Prime Minister addresses 28th Foundation Day of the NHRC, India: cautions against selective interpretation of human rights violations

New Delhi, 12th October, 2021

The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, India, organized a function to celebrate its 28th Foundation Day, today on 12th October, 2021. Addressing the gathering, through video conference, the Prime Minister said that the whole world sees India as a symbol of human values and the National Human Rights Commission is providing strength to these moral resolutions. He said that India’s freedom movement and its history has been a great source of inspiration for human rights. When the world was at war, Mahatma Gandhi showed the way forward through non-violence and human values.

The Prime Minister cautioned against the selective interpretation of human rights to diminish the image of the country. He said that of late, some people have started reacting differently on similar situations amounting to selective interpretation of human rights, thereby damaging the cause of human rights. He also said that the biggest infringement of human rights takes place when they are seen from the prism of politics and political profit and loss.

The Prime Minister said that, “Sabka saath, sabka vikaas, sabka vishwash aur sabka prayas” is, in a way, an effort towards ensuring human rights of all. He said that we have to provide basic amenities to the 100% population of the country, which helps them lead a life of dignity paving the way forward to ensuring their human rights.

He said that it is important to understand that human rights are not just a subject matter of rights but also of our duties. Enumerating various welfare schemes, Shri Modi said that his government has taken several welfare measures to ensure that the rights of every section of society are ensured. Be it women’s rights, rights of Divyang Jan, Transgender persons, poor and vulnerable, small farmers among others.

Earlier, the Union Minister for Home Affairs and Co-operation, Shri Amit Shah, lauded the role of the NHRC towards the promotion and protection of human rights and said that it has been successfully working to get justice for the victims of human rights violations since the last 28 years. He emphasized that the focus of the government since the last seven years has been to reach out all those deprived sections of population towards whom no attention was paid to provide them with basic amenities during the last 60 years.

The NHRC Chairperson, Justice Shri A.K. Mishra said that it is unfortunate that political violence has not ended in the country and abroad even today. The killers of innocent persons cannot be glorified as freedom fighters. The civil society and human rights defenders should severely condemn the political violence and terrorism. Their inaction in this regard will lead to the growth of fundamentalism for which the history will not forgive us.

Justice Mishra also said that the baseless allegations of human rights violations against India by the external forces have become common, which require to be strongly rebutted alongside the attempts towards rooting out our culture and popular languages. He said that the NHRC is committed towards providing its support for the good governance.

The NHRC Chairperson gave a brief insight into the work of the Commission towards the promotion and protection of human rights and said that since its inceptions in 1993 over 20 lakh cases were registered and disposed and more than ₹205 crore were paid as monetary relief on the NHRC recommendations. He said that during COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission continued to work for the protection of human rights of various sections of society and issued 22 advisories in this regard.

He raised several issues of human rights, which he said needed attention. These included, among others, effective and long term policies for quick justice at affordable prices to the people; strengthening police investigation system, freedom to States to give reservation to deprived sections upto some percentage; timely completion of Namami Gange Project to ensure source of livelihood to a large population dependent on it; narrowing the gap between e-commerce and small vendors; lifesaving drugs to poor at affordable prices ensuring that right to life prevails over the rights of patent holders of such drugs and vaccines.

The NHRC Secretary General, Shri Bimbadhar Pradhan said that the celebration of Foundation of the Commission reinforces its commitment towards the promotion and protection of human rights. He expressed his gratitude towards all those, who attended the function and extended support in seamlessly organizing it.

The NHRC Members Justice Shri M.M Kumar, Smt Jyotika Kalra, Dr. D.M. Mulay, Shri Rajiv Jain, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Nityanand Rai, Chairperson and Members of State Human Rights Commissions, members of Judiciary, diplomats, senior government officers, civil society representatives, human rights defenders, among other dignitaries, attended the function organized in hybrid mode. On the occasion, NHRC theme song and a short documentary on the NHRC was also screened besides a photo and painting exhibition on thematic issues of human rights on the entry to the Plenary Hall of Vigyan Bhavan.

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