PUCL and the Challenges before the Human Rights Movement

By Prabhakar Sinha
I would like to urge the convention to pay special attention to the worsening human rights situation in the country, the state of our organisation and the strategy to meet the formidable challenge before the human rights movement. It is a paradox that instead of being more respectful to the right to life, personal liberty and other democratic rights of its citizens than the colonial government was to its subjects, the governments in democratic India treat them with utter contempt. In fact, independent India has far more draconian laws than their predecessor both in number and their ferocity. The Rowlett Act (which led to the massacre at Jallianwalabagh in 1919) is liberal compared to MISA (The Maintenance of Internal Security Act, 1971), TADA (The Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act, 1984), POTA (The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2001), UAPA (The Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967) and a plethora of equally or more draconian laws enacted by the states. Under the Rowlett Act, thousands could not be detained in one swoop as had been done under MISA or TADA nor could one be detained on the orders of thousands of designated officers. A case under it could be initiated only by the local government, and the cases of persons under this Act had to be heard by a bench of three High Court judges and not by ordinary courts. This was done to ensure that the accused received justice because he was denied the assistance of a lawyer or the right to appeal. In contrast, thirty five thousand persons were preventively detained under MISA and seventy six thousand under TADA. Nineteen thousand were detained in Gujarat, where there was no trace of terrorism in 1980s.There was no outrage against the well-known detention of such a large number of innocent persons. In fact, it has been the practice of the governments in independent India to acquire unbridled power capable of arbitrary use by enacting draconian laws under the pretext of a need to solve some difficult problem, and then to misuse them for repressing popular movements or other purposes for which the law was not enacted. These laws are deliberately designed to be applicable to even the most innocent person and to ensure that its victims have no chance of early bail and very little chance of an acquittal. For example, when Vaiko (a Tamil Nadu M.P., who was part of the NDA and had voted for POTA) was detained under POTA by Jayalalithaa, neither the Prime Minister nor the judiciary could help him though the whole world knew he was not a terrorist. Even the provisions of the I.P.C. are openly misused and cruelly applied. A shameful example of the vindictiveness and cruelty of the governments in democratic India are the cases of Dr Binayak Sen and Seema Azad. They were prosecuted for sedition, which carries a maximum punishment of imprisonment for life. Both were awarded the maximum period of imprisonment. Dr Sen was (falsely) charged with carrying letters from a jailed Maoist leader (whom he had been meeting by the due permission of the authorities) and Seema Azad was convicted only for being in possession of Maoist literature. Mahatma Gandhi and Tilak were also prosecuted for sedition by the British government under the same law (S 124A of I.P.C.) and were awarded only six years of imprisonment. Are Dr Sen and Seema Azad a greater threat to the present government than Mahatma Gandhi and Tilak to the British government? The difference in their punishment reflects the difference in the approach of the governments – one imperial and the other democratic. The imperial British government appears liberal and free from malice by comparison.
The large scale killings in encounters (real and fake), in police custody. Police firings on unarmed demonstrators and large-scale disappearances of people reflect the contempt of the rulers for life. Only in Punjab and J.K. more than twenty thousand people were killed in encounters since 1980.A large number just disappeared many ending in the mass graves later discovered. The figure of those killed in encounters and police firings since independence may be four or five times more .The police and members of security forces enjoy impunity from prosecution without the sanction of the government and thus have been given a license to kill. If the figure of those killed in encounters and police firings between Jauary, 1901 to 14 August, 1947 is compared with the figure of those killed in identical circumstances since 15 August, 1947, the governments in independent India would appear blood thirsty.
It is the anti-people policies of the governments in independent India. Which have made it so repressive .If a democratically elected government genuinely works for the common man; there is very little conflict between the people and their government. The situation of serious conflict arises only when the government elected by the masses chooses to serve a microscopic minority of the rich at the cost of the common man. The governments in India have chosen to serve a handful at the cost of the rest against the mandate of the constitution, The constitution mandates that the State ‘shall strive to minimize the inequalities in income’ and ‘ endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities’ and ensure that ‘the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment ’. It also mandates that the State should ensure that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are not distributed in a way, which is detrimental to common good. The policy of the government has been to take the nation into the opposite direction. The inequalities in income are being maximized which is leading to maximization of inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities. The economic system is being operated to facilitate the concentration of wealth in a few hands and to facilitate monopoly of the material resources .All these have led to frustration and anger among the people, which are manifesting themselves in various ways at different places and are being ruthlessly repressed by the ruling elite. Globalisation has further accelerated the exploitation of the natural resources for the profit of the rich and pauperization of the people. This policy is going to continue followed by wider and fiercer popular (violent or nonviolent) resistance and further ruthless repression.
The ruthless violation of human rights has been going on unabated because the public opinion is divided and the political parties do not have to pay a price s The ruling elite and the middle class see no injustice in them, and the unaffected masses do not identify with the victims of the violations. The repression of any section of the people is perceived as their problem and arouses no reaction and anger at their ruthless victmisation .The people react only if they are themselves victimized while others remain unconcerned .The biggest challenge before the human rights movement is to demolish this wall between ‘We’ and ‘They’. So long this wall remains intact, effective resistance against the violation of human rights would remain elusive.
. Organisations and institutions, like individuals, have a personality, a character and a culture, which may improve or deteriorate. The best example of deterioration can be seen in the visible change in the character of the Indian National Congress prior to independence and the C.P.I. and the Socialist Party since their inception. They were all a party with integrity and deep commitment to their ideologies and goals. They commanded respect of even those who did not subscribe to their respective ideology. They no more inspire respect and are perceived as more or less the same in terms of their character They have all deviated from their laudable goals except in their empty professions. It is educative for us to understand the causes of their deterioration. All the three were parties with committed leaders and members. The Congressmen suffered and made sacrifices for independence, but turned into an organisation of self-seekers after the independence. What happened to the people who were once genuinely committed to the cause of independence and were ready to make sacrifices for the laudable cause? The change came because once freedom was won, they had no lofty goal before them to inspire them to rise above themselves and were overwhelmed by the temptations to which power and position exposed them. It is always commitment to lofty goals, which inspires a person to rise above himself and overcome temptations. . Devoid of it, one tends to yield to demands of self-interest. The once selfless freedom fighters yielded to this demand and went astray. The Communist Party and the Socialist Party changed due to a different reason. They were compelled to make indiscriminate enrollment of members to increase their number to meet the requirement of contesting elections. The influx of a large number of members without commitment to the ideology of the party led to their eventual deterioration. They succeeded in winning seats at elections but at the cost of their principles and integrity. Any organisation with lofty aims and objects cannot achieve its goal unless its members are inspired by its ideology and are deeply committed to its aims and objects and are capable of resisting temptations
PUCL has to be mindful of this phenomenon if it has to retain its character and meaningful existence. It was envisaged as an organisation of people informed enough to understand and subscribe to its aims and object and be willing to abide by its constitution. Its membership form makes such a pledge a pre-requisite for joining it. An organisation comprising members with diverse to antagonistic views cannot be viable and is bound to disintegrate unless its members honoured their pledge (“ I subscribe to the aims and object of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties and agree to abide by its constitution”). PUCL which is committed to promoting democratic way of life using peaceful means and securing the rule of law among other things makes ineligible the people resorting to fascist methods (of using threat, intimidation, disruption of meetings and violence etc.) or believing in communalism, casteism, repression of women, Dalits and others or wanting to join it with an ulterior motive inimical to its aim and objects or who are incapable of understanding its constitution and the pledge they are required to sign .Induction of such persons would destroy PUCL from within.
The spirit of the constitution is to be inclusive of “all those who are committed to the defence and promotion of civil liberties in India, irrespective of any differences they may have in regard to political and economic institutions suitable for the country “ but not of others, specially, those who may prove destructive of its lofty goals. This places a great responsibility on us to be very cautious in enrollment of members.
Another caution in enrollment of members is to guard against the temptation of enrolling members who are alike in their views or on the basis of personal loyalty. This goes against the letter and spirit of the constitution, weakens the organisation and is bound to lead to cronyism. Enrollment of eligible persons having diverse background prevents deviation, enhances PUCL’s credibility and dilutes the effect of any allegation of its being partial to any political party or organisation.
The members of the PUCL are bound to occassionally experience a conflict between their personal belief and the stand of the PUCL and have to rise to the occasion and act as a responsible member of the organisation. Just as a judge decides a case according to a law even though he may not personally believe in it, similarly, for members of PUCL only that stand is correct which is in conformity with our (PUCL) constitution. When we sit together as PUCL functionary/member, we all have to shed our respective views and act according to the constitution of the organisation. Bihar PUC, which has members holding most divergent and antagonistic views (from Naxals to Gandhians) from its inception, has shown that if the members discharge their duty with honesty there is no problem. However, if the functionaries enroll only those toeing their own line and impose their own views passing them as those of the organisation, PUCL will lose its credibility and efficacy.
The strength of PUCL lies in its credibility .The establishment is fully conscious of the fact that even small human rights organizations can hurt it if they have credibility in the eyes of the peoples. So, it has been targeting our credibility by alleging that it (PUCL) is an organisation secretly supporting the Maoists .If we go beyond the small circle of those who know us (PUCL) well, we will be surprised at the success of their propaganda. The bitter truth is that the number of those who have been influenced by the government propaganda is alarmingly large. We need to introspect to find out whether we have also unwittingly contributed to the tarnishing of our image and how to undo the damage already done. Being narcisstic may prove suicidal.
The strategy of an organisation has to be based on its nature and character. There is a need for clarity about the character of the organisation, specially, because different kinds of organizations are working in the public domain. The first thing to be understood is that we are not a funded NGO and do not have to function like them. A funded NGO carries out the mandate of its paymaster either to give effect to some project or to advocate a cause. Secondly, its activities are carried out by paid full time employees whom it can hire and fire at will .It has more dictatorial power over its employees than either the government has on theirs or private companies have over their factory workers. PUCL is an independent organisation, which carries out its activities decided by itself in conformity with its constitution. Its members do voluntary work and take orders from nobody. The office bearers of the organisation are creatures of the members and not their masters. Thus, the pace and manner of its activities depend on the kind of members it has at different places. It has no whole time members. Its membership consists of concerned citizens who have to make a living and have to shoulder several responsibilities of life and cannot be expected to be at the beck and call of the organisation.
There is some similarity between PUCL and political parties in that both have members on a voluntary basis, but the similarity ends there. A large number of people are attracted to political parties by the prospect of power, position, influence and benefits it may offer. They (the parties) attract the masses by the promises they make to the people if they are elected to form the government. Their promises include incentives for almost all the areas of life, especially, the problems the people face in daily life .No area of life is beyond their scope. PUCL does not offer any benefit as an incentive to join it. Only those who wish to serve the society through it are welcome. Unlike political parties, it cannot make promises, which can be fulfilled by using the power of the State, as it is not in the race for political power. It cannot promise to fight their battles as it does not have the resources and man power to do it in this vast country of 120 crores people. Its strategy has to be realistic not utopian or quixotic.
Reposing its faith in the wisdom of the common man inspired by their rejection of Indira Ganghi’s dictatorship, PUCL has been envisaged as an organisation which would inculcate in the people the values which would promote a democratic way of life – the values which would act as a bulwark against authoritarianism and violations of human rights People have been fighting for their own rights from time immemorial, now they have to be inspired to fight for the same rights of all. Achieving this is the most formidable challenge before the human rights movement and Puling whatever it does, it must keep it in the mind.
Our democracy was saved in 1977 by the masses and not the urban elite, which had begun to see merit in the authoritarian rule during the emergency. The media, which was gagged, had no role in it.
The human rights organizations including PUCL have ignored the common man who alone can save democratic way of life and protect human rights. There appears to be an assumption that the ordinary laws of the land are not undemocratic and the millions of common man are receiving just treatment by the State and their functionaries. The assumption is absolutely wrong and unacceptable. This has alienated the movement from the masses and created an impression that its concern is only the people targetted by draconian laws or killed in encounters or custody.
PUCL must work to bridge this gulf and ensure that the masses relate to us and realize our value and relevance for them. Secondly and most importantly, its task should be to create awareness in the masses to fight for human rights of all and not only for their own. They should be able to relate to anyone whose human rights have been violated and react against it. That awareness and commitment alone can be a guarantee against violation of human rights. The organizational a first step, must examine the anti-democratic, repressive and unjust provisions of the ordinary laws and make serious endeavour for their removal. It should also produce literature for creating mass awareness, hold meetings, seminars and use other means for spreading the message of human rights. All other activities of the organisation like Dharna, protest march, filing of cases, issuing of statements are the means to achieve the ultimate aim of changing the mindset of the people and establishing human rights as a cherished value. There should be no illusion that any human rights organisation can become the guardian or protector of the human rights of the people. It is only the people who can be protectors of their human rights. The human rights organizations can only be its promoters, which is a formidable and laudable task.