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(A Monthly Publication of Manavadhikar Samajik Manch)

Volume XV No. 11 November 2018
 Advisors: Bejon Mishra
President :Dr. A. Shanker Manoj Kar
Editor :Dr. Girija B. Nanda Prof. Sanjay Chandwani
Managing Editor :Dr. Srimoy Patra
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(A Monthly Publication of Manavadhikar Samajik Manch)

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 In this issue...
World Toilet Day:: 5
When Nature Calls

World Diabetes Day: 8

Provide Access to Treatment and Health-care Education

International Day for Tolerance: 10

Creators for Change

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 12

Sustainability and Age Inclusiveness in the Urban Environment

Universal Children's Day: 14

Children are taking over and turning the world blue

National News 15

News from the National Human Rights Commission 17

International News 21

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: 24

Swachh Bharat Should Also Eliminate Caste Discrimination

Feminist Movement and Human Rights 26

Status of Women in India

Threat to Life: 28
Dangerous Levels of Toxins in Toys

Curing the Ills of India: 31

Discretion as a Gateway to Corruption
 From the President’s Desk …
Sanitation is a global development priority. This is why the United Nations General Assembly in 2013
designated 19 November as World Toilet Day. This day had previously been marked by international
and civil society organizations all over the world but was not formally recognized as an official UN
day until 2013. World Toilet Day is coordinated by UN-Water in collaboration with Governments and
relevant stakeholders.

About 900 million people worldwide have no toilet and practice open defecation instead. Of those,
678 million live in just seven countries. India has the highest number of people (about 525 million)
practicing open defecation. Having to defecate in the open is especially difficult for women and girls.
Women tend to resort to the cover of darkness to give them more privacy, but then risk being
attacked when alone at night.

It has been estimated that 58% of all cases of diarrhea worldwide in 2015 were caused by unsafe
water, poor sanitation and poor hygiene practices, such as inadequate handwashing. This resulted in
half a million children under the age of five dying from diarrhea per year. Providing sanitation has been
estimated to lower the odds of children suffering diarrhea by 7–17%, and under-five mortality by 5–
20%.

Access to a safe functioning toilet has a positive impact on public health, human dignity, and personal
safety, especially for women. Sanitation systems that do not safely treat excreta allow the spread of
disease. Serious soil-transmitted diseases and waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, typhoid,
dysentery and schistosomiasis can result.

Therefore, the call of the hour is to come together and reaffirm our commitment towards improving
sanitation facilities across our nation. Individuals and organisations working towards building more
toilets in various parts of India should be complimented. Their invaluable contribution adds solid
momentum to Swachh Bharat Mission.

We must build toilets and sanitation systems that work in harmony with ecosystems. World Toilet
Day is about nature-based solutions to our sanitation needs.

When nature calls we have to listen and act.

Dr. A. Shanker

Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018 4

 World Toilet Day:
The Sanitation Crisis
Toilets save lives, because human
waste spreads killer diseases. World
Toilet Day is about inspiring action
to tackle the global sanitation crisis.
The world is not on track to reach
Sustainable Development Goal 6
(SDG 6): to ensure availability and
sustainable management of
sanitation and water for all by 2030.
Today, 4.5 billion live without a safe
toilet and 892 million people still
practise open defecation.
The impact of exposure to human
faeces on this scale has a devastating
impact upon public health, living and
working conditions, nutrition,
education and economic
productivity across the world.
SDG 6 aims to ensure that everyone
has a safe toilet and that no-one
practises open defecation by 2030.
Failure to achieve this goal risks the
entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development.
Background
In a bid to help break taboos around
toilets and make sanitation for all a
global development priority, the
United Nations General Assembly
designated 19 November as World
Toilet Day.
The resolution declaring the Day titled
"Sanitation for All" (A/RES/67/291)
was adopted on 24 July, 2013, and
urged UN Member States and
relevant stakeholders to encourage
behavioural change and the
implementation of policies to increase
access to sanitation among the poor,
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
When Nature Calls
along with a call to end the practice World Toilet Day has previously been
of open-air defecation, which it marked by international and civil
deemed extremely harmful to public society organizations all over the
health. Sanitation is also a question world. However, it was not formally
of basic dignity and women safety, recognized as an official UN day until
who should not risk being victims of 2013.
rape and abuse because of lack of
access to a toilet that offers privacy. 2018 Theme: When Nature Calls
This year’s campaign is based on the
following narrative: “When nature
calls, we need a toilet. But, billions
of people don’t have one. This means
The resolution also recognizes the role human faeces, on a massive scale,
that civil society and non- are not being captured or treated –
governmental organizations play in contaminating the water and soil that
raising awareness of this issue. It sustain human life. We are turning our
also calls on countries to approach environment into an open sewer. We
sanitation in a much broader context must build toilets and sanitation
that includes hygiene promotion, the systems that work in harmony with
provision of basic sanitation services, ecosystems.”
and sewerage and wastewater
treatment and reuse in the context of Nature-based Sanitation Solutions
integrated water management. Nature-based sanitation solutions
Top Facts
The global sanitation crisis is reflected in the following facts, according
to reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF):
- Around 60% of the global population – 4.5 billion people – either have
no toilet at home or one that doesn't safely manage excreta.
- 862 million people worldwide still practise open defecation – this
means human faeces, on a massive scale, is not being captured or
treated.
- 1.8 billion people use an unimproved source of drinking water with
no protection against contamination from faeces.
- One third of schools worldwide do not provide any toilet facilities – a
particular problem for girls during menstruation.
- 900 million schoolchildren across the world have no handwashing
facilities – a critical barrier in the spread of deadly diseases.
- Globally, 80% of the wastewater generated by society flows back
into the ecosystem without being treated or reused.
5

(NBS) harness the power of
ecosystems to help treat human waste
before it returns to the environment.
Most NBS essentially involve the
protection and management of
vegetation, soils and/or wetlands,
including rivers and lakes.
For instance:
- Composting latrines that capture
and treat human waste on site,
producing a free supply of
fertiliser to help grow crops.
- Human-made wetlands and reed-
beds filter wastewater before it
is released back into water
courses.
Fact Sheet
The world is not on track to reach
Sustainable Development Goal 6
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
(SDG 6): to ensure availability and
sustainable management of sanitation
and water for all by 2030.
Today, 4.5 billion live without a safe
toilet and 892 million people still
practise open defecation.
The impact of exposure to human
faeces on this scale has a devastating
impact upon public health, living and
working conditions, nutrition,
education and economic productivity
across the world.
SDG 6 aims to ensure that everyone
has a safe toilet and that no-one
practises open defecation by 2030.
Failure to achieve this goal risks the
entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development.
6
When nature calls, we need a toilet.
But, billions of people don’t have one.
This means human faeces, on a
massive scale, is not being captured
or treated.
We are turning our environment into
an open sewer. We must build toilets
and sanitation systems that work in
harmony with ecosystems. When
nature calls, we have to listen and act.
Case Studies
India: Toilets for health and safety
Worldwide, around 892 million
people practise open defecation:
going to the toilet in the streets, fields
and bushes near their homes.
More than half of this group –
approximately 520,000,000 people –
live in India, around 40% of the
national population. 10 The problems
generated by this practice go beyond
the issues of disease and indignity.
Girls and women
living in areas where open defecation
is widespread often wait until the
cover of darkness to venture outside
to relieve themselves.
A lack of a safe toilet close to home
can result in attack, rape and, as
covered in recent well-publicised
media reports from Uttar Pradesh,
murder.
The Government’s Clean India
Mission aims to construct 90 million
household and community toilets in
rural India and eliminate open
defecation across the
country by 2019 11 – playing a major
role in helping to achieve SDG 6 at
both the national and global level, and
keeping girls and women safe.
The challenge has inspired many
organisations to develop sustainable
and affordable sanitation models such
as ‘composting latrines’ that

biodegrade human waste ready to be
used as a fertiliser for crops. 12 Many
models are designed to be built and
maintained by communities
themselves, helping to foster a sense
of ownership, which is crucial in
changing the often ingrained practice
of open defecation.
Nigeria: community-led total
sanitation In Warji, Bauchi state,
Nigeria, the local government
authority (LGA) is helping
communities to learn about the
effects of open defecation on their
health and to be therefore inspired to
build latrines and eradicate open
defecation.
In a ‘community-led total
sanitation’ approach, people are
sensitised to issues such as the
transmission of pathogens from
exposed human and animal faeces
back into the food chain. Citizens
become aware of the link between
deadly disease outbreaks and open
defecation due to the lack of
latrines.
Once a community has improved its
sanitation situation and demonstrated
sustained, universal usage of the
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
constructed wetlands can still have
relatively high levels of nitrogen and
phosphorus, making it a highly
suitable source of water for irrigation.
Constructed wetlands are also among
the world’s most productive
ecosystems, capable of producing
relatively large quantities of biomass.
This biomass can be harvested at
regular intervals to be used as biofuel.
It is estimated that about 12% of the
cooking fuel needs of a 60-person
village in sub-Saharan Africa can be
supplied from the biomass of a
constructed wetland (Avellán et al.,
2017), thereby reducing reliance on
wood fuels.
facilities, the LGA awards the village
‘open defecation-free’ (ODF) status.
Examples of human-made
This then has a ‘ripple effect’ with
wetlands:
neighbouring settlements, who see
In Egypt, a constructed wetlands
the health benefits and associated
pilot project in Bilbeis, 55 km north
prestige and are encouraged to
of Cairo, resulted in a secondary-level
emulate the effort to become an ODF
treated wastewater effluent, which
community.
was used to irrigate Eucalyptus trees
for the manufacture of packaging
Warji LGA is one of 12 LGAs
boxes. Hence, the project has
supported by UNICEF to implement
contributed to water conservation and
a UK Aid-funded sanitation, hygiene
the preservation of groundwater
and water project and overall has
resources. The Litani River in
reached over 2 million people in four
Lebanon is highly polluted due to the
states.
discharge of untreated agricultural,
industrial and domestic wastewater.
The multifunctionality of human-
Wastewater treatment plants in the
made wetlands
region are either non-functional or
Domestic wastewater is made up of
only partially in operation. This has
three basic components: water (e.g.
resulted in soaring concentrations of
urine and greywater), carbon and
nutrients and pathogens in the river.
nutrients (e.g. bodily and food
A constructed wetland system has
waste). Safely treated and/or
been designed to treat water flows in
extracted, these are useful
the Litani River and has removed
components for various purposes
between 30% and 90% of the
such as growing food or producing
pollutant mass, resulting in wetland
bio-energy (WWAP, 2017).
effluent quality that falls within the
range permitted by international
Human-made wetlands are intended
environmental standards. The treated
to reduce organic matter and
water effluents are directed through
pathogens in wastewater to a
a discharge channel back to the Litani
minimum, helping to make discharge
River. (Difaf – Environmental
safer. The effluent leaving
Consultant, supported by USAID)
7
 World Diabetes Day:
Provide Access to Treatment and Health-care Education
G
lobally, an estimated 422
million adults were living
with diabetes in 2014,
compared to 108 million in 1980.
The global prevalence of diabetes
has nearly doubled since 1980,
rising from 4.7% to 8.5% in the
adult population. This reflects an
increase in associated risk factors
such as being overweight or obese.
Over the past decade, diabetes
prevalence has risen faster in low
and middle-income countries than
in high-income countries.
In 2007 General Assembly adopted
resolution A/RES/61/225 designating
14 November as World Diabetes Day.
The document recognized “the urgent
need to pursue multilateral efforts to
promote and improve human health,
and provide access to treatment and
health-care education.”
The resolution also encouraged
Member States to develop national
policies for the prevention, treatment
and care of diabetes in line with the
sustainable development of their
health-care systems.
Background
Diabetes is a chronic disease, which
occurs when the pancreas does not
produce enough insulin, or when the
body cannot effectively use the
insulin it produces. This leads to an
increased concentration of glucose in
the blood (hyperglycaemia).
Type 1 diabetes (previously known
as insulin-dependent or childhood-
onset diabetes) is characterized by a
lack of insulin production.
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
Type 2 diabetes (formerly called non-
insulin-dependent or adult-onset
diabetes) is caused by the body’s
ineffective use of insulin. It often
results from excess body weight and
physical inactivity.
Gestational diabetes is
hyperglycaemia that is first
recognized during pregnancy.
Key facts
- The number of people with
diabetes has risen from 108 million
in 1980 to 422 million in 2014.
- The global prevalence of diabetes*
among adults over 18 years of age
has risen from 4.7% in 1980 to
8.5% in 2014 (1).
- Diabetes prevalence has been
rising more rapidly in middle- and
low-income countries.
- Diabetes is a major cause of
blindness, kidney failure, heart
attacks, stroke and lower limb
amputation.
- In 2016, an estimated 1.6 million
deaths were directly caused by
diabetes. Another 2.2 million
deaths were attributable to high
blood glucose in 2012**.
- Almost half of all deaths
attributable to high blood glucose
occur before the age of 70 years.
WHO estimates that diabetes was
the seventh leading cause of death
in 2016.
- Healthy diet, regular physical
activity, maintaining a normal
body weight and avoiding tobacco
8
use are ways to prevent or delay
the onset of type 2 diabetes.
- Diabetes can be treated and its
consequences avoided or delayed
with diet, physical activity,
medication and regular screening
and treatment for complications
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic disease that
occurs either when the pancreas does
not produce enough insulin or when
the body cannot effectively use the
insulin it produces. Insulin is a
hormone that regulates blood sugar.
Hyperglycaemia, or raised blood
sugar, is a common effect of
uncontrolled diabetes and over time
leads to serious damage to many of
the body's systems, especially the
nerves and blood vessels.
In 2014, 8.5% of adults aged 18 years
and older had diabetes. In 2016,
diabetes was the direct cause of 1.6
million deaths and in 2012 high blood
glucose was the cause of another 2.2
million deaths.
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes (previously known
as insulin-dependent, juvenile or
childhood-onset) is characterized by
deficient insulin production and
requires daily administration of
insulin. The cause of type 1 diabetes
is not known and it is not preventable
with current knowledge.
Symptoms include excessive excretion
of urine (polyuria), thirst (polydipsia),
constant hunger, weight loss, vision
changes, and fatigue. These
symptoms may occur suddenly.

Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes (formerly called non-
insulin-dependent, or adult-onset)
results from the body’s ineffective
use of insulin. Type 2 diabetes
comprises the majority of people with
diabetes around the world, and is
largely the result of excess body
weight and physical inactivity.
Symptoms may be similar to those
of type 1 diabetes, but are often less
marked. As a result, the disease may
be diagnosed several years after
onset, once complications have
already arisen.
Until recently, this type of diabetes
was seen only in adults but it is now
also occurring increasingly frequently
in children.
Gestational diabetes
Gestational diabetes is
hyperglycaemia with blood glucose
values above normal but below those
diagnostic of diabetes, occurring
during pregnancy.
Women with gestational diabetes are
at an increased risk of complications
during pregnancy and at delivery.
They and their children are also at
increased risk of type 2 diabetes in
the future.
Gestational diabetes is diagnosed
through prenatal screening, rather
than through reported symptoms.
Impaired glucose tolerance and
impaired fasting glycaemia
Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
impaired fasting glycaemia (IFG) are
intermediate conditions in the transition
between normality and diabetes.
People with IGT or IFG are at high
risk of progressing to type 2 diabetes,
although this is not inevitable.
What are common consequences
of diabetes?
Over time, diabetes can damage the
heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys,
and nerves.
- Adults with diabetes have a two-
to three-fold increased risk of
heart attacks and strokes (1).
- Combined with reduced blood
flow, neuropathy (nerve damage)
in the feet increases the chance
of foot ulcers, infection and
eventual need for limb amputation.
- Diabetic retinopathy is an
important cause of blindness, and
occurs as a result of long-term
accumulated damage to the small
blood vessels in the retina. 2.6%
of global blindness can be
attributed to diabetes.
- Diabetes is among the leading
causes of kidney failure.
How can the burden of diabetes be
reduced?
Prevention
Simple lifestyle measures have been
shown to be effective in preventing
or delaying the onset of type 2
diabetes. To help prevent type 2
diabetes and its complications, people
should:
- achieve and maintain healthy body
weight;
9
- be physically active – at least 30
minutes of regular, moderate-
intensity activity on most days.
More activity is required for
weight control;
- eat a healthy diet, avoiding sugar
and saturated fats intake; and
- avoid tobacco use – smoking
increases the risk of diabetes and
cardiovascular diseases.
Diagnosis and treatment
Early diagnosis can be accomplished
through relatively inexpensive testing
of blood sugar.
Treatment of diabetes involves diet
and physical activity along with
lowering blood glucose and the levels
of other known risk factors that
damage blood vessels. Tobacco use
cessation is also important to avoid
complications.
Interventions that are both cost-
saving and feasible in developing
countries include:
- blood glucose control, particularly
in type 1 diabetes. People with
type 1 diabetes require insulin,
people with type 2 diabetes can
be treated with oral medication,
but may also require insulin;
- blood pressure control; and
- foot care.
Other cost saving interventions
include:
- screening and treatment for
retinopathy (which causes
blindness)
- blood lipid control (to regulate
cholesterol levels)
- screening for early signs of
diabetes-related kidney disease
and treatment.
- HT Bureau
 International Day for Tolerance:
T
he United Nations is committed
to strengthening tolerance by
fostering mutual understanding
among cultures and peoples. This
imperative lies at the core of the
United Nations Charter, as well as the
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, and is more important than
ever in this era of rising and violent
extremism and widening conflicts
that are characterized by a
fundamental disregard for human life.
In 1996, the UN General Assembly
(by resolution 51/95) invited UN
Member States to observe the
International Day for Tolerance on 16
November. This action followed up
on the United Nations Year for
Tolerance, 1995, proclaimed by the
UN General Assembly in 1993 at the
initiative of UNESCO, as outlined in
the Declaration of Principles on
Tolerance and Follow-up Plan of
Action for the Year.
Background
On the day of its fiftieth anniversary,
16 November 1995, UNESCO's
Member States adopted a Declaration
of Principles on Tolerance. Among
other things, the Declaration affirms
that tolerance is neither indulgence nor
indifference. It is respect and
appreciation of the rich variety of our
world's cultures, our forms of
expression and ways of being human.
Tolerance recognizes the universal
human rights and fundamental
freedoms of others. People are
naturally diverse; only tolerance can
ensure the survival of mixed
communities in every region of the
globe.
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
Creators for Change
The United Nations has launched a
new campaign to promote tolerance,
respect and dignity across the world.
TOGETHER is a global campaign that
aims to reduce negative perceptions
and attitudes towards refugees and
migrants, and to strengthen the social
contract between host countries and
communities, and refugees and
migrants.
The Declaration qualifies tolerance
not only as a moral duty, but also
as a political and legal requirement
for individuals, groups and States.
It situates tolerance in relation to
the international human rights
instruments drawn up over the
past fifty years and emphasizes
that States should draft new
legislation when necessary to
ensure equality of treatment and of
opportunity for all groups and
individuals in society.
Along with outright injustice and
violence, discrimination and
marginalization are common forms
of intolerance. Education for
tolerance should aim at countering
influences that lead to fear and
exclusion of others, and should help
young people develop capacities for
independent judgement, critical
thinking and ethical reasoning. The
diversity of our world's many
religions, languages, cultures and
ethnicities is not a pretext for
conflict, but is a treasure that
enriches us all.
10
How Can Intolerance Be Countered?
Fighting intolerance requires law:
Each Government is responsible for
enforcing human rights laws, for
banning and punishing hate crimes
and discrimination against minorities,
whether these are committed by
State officials, private organizations
or individuals. The State must also
ensure equal access to courts, human
rights commissioners or ombudsmen,
so that people do not take justice into
their own hands and resort to violence
to settle their disputes.
Fighting intolerance requires
education:
Laws are necessary but not sufficient
for countering intolerance in individual
attitudes. Intolerance is very often
rooted in ignorance and fear: fear of
the unknown, of the other, other
cultures, nations, religions. Intolerance
is also closely linked to an exaggerated
sense of self-worth and pride, whether
personal, national or religious. These
notions are taught and learned at an
early age. Therefore, greater emphasis
needs to be placed on educating more
and better. Greater efforts need to be
made to teach children about tolerance
and human rights, about other ways
of life. Children should be encouraged
at home and in school to be open-
minded and curious. Education is a
life-long experience and does not begin
or end in school. Endeavours to build
tolerance through education will not
succeed unless they reach all age
groups, and take place everywhere: at
home, in schools, in the workplace,
in law-enforcement and legal training,
and not least in entertainment and on
the information highways.

Fighting intolerance requires access
to information:
Intolerance is most dangerous when
it is exploited to fulfil the political and
territorial ambitions of an individual
or groups of individuals.
Hatemongers often begin by
identifying the public's tolerance
threshold. They then develop
fallacious arguments, lie with
statistics and manipulate public
opinion with misinformation and
prejudice. The most efficient way to
limit the influence of hatemongers is
to develop policies that generate and
promote press freedom and press
pluralism, in order to allow the public
to differentiate between facts and
opinions.
Fighting intolerance requires
individual awareness:
Intolerance in a society is the sum-
total of the intolerance of its individual
members. Bigotry, stereotyping,
stigmatizing, insults and racial jokes
are examples of individual
expressions of intolerance to which
some people are subjected daily.
Intolerance breeds intolerance. It
leaves its victims in pursuit of
revenge. In order to fight intolerance
individuals should become aware of
the link between their behavior and
the vicious cycle of mistrust and
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
violence in society. Each one of us
should begin by asking: am I a tolerant
person? Do I stereotype people? Do
I reject those who are different from
me? Do I blame my problems on
'them'?
Fighting intolerance requires local
solutions:
Many people know that tomorrow's
problems will be increasingly global
but few realize that solutions to global
problems are mainly local, even
individual. When confronted with an
escalation of intolerance around us,
we must not wait for governments
and institutions to act alone. We are
all part of the solution. We should not
feel powerless for we actually posses
an enormous capacity to wield
power. Nonviolent action is a way of
using that power-the power of
people. The tools of nonviolent
action-putting a group together to
confront a problem, to organize a
grassroots network, to demonstrate
solidarity with victims of intolerance,
to discredit hateful propaganda-are
available to all those who want to put
an end to intolerance, violence and
hatred.
2018 Student Event: "Creators for
Change"
In collaboration with YouTube, the
11
United Nations will host a screening
of videos from YouTube’s 2018
Creators for Change Impact Project.
Four of the creators and a
representative of the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights (OHCHR) will
participate in a discussion with the
audience, and students selected from
among the 750 high school
participants will make presentations.
UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize
for the Promotion of Tolerance
and Non-Violence
In 1995, to mark the United Nations
Year for Tolerance and the 125th
anniversary of the birth of Mahatma
Gandhi, UNESCO created a prize for
the promotion of tolerance and non-
violence. The UNESCO-Madanjeet
Singh Prize for the Promotion of
Tolerance and Non-Violence rewards
significant activities in the scientific,
artistic, cultural or communication
fields aimed at the promotion of a
spirit of tolerance and non-violence.
The prize is awarded every two years
on the International Day for
Tolerance, 16 November. The Prize
may be awarded to institutions,
organizations or persons, who have
contributed in a particularly
meritorious and effective manner to
tolerance and non-violence.
The 2018 winners are social
entrepreneur and filmmaker Manon
Barbeau (Canada) and the Coexist
Initiative, a non-profit organization
working to end violence against
women (Kenya).
Support us for the
creation of a just and
equitable society
 International Day for the Elimination of
Violence against Women:
Sustainability and Age Inclusiveness in the Urban Environment
Background
Why this International Day?
Violence against women is a human
rights violation and a consequence of
discrimination against women, in law
and also in practice, as well as of
persisting inequalities between men
and women. This violence impacts
on, and impedes, progress in many
areas, including poverty eradication,
combating HIV/AIDS, and peace and
security. However, violence against
women and girls is not inevitable.
Prevention is possible and essential.
History of the Day
Women's activists have marked 25
November as a day against violence
since 1981. This date came from the
brutal assassination in 1960, of the
three Mirabal sisters, political
activists in the Dominican Republic,
on orders of Dominican ruler Rafael
Trujillo (1930-1961).
On 20 December 1993 the General
Assembly, by resolution 48/104,
adopted the Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence against
Women.
In this context, in 1999 the United
Nations General Assembly designated
25 November as the International
Day for the Elimination of Violence
against Women, and invited
governments, international
organizations and NGOs to organize
on that day activities designed to raise
public awareness of the problem.
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
One of the most devastating
human rights violations
Violence against women and girls is
one of the most widespread,
persistent and devastating human
rights violations in our world today.
Gender inequality persists
worldwide. Achieving gender equality
and the empowerment of women and
girls will require more vigorous
efforts, including legal frameworks,
to counter deeply rooted gender-
based discrimination that often results
from patriarchal attitudes and related
social norms, as stated by the UN
Secretary-General, in his latest report
on progress towards the Sustainable
Development Goals.
Some intolerable facts
Violence against women is the most
extreme form of discrimination.
According to the aforementioned
report, on the basis of data from
2005 to 2016 for 87 countries, 19
per cent of women between 15 and
49 years of age said they had
experienced physical and/or sexual
violence by an intimate partner in the
12 months prior to the survey. In
the most extreme cases, such
violence can lead to death. In 2012,
almost half of all women who were
victims of intentional homicide
12
worldwide were killed by an intimate
partner or family member,
compared to 6 per cent of male
victims.
Another extreme case of violence
against women is female genital
mutilation/cutting. This harmful
practice has declined by 24 per cent
since around 2000. Nevertheless,
prevalence remains high in some of
the 30 countries with representative
data. In those countries, survey data
from around 2015 indicate that more
than 1 in 3 girls between 15 and 19
years of age have undergone the
procedure compared to nearly 1 in 2
girls around 2000.
Moreover, only just over half (52 per
cent) of women between 15 and 49
years of age who are married or in a
relationship make their own decisions
about consensual sexual relations and
use of contraceptives and health
services. That statistic is based on
available data from around 2012 for
45 countries, 43 of which are in
developing regions.
Research also shows that achieving
gender equality helps in preventing
conflict, and high rates of violence
against women correlates with
outbreaks of conflict. Despite the
evidence, actions for women’s
inclusion, leadership and protection
remain inadequate. In some areas,
there has even been a roll back on
progress.
Lack of funds
One of the major challenges to efforts
to prevent and end violence against
women and girls worldwide is the
substantial funding shortfall. As a
result, resources for initiatives to
prevent and end violence against
women and girls are severely lacking.
Frameworks such as the Sustainable
Development Goals, which include a
specific target on ending violence
against women and girls, offer huge
promise, but must be adequately
funded in order to bring real and
significant changes in the lives of
women and girls.
This year has brought some good
news in this regard, as the European
Union and the United Nations
launched the Spotlight Initiative to
eliminate violence against women and
girls.
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
Another initiative that has been
helping to expose this scourge is the
UNiTE to end violence against
women initiative launched in 2008 by
the then UN Secretary-General, Ban
Ki-moon, which is also supported by
his successor, António Guterres.
2017 Theme: Leave no one behind
UNiTE leads the 16 Days of Activism
against Gender-Based Violence
campaign, which aims to raise public
awareness and mobilize people
everywhere to bring about change.
Those 16 days go from 25th
November to 10th December, which
is Human Rights Day. The theme of
the campaign for 2017 is “Leave no
one behind: end violence against
women and girls.” This theme
reinforces the UNiTE Campaign’s
commitment to a world free from
violence for all women and girls
13
around the world, while reaching the
most underserved and marginalized,
including refugees, migrants,
minorities, indigenous peoples, and
populations affected by conflict and
natural disasters, amongst others,
first. As in previous years, the UNiTE
to End Violence against Women
campaign invites you to “Orange the
world,” using the colour designated
by the UNiTE campaign to symbolize
a brighter future without violence.
Organize events to orange streets,
schools and landmarks!
Support us for the
creation of a just and
equitable society
 Universal Children's Day:
Children are taking over and turning the world blue
Background
By resolution 836(IX) of 14
December 1954, the General
Assembly recommended that all
countries institute a Universal
Children's Day, to be observed as a
day of worldwide fraternity and
understanding between children. It
recommended that the Day was to
be observed also as a day of activity
devoted to promoting the ideals and
objectives of the Charter and the
welfare of the children of the world.
The Assembly suggested to
governments that the Day be
observed on the date and in the way
which each considers appropriate.
The date 20 November marks the day
on which the Assembly adopted the
Declaration of the Rights of the Child,
in 1959, and the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, in 1989.
The Convention, which is the most
widely ratified international human
rights treaty, sets out a number of
children’s rights including the right
to life, to health, to education and to
play, as well as the right to family
life, to be protected from violence,
to not be discriminated, and to have
their views heard.
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
On the basis of the Convention and
joint effort by all the countries and
regions, let us promote and celebrate
children’s right on the Universal
Children's Day, and continuously
build up a friendly environment for
children in the world through dialogue
and actions.
United Nations Universal Children’s
Day was established in 1954 and is
celebrated on November 20th each
year to promote international
togetherness, awareness among
children worldwide, and improving
children's welfare.
November 20th is an important date
as it is the date in 1959 when the UN
General Assembly adopted the
Declaration of the Rights of the Child.
It is also the date in 1989 when the
UN General assembly adopted the
Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
Since 1990, Universal Children's Day
also marks the anniversary of the date
14
that the UN General Assembly
adopted both the declaration and the
convention on children's rights.
Mothers and fathers, teachers,
nurses and doctors, government
leaders and civil society activists,
religious and community elders,
corporate moguls and media
professionals as well as young people
and children themselves can play an
important part in making Universal
Children's Day relevant for their
societies, communities and nations.
Universal Children's Day offers each
of us an inspirational entry-point to
advocate, promote and celebrate
children's rights, translating into
dialogues and actions that will build
a better world for Children.
2018: Children are taking over and
turning the world blue
This year the world is going blue! We
want to build a world where every
child is in school, safe from harm and
can fulfil their potential, and we know
you do too.
- HT Bureau
 National Human Rights Update
Top Court OK’s Biometric ID
Program in India
India’s Supreme Court upheld the
constitutionality of the biometric
identification project, Aadhaar, on
September 26, 2018, Human Rights
Watch said today.
In its ruling, the court said that the
government could make Aadhaar a
requirement to access government
benefits and for filing income tax, but
restricted it for other purposes. The
government should create adequate
safeguards to ensure that an Aadhaar
registration requirement does not
prevent poor and marginalized people
from getting essential services that
are constitutionally guaranteed,
including food and health care.
“Aadhaar has led to further
marginalization of the poorest and
most vulnerable people by denying
them access to critically needed
subsidies and benefits,” said
Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia
director at Human Rights Watch.
“The government should ensure there
that is greater accountability and
transparency by Aadhaar and not
impose unnecessary identification
requirements that violate privacy
rights.”
While the ruling disappointed privacy
advocates in upholding the
mandatory and sweeping program of
government biodata collection, the
court did impose important limitations
on the widely spreading use of
Aadhaar identification. The four-to-
one majority judgment barred private
companies from demanding Aadhaar
and also said that schools, banks, and
telecom companies cannot make
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
Aadhaar compulsory for their
services.
The dissenting judge said that the
entire Aadhar program since 2009
had raised constitutional concerns and
violated fundamental rights and called
the law in its entirety unconstitutional.
India’s central government
welcomed the ruling and the
Information and Technology Minister
called it “historic.”
The Aadhaar project is run by the
Unique Identification Authority of
India (UIDAI), a statutory body of
the Indian government set up in 2009.
It collects personal and biometric data
such as fingerprints, facial
photographs, and iris scans, and
issues 12-digit individualized identity
numbers. Aadhaar was initially meant
to be voluntary, aimed at eliminating
fraud in government welfare
programs and giving people a form
of identification.
However, the Aadhaar Act of 2016
and subsequent notifications and
licensing agreements dramatically
increased the scope of the project,
making Aadhaar enrollment
mandatory for people to access a
range of essential services and
benefits including government
subsidies, pensions, and scholarships.
It was also linked to services such
as banking, insurance, telephone, and
the internet.
Access to Essential Services
Numerous reports by media,
15
researchers, and rights groups found
that shops providing subsidized food
grains as part of the government’s
public distribution system to people
living in poverty denied supplies to
eligible families who did not have an
Aadhaar number or had not linked it
to their ration cards, or because the
authentication of their biometric data
such as fingerprints failed. Local
human rights groups and media have
reported some cases in which people
starved to death as a result. Poor
internet connectivity, machine
malfunction, and worn out
fingerprints such as those of older
people or manual laborers have
further exacerbated the problem of
biometric authentication.
Rajasthan state activists reported that
between September 2016 and June
2017, after the Aadhaar authentication
was made mandatory, at least 2.5
million families were unable to get
food rations. In October 2017, the
central government instructed states
not to deny subsidized food grains to
eligible families merely because they
did not have an Aadhaar number, or
had not linked their ration cards to it.
However, reports of denied benefits
continued.
The court said that the authorities
should investigate cases in which
authentication failed and adopt
alternate methods for identification.
Indian authorities should ensure that
problems with biometric
authentication or bureaucratic delays
do not prevent people from
accessing their entitlements or
fundamental rights, Human Rights
Watch said.
In his dissenting ruling, Justice D. Y.
Chandrachud said: “Constitutional
guarantees cannot be subject to the
vicissitudes of technology. Denial of
benefits arising out of any social
security scheme which promotes
socioeconomic rights of citizens is
violative of human dignity and
impermissible under our constitutional
scheme.”
Right to Privacy
The government says it has issued
1.1 billion Aadhaar numbers to
residents of India, not limited to
citizens, making it one of the world’s
biggest biometric databases. The
government’s push for mandatory
enrollment and its efforts to link the
Aadhaar number to a wide range of
services raised grave concerns that
it could disproportionately interfere
with the right to privacy for millions
of people. It also prompted fears of
increased state surveillance, with the
convergence of various databases
making it easier for the government
to track information about individuals,
and to target dissent.
Several reports have shown that the
Aadhaar system is also vulnerable to
data breaches and leaks. In 2017 and
2018, government websites published
millions of Aadhaar numbers, along
with people’s personal information,
including bank account information,..
In January, the Tribune newspaper
reported that unrestricted access to
the personal details of people enrolled
in Aadhaar could be purchased for
less than US$10 from racketeers. In
February 2017, the UIDAI filed a
criminal complaint against three
companies alleging illegal transactions
using stored biometric data.
In August 2017, the Supreme Court
stated that the right to privacy was
part of the constitutional right to life
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
and personal liberty, overturning scrutiny, identity theft or to denial of
government arguments that privacy their basic rights.”
was not a fundamental right.
Support us for the creation of
The ruling on September 26 held that a just and equitable society
Aadhaar did not unduly infringe on
privacy or necessarily create a
surveillance state. In response to
privacy and surveillance concerns
Contribute Articles and
raised by the petitioners on the issue Support Our Cause in
of metadata collection that it enabled Creating a Just and
real-time tracking, the court directed Equitable Societyhuman
that authentication records or
rights updates.
transaction logs should not be kept
longer than six months.
The Indian parliament should enact a Please subscribe to
robust privacy framework and data Human Touch
protection law in line with
international standards, Human Rights
and support us for
Watch said. The government should creation of a just and
provide sufficient safeguards relating equitable society and
to storing and protecting centrally
stored data under Aadhaar.
Contribute Articles and
Support Our Cause in
The Aadhaar Act also prevented Creating a Just and
anyone other than the UIDAI from
approaching the courts in case of a
Equitable Society
breach or violation of the law.
However, the court ruling now allows
an individual whose right has been
violated to file a complaint.
While the court retained the provision
allowing for disclosure of information
under Aadhaar in the interest of
national security, to prevent misuse,
it added a requirement for judicial
oversight in such cases.
“The court’s decision to restrict Visit our website at :
private actors from accessing
information under Aadhar and limiting www.humanrightsnews.net
its expansion is helpful at a time when
there are serious fears of data breach, and
profiling and surveillance,” Ganguly
said. “But there are serious concerns www.manavadhikar.net
of government overreach in holding
people hostage to a 12-digit number for online
in a program riddled with flaws, human rights updates.
leaving them at risk of intrusive
16
News From the National Human Rights Commission
NHRC recommends payment of
Rs. 5 lakhs as relief in the fake
encounter of a gym trainer in
NOIDA on 3rd February, 2018;
charge sheet filed against the
accused police personnel
The National Human Rights
Commission, NHRC, India has
recommended that the Government
of Uttar Pradesh, pay Rs. 5 lakhs as
relief to the next of kin of the Jitendra
Yadav, gym trainer, who was shot by
some police personnel in a fake
encounter in NOIDA in the night of
3rd February, 2018.
The Commission has asked the Chief
Secretary of the State to submit
compliance report along with proof
of payment within six weeks, after
received of its recommendations. The
Commission on the 5th February,
2018 had registered the case suo motu
on the basis of media reports about
the incident.
During the course of enquiry and
response to its notices, the
Government of Uttar Pradesh
informed the Commission that
allegations leveled against the police
personnel were substantiated and
charge sheet has been submitted
against one Sub-Inspector in a case
crime number 249/2018 U/Ss 308,
323 and 504 IPC. Efforts are being
made to arrest the remaining three
accused police personnel including
one Sub Inspector and two
Constables.
Post these findings and the action
initiated against the erring police
personnel, the Commission held that
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
based on these facts, a case of
violation of human rights of the victim
is made out and the State
Government is vicariously liable to
pay monetary relief to the victim.
Accordingly, it had asked the
Government of Uttar Pradesh to
show cause why it should not
recommend monetary relief to the
victim. However, having received no
response to the show cause notice,
the Commission concluded that it
shows that the State Government had
nothing to say in the matter and hence
recommended the payment of Rs. 5
lakhs as relief.
NHRC notice to the Director
General of Police, Chhattisgarh
over reported stripping off two
women and their torture in
police custody in Bilaspur
The National Human Rights
Commission, NHRC has taken suo
motu cognizance of a media report
that a 60 year old woman and her 27
year old daughter, arrested on the
charges of theft, were stripped naked
and severely beaten by a woman
police personnel in front of male
police officials at City Kotwali Police
Station, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh on the
14th October, 2018. Reportedly,
being a patient of hypertension, the
mother requested for medical
treatment but was not heard. The
injuries were inflected even on their
vital body parts.
The Commission has issued a notice
to the Director General of Police,
17
Chhattisgarh, calling for report in the
matter within four weeks along with
action taken against the guilty police
personnel.
While issuing the notice, the
Commission has observed that the
contents of the media report, if true,
raise serious issue of violation of
human rights of the victims. Once a
person is taken into custody, it
becomes the duty of the police
authorities to ensure his/her safety but
in this case, the police personnel
themselves appear to have behaved
in a cruel and inhuman manner and
subjected the victims to physical
torture, which is an inhuman and
barbaric act.
According to the media report,
carried on the 17th October, 2018,
the matter came to light when both
the victims were produced before the
Court where they narrated traumatic
tale of police brutality. The Court has,
reportedly, ordered an enquiry into
the matter by a gazetted officer and
the report has been sought by the 26th
October, 2018. The Court has also
mentioned about injuries of the
victims and that they were unable to
walk.
NHRC concludes its three day-
long extended Silver Jubilee
celebrations with ‘Human Rights
Walk’ in New Delhi
The three day-long extended
celebrations of the silver jubilee of the
National Human Rights Commission
concluded with the ‘Human Rights
walk’ at Nehru Park in New Delhi
today morning on the 14th October,
2018. It was flagged off by NHRC
Chairperson, Mr. Justice H. L. Dattu,
and celebrated sportspersons, Ms. J.
Mary Kom, boxer and Mr. Vijay
Kumar, shooter.
Scores of people, including women
and children, representing were
sections of society participated in the
walk organized by the Commission
to build awareness on human rights
and seek people’s commitment to
promote and protect them. Live and
let live ethos is an embodiment of a
sportsman’s spirit, which is imbibed
in Indian culture. That is why, the
Secretary General, Mr. Ambuj
Sharma, in a brief address before the
start of the Human Rights Walk, said
that the Commission was thankful to
both the leading sportspersons of the
country for their participation in this
event, which was also meant to send
across a symbolic message of
brotherhood and peace. Mrs. Jyotika
Kalra, Member, NHRC and other
senior officers also participated in the
walk.
Earlier, the Commission organized a
Human Rights Mela and Street
Theatre Festival of its own kind in
the country at the amphitheatre arena
of Central Park, Rajiv Chowk
(Connaught Place), New Delhi
yesterday on the 13th October, 2018.
It was inaugurated by Mrs. Jyotika
Kalra, Member, NHRC. Seven
selected groups performed their street
plays on different aspects of human
rights and competed for the covetous
awards. A jury, headed by Mrs.
Jyotika Kalra, Member, NHRC
comprising Mr. Surajit Dey, Registrar
(Law) and Mrs Sumedha Dwevedi,
SSP, NHRC judged the plays for the
awards.
The first prize of Rs. 1, 00,000/- went
to the Street Play Society of Janki
Devi Mahila College, Delhi University
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
for their play -‘Maila Kuchaila’
highlighting the challenges of the
manual scavengers and the need to
protect their rights to life, dignity and
equality. The second prize of Rs.
60,000/- went to Rudraksh Kala
Mandal for their play- ‘Apna Adhikar
Pechano’ highlighting how to deal
with domestic violence targeting
women and take legal recourse
approaching the rights bodies and the
third prize of Rs. 40,000/- was given
to Jazba Theatre group’s play
‘Bhookh’ highlighting the challenges
related to protection of right to food
and how the people can themselves
better ensure it by avoiding wastage
of food. Besides all the seven
participating groups will be paid Rs
25,000/-each.
Presenting the awards, Mr. Ambuj
Sharma, Secretary General, NHRC
said that the Commission, in addition
to the traditional news media, is now
exploring various alternative media
platforms to spread awareness on
human rights seeking peoples’
participation and involvement. The
NHRC’s human rights short film
festival and human rights street
theatre festival are the part of the
same endeavour, besides some other
events. He said that in future, the
Commission would expand the scope
of human rights street theatre in
different languages across the
country so that the message about
the importance of protecting human
rights reaches to the people directly
at grass roots level in the language
they understand and appreciate better.
Dr. Ranjit Singh, JS (P&A), Dr.
Sanjay Dubey, Director (Admn.), Mr.
Jaimini Kumar Srivastava, Dy.
Director (Media &Comm.) along with
other senior officers and staff of the
NHRC were present.
Hundreds of people watched the
street plays and visited the Mela,
18
which provided an evening of fun,
entertainment, education and
information with a focus on
motivating people to stand up for the
promotion and protection of human
rights. The Delhi Police teams also
presented the performances of their
pipe band, Women self defence
techniques and a skit to show how
to approach Delhi Police control
room in the hour of distress. There
was also presentation of music and
songs in between theatre
performances. Stalls were set up
around the amphitheatre by leading
NGOs, like Help Age India, Bachpan
Bachao Andolan, Delhi police,
Paramilitary forces, Tihar Central jail
besides the NHRC showcasing their
work. Some books, literature and
articles were also available for sale at
the stalls.
On the first day of the beginning of
the three day extended celebrations,
i.e. on the Foundation Day of the
Commission on the 12th October,
2018, a special programme was
organized at Vigyan Bhawan, New
Delhi which was addressed by the
Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi,
the Union Home Minister, Mr. Rajnath
Singh and NHRC Chairperson, Mr.
Justice H.L. Dattu in the august
presence of the Union
Communications Minister Mr. Manoj
Sinha and several other dignitaries
including NHRC Members, Mr.
Justice P.C. Ghose, Mrs. Jyotika
Kalra, former Chairperson, Members
and senior officers, besides a host of
other dignitaries including judges,
parliamentarians, diplomats,
academicians, civil society members,
representatives of State Human
Rights Commissions and other
National and State Commissions,
media as well as senior government
functionaries.
A commemorative postal stamp and
cover marking silver jubilee of the
National Human Rights Commission,
India was released and the new
version of the NHRC website was
also launched by the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister lauds NHRC’s
role towards promotion and
protection of human rights;
releases a commemorative
postal stamp celebrating its
silver jubilee
The Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra
Modi released a commemorative
postal stamp and cover marking
silver jubilee of the National Human
Rights Commission, India at a
function organized at Vigyan Bhawan
in New Delhi. He also launched the
new version of the NHRC website.
Addressing the gathering on the
occasion, the Prime Minister lauded
the role of the Commission in building
awareness towards the promotion
and protection of human rights in the
country. He said that the protection
of human rights has been an
important part of our culture. He said
that after independence, elements
such as an independent and impartial
judiciary; an active media; an active
civil society, and organizations such
as NHRC are in place to protect
human rights.
The Prime Minister said that human
rights should not be merely a slogan,
but also a part of our ethos. He said
that the government is committed to
working for a just and equitable
society ensuring people’s welfare and
protection of their rights. He said that
in the last four years or so, a lot of
serious efforts have been made to
improve the quality of life of the poor.
He said that the Government’s focus
has been to ensure that all Indians have
access to the basic needs of human
beings. In this context, he mentioned
the achievements of schemes such
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
as BetiBachao, BetiPadhao, Sugamya
Bharat Abhiyan, Pradhan
MantriAwaasYojana, UjjwalaYojana,
and SaubhagyaYojana; and the
transformation that has been brought
about in the lives of the people as a
result of these schemes. He said that
the construction of more than 9 crore
toilets, has ensured sanitation, and a
life of dignity, for crores of poor
people. He also mentioned the
recently launched health assurance
initiative – PMJAY – under Ayushman
Bharat. He also spoke of the financial
inclusion initiatives of the Union
Government. He said that the law
which provides relief to Muslim
women from triple talaq, is also part
of this series of steps taken to ensure
basic rights for people.
The Prime Minister mentioned steps
taken to improve ease of access to
justice, such as increasing the number
of e-courts, and strengthening of the
National Judicial Data Grid. He
described Aadhaar is a technology-
based empowerment initiative.
The Prime Minister said that the
success of these initiatives has also
been because of Jan Bhagidaari –
public participation. He said that along
with awareness of human rights,
citizens should also be aware of their
duties and responsibilities. He said
those who understand their
responsibilities, also know how to
respect the rights of others.
The Prime Minister said that the role
of NHRC is also crucial for achieving
the Sustainable Development Goals.
Earlier, the Union Home Minister, Mr.
Rajnath Singh said that the NHRC
holds a very important position in the
institutional frame work of India. He
said that the awareness about human
rights has increased in the country
but one is at pains to understand why
19
there is so much clamour for the
protection of human rights of anti-
national and anti social elements when
strict action is taken against them
who violate the rights of others? Why
even an action against illegal migrants
is viewed as an act of human rights
violation. He said that nobody blame
India for the human rights violations
of even the illegal migrants.
The NHRC Chairperson, Mr. H.L.
Dattu said that the Commission’s
constant endeavour over the last 25
years has been to make itself as
accessible to the people as possible.
It has developed a wide range of
mechanism to oversee the human
rights situation in the country. The
phenomenal increase in the number
of complaints received each year
reflects the extent of its reach across
the country.
Justice Dattu said that the Silver
Jubilee of the Commission provides
an occasion to re-dedicate ourselves
to achieving a just and equitable
society by upholding the principles
and ideals enshrined in our
Constitution. He lauded the various
government welfare schemes,
including Jan Dhan, Mudra, Ujjwala,
Skill India, Digital India, Swachh
Bharat and Make-in India
programmes aimed at empowering
the economically and socially
vulnerable sections of the society.
The NHRC Secretary General, Mr.
Ambuj Sharma gave an insight into
various initiatives taken by the
Commission to take the message of
human rights among the common
people make its silver jubilee even
more meaningful and memorable.
These include, among others, online
Human Rights Pledge which has
already been taken by nearly one lakh
people, starting a tool free helpline
(14433) on line registration of
complaint through Common Service
Centres, besides expanding its expert
core groups by setting up two more
on “LGBTI” issues and “Business
Environment and Human Rights”,
making a Documentary Film on
NHRC, organizing Human Rights
Mela and Human Rights Street Play
Festival and Human Rights Walk.
The Union Minister of State
(Independent Charge) for
Communications, Mr. Manoj Sinha
was also present on the occasion in
addition to the NHRC Members, Mr.
Justice P.C. Ghose, Mrs. Jyotika
Kalra, former Chairperson, Members
and senior officers, besides a host of
other dignitaries including judges,
diplomats, academicians, civil society
members, representatives of State
Human Rights Commissions and
other National and State
Commissions, media as well as senior
government functionaries.
NHRC issued notices to the
Secretary, Ministry of Steel,
Government of India, and the
Chairman, Steel Authority of
India Limited over several
deaths in SAIL's Bhilai Steel
Plant
The National Human Rights
Commission, NHRC, India has taken
suo motu cognizance of media reports
that in a major industrial accident,
nine workers were killed and 14
others injured following a blast in a
gas pipeline during a "scheduled
maintenance job at Steal Authority of
India, SAIL's flagship Bhilai Steel
Plant in Chhattisgarh on the 9th
October, 2018. Reportedly, according
to Chhattisgarh Police, the death toll
may rise as the condition of some of
the injured is very serious.
The Commission has issued notices
to the Secretary, Ministry of Steel,
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
Government of India, New Delhi and persons working at the site sustained
the Chairman, Steel Authority of India burn injuries who were rushed to the
Limited, New Delhi calling for a BSP Hospital for medical treatment.
detailed report in the matter including Nine persons have lost their lives and
the steps taken for relief and 14 are undergoing medical treatment.
rehabilitation to the aggrieved The rescue operations were carried
families, treatment of the injured out and all resources have been
along with the report of inquiry, if mobilized to provide adequate care to
ordered in the matter. The the injured persons.
Commission would also like to know
as to what steps have been taken to Reportedly, the maintenance work
ensure that such accident do not itself is a highly volatile process and
recur in future. it is clear that something went wrong
during the process. There were 23
Apart from this, The Superintendent people reportedly working near the
of Police, Durg, Chhattisgarh has pipeline at the time of the blast. The
been directed to inform about the police authorities, as mentioned, have
details of the FIR registered in the stated that inquest proceedings have
matter and present status of the been completed and a case u/s 304A
investigation. The response from the IPC will be registered.
authorities is expected within four
weeks.
The Commission has observed that Visit our website at :
the contents of the news report, if
true, and there was negligence on the www.humanrightsnews.net
part of the authorities, this is a case and
of violation of Right to Life of the www.manavadhikar.net
victim workers. The Steel Authority for online
of India is a Government of India
undertaking. Occurrence of such a
human rights updates.
fatal accident at their reputed steel
plant in which 9 people have lost their
lives and several got injured, is a
matter of concern for the
Commission. The Commission is
pained to know that in spite of being
all the precautionary measures
available the unfortunate incident has
taken place causing irrevocable loss
of lives.
According to the media reports,
carried on the 10th October, 2018,
the unfortunate incident occurred
during maintenance work which was
being carried out by the Energy Support us for the
Management Department. There was
a fire in gas pipeline on gas Coke creation of a just and
Oven Battery Complex 11 during a equitable society
scheduled maintenance job. Some
20
 International Human Rights Update
Plan Puts Rohingya at Risk in
Myanmar/Bangladesh
The Myanmar and Bangladesh
governments should immediately
suspend the proposed repatriation of
Rohingya refugees set for mid-
November, Human Rights Watch said
today. The expedited plan, announced
on October 30, 2018, would return
refugees to dire conditions in
Myanmar where their lives and liberty
are at risk.
“Myanmar ’s government keeps
talking about returns, but it has done
nothing to allay the Rohingya’s fears
of being returned to the same violence
and oppression they fled,” said Bill
Frelick, refugee rights director. “If
Bangladesh moves forward on
repatriations without the UN, it will
squander the international goodwill it
has accrued over the past year as a
host to Rohingya refugees.”
Bangladesh and Myanmar officials met
in Dhaka on October 30 and 31, the
third meeting of a joint working group
to carry out a bilateral repatriation
agreement signed in November 2017.
Following the meeting, representatives
announced they had developed a “very
concrete plan” to begin repatriations in
mid-November, with the first round to
include 2,260 Rohingya from 485
families. According to Myanmar
officials, starting on November 15, 150
refugees would be received each week
at the Nga Khu Ya reception center
before being transferred to the Hla Poe
Kaung transit camp. The government
of Bangladesh appears anxious to begin
repatriations in advance of upcoming
national elections.
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
The 2,000 Rohingya identified to take
part in the initial returns were
selected from a list of 8,032 refugees
that Bangladesh presented to
Myanmar in February, about 4,600
of whom Myanmar has said it
verified. Bangladesh culled the names
at random from its registration rolls,
without consulting the refugees to
confirm their willingness to return or
to have their names and other details
shared with Myanmar officials. “The
names on the list we prepared were
not chosen because they particularly
wanted to go back,” Abul Kalam,
Bangladesh’s refugee relief and
rehabilitation commissioner, told
Human Rights Watch. Bangladesh
officials said they provided Myanmar
with a second list for verification of
more than 22,000 refugee names and
addresses.
In June, the UN refugee agency
(UNHCR) and UN Development
Programme signed a memorandum
of understanding with Myanmar to
facilitate returns. They have since
begun limited assessments in Rakhine
State. Yet Bangladesh and Myanmar
officials did not consult with UNHCR
or Rohingya refugees on the list of
names being presented for
repatriation before making their
announcement. The UN has opposed
the proposal as “rushed and
premature.”
A UNHCR spokesman, Andrej
Mahecic, told Voice of America:
21
“Because we consider that
conditions in Rakhine state are not
yet conducive for voluntary return
in the conditions of safety, dignity
and sustainability, UNHCR will not,
at this stage, facilitate any refugee
returns to Rakhine state.” The
refugee agency reported this week
that it “was not involved in
preparation, transmission or receipt
of this list nor in the verification and
clearing that was reportedly carried
out by the government of
Myanmar.” Bangladesh should
provide Rohingya refugees with
legal refugee status and documents
and give UNHCR the lead role in
coordinating the humanitarian
response and any voluntary
repatriation operations.
More than 730,000 Rohingya have
fled to Bangladesh over the past year
to escape the Myanmar military’s
campaign of ethnic cleansing and
crimes against humanity. They joined
about 200,000 refugees who had fled
previous waves of violence and
persecution. A UN fact-finding
mission found “sufficient information
to warrant the investigation and
prosecution of senior officials in the
Tatmadaw [armed forces] on charges
of genocide.”
The Myanmar government has
claimed since January that it is ready
to accept repatriated refugees, yet has
done nothing to create conditions for
safe and dignified returns or address
the root causes of the crisis, including
systematic persecution and violence,
statelessness, and military impunity
for grave violations.
Recent Rohingya arrivals in
Bangladesh have reported killings,
burnings, enforced disappearances,
extortion, and severe restrictions on
movement. Myanmar authorities
have detained and tortured Rohingya
who returned from Bangladesh in the
past year. As Marzuki Darusman,
chair of the UN fact-finding mission,
told the UN Security Council at an
October briefing on the Rohingya:
“Returning them in this context is
tantamount to condemning them to
life as sub-humans and further mass
killing.”
In central Rakhine State, more than
124,000 Rohingya have been
confined to open-air detention camps
for six years, since being displaced
by violence in 2012. They are
arbitrarily deprived of liberty, forced
to live in conditions described as
“beyond the dignity of any people”
by the UN deputy relief chief after
an April visit. The “reception centers”
and “transit camp” Myanmar built
this year to process and house
returnees are surrounded by barbed-
wire perimeter fences and security
outposts, similar to the physical
confinement structures in the central
Rakhine camps. The Hla Poe Kaung
reception center was built on land
where Rohingya had been living,
before security forces burned and the
government bulldozed the area.
Although Bangladesh is not a party
to the UN Refugee Convention, it is
bound under customary international
law not to forcibly return refugees
to a place where they would face
persecution, torture, ill-treatment, or
death. At the Security Council in
October, Bangladesh’s representative
to the UN said that before Rohingya
could return, Myanmar’s government
needed to abolish discriminatory
laws, policies, and practices; address
the root causes of their flight;
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
guarantee protection, rights, and
pathways to citizenship for all; and
bring accountability and justice to
prevent atrocity crimes. This was the
“minimum requirement for creating
a situation that could be considered
favorable to the Rohingya’s
sustainable return to Myanmar.”
The repatriation plan was developed
without consultation and consent
from Rohingya refugees, in
contravention of international
standards. To have a genuinely free,
fully informed choice, refugees
should be consulted and provided
with objective, up-to-date, and
accurate information about conditions
in areas of return, including security
conditions, assistance, and protection
to reintegrate.
Many of the hundreds of Rohingya
refugees interviewed by Human
Rights Watch said they want to go
home, but only if their security,
access to land and livelihoods,
freedom of movement, citizenship
rights, and self-identification could be
ensured. A Rohingya group gave a
letter to the Myanmar-Bangladesh
delegation that visited the camps on
October 31, outlining their conditions
for return regarding citizenship,
security, and justice. The letter states:
“We demand to see evidence of your
political commitment to treat us as
equal citizens and human beings. We
hereby inform you that we will not
agree to be repatriated from
Bangladesh to Myanmar until we see
evidence of our above demands being
fulfilled.”
“This repatriation plan is just
Myanmar’s latest attempt to deflect
international criticism from its brutal
ethnic cleansing campaign for which
no one has been brought to justice,”
Frelick said. “Donors should be clear
that they will not fund this dangerous
22
plan, which threatens Rohingya
refugees’ rights to dignity, security,
and liberty.”
Brazil Court Strikes Down
Restrictions on University
Speech
Brazil´s Supreme Court issued an
important decision striking down
restrictions on political speech on
university campuses in a unanimous
ruling yesterday. Meanwhile,
president-elect Jair Bolsonaro´s allies
in Congress are pressing ahead with
efforts to restrict what students and
educators can discuss in the
classroom.
The court ruling overturned decisions
by electoral court judges who
recently ordered universities across
the country to clamp down on what
they considered illegal political
campaigning. The orders were
spurred by complaints from
anonymous callers and, in a few
cases, by members of conservative
groups.
For example, at Grande Dourados
Federal University, court officials
suspended a public event against
fascism, according to the student
group that organized it. At Campina
Grande Federal University, police
allegedly seized copies of a pamphlet
titled “Manifesto in defense of
democracy and public universities”
and hard drives, said a professors´
association.
At Rio de Janeiro State University,
police ordered the removal of a banner
honoring Marielle Franco, a black
lesbian human rights defender and
councilwoman murdered in March,
despite not having a judicial order.
The attorney general, Raquel Dodge,
asked the Supreme Court to rule the
electoral court judges´ decisions
unconstitutional, and Supreme Court
justice Cármen Lúcia Rocha issued
an injunction stopping them. The full
court upheld that decision on
October 31.
“The only force that must enter
universities is the force of ideas,” said
Rocha.
“The excessive and illegitimate use
of force by state agents … echoes
somber days in Brazilian history,” said
Justice Rosa Weber, referring to
Brazil´s 1964 – 1985 military
dictatorship.
The ruling comes as Bolsonaro, who
remains in Congress until he assumes
the presidency on January 1, and his
allies push a bill that would prohibit
teachers from promoting their own
opinions in the classroom or using
the terms “gender” or “sexual
orientation,” and would order that sex
and religious education be framed
around “family values.”
A state representative-elect from
Bolsonaro´s party has even called on
students to film and report teachers
who make “political-partisan or
ideological statements.” Bolsonaro
made a similar call in 2016. State
prosecutors have filed a civil action
against the representative-elect,
alleging she instituted “an illegal
service for the political and
ideological control of teaching
activities.”
In his long career in Congress,
Bolsonaro has endorsed abusive
practices that undermine the rule of
law, defended the dictatorship, and
has been a vocal proponent of
bigotry.
More than ever, Brazil needs its
judiciary to defend human rights
within and outside the classroom.
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
It’s Time For Lebanon to
Reform its Abusive Libel Laws
Lebanon joined dozens of other
countries in September co-
sponsoring a UN Human Rights
Council resolution on the safety of
journalists. That resolution called on
states not to misuse defamation and
libel laws to “arbitrarily censor
journalists and interfere with their
mission of informing the public.”
Today, on International Day to End
Impunity for Crimes against
Journalists, Lebanon should commit
to translating that pledge into reality
by reforming its criminal defamation
laws.
Lebanon’s constitution guarantees
freedom of expression “within the
limits established by law.” But the
Lebanese penal code criminalizes libel
and defamation against public
officials and authorizes imprisonment
of up to one year if convicted. Article
384 of the penal code authorizes
imprisonment of six months to two
years for insulting the president, the
flag, or the national emblem. Article
157 of the military code of justice
criminalizes insulting the flag or
army, punishable by three months to
three years in prison.
An intensification in prosecutions for
criticizing officials threatens freedom
of speech in Lebanon. Authorities
continue to detain and charge
individuals for criticizing government
officials. Local and international
human rights organizations have long
documented Lebanon’s use of
defamation laws to penalize
journalists and others in violation of
international human rights law.
Laws that allow imprisonment in
response to criticism of individuals
or government officials are
incompatible with Lebanon's
23
international obligations to protect
freedom of expression. Such laws
are a disproportionate and
unnecessary response to the need to
protect reputations, and chill freedom
of expression. In addition, “libel,”
“defamation,” and “insult” are not
well-defined in Lebanese law, and
such vague and broadly-worded
provisions can be used to quell
criticism of the actions or policies of
government officials.
The proliferation of such
prosecutions and the threat of arrest
reflect an urgent need for Lebanon’s
parliament to remove criminal
sanctions for libel, defamation, and
criticism of public officials and
symbols. This International Day to
End Impunity for Crimes against
Journalists is an opportunity for
Lebanon to commit to doing just
that.
Advertise with
us for
Strengthening
our Hands in
Promoting
and
Protecting
Visit our website at :
www.masmindia.org
for online human rights updates.
 Swachh Bharat Abhiyan:
Swachh Bharat Should Also Eliminate Caste Discrimination
“We don’t get any other job no
matter where we go. I have tried. I
know this is discrimination, but
what can I do?” In June 2014, when
I met 18-year-old Bablu, he was
working through a contractor for
the government, cleaning garbage
and excrement from drains in
Bharatpur city in Rajasthan state.
Bablu is a Dalit. His parents were
cleaners. After he completed eighth
grade, more schooling than his
parents had, he said he looked for a
job that could lift him out of the
status accorded at birth by the caste
structure. He wanted something that
better matched his skills.
Bablu says he was thrilled when he
secured a job interview in a hotel
because he wanted to train as a
waiter. But as soon as the manager
heard his caste, Bablu was hired
instead to clean toilets. Others with
a similar education who were not
Dalit, got the waiter jobs.
Bablu quit the hotel job soon after.
He is now among thousands of
Indians who are “manual
scavengers,” manually cleaning
human excrement from private and
public dry toilets, open defecation
sites, septic tanks, open and closed
gutters and sewers.
They are forced into this work
because they are usually from caste
groups customarily relegated to the
bottom of the caste hierarchy and
confined to livelihood tasks viewed
as deplorable or too menial by higher
caste groups. Bablu, like most people
who do this work, is from the
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
Valmiki caste, a sub-caste
discriminated against even by other
Dalits. They usually work without
protective gear, not even gloves. For
generations, women working as
manual scavengers would carry
baskets of human waste on their
heads.
On September 15, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi opened a nationwide
movement, Swachhata Hi Seva
(Cleanliness is Service), as part of
his flagship program Swachh Bharat
or Clean India Mission focused on
ending open defecation and
sanitation. He called on people to
participate in the drive, describing it
as a service to the nation and picked
up a broom himself to set an
example. But he didn’t address
manual scavenging.
India reiterated the ban on manual
scavenging in 2013 with the
Prohibition of Employment as
Manual Scavengers and Their
Rehabilitation Act. The law
recognises a constitutional obligation
to correct the historical injustice and
indignity suffered by manual
scavenging communities by
providing alternate livelihoods and
other assistance.
However, as Human Rights Watch
and others have found, the practice
is prevalent throughout India not just
in homes but perpetuated by
governments. Urban municipal
24
- Jayshree Bajoria
corporations hire men and women
for this work, both directly and
through contractors, as in Bablu’s
case, based on discriminatory caste-
based hiring practices. They work
without regard to labor or
occupational safety standards or
protections.
The authorities continue to bury the
problem by grossly underreporting
it. The government reports only
53,000 “manual scavengers,” but
has figures from only 121 of the
more than 600 districts in the
country. This also excludes most of
urban India, those engaged in
cleaning sewers and septic tanks,
and data from the state-owned
railways, the largest employers of
manual scavengers, to wash the
tracks.
A Job With Fatal Consequences
The sanitation workers face serious
consequences, even a risk of death.
Government data shows that since
January 2017, 123 people have been
killed while they were engaged in this
occupation. In September alone, 11
sanitation workers died while cleaning
sewers or septic tanks without
adequate protective gear. In one
incident, five men died when cleaning
a sewer in Delhi. The latest deaths
prompted hundreds of people to
protest in New Delhi on September
25, demanding an end to the practice
and compensation for victims’
families.
The government data on these
preventable deaths, based on
newspaper reports and numbers
provided by a few state governments,

are far from complete. Safai
Karmachari Andolan, a rights group
working to rehabilitate sanitation
workers, says that at least 300 people
have died since 2017.
The government figures do not
include those who continue the
outlawed work of cleaning dry toilets
by hand, overwhelmingly Valmiki
women. They face severe health
consequences, including constant
nausea and headaches, respiratory
and skin diseases, anemia, diarrhea,
vomiting, jaundice, trachoma, and
carbon monoxide poisoning.
‘Swachh Bharat’ Ignores Manual
Scavenging
The government says that in the last
four years, it has built 90 million new
toilets. But ending the use of dry
toilets and open defecation is not
sufficient to address manual
scavenging. There has been little
progress to end the caste-enforced
practice of manual scavenging or
rehabilitate those previously forced to
do this work. A robust effort is
needed to modernise sewage systems
and regularise the sanitation
workforce, with proper labor and
occupational safety protections.
Instead, the Swachh Bharat Mission
has at times ended up reinforcing or
further perpetuating caste-based
discrimination. Recent reports from
Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
show that some state governments
are still hiring people directly or
through contractors to clean human
waste manually, in violation of the law.
Even in states like Gujarat and
Uttarakhand, which have declared
themselves upgraded, the use of dry
latrines and open defecation persist.
And thus, so does manual
scavenging, raising serious concerns
over reliability of government data.
In rural areas, the government
subsidises affordable toilets – often
two-pit latrines – but has failed to
counter abusive practices that are still
immersed in age-old notions of purity,
caste and untouchability. Unlike more
modern forms of sanitation, these
latrines need to be emptied manually.
In rural communities, clearing manual
pits remains the job of the Dalits, a
study by New Delhi-based Research
Institute for Compassionate
Economics shows.
In November 2017, the United
Nations special rapporteur on the
human rights to safe drinking water
and sanitation, at the end of his India
visit, expressed concerns that
Swachh Bharat may fail to eliminate
manual scavenging and “may
involuntarily contribute to violating
the fundamental principle of non-
discrimination.”
Ending Caste-Based Discrimination
The Indian government has taken a
step in the right direction toward
25
universal access to sanitation, and
removing health risks associated with
widespread open defecation. But
process is plagued by lack of
accountability, unreliable government
data, and a focus on building
infrastructure that does not take into
account or work to reverse the realities
of entrenched caste prejudice.
It is in fact causing new abuses as
officials rush to meet targets. Some
district officials have even used public
shaming or denied access to public
services to check open defecation or
coerce people to build toilets.
For Bablu and others like him to end
this “most degrading surviving
practice of untouchability in the
country.” the government will need
to do much more. In addition to
mechanising sanitation systems and
supporting a professional sanitation
workforce, it should strictly enforce
the anti-manual scavenging law,
including against local government
officials who engage in caste
discrimination in the workplace.
Everyone engaged in manual
scavenging should be properly
identified to ensure that they receive
entitlements provided by the 2013
law, including financial assistance,
scholarships, housing, alternative
livelihood support and other important
legal and programmatic assistance.
There has been an outpouring of
support from India and abroad for
the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Individuals, companies, international
financial institutions such as the
World Bank and concerned
governments should insist that the
government’s Clean India Mission
includes abolishing caste-based
practices that impose sanitation-
related tasks on Dalits.
- source: hrw.org
Feminist Movement and Human Rights
W
hen on one hand the Indian
woman has been the most
oppressed in the World,
there on the other hand she is the most
liberate. How is such an anomaly
possible? India is a land of
contradictions and the woman here
certify it the best. Although the
different movements, pertaining to
women issues are scattered but still
they remain intact through common
aim-to achieve due respect-and
empower her for the era.
When talking of the Indian woman,
we cannot restrict ourselves to the
educated lot. The one, who is well
aware its rights and knows how to
fight for them. Instead we need to
acknowledge the plight of the rural
and illiterate populace. Though a lot
has been said and done in this regard.
Is actually something done in
emancipation of the fairer sex?
Each one of us talks of emancipation
and liberation today. Such big terms
look attractive and impressive but are
shallow in terms of implementation.
Though we are well versed with the
lacunae, but not willing to shoulder
the responsibility. The same is
forwarded from one to another.
National Commission for Women
on forms of empowerment
The important forms of empower-
ment as quoted by the National Com-
mission for Woman include:
· Economic Empowerment
through building up skills and se-
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
Status of Women in India
curing access to gainful employ-
ment.
· Political Empowerment
through awareness, training and
mobilization for equitable repre-
sentation in all fora.
· Prevention of violence and dis-
crimination against women
inside and outside the home
through legal reform and sensi-
tive enforcement.
· Amelioration of conditions of
disadvantaged women
namely:
i) Physically challenged women in-
cluding those who are visually
disabled or mentally affected.
ii)Socially challenged women in-
cluding Muslim women, SC/ST
women, widows and prostitutes.
· Prevention of indecent repre-
sentation of women
In the media through legal and
social sanctions.
The meaning is clear. Still what ap-
pear as simple one-liners are accom-
panied with huge paras, which restrict
the attainment of this vision.
Common issues surrounding the
woman
l Inequality of power as compared to
the male counterparts. This adversely
affects her decision making at all lev-
els, thereby weakening her individu-
ality. So be it the decision of right of
time of conceiving of aborting, she
depends on the male. If the decision
is independent then the same becomes
26
a social anomaly?
l Lack of awareness. This is one of
the major setbacks. She is not aware
of her rights, how then can she fight
for them? Then ranging from social
abuse to physical violence, she takes
it all gracefully. This is the fate, as is
assumed. The moment she raises her
voice it is suppressed, reminding her
of her responsibilities towards the
family and society together.
l Insufficient machinery at all levels
to promote advancement of women.
Consider the ban on bar dancers in
Mumbai. Here I have a question-
where would a prostitute’s daughter
head from a brothel? Most of such
girls chose dancing at bars. The pro-
fession is still clean, in terms of
forced sexual desire. But the same
was denied. When the voice was
raised, it was curbed no sooner than
heard.
When the bars were raided, the girls
were arrested but the owners went
Scott free? Further more, during the
police raids none other than the po-
lice officials molested these girls.
When the guards become scaven-
gers, where does a soul find rescue.
It is not insufficient but futile machin-
ery, which is dominated by the male.
l Poverty, discrimination and
marginalisation. Since the time of
birth to the deathbed, the woman is
befriended with all forms of
discriminations. And if she hails from
a marginalized group then it is even
worse.
However much a mother may love
her children, it is all but impossible
for her to provide high-quality child
care if she herself is poor and
oppressed, illiterate and uninformed,
anaemic and unhealthy, has five or
six other children, lives in a slum or
shanty, has neither clean water nor
safe sanitation, and if she is without
the necessary support either from
health services, or from her society,
or from the father of her children.
Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, “The
Asian Enigma”
l Inequality in terms of access to
economic structures and policies and
the productive process; access to
education, health, employment, credit
facilities and other means of gener-
ating awareness.
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
l Violence against women. No matter
how many new laws promise the
security of a woman, she cannot es-
cape violence against her. Most of the
times the same is ignored as a matter
common to a woman’s life. It is true
that a woman can tolerate much as
compared to her male counterpart but
doest that mean that she is not hu-
man?
There is a great hulla over rape laws.
Is not the woman, raped by her hus-
band? I am not talking of the physi-
cal abuse only but also the associ-
ated emotional abuse that she faces
every day. The family, her children
and over all her responsibilities just
erase her individuality. She is a daugh-
ter, a wife, a mother, a daughter-in-
law, etc but not her own self!
27
l Indian women are the worst suffer-
ers of the cross-border Terrorism.
Another drastic issue, which affects
her life. With their better halves at
regular postings, half their life is spent
waiting and the rest half shedding
tears over the dead! And if the man
was a terrorist or any other National
threat then she is out rightly rejected
by the society. There are countless
women who have been simply dis-
owned by all for all the crimes of their
husbands.
l Marginalisation in the decision
making process. Here I would divert
your attention towards the
participation of woman at most levels,
in public structures. Is not the 33%
reservation issue an apt example to
quote here? Till date Parliament is

associated with phrases like- a man’s
world. Why do we forget that
representation is a tool for equality
and dignity?
At levels of Gram Panchayat, the
patriarchy interferes and erodes the
working of the women Sarpanchas
and panchas.
l NGOs are too dispersed. In spite of
the strong women movement in the
country, the social bodies are dis-
persed and isolated in deciding the
national and local priorities in action.
l Inactive executive and monitoring
mechanisms to oversee the implemen-
tation of national/state plans and pro-
grammes. The failure is attributed to
the lack of feed back mechanisms
amongst these.
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
· Societal Negative Pressures.
- Women are denied property rights.
- The Medical Termination of Preg-
nancy Act has been made to give
woman a choice to decide about
abortion or exercise choice to
limit the size of her family. Is
there really a choice left to her
alone?
- Dowry, a custom that ails all com-
munities
· The numerous legislations passed
to help women to occupy equal
place in society often seem to be
grading concessions they are ren-
dered. Enforcement of Child Mar-
riage Restraint Act, the Dowry
Prohibition Act, Sati Prevention
Act, and Immoral Traffic Preven-
tion Act are a few examples of
the long list.
28
Some positive trends in the sphere
of women empowerment
Since the days of independence
struggle, the Indian woman has been
blessed with Constitutional and legal
rights. Also, the achievements in the
area of women rights are many. Like,
education has become a Fundamental
right of every child. Not to forget,
health infrastructure and gender
budgeting and allocations for better
family health have improved. There
are no discriminations in competitive
examinations, recruitment and
employment. The women can contest
and occupy the highest echelons of
power, without any taboo attached.
The Judicial decisions have improved
considerably. Now, changes in the
laws to prosecute and punish with
stringent punishments are available.
Many amongst the 100,000 odd
women elected to Panchayats spread
all over India are getting ready to
participate duly in the Parliamentary
and the Assembly elections (as per
the NCW report). There is a wider
base developing where women are
getting a hold in the Indian political
arena.
Conclusion
The need of the hour for women is
to know how to get empowered and
feel empowered. She has to have a
vision to use the newly acquired
power justly. On the contrary, the
challenge for the men folk is to learn
to accept sharing of power and get
used to women being equal partners
in the development process.
As UN Secretary General Kofi Annan
has stated, “Gender equality is more
than a goal in itself. It is a
precondition for meeting the
challenge of reducing poverty,
promoting sustainable development
and building good governance.”
- HT Bureau

Dangerous Levels of Toxins in Toys
D
angerous levels of lead and cad
mium have been found in Poly
vinyl Chloride (PVC) and soft
toys being sold in markets under a
scientific study by Toxics Link, an
environmental non-governmental
organisation, indicating that children
are being exposed to severe health
hazards caused by these metals rang-
ing from liver damage to disruption
in mental growth.
Lead as a source has mostly been stud-
ied in aerosols or atmosphere or in
paints. Toys, particularly soft toys,
which are intimately linked to children’s
environment, have not been
investigated as one of the possible
sources of lead, cadmium and other
heavy metals exposure to children.
India now produces and imports a wide
range of toys like plastic and mechanical
activity toys, plastic and soft dolls,
stuffed toys, board games, puzzles,
educational games and toys, metal and
tin toys, electronic toys and games. The
unorganized sector dominates the toy
manufacturing industry.
Since a large number of toys, mostly
made of PVC, are imported into In-
dia, cheaply, or are made in the infor-
mal sector, with little or no quality
control, it is important and appropri-
ate to examine the issue of lead and
cadmium in toys. It is common to see
small children and infants chew and
play with soft plastic toys, which are
the subject of this investigation,
The Study
The samples of toys were collected
from the three metropolitan cities of
India viz. Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
Threat to Life:
These cities were identified for the
sample selection, as they are one of
India’s largest manufacturer and sup-
ply centres for unbranded toys to their
surrounding sub-urban and rural ar-
eas. In fact, Mumbai and Delhi alone
account for nearly 95 per cent of the
toy production in India.
All the toy samples were then tested
for PVC, lead and cadmium in gov-
ernment accredited laboratory in
Delhi. Of 111 toy samples tested, 77
were found to be made up of PVC
materials. A total of 88 samples (77
PVC and non-PVC) were further
analysed for lead and cadmium. Pb
(lead) and Cd (cadmium) are found
to be present in all tested samples in
varying concentration. Thus the
study establishes that Indian
unbranded PVC toys do contain lead
and cadmium.
The overall average concentrations of
lead and cadmium are 112.51 ppm
and 15.71 ppm respectively. The
range for lead concentration in tested
samples was 2104ppm to 0.65 ppm.
For cadmium, the range was from
0.016 ppm to 188 ppm.
Concentration of Pb in Delhi samples
varies from 0.65 ppm to 121.8 ppm
with an average of 27.8 ppm. Con-
centration of Cd is generally high in
samples from Delhi is found to be
low in the samples brought from
Mumbai and Chennai.
Forty-three out of 60 toy samples
purchased from Delhi tested positive
29
for PVC, while all toy samples
purchased from Mumbai tested
positive for PVC. Eight samples
(close to 30 per cent) from Mumbai
contained more than US CPSC
(Consumer Product Safety
Commission) standard of 200 ppm
of lead in vinyl blinds. 5 Samples
(close to 20 per cent) had more than
600 ppm of lead, which is the limit
set by US EPA (Environmental
Protection Agency) for painted toys.
Toxicity of PVC
Toys made up of PVC (Polyvinyl
Chloride) are a potential source of
risks to children. Polyvinyl Chloride
is a polymer or large chain-like
molecule, made up of repeating units
of Vinyl Chloride (a monomer),
commonly referred to as Vinyl or
PVC. PVC has a special problem of
auto-digestion. Free hydrogen
radicals and free chlorine radicals
react to form Hydrochloric Acid
(HCl), which leads to a complete loss
of strength. Lead or cadmium is
added into PVC as stabilizers to pre-
vent the free chlorine radicals from
reacting with hydrogen radicals to
form HCl. Lead compounds are the
most common stabilizers in PVC.
Some of them are; basic lead carbon-
ate, lead stearate, basic lead stearate,
tribasic lead stearate, basic (dibasic)
lead stearate, and basic lead phthalate.
Phthalate esters are added to PVC to
make it soft and pliable. Phthalate are
also known to cause liver damage.
Lead and cadmium are also added into
PVC or other plastic products as
colouring agents in form of organo-
metallic compounds. Moreover, PVC
is a chemically dependent material.
“However, these additives leach from
the PVC and contaminate our bodies,
putting especially children at risk. We
need to shift to safer materials that
are non-toxics for products like
toys,” said Dr Abhay Kumar, Senior
Programme Officer, Chemicals and
Health.
Health Impact of Lead and Cad-
mium
Lead and cadmium are known poi-
sons, being neurotoxins and
nephrotoxins, respectively.
Neurotoxins are agents that can
cause toxic effects on the nervous
system while nephrotoxins are agents
that can cause toxic effects on the
kidney. Physicians and scientists
agree that no level of lead in blood is
safe or normal. The disturbing fact
is that exposure to extremely small
amounts can have long-term and
measurable effects in children while
at the same time causing no
distinctive symptoms. Another
problem of lead exposure is it being
cumulative in nature. After lead is
absorbed into blood, some of it is
filtered out and excreted, but the rest
is distributed in the liver, brain,
kidneys and bones. What’s more
disturbing is what happens when lead
gets into the bones. Bone stores lead
and stay there for decades. It can re-
enter the body when bone breaks
down as part of a regular metabolic
process or due to some specific
physiological conditions like os-
teoporosis, causing re-exposure.
Exposure Pathways
The chewing and swallowing
behaviour of children is a common
source of lead and cadmium expo-
sure. However, swallowing is not
even necessary for exposure. Simply
chewing and sucking on plastic
cables is a known source of lead
poisoning. Lead and cadmium
contaminated dust is another source
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
Some worrying indicators
- India has no enforceable stan-
dards for lead, cadmium and
other toxic metals permissible in
toys
- Toys, particularly soft PVC
toys, which are intimately linked
to children’s environment, have
not been investigated as one of
the possible sources of lead,
cadmium and other heavy met-
als exposure to children.
- It is estimated that the industry
volume is 1.5 billion dollars in
the unorganised sector.
- Soft toys, mostly made of PVC,
account for 35 per cent of
India’s total production of toys.
of exposure and is especially
dangerous as it can enter into the
body in multiple ways. Routes of in-
gestion include licking, sucking,
mouthing, inhalation and hand-to-
mouth behaviour. Another source of
exposure to lead and cadmium can
be the toxic dust released during the
degradation of vinyl children’s
products. So a child may simulta-
neously be exposed to toxic metals
like Pb and Cd through various
sources. A standard or regulation for
an individual product based on its risk
assessment may not match with the
reality.
Indian Standards
It is estimated that the toy industry is
worth 1.5 billion dollars in the
unorganised sector and soft toys
made of PVC account for 35 per cent
of India’s total production. However,
there are no legal and binding stan-
dards that stipulate the safe limits of
the heavy metal contents in toys
(plastic or otherwise), locally manu-
factured or imported. The issue of
safety is left largely up to the
manufacturers discretion and
judgment. The Indian standard is with
respect to bio-availability of lead and
30
cadmium, which is only voluntary in
nature.
Preventive Approaches
India as a state must provide safe en-
vironment to children so that they are
not exposed to toxic chemicals. As
discussed earlier this can only be
achieved by implementing a robust
regulatory mechanism and a preven-
tive approach. The presence of heavy
metals like lead and cadmium in toys
poses equally damaging threat to the
environment as these heavy metals
ultimately end up being locked in soil
and the air. A poor state of affairs of
solid waste management make this
even more damaging. Burning toxic
toys results in releases of dangerous
toxics like dioxins. PVC is known for
releasing dioxins upon burning. Since
no level of lead and cadmium should
be considered safe in toys and hence
all attempt must be made to replace
materials having toxic potential by
safer materials without heavy metals
or other leachable chemicals.
The Way Ahead
Asserting that this pioneering study
was taken up with the idea of draw-
ing attention of policymakers and re-
searchers alike, Ravi Agarwal said,
“We hope this study, will help trigger
off larger investigations both in the
amounts of heavy metals as well as
the exposure they cause to children.
We have been specifically research-
ing and working on areas of migra-
tion of heavy metals like lead and cad-
mium in vegetables, as well as use of
mercury in various sectors like light-
ing, chlor alkali, health care and tra-
ditional medicines.”
- HT Bureau
 Curing the Ills of India:
Discretion as a Gateway to Corruption
I
t is very difficult to pin-point a
few political leaders, unquestion
ably, who were predominantly
responsible for disarray and decay of
public order in this country. Many
political parties with different leaders
at the helm of affairs have ruled the
country since the Independence at
different junctures, some for longer
durations and others, for shorter
periods. Thoughts of political masters
are also influenced and shaped from
the thinking of intellectuals of that era
as well as the contemporary
happenings of their time.
It is easy for the academicians and
other intellectuals to turn the blame
for corruption or any other calamity
of the country, on the political leaders
by calling them names such as
scoundrels or blood-sucking political
vampires or what not but the problem
of corruption is structural in Indian
context. Time and again, intellectuals
point out problems and also suggest
piece-meal solutions but they often
leave gaps in their suggested
solutions, for endless debates to
simmer thereafter. But they seldom
come forward with comprehensive
practical solutions which could be
termed as fool-proof or at least have
in-built trustworthy safety measures
where one could fall-back in time of
crisis and again recoup for further
march towards development.
To my mind, the single biggest
contributor towards corruption in
public life in India can be identified
as discretion, discretion, and
discretion!!! The term “Discretion”
is held in high esteem in this country.
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
In Hindi language discretion means
VIVEK, which connotes an action
undertaken with utmost sincerity,
intelligence and foresight. In practice,
the bigger the authority, the bigger
discretionary powers are vested in it.
For example, the Prime Minister can
announce grants of several hundred
billions of rupees for appeasing people
of a particular region and
simultaneously can turn a blind eye
even towards genuine problems
faced by the people of another region.
Many intellectuals would call it as a
policy decision of the Government. I
would call it as an exercise of
discretion on the part of the
Government, which should not be
carried out for obvious reasons, if it
is not supported by irrefutable logic.
Application of discretion cannot be
justified only because it is decorated
with dignified terms, like, call of the
hour, considered opinion, historical
perspective, etc., because such
hollow justifications can be debated
endlessly and pave the way for
indulgence in more and more ad-hoc
solutions for governance, which only
harm the cause of good governance.
Generally, most of the discretionary
actions of the political masters are
aimed at only one target, viz., how
to create or consolidate vote bank of
their party so that it could form
Government after the next election?
Sometimes they want to appease one
section of the society and another
time they try to win over confidence
31
- Dr. Prem Kumar Sinha
of the other groups of people. If the
main aim of the political masters
would have been to develop the
country as a whole and they were
wise enough to pursue this
immaculately, they would have started
the process of putting in place clear-
cut guidelines, free from various kinds
of interpretations, for the governance
of the country, thereby preparing the
ground for steadily curtailing
discretionary powers of various
authorities.
The following illustrations may well
explicate my point of view:
1. In the year 2002, there were huge
uproars in both the Houses of
Parliament with regard to some
irregularities in allotment of retail
petrol pump dealerships and LPG
distributorships, by the Petroleum
Ministry, purportedly to some
persons, most of whom were
connected to political bigwigs.
Eventually, the Supreme Court of
India stepped in and ordered
examination of the whole issue by a
two-member committee of former
Supreme Court Judges, which later
found irregularities and favouritism
in award of retail petrol pump
dealerships and LPG distributorships.
The Supreme Court finally stamped
cancellation of 93 such allotments on
the 7th November, 2008.
In India, dealerships/distributorships
of petroleum products supplied by
the government controlled companies
are highly coveted because of their
huge earning potential; naturally there
are more aspirants than the availability
of such dealerships. Had the
petroleum ministry auctioned award
of these dealerships in a transparent
manner, the Government would have
generated a lot more revenue besides
saving it from public disgrace as a
result of the indictment of the
Supreme Court of India which found
fault with the discretionary actions
of the petroleum ministry. The fall out
of the entire episode was that the
country was deprived of its legitimate
income and culture of corruption
spread further. So the crux of this
example is that in the absence of
clear-cut guidelines and inherent
scope for exercising discretion by the
authorities, favouritism can be
practised, which is nothing but
corruption. So it can be concluded
that corruption follows discretionary
overtures.
2. In June 2008, passenger vehicles
with engines of more than 1500cc
capacity to 1999cc capacity, were
levied additional central excise duty
of Rs.15,000/- per vehicle, further
additional cost of about Rs.6000/-
came along in the form of subsequent
increase in value added tax, road tax,
and insurance charges. Authorities
said that it was promulgated to
promote smaller cars which are more
fuel-efficient. Its net result was that
SX4 model of the Maruti Suzuki
company took a financial hit to the
tune of Rs.21,000/- (approx.)
because its engine capacity was
1586cc, whereas another car, viz.,
Honda City, which came from the
stable of the Honda Siel Company
remained unaffected from the duty
hike because its engine capacity was
1497cc.
It is a clear-cut case of exercising
discretion for fixing up a cut-off mark
by the whims of the concerned
authorities. There should be clear-cut
guidelines in advance whereby taxes
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
and duties should be governed and
not fixed by some ad-hoc decisions
which are taken overnight, whereby
some sections are benefitted and
some are hit. When discretion can be
used to favour one party over the
interests of another party, there is
always a lot of scope to use it for
monetary gains. Is this not
corruption?
3. Now, I take the example of the
recent loan-waivers of about Rs.710
billion, announced in the Union Budget
2008-09, whereby farmers who had
land holding up to 2 hectares were
completely exempted from
repayment of loans and those having
land holding above 2 hectares were
granted minimum benefit of
Rs.20,000/- or up to 25 percent of
the balance amount, due up to 31st
December, 2007 and remained unpaid
until 29th February, 2008. There was
intense debate in print as well as
electronic media of the country,
regarding pros and cons of the loan-
waiver. I am not going into the merits
and demerits of this loan-waiver,
because intellectuals have already
expressed their views in this matter
in depth and I have nothing more
substantial to add over it. But my
contention is only on one point, viz.,
what was thought for those who took
pains to repay their loans? Should
have they not been rewarded for
being dutiful and law-abiding? Many
have opined and I also do feel that
these dutiful farmers should have been
at least given some monetary discount
on the quantum of interest paid by
them or else they could have been
assured lower interest payment in
case of future loans. Were we not
indifferent towards the non-defaulters
and showering gratis who defaulted
for any reason whatsoever? What is
the sensible logic behind this
discretion?
32
Authorities may give sensational
speeches to justify their action for
exercising such discretion and then
calling it as a policy decision of the
Government. The discretion
observed in granting of this loan-
waiver might have not given any
monetary benefit to those in the
Government but it would have
certainly shown the way to many that
defaulting in the repayment of loans
is after all not a bad thing and should
not be looked down upon. In future,
more and more people will back out
from repayment of loans. Does it not
tantamount to teaching the lesson for
practising corruption by encouraging
wilful default? Is this not equivalent
to sowing the seed of corruption and
cheating in the lives of henceforth
honest people? Had there been a
uniform policy to provide relief to all
the farmers instead of practising
discretion in form of the ad-hoc
decisions, it could have been termed
as a policy decision of the
Government for the welfare of the
entire farmer community. So here, I
just want to emphasize that acts of
discretion in one way or the other
eventually encourage corruption.
In a recent report appearing in
Business Standard dated 15th
December, 2008, it was mentioned
that the cooperative banks were
witnessing up to 25 percent default
in repayment of loans whereas earlier
around 10 percent farmers were
defaulting. Reason: Many farmers are
expecting another financial bail-out!!!
4. Now, I describe as to how
corruption starts when discretion is
exercised in classifying people in
three main categories in India, viz.,
(i) Antyodaya Families (poorest of the
poor), (ii) Below Poverty Line (BPL)
Families, and (iii) Above Poverty Line
(APL) Families, because on the basis
of this very categorization,
differential benefits under Targeted
Public Distribution System of the
Government are granted to the
people.
Earlier, there was Universal Public
Distribution System which did not
differentiate people on the basis of
their financial status. Later, it was
revamped and rechristened as
Targeted Public Distribution System
(TPDS) in the year 1997, whereby
households were classified in two
broad categories, viz., (i) BPL
families and (ii) APL families. Rates
of food-grains and other commodities
were kept substantially lower for BPL
families than those prescribed for the
APL families.
Later, in the year 2000, the
Government created another category
of families, viz., Antyodaya families,
with a view to extend additional
benefits to the poorest among the BPL
families. These Antyodaya families
were to be short-listed amongst the
existing BPL families. Earlier, the total
number of Antyodaya families was
limited to 15.33% of the total BPL
families, now this number has been
raised to 23% of the total BPL
families. Presently, 15 million families
(comprising 75 million people) are
eligible for getting benefits meant for
Antyodaya category.
Though, the GOI has notified
elaborate guidelines for identifying
families belonging to the Antyodaya
category and the BPL category, an
officer attached to a particular village
body (gram sabha) or urban local
body enjoys the final discretion in
certifying whether a family belongs
to the category of Antyodaya family
or BPL family or APL family.
However, the problem is further
compounded by the fact that the
people belonging to weaker sections
do not enjoy financial stability, thus
Vol. XV No. 11 November 2018
their financial condition remains in a
fluid state.
Moreover, disasters strike without
notice, any calamity in a family can
descend on it any time, be it on
account of death, illness, accident,
flood, drought, fire, loss of job or any
other misfortune. It can alter all the
equations of financial stability of a
marginal household in no time. So the
financial condition of a family
belonging to weaker sections, which
has no source of fixed income,
usually remains prone to extreme
volatility and thus its income level
cannot be certified with surety at all.
So how can a government official
certify with authenticity, even if he
tries for it, as to who belong to APL
or BPL or Antyodaya category? Even
place of residence of people keeps
on changing from rural to urban and
vice-versa, at the same time, poverty
line is different for rural and urban
areas. In rural areas households with
per capita income up to Rs.356/- p.m.
are classified as belonging to the BPL
category, whereas in urban areas this
limit is Rs.538/- p.m.
Even the estimates of the Central
Government and those of the State
Governments do not corroborate.
The Planning Commission of India
has listed 0.75 million households
belonging to BPL families for
Haryana, whereas Haryana State
Government has identified 1.1 million
BPL families in the state (Source: The
Hindu dated 23rd August, 2008).
When the estimates of the Central
Government and its State
Governments can be at such a wide
variance then what would be the level
of accuracy in identifying true status
of households by the government
officials attached to various village
and urban local bodies. When people
are supplied ration at substantially
33
varying prices for different categories
of people, naturally, many would
desire that they be classified in such
a way that they avail of maximum
discount in the purchase of essential
commodities. This desire of the
people to avail of maximum monetary
benefit coupled with the greed on the
part of the government officials to
earn quick money, prompts the
government officials to use the
weapon of discretion which is vested
with them, which eventually
culminates in sowing the seed of
corruption in the entire society. And
enormity of this corruption and
inefficiency can be gauged by a
recent survey of the National Council
of Applied Economic Research,
which has reckoned that at least 20
million bogus BPL cards are in
circulation while 11 million genuinely
poor families, including the poorest
of the poor who should have been
given Antyodaya category benefits,
do not possess any ration card
(Source: Business Standard dated
15th January, 2008).
Thus, it is obvious that the element
of discretion inherent in the process
of certification by an officer attached
to a village local body or an urban
local body, prepares ground for
multiplying corruption level in public
life from the grass-root level. I have
discussed in the following sections
as to how the need for classifying
people in various categories can itself
be dispensed with by extending
comprehensive social security to all,
thus paving the way to weed out
corruption completely, at least from
this part of public domain.
- The author is working as the
Assistant Registrar (Academic) at
Dayalbagh Educational Institute,
Agra.
The article is available online at
http://www.curingindia.com/
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3. Envelopes E-mail: crystalcom@gmail.com
4. Marriage & Invitation Cards etc.