A senior Irish government official has not ruled out the possibility of a public inquiry into the death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar, who died due to pregnancy-related complications after being denied an abortion in Ireland. Eamon Gilmore, the second most senior officer in the Irish government, has said the priority was getting to the bottom of the 31-year-old dentist's death after a miscarriage.
Swamy died at the Holy Family Hospital, where he was admitted on May 29, in Mumbai on Monday, a day after he suffered a cardiac arrest and was put on ventilator support.
EU special representative for human rights Eamon Gilmore said on Friday that in his meetings with the Indian government he has discussed issues such as the use of sedition and anti-terrorism laws, condition of minorities, communal violence and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
The ministry of external affairs said India remains committed to the promotion and protection of the human rights of all its citizens and that the country's democratic polity is complemented by an independent judiciary and a range of national and state-level human rights commissions.
Our government shows a benign mask to the world behind which its fangs are bared against its own citizens, observes Aakar Patel.