Can't identify attacks on RTI activists, mediapersons, whistleblowers as human rights violations: Govt of India

By A Representative
The director-general (DG) of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Government of India, has declared that the bureau cannot revise the new template for capturing the number of murders of right to information (RTI) users, social activists, whistleblowers and mediapersons separately, in addition to the instances of grievous hurts, separately, so that these could be counted as human rights violations.
The DG, NCRB, who is a serving officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS), said this in reply to a letter written by Baijayant (Jay) Panda, Member of Parliament (MP) in the Lok Sabha from Odisha. Currently, there is no way of differentiating the thousands of other murders from these attacks on human rights activists.
Panda had simultaneously suggested that such information be passed on to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and also placed constitutional and statutory authorities for prompt remedial action. The NCRB’s reply is quiet about this as well.
Panda’s plea to the DG, NCRB followed senior activist Venkatesh Nayak’s insistence that the revised template the NCRB for capturing data of attack on mediapersons, whistleblowers, attack on RTI/social activists should not be counted as simple murders but as human rights violations. He had underlined, the country’s cops should be trained on how to differentiate the attack of these from ordinary murders and other crimes, otherwise it would not serve the desired purpose of finding out how human rights were being violated.
Nayak says, the NCRB reply to the MP – that “disaggregate data capture and disclosure is not a feasible proposition” – has come “awkwardly in the face of the NCRB's own record of capturing data about the motivation for murders presented in the Crime in India Reports year after year.”
A standard feature of such annual reports current records the following reasons for murder and culpable-homicide-not-amounting-to-murder along with the number of victims of such crime, namely ‘gain’, ‘property dispute’, ‘personal vendetta or enmity’, ‘dowry’, ‘witchcraft’, ‘child/human sacrifice’, ‘communalism’, ‘casteism’, ‘political reasons’, ‘honour killing’, ‘rape’, ‘gang rape’, ‘love affairs’, ‘illicit relationships’, ‘kidnapping and abduction’ and ‘class conflict’ and ‘lunacy.
Wonders Nayak, “So why is it so difficult to add four more categories, namely, ‘RTI activists’, ‘social activists’, ‘whistleblowers’ and ‘mediapersons’ in the monthly data collection template?”
As for sending this data month on month to authorities such as the NHRC and other similarly placed bodies, the NCRB replies that this would be difficult as such data is not regularly supplied by the states and union territories.
However, the NCRB has assured the MP that when the web-based Crime and Criminal Tracking and Networking and Systems – CCTNS – a mission mode project becomes fully functional, such sharing of information would be possible. Until then, the NCRB says, it would not be able to update the information on its website either.
Comments Nayak, this suggests, till CCTNS takes shape, “data about murders of RTI activists, social activists, whistleblowers and mediapersons will not become officially transparent.”
He asks, “When the NCRB has started the task of collecting monthly data on attacks on RTI users, social activists, whistleblowers and mediapersons, why should available data not be placed on its website?”
He adds, “It is most unfortunate that the NCRB has adopted a go-slow attitude towards the serious phenomenon of attacks on well meaning do-gooder citizens who are risking their lives every day to unearth and expose corruption, human rights violations and other kinds of wrong doing.”

Comments

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Kolkata dialogue flags policy and finance deficit in wetland sustainability

By A Representative Wetlands were the focus of India–Germany climate talks in Kolkata, where experts from government, business, and civil society stressed both their ecological importance and the urgent need for stronger conservation frameworks.

'Fraudulent': Ex-civil servants urge President to halt Odisha tribal land dispossession

By A Representative A collective of 81 retired civil servants from the Constitutional Conduct Group has written to the President of India expressing alarm over what they describe as the wrongful dispossession of tribal lands in Odisha’s Rayagada district. The letter, dated April 19, 2026, highlights violent clashes in Kantamal village where police personnel reportedly injured over 70 tribal residents attempting to protect their community rights.

Dhandhuka violence: Gujarat minority group seeks judicial action, cites targeted arson

By A Representative The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat has written to the Director General of Police seeking judicial action in connection with recent violence in Dhandhuka town of Ahmedabad district, alleging targeted attacks on properties belonging to members of the Muslim community following a fatal altercation between two bike riders on April 18.

Maoist activity in India: Weakening structures, 'shifts' in leadership, strategy and ideology

By Harsh Thakor* Recent statements by government representatives have suggested that Maoism in India has been effectively eliminated, citing the weakening of central leadership and intensified security operations. These claims follow sustained counterinsurgency efforts across key regions, including central and eastern India. However, available information from security agencies and independent observers indicates that while the organizational structure of the CPI (Maoist) has been significantly disrupted, elements of the movement remain active. Reports acknowledge the continued presence of cadres in certain forested regions such as Bastar and parts of Dandakaranya, alongside smaller, decentralized units adapting their operational strategies.

Why link women’s reservation to delimitation? The unspoken political calculus

By Vikas Meshram* April 16, 2026, is likely to be recorded as a special day in the history of Indian democracy. In a three-day special session of Parliament, the central government is set to introduce a comprehensive package of three historic bills: the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026; the Delimitation Bill, 2026; and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The stated purpose of all three is the same: to implement the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (106th Constitutional Amendment) passed in 2023. However, the political intent concealed behind these measures — and their impact on the federal balance — is far more profound. It is absolutely essential to understand this.

From Manesar to Noida: Workers take to streets for bread, media looks away

By Sunil Kumar* Across several states in India, a workers’ movement is gathering momentum. This is not a movement born of luxury or ambition, nor a demand for power-sharing within the state. At its core lies a stark and basic plea: the right to survive with dignity—adequate food, and wages sufficient to afford it.

Catholic union opposes FCRA amendments, warns of threat to Church institutions

By A Representative The All India Catholic Union (AICU) has raised serious concerns over what it describes as growing threats to religious freedom, minority rights, and constitutional safeguards in India, warning that recent policy and legislative trends could undermine the country’s secular and federal framework.

Midnight weeping: The sociology of tragic vision in Badri Narayan’s poetry

By Ravi Ranjan* Badri Narayan, a distinguished Hindi poet and social scientist, occupies a unique position in contemporary Indian intellectual life by bridging the worlds of creative literature and critical social inquiry. His poetic journey began significantly with the 1993 collection 'Saca Sune Hue Kaï Dina Hue' (Truth Heard Many Days Ago). As a social historian and cultural anthropologist, Narayan pioneered a methodological shift away from elite archives toward the oral traditions and folk myths of marginalized communities. He eventually legitimized "folk-ethnography" as a rigorous academic discipline during his tenure as Director of the G.B. Pant Social Science Institute.

Counterview

Search This Blog