I appreciate Meenakshi Ganguly’s call for India to take a more active part in protecting human rights and for making that an integral part of this country’s foreign policy.
To do that credibly, however, India will have to clean up its own record at home, where human rights abuses are still widespread. Some of these abuses come to light, but many more don’t. The worst violations happen in far-flung areas of the country, where the Armed Forces, police and paramilitary forces rape and kill with impunity, all in the name of protecting India’s unity and territorial integrity.
Of particular concern is India’s Armed Forces Special Powers Act, a draconian law granting sweeping powers to the country’s security forces. The act was passed in 1958, and has been expanded to apply to 9 states. Even in cases of rape and extrajudicial killings, known locally as “encounter killings,” the culprits are protected by the army. Although the military insists that all those killed are terrorists, innocents are often gunned down to score points and further personal agendas. The culprits are tried, only in military courts, if ever done so, as the government believes that the killings constitute “collateral damage” in the course of a soldier’s duty. The army has always protected the officers and soldiers involved and insulated them from civil courts.
Many of those affected by the act have called for its abolition, but the army is adamantly opposed, and is supported by India’s middle class, national press and the intelligentsia. Full story...
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To do that credibly, however, India will have to clean up its own record at home, where human rights abuses are still widespread. Some of these abuses come to light, but many more don’t. The worst violations happen in far-flung areas of the country, where the Armed Forces, police and paramilitary forces rape and kill with impunity, all in the name of protecting India’s unity and territorial integrity.
Of particular concern is India’s Armed Forces Special Powers Act, a draconian law granting sweeping powers to the country’s security forces. The act was passed in 1958, and has been expanded to apply to 9 states. Even in cases of rape and extrajudicial killings, known locally as “encounter killings,” the culprits are protected by the army. Although the military insists that all those killed are terrorists, innocents are often gunned down to score points and further personal agendas. The culprits are tried, only in military courts, if ever done so, as the government believes that the killings constitute “collateral damage” in the course of a soldier’s duty. The army has always protected the officers and soldiers involved and insulated them from civil courts.
Many of those affected by the act have called for its abolition, but the army is adamantly opposed, and is supported by India’s middle class, national press and the intelligentsia. Full story...
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