Wish All My Readers a Very Happy New Year 2010

The year 2009 is going to become history as year 2010 beckons all of us to new and greater challenges and experiences in our lives. Wish all my readers a very happy and prosperous new year 2010. May this New Year bring abundant happiness and all success in the lives of each and every one of you.

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man." - Benjamin Franklin

Ruchika’s Tragedy – A Case of Delayed and Denied Justice

The emerging facts on the tragic fate that a young girl named Ruchika Girhotra met with after being molested by a top cop 19 years back has become a blot in the collective consciousness of our country. The budding tennis player, who was just 14 years then, was molested by former Haryana Director General of Police, SPS Rathore in the year 1990. In a bid to silence the victim from taking legal action against him, Rathore tortured the family of the girl and influenced his police force to implicate Ruchika’s brother in false cases. Pained by the torture faced by her family members, Ruchika committed suicide 3 years later in 1993.

It took long 19 years for the court to punish the perpetrator of this heinous crime is in itself a matter of disgrace for the Indian judicial system. Adding to this indelible shame is the fact that the court gave only an insignificant punishment of 6 months rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 1000 to SPS Rathore. The sight of the culprit walking out of the court smiling was just disgusting for anyone who would have even a trifle of conscience in him. The tragic fate of Ruchika is a classic example of how influential people in our country walk free even after committing serious crimes. Instead of giving judicial and emotional support to the victim, our judicial system had further victimized the victim and her family and gave reprieve to the criminal.

SPS Rathore influenced Ruchika’s alma mater Sacred Heart’s School in Chandigarh and made them expel Ruchika from the school, thereby aggravating the trauma faced by the young girl. In order to save the pride and lives of her family members, Ruchika chose to finish her life rather than fight against the molester cop. Public Interest Litigation is going to get filed against The Sacred Heart’s School for expelling Ruchika on flimsy grounds. Instead of giving moral support for the victim of molestation, the school worsened the trauma of a child by expelling her from the school making false allegations of non-payment of fees. Evidences are now coming out that suggest that Rathore even influenced CBI and removed the officer in charge of the investigation from it. CBI didn’t even press for charges against Rathore for abetment of suicide of the teenage girl.

The public outcry on the issue has made the government to act decisively. The union government has already made the decision to reinvestigate the case. The Home Ministry has also taken steps to withdraw police medals from Rathore and to reduce his pension. Not only in the city of Chandigarh, but all across the country people are out on the streets and asking for justice to Ruchika and her family.

Due credit must be given to the family of Aradhana, Ruchika friend who was the lone eye-witness in the case, for keeping the struggle alive for all these years. They befriended Ruchika’s family and gave all moral, emotional and legal support to her family. Even after 19 years, Aradhana’s family is actively pursuing justice for Ruchika and is without doubt a proud story of strong friendship and human commitment.

The government should not only reinvestigate the case but also should make sure that a criminal like SPS Rathore is getting just punishments. Needed amendments must be made on existing laws to make sure that molesters like Rathore are getting legitimate punishments and the delay on serving justice is minimized to whatever extend possible.

Mobilization of public opinion by the media is one of the most important reasons why the case has shot to national prominence, thereby bringing the attention of the political parties and the union government into this gross miscarriage of justice. The public needs to be vigilant against child molesters like SPS Rathore, otherwise our daughters and sisters would face the kind of ordeal that hapless Ruchika faced in her young life. Today, on the 29th of December, while we are observing the 16th death anniversary of Ruchika - May her soul rest in peace - let us all make a resolution that we would always remain alert against criminals like Rathore and would never allow anyone to face the sort of trauma and injustice that young Ruchika faced.

Wish Merry Christmas to All My Readers

Wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas, wherever you are in the world. Christmas is an occasion where we all look forward to wishing our friends and acquaintances joy, pleasure and utmost happiness. May this Christmas bring all of you bountiful delight and merriment.

Would like to quote Charles Dickens here, where in his classic novella ‘A Christmas Carol’ he said, " it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One! "

May God bless all of you.

Human Rights Day 2009 with Non-discrimination as the Theme

More than 60 years back, 61 to be precise, on 10th of December, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declaring that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. That exactly is the theme of this year’s human rights day, removing discrimination from the realm of public and private life. (You can find the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at this link - http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/)

Discrimination is quite rampant all over the world – discrimination on the basis of race, colour, religion, gender, political opinions, nationality, language, sexual orientation, birth, status and disabilities. There are covert and overt practices of discrimination and governments, states, organisations and individuals are equally responsible for this indelible stigma on the face of mankind. In today’s world, we have a range of national and international treaties that imbue the spirit of non discrimination and human rights. Many organisations are working effectively in this field and that has made some tangible difference in the lives of the victims of discrimination. But we still have a long distance to go and therefore this is not a time for us to remain complacent of our achievements in the domain of removing human rights.

Women are victims of discrimination all over the world in whatever areas they indulge in. Women work two-third of the working hours and make half of world’s food, yet they earn only 10% of world’s income and hold less than 1% of world’s property. They face both physical and sexual assaults in their workplaces and outside and the majority of abusers go unpunished, which amplify future assaults. The undeterred energy and determination of many human rights advocates and organisations have made the public more aware of the human rights of women and have pressurised many a state government to bring about national laws for the protection of women and girls.

All around the world children are often subjected to discrimination and gross human rights violations. They are discriminated mainly because they don’t have the ability to voice their concerns to the authorities. Children in places like Palestine and Sudan are facing terrible discrimination and violence. In some places they are forced to enlist themselves in the army for armed struggle. They are denied the chance for education and are mostly forced to work to earn their living. Malnutrition is another form of discrimination and human rights violation that children face all over the world. In India, despite a booming economy, about 25 million children face nutrition deprivation. Undernourished children will have less ability to tide over diseases like diarrhoea, pneumonia and measles.

370 million indigenous people of this world face serious discrimination by the state and other institutions. These people make the 5% of the world’s population, but 15% of the world’s poor. They live their lives in abject poverty and lack all fundamental rights and access to basic services. The indigenous people in many countries don’t have houses to stay in and their children are often discriminated and are not allowed to attend educational institutions.

Refugees and migrant workers are another group of people who are often discriminated against. According to the UNHCR, there are about 42 million people who are forcibly uprooted as a result of violence and persecution. Of this 42 million, 16 million are refugees and 26 million internally displaced. 80% live in developing nations and 10.5 million live in cities and are facing gross human rights violations. Many refugees, women and children included, are under prolonged detention without committing any crime. The UN convention on the rights of refugees and migrant workers are in place, but is often not judiciously applied in many countries.

The largest and most disadvantaged minority in the world are people with disabilities. About 98% children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school and are hence denied the psychological development that education provides. Therefore they are also denied the chance to stand on their own feet when they become elder citizens. National laws in various countries are not conducive for the development of people with disabilities.

Racial and ethnic discrimination is a very serious issue confronting many nations of the world. For example, the Palestinian conflict is basically an ethnic issue between the Arabs and the Jews. The Palestinians are denied basic rights by the Israeli authorities in West Bank and Gaza. They are even denied access to drinking water at some areas and people have to walk long distances for water and have to wait for a very long time to get water. The Palestinians face racial discrimination and chances of ethnic cleansing in Middle East if the international community doesn’t take any steps to counter it.

The enjoyment of universal human rights has the ability to enrich all of us and therefore it is the moral responsibility of each and every individual to uphold human dignity and oppose human rights violations and discrimination. All forms of discrimination feed discontent, mistrust and resentment, which in turn would result in sense of insecurity, crime and violence. Therefore we need to encourage everyone to uphold the spirit of human rights and observe the Human Rights Day 2009 by taking a solemn pledge to support, sustain and endorse human rights and non-discrimination.

UN Climate Summit Starts at Copenhagen

A decisive UN climate summit opened yesterday, the 7th of December 2009, at the Danish capital of Copenhagen with representatives of 192 countries of the world participating. Experts consider this the last chance for humanity to find a lasting solution to the threatening problem of Global Warming that can cause mayhem if not controlled with utmost urgency. If we fail to reach a consensus in the present negotiations at Copenhagen, then we are certainly looking down the barrel and the climate change will ruin our planet, together with the millions of animal and plant species.

Due to human activity of the past several centuries, particularly due to the combustion of fossil fuels, the atmospheric level of carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas, is at a very high and dangerous level. The green house gases are trapping more and more heat in the earth’s surface gradually pushing the heat level of the planet to ominous levels. As a result of increasing heat levels, the average global temperature has risen both in the land and in the oceans. Polar ice is melting, storms and hurricanes are more frequent than before and they are more intense, droughts and floods are more common, sea levels are rising, glaciers are depleting and plants and animals are struggling to adapt to the climate change.

The facts about global warming are clearer than ever before. The world needs to take steps to limit the temperature rise to 2C and any bigger rise to 3-4C would burn the whole planet and turning farmland into deserts. According to NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies, the average temperature around the world has risen 0.8 degree Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1880. The rate of warming is also increasing and the last two decades of the 20th century were the hottest in the last 400 years.

The Arctic is facing the most threatening effect of climate change with the average temperature in Alaska, western Canada and eastern Russia rising at twice the global average level. The Arctic ice is fast depleting and the area may have its first ice-free summer as early as 2040. Polar bears and other indigenous species are already reeling under sea-ice loss. Glaciers and mountain snow are fast disappearing and the melting of the Himalayan Glaciers at an alarming rate is threatening to bring drought and famine to about 1.3 billion Asians. The Glaciers of the Himalayas that sweep through India, Pakistan, China, Nepal and Bhutan bring water to major rivers in these countries. But for the past 30 years, the temperature in this region has risen dramatically by between 0.15C to 0.6C (0.27 and 1.08 degrees Fahrenheit) and this has dramatically affected the glaciers at Himalayas and in turn threatens the level of water in the rivers that derive water from the glacier. Small nations like Maldives, which are surrounded by oceans, are under the threat of getting sunk completely.

The fact that human actions have resulted in global warming is beyond any argument. Industrialised nations are largely responsible for such huge rise in average global temperature and therefore the onus on taking larger steps to counter the phenomenon also lies with them. So it is important for the industrialised nations to cut their carbon emissions. At the same time, developing nations like India can’t cut such emission beyond a certain level as it would adversely affect the socio-economic developmental activities of such nations. Therefore the summit on climate change must find out a just proposition to divide the responsibility of fighting climate change among developed and developing countries. The European Union (EU) and the United States have made commitments on reduction of carbon emission. EU has made a legally binding commitment to cut its emissions by 20 percent on 1990 levels by 2020 and has also said that they would increase that to 30 percent if other countries are committed to “comparable actions”. US President Barrack Obama has proposed to cut its emissions by 4 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020, subjected to approval of the US Congress. China has committed to curb its carbon intensity - a measurement of emissions per unit of GDP - by 40 to 45 percent of 2005 levels by 2020, whereas India has said it will cut emissions 20 to 25 percent by 2020. Developing nations must also make pledges to reduce their carbon emission by meaningful and quantifiable levels.

Climate change affects everyone and therefore it is the responsibility of each and everyone to do something to control global warming. It is imperative for all countries of this world to work together in fighting climate change. Social justice demands that rich countries help the poor countries in effectively fighting climate change by providing financial and technical resources to move on to clean energy technologies so that they can also move towards economic development without growing green house gas emissions. This is the time to act and if we fail this time to reach a consensus on reducing global warming and climate change we would leave behind a calamitous planet and a terrible ecosystem for our children and grandchildren to inherit.

25 Years of Unabated Trauma and Denied Justice at Bhopal

Quarter of a century has passed since the worst industrial tragedy this world has ever seen happened in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. On the fateful night of 2nd December 1984, the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal accidentally released methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas killing many and maiming many more. The remnants of the lethal gas can still be seen in the area and water in this area has been contaminated by the toxic wastes.

The official death toll of the Bhopal tragedy is 3,787, but human rights organisations say that actual toll is much higher than the official report. Some estimates even suggest that the number of people killed as a result of the gas leak within 72 hours would be around 8,000-10,000 and 25,000 have since died from gas related diseases. But since 1984, the victims of the tragedy are continuously striving hard for justice, which has evaded them all these 25 years. Warren Anderson, the Chairman and CEO of the Union Carbide at the time of the tragedy, is the “Accused number 1” and faces charges on many counts, including culpable homicide. Before the tragedy occurred, a team from Carbide had studied the condition of the plant and gave a report saying that the security condition of the gas plant is not up to the mark and noted some leaks to the valves and warned of an imminent danger. Mr. Anderson knew that the safety of the plant at Bhopal was far inferior to their plant at West Virginia, US, but still decided against taking measures to increase the security. Immediately after the tragedy he was placed under house arrest, but won release on a promise that he will return to India to stand in trial. Since then, neither Mr. Anderson nor Union Carbide has returned to India to stand trial. After his refusal to heed multiple summonses for trial, an Indian court declared him to be a fugitive from justice in 1992.

The traumatised condition of the victims of the tragedy has become bad to worse. The Indian government sued the company for $3 billion US dollars, but later settled to 15% of that amount. The survivors of the tragedy have been awarded a lifetime average compensation of Rs.25, 000, which is far below the international compensation standards. Even this paltry amount would reach the victims only after long years and after passing through the red tapes of the administration. Still worse, the victims would get the amount only after paying the “dues” to middlemen and touts. At the same time there is no compensation for people who were born with disabilities after the tragedy and for those who have been drinking the contaminated water for all these years.

Due to the unrelenting struggle by the victims of the tragedy and some social and human rights organisations, there have been some efforts in the administration’s side to give away the compensation for the victims. But such struggles haven’t been able to bring Warren Anderson to stand trial in India. The actions taken by the Indian government in doing this has been far from being optimum. In the month of August in 2001, the Attorney-General Soli Sorabjee advised the government against pursuing Mr. Anderson saying that it would be difficult for the Indian government to successfully extradite Anderson from the United States.

Though both the governments in the United States and in India have been less than interested in bringing justice to the people, the courts in India has effectively voiced their concern for the victims of the tragedy; the courts remain the only flicker of hope for the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy. Various human rights organisations have been working closely with the victims in their struggle to get justice. Justice can be considered to be fully served only if Warren Anderson is made to stand trial in India and till then the struggle of the victims of the tragedy will go on.

World AIDS Day 2009 – Let Us Fight the Pandemic Together

Every year on 1st December, the international community observes the World AIDS Day to raise awareness of the AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) pandemic. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) report, there are over 33 million people living with HIV / AIDS. The report also shows that more people are living longer because of the availability of drugs.

One of the good news in this otherwise poignant subject is that there is some decline in the number of new HIV infections. The various HIV prevention programmes world over are finding results. In addition to such programmes, the Anti-retroviral therapy has also made a significant impact in reducing the rate of new infection as HIV-positive mothers are increasingly getting the treatment and hence transmission of HIV from such mothers to their children is getting reduced. But even then studies show that the AIDS prevention programmes are often off the mark and if we can do a better job we can make more impact on our fight against this deadly pandemic. According to WHO and UNAIDS, about 2.7 million people have been newly affected with the disease in 2008, which is down 17% over the last eight years and two million people have died in AIDS-related illness till 24th November 2009, the day the report was released. According to WHO Director General Margaret Chan, national and international investments in HIV prevention programmes have yielded concrete and measurable results and therefore this is the time to redouble our efforts to save many more lives.

Based on the annual report of WHO, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Ukraine and the Russian Federation are facing serious growing national pandemic. In the whole of Europe, Ukraine has the highest infection rate at an adult HIV prevalence higher than 1.6%. In the countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia people living with HIV in 2008 was 1.5 million, which is 66% higher than in 2001. Since United Nations Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS was signed in 2001, the number of new infections in Sub-Saharan Africa is about 15% lower than before. HIV incidence has declined by 25% in East Asia and by 10% in South and South East Asia in the same period.

According to UN reports there are 2.5 million people in India living with HIV/AIDS; of this 39% are female and 3.5% are children. A report by National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) in 2008 says that the prevalence rate of HIV /AIDS among adults in India is 0.34%. Various studies suggest that HIV prevalence has reduced in India slightly in the recent years but the epidemic is still growing and causing serious concerns. NACO, along with State AIDS Prevention and Control Societies and various NGOs, is guiding prevention programmes at state, district and village level. Such programmes reach out to health workers, high risk groups, bridge population (people who live in close proximity to high risk groups and therefore are at high risk of contracting the disease) and general people, mainly women.

Several national and international agencies all over the world are waging the war against the growing pandemic of HIV/AIDS. The WHO is taking the lead in this war in the international stage together with another arm of the United Nations, the UNAIDS. National organisations like AIDS Healthcare Foundation in the United States, UK Consortium on AIDS and International Development in the United Kingdom and NACO in India, to name few, are also undertaking AIDS prevention programmes in a bid to prevent the pandemic from booming. Every single individual should do whatever in her/his realm of possibility to increase the awareness about HIV/AIDS and to remove the social stigma attached to the disease. Only by a concerted and sincere effort can we fight against this fatal pandemic and save millions of lives.