially in rural areas. The Report of 2018 alarmingly states that there were 4,391 female jail staff for a population of 17,834 female prisoners as of 2015 as stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs. The Report takes note of the fact that National Human Rights Commission, India desperate efforts for seeking statistical reports on the number of children who live with their mothers in jails. The Report of 2018 throws light on the underbelly of our prisons which is severely overcrowded; and food, medical care, sanitation, and environmental conditions frequently were inadequate. Potable water is not universally available. Prisons and detention centers remained underfunded, understaffed, and lacked sufficient infrastructure. The analysis of Report of 2018 is paramount for two very reasons firstly it identifies part of the problem in the contemporary human rights discourse is its unwillingness to engage with the present state of human rights realities and secondly it attempts to nip the contestable ordering of priorities and confusion of human rights and human aspirations. What we need today is more reliance on empirical data on human rights violation to confront and counter the State’s factual inaccuracy and misrepresentation. More such reporting will fulfil the need of our over-ambitious human rights project. Only then human rights violations will see political, social and legal actions.
(The author is currently working as a Research Associate at Centre for Comparative Law at National Law University, Delhi. Views are his own)
