US sings same old tune

State Dept's report has yet again targeted India for what it calls a series of human rights violations, reports S Rajagopalan.

Indo-US relations may be at their peak and Delhi may indeed be Washington’s “strategic partner” now. But when it comes to perceptions about the human rights situation, the US authorities still take a dim view of India’s record.

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The US State Department’s annual human rights report has yet again targeted India for what it reckons to be a series of violations. And, heading the list as in previous years, is the finding that India resorts to “excessive use of force” to put down insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.

Even while lauding India’s commitment to democracy and respect for human rights, the report says “numerous serious problems” have remained.

These range from the purported excesses by security forces in the insurgency-hit states to extra-judicial killings across the country, violation of rights of persons belonging to lower castes and trafficking in women and children.

“Government officials used special anti-terrorism legislation to justify the excessive use of force while combating active insurgencies,” it says. This is a conclusion that has remained unchanged in the US State Department’s report year after year.