Pune, September 6th, 2012

NHRC Chairperson, Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan today said in Pune that economic development directly determines people’s human rights including economic, social, civil and political rights. Quoting a Chinese scholar, he said that just as a loaf of bread has higher priority for a hungry person than a bunch of paper of information, the freedom of press has little meaning in a country where most people are illiterate. He was inaugurating a two-day national seminar of NHRC on "Tradition, culture and human rights", organized in collaboration with the Pune University.

Justice Balakrishnan said that India is a country, which is blessed with various resources, but lacks equal distribution thereof among all its people. Otherwise, how else a woman was forced to sell her three little daughters for just Rs. 155/- recently in Kolkata, as they had no food for three days. In order to survive, a person must have basic right to food, shelter and clothing.

Justice Balakrishnan said that it is NHRC’s consistent endeavour that all the citizens get their economic and social rights. Holding the Pune University as a great centre of knowledge and learning Justice Balakrishnan described his visit to its campus as a pilgrimage. He said that Universities and schools can play a major role in spreading awareness about various aspects of human rights. He said that the Right to food and work is now gaining importance as fundamental rights.

Speaking on the occasion Prof. W.N. Gade, Vice-Chancellor of Pune University said that there is a need to have social audit of all the social welfare schemes in the country to see why things are not changing on the ground in the remote areas of our country. Why our three pillars of democracy - legislature, judiciary and executive have not been able to change the mind-set of some people. He said that an institution like NHRC is best to do this analysis. Prof. Gade suggested that like many other institutions, NHRC should consider establishing a human rights chair in the Pune University, which has now 22 such professors in different departments doing excellent work.

Noted scholar, Prof. Nand Kishore Acharya said that there is a challenge of aggressive cultural groups threatening development of individuals from other groups. He said that if everything was right about our culture and tradition which many times have been dogmatic, there would have been no talk of promotion and protection of human rights. In fact, the concept of human rights in itself is a new culture giving direction to human life.



Mr. J.S. Kochher, Joint Secretary, NHRC said that the Commission has been focusing on building awareness about human rights through its seminars, conferences, internship programmes; sensitizing police personnel and assessing governance by studying implementation of social welfare schemes in remote areas. He said that people have to work collectively for putting an end to distortion and aberration in our cultural concept of Ramrajya, wherein everyone enjoyed all the rights.

Several prominent speakers are participating in the discussions during the seminar, which is concluding tomorrow.

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