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HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION

Dr. Vibhuti Patel, Director, PGSR

Prof. & HOD, University Department of Economics,
SNDT Women’s University, Smt. Nathibai Thakersey Road,
Chuchgate, Mumbai-400020
Phone-26770227®, 22052970 Mobile-9321040048, E mail:vibhuti.np@gmail.com

"Everyone has the right to education... Education shall be directed to

the full development of human personality and to the strengthening of
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.” The United
Nations

Need for human rights education was felt for the first time in the post-
emergency period by the Indian intelligentsia which faced witch-
hunting during the emergency rule. Those who opposed the
emergency rule had given the slogan of Democracy versus
Dictatorship. In response, the supporters of Emergency gave a slogan
of Discipline versus Democracy. Betrayal of the large majority of the
educated and verbally articulate section of Indian society which
opened its mouth only to eat and to yawn (The most famous slogan
during 19 months of emergency rule during 1975-1976, Hum Hamara
Munh sirf Khane ke liye aur ubasi leneke liye Kholate hai. ) during the
emergency rule was shocking.

The post-emergency period was full of narratives of torture of political

prisoners. The last quarter of the 20th century opened the vistas of
human rights concerns as a result of interdisciplinary dialogues among
the academicians, journalists, film-makers, feminists, judiciary, prison
authorities and progressive section of the police and inputs provided
by the social movements.

What is Human Rights Education?

“The UN shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among

all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of
the United Nations for the maintenance of peace." (art.26 - Universal
Declaration of Human Rights)

Included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Art. 26.2),

reiterated in other major international instruments, human rights
education is an integral part of the right to education and has gained,
of late, larger recognition as a human right in itself. The knowledge of
the rights and freedoms, of oneself as much as of the others, is
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considered as a fundamental tool to guarantee the respect of all rights

for each and every person. The concept underpinning human rights
education is that education should not only aim at forming trained,
professional workers, but also at contributing to the development of
individuals who possess the skills to interact in a society. Human rights
education, human rights into education aim at providing pupils and
students with the abilities to accompany and produce societal
changes. Education is seen as a way to empower people, improve their
quality of life and increase their capacity to participate in the decision-
making processes leading to social, cultural and economic policies.

Human rights education cannot be reduced to the simple introduction

of human rights content in already overburdened curricula. It brings
about a profound reform of education, which touches upon curriculum
in-service and pre-service training, textbooks, methodology, classroom
management, and the organisation of the education system at all
levels.

Human rights education implies the learning and practice of human

rights. A holistic approach to human rights education means that
human rights are implemented at all levels of the education system,
and that they are taught through both content transmission and
experiences.

Therefore, human rights education should not only be theoretical but

should also provide opportunities for young people to develop and
practice the skills to respect human rights and citizenship through
“school life”, i.e. all aspects of school as a living, social environment
with its collective rules, interpersonal conflicts, time and opportunities
for co-operation, and through opportunities for spontaneous initiatives
by the pupils outside the actual teaching activities.

Philosophical Aspects

Human rights education should be imparted keeping in mind rainbow

politics and multi-cultural ethos. Unlearning casteism, racism and
religious and ethnic chauvinism can be done only by supplementing
lecture method of teaching with direct exposure to realities of field
situations. Liberating aspects of each and every political philosophy,
-ism and theology have place in the human rights discourse.

Operational Issues

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Curriculum Development of human rights courses need indigenous

base. Valuable literature from regional languages should be part of the
Syllabi. There is a need for change in the approach of the early
childhood education; authoritarian style of teaching breeds a narrow
and sectarian outlook towards life situations. Curriculum should make
conscious effort to inculcate healthy curiosity towards the unknown,
instead of fear of the unknown. Text books for human rights courses
should include contributions of writers from all ideological
backgrounds. Knowledge and sensitivity gap between the English
-speaking and non-English speaking teachers and students can be
bridged only by multilingual teaching and learning. Learning a new
language itself is an act of democratisation of one's mind. There is a
need to go beyond a number game and treat each and every human
being as an individual in his or her right.

Therapeutic Inputs Evolved by the Social Movements

My first hand experiences of participation in the programmes of

chauvinist and sectarian groups in different parts of the country have
taught me various powerful methods of teaching and learning which
can be used for human rights education. Creative expressions (singing
sessions, paintings, storytelling, consciousness raising, Role-play and
role reversal) based on lives in the refugee camps, refuge homes,
prisons and mental asylum, cancer hospitals can be effective tools to
supplement behavioural science techniques to get rid of the victim
-tormentor relationship.

Education about Right to Information:

While instances of corruption and human rights abuse can be used to

put some sacred symbols of state militarism in the dock, the public has
no right to information that will question their very rationale. We can
ask for casualty figures in a nuclear accident,
but not for the facts that are supposed to necessitate a mad rush down
the nuclear path.

On October 12 there came into being a new law, of which Indians can
be proud. The Right to Information Act, 2005, was the result of long
years of struggle by the country's marginalised community of human
rights activists. Their victory, however, remains partial, with a vital
area of legitimate popular concern still left uncovered by the law.
The new law represents a great leap, by the standards of a developing
country, over the grossly inadequate provisions on the statute book

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thus far. It can make the right more real and bring it closer to the
common people, if implemented and acted upon.

The Act covers a wide range of information defined as "any material in

any form including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions,
advices, press releases, circulars, orders, log-books, contracts, reports,
papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and
information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a
public authority under any other law for the time being in force."

Under the new law, the information-seeking citizen is not required to

furnish her/his reasons as she/he was under the old provisions. No
more can the petty mandarins reject such applications on the ground
that the reasons cited are "unacceptable". It has been made clear that
citizens below the "poverty line" need not pay the fees prescribed for
other information-seekers. What deserves note, however, is what
information cannot be sought and what agencies have been put safely
outside public scrutiny of this kind. The public has explicitly been
denied the right to information, "disclosure of which would prejudicially
affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic,
scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with a foreign
State or lead to incitement of an offence."

Constitutional reasons might be cited for the provision that the law
covers all states except Jammu and Kashmir. The clauses on exclusion,
however, leave little doubt about a political-ideological outlook that
can severely restrict the right to information, especially in an area that
the law does not mention at all. Among the organisations excluded
from the purview of the Act are the national security agencies and
most of the paramilitary forces. These include: the Special Frontier
Force (SFF), the Border Security Force (BSF),
the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Assam Rifles (AR).
Two of these, the BSF and the AR, have been involved in serious
security and human rights issues in Jammu and Kashmir and the north-
eastern state of Manipur, respectively.

PRISON REFORMS for Socially Wronged Human Beings

Present prison rules for inmates (whether they are criminals or victims)
infantalise the prisoners because there is no input for capacity building
and emotional solace. The UN approach which involves, only regular
income and food security turn the prisoners into bullies. These

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parasites don't make any productive contribution for area development

and utilise their energy for time-pass. Dissociating prisoners from
their family members make them self-centered, ego-centric and devoid
of a quality of nurturance or long-lasting human-bond. The most
disastrous experience of human rights education is the induction of
young, inexperienced graduates and post-graduates without popular
mandate as decision-makers. Catch them young policy turns, most of
them, in due course, the silent workers of the bullies in the office or
the field. They, in turn, perpetuate power-relations by ill-treating the
beneficiaries and children. There is a need to break this pyramid of
power-relations. Moreover, the use of professionals from minority
community for baby-sitting and ghost-writing is depriving valuable
leadership for community development projects - housing, educational
institutions, hospitals, recreation centers, vocational training institutes,
employment guidance, public speaking, library development, and
spiritual solace. Crisis of leadership as a result of the annihilation of
professionals with critical faculty by the sectarian forces has created
total vacuum. Without a visionary, it is impossible to articulate the
needs and aspirations of the minority community. To stop stage-
managed programmes and get the youth motivated, it is important to
groom multifaceted, intellectually versatile professionals rooted in the
soil. Their knowledge of human rights should be used for area
development.

Publications of Bombay based organisations such as CEHAT, India

Centre for Human Rights and Law, Human Rights and Law Network,
Lawyers Collective and Justice and Peace Commission provide practical
guidelines to deal with human rights concerns. There is dearth of such
publications in the regional languages. The University Grants
Commission and The Indian Council of Social science Research should
commission curriculum for human rights applicable to all universities.
Text books on the subject in regional languages are urgently needed.

The political Science department of University of Mumbai has started

Diploma in human rights. “Human Rights” as an optional paper is
included in the foundation course for undergraduate students. As per
the directive of Supreme Court in response to Vishakha v.s the state of
Rajasthan Case of gang rape of a government employee on duty, the
University of Mumbai has instituted Women Development Cell for
women teachers, students and staff with twin objectives of prevention
of sexual harassment and promotion of women’s human rights.

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Service books of all educational institutions in the public and private

sectors betray the colonial mindset and perpetuate coolie- master
relations in its day-to-day functioning. Human rights education should
empower us to come up with up-to-date code-of -conduct for each and
every profession. Non-violent and polite means of assertion of human
rights should be included in the human resource development (HRD)
programmes.

The United Nations Initiative for Human Rights Education

The rise of militarism, the challenges of global economic and political dominance and the
increase in ethnic and religious conflicts have resulted in human rights violations across
the world. The United National General Assembly declaration of the Decade for Human
Rights Education is a call for upholding the dignity and equality of every human person.
Human rights education builds on solidarities and social networking
among participants in the global movement for the promotion and
protection of human rights. It focuses on respect for human dignity and
the principles of democracy. The aim is to foster a climate of justice
and peace through an understanding of human rights and related
issues.

In an effort to pursue the goals set out in the UN declaration on human

rights education, the International Human Rights Education Consortium
(IHREC), and Justice and Peace Commission (JPC), Mumbai will be
conducting a three-day residential workshop on “Rule of Law in a
Global Society” in Mumbai, February 2007. The focus is on human
rights education and training for educators, lawyers, activists and other
interested people.

All Governments have a duty under international human rights law to

teach regularly about human rights and to provide a learning
environment where human rights are respected and acknowledged.

Amnesty International is supporting the new United Nations World

Programme for Human Rights Education which was launched at the
United Nations General Assembly on 10th December 2004. SNDT
Women’s University is offering a certificate course devised by
Commonwealth Youth Programme.

Across the world Amnesty International supporters will be taking

action, lobbying their governments and asking that human rights
education become part of the curriculum in their countries or that it is
developed further and given more focus and more resources.

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We are also asking people to join our action to make human rights
education part of everyday life in schools across the world.

Efforts of University Grants Commission to promote HRE:

In 1985, the UGC prepared a blueprint for promotion of Human Rights

teaching and research at all levels of education. This blueprint
contained proposals for restructuring of existing syllabi, and
introduction of new courses and/ or foundation courses in Human
Rights. This was for students of all faculties at the under-graduate,
graduate and post-graduate levels for both professional and non-
professional education. The UGC has been promoting and supporting
Human Rights and Duties Education in universities and colleges since
the IX Plan and the UGC would continue to strengthen this programme
in the X Plan, also.

The National Policy on Education has laid considerable emphasis on

Value Education by highlighting the need to make education a forceful
tool for cultivation of social and moral values. The policy has stated
that in our culturally plural society education should foster universal
and eternal values oriented towards the unity and integration of our
people.

Some praise-worthy examples of integrating human rights

discourse into the mainstream: Tata Institute of Social Sciences,
Nirmala Niketan, sociology, political science and psychology
departments of Bombay University and Foundation course of SNDT
Women's University have introduced compulsory papers on human
rights. Human rights training modules prepared by Marita Ishwaran
encompassing the rights of Dalits, tribals, workers, domestic workers
have creatively dealt with the problems and are introduced in High-
school Teachers' Training Programmes. Delhi is much ahead in this
direction. Special efforts need to be made to introduce human rights
themes in the faculties of science, technology, medicine, architect,
engineering and religious studies. It becomes really difficult to teach in
these faculties when brilliant, verbally aggressive and academically
excellent students and teachers support selective abortion of female
foetutes, female circumcision, hymanoplasty, widow burning, branding,
honour killing, harmful clinical trials, use of women's (mostly
adolescent girls') bodies as spare-parts for sale in the print as well as
the audio-visual media, temple- prostitution so on and so forth...........
The list is unending, in the name of either CHOICE or culture. In this
era of globalisation, universally applicable human rights are a must for

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global governance with democratic essence. Last but not the least, we
should always remember that secular democracy with distributive
justice and human rights are two sides of the same coin. For past 8
years, Mumbai Initiative for Human Rights Education (MIHRE) has been
organizing workshops for school and college teachers and MIHRE has
also brought out educational material.

Conclusion

In the present times of unprecedented changes dislocating traditional

values and creating conflict between traditional and new values; there
is a universal concern in respect of erosion of values, promoting values
and culture which fit in with the needs of the modern times. This
concern is universal but is more acute for our country which has led its
own distinct culture, world view and a living-value tradition. The
process of developing in to a modern nation, with new social, political
and economic institutions, and with emphasis on science and
technology, has thrown up many new challenges in all areas of our
national life. It is important that we examine these challenges and
prepare our youth to face and resolve them through human rights
education.

References:

Saumya Uma. Unpackaging Human Rights: Concepts, Campaigns & Concerns. Mumbai:
Women's Research & Action Group (WRAG) and Documentation Research and Training
Centre (DRTC), 2009. Available at: http://works.bepress.com/saumyauma/16
Upendra Baxi, The Future of Human Rights (New Delhi: Oxford
University Press,
2002