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(A Monthly Publication of Manavadhikar Samajik Manch)

Volume XVI No. 3 March 2019
President :Dr. A. Shanker Advisors: Bejon Mishra
Editor :Dr. Girija B. Nanda Manoj Kar
Managing Editor :Dr. Srimoy Patra
UP Chapter
Editorial Team : Swarup N. Panigrahi
Dr. Narendra Kumar, State Convenor
Dr. Ashish Srivastava
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Uttar Pradesh - 274001
J. P. Pant Phone :0-9415320183
Dr. Virender Khatana
Operations Head :Maheswar Singh Odisha Chapter
Reporter :Sanjeevani Umakanta Nanda, Adv, State Convenor
Legal Advisors :Biswajit Swain Amit Mishra, Associate State Convenor
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Jitendra Mahapatra Cuttack, Odisha - 753003
Manager - Phone : 0671-2441528, 09437041528
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Human Touch
(A Monthly Publication of Manavadhikar Samajik Manch)

Human Touch is a platform for non-partisan portrayal of human rights issues in their different forms. Be it
the rights of the weaker sections of our population such as the women, the children, the aged and the
physically challenged, or the victims of some social customs, cultural traditions and economic & non-economic
policies, the publication brings out the issues objectively and in a manner that would give succour to the
people whose rights are either violated or put in jeopardy.

Human Touch acts as a forum for scholars, activists, concerned individuals and the common men &
women to ventilate their grievances, express their views and to highlight cases of human rights violations,
so that appropriate ameliorative actions can be taken by the concerned agencies. It is meant to help the
helpless and to speak for those whose voices are not heard. It engages in constructive and incisive debate
on issues that are not only of day-to-day concern but also on issues that are important for posterity. This
publication is a step forward in realising the vision of Manavadhikar Samajik Manch, i.e. creation of a
just and equitable society.

Owner : Manavadhikar Samajik Manch

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 In this issue...
International Women's Day: 5
Think equal, build smart, innovate for change

World Water Day: 7

Leaving no one behind

World Tuberculosis Day: 9

It’s time

World Wildlife Day: 12

Life Below Water: For people and planet

National News 14

News from the National Human Rights Commission 18

International News 23

Rural Sanitation in India: 26

An Area of Concern

The Myth of Dalit Empowerment: 28

Dalit Village Votes for the First Time

Transgender Ruling: 30
A Silver Lining in Japan’s Supreme Court Judgement

Below Poverty Line: 31

Livelihood Support for All
 From the President’s Desk …
During the past century, since the observance of the first International Women’s Day, we have
witnessed a transformation in women’s legal rights, educational achievements, and participation
in public life. In all regions, countries have expanded women’s legal entitlements. Women have
taken many steps forward. More women are exercising leadership in politics and business,
more girls are going to school, and more women survive childbirth and can plan their families.

Yet while tremendous progress has been made, no country can claim to be entirely free from
gender-based discrimination. This inequality can be seen in persistent gender wage gaps and
unequal opportunities, in low representation of women in leadership in public office and the
private sector, in child marriage and missing girls due to son preference, and in continuing
violence against women in all its forms.

Nowhere are disparities and barriers greater than in rural areas for women and girls. Rural
women and girls comprise one in four people worldwide. They work long hours with little or
no pay and produce a large proportion of the food grown, especially in subsistence agriculture.
They are farmers, entrepreneurs and leaders, and their contributions sustain their families,
communities, nations and all of us.

Yet they face some of the worst inequities in access to social services and land and other
productive assets. And this deprives them and the world of the realization of their full potential.
No enduring solution to the major changes of our day—from climate change to political and
economic instability—can be solved without the full empowerment and participation of the
world’s women. We simply can no longer afford to leave women out. Women’s full and equal
participation in the political and economic arena is fundamental to democracy and justice,
which people are demanding. Equal rights and opportunity underpin healthy economies and
societies.

The time is has come. Every human being has the right to live in peace and dignity. Every
human being has the right to shape their future and the futures of their countries. That is the
call for equality that we hear all around the globe. On International Women’s Day, let us
reaffirm our commitment to women’s rights and move forward with courage and determination.
Let us defend human rights, the inherent dignity and worth of the human person, and the equal
rights of men and women.

Dr. A. Shanker

Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019 4

 International Women's Day:
Think equal, build smart, innovate for change
I
nternational Women’s Day is a
time to reflect on progress made,
to call for change and to
celebrate acts of courage and
determination by ordinary women
who have played an extraordinary
role in the history of their countries
and communities.
The 2019 theme Think equal, build
smart, innovate for change focuses
on innovative ways in which we can
advance gender equality and the
empowerment of women,
particularly in the areas of social
protection systems, access to public
services and sustainable
infrastructure.
The achievement of the ambitious
Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) requires transformative
shifts, integrated approaches and
new solutions, particularly when it
comes to advancing gender equality
and the empowerment of all women
and girls.
Innovation and technology provide
unprecedented opportunities, yet
trends indicate a growing gender
digital divide and women are under-
represented in the field of science,
technology, engineering, mathematics
and design. It prevents them from
developing and influencing gender-
responsive innovations to achieve
transformative gains for society.
From mobile banking to artificial
intelligence and the internet of things,
it is vital that women’s ideas and
experiences equally influence the
design and implementation of the
innovations that shape our future
societies.
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
Echoing the priority theme of the
sixty-third session of the
Commission on the Status of Women
(CSW63), in 2019 we look to
industry leaders, game-changing
start-ups, social entrepreneurs,
gender equality activists, and women
innovators to examine the ways in
which innovation can remove
barriers and accelerate progress for
gender equality, encourage
investment in gender-responsive
social systems, and build services and
infrastructure that meet the needs of
women and girls.
On 8 March 2019, join us as we
celebrate a future in which innovation
and technology creates
unprecedented opportunities for
women and girls to play an active role
in building more inclusive systems,
efficient services and sustainable
infrastructure to accelerate the
achievement of the SDGs and gender
equality.
Gender equality and the
Sustainable Development Goals
International Women's Day is also
an opportunity to consider how to
accelerate the 2030 Agenda,
building momentum for the
effective implementation of the
Sustainable Development Goals,
especially goal number 5: Achieve
gender equality and empower all
women and girls; and number 4:
Ensure inclusive and quality
education for all and promote
lifelong learning.
5
History of the Day
International Women's Day is
celebrated in many countries around
the world. It is a day when women
are recognized for their achievements
without regard to divisions, whether
national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural,
economic or political. International
Women's Day first emerged from the
activities of labour movements at the
turn of the twentieth century in North
America and across Europe.
Since those early years, International
Women's Day has assumed a new
global dimension for women in
developed and developing countries
alike. The growing international
women's movement, which has been
strengthened by four global United
Nations women's conferences, has
helped make the commemoration a
rallying point to build support for
women's rights and participation in
the political and economic arenas.
Chronology
1909: The first National Woman's
Day was observed in the United
States on 28 February. The Socialist
Party of America designated this day
in honour of the 1908 garment
workers' strike in New York, where
women protested against working
conditions.
1910: The Socialist International,
meeting in Copenhagen, established
a Women's Day, international in
character, to honour the movement
for women's rights and to build
support for achieving universal
suffrage for women. The proposal
was greeted with unanimous approval
by the conference of over 100
women from 17 countries, which

included the first three women elected
to the Finnish Parliament. No fixed
date was selected for the observance.
1911: As a result of the Copenhagen
initiative, International Women's Day
was marked for the first time (19
March) in Austria, Denmark,
Germany and Switzerland, where
more than one million women and
men attended rallies. In addition to
the right to vote and to hold public
office, they demanded women's
rights to work, to vocational training
and to an end to discrimination on
the job.
1913-1914: International Women's
Day also became a mechanism for
protesting World War I. As part of
the peace movement, Russian women
observed their first International
Women's Day on the last Sunday in
February. Elsewhere in Europe, on
or around 8 March of the following
year, women held rallies either to
protest the war or to express
solidarity with other activists.
1917: Against the backdrop of the
war, women in Russia again chose
to protest and strike for "Bread and
Peace" on the last Sunday in February
(which fell on 8 March on the
Gregorian calendar). Four days later,
the Czar abdicated and the provisional
Government granted women the right
to vote.
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
1975: During International Women's
Year, the United Nations began
celebrating International Women's
Day on 8 March.
1995: The Beijing Declaration and
Platform for Action, a historic
roadmap signed by 189
governments, focused on 12 critical
areas of concern, and envisioned a
world where each woman and girl
can exercise her choices, such as
participating in politics, getting an
education, having an income, and
living in societies free from violence
and discrimination.
2014: The 58th session of the
Commission on the Status of Women
(CSW58) – the annual gathering of
States to address critical issues
related to gender equality and
women’s rights — focused on
“Challenges and achievements in the
implementation of the Millennium
Development Goals for women and
girls”. UN entities and accredited
NGOs from around the world took
stock of progress and remaining
challenges towards meeting the eight
Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs). The MDGs have played an
important role in galvanizing
attention on and resources for
gender equality and women’s
empowerment.
6
Some key targets of the
2030 Agenda
- By 2030, ensure that all girls
and boys complete free, equi-
table and quality primary and
secondary education leading
to relevant and Goal-4 effec-
tive learning outcomes.
- By 2030, ensure that all girls
and boys have access to qual-
ity early childhood develop-
ment, care and preprimary
education so that they are
ready for primary education.
- End all forms of discrimina-
tion against all women and
girls everywhere.
- Eliminate all forms of violence
against all women and girls in
the public and private spheres,
including trafficking and
sexual and other types of ex-
ploitation.
- Eliminate all harmful practices,
such as child, early and forced
marriage and female genital
mutilation.
The UN and Gender Equality
The Charter of the UN, signed in
1945, was the first international
agreement to affirm the principle of
equality between women and men.
Since then, the UN has helped create
a historic legacy of internationally-
agreed strategies, standards,
programmes and goals to advance the
status of women worldwide.
Over the years, the UN and its
technical agencies have promoted the
participation of women as equal
partners with men in achieving
sustainable development, peace,
security, and full respect for human
rights. The empowerment of women
continues to be a central feature of
the UN's efforts to address social,
economic and political challenges
across the globe.
 World Water Day:
S
ocial justice is an underlying
principle for peaceful and
prosperous coexistence within
and among nations. We uphold the
principles of social justice when we
promote gender equality or the
rights of indigenous peoples and
migrants. We advance social justice
when we remove barriers that
people face because of gender, age,
race, ethnicity, religion, culture or
disability.
For the United Nations, the pursuit
of social justice for all is at the core
of our global mission to promote
development and human dignity.
The adoption by the International
Labour Organization of the
Declaration on Social Justice for a
Fair Globalization is just one recent
example of the UN system’s
commitment to social justice. The
Declaration focuses on
guaranteeing fair outcomes for all
through employment, social
protection, social dialogue, and
fundamental principles and rights at
work.
Background
The International Labour
Organization unanimously adopted
the ILO Declaration on Social Justice
for a Fair Globalization on 10 June
2008. This is the third major
statement of principles and policies
adopted by the International Labour
Conference since the ILO’s
Constitution of 1919. It builds on the
Philadelphia Declaration of 1944 and
the Declaration on Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work of
1998. The 2008 Declaration
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
Leaving no one behind
expresses the contemporary vision of
the ILO’s mandate in the era of
globalization.
This landmark Declaration is a
powerful reaffirmation of ILO values.
It is the outcome of tripartite
consultations that started in the wake
of the Report of the World
Commission on the Social Dimension
of Globalization. By adopting this
text, the representatives of
governments, employers’ and
workers’ organizations from 182
member States emphasize the key role
of our tripartite Organization in
helping to achieve progress and social
justice in the context of globalization.
Together, they commit to enhance the
ILO’s capacity to advance these
goals, through the Decent Work
Agenda. The Declaration
institutionalizes the Decent Work
concept developed by the ILO since
1999, placing it at the core of the
Organization’s policies to reach its
constitutional objectives.
The Declaration comes at a crucial
political moment, reflecting the wide
consensus on the need for a strong
social dimension to globalization in
achieving improved and fair
outcomes for all. It constitutes a
compass for the promotion of a fair
globalization based on Decent Work,
as well as a practical tool to
accelerate progress in the
implementation of the Decent Work
7
Agenda at the country level. It also
reflects a productive outlook by
highlighting the importance of
sustainable enterprises in creating
greater employment and income
opportunities for all.
The General Assembly Recognizes
that social development and social
justice are indispensable for the
achievement and maintenance of
peace and security within and among
nations and that, in turn, social
development and social justice cannot
be attained in the absence of peace
and security or in the absence of
respect for all human rights and
fundamental freedoms.
It further recognizes that globalization
and interdependence are opening new
opportunities through trade,
investment and capital flows and
advances in technology, including
information technology, for the
growth of the world economy and the
development and improvement of
living standards around the world,
while at the same time there remain
serious challenges, including serious
financial crises, insecurity, poverty,
exclusion and inequality within and
among societies and considerable
obstacles to further integration and full
participation in the global economy for
developing countries as well as some
countries with economies in transition.
On 26 November 2007, the General
Assembly declared that, starting from
the sixty-third session of the General
Assembly, 20 February will be
celebrated annually as the World Day
of Social Justice.
2018 theme: Workers on the
Move: the Quest for Social
Justice
Most migration today is linked
directly or indirectly to the search
for decent work opportunities. Even
if employment is not the primary
driver, it usually features in the
migration process at some point.
There are an estimated 258 million
international migrants. The ILO
estimates that there are roughly 150
million migrant workers.
Among migrant workers, 56
percent are men and 44 percent are
women.
Migrant workers account for 4.4
percent of all workers and have
higher labor force participation
rates than non-migrants globally (73
percent and 64 percent
respectively).
Background
International World Water Day is held
annually on 22 March as a means of
focusing attention on the importance
of freshwater and advocating for the
sustainable management of
freshwater resources.
An international day to celebrate
freshwater was recommended at the
1992 United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development
(UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. The
United Nations General Assembly
responded by designating 22 March
1993 as the first World Water Day.
The United Nations General Assembly
adopted resolution A/RES/47/193 of
22 December 1992 by which 22
March of each year was declared
World Day for Water, to be observed
starting in 1993, in conformity with
the recommendations of the United
Nations Conference on Environment
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
and Development (UNCED) and sanitation — sets a theme for
contained in Chapter 18 (Fresh Water World Water Day corresponding to a
Resources) of Agenda 21. current or future challenge. The
engagement campaign is coordinated
States were invited to devote the Day, by one or several of the UN-Water
as appropriate in the national context, Members with a related mandate.
to concrete activities such as the
promotion of public awareness
through the production and
dissemination of documentaries and
the organization of conferences,
round tables, seminars and
expositions related to the
conservation and development of
water resources and the
implementation of the
recommendations of Agenda 21.
Why World Water Day?
World Water Day is an international
observance and an opportunity to
learn more about water related issues,
be inspired to tell others and take
action to make a difference. Each
year, UN-Water — the entity that
coordinates the UN’s work on water
Facts & Figures
- 2.1 billion people live without safe water at home.
- One in four primary schools have no drinking water service, with
pupils using unprotected sources or going thirsty.
- More than 700 children under five years of age die every day from
diarrhoea linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation.
- Globally, 80% of the people who have to use unsafe and unprotected
water sources live in rural areas.
- Women and girls are responsible for water collection in eight out of
ten households with water off-premises.
- For the 68.5 million people who have been forced to flee their homes,
accessing safe water services is highly problematic.
- Around 159 million people collect their drinking water from surface
water, such as ponds and streams.
- Around 4 billion people – nearly two-thirds of the world’s population
– experience severe water scarcity during at least one month of the
year.
- Over 800 women die every day from complications in pregnancy and
childbirth.
- 700 million people worldwide could be displaced by intense water
scarcity by 2030.
8
 World Tuberculosis Day:
E
ach year we commemorate
World TB Day on March 24
to raise public awareness
about the devastating health, social
and economic consequences of
tuberculosis (TB) and to step up
efforts to end the global TB epidemic.
The date marks the day in 1882 when
Dr. Robert Koch announced that he
had discovered the bacterium that
causes TB, which opened the way
towards diagnosing and curing this
disease.
Despite significant progress over
the last decades, TB continues to
be the top infectious killer
worldwide, claiming over 4 500
lives a day. The emergence of
multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB)
poses a major health security threat
and could risk gains made in the
fight against TB.
The Theme
The idea behind TB Day is to raise
public awareness about the
devastating health, social and
economic consequences of TB, and
to step up efforts to end the global
TB epidemic. The date marks the day
in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch
announced that he had discovered the
bacterium that causes TB, which
opened the way towards diagnosing
and curing this disease.
TB remains the world’s deadliest
infectious killer. Each day, nearly 4500
people lose their lives to TB and close
to 30,000 people fall ill with this
preventable and curable disease.
Global efforts to combat TB have
saved an estimated 54 million lives
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
It’s time
since the year 2000 and reduced the
TB mortality rate by 42%. To
accelerate the TB response in
countries to reach targets – Heads of
State came together and made strong
commitments to end TB at the first-
ever UN High Level Meeting in
September 2018.
The theme of World TB Day 2019 -
‘It’s time’ – puts the accent on the
urgency to act on the commitments
made by global leaders to:
World TB Day provides the
opportunity to shine the spotlight on
the disease and mobilize political and
social commitment for accelerate
progress to end TB.
Background
Last year, WHO reported that 10.4
million people fell ill with TB and there
were 1.8 million TB deaths in 2016,
making it the top infectious killer
worldwide. This disease is deeply
rooted in populations where human
rights and dignity are limited. While
anyone can contract TB, the disease
thrives among people living in
poverty, communities and groups that
are marginalized, and other vulnerable
populations.
These include: migrants, refugees,
ethnic minorities, miners and others
working and living in risk-prone
settings, the elderly, marginalized
women and children in many
settings etc. Factors such as
malnutrition, poor housing and
9
sanitation, compounded by other
risk factors such as tobacco and
alcohol use and diabetes, affect
vulnerability to TB and access to
care. Furthermore, this access is
often hindered by catastrophic
costs associated with illness,
seeking and staying in care, and
lack of social protection, resulting
in a vicious cycle of poverty and
ill-health. The transmission of
multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB)
adds great urgency to these
concerns.
What is TB?
Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by
bacteria (Mycobacterium
tuberculosis) that most often affect
the lungs. Tuberculosis is curable and
preventable.
TB is spread from person to person
through the air. When people with
lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they
propel the TB germs into the air. A
person needs to inhale only a few of
these germs to become infected.
About one-quarter of the world's
population has latent TB, which
means people have been infected by
TB bacteria but are not (yet) ill with
the disease and cannot transmit the
disease.
People infected with TB bacteria have
a 5–15% lifetime risk of falling ill with
TB. However, persons with
compromised immune systems, such
as people living with HIV, malnutrition
or diabetes, or people who use
tobacco, have a much higher risk of
falling ill.
When a person develops active TB
disease, the symptoms (such as
cough, fever, night sweats, or weight
loss) may be mild for many months.
This can lead to delays in seeking care,
and results in transmission of the
bacteria to others. People with active
TB can infect 10–15 other people
through close contact over the course
of a year. Without proper treatment,
45% of HIV-negative people with TB
on average and nearly all HIV-positive
people with TB will die.
Who is most at risk?
Tuberculosis mostly affects adults in
their most productive years.
However, all age groups are at risk.
Over 95% of cases and deaths are in
developing countries.
People who are infected with HIV are
20 to 30 times more likely to develop
active TB (see TB and HIV section
below). The risk of active TB is also
greater in persons suffering from
other conditions that impair the
immune system.
One million children (0–14 years of
age) fell ill with TB, and 230 000
children (including children with HIV
associated TB) died from the disease
in 2017.
Tobacco use greatly increases the risk
of TB disease and death. 7.9% of TB
cases worldwide are attributable to
smoking.
Global impact of TB
TB occurs in every part of the world.
In 2017, the largest number of new
TB cases occurred in the South-East
Asia and Western Pacific regions,
with 62% of new cases, followed by
the African region, with 25% of new
cases.
In 2017, 87% of new TB cases
occurred in the 30 high TB burden
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
countries. Eight countries accounted test is now recommended by WHO
for two thirds of the new TB cases: as the initial diagnostic test in all
India,China,Indonesia, the persons with signs and symptoms of
Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, TB.
Bangladesh and South Africa.
Diagnosing multi-drug resistant and
Symptoms and diagnosis extensively drug-resistant TB (see
Common symptoms of active lung Multidrug-resistant TB section
TB are cough with sputum and blood below) as well as HIV-associated TB
at times, chest pains, weakness, can be complex and expensive. In
weight loss, fever and night sweats. 2016, 4 new diagnostic tests were
Many countries still rely on a long- recommended by WHO – a rapid
used method called sputum smear molecular test to detect TB at
microscopy to diagnose TB. Trained peripheral health centres where Xpert
laboratory technicians look at sputum MTB/RIF cannot be used, and 3 tests
samples under a microscope to see to detect resistance to first- and
if TB bacteria are present. second-line TB medicines.
Microscopy detects only half the
number of TB cases and cannot Tuberculosis is particularly difficult
detect drug-resistance. to diagnose in children and as yet only
the Xpert MTB/RIF assay is generally
The use of the rapid test Xpert MTB/ available to assist with the diagnosis
RIF® has expanded substantially of paediatric TB.
since 2010, when WHO first
recommended its use. The test Treatment
simultaneously detects TB and TB is a treatable and curable disease.
resistance to rifampicin, the most Active, drug-susceptible TB disease
important TB medicine. Diagnosis is treated with a standard 6 month
can be made within 2 hours and the course of 4 antimicrobial drugs that
Key facts
- Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide.
- In 2017, 10 million people fell ill with TB, and 1.6 million died from
the disease (including 0.3 million among people with HIV).
- In 2017, an estimated 1 million children became ill with TB and 230
000 children died of TB (including children with HIV associated TB).
- TB is a leading killer of HIV-positive people.
- Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and
a health security threat. WHO estimates that there were 558 000 new
cases with resistance to rifampicin – the most effective first-line drug,
of which - 82% had MDR-TB.
- Globally, TB incidence is falling at about 2% per year. This needs to
accelerate to a 4–5% annual decline to reach the 2020 milestones of
the End TB Strategy.
- An estimated 54 million lives were saved through TB diagnosis and
treatment between 2000 and 2017.
- Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the
Sustainable Development Goals.
10

are provided with information,
supervision and support to the patient
by a health worker or trained
volunteer. Without such support,
treatment adherence can be difficult
and the disease can spread. The vast
majority of TB cases can be cured
when medicines are provided and
taken properly.
Between 2000 and 2017, an
estimated 54 million lives were saved
through TB diagnosis and treatment.
TB and HIV
People living with HIV are 20 to 30
times more likely to develop active
TB disease than people without HIV.
HIV and TB form a lethal
combination, each speeding the
other's progress. In 2017 about 0.3
million people died of HIV-associated
TB. In 2017, there were an estimated
0.9 million new cases of TB amongst
people who were HIV-positive, 72%
of whom were living in Africa.
WHO recommends a 12-component
approach of collaborative TB-HIV
activities, including actions for
prevention and treatment of infection
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
and disease, to
reduce deaths.
Multidrug-
resistant TB
A n t i - T B
medicines have
been used for
decades and
strains that are
resistant to 1 or
more of the
medicines have
b e e n
documented in
every country
surveyed. Drug
resistance
emerges when
anti-TB medicines are used
inappropriately, through incorrect
prescription by health care providers,
poor quality drugs, and patients
stopping treatment prematurely.
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis
(MDR-TB) is a form of TB caused
by bacteria that do not respond to
isoniazid and rifampicin, the 2 most
powerful, first-line anti-TB drugs.
MDR-TB is treatable and curable by
using second-line drugs. However,
second-line treatment options are
limited and require extensive
chemotherapy (up to 2 years of
treatment) with medicines that are
expensive and toxic.
In some cases, more severe drug
resistance can develop. Extensively
drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) is a
more serious form of MDR-TB
caused by bacteria that do not respond
to the most effective second-line anti-
TB drugs, often leaving patients
without any further treatment
options.
In 2017, MDR-TB remains a public
health crisis and a health security
threat. WHO estimates that there
11
were 558 000 new cases with
resistance to rifampicin – the most
effective first-line drug – of which
82% had MDR-TB. The MDR-TB
burden largely falls on 3 countries –
India, China and the Russian
Federation – which together account
for nearly half of the global cases.
About 8.5% of MDR-TB cases had
extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-
TB) in 2017.
Worldwide, only 55% of MDR-TB
patients are currently successfully
treated. In 2016, WHO approved the
use of a short, standardised regimen
for MDR-TB patients who do not have
strains that are resistant to second-line
TB medicines. This regimen takes 9–
12 months and is much less expensive
than the conventional treatment for
MDR-TB, which can take up to 2
years. Patients with XDR-TB or
resistance to second-line anti-TB drugs
cannot use this regimen, however, and
need to be put on longer MDR-TB
regimens to which 1 of the new drugs
(bedquiline and delamanid) may be
added.
In July 2018, the latest evidence on
treatment of drug-resistant TB was
reviewed by an independent panel of
experts convened by WHO. A rapid
communication on key changes to
recommendations for the treatment of
drug-resistant TB has been issued by
WHO, to be followed by the release
of updated and consolidated WHO
policy guidelines later in the year.
WHO also approved in 2016 a rapid
diagnostic test to quickly identify
these patients. 62 countries have
started using shorter MDR-TB
regimens. By the end of 2017, 62
countries reported having introduced
bedaquiline and 42 countries reported
having introduced delamanid, in an
effort to improve the effectiveness
of MDR-TB treatment regimens.
 World Wildlife Day:
Life Below Water: For people and planet

"On this World Wildlife Day, let us raise awareness about the extraordinary diversity of marine life and the
crucial importance of marine species to sustainable development. That way, we can continue to provide
these services for future generations.."
— UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

The incalculable value of wildlife
The animals and plants that live in
the wild have an intrinsic value and
contributes to the ecological,
genetic, social, economic,
scientific, educational, cultural,
recreational and aesthetic aspects
of human well-being and sustainable
development.
World Wildlife Day is an opportunity
to celebrate the many beautiful and
varied forms of wild fauna and flora
and to raise awareness of the
multitude of benefits that
conservation provides to people. At
the same time, the Day reminds us
of the urgent need to step up the
fight against wildlife crime and
human induced reduction of
species, which have wide-ranging
economic, environmental and social
impacts. Given these various
negative effects, Sustainable
Development Goal #15 focuses on
halting biodiversity loss.
Life Below Water: For people and
planet
Goal 14 of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG14) aims
to “conserve and sustainably use
the oceans, seas and marine
resources for sustainable
development.” The theme of World
Wildlife Day 2019 is: “Life Below
Water: For people and planet”
which closely aligns with this goal,
with a specific focus on the
conservation and sustainable use of
marine wildlife.
The ocean contains nearly 200,000
identified species, but actual
numbers may be in the millions.
Over three billion people depend on
marine and coastal biodiversity for
their livelihoods. Marine wildlife has
sustained human civilization and
development for millennia, from
providing food and nourishment, to
material for handicraft and
construction. It has also enriched
our lives culturally, spiritually, and
recreationally in different ways.
The capacity of life below water
to provide these services is
severely impacted, as our planet’s
oceans and the species that live
within it are under assault from an
onslaught of threats. These include
the most significant and direct
threat of overexploitation
particularly unsustainable fishing
and other marine species extraction
practices but also important threats
such as climate change, marine
pollution and habitat destruction.
These threats have a strong impact
on the lives and livelihoods of
those who depend on marine
ecosystem services, particularly
women and men in coastal
communities.
Get involved
Get to know marine species and
learn about the challenges they are
facing and how you can help. Share
what you've learned with your
friends and family.
Spread the word, especially to
children and youth. They are the
future leaders of wildlife
conservation and they deserve a
future where we humans live in
harmony with wildlife that share

Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019 12

the planet with us. Here are some
outreach materials.
Post on social media and spread the
word. Have a look at our Social
Media Kit if you need some
inspirations. Or take a photo with
the action cards and say something
about the day. Remember to use the
hashtags #LifeBelowWater,
#WWD2019, #MarineSpecies
#DoOneThingToday #SDG14.
Film festival
The Secretariat of the Convention
on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES) and the Jackson
Hole Wildlife Film Festival teamed
up to organize an international film
festival, this time focusing on
marine species. Winning films will
help raise global awareness of the
importance of life below water.
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
Winners will be announced at a
high-level event celebrating the
launch of World Wildlife Day at UN
Headquarters in NYC, on Friday
March 1, 2019.
Background
On 20 December 2013, the Sixty-
eighth session of the United Nations
General Assembly decided to
proclaim 3 March as World Wildlife
Day to celebrate and raise
awareness of the world’s wild
fauna and flora. The date is the day
of the adoption of the Convention
on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES) in 1973, which
plays an important role in ensuring
that international trade does not
threaten the species’ survival.
Previously, 3 March had been
designated as World Wildlife Day in
13
a resolution made at the 16th meeting
of the Conference of the Parties to
CITES (CoP16) held in Bangkok from
3 to 14 March 2013. The CITES
resolution was sponsored by the
Kingdom of Thailand, the Host of
CITES CoP16, which transmitted the
outcomes of CITES CoP16 to the UN
General Assembly.
The secretariat of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES), in collaboration with other
relevant United Nations organizations,
facilitates the implementation of
World Wildlife Day.
With 183 Member States, CITES
remains one of the world's most
powerful tools for biodiversity
conservation through the regulation
of trade in wild fauna and flora.
 National Human Rights Update
Vigilante ‘Cow Protection’
Groups Attack Minorities in
India
The Indian government should
prevent and prosecute mob violence
by vigilante groups targeting
minorities in the name of so-called
cow protection, Human Rights Watch
said in a report released today.
The 104-page report, “Violent Cow
Protection in India: Vigilante Groups
Attack Minorities,” describes the use
of communal rhetoric by members
of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) to spur a violent vigilante
campaign against consumption of
beef and those engaged in the cattle
trade. Between May 2015 and
December 2018, at least 44 people –
including 36 Muslims – were killed
in such attacks. Police often stalled
prosecutions of the attackers, while
several BJP politicians publicly
justified the attacks.
“Calls for cow protection may have
started out as a way to attract Hindu
votes, but it has transformed into a
free pass for mobs to violently attack
and kill minority group members,”
said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia
director at Human Rights Watch.
“Indian authorities should stop egging
on or justifying these attacks,
blaming victims, or protecting the
culprits.”
The report details 11 cases that
resulted in the deaths of 14 people,
and the government response, in four
Indian states – Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand –
selected because of their large
numbers of reported mob attacks.
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
In one case in 2016, a vigilante group
beat to death a Muslim cattle trader
and a 12-year-old boy traveling to an
animal fair in Jharkhand. Their badly
bruised bodies were found hanging
from a tree with their hands tied
behind them. The boy’s father
witnessed the attack, hiding in some
bushes: “If I stepped out, they would
have killed me, too. My son was
screaming for help, but I was so
scared that I hid.”
Many Hindus consider cows sacred
and most Indian states ban
slaughtering cows. But in recent
years, several BJP-ruled states have
adopted stricter laws and policies that
disproportionately harm minority
communities. In February 2019, the
government announced a national
commission for cow protection.
These policies and the vigilante attacks
have disrupted India’s cattle trade and
the rural agricultural economy, as well
as leather and meat export industries
that are linked to farming and dairy
sectors, Human Rights Watch said.
The attacks, often by groups claiming
links to militant outfits linked to the
BJP, largely target Muslim, Dalit
(formerly known as “untouchables”),
or Adivasi (indigenous) communities.
The inadequate response from the
authorities to these attacks is hurting
communities, including Hindus,
whose livelihoods are linked to
livestock, including farmers, herders,
cattle transporters, meat traders, and
leather workers, Human Rights Watch
said.
14
In almost all of the cases
documented, the police initially stalled
investigations, ignored procedures, or
were even complicit in the killings and
cover-ups. “Police face political
pressure to sympathize with cow
protectors and do a weak
investigation and let them go free,”
said a retired senior police officer in
Rajasthan. “These vigilantes get
political shelter and help.”
In several cases, political leaders of
Hindu nationalist groups, including
elected BJP officials, defended the
assaults. In December, an angry mob
set fire to a police station and burned
several vehicles in Bulandshahr in
Uttar Pradesh after villagers found
some animal carcasses that they said
came from slaughtered cows. Two
people, including a police officer who
confronted the mob, were killed.
Instead of condemning the violence,
the chief minister described the
incident as an “accident,” and then
warned that, “Illegal slaughtering, and
not just cow slaughter, is banned in
the entire state.” A senior police
official said investigators were
determined to prosecute those
involved in slaughtering cows. “The
cow-killers are our top priority,” he
said. “The murder and rioting case is
on the back burner for now.”
In a number of cases, police have filed
complaints against victims’ family
members and associates under laws
banning cow slaughter, leaving
witnesses and families afraid to
pursue justice. In some cases,
witnesses turned hostile because of
intimidation both by the authorities
and the accused. The authorities have
even used the National Security Act
– a repressive law that permits
detention without charge for up to a
year – against those suspected of
illegally slaughtering cows.
In July 2018, India’s Supreme Court
issued a series of directives for
“preventive, remedial, and punitive”
measures to address “lynching” – the
term used in India for killing by a
mob. The court ordered all state
governments to designate a senior
police officer in every district to
prevent mob violence and ensure that
the police act promptly against the
attackers and safeguard victims and
witnesses.
The court recommended creating a
victim compensation system and said
all such cases should be tried in fast-
track courts. The court also said
action should be taken against any
police or government officials who
fail to comply with these directives.
While several states have designated
officers and issued circulars to police
officials on addressing mob violence,
they have yet to comply with most
of the court’s other directives.
India is party to core international
human rights law treaties that prohibit
discrimination based on race,
ethnicity, or religion, and require the
governments to provide residents
with equal protection of the law. The
Indian government is obligated to
protect religious and other minority
populations and to fully and fairly
prosecute those responsible for
discrimination and violence against
them.
India’s national and state
governments should take immediate
steps to enforce the Supreme Court
directives, Human Rights Watch said.
The authorities should ensure proper
investigations to identify and
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
prosecute attackers regardless of their
political connections and initiate a
public campaign to end communal
attacks on Muslims, Dalits, and other
minorities. The authorities also
should reverse policies that harm
livestock-linked livelihoods,
particularly in rural communities, and
hold to account police and other
institutions that fail to uphold rights
because of caste or religious
prejudice.
“Indian police investigations into mob
attacks are almost as likely to accuse
the minority victims of a crime as they
are to pursue vigilantes with
government connections,” Ganguly
said. “State and national officials
should be following the Supreme
Court’s directives against mob killings
instead of disregarding their human
rights obligations.”
There Is No Democracy Without
Dissent
On February 2, the Maharashtra
police arrested activist and academic
Anand Teltumbde at the Mumbai
airport in spite of the Supreme
Court’s January 14 order granting
him four weeks to apply for
anticipatory bail. The police allege
Teltumbde incited caste-based
violence on January 1 at Bhima-
Koregaon and neighboring villages in
the state. Describing the arrest as
“humiliating”, Teltumbde said, “The
State does not have anything against
me in particular. It is against the
whole idea of dissent. It is me today.
It can be anyone else tomorrow.”
Hours after the arrest, a lower court
in Pune ordered his imm­ediate
release, calling the arrest “illegal” and
in contempt of court. The police
action against Teltumbde was only the
latest move in a sustained effort to
use India’s draconian laws to harass
and punish defenders of democratic
15
rights and opp­onents of the
government. People exercising their
rights to freedom of expression and
peaceful assembly have been slapped
with statutes such as the sedition law,
the “counter-terrorist” Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)
and the preventive-detention National
Security Act (NSA). Those who
criticise the authorities are also
frequently targeted by elected
officials, pro-government media and
social media trolls.
Before Teltumbde, the Maharashtra
police had arrested nine civil rights
activists, lawyers and writers last
year in connection with the same
case and accused them of being
members of the outlawed CPI
(Maoist). Legal procedures were
violated in some of the arrests. A fact-
finding committee headed by Pune’s
deputy mayor found that the violence
at and around Bhima-Koregaon was
planned by Hindu extremist groups,
but the police targeted the activists
due to pressure from the state
government to protect the
perpetrators.
The government has also engaged in
retaliatory legal ­act­ions against
activists who discuss India’s human
rights abuses at international forums.
Laws such as the Foreign
Contribution (Regulation) Act are
used to shut down ­foreign funding
for civil society organisations critical
of the ­aut­horities. India deservedly
earned a place alongside 37 other
countries, including Russia, China and
Saudi Arabia, in the annual United
Nations report documenting reprisals
against civil society.
On January 10, authorities in Assam
charged writer Hiren Gohain and two
others with sedition for criticising the
citizenship amendment bill at a rally.
Sedition charges are pending against
former JNU students, including
student leaders Kanhaiya Kumar,
Umar Khalid and Anirban
Bhattacharya, for allegedly shouting
anti-national slogans at a campus
event on February 9, 2016, marking
the hanging of Afzal Guru three years
earlier on that day. As in other cases,
the police failed to follow Supreme
Court regulations on the sedition
charge. The court has repeatedly said
incitement to violence is a necessary
element for the sedition law to be
applied, and yet the police used it in
the JNU case despite no evidence of
incitement. They took three years to
come up with a chargesheet. That’s
routine in sedition cases as the
authorities know the charges rarely
stick in court.
National Crime Records Bureau data
from 2014 to 2016 show 179
sedition arrests, but no chargesheet
had been filed by the end of 2016 in
over 70 per cent of the cases, and
only two of the accused had been
convicted. As Human Rights Watch
and others have documented, the
very process of investigation and
prosecution becomes the punishment.
So is that the factor tempting the
police to bring in the sedition charge?
In November, Manipur authorities
arrested TV journalist
Kishorechandra Wangkhem under the
sedition law for posting videos
criticising the CM and the BJP
government at the Centre. Releasing
him on bail, the court said it was
“mere expression of opinion”. And
then the authorities re-arrested him
under the NSA, which allows
detention without charge for up to a
year, in violation of the right to due
process.
When asked tough questions on
freedom of speech and assembly
during their travels abroad, Indian
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
leaders and officials often cite India’s
diverse and vocal civil society as
proof of the strength of our
democracy. At home, however, the
government systematically uses all
available tools to crush dissent.
The government should repeal the
sedition law, review and amend the
repressive provisions of the UAPA,
cease the use of the NSA to target its
opponents and rights defenders,
­release the activists arrested in the
Bhima-Koregaon case, and drop all
charges against those engaged in
peaceful dissent. There is no
democracy without dissent.
Rohingya Refugees Caught
Between India and a Hard Place
Recently, 31 Rohingya refugees who
had fled atrocities in Myanmar found
themselves trapped at the border
between India and Bangladesh.
Neither Indian nor Bangladeshi border
guards were willing to accept them.
The Indians insisted that the refugees
were attempting an illegal entry from
Bangladesh, while Bangladeshi
authorities said that the refugees were
being forcibly pushed out of India.
One thing was certain: Going back
to Myanmar was not an option.
Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims are
among the most persecuted
communities in the world. Long
denied citizenship rights in Myanmar,
subjected to pervasive discrimination
and targeted in violent attacks, many
have fled or been expelled. In their
desperation, these refugees have
walked long distances, swum across
rivers to safety, or paid human
smugglers for a place on flimsy boats
to carry them across treacherous
seas.
After years of denying asylum,
Bangladesh reversed its policies when
several hundred thousand streamed
16
across the border after Myanmar’s
military launched a campaign of
ethnic cleansing and committed
crimes against humanity against the
Rohingya following a militant attack
in August 2017. An estimated one
million Rohingya refugees are now
in Bangladesh, most crowded into
temporary camps and denied proper
access to jobs and education.
Another estimated 40,000 Rohingya
are in India, of whom at least 16,500
have been recognized by the UN
refugee agency. But with the ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
government focused on a Hindu
majoritarian agenda, India is letting
them down. While claiming that it
deserves a voice in global affairs,
India still hasn’t condemned
Myanmar for the attacks on the
Rohingya. Instead, ruling party
leaders declared that Rohingya
refugees in India should be sent back.
“India is not a signatory for refugees,
we have been soft,” the Home
Ministry’s Kiren Rijiju said last July.
“We will facilitate their return.” When
criticized by the opposition, the
government went further, claiming
without any basis that the Rohingya
“are linked with wrong and illegal
activities.” Alleged BJP supporters
have been implicated in attacks on the
beleaguered community.
In October 2018, Indian authorities
started repatriating Rohingya
refugees to Myanmar, despite United
Nations findings that Myanmar’s top
generals should be should be
investigated and prosecuted for
genocide. The forcible return of
refugees violates the principle of
nonrefoulement, the international
norm that forbids returning people to
a place where they are at real risk of
serious abuse. The Indian
government has repeatedly claimed
that the Rohingya who were deported
wanted to return to Myanmar but has
refused access to the UN refugee
agency to assess these claims
independently.
Discrimination against the Rohingya
refugees could worsen because of
recent official policy. The Indian
government has proposed
amendments to its citizenship laws
that would allow certain Hindu, Sikh,
Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian
asylum seekers from Afghanistan,
Bangladesh and Pakistan to become
eligible for citizenship. Muslims are
glaringly excluded, placing the
Rohingya at risk of detention and
deportation. Some have been
detained in Indian prisons on charges
of illegal entry and are at greatest risk
of forced return.
Many Rohingya, fearing that they
will be forcibly returned to Myanmar,
are escaping to Bangladesh.
According to Bangladeshi officials, at
least 1,300 Rohingya have arrived
there in recent months. Abdur
Rahman had fled to India in 2012
after deadly riots in Myanmar’s
Rakhine State had targeted the
Rohingya and Kaman Muslim
communities. Although registered by
the UN refugee authorities in India,
he is now in Bangladesh. “Earlier we
never faced trouble in India,” he told
us. “But now we feared we would
be repatriated to Myanmar. We don’t
want to go back to Myanmar.”
The Indian government should
immediately reverse course. It should
assist Rohingya refugees while calling
upon Myanmar to ensure justice for
victims of abuse and create
conditions for their safe and voluntary
return. All Rohingya in India should
have access to a fair procedure
through the UN refugee agency. But
India also needs to recognize that
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
conditions conducive to safe and
dignified return in Myanmar are not
likely anytime soon.
The 31 Rohingya men, women and
children were stuck at the border for
three days. Then the Indian
authorities arrested them. They
should be released and provided
proper refugee protections.
Jammu and Kashmir internal
matter, says India in reaction to
OIC resolution
Jammu and Kashmir is an integral
part of India and the issue is strictly
internal to the country, New Delhi
asserted Saturday, in reaction to a
resolution on the matter by the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
(OIC) in its two-day foreign
ministers' conclave in Abu Dhabi.
"As regards the resolutions on Jammu
and Kashmir, our stand is consistent
and well known. We reaffirm that
Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part
of India and is a matter strictly
internal to India," Spokesperson in the
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)
Raveesh Kumar said.
Earlier, the Pakistan Foreign Office
said that the 46th session of the
Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM)
of OIC concluded with a resolution
that "supported" Pakistan on the
Kashmir issue.
"In a resolution, the OIC member
states reiterated that Jammu and
Kashmir remains the core dispute
between Pakistan and India and its
resolution is indispensable for the
dream for peace in South Asia," it
claimed.
The resolution also "expressed deep
concern" over the alleged human
rights violations in Kashmir, the
Pakistan Foreign Office claimed,
17
adding that the resolution also
reminded the international community
of its obligation to ensure
implementation of UN Security
Council resolutions on the Kashmir
dispute.
The OIC is a grouping of 57
countries, majority of which are
Muslim-dominated. It has usually
been supportive of Pakistan and,
often sided with Islamabad on the
Kashmir issue.
External Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj attended the inaugural plenary
of the 46th session of the Council of
Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC on
Friday. She was the first Indian
minister to address the OIC meeting.
India's participation came despite
strong demand by Pakistan to rescind
the invitation to Swaraj to address the
grouping which was turned down by
the host UAE, resulting in Pakistan's
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood
Qureshi boycotting the plenary.
Swaraj attended the meeting in Abu
Dhabi on March 1 as the guest of
honour at the invitation extended by
the Foreign Minister of the United
Arab Emirates. "We deeply appreciate
this historic gesture on the 50th
anniversary of their first meeting," the
MEA spokesperson said.
The OIC also called for "restraint and
de-escalation" in South Asia as well
as the need to resolve outstanding
issues through peaceful means, the
Pakistan Foreign Office said.
Support us for the
creation of a just and
equitable society
News From the National Human Rights Commission
NHRC Open House Discussion
on Rural Development and
Human Rights concludes with
several important suggestions
seeking to reduce gap between
the policies and their
implementation
The National Human Rights
Commission, NHRC, India
organized an Open House
Discussion on Rural Development
and Human Rights at Manav Adhikar
Bhawan, New Delhi today on the
27th February, 2019. In his
inaugural address, Mr. Justice H.L.
Dattu Chairperson, NHRC said that
the objective of the Open House
Discussion is to raise awareness
amongst all the stakeholders with
regard to the linkage between Rural
Development and Human Rights.
He said that the grass root level
democracy ushered in by a
constitutional amendment at the
village level, defines the legal
framework of the Rural Development
Institutions in India. It has a close
link with the rights based approach
to development. He said that the
Commission has come across several
complaints with regard to non-
availability of basic facilities in rural
areas, including roads, electricity,
schools or teachers without schools,
among others.
Justice Dattu referred to a complaint
received in the Commission alleging
that children had to cross a river to
attend their school in the absence of
a bridge. It was constructed after the
intervention of the Commission. He
said that rural development implies
both the economic betterment of
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
people as well as greater social
transformation, which can be ensured
with the participation of government
agencies, civil society organizations
and NGOs.
Mr. Amarjeet Sinha, Secretary
Ministry of Rural Development,
Govt. of India highlighted various
welfare schemes of the government
aimed at improving the life and living
standards of people in rural areas of
the country. Quoting the global multi
dimensional poverty index 2018, he
said that India has made momentous
progress in reducing multidimensional
poverty, which was almost halved
between 2005/6 and 2015/16,
climbing down to 27.5% from 635
million poor persons to 364 million.
He said that making a difference to
rural poverty is the way forward to
ensure people’s rights, opportunities
and their well being.
Mr. Sinha said that in order to ensure
transparency in the delivery
mechanism, the government has also
started geo tagging of the
beneficiaries with their assets. The
focus of the government programmes
and schemes is to improve the lives
of rural household from prism of
opportunities, human rights and
poverty alleviation, which is very
much in tune with the Sustainable
Development Goal, SDG-17, which
mostly pertains to rural development.
Mr. Sinha said that the lack of health
and education facilities dominated the
18
social sector neglect, which is now
the key area of government’s focus.
He said that despite Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan, the learning outcomes are
unsatisfactory and therefore, efforts
are on to improve the situation
because education holds the key to
poverty alleviation. Citizen centric
Apps are being developed to provide
an interface locally for grievance
redressal. Public information
campaign is also been encouraged.
All Gram Sabhas have been requested
to put a notice board highlighting the
welfare schemes for awareness.
Social audit tools have been
developed, which can be used to audit
any schemes. Allocation for rural
development has gone up steeply. Mr.
Sinha said that Anganwadis require
having their own good buildings for
which the Centre is providing
financial assistance but the States also
need to pitch in their efforts for this.
The housing in rural areas is being
promoted with a human rights
perspective by provisioning the
construction of houses having a
dignified space of at least two rooms
with an attached toilet, kitchen and a
veranda in 25 sq. meters area.
Employment alternatives are being
worked out for the rehabilitation of
manual scavengers.
Prof. Dr. Nupur Tiwari of Indian
Institute of Public Administration,
Delhi raised concerns on the
Provisions of Panchayats (Extension
to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996,
PESA. She said that the
implementation of schemes is uneven
across states. The role of Gram Sabha
and Gram Panchayat lack clarity. The
participants generally felt that there
was still a gap between the policies
and implementation thereof at the
ground level.
Earlier, Mr. Jaideep Govind, Secretary
General, NHRC said that the NHRC
through its various interventions has
been ensuring the benefits of all the
welfare schemes as well as the basic
amenities to the people in different
parts of the country. It has also linked
its online complaint registration
mechanism with Common Service
Centres to expand its outreach to the
people in order to get redressal of
their grievances related to rights
violations.
Some of the important suggestions
emerged during the discussions were
as follows:
1. Increase the number of days of
assured employment under
MGNREGA with wages
commensurate with the
provisions of Minimum Wages
Act;
2. Ensure mechanism for excess to
justice in rural areas;
3. Improve payment system for
Anganwadi centres as a number
of children still remain
malnourished;
4. Road connectivity and other
facilities apart, ensure availability
of potable water as a major
challenge;
5. Ensure rehabilitation of displaced
persons;
6. Ensure that books and uniforms
reach the school going children
in time and not towards the end
of the academic session in rural
areas;
7. Give some powers, including
judicial and financial to Gram
Panchayats;
8. Synthesize the work related to
various welfare schemes under
different Ministries in a manner
so as to ensure that the
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
prospective beneficiaries do not
have to run from office to office
in different departments under
various Ministries;
9. Constitute a special task force to
indentify the places of dry latrines
to end the menace of manual
scavenging;
10.NHRC in collaboration with
SHRC and civil society should
ensure access to the grievance
redressal mechanism in rural areas
11. Eligibility criteria for providing
skill development training for rural
people is very high, which,
specially for the rescued bonded
labour, needs to be scaled down
to make it useful for them;
12.Each department under various
Ministries should have a rights
cell;
13.Human Rights Defenders, who
raise concerns on the rights
violation of others, should be
defended in collaboration with
civil society organizations;
14.Partnership with media should be
encouraged to build awareness on
various welfare schemes with a
rights perspective;
15.It should be ensured that the
victims of Kamaiya system also
get employment under
MGNREGA and the benefits
under skill India programme
Besides the NHRC Members, Mr.
Justice P.C. Ghose and Mrs. Jyotika
Kalra, the participants included civil
society representatives Ms. Maja
Daruwala and Sanjoy Hazarika, CHRI,
Dr. Nupur Tiwari, Associate Prof.,
IIPA, Mr. Surendra Kumar, AVARD,
Ms. Suman, FIAN, Mr. Bejwada
Wilson, Safai Karamchari Andolan, Ms.
Neha Khandoori, Ms. Tina Kuriallose,
Mr. Vinod Agarwal, Spl. Rapporteur,
NHRC, Mr. Surajit Dey, Registrar
(Law), Mr. Dilip Kumar, JS(T&R), Dr.
Ranjit Singh, JS(P&A) and other senior
officers of the Commission.
19
NHRC issues notice to the
Government of Assam over
hooch tragedy; also asks the
Union Home Ministry to issue
necessary directions to the
Directors General of Police of all
the States and UTs to enhance
vigil to check illicit liquor
menace
The National Human Rights
Commission, NHRC, India has taken
suo motu cognizance of media reports
that the number of deaths climbed to
143 till the last Sunday after
consuming toxic liquor in Golaghat
and Jorhat districts of Assam on
Thursday night. Reportedly, there are
more than 300 people admitted for
treatment in the hospitals. As per
news report, the police authorities
have expressed apprehension that the
Methanol used in the hooch is the
reason behind the deaths but the exact
cause of death will be known only
after the examinations are conducted.
The Commission has issued notices
top the to the Chief Secretary,
Government of Assam calling for a
detailed report in the matter, within
four weeks including action taken
against the officers/officials, relief
and rehabilitation provided to the
victims and their dependents along
with status of the medical treatment
being provided to those who are still
fighting for their lives in the hospitals.
The Commission also expects from
the union Home Secretary to issue
necessary directions to the Directors
General of Police of all the States and
UTs calling upon them to look into
the matter personally and issue
relevant guidelines to enhance police
patrolling and vigil in the affected
areas of their states and take strict
legal action against the culprits. If
necessary, special teams at the district
level be constituted to clamp down
on the perpetrators of law, in an
effective manner. Response from the
Union Home Secretary is expected
within four weeks.
The Commission has observed that
a few days back, it had expressed
concern over the death of people in
hooch tragedy in Uttar Pradesh and
Uttarakhand as apparently, the State
authorities had failed to take effective
measures and stringent action against
the errant officials and the violators
of law. It appears that this issue of
spurious and illicit liquor is not
restricted to one or two states rather
it has become a serious issue at the
national level. The law is very much
in existence to deal with this menace
but in view of present scenario, it
seems that there is a need to sensitize
the police and the excise authorities
in the states to be more active and
vigilant so that precious human lives
are not lost. An effective mechanism
is required to be evolved to curb the
unlawful network of spurious liquor
manufacturers and distributors who
are playing with the lives of the
innocent people.
According to the media reports, at
least 20 people, have been arrested
by the police in connection with the
incident in Assam. During a raid at a
godown, the police have recovered
jaggery, alum and urea which are the
main ingredients used in making the
illicit liquor. The Excise Department
has reportedly stated that the poor
quality jaggery, meant for cattle feed
is routed for making hooch and it is
impossible to check its sale. The
records furnished by the Excise
Department however expose lapses
on their part.
Reportedly, two persons were
arrested from Jugibari village of
district Golaghat in December, 2018.
The village is adjacent to “Halmira Tea
Estate” which supplies hooch to the
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
local distributors. The distributors,
reportedly, purchased five liter cans
for between Rs. 350 to Rs. 450 to
sell it to the consumers. One of the
villagers had stated that there were
at least three persons in the village,
who instead of making hooch from
jaggery, just mixed spirit with water
and sold it openly. It is also mentioned
in the news reports that some people
mixed spirit with liquor before
consuming, which led to their deaths.
Reportedly, as many as five
suspected distributors of the hooch
were also among the dead.
As reported in the media, the State
Excise Minister hadstated that the
phenomenon of “Sulai” (hooch)
consumption was not just restricted
to Assam but all of the North-East.
He promised to clamp down on the
network of illicit distribution and take
action against the guilty excise
officials, after the inquiry. The news
report also states that more than seven
lakh liters of illegally distilled liquor
had been seized in the State of Assam
from April, 2016 to November, 2018.
NHRC issues notice to the
Government of Tamil Nadu over
reported denial of basic
amenities to garment industry
workers in the state
The National Human Rights
Commission, NHRC, India has taken
suo motu cognizance of a media
report highlighting the plight of
thousands of the garment factory
workers, who are employed in large
number at Factories and Mills in
different parts of Tamil Nadu. The
news report reveals that many of the
factories and mills in the state, which
is the largest textile and garment
industry hub in the country, operate
informally with inferior working
conditions and poor grievance
mechanism for their workers. The
media report is based on the
20
interviews of some women garment
industry workers, aired by three radio
stations, which are free and broadcast
through mobile phones, set up across
Tamil Nadu, during last year.
The Commission has observed that
the contents of the news reports, if
true, raise a serious issue of violation
of human rights. Accordingly, it has
issued a notice to the Chief Secretary,
Government of Tamil Nadu calling
for a detailed report in the matter
within four weeks.
It has observed the reported denial
of basic facilities to the workers,
employed at these industries is a
matter of concern for it. Toilets,
Drinking water, First-aid and Special
provisions for the female workers are
the most crucial and primary
requirements at the workplaces.
Denial of the basic facilities by the
factory owners to their employees is
not only violation of the law and
prescribed norms but a serious
violation of human rights. The
workers have right to dignity. There
is a need for the authorities to look
into the matter and take action. A
national level campaign for cleanliness
is going on across the country which
is being promoted by the Government
of India in collaboration with the
states and it includes proper toilets,
sanitation and clean environment.
Irregularities as mentioned in the
news report are in violation of the
“Clean India Campaign”.
The Commission has said that going
by the contents of the media report,
it appears that the workers at these
garment factories and mills are
working in miserable conditions.
There is no formal grievance
mechanism available for the workers
due to which, even the basic amenities
at these places are absent. It has also
commended that radio stations set up
across the state of Tamil Nadu for
raising such issues.
According to the media report,
carried today on the 21st February,
2019, these radio stations are giving
voice to the thousands of garment
workers, whose grievances remained
unheard by the authorities, so far. A
woman, working in a garment
factory approached the radio station
and narrated her story as to how she
queued three times to use one of the
only two toilets provided by the
factory owner, for 200 employees
where she is working in Chennai. She
told during radio broadcast that due
to scarcity of the toilets, the factory
workers have been forced to use a
corner of the mill as a toilet where
waste cotton is discarded during the
process. The humiliated lady decided
to share her daily ordeal and the
factory managers have now,
reportedly, begun to add more toilets
at her workplace.
NHRC notice to the Union
Ministries of Home and Human
Resource Development over
reported ill-treatment of
Kashmiri people and students in
different parts of the country
post Pulwama terror attack
The National Human Rights
Commission, NHRC, India has taken
suo motu cognizance of media reports
regarding attack on Kashmiri people,
including students studying in various
institutes at different places in the
country in the aftermath of terrorist
attack in Pulwama on CRPF convoy.
The Commission has observed that
the media reports on the incidents, if
true, raise serious issue of violation
of human rights. The contents therein
are shocking and very disheartening.
Accordingly, it has issued notices to
the Union Home Secretary and the
Secretary, Union Ministry of Human
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
Resource Development calling for
reports in two weeks. Notices have
also be also issued to the Chief
Secretaries of the Governments of
Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West
Bengal as well as the Commissioner
of Police, Delhi calling for their
reports on the incidents mentioned
in the news reports within four
weeks.
The Commission has further
observed that giving such bad
treatment by targeting people of a
particular region of the country by
some elements will destroy the
democratic fabric of the country.
India is one of the most religiously
and ethnically diverse nations in the
world and has a rich tolerant culture,
which is identified and respected
across the world. Such incidents
would only tarnish the image of the
country. The Central Government has
to act quickly by taking action against
the miscreants. There is a need for
sensitization of local authorities,
police agencies and the general public
to maintain law and order at every
cost.
It added that though there is an
atmosphere of grief and anger across
the country after the terrorist attack
on the convoy of the CRPF in
Pulwama in which 42 soldiers were
martyred but even in extreme
situation, a civilized society cannot
accept such kind of violence by the
people against their fellow
countrymen. Rustication, suspension
or action against the students, as
mentioned in the news reports, can
be a matter of investigation on merits
but the incidents of ill-treatment of
the Kashmiri people in different parts
of the country is definitely in violation
of Article 14 of the Constitution of
India, which protects equality before
the law and equal protection of laws
within the territory of India.
21
According to the media reports,
carried today on the 21st February,
2019, the Union Human Resource
Development Minister, Mr. Prakash
Javadekar has dismissed reports of
alleged harassment of Kashmiri
students outside their state in the
wake of Pulwama terror attack and
said that the government is in touch
with all institutions in this regard.
However, it has also been reported
that two Dehradun based educational
institutions have stated on record that
they will not admit Kashmiri students
in future as the colleges, where the
Kashmiri students are studying, were
threatened by the mob. At least 10
Kashmiri students have been booked
and around 20 suspended or
rusticated from colleges across the
country for what officials called
“anti-national” social media posts.
Once of the colleges suspended its
Dean from Jammu & Kashmir as the
mob asked to do it.
As per media reports, several
Kashmiri students, migrants, traders
and professionals have had to pack
up and leave from different parts of
the country particularly, Uttarakhand
and Haryana. As per media reports, a
19 year old girl from Pulwama,
posted some contents in praise of
Pakistan on her Instagram account
and six students belonging to the same
group were suspended by a university
in Roorkee.
Apart from this, there are media
reports stating that 34 workers had
left Muzaffarnagar and some more
are planning to leave as some
members of “Bharatiya Kisan Union”
protested outside the mill and
demanded that Kashmiri workers
should be sent back. The Union said
that people abuse and throw stones
at the soldiers in the valley and come
here to take shelter, hence they
should be sent back to the valley. As
mentioned in the news report, a 22
year old worker has stated that there
are very few jobs available in the
Kashmir due to which Kashmiri
youth prefer to come here to earn an
honest living but now it has become
very difficult to stay back.
The District Magistrate of
Muzaffarnagar has reportedly stated
that they do not have a count of
Kashmiris working in the area and
they have not received any official
complaint either from the police or
the mill authorities. He has however
stated that due action will be taken if
any kind of misconduct is noticed.
Another news report published in the
newspaper reveals that two Kashmiri
youths, who were travelling in a train
were beaten up as the mob called
them stone pelters. The victims have
been selling shawls from Kashmir in
Haryana. They are reportedly staying
in Delhi since December, 2018 and
have been conducting their business
for the last 10 years. As the mob
attacked them, they somehow
managed to escape leaving behind
their articles, valuing around Rs. 2
lakhs. Similar incident has occurred,
reportedly, in Kolkata, West Bengal.
NHRC condemns killing of a
Pakistani prisoner by fellow
inmates in Jaipur Central Jail;
issues notice to the Government
of Rajasthan and also asks all
the States and UTs to take
precautionary measures in all
jails where Pakistani nationals
are lodged
The National Human Rights
Commission has taken suo motu
cognizance of media reports that a
Pakistani national, serving life
sentence in the Jaipur Central Jail,
Rajasthan, was killed on Wednesday
in a brawl with four inmates allegedly
over the volume of a television set.
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
Describing the incident as inhuman,
the Commission has said that it
condemns all such incidents and has
called for stringent action against the
miscreants to ensure that Right to Life
of the prisoners are not violated while
they are in lawful judicial custody.
Accordingly, the Commission has
issued notices to the Chief Secretary
and the Director General (Prisons),
Rajasthan calling for reports within
four weeks.
The Commission on the basis of the
media reports has also held that the
authorities are expected to take
immediate precautionary measures in
the jails, where Pakistani nationals are
lodged in the wake of prevailing
atmosphere. It has also directed its
Registry to send a copy of the
proceeding in this matter to the Chief
Secretaries of all the States and UTs
across the country for strict
compliance and taking necessary
action in their respective States.
The Commission has observed that it
is immaterial whether the victim was
an Indian citizen or a foreigner, he was
a human being and the Apex Court has
also held in the case of Charles Shobraj
v. Superintendent of Central Jail, Tihar
that imprisonment does not spell
farewell to fundamental rights
guaranteed under Constitution of India.
Once, someone is kept in the custody
of the State even in the jail, being a
lawful custodian, the State is duty
bound to ensure his safety and security.
The Commission has also noted the
reported allegations, leveled by the
Pakistan government, that the inmate
was killed in retaliation to Pulwama
attack and the reported denial of them
by the State prison authorities.
However, it has pointed that keeping
in view the timing of the incident, the
allegations are required to be looked
into, thoroughly.
22
The Commission has further
observed that there have been many
instances in India as well as Pakistan,
when citizens of other countries are
targeted by the native prisoners, due
to anger and hatred. One Indian
citizen, Sarabjit Singh who was
serving sentence in a Pakistan jail was
also attacked in a similar manner and
later he succumbed to his injuries
during the course of treatment. These
kinds of incidents may aggravate the
grim situation, violating the human
rights of the innocent citizens,
particularly those who are in jails.
According to the media reports,
carried today on the 21st February,
2019, the victim, a resident of Sialkot
in Pakistan, was arrested in the year
2011 under Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act and he was serving
a life sentence in the jail. Quoting
Rajasthan police sources, it is also
reported that an investigation into the
killing will be conducted under the
guidelines issued by the National
Human Rights Commission and an
FIR u/s 302 IPC has been registered
in the matter. Pakistan’s High
Commission in New Delhi has
reportedly raised the issue with the
Indian authorities and requested for
an urgent and authentic report in the
matter.
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 International Human Rights Update
Some Child Soldiers Get
Rehabilitation, Others Get
Prison
He was just a 14-year-old schoolboy
when the Islamic State of Iraq and
al-Sham (ISIS) took over his city,
Mosul, in northern Iraq. His school
soon shut down. With little else to
do, he said, he joined ISIS to make
money. He said he received twenty
days of training, and then worked as
a cook, making about $50 a month.
“I never wanted to fight,” he said.
“That’s why I stayed a cook.”
Kurdish security forces in northern
Iraq captured him during a military
offensive in the fall of 2016, and
detained and interrogated him. Last
year, a Kurdish court convicted him
of terrorism. When a colleague and I
met him in November in a
reformatory in Erbil, he had been in
prison for more than two years.
With the rise of violent extremist
groups like ISIS, al Qaeda, al-
Shabab, and Boko Haram, many
countries have adopted much more
aggressive counterterrorism
measures, including a marked
increase in the detention and
prosecution of children. The United
Nations has documented a five-fold
increase in the number of children
detained in the context of armed
conflict since 2012.
These practices have created an
unfair and dangerous double
standard: in “traditional” armed
conflicts, child soldiers are seen
primarily as victims who need
rehabilitation assistance and help
reintegrating into society. But in a
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
conflict with a so-called terrorist
group, children are prosecuted as
criminals and sentenced to prison as
terrorists.
If the boy from Mosul had been part
of an armed group in Colombia, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
or any number of other conflict
countries around the world, he might
be back in school or getting
vocational training. In the past twenty
years, tens of thousands of former
child soldiers have benefited from
rehabilitation programs designed to
help them rejoin society. These
programs recognize that recruiting
children for armed conflict is a
violation of international law and that
the primary violators of the law are
the adult recruiters, not the children.
When it comes to ISIS, however,
children who have been involved
with the group in any capacity are
increasingly being treated as criminals
and charged with terrorism. The
situation is particularly dire in Iraq,
where the government of Iraq and
the Kurdistan Regional Government
(KRG) are currently detaining an
estimated 1,500 children for alleged
ISIS involvement. A child may be
arrested simply because someone
from their village reported them—
rightly or wrongly—as connected to
ISIS. One father told us about the
arrest of his 14-year old son: “People
said they had seen him with ISIS. He
was hanging out with them because
they were his friends and his cousins,
that’s it.”
23
Once a child is arrested, security
forces can torture him to coerce
confessions. Late last year, a
colleague and I interviewed twenty-
nine boys who had been detained as
ISIS suspects in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Nineteen described abuse that
amounts to torture. They said that
interrogators beat them with plastic
pipes, electric cables, or rods,
sometimes for hours. Some said they
were given electric shocks or tied into
painful positions.
Their interrogators didn’t seem to
care whether they were really part
of ISIS. One 17-year-old told me his
interrogators said, “You need to say
you were with ISIS. Even if you
weren’t, you need to say it.” All but
one of the boys we interviewed said
they eventually confessed to ISIS
association, believing they had no
other choice. One 16-year-old boy
told us, “My confession says that I
joined ISIS for sixteen days, but
actually, I didn’t join at all. I said
sixteen days to stop the torture.”
Over the past twenty years, I’ve
interviewed scores of child soldiers
from Uganda, Sri Lanka, Nepal,
Myanmar, and other conflicts. Some
were recruited by force, while others
joined armed groups or forces to
earn money, gain status, to escape
family problems, or because they
were influenced by friends or
relatives. The children I interviewed
in Iraq who admitted joining ISIS
were no different. Several said they
joined ISIS to make money or
because their friends had joined. One
said he joined “to feel brave and
powerful.” Multi-country research by
United Nations University has found
that contrary to conventional
wisdom, ideology is rarely the
primary force motivating children’s
association with violent extremist
groups.
Many of the children I interviewed
in Iraq who joined ISIS now express
regret. “The only reason we joined is
because we were young and didn’t
think,” said a 17-year old boy. “We
were just kids.” Most said that once
they are released from prison, their
only desire was to reunite with their
families, and go back to school or
get jobs.
There’s no doubt that some children
have committed terrible crimes during
armed conflict. If so, they can be
prosecuted under international law,
taking their age into account and
adhering to international standards.
But prosecuting children for any
affiliation with ISIS is not justice, and
will not help Iraq rebuild its society.
On the contrary, it’s likely to only
marginalize these children further,
and even their families, and foster
future grievances.
At the end of the brutal civil war in
Sierra Leone, a special court was
established to prosecute those most
responsible for war crimes during the
conflict. The court’s prosecutor,
David Crane, announced that as a
matter of principle, he would not
prosecute children. “I want to
prosecute the people who forced
thousands of children to commit
unspeakable crimes,” he explained.
UNICEF and child-focused agencies
such as Save the Children or War
Child have years of experience
helping children associated with
armed groups get back into school
and get the rehabilitation help they
need. Iraqi and KRG authorities
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
should work with such agencies to
set up rehabilitation programs that can
help children affiliated with ISIS to
reintegrate back into society.
Whether a child soldier gets sent to
prison or rehabilitation should not be
based on labels or a matter of chance.
The recruitment of children by armed
groups is always illegal. Prosecutions
should focus on the recruiters, not
the children. What the children need
is help rebuilding their lives.
Egypt Should Win an Oscar for
Hypocrisy Over Praise for Rami
Malek
Egyptian authorities were eager to
claim a connection to Egyptian-
American actor Rami Malek after his
best actor win at the Academy
Awards last week. Egypt’s
Immigration Ministry even tweeted
a quote from Malek’s Oscar
acceptance speech.
But Malek’s full speech has not and
could not be reported in Egyptian
media.
“We made a film about a gay man,
an immigrant, who lived his life just
unapologetically himself,” said Malek
of music legend Freddie Mercury of
Queen, whom he portrayed in the
film Bohemian Rhapsody.
One can laud an actor without
embracing the character they embody
– who didn’t love Anthony Hopkins
as Hannibal Lecter? But Bohemian
Rhapsody is not just a film that
happens to be about a gay, or more
likely, bisexual celebrity – Malek’s
performance celebrates Mercury as
unabashedly, flamboyantly queer.
If the Egyptian government and its
apologists want to own a piece of
Malek’s Bohemian Rhapsody
triumph, they should own up to the
24
facts. First, the film was shown in
theatres in Egypt only after several
scenes were cut, two sources in
Cairo told Human Rights Watch. Were
Mercury in Egypt today, he could be
charged under Egypt’s debauchery
law, like 76 people were last year
according to Cairo-based rights
organization Bedayaa. He could
undergo a forced anal examination,
which involves a doctor inserting a
finger into an accused person’s anus
to determine whether they are
“habituated” to anal sex.
Freddie Mercury would not be
allowed an interview on Egyptian
media. The Supreme Council for
Media Regulation issued a 2017
prohibition on “homosexuals”
appearing on any media outlet except
when they “repent” for their sexual
conduct. Media outlets are forbidden
to “celebrate” homosexuality. Just for
interviewing Freddie Mercury – or,
for that matter, Rami Malek speaking
positively about Freddie Mercury – a
host could be sentenced to prison,
as happened to Mohamed Al-Ghaity
last month for interviewing a gay
man.
Rami Malek took home his Oscar
because he gave life, joyfully, to a
queer icon. But Egypt under
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi would
not allow either a Mercury to thrive
on its soil, or Malek to celebrate him.
Transfer of ISIS Suspects,
Including Foreigners, to Iraq
Raises Torture Concerns
Recently, the US-backed Syria
Democratic Forces (SDF)
transferred at least 280 suspected
Islamic State (ISIS) members to Iraq,
following their arrest in Syria.
Though the detainees are
overwhelmingly Iraqi, there were
reportedly at least thirteen French
ISIS suspects among them. Their
transfer to Iraq raises a critical issue:
where exactly should these detainees
be held?
On February 25, Iraqi President
Barham Salih announced that the
Iraqi justice system would be
prosecuting at least thirteen French
ISIS suspects “according to Iraqi
law.” His statement marks the first
transfer of foreign ISIS suspects to
be publicly recognized by the Iraqi
government, and also comes after
many European government have
refused to bring home and prosecute
their nationals who joined ISIS.
Iraq’s judiciary convened on
February 28 to discuss how it would
“examine the cases of terrorism
suspects – both national and foreign
– recently handed over to Baghdad
by the SDF.
Despite Salih’s assurance that Iraq is
acting within the confines of
international law, the record of
previous ISIS trials in Iraq shows that
these transfers may instead violate it,
as detainees risk torture in detention.
Furthermore, detainees are subject to
unfair trials that could still end in the
death penalty. Human Rights Watch
opposes the death penalty in all
countries and under all
circumstances, but in Iraq, where the
trials of ISIS suspects fail to meet
even the most basic markers of due
process, its application is particularly
concerning.
Until now, trials of ISIS suspects in
Baghdad, which have lasted as short
as 5 minutes, have consisted of a
judge interviewing the suspect,
usually relying on a confession, often
coerced, with no effective legal
representation. Authorities have also
made no efforts to solicit victim
participation in the trials, even as
witnesses.
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
It would be galling if France, a
member of the European Union, with
a key foreign policy goal of
eradicating the death penalty globally,
did not speak out publicly even as its
citizens risk prosecution and death in
unfair trials that deny victims their
day in court. Any country allowing
Iraq to receive and prosecute its
citizens should press the government
to take urgent measures to improve
the quality of these prosecutions.
Otherwise, it should take its nationals
home and investigate and, if
appropriate, prosecute them in trials
that meet internationally-accepted fair
trial standards.
Women’s Rights Activists
Charged in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s public prosecution
agency announced on March 1, 2019
that the country’s leading women’s
rights activists who have been
detained following arrests that began
in May 2018 would face charges and
be put on trial, Human Rights Watch
said today. The prosecutors did not
specify the charges.
Human rights organizations began
reporting in November that Saudi
interrogators tortured at least four of
the women, including with electric
shocks and whippings, and had
sexually harassed and assaulted them.
“The Saudi prosecution is bringing
charges against the women’s rights
activists instead of releasing them
unconditionally,” said Michael Page,
deputy Middle East director at Human
Rights Watch. “The Saudi authorities
have done nothing to investigate
serious allegations of torture, and
now, it’s the women’s rights activists,
not any torturers, who face criminal
charges and trials.”
On March 1, Saudi public
prosecution issued a statement
25
referring to people arrested for
undertaking “coordinated and
organized activities… that aim to
undermine the Kingdom’s security,
stability, and national unity” who will
face charges and the prosecution is
in the process of referring them for
trial. There was no mention of any
investigation into the torture
allegations.
The crackdown on women's rights
activists began just weeks ahead of
the much-anticipated lifting of the
driving ban on women on June 24, a
cause for which many of the detained
activists had campaigned. While some
were quickly released, others remain
detained without charge. They
include Loujain al-Hathloul, Aziza al-
Yousef, Eman al-Nafjan, Nouf
Abdelaziz, Mayaa al-Zahrani, Samar
Badawi, Nassima al-Saada, Hatoon
al-Fassi, Shadan al-Onezi, and Amal
al-Harbi, all women’s rights activists,
as well as male supporters of the
movement, including Mohammed
Rabea, a social activist. On February
26, Jared Kushner, United States
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law
and adviser, met with the Saudi king
and Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman in Saudi Arabia.
Support us for the
creation of a just and
equitable society
 Rural Sanitation in India:
S
anitation is one of the biggest
problems in the India. Officially
it has been given some priority,
but for common people it seems
something remote, something that
doesn’t have anything to do with
them. But it affects each and
everybody. Many developmental
programmes focused on livelihoods
and sanitation, awareness, education
and capacity building and the role of
International Finance Institutions in
sanitation. India saw a major fillip in
its sanitation program during
implementation of the sixth Five Year
Plan (1980- 85) and start of internal
decade for drinking water and
sanitation. In 1986 Department of
Rural Development, Government of
India initiated the Central Rural
Sanitation Program (CRSP) for
providing rural sanitation services. In
light of the 9th Plan strategy
Government of India, introduced a
comprehensive sanitation program in
name of Total Sanitation Campaign
(TSC) with objectives of improving
the sanitation coverage on demand
driven principles.
The concept of sanitation includes
personal hygiene, home sanitation,
safe water, and disposal of garbage,
human excreta and
wastewater.Water, food and
sanitation are crucial to life and all
forms of socioeconomic and
environmental development that
needs sustainability. Safe water, food
and sanitation are prerequisite for
sustaining good health, quality of life
and to ensure wealth creation in
developing countries. The capacity of
the national, regional and local levels
to address water, food and sanitation
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
An Area of Concern
for environmental health problems
needs to be strengthened. More
personnel need to be trained in
environmental epidemiology,
environmental health impact
assessment, and environmental
toxicology, economic valuation of
environmental health, waste water
treatment, food product development,
and food safety. The efficient water
purification processes can make the
quality of water superior to the
traditional water systems.
However, the risk of contamination
is possible if the handling practices
are not closely monitored. To ensure
water safety and prevent water-borne
and food-borne diseases, the
government should regulate the
operation of water refilling stations.
Ultimately, there is a need to improve
the microbiological safety of drinking
water to provide a harmonized
framework and scientific basis for
quantitative microbiological risk
assessment of drinking water. Lack
of sanitation is a serious health risk
and an affront to human dignity. It
affects billions of people around the
world, particularly the poor and
disadvantaged.Sanitation is a basic
need and a way to ensure better
health.
The United Nations declared 2008 as
the International Year of Sanitation to
make it a priority for governments,
organizations, civil society and private
partners worldwide. Since its
inception, WHO has defined
26
sanitation as vital to global health.
Today, the Organization continues to
help Member States improve
sanitation status, respond to sanitation
needs during emergencies and
increase policies and actions that
expand access to this basic service.
The government is engaged in
bringing about rapid change and
sustainable development and socio-
economic transformation in rural
India. To match economic liberation
and structural adjustment and to
provide fir safety net, as per one of
the research conducted by Dr. Sumit
Singh (MBBS) on “Rural Hospital
Waste Management” in 2005, for
rural poor, government has allocated
more than 40,000 crores but still the
situation is almost same in most of
the rural areas, there are number of
rural areas in Bihar, Jharkhand, Utter
Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and almost all
states of northeast India, where the
situation is too worse. Rate of
development is almost zero. And still
government is proudly saying that we
are development our standard of living
day by day.
As per a survey data following are
some drastic results which clearly
indicate the governmental neglected
care and devotion for humanity.
1. Lack of sanitation facilities
forces people to defecate in the
open, in rivers or near areas
where children play or food is
prepared. This increases the risk
of transmitting disease. The
Ganges river in India has 1.1
 million litres of raw sewage
dumped into it every minute, a
startling figure considering that
one gram of faeces in untreated
water may contain 10 million
viruses, one million bacteria,
1000 parasite cysts and 100
worm eggs.
2. Examples of diseases transmitted
through water contaminated by
human waste include diarrhoea,
cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and
hepatitis A, 40% death child in
north east India is due to lack of
sanitation in 2009.
3. Health-care facilities need proper
sanitation and must practice
good hygiene to control
infection. In India 5% to 30%
of patients develop one or more
infections during stays in health-
care facilities.
4. Each year more than 10 Crores
people are affected by droughts,
floods, tropical storms,
earthquakes, forest fires, and
other hazards. Sanitation is an
essential component in
emergency response and
rehabilitation efforts to stem the
spread of diseases, rebuild basic
services in communities and help
people return to normal daily
activities. (source:- WHO)
5. Studies show that poor
sanitation is responsible for 1.5
million deaths every year, mostly
among under-five children living
in India.
6. Inadequate sanitation
discourages children to attend
school, particularly girls. Access
to latrines decreases girls’
enrolment in the basic schools
in Bihar.
7. Absence Hygiene education and
promotion of hand washing
tools increse diarrhoea cases by
up to 65%. And death rate by
56% in rural areas.
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
8. In the wake of disasters and in
everyday life, absence of
common public health services
and advise enhance personal
risks.
The nationwide TSC has set
ambitious targets of attaining the
MDG targets by the end of tenth five
year plan itself. This commitment
was made in recognition of the high
costs of inadequate sanitation
including: the death of approximately
a million people a year, most of them
children, from sanitation -related
diseases besides the environmental
damage; and the shame, indignity,
and nuisance caused to millions of
its people by inadequate sanitation.
Still around 60% percent of the total
rural population remains without
access to adequate sanitation. The vast
majority of this un-served population
is poor rural inhabitants. By a simple
estimate, India needs to ensure
additional 106 million people with
household toilets to meet the MDG
target. Though huge progress has
been registered in terms of creating
water and sanitation facilities in
schools, still in large number of schools
the sanitary and hygienic conditions
are appalling, characterized by the
absence of properly functioning water
supply, sanitation, and hand washing
facilities. Hygiene, sanitation, and
27
water in schools can create an enabling
learning environment that contributes
to children’s improved health, welfare,
and learning performance (Shipra
Saxena, SACOSAN II, Sept.2006).
To conclude, the real challenges in
sanitation are to find ways and means
to stimulate and sustain demand (and
thus resources) for sanitation at all
levels, from the private household to
the national budget. Supply-driven
approaches to building more toilets
with household subsidies have often
been ineffective, as they can waste
resources building sanitation facilities
that are unwanted, inappropriate, and
unused. When community members
have committed their own time, effort,
and resources to establishing improved
water and sanitation systems, they are
more committed to maintaining and
sustaining their investments. For basic
sanitation, Government of India will
have to ensure that public funds are
allocated principally to the promotion
and stimulation of demand for
sanitation. Public financing for
sewage, drainage, and wastewater
treatment and garbage is warranted,
as they produce benefits for society
as a whole, as well as better services
to households.
For better livelihood and safe social
growth government should initiate
effectively Process Control Oriented
Management System, can therefore
help water and food authorities to
coordinate the functions of their
various water and food quality
management systems to provide
assurance of safe products. For this
reason, there is an urgent need to
promote and enforce the more recent
environmental laws and technologies
to address access to clean water, safe
foods and sanitation for people’s
preferences at its fullest.
- HT Bureau
 The Myth of Dalit Empowerment:
Dalit Village Votes for the First Time
T
he grand victory for Mayawati
in the recently concluded 15th
UP Assembly elections coin-
cided with an unusual incident in the
history of Indian elections. A Dalit vil-
lage – Naukagaon in Ballia district
voted for the first time since inde-
pendence! All these 60 years, this vil-
lage, like many others, was denied
the right to vote by upper caste mem-
bers of the adjoining villages. This
village is being highlighted, but we
are yet to know as to how many more
such villages out of a total of 638,365
villages (Census 2001) where
marginalized section of society have
been denied voting rights. Now that
the Election Commission (EC) has re-
ceived a pat on the back for its role
in realising the voting rights of the
marginalised section of a whole vil-
lage in UP, the issue has once again
in the limelight as to why Dalits have
been denied the adult franchise.
A newspaper report (Voting rights still
eludes most Dalits, April 2001) states,
“the two rounds of panchayat polls
in Bihar have seen large sections of
Dalits being denied their voting rights.
In Mahnar block of Vaishali district,
a bomb explosion claimed the lives
of four Dalits on Sunday. Reports
suggest that the weaker sections
were denied access to polling booths
in Hajipur, Phulwari, Barh and
Darbhanga among other areas. The
caste which was instrumental in de-
priving them of their voting rights
varied from place to place —
Bhumihars, Rajputs, Brahmins,
Yadavs, Kurmis and Koeris. Com-
plaints of Dalits being intimidated
were widespread. In Ulasnagar
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
panchayat of Makdumpur block in
Jehanabad district, a group of armed
Bhumihars prevented Dalits from en-
tering the polling booths. It was only
after the arrival of the police force
that they were able to vote. In
Churamanchak panchayat of
Gopalganj district, Dalits were threat-
ened four days in advance by motor-
cycle-borne Yadav goons who asked
them not even to look towards the
polling booth on April 15.
An in-depth article on the plight of
Dalits in Punjab (Social boycotts, seg-
regation, Frontline May 01-21, 2004)
points out that no remedial measures
have been suggested by any party to
end such social boycotts. Instead,
Dalit leaders in Sangrur and Bhatinda
28
- M Shamsur Rabb Khan
have been deprived of their voting
rights for speaking out against the dis-
crimination by upper-caste Hindus in
the panchayat elections.
In a paper (Panchayatri Raj Institu-
tions and Human Rights in India,
2002), George Mathew of Institute
of Social Sciences has depicted,
“There has been a sharp increase in
violent manifestations of casteism in
local communities ever since the lo-
cal government system got strength-
ened through the Constitution amend-
ments. When the panchayati raj in-
stitutions have been seen by the up-
per castes as the tool for the lower
castes to assert their right as individu-
als living in a democratic polity the
latter have become targets of caste
based discrimination and violence.
This rising unrest at the local level
has become a common phenom-
enon.”
What could be more shameful for the
largest democracy in the world that
a Dalit village has been denied the
right to vote for a full 60 years! How
it all happened? Since the EC pro-
vided tight security that ensured par-
ticipation of Dlits in the democratic
process. Why did the EC not ensure
voting rights to the inhabitants of this
remote village in all the 14 times that
elections were held in the state?
As per reports, in all the previous
elections – whether for the Lok Sabha
or the state Assembly – the upper
castes from adjoining villages have
forcibly prohibited the poor, illiterate
Dalits from voting, threatening them
with dire consequences if they ven-
ture to exercise their right to fran-
chise. It is sheer luck that the EC
spotted this anomaly this time, issued
special instructions to the district
magistrate and the SP of Ballia to en-
sure that these villagers voted. In ad-
dition, the EC set up a special polling
booth for the villagers of Naukagaon.
On the D-day, before polling began,
troublemakers did come but chased
away by the CRPF jawans. With the
goons out of the way the authorities
went about trying to convince villag-
ers to come out and vote, and the
surprised villagers voted for the first
time!
The EC says that democracy tri-
umphed in Naukagaon village. It did,
certainly, but after 60 years. Despite
constitutional provisions and laws,
like the Scheduled Castes and Sched-
uled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)
Act, 1989, violence and injustices, in-
cluding denial of voting rights against
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
Dalits continue even today, particu-
larly in rural areas. More importantly,
Dalits have been courted by major
political parties as a mere vote-bank,
without giving least thought to their
voting rights, giving least thought to
honour the Act. In fact, it is obvious
that with widespread prejudice within
the bureaucracy and other adminis-
trative hierarchy there is very little will
to actually implement and enforce
these laws. Now time has come to
implement the laws with absolute
strictness, and any official, if fails do
so, must receive administrative pun-
ishment or are prosecuted. And law
enforcing agencies like police that
often side with the upper caste mem-
bers due to their proximity to the
power, political leaders and money
should re-look its approach towards
violation of voting rights. In practice,
sometimes the Dalits are lured by the
upper caste members, who succeed
29
in keeping them away from the poll-
ing booth, and if required use force
to chase them away.
The return of Mayawati promises a
newer dawn for the Dalits, as hopes
are high and expectations are ex-
tremely huge. If India has to con-
tinue on the path of economic
progress, as we have been witness-
ing since the initiation of liberalisa-
tion in early 1990s, social inequality
needs to be wiped away, and a just
social order has to be put in place
whereby the poor, marginalized and
the Dalits would have access to
every rights that the Indian Consti-
tution grants.
(The writer is the Editor, Consumer
Unity & Trust Society (CUTS),
Jaipur. He may be contacted at
samsur.khan@gmail.com)
 Transgender Ruling:
A Silver Lining in Japan’s Supreme Court Judgement
I
n January, Japan’s Supreme Court
ruled that the country’s law re
quiring that transgender people be
sterilized to obtain documents re-
flecting their gender identity was
constitutional. The ruling was a blow
to the plaintiff, a trans man who does
not want sterilization surgery, as well
as all trans people in Japan who view
the requirement as a barrier to ob-
taining equal protection of the law.
But while the Supreme Court said the
sterilization requirement was legally
valid, two justices on the court,
which is not known for being human
rights friendly, also addressed the
serious problems of Japan’s legal
gender recognition law. It is now the
government’s responsibility to amend
the procedure and eliminate its coer-
cive and discriminatory elements.
In Japan, transgender people who
seek a legal gender change must ap-
peal to a family court under the Gen-
der Identity Disorder Special Cases
Act. When the law was enacted in
2004, it represented a watershed
moment in Japan, opening up public
discussion on sexual and gender mi-
nority issues. However, the law’s
procedure is discriminatory, requir-
ing applicants to be single and with-
out children under 20, undergo a psy-
chiatric evaluation to receive a diag-
nosis of “Gender Identity Disorder”
(GID), and be sterilized.
These requirements are regressive
and harmful: They rest on an outdated
and pejorative notion that transgender
identity is a mental health condition,
and require transgender people who
want legal recognition to undergo
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
lengthy, expensive, invasive, and ir-
reversible medical procedures.
Japan requires applicants to “perma-
nently lack functioning gonads” be-
fore they can be legally recognized,
which amounts to forced sterilization,
a practice condemned by health and
human rights bodies across the globe,
including the United Nations World
Health Organization. In 2013, the UN
expert on torture called on govern-
ments to eliminate surgical require-
ments for trans legal recognition. The
diagnosis of “Gender Identity Disor-
der” — much like that of “transsexu-
alism” — is no longer recognized in
either of the two major international
diagnostic manuals, the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual (DSM) and the
International Classifications of Dis-
eases (ICD).
In February 2018, a High Court in
Okayama ruled on the case of
Takakito Usui, a 43-year-old
transgender man who had brought a
case to the court challenging the GID
Special Cases Act on the grounds that
the requirement of gonadal surgery
violated Japan’s constitution. The
court ultimately ruled that “it is not
appropriate for an individual to main-
tain the reproductive capabilities of
their previous gender.” Usui appealed
to the Supreme Court.
The four-judge bench at the Supreme
Court agreed with the lower court’s
ruling, but conceded that “It cannot be
denied that [this law] impinges on free-
dom from invasion of bodily privacy.”
30
Two of the justices recognized the
urgency of Usui’s case, and the need
to reform Japan’s law.
“The suffering that [transgender peo-
ple] face in terms of gender is also
of concern to society that is supposed
to embrace diversity in gender iden-
tity,” the two justices wrote in their
concurring opinion. They noted that
“because gender is treated as one of
the attributes of an individual in so-
cial life and in personal relationships,
it can be said that gender is insepara-
ble from the existence as a person of
an individual.” They concluded that
for transgender people, being “able
to receive rulings of changes in rec-
ognition of gender status… is an im-
portant, perhaps even urgent, legal
benefit.”
So while the Supreme Court did not
invalidate the law — the court has
only ruled 10 laws unconstitutional
since World War II — their judgment
offers a significant critique.
It is now up to the Justice Ministry
to review and revise the law in ac-
cordance with Japan’s human rights
obligations, the consensus of the in-
ternational medical community, and
the wishes of many trans people in
Japan.
The undeniable doubts that the court
notes can be seen in Japan’s emer-
gence as a global leader on LGBT
rights in recent years. Forcing peo-
ple to undergo unwanted surgeries to
obtain documentation is contrary
both to Japan’s human rights obliga-
tions and its growing reputation as a
champion of LGBT rights.
 Below Poverty Line:
Livelihood Support for All
T
o obviate the existing problems
of the TPDS, it is proposed
that minimum requirement of
essential commodities, which can
support livelihood of an ordinary
person, should be provided to every
citizen of the country through the
NID smart-cards. Total expenses for
supply of such articles are estimated
below:
1. Say, 200 grams of food-grains
(wheat or other cereals), like, rice,
maize, jowar, bajra, etc., of
equivalent monetary value, per
person per day, should be
provided to all the people of the
country. It means that food-grains
entitlement for every person will
be 6.0 kg per month or 72 kg per
person per annum, which is nearly
around the existing quota of 7.0
kg per person per month in vogue
for all the three main categories
of people of the country as
shown on page 37 in the table
“Computation of Net Subsidy Per
Person”. The Economic Survey
for the year 2007-08 stated that
the net availability of cereals per
person per day in the country was
412 grams, thus 200 gram cereals
may not be sufficient for fully
sufficing requirements of the
people but still it can meet
requirements of food-grains
(cereals) of the people reasonably,
thus eliminating the fear of
starvation and hunger for one and
all for ever.
Further, people can supplement
their remaining requirements of
food-grains through purchase
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
from the open market. It has been
found out that sometimes people
of the BPL category do not earn
enough which could enable them
even to lift their monthly quota of
food-grains through the TPDS
ration-shops. Thus, severely
marginal people of the country will
be immensely benefitted from the
free of cost availability of food-
grains to all.
Considering the total population of
the country to be 1.1 billions, about
79.2 million tons of cereals would
be needed per annum to supply
200 grams of cereals per person
per day. As per the Economic
Survey 2007-08, expected gross
production of cereals in the year
2007-08, should be 205 million
tons. If we further set aside 12.5%
from the gross production for
making provision for seeds, animal
feed requirements, and wastage,
we are left with net production of
179.4 million tons of cereals in the
country.
Therefore, in view of the
sufficient availability of food-
grains in the country, 79.2 million
tons of cereals, as computed
above for delivery to the people,
will be easily available for
distribution. And in case of its
short-fall due to any unforeseen
circumstances, the same can be
imported. Further, there would be
many categories of people, which
might not be interested in lifting
31
- Dr. Prem Kumar Sinha
their quota of cereals through the
government sponsored network,
like, (a) farmers who themselves
produce cereals, (b) upper
income group people, who would
like to purchase premium quality
of cereals through open-market
besides being too busy to spend
their time in getting their quota of
food-grains through the NID
smart-cards, which would require
bio-metric identification, (c)
people who consume less cereals
owing to their eating habits, etc.
Thus, total quantity of cereals
which will eventually get
distributed, may be somewhat
lower than the above computed
upper limit of 79.2 million tons.
Considering existing economic
cost to the GOI for wheat as
Rs.13.713 per kg and stipulated
annual quota of 72 kg of food-
grains, for every individual, the
GOI will have to incur a total cost
of Rs.987/- or say Rs.990 per
person per annum to supply 200
gram cereals per person per day.
2. Pulses, too, have a significant
nutritional value for balanced
growth of human beings.
Presently, pulses are not being
distributed through the TPDS of
the GOI. It is proposed that pulses
should also be made available to
the people through the
government sponsored
distribution network. As per the
Economic Survey (2007-08), per
capita per day availability of
pulses in the year 2005-06 was
32.5 grams, whereas net
availability of pulses in the entire

country was 13.3 million tons. In
view of the above, say, 0.5 kg per
person per month or 6 kg per
person per annum (that is about
17 grams per person per day)
Gram or any other pulse of
equivalent monetary value, like,
Arhar, Moong, Urad, Masur, etc.,
should be sanctioned for free
distribution among all the people.
It will entail annual distribution of
about 6.6 million tons of pulses
for 1.1 billion people, which
should be easily available to the
GOI in view of the net availability
of 13.3 million tons as pointed out
above. Also, many people may not
like to lift their quota of pulses
through the government
sponsored distribution channel, as
already explained above, thus the
total quantity of pulses which will
be eventually required for public
distribution will be less than the
above projected upper limit of 6.6
million tons of pulses.
Considering the economic cost of
say Rs.2500/- per quintal of gram
in view of the prevailing market
prices, though minimum support
price of gram as fixed by the GOI
for the year 2007-08 is Rs.1600/
- per quintal (Source: Economic
Survey 2007-08), the GOI will
have to incur a total cost of
Rs.150/- per person per annum
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
on account of supply of 6 kg of
pulses per person per annum.
3. Another significant item which is
essential for the preparation of
wholesome meal is edible oil
though it does not come under the
purview of the TPDS. In India,
in the year 2002-03, per person
per annum availability of edible oil
and vanaspati ghee (hydrogenated
vegetable oil) was 7.2 kg (approx.
8 litres) and 1.4 kg (approx. 1.5
litres), respectively (Source:
Economic Survey 2007-08, it does
not mention figures for later years
for this head).
In view of the above, say, 250 ml
of edible oil per month, i.e., 3
litres per annum can be made
available to every citizen. Now,
assuming economic cost of
around Rs.60/- per litre for edible
32
oils, the GOI will have to incur a
total cost of Rs.180/- per person
per annum for providing 3 litres
edible oil free of cost.
4. The GOI remains worried that due
to the low intake of iodised salt, a
lot of people remain at high risk
of brain damage due to iodine
deficiency. It is estimated that in
India, only 50 percent of the
households consume adequately
iodised salt, while another 30
percent of the households
consume inadequately iodised salt,
and the remaining find themselves
deprived from iodised salt. The
GOI has targeted to ensure access
of iodised salt to all the citizens
by the year 2012. To achieve this
objective, it is proposed that a
pack of 250 gram salt enriched
with iodine can also be supplied
per person per month. Its total
cost per person per annum will
be around Rs.10/- only, thus the
total outgo on this head will be
around Rs.11 billion per annum.
5. Support of another Rs.20/- per
person per month can be given
for fuel expenses, say, in the form
of 0.5 litre kerosene oil, since it
is extensively used for lighting
purposes in far flung rural areas
where electric power
connectivity has not reached,
yet. Surplus kerosene can also be
 used by these people as a fuel, if
required.
However, those who do not need
kerosene can be supplied some
other commodity in lieu thereof.
Thus, the GOI will have to incur
further expenses of Rs.240/- per
person per annum for the above
suggested provision for fuel.
6. I suppose, if we are able to meet
out the minimum requirement of
cloth of the people, too, it will
more or less complete the entire
range of the most essential basic
commodities which are required
by the human beings to carry on
with their lives. For meeting the
requirements of cloth, it is
proposed that the following
support can be provided for one
and all:
(a) One saree/five meter cloth,
say, worth Rs.100/- per annum.
(b) One mosquito net or light
Vol. XVI No. 3 March 2019
blanket as per the requirements of
the people, say, worth Rs.100/-
per annum.
Thus, if we could provide a total
support of Rs.200/- per person
per annum for the clothing
requirements of the people, it will
at least cover bodies of one and
all. It will also spare the country
from the ignominy of such cases
where it was reported in media
sometime earlier that more than
one female of a household could
not step out of their house/hut
together for meeting the media
persons because these poor
women had only one saree among
them, which they were sharing
turn by turn.
Total Expenses on Livelihood
Support to All
It we add up expenditure on the
aforesaid five counts, we find that a
total sum of Rs.1770/-
33
(990+150+180+10 +240+200) will
be required per person per annum,
which can sustain survival of every
vulnerable citizen of the country
without explicit dependence on any
other support and thus will save them
from cruel exploitation at the hands
of the rogue and the powerful in the
country. If we consider total
population of the country as 1.1
billions, the aforesaid livelihood
support to every citizen will entail an
expenditure of Rs.1947 billion per
year to the GOI, which can
effectively eradicate abject hunger
and poverty from the life of every
individual of this country for ever.
Moreover, eradication of hunger and
poverty is also the first among the
United Nations Millennium
Development Goals.
- The author is working as the
Assistant Registrar (Academic) at
Dayalbagh Educational Institute,
Agra.
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