Human rights in India
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Human rights in India is an issue complicated by the country's large size and population as well as its diverse culture, despite its status as the world's largest sovereign, secular, socialist democratic republic. The Constitution of India provides for fundamental rights, which include freedom of religion. Clauses also provide for freedom of speech, as well as separation of executive and judiciary and freedom of movement within the country and abroad. The country also has an independent judiciary[1][2] as well as bodies to look into issues of human rights.[3]
The 2016 report of Human Rights Watch accepts the above-mentioned facilities but goes to state that India has "serious human rights concerns. Civil society groups face harassment and government critics face intimidation and lawsuits. Free speech has come under attack both from the state and by interest groups. Muslim and Christian minorities accuse authorities of not doing enough to protect their rights. The government is yet to repeal laws that grant public officials and security forces impunity from prosecution for abuses."[4][5]
Chronology of events
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This section is in prose. is available. (August 2020) |
1950 | The Bill of Fundamental Rights enforceable by the Supreme Court and the High Courts. It also provides for reservations for previously disadvantaged sections in education, employment and political representation.
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1952 | Habitual Offenders Act (1952) enacted.
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1955 | The Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955.[6] Reform of family law concerning Hindus gives more rights to Hindu women. |
1958 | Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958[7] |
1973 | Supreme Court of India rules in Kesavananda Bharati case that the basic structure of the Constitution (including many fundamental rights) is unalterable by a constitutional amendment. |
1975–1977 | State of Emergency in India . Extensive rights violations take place.
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1978 | SC rules in Menaka Gandhi v. Union of India that the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution cannot be suspended even in an emergency. |
1978 | Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978[8][9] |
1984 | 1984 Anti-Sikh riots
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1984 | 2006 Extrajudicial disappearances in Punjab by the police |
1985–1986 | The The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986
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1987 | Hashimpura massacre during communal riots in Meerut. |
1989 | Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 is passed. |
1989–present | Ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus )
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1992 | A constitutional amendment establishes Local Self-Government (Panchayati Raj) as a third tier of governance at the village level, with one-third of the seats reserved for women. Reservations were provided for scheduled castes and tribes as well. |
1992 | Demolition of the Babri Masjid occurred after a political rally at the site turned violent. |
1993 | National Human Rights Commission is established under the Protection of Human Rights Act. |
2001 | Supreme Court passes extensive orders to implement the right to food.[10] |
2002 | 2002 Gujarat riots which claimed at least a thousand lives of Muslims and Hindus. |
2005 | A powerful Right to Information Act is passed to give citizen's access to information held by public authorities.[11]
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2005 | National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) guarantees universal right to employment.
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2006 | Supreme Court orders police reforms in response to the poor human rights record of Indian police.[12] |
2009 | Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which outlaws a range of unspecified "unnatural" sex acts, is unconstitutional when applied to homosexual acts between private consenting individuals, effectively decriminalising homosexual relationships in India.[13] See also: Homosexuality in India .
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2013 | Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 on laws related to sexual offences .
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2015 | black money , or undisclosed foreign assets and income and imposes tax and penalty on such income.
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Civil liberties
In 2021, Freedom House ranked India as partly free, at 67 points (0-100, higher is better), in its annual Freedom in the World rankings on political rights and civil liberties.[14]
Since 2019[update] and as of 2023[update], annual reports on the state of democracy around the world Sweden-based
Use of torture by police
The Asian Centre for Human Rights estimated that from 2002 to 2008, over four people per day died while in police custody, with "hundreds" of those deaths being due to police use of torture.[19] According to a report written by the Institute of Correctional Administration in Punjab, up to 50% of police officers in the country have used physical or mental abuse on prisoners.[20] Instances of torture, such as through a lack of sanitation, space, or water have been documented in West Bengal as well.[21]
A report by the National Campaign Against Torture (NCAT), an international human rights body revealed as many as 1,731
Religious violence
Communal conflicts between religious groups (mostly between Hindus and Muslims) have been prevalent in India since around the time of its independence from British rule. Communal riots took place during the partition of India between Hindus/Sikhs and Muslims where large numbers of people were killed in large-scale violence.
The
According to official figures,
Contemporary India, however, has seen the influence of caste start to decline. This is partly due to the spread of education to all castes which has had a democratising effect on the political system. However, this "equalising" of the playing field has not been without controversy. The Mandal Commission and its quotas system has been a particularly sensitive issue. It has been argued by Professor Dipankar Gupta that the role of castes in Indian elections have been overplayed.[38]
More recently there has been a flux in caste politics, mainly caused by economic liberalisation in India. This upsurge in lower-caste empowerment was accompanied in some regions by a spike in the level of corruption.[39] This was partly due to lower caste perceiving development programs and rule of law as tools used by the upper caste to subjugate lower castes.[40]
Amnesty International says "it is the responsibility of the Indian government to fully enact and apply its legal provisions against discrimination on the basis of caste and descent.[41]
Freedom of expression
According to the estimates of Reporters Without Borders, India ranks 122nd worldwide in 2010 on the press freedom index (down from 105th in 2009). The press freedom index for India is 38.75 in 2010 (29.33 for 2009) on a scale that runs from 0 (most free) to 105 (least free).[45][46] In 2014 India was down ranked to 140th worldwide (score of 40.34 out of 105) but despite this remains one of the best scores in the region.[47]
The
For the first half-century of independence, media control by the state was the major constraint on press freedom. Indira Gandhi famously stated in 1975 that All India Radio is "a Government organ, it is going to remain a Government organ".[50]
With the liberalisation starting in the 1990s, private control of media has burgeoned, leading to increasing independence and greater scrutiny of government.
Organisations like Tehelka and NDTV have been particularly influential, in bringing about the resignation of powerful Haryana minister Venod Sharma. In addition, laws like Prasar Bharati act passed in recent years contribute significantly to reducing the control of the press by the government.
LGBT rights
Until the
On 11 December 2013, homosexuality was again criminalized by a Supreme Court ruling.[52]
On 6 September 2018, a five judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court of India, in a landmark judgement, decriminalized homosexuality while extending the ambit of Article 15 to include 'sexual orientation' to prohibit discrimination.[53]
By state
Assam
A Human Rights Watch report notes that journalists and human rights activists have been arrested for falsely reporting on human rights abuses. Assam continues to be one of the forefront states where the claims of human rights abuses have been committed by India. Resultant secessionist and pro-independence movements have intensified the political situation, with widespread allegations of human rights abuses being committed by Indian security forces yet without any concrete proofs for allegations. Freedom House stated in their 2013 report on India that journalists in rural areas and regions coping with insurgencies – including Assam – are vulnerable and face pressure from both sides of the conflicts.[54][55]
Punjab
From 1984 to 1994, the state of
The aftermath of these events were felt for more than a decade.
Jammu and Kashmir
In 1989, a secessionist
Other human rights violations
Deception detection tests like "
However, on 5 May 2010, the Supreme Court in India (Smt. Selvi vs. State of Karnataka) declared that "The test results cannot be admitted in evidence if they have been obtained through the use of compulsion." and "Article 20(3) protects an individual's choice between speaking and remaining silent, irrespective of whether the subsequent testimony proves to be inculpatory or exculpatory" as well as "any information or material that is subsequently discovered with the help of voluntary administered test results can be admitted, in accordance with Section 27 of the Evidence Act, 1872."[68][67][69]
Women's rights
Muslim women's rights
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2016) |
One of the vital concerns in India is the discrimination between genders.
Brief history of Muslim law in India
The
Personal law and inequality
Even though there is formal recognition of rights within the constitution, Muslim women experience gender inequalities in practice within the sphere of personal law.
The Human Rights Commission (HRC) under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICPPR) highlighted religious-based personal laws in India's report in 1997. It was informed that the human rights framework towards multiculturalism should be a remedy when addressing clearly biased provisions and practices towards Muslim women in Islamic legal community.[79]
Muslim women and education
Muslim women are often discriminated against due to their lower achievements within the sphere of education, employment and their general economic position. This is because traditionally Muslim women are discriminatingly excluded from participating within the public and private sector.[79]
See also
- National Human Rights Commission of India
- Socio-economic issues in India
- Human rights issues in Northeast India
- Censorship in India
- Internet censorship in India
- The Emergency (India)
- List of endangered languages in India
- Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act(POTA)
- Corruption in India
- Terrorism in India
- LGBT rights in Tamil Nadu
- Gender inequality in India
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