Some People Harming Country's Image In The Name Of Human Rights With Their Selective Approach : PM Narendra Modi

Speaking at the 28th NHRC Foundation Day programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that some people were harming the country's image in the name of human rights protection with their selective approach.

"...of late, some people have started interpreting human rights from their own angle as per their selfish interests. Tendency to see infringement in one situation and not in a similar situation has damaged human rights to a great extent... the biggest infringement of human rights takes place when they are seen from the prism of politics and political profit and loss. This selective behaviour is harmful to our democracy. With their selective approach, there are some people who harm the country's image in the name of human rights protection. We need to be cautious of them," PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister also said that it is important to understand that human rights is not associated with rights only, but is a subject of our duties too.

Underscoring that rights and duties are two tracks on which the journey of human development and human dignity takes place, he stressed that duties are equally important as rights and should not be discussed separately as they complement each other.

The Prime Minister also said that India's freedom movement and its history has been a great source of inspiration for human rights and the values ​​of human rights for India.

"As a nation, as a society we resisted injustice-atrocities, we fought for our rights for centuries. At a time when the whole world was engulfed in the violence of World War I, India suggested the path of 'rights and non-violence' to the whole world. Not only India but the whole world sees our Bapu as a symbol of human rights and human values", said the Prime Minister remembering Mahatma Gandhi. 

He stressed that the concept of human rights is closely related to the dignity of the poor and in this regard, he enumerated the government's efforts to ensure the dignity of the poor

He said when a poor person gets toilets ensuring freedom from open defecation, he gets dignity, similarly, a poor man who was hesitant to enter a bank, gets a Jan Dhan account, which ensures dignity, he said.

Continuing with the listing of measures, in the past few years, the Prime Minister said that the country had also tried to remove the injustice happening at different levels in different sections.

"For decades Muslim women had been demanding a law against triple talaq. We have given new rights to Muslim women by enacting a law against triple talaq" the Prime Minister said.

He also said that India has ensured 26 weeks of paid maternity leave for career women, a feat that even many developed nations could not achieve. Similarly, the Prime Minister listed the measures by the government for trans-genders, children and nomadic and semi-nomadic communities.

The Prime Minister concluded by mentioning the human rights of future generations. He emphasized that with measures like International Solar Alliance, renewable energy goals and Hydrogen Mission, India is rapidly moving in the direction of sustainable life and eco-friendly growth.

Underscoring that India believes in Sarva dharma sama bhava, [All religions are the same or All paths lead to the same destination], the Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Justice Arun Mishra today said that it has become a new norm to accuse India of human rights violations at the behest of external forces.

New Norm To Accuse India Of Human Rights Violations At The Behest Of External Forces: Justice Arun Mishra