A resolution commemorating the life of Indian human rights defender Father Stan Swamy and seeking an independent investigation into the death of the Jesuit priest has been introduced in the US Congress, Congressman Juan Vargas has said.
India was elected last year and its term ends in 2010, but it would be eligible for re-election. Most members, including Pakistan and Bahrain, were elected despite opposition from the human rights groups who said that their record had been dismal.
The situation in Jainoor town in Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district remained peaceful on Thursday a day after a protest by tribal organisations against an autorickshaw driver's alleged attempt to rape and murder a tribal woman sparked communal tension prompting authorities to impose a curfew.
Hard-line Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Monday rejected the Truth and Reconciliation Commission proposed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and demanded a United Nations-appointed factfinding mission to probe the unmarked graves in Jammu and Kashmir. "We vehemently reject the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as we do not expect justice from the system which is perpetuating human rights violations in the state," Geelani said.
The newly-appointed chairman of the commission, Justice S R Naik, said that the need of the hour is a strong and unambiguous policy to tackle terrorism.
Observing that the Bengal governments progress in matters related to post-poll violence did not inspire confidence, the Calcutta high court on Monday dismissed the dispensation's prayer for recall of an order that directed the NHRC chairperson to form a committee to examine cases of alleged human rights violations.
Government on Thursday appeared to be moving towards making a presidential reference for removal of Justice A K Ganguly as head of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission in the wake of his indictment by a Supreme Court committee for "unwelcome behaviour" towards a law intern.
Questioning the team's authority headed by a former Patna high court judge, Banerjee pointed out that Ram Navami processions organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party had carried arms and driven tractors and deliberately taken routes where 'Namaz' was being offered.
The countries voting in favour included France, Germany, Japan, Nepal, The United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Thirty-five-year old Vimla Hari Umap, who was arrested last week on charges of pick-pocketing, died in the custody of Mumbai police.
The occasion, which brought Yadav, a former chief minister, and the Bahujan Samaj Party supremo together was a meeting convened to finalise nominees for the State Human Rights Commission. The arch rivals had parted ways following the collapse of their coalition government in 1995 and have been bitter critics attacking each other and rarely acknowledging even the presence of the other at public functions.
A British MP has tabled a parliamentary motion in the House of Commons to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the "genocide of Kashmiri Pandit Hindus from Jammu and Kashmir in India." The motion, which calls for recognition and justice for the events of January 1990, has been met with support from other MPs. The motion condemns the attacks on the Hindu population of Kashmir Valley and calls for the Indian government to enact a bill to punish the perpetrators.
NHRC issued the directions on the basis of media reports about the firing in Tura and Williamnagar on September 30.
Even as in a belated move, the State Human Rights Commission in Monday issued notice to the Mayawati government on the issue of rising crime against women, yet another rape of a minor girl was reported from Sitapur district, about 90 km from Lucknow, giving Uttar Pradesh the dubious distinction of a graph of six rapes in a single day.
In a major embarrassment to the Andhra Pradesh government, the State Human Rights Commission has held it responsible for the murder of Julakunti Srinivas Reddy alias Muddu Seenu, who was killed in the Anantapur jail last week, and ordered the government to pay compensation of Rs five lakh to his widow. APHRC chairman Justice B Subhashan Reddy passed the landmark order after the Director General of Police Lokendar Sharma admitted that the jail staff had been negligent.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday said it has asked Manipur government to pay Rs 10 lakh compensation each within four weeks to the next of kin of all the people who died in ethnic clashes since May.
The government on Thursday approved a proposal for sending a Presidential reference to the Supreme Court for conducting a probe into an allegation of sexual harassment against retired apex court judge A K Ganguly.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday warned the Bharatiya Janata Party not to 'provoke' the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, saying it will not be able to 'bear the consequences' and that his party also knows 'all types of politics', escalating his attack on the saffron party after the arrest of his cabinet colleague V Senthil Balaji.
The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission on Wednesday warned Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, 'not to cross his limits', during the rally he plans to address on Saturday. Raj, who had initiated a violent anti-north Indian campaign in February and was arrested on charges of inciting his cadres, plans to hold a rally at the historic Shivaji Park on Saturday, in which he plans to chart out the future course of action for his two-year-old outfit.
The Asian Centre for Human Rights has in its report stated that the National Commission for Minorities is communalising the riots in Assam.
The United States-sponsored draft resolution before the ongoing session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission urges the Sri Lankan government to conduct an 'independent and credible' investigation into allegations of human rights violations. The draft resolution -- a copy of which has been obtained by PTI -- has not ceded to demands of human rights bodies for an independent international investigation.
The state government had informed the High Court that it had already paid Rs three lakh on September 23 to the victim.
In his petition, Tarigami said despite the fact that the challenge to the constitutional validity of orders by the Centre on August 5, 2019 as well as the J-K (Reorganisation) Act, 2019 is pending before the Supreme Court, the central government has taken some 'irreversible actions'.
A key United States Congressional committee has called for a public hearing on the rights and freedoms of religious minorities in India to be held early next month.
In his address at the 28th foundation day of the NHRC in New Delhi, the former judge also underlined that 'external forces' levelling 'false' allegations of human rights violations against India has become very common, 'which should be opposed'.
Forty-year-old Jyothi, a wandering tribal woman hailing from Tamil Nadu, her teenaged daughter Kavitha and a five-year-old girl were targeted by a group of over 100 persons. The group included employees of a textile shop from where a customer's gold anklet was reported missing, police said. The shop employees and public alleged that the woman was moving in a 'suspicious manner' and attacked her, the police said.
Balpreet Singh was ordered off for wearing a kirpan
The chief adviser alleged elections held under Hasina's regime were "rigged blatantly and generations of young people grew up without exercising their voting rights."
The NHRC, in a statement on Wednesday, said it has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that the students of a coaching centre allegedly committed suicide in two separate incidents within 12 hours.
'A government whose policies are focused around making the life of ordinary citizens, specially the most deprived sections, richer; a government that prioritises education, health and transport, that doesn't treat its citizens as subjects who must come to it for everything, is rare in our country.' 'When such a government is thrown out, one is left stunned,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
'If such a practice were feasible, every state would seek additional funds, posing a significant risk to the overall health of the economy.'
The Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Tripura's capital Agartala on Tuesday announced the suspension of all visa and consular services with immediate effect until further notice because of 'security reasons', a day after the mission's premises was breached by a group of people protesting against the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in Dhaka.
The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (SAD), which led protests against Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has launched itself as a political party called the National Citizen Party (NCP). The new party, which aims to 'dismantle constitutional autocracy' and establish a 'second republic,' has pledged to create a 'solely Bangladesh-oriented' political system, with no room for 'pro-India and pro-Pakistan politics.' The NCP's inaugural rally was attended by representatives of various political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami, and envoys from the Vatican and Pakistan.
'It never was and will never be.'
A police official said the five arrested are suspected to have Maoist links and had allegedly funded the Elgar Parishad conclave.
Kumaraswamy found himself in a raging controversy on Tuesday after a video of his telephonic instruction to "shoot mercilessly" those who had killed a Janata Dal-Secular worker in the party's stronghold of Mandya district on Monday went viral.
Noting that several external probes are currently underway -- including police investigation -- preliminary inquiry conducted by the district administration, inquiry by State Sports Secretary and inquiry by State Human Rights Commission, "hence it would not be appropriate to make any specific comment in this regard."
Castigating the Narendra Modi government for not placing reports of the National Human Rights Commission on damages and compensation for destruction of religious places before the state assembly, the Gujarat high court has termed it as a "grave lapse", violation of human rights.
"We teach our students using NCERT books...whatever is there in the revised edition will be followed," Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said.