mohabbat

http://paknews.com/Special/amnestyindia.php

Want information on Human Rights abuses in India or atrocities on Women, Christians, Dalits, Sikhs, Tamils, Muslims, Assamese, Nagas, Naxalites, Kashmiris, Manipuris then check any Pakistani Web site. Even the Pakistan goverment official site has all this information. Pakistan sure does keep India in check.

INDIA
Republic of India
Head of state: Kocheril Raman Narayanan
Head of government: Atal Behari Vajpayee
Capital: New Delhi
Population: over 1 billion
Official language: Hindi
Death penalty: retentionist

Human rights violations occurred throughout India, with socially and economically disadvantaged sections of society continuing to be particularly vulnerable. Inter-caste, communal, inter-religious and political violence claimed many lives in
several states including Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, [Occupied] Jammu
and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The government's continuing preoccupation with national security led it to pursue
several initiatives for tackling ''terrorism'' throughout the
country, including giving increased powers to a police force which continued to be identified with torture, corruption and
other abuses.

Background

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance continued in office throughout 2000 with A.B. Vajpayee
as Prime Minister. Armed conflicts continued to claim hundreds of lives in Jammu and Kashmir and states of the northeast,
despite apparent moves towards cease-fires and peace talks in several states. A cease-fire was announced by the armed
opposition Hizbul Mujahideen in Jammu and Kashmir at the end of July but collapsed 15 days later. A further cease-fire for the
month of Ramzan was announced by the government in November.

Killings of civilians in the state continued at an alarmingly high level despite this and other political initiatives towards
an end to the conflict. Three new states were established in northern India during the course of the year: Chattisgarh,
Jharkhand and Uttaranchal.

Torture/ill-Treatment

Torture by police and security forces remained endemic in states
throughout India. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) expressed concern about the widespread use of torture. In August
it disclosed that between 1999 and 2000 it had recorded 1,143 deaths in police and judicial custody. Figures for the number of
complaints of torture are not made public, although the Chair of the NHRC reportedly indicated that the majority of complaints
received relate to police excesses.

A number of official studies which reported during 2000 acknowledged the widespread use of torture and ill-treatment and
pointed to political influence, broad powers of arrest, public approval and inadequate methods of investigation as reasons for
the continuing practice of torture. During consideration of India's initial report to the UNCommittee on the Rights of the
Child, concern was expressed by the Committee about reports of
routine ill-treatment, corporal punishment, torture, and sexual abuse of children in detention facilities. By the end of 2000
India had not yet ratified the UN Convention against Torture which it signed in October 1997, nor had it invited the UNSpecial Rapporteur on torture to visit the country.

In discussions with officials of the government of India about measures needed to end torture, AI recommended initiatives
including police reform, enactment of new legislation and comprehensive monitoring mechanisms.

In Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh in October, a 23-year-old dalit (member of a disadvantaged community), Peddinti Tirupalu,
was found dead near a police station where he had been detained for questioning about gambling offences 48 hours earlier. Police
denied a role in his death but relatives claimed that he had been severely beaten. Three police officers were transferred to
other areas and a magisterial inquiry was ordered but had not concluded by the end of 2000.

Impunity

While in a few cases individual members of the security forces were brought to justice for human rights violations, most
violations were committed with impunity. Lack of political will, compromise and coercion allowed law enforcement officials to
escape censure for violating the rights of people who were mostly members of underprivileged sections of society.

In areas of armed conflict, special legislation continued to
shield perpetrators from prosecution. A cautious welcome was given to an announcement by the government of Jammu and Kashmir in October that it was establishing judicial inquiries into a series of incidents which took place in March and April in which scores of civilians were killed by security forces and
unidentified gunmen. By the end of 2000 no inquiries had begun.
Numerous other incidents remained uninvestigated. In Punjab the
establishment of a ''Peoples Commission'', which sought to document evidence of widespread human rights violations in the
face of the failure of the state to investigate past human rights violations, was halted by the High Court on the basis
that it was establishing a parallel judicial system. The decision was upheld by the Supreme Court in May.

A new one-man Commission of Inquiry was established in May to investigate the 1984 riots in Delhi which claimed the lives of
more than 2,500 people, mainly Sikhs. In October the retired judge presiding over the inquiry was reported to have already received over 10,000 affidavits. An earlier inquiry held between 1985 and 1986 had found 147 police officers guilty of dereliction of duty but proceedings were initiated in only around 20 cases. Of more than 700 criminal cases filed in connection with the riots, only 10 per cent had resulted in conviction.

In Mumbai, recommendations made by the Srikrishna Commission of Inquiry into riots which took place in the city in 1992-1993 remained unimplemented.

Discrimination

Despite safeguards in the Constitution and in law, certain groups remained particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses based on discrimination. Access to justice for women, dalits and others who suffer from social and economic discrimination remained problematic.

In January, India's initial report under the UN Women's Convention was heard by the Committee which monitors adherence
of states parties to the Convention. Concern at the level of gender-based violence in the country was expressed by the Committee, whose recommendations included the need for rigorous implementation of existing legislation prohibiting such practices as dowry and caste-based discrimination.

International attention continued to focus on violence against Christian minorities but victims of apparently state-backed
violence in several areas included Muslims, dalits and adivasis (tribal people). Concerns about discrimination based on religion, particularly directed at members of the Christian community, were heightened by statements made by members of
right-wing Hindu groups which appeared to encourage the use of violence. Attacks on members of Christian communities and church
property continued.

Human Rights Defenders

Harassment of human rights defenders in many parts of India continued. In April, AI hosted a meeting of human rights
defenders from throughout the country which concluded by drawing up a set of recommendations for the better protection of human rights defenders. The recommendations included calls for a review of preventive detention provisions used to detain human
rights defenders taking part in peaceful activities. They also called for unhindered access for human rights defenders to victims of human rights violations in all areas of India, and to international forums outside India in order to report on human rights concerns or to undergo training.

In Gujarat in August, several hundred people were arrested under preventive detention provisions to stop them from going to a
public hearing organized by a peoples' organization, the Narmada Bachao Andolan, about the human rights impact of the construction of dams on the Narmada river. Those detained included individuals facing displacement and senior human rights activists. They were released after the public hearing had taken place.

In November T. Puroshottam, Joint Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee, was killed and other human
rights defenders in the state received threats. These attacks were believed to be the work of former members of an armed group
operating with the tacit and often active support of state
authorities. The state government refused to carry out a
judicial inquiry into these incidents.

Special Legislation

In April the Law Commission of India submitted the draft
Prevention of Terrorism Bill 2000 to the government prior to its
introduction to parliament. Provisions of the Bill reflected
many of those found in the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities
(Prevention) Act, 1987 (TADA), which lapsed in 1995. In July the
NHRC indicated its opposition to the Bill on several grounds, stating that it would violate international human rights standards and lead to human rights violations. Although it was
not introduced to parliament by the end of 2000, state governments were reported as having given it unanimous approval.

In April AI raised concerns with the authorities about the use
of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act. The Indian government dismissed clear evidence of its abuse and maintained
that provisions of the Act provide sufficient safeguards for detainees. Leaders of the All Parties Hurriet Conference
arrested under the Act between late August and early November 1999 were released in April and May. The Indian government also
dismissed claims that TADA was still being used in Jammu and
Kashmir to detain people retrospectively, despite clear evidence
to the contrary.

The fate of 50 people, including 12 women, detained under TADA
in Karnataka, some since 1993, received national attention after
a notorious sandalwood smuggler kidnapped a veteran film star
and listed the release of these detainees as one of his demands.
While the state governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
expressed their willingness to drop charges against them, the
Supreme Court stayed their acquittal despite their detention
without trial for up to seven years and evidence that almost all
had been illegally detained and tortured after arrest.

Human Rights Commissions

The NHRC submitted recommendations to the government of India
for amendments to its statute - the Protection of Human Rights
Act 1993. These were based on the recommendations of the
Advisory Committee established in 1998. The NHRC's
recommendations were not made public and by the end of 2000 the
government had given no indication that it was considering
amendments to the Act. The NHRC continued to indicate its
frustration at statutory limitations on its powers, particularly
in relation to investigation of allegations of human rights
violations by armed and paramilitary forces, and the
investigation of incidents which took place more than a year
before a complaint was made.

In Rajasthan the Chair of the State Human Rights Commission established in early 2000 resigned after four months,
complaining that no resources had been provided by the government for it to operate. In Uttar Pradesh the government
had still not set up a Human Rights Commission by the end of
2000 despite a High Court order to do so.

Death Penalty

At least 30 people were sentenced to death in 2000. It was not
known if any executions were carried out. The government of
India does not publish statistical information about the
implementation of the death penalty.

At least 60 people remained on death row. Legislation to extend
the use of the death penalty to crimes of rape remained pending.
An increasing number of human rights organizations continued to
campaign against the death penalty and a national conference against the death penalty was held in New Delhi in July.

In April the sentence of death against Nalini, one of the four
whose death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court in 1999
in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, was commuted to life imprisonment. The
clemency petitions of the remaining three remained pending along
with those of several others.

Abuses by Armed Groups

Abuses by armed groups operating in many areas continued,
including hostage-taking, torture and deliberate killings of
civilians. Hostage-taking, including of children, continued at
an alarming level in Tripura, where in November it was reported
that members of an armed group had tortured a four-year-old
hostage. In Jammu and Kashmir, civilians continued to be
targeted for attack.

AI Country Reports and Visits

Reports

India: Persecuted for challenging injustice - Human rights
defenders in India (AI Index: ASA 20/008/2000)
India: Punitive use of preventive detention legislation in Jammu
and Kashmir (AI Index: ASA 20/010/2000)
India: The Prevention of Terrorism Bill 2000 - Past abuses revisited? (AI Index: ASA 20/022/2000) India: A trail of unlawful killings in Jammu and Kashmir - Chithisinghpora and its aftermath (AI Index: ASA 20/024/2000)

Visits

AI delegates attended a national seminar for human rights activists in Delhi in April. AI delegates visited Rajasthan and
Uttar Pradesh in December to research human rights violations against women and met senior government officials in Delhi to discuss recommendations for the prevention of torture.

[Publisher: Information Times www.InformationTimes.com
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Chief Editor: Syed Adeeb - Washington, DC, U.S.A.
Copyright © 2001 Information Times. All Rights Reserved.]





[This message has been edited by mohabbat (edited June 08, 2001).]