Date: 4/4/2001
STATE OF INDIAN CIVILISATION
INDIA IS THE COUNTRY THAT STRETCHES FROM KHYBER PASS IN THE NORTH WEST TO CHITTAGONG IN THE SOUTH EAST. THE PRESENT POLITICAL DIVISIONS, BOUNDARIES AND BORDERS, ARE ABSURD AND ARTIFICIAL. THEY WERE IMPOSED ON THE IGNORANT, UNSUSPECTING AND ILLITERATE PEOPLE IN 1947 WITHOUT ANY REGARD WHATSOEVER TO THE CONSEQUENCES AND IMPLICATIONS THAT WERE TO HIT OR DEVASTATE THEM ALL.
Human Rights in India and Pakistan -
(Excerpts from the US State Department's "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2000")
From Asia Times, February 28, 2001
INDIA (BHARATVARSHA, the Land of Birth of Lords Krishna & Rama.)
The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens in some areas; however, numerous serious problems remain, despite extensive constitutional and statutory safeguards. Significant human rights abuses included:
Extrajudicial killings, including faked encounter killings, deaths of suspects in police custody throughout the country, and excessive use of force by security forces combating active insurgencies in Jammu and Kashmir and several northeastern states;
torture and rape by police and other agents of the Government;
poor prison conditions;
arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast;
continued detention throughout the country of thousands arrested under special security legislation;
lengthy pretrial detention;
prolonged detention while undergoing trial; occasional limits on freedom of the press and freedom of movement;
harassment and arrest of human rights monitors;
extensive societal violence against women;
legal and societal discrimination against women;
female bondage and forced prostitution;
child prostitution and infanticide;
discrimination against the disabled;
serious discrimination and violence against indigenous people and scheduled castes and tribes;
widespread intercaste and communal violence;
societal violence against Christians and Muslims;
widespread exploitation of indentured, bonded, and child labor;
and
trafficking in women and children.
Many of these abuses are generated by a traditionally hierarchical social structure, deeply rooted tensions among the country's many ethnic and religious communities, violent secessionist movements and the authorities' attempts to repress them, and deficient police methods and training.
These problems are acute in Jammu and Kashmir, where judicial tolerance of the Government's heavy-handed counter-insurgency tactics, the refusal of security forces to obey court orders, and terrorist threats have disrupted the judicial system. The number of insurgency-related killings in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast by regular security forces increased from the previous year.
In the northeast there was no clear decrease in the number of killings, despite negotiated ceasefires between the Government and some insurgent forces, and between some tribal groups.
The concerted campaign of execution-style killings of civilians by Kashmiri militant groups, begun in 1998, continued, and included several killings of political leaders and party workers.
Separatist militants were responsible for numerous, serious abuses, including killing of armed forces personnel, police, government officials, and civilians; torture; rape; and brutality.
Separatist militants also were responsible for kidnaping and extortion in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeastern states.
In July one of the largest Kashmiri militant groups announced a unilateral ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir and offered to open a dialog with the Government. The Government responded by instructing its military forces to reciprocate the ceasefire, accepting the offer of dialogue, and beginning talks.
The ceasefire and talks ended abruptly in August when the militants demanded the start of tripartite talks between themselves, the Government of India, and the Government of Pakistan.
During the same period, Pakistan-backed militants opposed to the ceasefire attacked and killed more than 100 civilians, many of them Hindu religious pilgrims, at several locations in Jammu and Kashmir. On November 26, the Government instituted its own unilateral suspension of offensive action for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Jammu and Kashmir and offered to initiate dialog with militant groups that wished to come forward for talks.
The Government extended the ceasefire on December 20, and it remained in force at year's end. The Government also continued to pursue a dialog with Kashmiri militant groups, but no formal talks had begun by year's end.
Extrajudicial killings by government forces (including deaths in custody and faked encounter killings) continued to occur frequently in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and several northeastern states, where separatist insurgencies continued. Security forces offered bounties for wanted militants brought in dead or alive.
The security forces also killed civilians during military counterinsurgency operations. For example, on March 25, security forces shot and killed 5 men in Pathribal village, south of Srinagar, alleging that these men were responsible for the March 20 massacre of 35 Sikh civilians in Chattisinghpura village (see Section 5); however, the victims' family members claim that all of the men were innocent civilians whom the police killed, burned, and buried.
A Home Ministry spokesman, announcing an investigation into the killings of the five men, later admitted that Jammu and Kashmir police may have "overreacted" in shooting the civilians. On April 3, the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Kashmir police and the Central Reserve police force fired into a group of several hundred unarmed Muslim protesters in Brakpora, Anantnag district, killing 8 persons and injuring at least 15 others.
The demonstrators were protesting the March 25 Pathribal village killings. On April 18, the Jammu and Kashmir government opened a judicial inquiry, under the leadership of retired Supreme Court Justice S.R. Pandian, to investigate the Anantnag incident. On October 31, Jammu and Kashmir's Chief Minister reported that the Home Ministry's Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the SOG of the Jammu and Kashmir police force were guilty of using excessive force during the April 3 Brakpora incident. While some members of the police special task force were indicted in connection with the Brakpora killings, trials had not begun by year's end.
According to human rights groups, unacknowledged, incommunicado detention of suspected militants continued in Jammu and Kashmir; however, the Government has not released any recent figures.
The Ministry of Home Affairs reported that 744 suspected militants were arrested in 1999 and 109 persons surrendered. In comparison, according to the Jammu and Kashmir police, 1,228 suspected militants were arrested in 1998 and 187 persons surrendered. Human rights organizations allege that the decline in the number of militants arrested from 1998 to 1999 is consistent with reports that security forces are killing many militants captured in "encounters" (see Section 1.a.); that pattern continued during the year. Of those arrested and who surrendered in 1998, 529 persons were released after preliminary questioning, 457 persons were charged under special security laws, and the remaining persons were released at a later stage of judicial review.
In addition the Jammu and Kashmir police stated that in 1998 it held 514 persons under the Public Safety Act (PSA). According to an Amnesty International report that was released during the year, there are between 700 and 800 unsolved disappearances in Kashmir since 1990. The Home Ministry reported that security forces in the northeastern states arrested 1,413 suspected militants in 1999; an additional 1,080 militants surrendered during that year. In comparison 1,485 suspected militants were arrested and 267 persons surrendered in 1998.
The Government was unable to provide complete statistics for the number of persons held under special security laws in the northeastern states, but acknowledged that 43 persons were in detention under the National Security Act as of December 31, 1998. Although the Government allowed the Terrorist and Disruptive Practices (Prevention) Act (TADA) to lapse in 1995, human rights organization credibly reported that more than 1,000 persons remained in detention awaiting prosecution under the law.
Several thousand others are held in short-term (1 day to 6 months duration) confinement in transit and interrogation centers.
The law prohibits torture, and confessions extracted by force generally are inadmissible in court; however, torture is common throughout the country, and authorities often use torture during interrogations. In other instances, they torture detainees to extort money and sometimes as summary punishment.
There were numerous attacks against Christian communities and Christian missionaries during the year. In August the SAHRDC stated that there had been 57 such attacks during the first 7 months of the year.
The SAHRDC stated the attacks had taken three forms: Attacks on priests and nuns; attacks on evangelists and disruption of prayer meetings; and attacks on churches, hospitals, and other charitable institutions.
Attacks occurred in Tamil Nadu, Goa, Punjab, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. There were a series of incidents in Uttar Pradesh in April. On April 6, an angry mob, demanding a decrease in school fees and an increase in the number of passing students, harassed the principal of Sacred Heart school in Mathura. The principal disputed an allegation that the harassment was because of school fees, saying that she was harassed and chased by a group of young men (not parents of students) who also asked her questions about the religious texts read at the school. On April 10, Father Joseph Dabre, principal of St. Dominic's school in Mathura, was beaten by six young men who went to the school on the pretext of inquiring about admissions. On April 11, in Kosi Kalan near Mathura, 8 to 10 assailants attacked Father K.K. Thomas at St. Theresa's school when he rushed to the assistance of a servant girl and 3 nuns whom the assailants were attacking. Thomas was injured seriously; his attackers had not been found by year's end.
(For this Report, the widespread extra judicial arrests, torture, killings and "fake encounters", that claimed THOUSANDS OF LIVES in EAST Punjab during 1970's, 1980's and 1990's, are already "history".
So are they for the dimwit SIKHS themselves. The Government of EAST Punjab under Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, located on UNION Territory of Chandigarh, has yet to compile all those names!)
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Pakistan (IT WILL REMAIN AN INDIAN TERRITORY AND RESPONSIBILITY UNTIL A REFERENDUM IS HELD OVER PARTITION ACROSS THE SUB CONTINENT, or UNTIL ALL THE MUSLIMS IN 'PARTITIONED' INDIA ARE GIVEN A BOOT or "MARCHING ORDERS".
We can recall the days of divided Germany. Whatever happened in East Germany was noted, discussed and "thrashed" in the media, even Parliament, in West Germany, while what is happening in neighbouring Pakistan seems to be of NO consequence to the sleeping Indians!)
The Government's human rights record was poor, and the Government committed numerous serious abuses; however, there were improvements in some areas, particularly with respect to freedom of the press.
Citizens continued to be denied the right to choose or change their government peacefully. Police committed numerous extrajudicial killings; however, there were fewer such killings than in 1999. In Karachi there were fewer killings between rival political factions during the year; however, many of these killings reportedly were committed by or with the participation of the security forces. Police abused and raped citizens. While the officers responsible for such abuses sometimes were transferred or suspended for their actions, no officer has been convicted and very few have been arrested. In Karachi there were signs of progress in redressing police excesses; however, in general police continued to commit serious abuses with impunity. Prison conditions remained extremely poor, and police arbitrarily arrested and detained citizens.
The Government used arbitrary and sometimes incommunicado detention against leaders of the Sharif Government and their families; several major political leaders remained in jail or in self-imposed exile abroad at year's end. Case backlogs led to long delays in trials, and lengthy pretrial detention is common. The judiciary is subject to executive and other outside influences, and corruption, inefficiency, and lack of resources remained problems. The Government took steps to control the judiciary and to remove itself from judicial oversight. On January 25, General Musharraf ordered all Supreme Court, Shariat court, and provincial High Court justices to swear to uphold the post-coup Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO), which suspended the Constitution and legislative bodies and prohibited the superior courts from making any decision against the Chief Executive "or any person exercising powers or jurisdiction under his authority." Six Supreme Court justices, including the Chief Justice, and nine other provincial court justices resigned in protest.
The Government's anticorruption campaign violated due process. In October 1998, the National Assembly (NA) voted for a 15th constitutional amendment, which would have required the Government to enforce Shari'a (Islamic law) throughout the country. However, General Musharraf abandoned his predecessor's attempt to enact the amendment.
In April the Sindh Court found Nawaz Sharif guilty of treason and other charges; however, the court imposed a life sentence instead of the death penalty sought by the Musharraf Government. The court acquitted Sharif's six codefendants. In October the Sindh High Court upheld Nawaz Sharif's conviction. However, on December 9, the Government commuted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's prison sentence and exiled him and 18 of his family members to Saudi Arabia for 10 years. The Government infringed on citizens' privacy rights. The press was able to publish relatively freely; however, several journalists practiced self-censorship, especially on sensitive issues related to the military.
There was not a systematic harassment campaign against newspapers or commentators critical of the Government during the year; however, the broadcast media remain a closely controlled government monopoly. (SHAME ON THE "ISLAM IN ISLAMIC REPUBLIC" IF BROADCASTING IS CONTROLLED!)
The Government restricted freedom of assembly. During the year, the Government sporadically permitted several large anti-government demonstrations; however, it prevented other protests and arrested organizers, reportedly for security reasons.
In March the Government instituted a country-wide ban on strikes, processions, and outdoor political demonstrations. The Government maintained some limits on freedom of association. The Government imposed some limits on freedom of religion, particularly for Ahmadis. The Government also imposed limits on freedom of movement.
General Musharraf spoke out against some of the human rights abuses of the previous regime and held a conference on human rights in April; however, the Government made minimal progress toward achieving the goals set at the conference.
Significant numbers of women were subjected to violence, abuse, rape, and other forms of degradation by spouses and members of society.
("DAUGHTERS OF MOHAMMED" THERE, AND "DAUGHTERS OF LORD KRISHNA AND GURU NANAK HERE, WERE ABDUCTED, TRAPPED & CONFINED, RAPED AND GANG-RAPED ACROSS THE LENGTH AND BREADTH OF THE DARK SUB CONTINENT. THIS WAS SHOWING OUR NATIVE INDIAN CIVILISATION TO THE REST OF THE WORLD! IT WAS A REFLECTION OF CALIBRE OF THE INDIAN RACE.)
The Government publicly criticized the practice of "honor killings" but failed to take corrective steps, and such killings continued throughout the country.
There was considerable discrimination against women, and traditional social and legal constraints kept women in a subordinate position in society.
Violence against children, as well as child abuse, and prostitution, remained serious problems.
Female children still lag far behind boys in education, health care, and other social indices.
Governmental and societal discrimination against religious minorities, particularly Ahmadis and Christians remains a problem, and the Government failed to take effective measures to counter prevalent public prejudices against religious minorities. Religious and ethnic-based rivalries resulted in numerous killings and civil disturbances.
The Government and employers continued to restrict worker rights significantly. Debt slavery persists, and bonded labor by both adults and children remained a problem.
The use of child labor remained widespread, although it generally is recognized as a serious problem, and industrial exporters have adopted a number of measures to eliminate child labor from specific sectors.
Trafficking in women and children for the purpose of forced prostitution was a serious problem. Mob violence and terrorist attacks remained problems; however, the number of incidents declined slightly during the year.
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DO YOU SEE AN END TO THE MISERY OF THE WRETCHED PEOPLE OF THE SUB CONTINENT WHO ARE NOWHERE NEAR THE LEVEL OF DIGNITY AND INDIVIDUAL LIBERTIES OF A EUROPEAN.
WE KNOW THAT SOCIETIES THAT FIT THE ABOVE SOCIAL DESCRIPTION SOON END UP IN WIDESPREAD BLOODSHED AND DESTRUCTION.
HOW ELSE DO THE REVOLUTIONS BEGIN?
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