1

HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA: ITS PRESENT STATUS, POSITIONS,

CASES OF VIOLATIONS AND SOME REMEDIAL MEASURES

Bhargab Kumar Kalita1

Bhusita Medhi2

Introduction:

Human Rights are commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is
inherently entitled simply because he or she is a human being. Human rights are thus conceived
as universal (applicable everywhere) and egalitarian (the same for everyone). These rights may
exist as natural rights or as legal rights in local, regional, national and international law. Human
Rights are legally guaranteed in a set of binding treaties and conventions. They cover civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights. All human rights are universal, interdependent,
inter-related and indivisible.

The first major international human rights document was the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (1948). This document laid out all of the basic rights and freedoms. However, this is a
non-binding declaration. In other words, although it can be used to explain the foundation of
human rights and human rights principles, the articles in the UDHR are not legally enforceable.
Member states could not come to consensus on the document, so, rather than have the whole
thing collapse, the international community decided to split the document into two halves to
ensure that each would gather the necessary signatures to come into force. The divide was
simple- countries in the west wanted civil and political rights and were not as in favour of
economic, social and cultural rights, while countries in the east favoured economic, social and
cultural rights and would not sign legally binding treaties for civil and political rights. Hence
two separate treaties were created in 1966; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR).
1
Research Scholar, Department of Economics, Gauhati University, e-mail: bhargabk@yahoo.com

2
Research Scholar, Gauhati University, mobile: 9678887186
 2

Now we shall move to India. India has various laws and schemes made for augmenting social
services. But, these have not succeeded in meeting the economic, social and cultural rights for
the majority of the population. Although India has achieved a sustained growth rate, the
promise of inclusion has not been fulfilled.

As per Universal Periodic Review (UPR I) Recommendations 10 and 18 3, India committed to

address inequity. While, the average growth rate over 2007-11 was 8.2%, poverty declined by
only 0.8%.4 Data indicates that more than three fourths of the 1.2 billion Indians have faced
further marginalisation during this period. According to the Arjun Sengupta Committee (2006)
appointed by the Prime Minister, 77% of Indians live on a consumption expenditure of less than
INR 20 (around USD 0.45) a day.6 The National poverty rate in India is estimated at 37.2%
according to the Tendulkar Committee Report. However, India still ranks 134 out of 187
countries on the UN human development index.

The human right to adequate housing is guaranteed in international law and in the Directive
Principles of the Constitution of India. It has also been upheld by the Supreme Court, in various
judgements, as an integral part of the right to life. Majority of the Indian population, in urban as
well as rural areas, however, lives in extremely inadequate and insecure conditions. While
recognising human rights as inalienable rights to be realised by all human beings it is necessary
to understand how the rural labourers, who are regarded as most vulnerable as well as most
vital section of India's human resources, realise their human rights. There are two methods by
which the realisation of human rights may take place. One of which is the Western method and
the other is the Third World method. In the Western World, where the protection of individual
rights is of primary issue, the emphasis is usually given for promotion and protection of civil
and political rights. The realisation of human rights, according to western school of thought,
becomes possible only with the realisation of civil and political rights. In the Third World, on

3
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights
records of all UN member states.
4
Between 2007-2011 according to: Draft Approach Paper for the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, Planning Commission,
Government of India, August 2011.
5
1 US dollar (USD) is the equivalent of around 53 Indian Rupees (INR); exchange rate as of April 2012.
6
Report on Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganized Sector (Arjun Sengupta
Committee Report), 2006; exchange rate as of November 27, 2011.
 3

the other hand, where poverty, illiteracy and ignorance go hand in hand, the prime emphasis is
laid on social, economic and cultural aspects of human rights. According to Third World views
the protection of collective rights is considered as primarily essential.

Review of literature:

Many studies and Researches had been done in the field of Human Rights all over the world.
We are not going to discuss all, but will try to reflect some relevant and useful literature on the
same topic.

Since the enlightenment period, moral norms protecting the vulnerable and powerless have
become increasingly constraining and increasingly effective. Slavery, Autocracy, Colonialism
and genocide- practiced openly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and for millennia
before; are now outlawed and widely regarded as paradigms of injustice (Pogge, 2008).

The constitution of India has granted equal rights to the men and women. Article 14 states that
the state shall not deny to any person equality before law or the equal protection of laws within
the territory of India. According to article 15, the state shall not discriminate against any citizen
on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.

Though, human rights are the minimum rights which are compulsory obtainable by every
individual, but it has been found that each and every right of the woman is being violated in
one or another way. The crimes against women in India are increasing at a very fast pace (Ritu
Dhanoa).

On 26 June, 2012, the world celebrated the International Day in support of victims of torture.
Ironically, it was also on the same day the Government of Kerala reinstated nine police officers
to office following their suspension for suspected involvement in an infamous case of custodial
torture and murder. The case is still under investigation by the CBI.

The case of Sampaths murder7 is well known also because of the death of an investigating CBI
officer, Mr P.G.Haridath, who was reported to have committed suicide on 15 march 2012.His

7
Sampath murder case: Court returns CBI charge sheet again, Indian Express, 20 October 2012
 4

suicide note accused state police and a magistrate of illegally attempting to influence the
investigation. These allegations have yet to be properly investigated.

On 15 April 2011, a farmer named Sanjit Mondal had been watering the field for Kharif
cultivation in preparation for sowing jute. Six uniformed BSF jawans from the Harudanga
Minicamp attacked him with the butts of their rifles. This case, however, did not result in any
further investigation or prosecution of the accused officers. This is not only due to the lack of
any further action by the local police against the BSF, but also due to the law on BSF that
prevents any such civilian action. The BSF Act and its Rule 8 was intended to regulate the
conduct of the BSF. But it is still a field of concern.

C.Rajkumars paper is also a useful study. The highlight of the paper is the- discussion on
arguments against establishment of NHRCs on the basis of external and internal critiques. 9
(NHRC Dissertation by Reenu Paul).

So, from the brief literature review mentioned above, we are going to discuss the present
position and status of Human Right which is very much indispensable for the present Indian
society and on the backdrop of above studies, try to find some practices leading to human right
violation and some remedy to curb it.

Need of the study:

Human Rights is a much used and abused term today. They have been used to defend freedom
as well as to destroy it. People tend to attach importance to particular human rights according to
ideology and political convenience. It is however evident that certain basic right is
indispensable for the meaningful existence of all other rights. Among the basic rights are the
right to speech and expression, the freedom of person, the freedom of the individual, ones right
to own property and equality of opportunity.
8
Border Security Act, 1968 and its Rules 1969

9
C.Raj Kumar, Role and Contribution of National Human Rights Commissions in Promoting National and
International Human Rights Norms in the National Context, LL.M paper written by the author for LL.M, Harvard
Law School, September 2000
 5

Human Rights in India is an issue complicated by the countrys large size, its tremendous
diversity, its status as a developing country and a sovereign, secular, democratic republic. The
constitution of India provides for Fund. 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.

In the report of freedom in the world by Freedom house during 2010, Human Rights watch
stated India had significant human rights problem. 10 They identified lack of accountability for
security forces and impunity for abusive policing including police brutality, extrajudicial
killings and torture as major problems. An independent UN Expert in 2011 expressed concern
that she found human rights workers and their families who have been killed, tortured, ill-
treated, disappeared, threatened, arbitrarily arrested and detained, falsely charged and under
supervised because of their legitimate work in upholding human rights and fundamental
freedoms.11

So, there is every need for an in-depth study of the human rights especially for India, which is
facing a serious pressure from the society, where violation of human rights is seen extensively.
Various cases, where human rights are violated should come into the limelight. Also, the
possible remedial measures have to be finding out to solve this problem. So, through this paper,
if we can suggest some remedial measures to curb the violation of these rights, it will be
worthwhile.

Objectives of the study:

The present study is addressed to examine the following objectives:

To examine the present status and position of human rights in India.

To find out the cases of violations taken place in India.

10
World Report 2011: India, Human Rights watch: 2011. pp. 1a5

11
Indias human rights defenders need better protection, says UN expert United Nations. Retrieved 13 February
2011.
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To suggest some remedial measures for reducing the case of violations of human rights in
India.

Hypothesis:

The present position of Human Rights in India is degraded due to violation of rights of the
common people.

Methodology:

The methodology of this paper is descriptive and required informations are collected from
different secondary sources like books, magazines, research articles, different government
documents etc.

The present study covers the entire India hoping that the objectives of the study will be
realised. For better convenience of the study, the paper is divided into two parts.

The first part comprises of the present status and position of human rights in India and also the
practices leading to human rights violations and the second part deals with the possible
remedial measures for curbing human right violations.

Now, we come to the first part of the paper that is-

Present Status and Position of Human Rights in India and Practices leading to human
right violations:

Human rights are equal for women or men. But in modern time, it is violated with the concerns
of Child, Women and Poor; therefore they are affected by these rights which are given by the
constitutional laws or natural instincts. Indian constitution has given some fundamental or basic
human rights as under:

Right to equality.
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Right to freedom.

Right to freedom of religion.

Right to education and culture.

An Indian woman uses the rights in some manner or limited area. All above rights has given to
human beings like women or men but in reality there is a lack of equality to the women in
modern time. In our country, the birth of women or girls known as a curse, therefore the
problem of girl abortion has arisen.

As per Census 2011, the State/ UTs with alarmingly low (<900) child sex ratio are, Haryana
(830), Punjab (846), Jammu & Kashmir (859), Delhi (866), Chandigarh (867), Rajasthan (883),
Maharashtra (883), Uttrakhand (886), Gujarat (886), Uttar Pradesh (899). The State/ UTs which
are having better (> =950) child sex ratio are Mizoram, (971), Meghalaya (970), A &N Islands
(966), Puducherry (965), Chattisgarh (964), Arunachal Pradesh (960), Kerala (959), Assam
(957), Tripura (953), West Bengal (950).

It is alarming that, in 2011, the Crimes against children reported a 24% increase from the
previous year with a total of 33,098 cases of crimes against Children reported in the country
during 2011 as compared to 26,694 cases during 2010.

The State of Uttar Pradesh accounted for 16.6% of total crimes against children at national
level in 2011, followed by Madhya Pradesh (13.2%), Delhi (12.8%), Maharashtra (10.2%),
Bihar (6.7%) and Andhra Pradesh (6.7%).

A total of 132 cases of foeticide were reported in 2011, of which the highest number registered
from Madhya Pradesh, followed by Chattisgarh and Punjab and these States together reported
56% of the total Foeticide registered in 2011 in the Country.

An increase of 27% is observed in the Crime of Procuration of Minor Girls, ie.862 cases in
2011 compared to 679 cases in 2010. West Bengal has reported 298 such cases, indicating a
share of 34.6% at national level followed by Bihar (183), Assam (142) and Andhra Pradesh
(106).
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Rehabilitation of children rendered orphan in communal riots in the upper Assam district of
Tinsukia, the NHRC asked the state government to identify the child victims without any
further delay and grant financial assistance to them.

Case relating to forced prostitution of three women in Cachar district of Assam, the NHRC
recommended to the state government to pay rupees one lakh each to the three victims.

Out of the total number of complaints registered by the commission, UP accounted for 51,270
cases or 62%, followed by Delhi with 5,288 cases or 6% complaints while Haryana came third
with 2,921 cases or 3.5% of the total complaints.

Overall, though the number of cases declined from 90,946 in 2007-08 to 82,021 in 2009-10, of
the 82,021 complaints, 80,260 were of rights violations, 1,599 related to custodial deaths and 2
of custodial rapes; while 111 cases were of encounters. The Report says 104 encounters were
done by the police and by the defence forces. It also gives a breakdown of custodial deaths and
says that 124 deaths took place in police custody and 1,473 in judicial custody.

Table 1: Percentage of Cruelties on women in major states of India:

States Rapes Elopement Dowry Relatives Tortures

Maharashtra 6.9 3.7 4.1 8.4 8.3

Madhya Pradesh 14.0 3.3 10.2 4.4 16.3

West Bengal 10.9 8.5 6.0 18.0 5.0

Uttar Pradesh 8.2 19.7 26.6 9.6 7.2

Bihar 4.3 7.7 2.8 1.9 1.9

Rajasthan 7.1 9.0 11.6 6.4 6.4

Karnataka 2.4 1.6 3.6 5.3 5.3

Tamilnadu 7.4 9.0 11.6 6.4 6.4

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Source: Economic Survey of Maharashtra (2010-11)

Above table shows that women are affected by various types of bad behaviour of men,
therefore the problem of exploitation has increased.

India is home to 430 million children, roughly one in five of all children (individuals under age
18) in the world. From the moment, they are born, the challenges many of them face are
staggering.12

At least 1.7 million children die before the age of five every year in India. 13 The right to
education is enshrined in the Indian constitution, but, though the situation is improving, there
were still 8.1 million out of school children in mid-2009. 14 The government estimates that 40%
Indias children are vulnerable to threats such as trafficking homelessness, forced labour, drug
abuse, and crime, and are in need of protection. 15 More than half of the countrys married
women were wed before the legal age of 18. 16 Currently, only about 60% of births in India are
even registered.17

12
The Planning Commission, Government of India, Report of the Working Group on Child Rights for the 12th
Five Year Plan (20122017), http://planningcommission.nic.in/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp12/wcd/wgrep_child.pdf
(Accessed April 18, 2012), p. 8.
13
United Nations Childrens Fund, The Situation of Children in India a profile, May
2011, http://www.unicef.org/india/The_Situation_of_Children_in_India_-__A_profile_20110630_.pdf (accessed
April 18, 2012).
14
United Nations Childrens Fund India, Education, http://www.unicef.org/india/education_196.htm
(accessed April 18, 2012)

15
The Planning Commission, Government of India, Report of the Working Group on Child Rights for the 12th
Five Year Plan (2012 2017), p. 15.
16
HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, India Child Right Index, 2011
http://www.haqcrc.org/sites/default/files/India%20- Child%20Rights%20Index_0.pdf (accessed April 18,
2012),
p. 227.

17
Ibid, p.54
 10

In 2007, the government published its first ever survey to address what the then minister of
women and child development, Renuka Choudhury, described as the conspiracy of silence
surrounding child sexual abuse. Of the children interviewed, more than half (53%) said that
they had been subjected to one or more forms of sexual abuse.

The survey also found that very few cases are ever reported. The vast majority of victims (72%)
said that they did not report the matter to anyone and only 3% of them or their families told the
police. In most cases the victim was known to the child.

In a bizarre case that brings together the twin evils of child trafficking and social media abuse,
a newborn Indian baby was sold to a businessman for Rs 800,000 via Facebook. The child was
born in a Ludhiana hospital, and early reports indicate that he was already sold twice before the
final Facebook deal was struck. The first sale was by the infant's grandfather, who told his
daughter the infant was stillborn, and sold the child to a nurse for Rs 45,000.18

During 1991-2011, child sex ratio declined in both rural and urban India. Though, the child sex
ratio in rural India is 919 which is 17 points higher than that of urban India, the decline in Child
Sex Ratio (0-6 years) during 2001-2011 in rural areas is more than three times as compared to
the drop in urban India which is a matter of grave concern. However, the gap in rural urban
child sex ratio has been reduced from 27points in 2001 to 17 points in 2011.

Table 2: Total number of complaints registered and disposed since 2010-12 in Assam

Category of complaints Registered cases Disposed cases Pending cases

18
Yahoo India News accessed on 25 April 2013.
 11

Corporal punishment, 255 80 175

lack of infrastructure

Child labour 6 5 1

child abuse 5 3 2

Death due to negligence 2 - 2

Violation of legal rights 1 1 -

of differently abled
children

Child marriage 1 1 -

Source: Assam State Commission for protection of child right (since 2010-12)

Maoist Insurgency

Maoists operations extend to nine states in central and eastern India, finding support in regions
with weak governance, infrastructure and basic public services, such as health care and
education. Paramilitary forces continued to occupy and use schools as bases, despite a Supreme
Court order to vacate all schools by May 2011. In September, government officials in
Chhattisgarh, central India, stated they would remove forces from 36 schools and hostels
because of their impact on childrens education.

Maoist-related violence in 2012 had resulted in 257 deaths, including 98 civilians. In June,
security forces killed 19 villagers in Chhattisgarh state in a night operation, prompting
widespread condemnation.

Jammu and Kashmir

While violence in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir has been on a decline, security
forces responsible for serious rights abuses remain effectively immune from prosecution under
the Armed Forces Special Protection Act (AFSPA). In September, the state government rejected
calls for DNA testing of 2,730 corpses that a police investigative team found in unmarked
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graves at 38 sites in North Kashmir in July 2011. Some of the gravesites are believed to hold
victims of enforced disappearance and extrajudicial execution by government security forces
dating back to the 1990s.

Killings by the Border Security Forces at the Bangladesh Border

After a human rights report found that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel operating at the
Bangladesh border had indiscriminately shot and killed over 900 Indians and Bangladeshis in
the last 10 years, the government in March 2011 ordered restraint and issued BSF personnel
rubber bullets. Killings dropped dramatically after the change in policy, but still continue. In
their effort to contain illegal activities including the smuggling of cattle and narcotics, some
BSF soldiers have continued to harass and beat border residents. No BSF soldier has been
prosecuted for any of the killings or other abuses.

Bombings and Other Attacks

Three bomb explosions in Mumbai on July 13, 2011, killed 29 people and injured 130. On
September 7, 2011, a bomb explosion outside the Delhi High Court claimed 15 lives and
injured 50. Security and intelligence agencies did not conduct mass arrests of suspects based on
little evidence, which in the past resulted in the torture of suspects for information and
confessions. However, the failure of the authorities to identify alleged perpetrators led to
widespread criticism of the agencies and calls for police reform and training.

Violence in Assam

In July 2012, violence between indigenous Bodo tribes and Muslim migrant settlers started in
Kokrajhar district and spread to several districts in Assam, resulting in the deaths of at least 97
people and displacing over 450,000 people. Authorities in Assam failed to prevent the violence,
despite information about increasing tensions between the communities, which have clashed in
the past over access to land and resources.

Womens Rights
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Violence against women and girls continued in 2012, with increased reports of sexual assault,
including against those with disabilities. The government had yet to properly investigate and
prosecute sexual abuse in police custody.

In June 2012, Pinki Pramanik, a renowned woman athlete, was arrested on allegations of rape.
Male police officers mistreated her while taking her into custody and authorities conducted
gender determination tests in violation of her rights to consent, privacy, and dignity. A video
of her undergoing some part of the abusive examination was made public.

Abuses in Extractive Industry

A breakdown in government oversight over Indias mining sector has led to rampant corruption
and, in some cases, to serious harm to health, environments, and livelihoods of mining-affected
communities. In September 2012, the government of the western state of Goa cancelled all
mining licenses to examine whether proper procedures were followed to mitigate the negative
impact on health and environment. The same month, after a year-long suspension, mining
activity was allowed to partially resume in the southern Karnataka state, on condition that no
environmental restrictions are violated. However, the government failed to enforce protection
mechanisms in other parts of the country.

Death Penalty

In November 2012, India hanged Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving Pakistani gunman from the
November 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 10 members of the Lashkare-Taiba Pakistan-based
terrorist group killed more than 160 people. It was the first execution in India since 2004,
ending an eight-year unofficial moratorium.

India maintains that it imposes capital punishment in only the rarest of rare cases. In July
2012, 14 retired judges asked the president to commute the death sentences of 13 inmates
erroneously upheld by the Supreme Court over the past nine years. This followed the courts
admission that these death sentences were rendered per incuriam (out of error or ignorance). In
November 2012, the Supreme Court also conceded that the rarest of rare standard has not
been applied uniformly over the years and that the principles for judging what constitutes
rarest of rare crimes need a fresh look.
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So, we have come across the present status and position of Human Right in India and the
practices leading to human right violations.

Now, we shall move to some Actions taken or Remedial measures that may prevent violation
of human rights to a certain extent.

Respect for the dignity of an individual and striving for peace and harmony in society, has been
an abiding factor in Indian culture. The Indian culture has been the product of assimilation of
diverse cultures and religions that came into contact in the enormous Indian sub-continent over
time. The international community has recognised the growing importance of strengthening
national human rights institutions.

Establishment of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

The Government of India did realise the need to establish an independent body for promotion
and protection of human rights. The establishment of an autonomous National Human Rights
Commission by the Government of India reflects its commitment for effective implementation
of human rights provisions under national and international instruments. The Commission is the
first of its kind among the South Asian countries and also few among the National Human
Rights institutions, which were established, in early 1990s. The Commission came into effect
on 12 October 1993, by virtue of the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993. 19 Fourteen Indian
States20 have also set up their own human rights commissions to deal with violations from
within their states.

Some Steps the Central Government Should Take:

Review the effectiveness of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act within a
reasonable period, and seek amendments in consultation with womens rights, children's rights,

19
The Commission was constituted by an Act of Parliament. The Act is divided into eight Chapters consisting of
43 Articles. Special powers conferred to the Commission under Article 10 (c) which says, The Commission shall
regulate its own procedure. There are 19 Articles under Procedural Regulations.

20
The fourteen States are: Assam, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Manipur, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. See
http://www.nhrc.in, visited on 12 April 2005.
 15

and civil liberties activists to address shortcomings in the Expand and improve training for
pediatricians and gynecologists on recognizing and law, including the presumption of guilt
against the accused.

Handling cases of child sexual abuse, including by developing a mandatory gender sensitive
training module for medical students on treating and examining victims of child sexual abuse,
which should be developed in consultation with lawyers and experts on women's, children's,
and health rights.

Assist state governments in developing guidelines and training to properly implement the
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act for the police, government and private social
workers, child welfare committee members, doctors who work with children, judges, and other
court personnel.

Some Steps the State Governments Should Take:

Implement the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and give priority to the
training of the police, court personnel, government and private social workers, child welfare
committee members, and doctors who work with children.

Conduct a survey of all residential care facilities and provide this information to child welfare
committees, state child rights commissions, and the National Commission for the Protection of
Child Rights. Establish a monitoring mechanism in which children are independently
interviewed in a safe environment.

Draw up guidelines for schools and other educational institutions to prevent the sexual abuse of
children, as directed by the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2007.

International Actors, Including Donors and Aid Agencies, Should:

Encourage the Indian government to respect its international commitments to implement laws
protecting children.
 16

Provide technical support to Indias central and state governments to ensure the effective
implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, the Juvenile Justice
Act, and the Integrated Child Protection Scheme.

Support initiatives to increase awareness of child sexual abuse and help India develop
guidelines to protect children from sexual abuse.

Apart from these actions, there can be other measures which depend on peoples initiative to
control themselves from doing any unmoral or illegal activities which cause damage to society.

Findings:

From the above analysis, we have come to know that the present status and position of human
right in India is very depressing. People are deprived from their basic rights. Rules are violated
frequently and the overall picture of India in terms of all rights- civil, social, economic,
political etc. is very gloomy. We can say that states like- Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Tamilnadu, Jammu Kashmir, Rajasthan, Bihar, Haryana, New Delhi and north eastern state like
Assam is more exposed in case of violation of Human Rights compared to other corners of the
country.

Here, our above mentioned objectives of the study are fulfilled. Also, the hypothesis is
accepted, that is we have clearly seen that human right is violated in India.

Suggestions:

Various recommendations and actions from the Central as well as State governments, various
NGOs, Self-Help Groups, commission like National Human Right Commission (NHRC) as
well as International organizations like UNICEF, WHO etc. are required and most importantly
people should be well-cultured. Then only we can expect an improved and well-functioning
Human Right position in India.

Conclusion:

For a good and prosperous India, the status of her inmates is very important. India is becoming
a super power in the field of technology, scientific discovery, but still majority of the population
 17

are facing serious obstacles to acquire even their basic rights. Various superstitious beliefs are
still practicing in rural India which impedes the overall progress of society. So, proper steps
must be taken from all corners to improve the position of Human Rights.

References:

1. Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

2. Children in India 2012- A Statistical Appraisal.

3. Crimes in India: 2010, NCRB, Ministry of Home Affairs.

4. Dhanoa, Ritu, 2012: Violation of Woman Human Rights in India. International Journal in
Multidisciplinary and Academic Research (SSIJMAR) vol.1, No.4, November-December
(ISSN 2278-5973)

5. Dokhale, Bharat: Human Rights and Womens Present Scenario, International Indexed &
Referred Research Journal, January 2013, Vol-IV, Issue-40.

6. Human Rights Watch, January 2012.

7. Human Rights in India: Status Report 2012.

8. Human Rights Watch, February 2013. Breaking the Silence, child sexual abuse in India.

9. Human Rights Watch: World Report 2013.

10. India Today, New Delhi, August 22, 2012.

11. Record of The Discussion of The NHRC With The Chief Secretary, DMs And Concerned
Officers of Assam on Pending Human Rights Issues, 28 29 May 2012 Guwahati, Assam.

12. Sinha, Manoj Kumar: Role of the National Human Rights Commission of India in protection
of Human Rights.

13. The state of Human Rights in India in 2012: Asian Human Rights Commission.

14. Thomas W. Pogge, 2008: World Poverty and Human Rights.

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