HUMAN RIGHTS

Kuldip Nayar on Human Rights Situation, 1996

The Government at the Centre and in the States have not taken human rights seriously. The Centre believes that it has done its duty by setting up the National Human Rights Commission. So deliberate is its neglect that even the Commission members, who were carefully chosen for their pro-establishment record, have felt let down.

None at the Centre has the time either for the Commission's .protests or its recommendations. Most of its Commission members have not been able to meet the Home Minister. The Commission, despite the fact that it is headed by a former Chief Justice of India, has been devalued. Like the Commission for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes or the Commissioner for the Linguistic Minorities.

The law lays down the creation of State human rights commissions on the lines of the national commission. Most States have yet to implement the law. Madhya Pradesh is one such state. Imagine who has been appointed Chairman. He is no other than Mr. J.N. Saxena, a police officer, who has carried, his reputation of "toughness" from Srinagar to Bhopal.

TADA (The Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act) lapsed some three years ago. It still haunts many because of the Government's misuse. Thousands were detained on mere suspicion for years. But the worst part is. That even when the law expired, the victims were never given an opportunity to start their life afresh. Many TADA prisoners are still in jail ... Nobody  knows when (they) will be released. In inquired from the Union Home Minister, Mr. Indrajit Gupta, the other day about the number of such detenus. He said: "not many Human Rights. Activists claim that the figure is in thousands. I expected a liberal person like him to say that they would either be released soon or put on trial in open courts. Knowing his past as I do, I thought he would fulminate against detentions without trials. Sad, he did not.

Only a few human rights, organisations have taken up their case. No question has been asked about their plight in Parliament. No newspaper has written about them. It appears as if there is a conspiracy of silence. Yet, if the nation is to preserve the fundamental values democratic society, every person, whether a public functionary or private citizen, must display a degree vigilance. Without the awareness of what is right and a desire to act according to what is right, there may be no realisation of what is wrong. During the Emergency, the dividing line between right and wrong, moral and immoral, had ceased to exist. It should have' been different now. There is a frightening increase in deaths in jail custody. Bihar, Delhi, Andhra. Pradesh are, in that order, the worst culprits. Still the figures, the National Human Rights Commission admits, do not tell "the facts as fully as they should" The States do not give the correct position. And, for obvious reasons, there is no report from Jammu and Kashmir.

Obviously, custodial brutality or violence does not disturb anyone's sleep in the Central Government. India refuses to become party to the 1984 Convention against Torture and other forms of Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The matter came up at the Conference of the Chief Ministers on May 5 last year. But a majority of them were opposed to India becoming party to the Convention. It is a pity they wanted to countenance torture, without getting the blame for it. One would like to draw the Government's attention to an observation in a Supreme Court's judgement (Kishore Singh vs State of Rajasthan): "Nothing is more cowardly and unconscionable than a person in police custody being beaten up and nothing inflicts a deeper wound on our constitutional rights".

In fact, the Supreme Court referred custodial Violence to the Law Commission a decade ago. Its recommendation was to insert Section 114(B) in the Indian Evidence Act to introduce a rebuttable presumption that if a person had sustained injuries in custody, it must be a police officer who had caused them. The Law Commission also favoured an amendment to Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure so that the prior government sanction for the prosecution of the officer was not necessary. In its report, the National Police Commission had made it mandatory for a session’s judge to inquire into a custodial death. But since Indira Gandhi threw out the entire police commission report the recommendation on deaths in custody also got killed.

If nothing else, the Supreme Court's order in the case of Joginder Singh vs State of Uttar Pradesh should have found favour with the Government of India. The order said that if a person in custody requested that his relative or friend be informed about his whereabouts, police were duty bound to do so. The order, if implemented, would have some in handy to many Kashmiris, who had no knowledge of what had happened to the person the police would pick up. Even now it is not late. Kashmir, the North-eastern States and Assam witness daily how police whisk away someone without bothering to inform his friend or relative. In many cases, the body of the person concerned was seen floating in a lake or river. No legal remedy is possible because there is no record of the person taken away. Connected with custodial death is the post-mortem examination. It is an open secret that doctors bow to police pressure when writing the report. A suggestion that the post-mortem examination be video-filmed has not been accepted by many States. They hate transparency.

However, the real tragedy is that there is no let-up either in custodial deaths or police brutalises. And this is when the Union Home Ministry is headed by the communist party's former secretary-general.

Government Statements On Review of TADA Cases

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has not specifically recommended to the Central Government to review TADA cases. However, the Commission has been reviewing the position with regard to TADA cases since 1995-96 with representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the State Governments. In its Annual Report for 1995-96, the Commission has urged that the Review Committees set up in individual States should meet regularly as has been directed by the Supreme Court. The National Commission for Minorities has, however, not made any recommendation regarding reviewing of TADA cases, although in June 1994 it had recommended repeal of TADA Act.

Apart from periodic review of TADA cases by the Central and State Review Committee, Central Government has issued instructions to the State Govts. / UTs from time to time that adequate and immediate steps must be taken for early completion of investigation and prosecution of the TADA cases and they should give strict instructions to their prosecution branches not to obtain adjournment in such cases. As regards cases which are at trial stage, they have been advised to take measures to facilitate speedy trial. The Central Govt. is closely monitoring the progress in these respects.                                                                                                        

Dasharath Sahi On Mizoram Hindus

(Following) expedition of the British to Mizoram in 1870, some Gorkhas were settled in Mizoram. Later businessmen Bengalis, Marwaris, Biharis and Nepalis (came from) neighbouring States. The Gorkhas called Hindus whereas the local people have been completely converted to Christianity.

The Gorkhas live in small pockets in a few villages with their religious brethren, Bengalis, Biharis or Marwaris. (There) we find small temples made of bamboos and CGI sheets and kachcha schools up to prim y and middle standards (which have Nepali as) medium of teaching.

The Hindu population is about 9,000 that is 1.2%, of which the permanent settlers are mainly Gorkhas, and their population is just 5,000 that is 0.99%. Economic compulsions and lack of facilities for imparting religious training have led to conversion of some Hindus to Christianity.

The Hindu community (has decided) to construct a mandir costing about 15-20 lakh (whose) construction is in full swing. But the small community is in need of financial assistance in order to complete the construction.