Human Rights World Report 2008. India In Sore Shape

The Human Rights Watch World Report 2008 is in marked conflict with Sathya Sai Baba’s promises made over many decades. He has said that he would first save India and then the rest of the world – this within his own lifetime.

Depicts an India very different to the Sathya Sai Baba mythos. He said he would, in his own lifetime (he is in his 8th decade!), first 'clean up (his) own back yard', India, and then save the rest of the world

His millions of followers hear his blatantly untrue statements but remain silent and blindly pin their faith on him as they do his pictures on their walls. They come from most countries around the world and know only too well the profound error of a statement of his such as:

“Today the whole world is respecting Me.” (Sanathana Sarathi, Sept. 2003, p 267).

One of his many unfulfilled predictions was made to a longtime foremost devotee, Connie Shaw, who is among several chief disseminators of the Sai mythos. Her books carry titles such as Wake Up Laughing: My Miraculous Life with Sai Baba. She is more widely sought after as a visionary by ‘New Age’ enthusiasts, and another of her books is titled Mary’s Miracles and Prophecies: Intimate Revelations of a Visionary.

She reports of her interview with Sathya  Sai Baba on her 31st visit to him in 2002:

Baba: Really, no joking (He made some invisible writing in the air) … five years more. In 2007 there will be no more war. Peace on earth.

Connie: Five more years?! Then really, truly the war will be over?”

Baba: Yes, you will see.

Source, an official S. Sai Baba website: http://www.saibaba.ws/reports/connieshaw.htm

But the picture imparted by such a major source as the section on India in  Human Rights Watch World Report 2008 is very different to these rosy scenarios so widely touted by Sathya Sai Baba propagandists as Connie Shaw, and, indeed, by himself. The point should be made clear that many heads of the very police and military forces involved are, from time to time, seen bowing down to Sathya Sai Baba at Puttaparthi. So too are the current President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil who has been known for fine work among the poor but, like so many top echelon Indian leaders across the political spectrum, will not look, as was the case with the last Indian President,  Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, into the hard evidence against Sathya Sai Baba. Another of his visitors is the current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has no excuse for the monumental Sathya Sai Baba cover-ups because he and his top associates, as was the case of his immediate predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee, are known to hold many facts highly inimical to Sathya Sai Baba. A series of Indian heads of state, irrespective of party affiliation have cooperated in the profound cover-up of scandals involving Sathya Sai Baba, and as one of India’s top newspaper editors privately told me – he and his organization are too powerful to take on.

From the World Report 2008, I have extracted some major points:

Armed Conflicts and Security Force Impunity India claims an abiding commitment to human rights, but its record is marred by continuing violations by security forces in counterinsurgency operations and by government failure to rigorously implement laws and policies to protect marginalized communities. A vibrant media and civil society continue to press for improvements, but without tangible signs of success in 2007

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The government has yet to root out the policies responsible for the violations, and continues to grant virtual impunity to perpetrators. Despite signing a new United Nations treaty to combat forced disappearances in February 2007, the Indian government is yet to launch a credible independent investigation into alleged disappearances and fake “encounter killings” throughout the country.

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In February 2007, police investigations into a “missing persons” case in Jammu and Kashmir exposed a problem long alleged by human rights groups: people were being killed in custody by security forces who constructed fake armed encounters, staging executions to look like acts of defense.

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In April 2007, a working group on Jammu and Kashmir recommended the repeal of laws sanctioning impunity, such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, but the government has failed to act.

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The Maoists find support among the rural poor, who feel left out by India’s modernization process and surging economic growth. Unfortunately, these same vulnerable groups also suffer at the hand of the Maoists because of the latter’s illegal taxes and demands for food and shelter. Succumbing to such extortion puts civilians at risk of retaliation by security forces.

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In 2007 there was still no progress in investigating thousands of secret cremations in the northern state of Punjab. Following a spate of violent attacks by Sikh militants starting in the early 1980s, security forces illegally detained, tortured, executed, or “disappeared” thousands of people during counterinsurgency operations.

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Failure of Relocation and Rehabilitation Policies
Tremendous economic growth and plans for industrial development and infrastructure building have uprooted millions of traders, farmers, and landless laborers. Protests by affected groups are ignored and often brutally curbed through excessive use of force.

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In March 2007, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) urged the government to take effective measures to protect Dalits and tribal groups. Dalits and indigenous peoples (known as Scheduled Tribes or adivasis) continue to face discrimination, exclusion, and acts of communal violence. Laws and policies adopted by the Indian government provide a strong basis for protection, but are not being faithfully implemented by local authorities. Instead of addressing these concerns, the Indian government insists that caste is not the same as race and therefore discrimination based on caste and tribe falls outside the mandate of CERD.

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The Indian government, however, has failed to prosecute most of those who instigate or participate in religious mob violence.

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After more than a decade of hearings, a special court convicted 100 people for their involvement in the 1993 serial bomb attacks in Mumbai. However, the individuals believed responsible for attacks upon Muslims in January 1993 which preceded the bomb blasts are yet to be prosecuted and punished.

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Despite promises made by the prime minister in 2005, there was also no progress in justice for victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

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Human Rights Defenders
In Chattisgarh state, which experienced more Maoist violence than any other state in 2007, civil society organizations have come under attack in a classic example of “punishing the messenger.” Prominent human rights defender Dr. Binayak Sen was detained for his alleged contact with the Maoist groups. Several journalists and other human rights activists said that they had been threatened by government officials.

Failure to Protect Children’s Rights
Despite a scheme launched three years ago to provide universal education, millions of children in India still have no access to education and work long hours, many as bonded laborers. Many children continue to be forced into becoming soldiers in areas where there are armed conflicts, or are trafficked for marriage, sex work, or employment. Others languish in substandard orphanages or detention centers.

Rights of Those Living with HIV/AIDS
New estimates of people living with HIV/AIDS place the number at around 2.5 million, excluding children under age 15. Children and adults living with HIV/AIDS, as well as those whose marginalized status puts them at highest risk—sex workers, injection drug users, and men who have sex with men—face widespread stigmatization and discrimination, including denial of employment, access to education, orphan care, and healthcare.

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Rights of Women
India has a mixed record on women’s rights: despite recent improvements in legal protections, gender-based discrimination and violence remain deeply entrenched. The low status of women and girls is revealed by the skewed sex ratio of 933 females for every 1,000 males and the high rate of preventable maternal deaths, with one woman dying in childbirth every five minutes.

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Key International Actors
India claims that its growing economic power should give it more clout in global diplomacy, seeking a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and a leading role in the Commonwealth and the Non Aligned Movement. However, it has yet to show that it can play a serious global role in pushing for greater adherence to international human rights standards.

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While India has strong economic and strategic ties with the United States and the European Union, it has refused to engage in constructive dialogue on its own failures in protecting human rights. Governments have been reluctant to challenge India in part because they do not want to risk upsetting relations with an important economic and trade partner.

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India’s regional policies are often determined by strategic concerns over China’s increasing influence in South Asia, and this often contributes to decisions by officials to avoid proactive engagement on human rights issues.

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After the Burmese junta’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy activists in September 2007, India simply issued statements calling for a peaceful settlement of the issue. India at this writing had not used its military sales and business dealings with the junta to press for accountability and respect for human rights standards.

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Some Related Barry Pittard articles at: https://barrypittard.wordpress.com

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