India slips on human rights index

WASHINGTON: India has been cited for deteriorating human rights situation by the foremost global watchdog of civil liberties with New Delhi getting raked over the coals for abuses and mishandling cases ranging from the Maoist insurgence in central India to the protests against a nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu.

Human Rights Watch's 665-page world annual opus on the subject for 2012 released on Friday also zeroed in on the rape of a Delhi medical student that convulsed the nation and brought worldwide opprobrium, saying violence against women continued unabated in India with increased reports of sexual assault.

"Global revulsion over the Delhi gang rape should send a message to the Indian leadership to bring about long overdue reforms to criminalize the full range of sexual assault and to protect women's dignity and rights," Meenakshi Ganguly, HRW's South Asia director said in a statement that came with the report. "Urgently needed are resources to enforce India's laws and hold accountable officials who don't discharge their duties in a sensitive way."

The criticism came even as India's ambassador to Washington Nirupama Rao wrote on op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday promising that the government is "determined to change our nation's laws—as well as the implementation of those laws—to prevent such heinous acts in the future."

"All of this energy and determination to improve, to bring about and demand change, is good for India. It reflects the strong democratic experience and institutions in the country," Rao wrote, referring to the public outpouring of anger.

However, HRW's tract on India was conspicuous for its anti-government tone while giving a wide berth to rebels groups and NGOs, some of which are suspect in government eyes, particularly with respect to their funding. In fact, the report criticized the government's continued to use the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) to restrict access to foreign funding for domestic organizations. It also panned new restrictions on internet freedom arising in part from concerns about the use of social media to organize protests.

However, the report acknowledged that the government did make progress in some areas, including new legislation to protect children from sexual abuse and stronger support for international resolutions to protect human rights in other countries, notably Sri Lanka.

(2013-02-02/timesofindia)