Wednesday, Mar 30, 2005
Wednesday, Mar 30, 2005 |
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By Sridhar Krishnaswami
WASHINGTON, MARCH 29. Although India is a "vibrant democracy" with strong Constitutionally guaranteed human rights protections, the poor enforcement of laws, especially at the local levels and the "severely out burdened" court system "weaken the delivery of justice," the State Department has said in its latest report, "Supporting human rights and democracy: The U.S. record 2004-2005." In its observations on India, the report said the victory of the United Progressive Alliance over the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party in the parliamentary elections of last year "verified" the ability of the people of India to change their government peacefully. "With a Muslim President, Sikh Prime Minister and Christian head of the governing parliamentary party, India's leadership is representative of its religious diversity," the State Department said. Unlike the Human Rights Report issued by the State Department that comments on practices in some 196 countries, this report informs Congress what the United States has done to promote human rights in 96 countries, including troublesome regions. "Although the Government [of India] generally respected the human rights of its citizens, numerous problems remained," the report said and pointed to "shortcomings" such as extra-judicial killings, custodial deaths, excessive use of force by security forces, poor prison conditions and arbitrary arrests, and disappearances in combating insurgencies in Jammu and Kashmir. "Widespread corruption, caste-based discrimination and exploitation of workers, including indentured and bonded servants and child labourers continued as did religiously motivated violence against Christians and Muslims," the State Department said. "The United States human rights and democracy initiatives in India focussed on the promotion of good governance and the rights of vulnerable groups," the report said while pointing to the various undertakings of American government agencies such as USAID administered programmes. The role of the American Embassy in New Delhi and consulates were also highlighted. The report said the South Asian region faced numerous human rights and development challenges but despite these there had been "notable successes." "The continuing thaw in relations between India and Pakistan was another positive development. Both President Musharraf and Prime Minister [Manmohan] Singh showed willingness to reach peaceful settlements on major bilateral issues, including Kashmir. Continued engagement between India and Pakistan has the potential to improve the lives of the Kashmiri people by ending years of estrangement and political violence."
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