Inhman Rights

“Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all the members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”, Preamble, UDHR.
Rights that a person gets simply because he or she is a human being are termed as ‘human rights’. These include civil, political, social, economic, social, environmental rights. As most of these rights are given by the ‘State’, they exercise a special ethical (or unethical) right of terminating any of or all of these rights. Petty political, diplomatic and economic interests drive most States and the missionary of states to abuse and misuse their powers flex them according to their whims and desires. The frequent abuse of human rights in most states has led to a new system of “In-human Rights”, rights which are sole authority of few states or of handful of people.
We often hear of gross human right violations in Kashmir, Communist China, Palestine, Pakistan, North-east Indian states. But have we ever pondered over the issue? Do we even know what it means to suffer? Well here are some eye-openers….

For Angammal and her husband Guruviah, the nightmare began when they were accused of receiving stolen property and arrested. They denied all knowledge. Their interrogation began the following day. What followed were a systematic beating, sexual abuse and humiliation. They were stripped naked, hung from the roof and hit with bamboo sticks. They were forced to stimulate intercourse in front baying Policemen.

Mr G M Lone, a journalist from Kangan Kashmir, made a statement that he was warned by the local officer that he will be killed if he continued to report atrocities in that area. This warning was published in all Kashmir newspapers. Two days later he was killed along with 7 year-old son. Willaim A Orme, Jr Executive director of CPJ (Committee for protection of Journalists), made a representation to Narasima Rao, then PM of India. "CPJ views slaying of Mr. Lone and his son is a flagrant violations of the right to seek, receive and impart information, regardless of frontiers, guaranteed by article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We want judicial investigation into the case." Copies went to all forums of the world. India stalled any response.

Adel Hamad was taken at gunpoint from his home in Pakistan by US and Pakistani agents in July 2002. He was held in Pakistani prison for months before being transferred to US detention at Bagram in Afghanistan and then at Guantanamo. He had worked as an administrative director at a hospital in Afghanistan, which US authorities claimed had links to terrorist organisations. Adel denies knowing anything about these alleged links. Despite apparently having been cleared for transfer or release from the base in December 2005, Adel is still behind bars suffering physical and mental torture every second.
The sufferings of prisoners kept in Guantanamo without trial is so horrendous that about 145 representatives of the House of Representatives wrote in a letter to President Bush, “Guantanamo Bay has become a liability in the broader global war on terror, as allegations of torture, the indefinite detention of innocent men, and international objections to the treatment…..Its continued operation also threatens the safety of US citizens and military personnel detained abroad.”
I gave just three instances. That does not mean that the rest of the world is at peace. The kind of human right violations that take place everyday all over the place would make the memories of even super computers crash and hundreds of books of the size of this magazine would fall short in registering all the cases.
But is there no end to these gross violations of human rights, which are natural rights and perhaps divine too? The irony of fate is that countries which are most vocal of human rights top the list in violations as well. Pakistan talks human right violations in Kashmir, but ignores the same in Baluchistan, NWFP. America speaks of it around the world and exploits the same principles wherever it suits them. This reminds me of George Orwell, who once remarked “A humanitarian is always a hypocrite.” I also remember a sher (couplet) in Urdu which in English would translate to:
“My assassin is himself the Judge
Justice is uncalled for……”

George Barnad Shaw rightly remarked “only on paper has humanity yet achieved glory, beauty, truth, knowledge, virtue and abiding love.”
Am I sounding too pessimist? Well I am not. But I am only aghast seeing the situations around the world. But there is still hope, a silver line; and the only way to achieve it is, in john Comenius words “Let us have but one end in view, the welfare of humanity; and let us put aside all selfishness in consideration of language, nationality, or religion.”