HUMAN rights group Amnesty International said on Tuesday it is stopping its work in India because the government has frozen its bank accounts in the latest action against it for speaking out about rights violations. In a statement, Amnesty said it had highlighted rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir and riots in Delhi in recent days and the government had sought to punish it for that.
The global human rights watchdog has described the government clampdown on its India operations as “unprecedented in a democracy” and a “huge escalation in repression”, an observation that needs to be viewed seriously by all members of the civilized world. India claims to be the largest democracy and a champion of freedom of expression but its track record belies such claims and one wonders on what basis New Delhi is lobbying to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. AI and other human rights organizations are frequently targeted by the Indian Government for speaking against continued repression of Kashmiris and suppression of dissent especially in the backdrop of country-wide protests against discriminatory citizenship law. In a recent statement, AI held Delhi police guilty of “grave human rights violations” during communal riots in the Indian capital earlier this year, adding that police personnel were even “active participants” in the violence. The violations highlighted by AI’s field investigations include police officers indulging in violence with the rioters, torturing in custody, using excessive force on protesters, dismantling sites of peaceful protests and, being mute bystanders as rioters wreaked havoc. AI has also been highlighting the plight of Kashmiris despite stringent curbs on reporting ground situation in Occupied Kashmir and in a statement it held Indian government responsible for systematic dismantling of all avenues for justice for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. India is resorting to draconian measures in a bid to camouflage its black deeds against Kashmiris and minorities but truth somehow comes out, exposing its real face and designs.
