India Human Rights Report 2006

India faces human rights crisis from Jammu and Kashmir in the North to Kerala in the South, from Gujarat inj the West to Arunachal Pradesh in the East.  Across the country, there are diverse civil society groups focusing on human rights violations by the security forces and the armed opposition groups on their own communities or respective States.  India Human Rights Report 2006, covering the events from 1 January to 31 December 2005, reports on human rights violations in 27 States of India.  It is the only such report which provides State-wise comprehensive information on human rights violations in India.  India faces many human rights challenges – from the lack of access of justice from the judiciary and quasi-judicial bodies like National Human Rights Commission to Kangaroo justice delivered by the cultural courts, Panchayats, and so-called People’s Court, the Jana Adalats of the Maoists.  The catalogue of human rights violations is long – arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, custodial death, disproportionate use of fire-arms, communal riots, rape, misuse of national security laws, atrocities against the Adivasis and the Dalits, violations of the prisoner’s rights.  Sovereign immunity of the State and impunity provided to the security forces create a vicious cycle of human rights violations in India.  The armed opposition groups too have seldom been held accountable for violations of international humanitarian laws.