1. 2012
State Level Discussion on Human
Rights Defenders Report
13th May 2012, Lucknow
Organized
by
Human Rights Law Network
In association with
Coalition for Protection of
Human Rights Defenders
Khalra Centre for Human
Rights Defenders
Action Aid

2. State Level
Discussion
on
Human Rights Defenders
Organized
by
Human Rights Law Network
In association
With
Coalition for Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Khalra Centre for Human Rights Defenders
Action Aid
Compiled& Edited
By
Ms. Saswati Debnath, Ms. Amiy Shukla

3. Program Schedule
Date: Sunday, 13 May 2012
Time Topic Speakers
9.30– 9.45 Key-note address Mohd. Shoaib
Om Narain Mishra
9.45 –10.30 Student, Politics and Challenges of Social Y.S. Lohit,
Change K.K. Roy
Harsh Dobhal
10.30 -11.30 Human Rights situation in Uttar Pradesh Vandana Mishra
Lenin Raghuvanshi
Sanjay Singh
Parvej Rizvi
11.30 -12.30 Threats to Human Rights defenders Himanshu Kumar
Rudra Prasad Mishra
Dharmendra Singh
Pancham Lal
Ravi Shekhar
12.30 -1.00 Assaults on the media Harsh Dobhal
Mahesh Sharma
Rajiv Yadav

4. 1.00 -1.30 Role of lawyers in defending Namrata Tiwari
Vijay Awasthi
Human Rights Shams Vikas
1.30-2.30 Lunch
2.30-3.00 Assaults on RTI activists Saleem Baig
Shahnawaz
3.00-3.30 Assaults on religious minorities Mohd. Shoaib
Jamal Ahmad
3.30 – 4.00 Assaults on the trade unions Vishnu Shukla
Ramkumar
4.00-5.00 Role of students in defending the Human Javed Khan
Rights Prashant Kumar
Smriti
Prashanti
5.00-5:30 Testimonials Mumtaz
Zishan
5.30-6.00 Defending the defenders: strategies and Open session
way forward
6:00 – 6.15 Vote of Thanks Tariq Adeeb/K.K.Roy

5. Concept Note
Today, defending human rights lawyers and grass root level social
is at a critical stage as the defenders of workers under single roof to uphold the
the human rights are under a spirit of humanity, while raising the
continuous attack by the state essence of human rights. An exclusive
authorities. Defending human rights in component to achieve the dream of
the absence of the defenders is a task building a right full society is to achieve
which is impossible to accomplish. At cognizance between the action and the
the state forum discussion on Human noble thoughts in all the defenders of
Rights Defenders, Human rights law Human Rights.
network has portrayed its indisputable
motive of bringing together all the
Human Rights Defenders, activists,

6. Introduction
The meeting was held at the discussion on the threats to Human
prestigious Lucknow University. On Rights defenders, assaults on the media,
13th May 2012, with eminent human role of the lawyers in defending the
rights activists and experts sharing their defenders, assaults on RTI activists,
ideas on improvement of the human assaults on the trade unions, role of
rights network for defending the students in defending the human rights.
defenders. The meeting consisted of The meeting was concluded by few
several sessions dealing with an testimonials, and strategizing of the
introduction on the situation of Human plan for strengthening the network of
Rights in Uttar Pradesh, followed by a defense for the Defenders.

7. Keynote
address
Mr. Roy facilitated the meeting by briefing all those
present on the concept and the purpose of the meeting.
He threw light on the status of human rights in Uttar
Pradesh and emphasized on the importance of the
defenders in bringing a positive change in the society.
Before giving it a head start, he discussed the
plight of the human rights defenders in India and the
aims and objectives to transform the situation, where
the defenders could heroically guard against any
violations or injustice taking place in any part of India.
Mr. K.K. Roy, Director,
Human Rights Law
Network, U

8. Mr. Dobhal then came forward and addressed
the forum with few incidences where the Human Rights
activists had faced adversities by taking a stand against
the injustice. He started by sharing the incidence of Ms.
Kavita Srivastava, PUCL Secretary, where Kavita and
her family were harassed because they were protesting
against the injustice perpetrated by the police officials.
He also mentioned the atrocious phase through which
Mr. Himnashu Kumar had to undergo in Dantewada
while protesting for tribal rights. He further said that
“now we have reached a level where there is a need to
protect the people who are defending Human Rights”.
Mr. Harsh Dobhal, Mr. Dobhal then threw light on the pitiable plight of
Director, Human Rights 15,000 Kashmiri women who are still awaiting their
Law Network husband‟s return, who according to the law come under
„Missing persons‟. It is disappointing that, legally the
„missing persons‟ are declared to have disappeared long
ago, but, still no law has been made to protect the needs
of the missing person‟s family. He further mentioned
about the adverse affects of the draconian laws such as
POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002), TADA
(Terrorists and Disruptive Activities, Prevention Act,
1987), and PSA (Public Safety Act) etc. He was
disappointed by the fact that the laws which are made
to protect the people are utilized by the authorities in
such a way that it adversely affects the life of civilians.
He mentioned the incapacity of National Human Rights
Commission in handling the cases of human rights
violations and concluded his talk by encouraging all the
lawyers and the activists to come together and to create
a strong network of Human Rights Defenders.

9. Mr. Mishra initiated his speech by saying “life is
a state of consciousness, and this starts right from the
time when the baby is in the mother‟s womb, and is
there till life ends”. He emphasized, that when we talk
about human rights, it means that we are talking about
human beings leading a life with dignity.
Even in ancient times human rights existed in the
form of natural rights. Since ages the upper class/castes
has remained to be the most dominant and the lower
class/castes has been subjected to suppression and
oppression, as he said “if we all see ourselves as human
beings regardless of socio-economic backgrounds, then
this problem of social suppression will not even exist”.
He further emphasized on the inclusion of Human
Mr. O. M. Narain Misrha, Rights education in the academics. He concluded by
Dean, Law Faculty, commemorating the gathering by saying that …we
Lucknow University being, human rights lawyers, have a huge responsibility
towards our people to safeguard their rights legally

10. Mr. Himanshu brought into light the dilemma
faced by the tribals, particularly those living in the
forests of Chhattisgarh. He very correctly pointed out
that ever since India gained independence, there has
been a struggle to fight for tribal rights which includes
their right to land, right to food and most importantly
the right to life. He also pointed out that how the
human rights activists are targeted and harassed when
they try to voice against injustice perpetrated by the
authorities. He further emphasized that today
everything is politicized and whenever someone tries to
voice against the injustice they are tagged by the
government as terrorists or Maoists which legitimizes
Mr. Himanshu Kumar, the inhumane torture perpetrated by the government
Social Activist authorities. On saying so, he narrated his own
experience of Chhattisgarh, where Mr. Himanshu had
to bear the wrath of police authorities for serving the
tribals and fighting for tribal rights. He further stressed
upon this issue by saying that how do you address a
nation which allegedly uses its own security forces
against its own civilians in the name of national
security. He also threw light on the audacity with which
the police, paramilitary and even special police forces
work in the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh.
He addressed the gathering by saying that it is
the time to act against injustice, fearlessly, and it is our
duty to save all the voices that rise against injustice. For
this we have to strategize our actions, plan the next step
after analyzing the previous. He said we have to use the
judiciary to rage a legal war of justice, for this we have
to identify the warriors of justice and built up a socio-
legal network for the seekers of justice, who seek to
preserve human rights.

11. Mr. Lal expressed his concern on the issue of
frequent attacks confronted by the human rights
Defenders. As a social worker, he said, today human
rights is at severe risk, and it‟s a serious issue, for this
we have to be aware of the human rights situations
around us. He further emphasized on the fact that the
government has always been dealing with violent
situations with violent reaction, instead of a peaceful
and strategic way of dealing with the situation. This
could have been possible if the government would have
taken steps to find the root causes of such mass revolt
against government. Further, he stated that, if the
government shows concern for its people, the people
Mr. Pancham Lal, Ex- will never rise against the government. It is only in
Registrar, Allahabad High cases where they are unheard and ignored that they
Court resort to violence as the only way through which they
can be heard.
Saying this, he suggested few points of action
that is involving the youth, sensitizing and educating
the students on human rights, and motivating them to
stand against injustice regardless of the shape or size of
the injustice. Awareness programs/campaigns against
injustice should be held frequently at community
level/local levels. People should be enlightened to
promote and protect Human Rights.
He further said any one can be a Human Rights
defender, anyone who is aware of the social inhumane
structure and who has got the courage to stand against
the violations of rights can be a protector of rights.
Preparing new human rights activist is another task that
we should take up. He concluded by addressing the
gathering by saying “never give up the fight against
injustice”.

12. Ms. Mishra expressed her concern over the
accountability aspect of the system. She stressed upon
the importance of media in the fight against injustice.
She focused on the fact that Human rights defenders
should be well protected through the network of
lawyers and activists. As a long term goal we have to
identify people who are persistent and patient towards
their aim and can build a strong network. Human rights
education should be taken seriously and the “protection
of human rights” should be taken as a career.
Disseminating information on human rights is
Ms. Vandana Mishra, important. This can be in any form, case studies,
PUCL President, UP testimonies etc.
Mr. Jamal addressed the forum by saying, state
operation on human rights when initiated, needs to be
protected. In Lucknow, Mr. Shoaib (lawyer) was
attacked and subsequently a petition was filed for the
same. But the Judge didn‟t acknowledge the sensitivity
of the case and mocked the situation, thereby rejecting
the plea and awarding no protection.
Hence there is an enormous problem with the
outlook and values that are present in the system, which
do not value human rights. Immediate need to change
the whole set of degraded ideas, pertaining to the
system is required. This can be achieved through;
raising the voice and making use of the mass
Mr. Jamal Ahmed, Human communication mediums like newspaper, internet etc
Rights Lawyer and Human Rights Defenders should get together and
raise their voice against injustices.

13. Mr. Awasthi addressed the masses with his
words of wisdom “we should not run away from our
Mr. Vijay Awasthi, Rights responsibility of Protection of Human rights”. There
Activist have been girls, women, who have been made victims
and preys. They are harassed and tortured. It is
necessary to learn from our past, gather the experience
and make use of our knowledge to solve and fight such
circumstances.
He then narrated the story of Harilal, Harilal and
his wife Shruti was poor. Harilal had worked in
NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act).
On August 15, 2010, as the nation was celebrating,
independence day, he was forcefully taken out of his
house and shot dead by someone. The group of killers
told her that, whoever was working with her husband,
they are all caught in their own web. She had cried for
help and ran. Now she is alone in this cruel world. The
only mistake her husband did was, he voiced against
corruption at NREGA.
Mr. Parvej witnessed that how people who voice
against Human Rights violation are crushed and
Mr. Parvej Rizvi, Human smashed. For the upper class people the lower, working
Rights Activist class is nothing but, a tool in the hands of upper class.
They are the ones who are looted and harassed, if they
try to raise their voice against the injustice. In case of
Harilal, Mr. Parvej said that we had warned him, that he
shouldn‟t be so hot headed and courageous, „cause
these people have killed many like him. I was scared,
but HRLN supported us. I was accused of contempt of
court whenever I took Human Rights Commission
report. Hence something needs to be done to stop the
nonsense that has been taking place in the system. He
further expressed his concern by saying, initiatives are
taken but, then there is no follow up. Hence things
vanish and disappear in the midst. Thus, I would
recommend a strong follow up and consistency in the
initiative.

14. Mr. Shukla said, today we have all gathered for
the protection of Human Rights defenders so that, 90%
of the people present are informed, that how they can be
saved. The body of intellectuals and students are there
to provide their suggestions. Bhagat Singh wrote at the
age of 23, that people need to get together to fight
injustice and to claim their right to independence.
Hence, we should apply that thinking and courage and
power, to get together and fight for the validation of the
Human Rights. There is a whole system to blame the
common dwellers for any mishap, this needs to change.
Mr. Vishnu Shukla, Labor
Rights Lawyer, UP Mr Vishnu quoted Dr. Ambedkar with respect to
the Human Rights Education “– shikshit ho sandhshiti
ho, sangharsh karo”. Human Rights education needs to
penetrate the nook and corner of this country for a
better future.
Mr. Raghuvanshi opened by mentioning the
Human Rights Declaration. Human Rights Declaration
took place in 1947 for development. For the protection
and upliftment of human rights, Human Rights
Defenders and Democracy needs to work together.
Human Rights violators work through -muscle
power, money Power, network and coordination, the
constables to the top DIG of the city is in their clutches.
As a counter force, 1) Networking should be made
effective so that one defender can stand in for another
Mr. Lenin Raghuvanshi, defenders need. There should be no contradictions
Human Rights Activist among the people in the network. 2) Patience is very
important and needs to be the core value of the Human
Rights defenders. 3) Mobilizing masses through
awareness, will create pressure, eventually things will
start working out. 4) If people in power participate in
the movement, then it will give an edge and vibrancy
and certain direction and hope to the movement. 5)
Legal network needs to be established such as HRLN, so
that inhuman acts that occur even in the remotest area
of the country get reported 6) Testimonies, reports and
campaigns needs to be established so that it creates
widespread awareness.

15. Mr. Najeeb Hasan,
Minority Rights Activist
Mr. Hasan addressed the conference by invoking
the fact, women‟s right is very important and touched
upon the important issue of „honor killing‟. He further
spoke on Saharanpur case, where the officer got
suspended for making a derogatory comment against
Ishrat (low-caste boy, who got married to an upper caste
girl). The whole instance, points to the fact, even after
entering the phase of globalization and modernization,
people still work with the conservative, patriarchal
mindset, thus taking recourse to many acts that result in
human rights violation such as honor killings.
Mr. Sanjay addressed the conference, by
emphasizing the need to take the act of human rights
violations seriously. The whole concept of human rights
is sensitive. He narrated his personal experience , he
said, prior to 12th December 2009 he was not much
aware, he used to think it‟s easy to fight, coordinate and
voice against injustice, but, later when his father died
„cause he voiced against corruption, on December of
2009, things changed. He hesitates to help. He stressed
upon the need to bring out some more stronger laws
„cause our strength has reduced, if one wants to raise
Mr. Sanjay Singh, Social the voice, then those voices are throttled and made
Activist silent forever. Honest and courageous efforts have to be
made like villagers. The way villagers run their
households and protect an honest person. None of the
NGO‟s has the power to call over 5000 people for a
rally. It is important to take into consideration that the
defenders household financial position and the bread
earner„s wellbeing is protected. A strong network needs
to be established to protect the people.

16. Second Half
The second half of the meeting started with a
melodious revolutionary song by Mr. Himanshu
Kumar, which gave the meeting a vibrant and active
start. The song conveyed that we should start a struggle
against injustice, so that life is never submerged under
tears and disappointments.
Mr. Massiuddin reflected on the plight of the
tribals, the atrocities and the harassments confronted by
them. He emphasized on the fact that the tribals were
often arrested and tortured by the police on the grounds
of suspicion of being Maoists and that has turned their
life into misery.
Mr. Massiuddin, Human
Rights Activists & Peoples
Union for Civil Liberties
(PUCL), Azamgarh

17. Mr. Adeeb emphasized on the role of media and
how media can enhance or deteriorate the fight in
defense of human rights. More often media plays a
crucial role in creating a negative picture/image of
certain groups, who voice against injustice. In such
cases weak defenders of human rights gets stigmatized
and harassed by the police.
Also, he expressed his concern over the
sensitivity of the media and the effects produced by it.
He mentioned that we can utilize media as a tool to
reach common masses and helps strengthen the fight
Mr. Tariq Adeeb, Human against injustice.
Rights Advocate, HRLN
Mr. Alam expressed his concern over the
incidents of frequent attacks on the human rights
defenders. He is worried about the fact that in many
instances the State Government is attacking the human
rights defenders. He expressed the need to filter the
most determined and dedicated Human rights activists
so as to sustain the fight against injustice.
Mr. Shahnawaz Alam,
Human Rights Activists &
Organizing Secretary
PUCL, UP

18. Ms. Saheen expressed her concern on the fact that
nowadays people are scared of voicing up injustice. It is
important to voice against the violations perpetrated on
the adivasis (tribals) that occurred in the form of
snatching away of their lands in the name of
development.
She further stated that it is time to claim our
rights and to use the judiciary to achieve permanent,
Ms. Saheen Begum, Social positive legal transformation. She again reinforced Mr.
Worker Saheen, point of filtering the human rights activists in
strengthening the defender‟s network.
Mr. Rajiv expressed his concern over the fact that
judiciary does not support the protection of terror
suspects, especially when the activists are busy voicing
against injustice. Further he emphasized on the pitiable
conditions of the terror suspects, who are just
abandoned by the judiciary and even their right to free
trial is suspended and are declared as terrorist even
before they are proven to be terrorists by the Law.
Saying so, he stated that it is important that judiciary
should have some mechanism where a free trial can take
place impartially and legally.
Mr. Rajiv Yadav, Human
Rights Activists,
Organizing Secretary,
PUCL, UP

19. Mr. Ravi Sekhar, Human Mr. Sekhar expressed his concern on various
Rights Activist, UP internationally funded projects carried out in the areas
inhabited by the adivasis. The funders are the World
Bank and the Asian Development Bank. These projects
are carried out by the World Bank and Asian
Development Bank in the name of human development,
but they come with some injurious consequences. The
strict monitoring mechanism, under which the Indian
authority works with the funds, has to meet certain
deadlines. However most of the time these deadlines
remain unmet and to avoid any penalization, the
authority puts poor laborers to work in the disaster
prone locations and to make things worse, cameras are
set up in these locations, to shoot those workers and
present it in form of accidents at work sight and in this
way they justify their delay in the job.
Saying this, Mr. Sekhar expressed his grief on
how human beings manipulate other beings to meet
their selfish needs, even if, it is at the cost of others life.
He further expressed his concern on another case,
where the young people are randomly picked up by the
police officials and are detained and are charged as
terror suspects, just because the police is ordered by
their higher officials to arrests few terrorists and the
innocent youth falls as prey to such mishaps. Further he
said that in the cities many legal measures are taken to
fight against the injustice, but in the interior parts of
India, such as Singhroli, Amupur, injustice remains
unseen and unheard, so atleast the fact-finding teams
should be send to gather the instances of injustice
occurring in these areas, and subsequently legal action
should be taken against the defaulters.

20. Mr. Y.S. Lohit, Human
Rights Activist
Mr. Lohit addressed the forum by saying that I
am connected with an association of lawyers, judges,
and students; it does not judge people and cases blindly
or makes generalization. As Indians we claim to be the
largest democracy and our Constitution speaks of an
independent Judiciary, which doesn‟t limit itself. But,
Political Philosophies have altered, person who decides
the value of the provided, is claimed to be the ruler.
Mr. Shams Vikas,
Advocate, UP
Mr. Vikas expressed his concern over the role of
the lawyers. According to him, the limited role of the
lawyer has proven to be of disadvantage and has been
an obstacle in the path of providing justice to people.

21. Mr. Mohd Shoaib focused upon the need to
create a strong network among our colleagues, which
could only be possible by applying confidence building
measures. Also, he mentioned one incidence that took
place on 12th and 13th of August, where he was attacked
and was severely injured. He had lodged an FIR but no
action was taken by the Judiciary over the matter
against the violators of the human rights. He expressed
his concern over the fact, that if an organ of the
government cannot ensure, restoration and protection
of human rights, it shall not claim to be an institution
for same. Since the structure of the state cannot be
Mr. Mohd. Shoaib, altered, there is a serious need to keep a check on the
Human Rights Lawyer organs of the government, so that a System of balance is
maintained.
According to Mr. Rudra Prakash, Justice isn‟t
guaranteed by the Judiciary, and this is because,
technically, judiciary provides only judgments and
those judgments may not be justified all the time. But,
one also cannot ignore the intrinsic relationship of
justice and the legal verdicts given by the judges.
Mr. Rudra Prakash,
Human Rights Activist,
Chitrakut

22. Mr. Baig started by saying that in the year 2000
an Imam was charged under the act of POTA. Lawyers
Mr. Saleem Baig, Human had refused to take his case and did not oblige to their
Rights Activist duty. HRLN came to the rescue of the Imam and fought
his case. As a result, in 2003, CBI investigated Mr. Baig‟s
house and office. The whole nexus of people in power
are against human rights activists. Judges have lost their
credibility and autonomy; they are nothing but puny
puppets in the hands of politicians. The line of
separation between the judiciary and the executive has
vanished and the balance of power has become
misbalanced.
Mr. Mahesh Sharma,
Human Rights Activist
Mr. Sharma focused on the need to stay
persistent on the issue of eradication of injustice, and
not to deviate. He also expressed that the support from
the media is important and indispensible. Media
highlights the issue of Human rights, thus directs the
attention of the masses towards it and spreads
awareness regarding the same. Hence, helping to create
a mass base for support is important.

23. Mr. Anshu started by saying that child rights and
its abuse forms an initial part of human rights
violations. The old saying of “Prevention is better than
cure” needs to be followed in the case of child rights. A
secure environment should be created for the children
which is the responsibility of youth. In case of violation
of the rights of the children, one of the reasons is the
lack of a role model, hence they should be their own
role models. A strong network is also required for the
protection of child rights and integrity between sayings
and actions taken, is important to stop prolonged
Mr. Anshu Mali Sharma, injustice.
Child Rights Activist, UP
Ms. Ankita specializes in the sphere of Dalit
rights. In over 20 villages, women and children were
harassed just because they were Dalits. Also many dalit
students weren‟t given admissions hence HRLN fought
their case. As all the acts mentioned above violate right
to equality. In Sultanpur district, women were mentally
tortured and harassed. To better the situation it is very
important to pressurize the authority to atleast provide
the dalits with the four basic rights, that is rights to
food, education, and respect and treated with dignity.
Ms. Ankita, Dalit Rights
Activist, Azamgarh

24. Mr. K. K. Roy
Mr. Roy emphasized on the role of the Human
Rights defenders and that their protection is
indispensable and their security is important. Also the
judiciary cannot be ignored. There have been cases
where human rights issues are dealt with sensitivity.
Also the judges are of the nature, who would like to stay
away from these controversial issues and deny justice.
According to Mr. Roy continuous efforts have to be
made in the pursuit of justice, one cannot leave this aim
in the midst, „cause of repeated failures. He further
emphasized that Human Rights Defender‟s are not a
separate group of intellectuals. They are a small group
of people, but the concept is universal and hence they
want to help every person possible.

25. Action Plan
Immediate action should be activities that occur in the remote
taken to create a network of areas of the country and help
lawyers and human rights them get reported.
activists. The network should be Testimonies, reports and
effective enough so that one campaigns need to be established
defender is able to defend the so that it creates widespread
other defender who has been awareness. Also, fact-finding
targeted and harassed. There team needs to visit the site of
should be consistency of violations and collect data and
thoughts and actions among the take the case to the court.
people in the network. Patience Using mass communication
needs to be the core value of the mediums like newspaper,
Human Rights defenders. internet etc human rights
Mobilizing masses through defenders should get together
awareness creates pressure and and raise their voice against
eventually things start working injustices. In case where the
out. information of the violation is
Involvement of judges and young transmitted through the medium
lawyers in this network and their of newspaper or any other mass
participation in the human rights media device, human rights
movement will give an edge and defenders should reach the site
vibrancy and certain direction for further investigation.
and hope to the movement. Law clinics should be opened to
Legal network needs to be educate people and also to
established .HRLN is one such involve the youth and educate
network and is planning to set up them regarding the urgent
legal aids networks at state level requirement of lawyers who are
as well district levels. This will human rights defenders.
help in eradicating of inhuman

26. Conclusion
The concluding session of the raised several times, it has been ensured
forum on Defending Human Rights that in Uttar Pradesh and many such
Defenders framed an important set of states in India, where violators are more
strategies and action plan. It is necessary powerful than defenders, the legal aid
to implement the laws .the discussion network will be established as soon as
ensured a step ahead in achieving possible so that anyone and everyone
justice for the victims and vulnerable can join the war against injustice,
people. The question of implementing valiantly.
the provisions of human rights were