Trump's clean chit to Modi on human rights? Govt "generally respected" free speech, expression: US state dept report

Clean chit to Modi?

In a virtual clean chit and a reversal of the past US state department's viewpoint, the Donald Trump government’s first report on human rights situation in India has said that the Narendra Modi government in 2016 “generally respected” freedom of speech and expression, even though the Constitution “does not explicitly mention freedom of the press.”
The just-released “India 2016 Human Rights Report”, in fact, says, “Independent media generally expressed a wide variety of views without restriction”, insisting, “The law prohibits content that could harm religious sentiments or provoke enmity among groups, and authorities invoked these laws to restrict print media, broadcast media, and publication or distribution of books.”
Even as quoting the US-based Human Rights Watch as saying that “sedition and criminal defamation laws were used to prosecute citizens who criticize government officials or oppose state police”, the report insists that “most domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases.”
Pointing out that only in “some circumstances groups faced restrictions”, the just-released report claims that the “government officials were generally responsive to NGO requests.”
Pointing out that there are “more than three million NGOs in the country advocating for social justice, sustainable development, and human rights”, the report praises the government for “generally” interacting with “domestic NGOs”, responding to their inquiries, and taking action “in response to their reports or recommendations.”
Refusing to hold the Narendra Modi government or the Sangh Parivar responsible for human rights violations, the report, in fact, seeks to consider human rights violations as largely law and order problems, arising out of societal conflicts.
Not recall even once the attacks which took place on lawyers Isha Khandelwal and Shalini Gera, academic Nalini Sundar, tribal rights activist Soni Sori and journalist Malini Subramaniam in Chhattisgarh, the report notes, in a matter-of-fact tone, that “between January 11 and 14, tribal women alleged rape and sexual assault by security forces during search operations.”
In fact, the report notes, without raising an eyebrow, how “the Chhattisgarh police arrested journalist Prabhat Singh in Dantewada for allegedly sharing a message critical of the state police on a messaging application and charged him under the Information Technology Act.”
On the communal riots in Gujarat, the only observation the report offers is: “Civil society activists continued to express concern concerning the Gujarat government’s failure to hold accountable those responsible for the 2002 communal violence in Gujarat that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 persons, the majority of whom were Muslim.”
Praising the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for working “cooperatively with numerous NGOs”, the report says, “Several NHRC committees had NGO representation. Human rights monitors in Jammu and Kashmir were able to document human rights violations.”
On human rights "violations" in Kashmir valley, the report starts with criticizing “separatist insurgents and terrorists” for committing “serious abuses, including killings of armed forces personnel, police, government officials, and civilians”, adding, between January and October 2016, 223 persons were killed, compared to 174 in 2015.
Pointing out that the 2016 figure “does not include 90 persons, including violent protesters, reportedly killed by security forces during a four-month period of unrest in the summer”, the report says, "apparently" that the security forces used the deadly pellet "indiscriminately" to control crowds, including violent protests, "resulting in 87 civilian deaths and blinding hundreds more, including children.”
Without giving examples, the report says, only in "rare cases" the government applied "restrictions to the travel and activities of visiting experts and scholars”, emphasizing, “In most cases the government supported and issued visas for international academic conferences and exchanges.”
Even as recalling discrimination against Dalits, including the gruesome Una incident in Gujarat, the report praises the authorities to say, “The federal and state governments continued to implement programs for Scheduled Caste (SC) members to provide better-quality housing, reserved seats in schools, government jobs, and access to subsidized foods.”

---

Download full report HERE

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

RP Gupta a scapegoat to help Govt of India manage fallout of Adani case in US court?

RP Gupta, a retired 1987-batch IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, has found himself at the center of a growing controversy. During my tenure as the Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar (1997–2012), I often interacted with him. He struck me as a straightforward officer, though I never quite understood why he was never appointed to what are supposed to be top-tier departments like industries, energy and petrochemicals, finance, or revenue.

Environmental report raises alarm: Sabarmati one of four rivers with nonylphenol contamination

A new report by Toxics Link , an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund , a global non-profit headquartered in New York, has raised the alarm that Sabarmati is one of five rivers across India found to contain unacceptable levels of nonylphenol (NP), a chemical linked to "exposure to carcinogenic outcomes, including prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women."

PharmEasy: The only online medical store which revises prices upwards after confirming the order

For senior citizens — especially those without a family support system — ordering medicines online can be a great relief. Shruti and I have been doing this for the last couple of years, and with considerable success. We upload a prescription, receive a verification call from a doctor, and within two or three days, the medicines are delivered to our doorstep.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Search This Blog