‘Society should back social justice’

The Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, Justice A.S. Anand, called for a change in the mind-set of civil society in favour of social justice to enable the “plethora of legislations” to serve their purpose. He said no amount of laws would succeed unless society approved of their spirit.

Addressing a seminar on “Human Rights and Social Justice” at Jaipur on 3 May 2003, Dr. Justice Anand said the legislation could help ensure equality and justice only in a favourable atmosphere. “Law cannot be self-applied. It needs to be accepted by society with the resolve for bringing about a change for the better,” he affirmed.

The day-long seminar was organized jointly by the Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission and the Rajasthan Pradesh Bharat Sevak Samaj to generate awareness about the issues confronting Dalits and weaker sections of society.

Dr. Justice Anand in his keynote address dwelt upon a number of issues ranging from violation of human rights to B.R. Ambedkar’s vision for social and economic equality, while highlighting the significance accorded to social justice in the Constitution and democratic structure of the country.

He pointed out that the rights enshrined in the Constitution could be broadly divided into two categories – equilibrium-centric and transformative – with the latter providing a route to achieve the former. The vulnerable sections needed legal protection the most, he added.

The NHRC Chairperson said discrimination against Dalits in public life – with several cases of refusal of entry into temples, stopping them from bathing in public ponds and dismounting them in marriage processions reported in Rajasthan – could be stopped by awareness followed by education.

“The most glaring instance of violation of human rights is the continuing poverty among masses in the country despite the political parties making tall claims and promises in their manifestos,” Dr. Anand said while making an appeal to eschew hypocrisy in public life.

The State Human Rights Commission’s Chairperson, Justice Syed Sagheer Ahmed, also addressed the seminar referring to the human rights situation in that State.

Presentations made in the seminar included those relating to caste-based discrimination and its legal framework of untouchability and caste inequality, human rights violations of Dalit women, and human rights activism in the context of social change.

In addition to human rights activists and representatives of NGOs, a number of administrative and police officials and faculty members from the State-level institutions attended the seminar. Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra of the Rajasthan High Court presented a discourse on the concept of social justice and its interpretations.