Silent Chains: The Unraveling of Justice in India’s Human Rights Struggles
Silent Chains: The Unraveling of Justice in India’s Human Rights Struggles
Silent Chains: The Unraveling of Justice in India’s Human Rights Struggles
Experiences of a Financially Abused Person in India
ABSTRACT
The article discusses India’s deepening human rights struggles, highlighting systemic failures such as the financial abuse faced by DHFL victims, the weakening of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and increasing state repression. It paints a bleak picture of diminishing freedom, from economic exploitation to a crackdown on dissent, exacerbated by biased government institutions. The piece critiques India’s slipping global human rights rankings and the silencing of civil society, reflecting on the devastating consequences for ordinary citizens in a fractured democracy.
Posted on 16th December, 2024 (GMT 08:21 hrs)
I am vexed…I have seen that I am cordoned by many gatekeepers…I have lost my life-savings in the DHFL…the regulatory authorities were fast asleep when fraudulent transactions were taking place in the DHFL…….two of the gatekeepers, NCLT and NCLAT, have confirmed that the decision of RBI-appointed CoC for DHFL must be re-evaluated…whistleblowers are with us….but justice seems to be a far-fetched dream, a mere mirage…
I’ve approached NHRC (India) with my concerns… only to hear that my case does not fall under their purview…though I know that business-related rights are acknowledged under the UN’s international covenant….now, I have come to know that NHRC (India) is delisted by the UN’s Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) for two consecutive years.……..it was also not included in this list in 2016 as well….. what’s wrong with our government and its institutions??…
FINANCIAL ABUSE OF THE DHFL VICTIMS: A COMPLAINT TO THE NHRC VIEW HERE ⤡
Is it not a shame for us, common Indian citizens? Ben Anderson once said that one of the characteristic features of “nationhood” is “feeling ashamed” in the case of gross human rights violations by their government…..
The numbers lie there, cold and unyielding… India, 109th on the Human Freedom Index in 2023 out of 165 countries, its score—6.06, a shadow of its past self in 2015. A 9% decline… What does freedom mean when it wanes by percentage points? The Human Rights and Rule of Law Index speaks louder, a troubling 7.6 in 2024, above the global average, a cruel paradox: the higher the score, the deeper the shadows.
Human Freedom Index: Top 10 countries with the highest and lowest scores—unveiling India’s standing globally VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 10th December, 2024 ©The Indian Express)
Freedom House whispers “partly free” Indian republic—an assessment from 2021, its sting still fresh. The V-Dem Institute, more damning, calls India an electoral autocracy since 2019… democracy’s façade cracked under the weight of restricted speech, silenced civil groups, journalists and activists.
And then there’s Manipur and bulldozer (in)justice—homes razed, women brutalized, communities fractured. Names like Khurram Parvez, Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam echo, detained under acts meant to unmake dissent. Digital voices—The Kashmir Walla—silenced. Media is owned by ruling party’s favoured tycoons to manufacture the citizen’s consent….What is freedom when its carriers are dismantled?
The Rights Tracker? It counts rights unkept, a ledger of promises unfulfilled. The statistics blur into reality… A heavy silence lingers.
Human rights concerns in India VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 19th July, 2021 ©Uk Parliament)
Human Rights Compromised in India under the Oligarchic Regime VIEW HERE ⤡
The narrative of human rights in India deepens… Counter-terrorism laws cast shadows in “disturbed areas,” with allegations of excessive force, sexual violence against women, and arbitrary “preventive” (?) detentions. Free speech falters, silenced by charges and intimidation, while discrimination festers—hate crimes targeting Dalits, Muslims and Adivasis thrive with impunity. Privacy is pierced, forced evictions displace the vulnerable, and extrajudicial killings paint grim realities. Arbitrary arrests and frequent internet shutdowns underscore a fractured democracy. Yet, the “state”-apparatus disputes these claims, as minorities cry for protection, and impunity cloaks abusers, rapists and molesters in untouchable armour.
Money… control… freedom whittled down to coins and notes that are never yours. Coercive control isn’t loud; it whispers in locked accounts, questioned expenses, and invisible barriers. Economic abuse due to increased bankruptcies in the public sector… It is not just DHFL but IL&FS, Essar Steel, PNB, Bhushan Power & Steel, Reliance Communications and so on… Banks have written off “bad loans” or “NPAs” worth Rs. 14.56 Lakh Crores in the last 10 years! All of this looms like a shadow, pinning autonomy beneath unpaid debts of superrich wilful defaulters, exempted crony tycoons like Adani and Piramal, as well as stolen agencies of ordinary citizens.
Understanding coercive control and economic and financial abuse VIEW HERE ⤡ (©Australian Government)
You learn to fear the very thing meant to empower—finances. Each transaction feels watched, each decision or policymaking a potential trigger. Freedom lies just out of reach, tangled in balance sheets and guilt.
How do you name a prison built without walls?
Amnesty International (India), once a beacon for human rights, found its operations shuttered on 30 September 2020⤡, silenced by the ever-tightening grip on civil society in India, as freedom itself seemed to shrink, forced into the shadows of a growing crackdown.
India 2023 VIEW HERE ⤡ (©Amnesty International)
Life… liberty… equality… dignity… words that stand like sentinels, guarding the fragile essence of ‘being human‘. Section 2(1)(d) of the Protection of Human Rights (PHR) Act doesn’t just define rights; it anchors them in the Constitution of India, in promises inked by international covenants. Yet, the expensive courtroom is where they find breath, where their meaning stretches or contracts. RTIs in India are left unanswered… ⤡ ⤡ in the dynamics of “justice delayed, justice denied...”
These rights aren’t static—they shimmer, become elusive, and are sometimes intangible. What is guaranteed on paper feels distant when lived experience falters. Are these principles “shields”, or do they sometimes fracture under the weight of hostile reality? The answer… lies in the gaps between law, society and life. Hope is out of the Pandora’s box…….the remainder!
Human Rights in India and the DHFL Scam: Knowing through Negations VIEW HERE ⤡
Some DHFL victims, financially abused, are committing suicides…. some of them are taking psychiatric pills for anxiety disorders….the profiteering business of pharma-companies is proliferating….”this death valley is not our homeland“!
Where do we go, from “here”?
Appendix
THE NHRC DELISTING: A SOURCE-REPORT
India’s NHRC accreditation has been deferred for a second year by a UN-linked body, citing concerns over political interference, lack of independence, and failure to meet Paris Principles. Key criticisms include flawed member appointments through non-transparency, insufficient diversity due to lack of adequate gender and minority representation, conflicts of interest, governmental manipulation and weak civil society engagement. The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) highlighted these persistent issues, impacting NHRC (India)’s international credibility.
U.N.-recognised Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions keeps NHRC waiting over ‘political meddling’ VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 24th May, 2023 ©The Hindu)
Geneva-based UN-related body to review India’s human rights accreditation status this week VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 29th April, 2024 ©The Hindu)
UN-Linked Body Defers NHRC India’s Accreditation for Second Year Running VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 14th May, 2024 ©The Wire)
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