Category Archives: Accountability

The National Human Rights Commission “continued to receive complaints from different parts of the country on a wide range of issues [including] custodial deaths, torture, fake encounters, police high-handedness, violations committed by security forces, conditions relating to prisons.” – Annual Report 2014-2015)
https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/NHRC_AR_EN_2014-2015_27022019.pdf
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=18066

“Evil springs up again and again. Each generation must fight it.” – M. Rajshekhar in “Remembering Samir Acharya, Who Fought to Preserve the Cultures of Andaman and Nicobar” (The Wire, 18 October 2020)
https://thewire.in/rights/samir-acharya-andaman-nicobar-activist-culture-preservation-tribute
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=7364

“The Commission regards crimes like rape, molestation, torture, fake encounter in police custody as manifestations of a systemic failure to protect human rights. [Its] efforts are also geared towards bringing an end to an environment in which human rights violations are committed with impunity under the shield of ‘uniform’ and ‘authority’ within the four walls of a police station, lock-up and prison, where the victims are helpless.” – “Annual Report – 2014-2015” by the National Human Right Commission (21 June 2016), p. 260
https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/NHRC_AR_EN_2014-2015_27022019.pdf
www.nhrc.nic.in
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=25720

“[The situation in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands] clearly demands careful intervention. One such framework was provided by the orders of the Supreme Court, which were passed in 2002 in response to a public interest litigation filed by non-governmental organisations. […] Nearly a decade later, many of these orders have not been implemented.” – Pankaj Sekhsaria in “An intricate web” (The Hindu, 4 February 2012)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=7364
https://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine//article59800934.ece

“In their practical political activities, many environmental groups and movements have been at the forefront of efforts to democratize state institutions, as well as in the creation of more democratic and accountable forms of environmental decision-making.” – Mukul Sharma (Ashoka University, Department of Environmental Studies), quoted by Amitav Ghosh in The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis (book excerpt in The Print, 14 October 2021)
https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/congress-left-bjp-india-striving-to-remake-itself-as-settler-colonialist-amitav-ghosh/750429/
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=44650

“The Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the country are the groupings of historically disadvantaged people that are given express recognition in the Constitution of India. […] The policies and schemes implemented by successive governments at the Centre and the state have further worsened the situation.” –  Celine Sunny (Report “Impact of Janamaithri Suraksha Project on the Safety/Security of the Tribal People in Kerala, submitted to the Home Department, Govt. of Kerala, accessed 4 July 2019)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=29463

“We are in a situation where if we do not act every moment, we will have to own up to the responsibility of complicity to violence. Therefore, constructive action is our only future. There is none other, for otherwise there will be no future for us.” – Ganesh [G.N.] Devy in “Tribal voice and violence” (india-seminar.com, # 513 May 2002)
http://www.india-seminar.com/2002/513/513%20ganesh%20devy.htm
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=6310

“Custodial deaths in India are a cold-blooded play of power and class, which cannot be viewed in isolation. When law enforcement agencies become perpetrators of violence, it becomes an ominous case of abuse of authority, which is antithetical to the rule of law-based system of democratic governance where human rights rule supreme.” – MY Siddiqui in “Time to tame torturers” (tehelka.com, 29 October 2020)
http://tehelka.com/time-to-tame-torturers/
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=25720

“The numbers are startling. A report by a consortium of NGOs against custodial torture have released a report in which they say 1,731 people died in custody in India during 2019. This works out to around five custodial deaths a day. […] The fact remains that torture and beating up suspects to extract confessions have become very much part of policing in India. Policemen who engage in it are rarely punished – most times they are simply transferred to another district or state. The rare times that they are held accountable, judiciary have made stinging remarks about the need for reform. In one verdict last year, a judge noted that ‘they are confident that they will not be held accountable even if the victim dies in custody and even if the truth is revealed.’ In 2006, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that each state should set up a police complaints authority where any citizen can lodge a complaint against police officers for any misdemeanour. However, this has not been done in most states. ” – BBC News (27 June 2020) “Jeyaraj and Fenix: Outrage mounts over India police custodial deaths”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-53202707

“There is no denying the fact that there is widespread corruption in India. Petty corruption which affects the basic rights and services of the common man is highly rampant besides the grand corruption scandals which break out every now and then. A report on bribery in India published by Trace International in January, 09 states that 91% of the bribes were demanded by govt. officials.” – “Battling India’s malaise of Corruption” (Address to the India CEO Forum, accessed 6 July 2022)
https://cvc.gov.in/sites/default/files/CEO.pdf
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=6984

“Attempts to silence free speech are, of course, always characteristic of governments that lack confidence and are uncomfortable with an independent citizenry.” – Romila Thapar (Emeritus Professor of History, Jawaharlal Nehru University) quoted in “Nationalism does not allow the Hindu in India to claim primacy” by Ziya Us Salam (The Hindu, 2 March 2016)
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/historian-romila-thapar-says-nationalism-does-not-allow-the-hindu-in-india-to-claim-primacy/article8300752.ece
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=20996

“The Right to Information Act 2005 guarantees access to information about government policies and their implementation to Indian citizens.” – Book description for The Right to Information in India by Sudhir Naib (Oxford India Short Introductions , 2013)
https://india.oup.com/product/the-right-to-information-in-india-9780198089353?
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?page_id=22276

“Amnesty International says it has been forced to halt its India operations due to ‘reprisals’ from the government […] amid growing concern over the state of free speech in India.” – Rajat Khosla, senior director of research, advocacy and policy, quoted in a BBC News report on the closure of Amnesty International‘s Indian branch (29 September 2020)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-54277329
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=35584

“The basic object of the Right to Information Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability in the working of the Government, contain corruption, and make our democracy work for the people in real sense. It goes without saying that an informed citizen is better equipped to keep necessary vigil on the instruments of governance and make the government more accountable to the governed.” –  Government of India (About Right to Information Act 2005: Bringing Information to the Citizens (http://rti.gov.in, accessed 17 July 2018)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=25221

“Journalists across India are at risk of physical and digital attack in retaliation for their reporting. And during election campaigns, these dangers can increase.” – Kunal Majumder/CPJ India Correspondent in “Results of India’s election climate for journalist safety are in” (The Committee to Protect Journalists, 23 May 2019)
https://cpj.org/2019/05/india-election-journalist-safety-toolkit-harassed-legal-action/
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=11721

“India is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists trying to do their job properly.” – 2021 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters without borders
https://rsf.org/en/india
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=23343

“It is not necessary to prosecute each instance of critical reporting – legal harassment and action against a few serves as a deterrent for others.” – Aman Abhishek (TheWire, 25 June 2020)
https://thewire.in/media/covid-19-migrant-crisis-public-opinion-modi
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=11721