Professor

“HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA PRESENT AND FUTURE” - Padmasri Dr. Kutikuppala Surya Rao Senior Consultant Physician “My confidence in our shared future is grounded in my respect for India’s treasured past -— a civilization that’s been shaping the world for thousands of years. Indians unlocked the intricacies of the human body and the vastness of our universe. It’s no exaggeration to say that our Information Age is rooted in Indian innovations —- including the number zero. Of course, India not only opened our minds, she expanded our moral imaginations -- with religious texts that still summon the faithful to lives of dignity and discipline, with poets who imagined a future “where the mind is without fear and the head is held high” and with a man whose message of love and justice endures the father of your nation, Mahatma Gandhi”. Said ,Barack Obama, US President in Indian Parliament on 8th November, 2010. This is the greatness of India in the minds of International strong Leaders like US President. He also told that the United Nations exists to fulfill its founding ideals of preserving peace and security, promoting global cooperation, and advancing human rights. These are the responsibilities of all nations, but especially those that seek to lead in the 21st century. And so we look forward to working with India. Under this scenario on the occasion of the world AIDS day 2010, when we scan the situation of AIDS in India and the human rights of HIV positive people the consequences are extremely daunting. Universal Access and Human Rights: The theme for World AIDS Day 2010 is 'Universal Access and Human Rights'. Global leaders have pledged to work towards universal access to HIV and AIDS treatment, prevention and care, recognising these as fundamental human rights. Valuable progress has been made in increasing access to HIV and AIDS services, yet greater commitment is needed around the world if the goal of universal access is to be achieved. Millions of people continue to be infected with HIV every year. In low- and middle-income countries, less than half of those in need of antiretroviral therapy are receiving it, and too many do not have access to adequate care services. The protection of human rights is fundamental to combating the global HIV and AIDS epidemic. Violations against human rights fuel the spread of HIV putting marginalised groups, such as injecting drug users and sex workers, at a higher risk of HIV infection. By promoting individual human rights, new infections can be prevented and people who have HIV can live free from discrimination. “Because the wealth of a nation also depends on the health of its people, we’ll continue to support India’s effort against diseases like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, and as global partners, we’ll work to improve global health by preventing the spread of pandemic flu. And because knowledge is the currency of the 21st century, we will increase exchanges between our students, our colleges and our universities, which are among the best in the world” emphasized Mr. Obama. In reality the International partnership in combating HIV/AIDS is not on par with the promises made by the International community. At the beginning of the 21st century, very few people in the developing world had access to HIV treatment.  This was in large part because of the very high prices of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) and the international patents that stopped them from being manufactured at cheaper prices. However, in 2001 drug manufacturers in developing countries began to produce generic drugs under special terms in international trade law. In sub-Saharan Africa, countries including Kenya and South Africa passed bills that made it legal for them to purchase generic drugs from abroad. The vast reduction in price made possible by the manufacturing of generic drugs meant expansion of treatment on a global scale was possible Now HIV/AIDS is about two and half decades old and it has had a significant effect on almost all the countries of the world. It is threatening to slow down the economic progress of many developing countries. It has wiped out a majority of who are males in economically productive age groups in many countries of sub Saharan Africa. Nearly 20 million people have died of AIDS so far and around 45 million are currently living with HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that everyday 15,000 new people are getting HIV infection in the world, and half of them are females, and 90% of these people belong to developing countries. Now the focus is shifting from African to the Asian continent with vast population in India and China showing rising prevalence of HIV. The situation may soon be explosive if adequate measures are not taken. Around 7.2 million people are infected in Asia and of these more than half (3.97 million) are in India. These figures are constantly changing due to the nature of this disease. The advent of ART has revolutionized the medicare of HIV/AIDS patients. The HAART (Highly Active Anti Retroviral Therapy) has the potential to prolong life and hence positive people are living near normal life5. Thus there is a great need for health insurance to HIV seropositive individuals. Insurance is an important necessity for everyone but health insurance is very much crucial for HIV positive people not only to obtain medical care but also to pay one’s debts after death and to provide relief and support for spouse and children. Otherwise after the death of the head of the family, the principle source of income is lost and several families are thrown into streets. Aroghya Sri … ': To lead a healthy life a HIV positive individual, needs nutritious diet, family support, timely laboratory investigations and regular use of ART with good adherence. For all these components financial support is of paramount importance. And this aspect can be fulfilled by the life insurance companies, provided they have human face. It is said that health is wealth. If a person maintains good health, it gives everything to him. In this sense health is an important virtue one has to purse and maintain. Immanuel Kant held: “duties of oneself, to preserve one’s life, maintain one’s health, and develop one’s talent, were the most central of obligations” But unfortunately many insurance companies in India, such as LIC, Bajaj, MetLife and ICICI are not readily accepting HIV positive people under insurance schemes. Insurance companies like ‘STAR’ though proactive to give policy to AIDS patients, their area of operations are very limited. Even the popular ‘Aarogya Sree’ scheme of Government of Andhra Pradesh is also a form of insurance that has not extended its benefits to AIDS patients. At this point, I would like to question, when many diseases such as renal failure, kidney transplantations, heart attacks, strokes, cancers etc., have been included under insurance benefits, why AIDS disease is set aside' Why not it be included in ‘Arogyasri’' My argument is that, it looks as though the life of a person with kidney disease is more precious than the life of a poor AIDS patient. This type of disparities and imbalances are not a welcome feature in health sector. Human life is precious, whether it is of a kidney failure patient or HIV infected patient. If the government treats all patients on a common platform irrespective of the diseases they suffer then only AIDS patients would get respect in the society. At least government machinery should not treat AIDS disease and AIDS patients in isolation as untouchables. Cure for AIDS is close: The AIDS Policy Project, in Philadelphia, has report contending that a cure for AIDS may be closer to fruition than most people think, but that poor research funding is holding it back.  Current antiretroviral (ARV) therapy is quite potent. When it works well, it completely shuts down HIV reproduction. Unfortunately, a small reservoir of infected cells remains in the body, and when people stop taking their HIV medication, the virus quickly resumes replication. Cytheris has announced the launch and recruitment of a new Phase II study of the company’s interleukin-7 (IL-7) drug—combined with the entry inhibitor Selzentry (maraviroc) and the integrase inhibitor Isentress (raltegravir)—with the goal of eradicating HIV. Traditional ARVs can’t target HIV genetic material (HIV DNA) inside this reservoir of infected cells. This is because the cells are inactive; most ARVs only work in cells that are actively reproducing. Researchers are now exploring drugs that either wake up these resting cells or help purge their HIV DNA and, ultimately, make the virus vulnerable to HIV drugs. These strategies are one of several being explored with the goal of eradicating HIV from the human body Life span of AIDS patient is 69 years: A 20-year-old HIV-positive person starting antiretroviral (ARV) therapy today can expect to live, on average, to the age of 69, according to new calculations published July 26 in The Lancet. The study authors say this is a life expectancy increase of 37 percent over projections for 20-year-olds starting ARVs during the early years of combination treatment.  Violation of human rights: The constitution provides for freedom of speech and expression; however, freedom of the press is not explicitly mentioned. The government generally respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press. Under the 1923 Official Secrets Act, the government may prosecute any person who publishes or communicates information that could be harmful to the state. However, no such cases were reported during the year. The Press Council is a statutory body of journalists, publishers, academics, and politicians, with a government-appointed chairman, that investigates what it believes is irresponsible journalism and sets a code of conduct for publishers. This code includes injunctions against publishing stories that might incite caste or communal violence. The council publicly criticized those it believed had broken the code of conduct. Independent newspapers and magazines regularly published and television channels broadcast investigative reports, including allegations of government wrongdoing, and the press generally promoted human rights and criticized perceived government lapses. Most print media and 80 percent of television channels were privately owned. India Human Rights: India's dynamic society and political system are juxtaposed by multiple serious human rights concerns. Among the gravest are unlawful killings, excessive use of police force, torture, violence against women, discrimination against Dalits, and severe and pervasive poverty. In many areas governmental mechanisms fail to protect civil and political rights and do not ensure justice for victims of human rights abuses. Bomb attacks, including attacks by non-state actors, and armed conflict in various parts of the country kill hundreds of people a year. Civilians are often killed as police battle growing Maoist insurgencies in central and eastern states. High levels of violence continue among both security forces and armed opposition groups in the northeastern states of Assam, Tripura and Manipur. About 300 million people, a quarter of the population, remain living in poverty. Communities in a number of states, including West Bengal, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Madya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu continue to protest as their livelihoods are threatened by irrigation, mining, and business projects. Unlawful methods are often used to deal with such protests, and impunity for abuses is common. Homosexuality in India: Until the Delhi High Court decriminalised consensual private sexual acts between consenting adults on June 2, 2009, homosexuality was considered criminal as per interpretations of the ambiguous Section 377 of the 150 year old Indian Penal Code (IPC), a law passed by the colonial British authorities. However, this law was very rarely enforced. In its ruling decriminalising homosexuality, the Delhi High Court noted that existed law conflicted with the fundamental rights guaranteed by theConstitution of India, and such criminalising is violative of Articles 21, 14 and 15 of the Constitution. Domestic violence: It has been observed the rampant misuse of empowering provisions (IPC-498A, DvAct, Divorce, Custody, Alimony) by unscrupulous women for violating the human rights of their husbands and their family. Under these laws, prompt arrest, simply on the basis of a verbal/written complaint of the alleged victim, without any enquiry or investigation. This provision is being misused to blackmail the unsuspecting husband and his family to extort easy money (to the tune of tens of lakhs) by unscrupulous ladies who have turned the institution of marriage into a money making enterprise. This is a non-bailable and non-compoundable section and hence the arrested person has to make provisions for running around lawyers and courts. What this entails is a social stigmatization, financial loss, loss of livelihood ,loss of liberty and rendering the victim vulnerable to blackmail and extortion. The victimization does not end with the arrest. If the victim stands up to face this oppression he is dragged into court case which takes 3-5 years to resolve on an average. At the end of this legal battle the verdict loses any significance since the damage has already been perpetrated. As the commission would appreciate subjecting a person to such mental torture even before establishing his guilt goes against all legal norms. Modern Indian women are approaching the courts for divorce and resorting to proceedings against in-laws under section 498a IPC, implicating not only the husbands but also their family members whether in India or Abroad. This is nothing but misuse of the beneficial provision intended to save the women from unscrupulous husbands. It has taken a reverse trend now. In some cases this kind of actions is coming as a formidable hurdle in the reconciliation efforts made by either well meaning people or the courts and the sanctity attached to the marriage in Hindu Religion and the statutory mandate that the courts try to save the marriage through peace-making efforts till last are being buried neck-deep. Conclusion: Human rights are being violated at every stage in this country. Unfortunately even decades after UNO declaration on protection of the human rights, still the caterpillar movement is only in vogue. At school level it has been a common scene that child rights are brutally violated where some of the teachers are beating the students cruelly and abusing the children sexually and other wise. At domestic level parents are not respecting the rights of their own children. Even freedom of expression is also curtailed. Children are forced to eat what they don’t like and what is not nutritious and children are compelled to study professional courses such as doctors, engineers against their will and aptitude. In offices either private or public, rights of women are always at the mercy of management. Gender equity is again a beautiful slogan. No day news paper is without reports on sexual assault on women or insulting the self respect of women. At government level even dreaming for protection of human rights is too costly. As a whole respecting human rights in present days, seems to be ‘name sake’. Under this state of affairs we have to wait and see how future citizens will perceive and implement human rights for the welfare and dignity of whole human race. Office : # Door No: 36-46-51,Kancharapalem, Visakhapatnam- 530 008 CONTACT PHONES: (M) 9703100938 & 9440674410 (O) 0891-2558529 Email: kutikuppalasuryarao@gmail.co or kutikuppala@eth.net Web: www.drkutikuppalasuryarao.org Residence: 0891-2558637 Fax: 2557392