Collapse of India’s National Human Rights

Commission!
By M.Y.Siddiqui

India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has
ceased to exist though its structural façade is still visible for all. It
appears oblivious that it is meant to be independent body and not an
arm of the RSS Pariwar union government. Current Chairman, Justice
Arun Mishra, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, famous for his
addressing the Prime Minister as a “wizard” and a “versatile genius”
in an International Conference of Chief Justices, seems to be unaware
of NHRC’s extensive and impressive mandate. It is now known for
dismissing a majority of human rights cases and grievances or
referring them to State bodies. At the same time, there are poor or
negligent enforcement of NHRC’s orders by police officials and
district administrations. NHRC is missing in action wherever the
common Indians need it the most. It’s functioning is patterned on the
RSS Pariwar union government and its ruled State governments,
exclusionary, divisive, communal, partisan and discriminatory with
rampant violations of human rights of minorities, Dalit, tribal,
women, poor and the neglected.

Current NHRC shows only scant interest in investigating
violations of human rights except in opposition rules States where it
sends fact-finding team for investigations. NHRC has lost its moral
authority by not condemning the extensive violence in Manipur,
where more than 180 people have been killed and thousands fled
their homes, now residing in camps in very miserable conditions.
Modesty of multiple women was outraged and they were insulted,
killed and abused publicly by mobs of lawless goons. It is learnt that
NHRC had a full commission meeting on Manipur on May 23, 2023.
But it is yet to announce what it decided. Till date, minutes of the
meeting are withheld. It was only after an order on July 21, 2023 by
the Supreme Court directing the union government and the state
government to act on the Constitutional abuses that the NHRC woke
up and issued a notice to the Manipur government on July 25, 2023
to stop the violence and violations of human rights in the state. It was
shocking to find that even the Supreme Court did not think of the
NHRC as credible and independent enough organization to be
entrusted with any action that it proposed in Manipur. The best

would have been that NHRC could have appeared before the
Supreme Court but it did not.

NHRC is silent over FIRs against the National Federation of
Indian women represented by two distinguished women of repute
Aruna Roy and Annie Raja, facing police cases and false drummed up
criminal charges. Manipur Government has now filed a police case
against the three-member team of the Editors Guild of India (EGI).
NHRC is still silent. Further more, NHRC’s penchant for involving the
police for investigation of cases, its unwillingness to review the laws
related to civil liberties and fundamental rights including the Foreign
Contributions (Regulation) Act, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act,
and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, and its lack of
constructive engagement and cooperation with civil society and
human resource development groups are the other concerns raised
by international bodies, to the discomforts of the
countrymen/women.

NHRC has collapsed. Human rights violations are reported
in media/social media everyday and regularly. It is hard to recall
when the NHRC made a meaningful intervention to make a difference
in the lives of ordinary Indians. NHRC under the current leadership
has disappointed the people with its overall functioning. Under the
watch of Justice Mishra, NHRC’s indifference to human rights is
becoming clearer to all people. It is noteworthy that NHRC’s
accreditation to the Global Alliance of National Human Rights
Institutions (GANHRI) was deferred by a year in March 2023, on
account of its failure to provide for the involvement of civil society
organisations, its lack of pluralistic balance in its composition and its
staff, its failure to reflect diversity of the Indian society including
representation of religious and ethnic minorities.

A two-day conference of Asia Pacific Forum would be
hosted by NHRC on September 20-21, 2023, to which Colombo based
South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), a democratic regional body,
has protested and said, it is “outraged to learn that the Asia Pacific
Forum has allowed NHRC of India to host its next conference in New
Delhi”, to be inaugurated by the PM. In a statement SAHR said, “on
behalf of the civil society members of the South Asians region,
committed to the promotion and protection of human rights at the
national and regional level, SAHR perceives that this decision of the
Asia Pacific Forum will defeat the purpose as well as the past and
future achievements it has so far been working for”.

India’s NHRC had its shining glory when it took suo motto
cognizance of the culprits of 2002 Gujarat riots, sensing the victims
would not get justice with the entire official machinery including
state judiciary having ganged up to thwart justice for the victims and
approached the Supreme Court of India seeking transfer of lead cases
outside Gujarat. As a result, the Apex Court transferred such cases to
Maharashtra.

NHRC was set up in October 1993 in terms of the Human
Rights Act, 1993 to safeguard and protect human rights of people of
India, punish the violators, compensate the victims, take the officials
to tasks to ensure the fundamental rights to life, liberty, personal
dignity, individual honour, with equality before law, equality in
opportunities, equality in employment opportunities, without any
discrimination of caste, creed, religion and sexes with attendant
justice, equality and fair-play for all citizens, without fear or favour
are available, equally and alike. NHRC was constituted in terms of the
UN’s Paris Principles to which India is signatory, to promote, protect
and safeguard human rights of people worldwide. Whether NHRC has
achieved its goal ia for the people to see for themselves!

Powered by Froala Editor