Human Rights Watch report

Context: Recently, The World Report 2023 of Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that Indian authorities had intensified and broadened their crackdown on activist groups and the media through 2022.

Highlights of the report:

• According to the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party-led government used abusive and discriminatory policies to repress Muslims and other minorities.
• The HRW said authorities across India arrested activists, journalists, and other critics of the government on what it called “politically motivated” criminal charges, including that of terrorism.
• It added that they also misused laws forbidding forced religious conversions to target Christians, especially from Dalit and Adivasi communities.
• On Jammu and Kashmir, the HRW said that even after three years of dilution of Article 370, the government continued to restrict free expression, peaceful assembly, and other basic rights there.
• It added that rights groups were harassed by Indian authorities throughout the country through tax raids, the use of the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act, and other allegations of financial irregularities.

About Human Rights Watch:

• Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization headquartered in New York City.
• It conducts research and advocacy on human rights.
• The group pressures governments, policymakers, companies, and individual human rights abusers to denounce abuse and respect human rights.
• It often works on behalf of refugees, children, migrants, and political prisoners.
• In 1997, Human Rights Watch shared the Nobel Peace Prize as a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

Source: The Hindu

Previous Year Question

Q.1) With reference to India, consider the following statements:

1. Government law officers and legal firms are recognized as advocates, but corporate lawyers and patent attorneys are excluded from recognition as advocates.
2. Bar Councils have the power to lay down the rules relating to legal education and recognition of law colleges.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (2022)

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2