I read a lengthy and interesting Tribute on Balagopal by K.G.Kannabiran published in PUCL Bulletin, January, 2010.On one occasion, if my memory goes correct, in 1992, the Puducherry Unit of the PUCL hosted the National Seminar On Abolition Of Human Rights and in that Meeting I saw him. He was so simple and sociable.With a small book shop-made for the event- on the floor of the Kamban Kalai Arangam, he exhibited the issues, pamphlets and publications relating to Civil Liberties. In his death, the Andhra Pradesh has lost a graceful leader, who always identified with the oppressed and depressed.On a National Level his passing away has created a void among the Human Rights Activists. The situation, We all know, in the Human Rights Sector is day-by-day worsening in Our Country.Many of the States have still to set up Human Rights Commission and some States and Union Territories have Human Rights Committee only without teeth.The untimely demise of a celebrated Civil Rights Activist in this j...
Recent demonstration by Tamils in Malaysia for assertion of their deprived rights. More particularly of the right to profess religion, especially after their Government bulldozing the temples of worship is dealt with by force by the Government, has invited widespread condemna tion and protest from the world community. The Tamilnadu Chief Minister led the protest.Later Indian Administration also registered its displeasure openly and formally through the diplomatic channels. Among the Indians, the Tamils constitute a majority and had suffered heavily at the hands of the colonial master-the English, in the plantations.Their plight even drew the attention of the poet Bharathi along with other tamils subjugated in other colonies as wage labourers in taming the plantations.The untold sufferings and misery they underwent during the world wars could not be forgotten. Now for the deprivation and privation endured under the British, they are demanding adequate compensation from the Government of...
Status of Prisons and their Reformative Role. The Prison System as the Police is a legacy and continuation of the Colonial content .Some tinkering then and there have been carried out by the Governments on adhoc basis.A major over haul and reformation are still elusive. Recommendations for Jail Reforms are pending for acceptance for decades with the Government. The tier-system of jails: sub-jails, District Jails and Central Jails do not have adequate facilities and infrastructure commensurate with the Prison population.The Personnel are from psychological point of view regard themselves as an extension of the police force. The convicts lodged in prison have to be treated as patients referred/admitted to hospital for treatment and care. The Theories of Criminology speak volumes about the idea behind punishment.From a holistic point Prison are meant for redemption and reform. In practice they act as centre for hardening criminal and in most cases the tendency to form grou...
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