Saviors of human rights

Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh had said on Wednesday that he had given a free hand to the police to counter the Maoists and assured them that they would not be hassled by the Human Rights Commission.

The Minister was addressing the valedictory function of the 33rd national conference of the heads of police training institutes from different states. It is pathetic that the people responsible for safeguarding the law and the rights of the citizens are making such thoughtless comments. Human rights, especially of minorities have been violated most of the time in the country with the Sangh Parivar and its allies following the same suit. The AFSPA act which grants special powers to the armed forces in what the act terms as "disturbed areas" has been widely endorsed by them. The act has been a matter of concern due to the armed forces indulging in gross violation of human rights by operating under the shield of the controversial law. Arbitrary killings, torture, rape and other inhuman and degrading treatments by the officials on the suspects has led to numerous protests, including that of the “Iron lady of Manipur”, Irom Sharmila. The civil rights activist has been on a hunger strike for almost 14 years protesting the "Malom Massacre" committed by the Assam Rifles. The laxness of the government in responding to her demands clearly reinforces the stance of the Sangh Parivar and its allies that those who don’t comply with their religious viewpoints or ideologies are to be considered terrorists and traitors.

Modi’s refusal of Sharmila’s request to visit him in person reiterates the fact. The highly controversial fake encounter killings of the 19 year old Ishrat Jahan Raza and Sohrabuddin Sheikh in Gujarat have even Modi and Amit Shah named in the case. Amit Shah was jailed in Sohrabuddin fake encounter case for nearly three months. The same people now lead the nation, Modi as the premier and Shah as the party’s national president. It’s despicable how criminal minded persons grow in strength and power to use it for their own petty purposes with equal support from the police and the judiciary. Amidst the deliberate enforcement of Hindutwa strategies, the law, interests and the rights of the people have been sidelined. The Home Minister’s remarks providing special rights and freedom to the police and the armed forces who are considered the saviors of the citizens, stand a risk of being manipulated and leading to dire consequences.