It gives me great pleasure to be invited by Rotary Award for Service to Humanity (India) Trust to present a very special award to a very special person this evening.

Few men are perhaps better qualified to be chosen for the first Rotary India Award on Human Rights than Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah. His name is indelibly linked to the noble ideal of advancement of human rights in India, thanks to his long and distinguished service in the judiciary and, later, as the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission. The good work started by him in the Commission has been continued by his able successor, Justice Verma.

Human rights is not an alien concept to us. It is not as if India borrowed it from democracies in the West after the issue gained international currency in recent decades. In the very emblem of the National Human Rights Commission is enshrined the age-old Vedic ideal: Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah—May All Be Happy.

Here “All” does not mean all of a particular community or a race or a nation, but all the human beings on earth. Our ideal of human rights is, thus, as universal as it is ancient.

Nor do we in India understand human rights in a limited and restrictive sense in terms of certain abuses here and there. It is wrong to think of human rights in parts, nor their denial in parts. Human life and happiness are indivisible. Only a holistic approach will help us achieve material prosperity for all, social and cultural progress for all, and human dignity for all.

India not only developed an original and profound understanding of human rights, but also constructed the three pillars on which the edifice of human rights rests. These pillars are democracy, secularism, and the rule of law. These ideals might not have been articulated in the past through their modern idioms. But, in their essential form, they have always been the hallmark of the best periods in Indian history. They have been championed by philosophers and social reformers belonging to all the diverse religious and social traditions of India. That is why, after independence we adopted a Constitution that guarantees basic human rights not only to our own citizens, without any discrimination, but also to all those who happen to visit our sacred land.

I am not harking back to the past because it is a comfortable distraction from the glaring gap between the ideals and the reality at present. No. I am doing so, because I believe that we can best promote respect for human rights by rooting our efforts in our own cultural and spiritual traditions, without, however, turning a blind eye to the positive lessons from the experiences of other countries around the world.

I emphasize the importance of our cultural and spiritual traditions for another reason. Not all the right things in society can be ensured by laws and regulations alone. Law cannot teach a person to be compassionate, caring, and sensitive to other people’s sorrows and joys. And human rights cannot be secure in a society where these qualities are weak. For example, atrocities on dalits, women, poor and the weak cannot be stopped by legal methods alone. Social maladies call for social remedies.

It is, therefore, necessary that we pay far greater attention than we have done so far to the role of education, media, and socio-cultural reforms in creating an environment in which respect for human rights becomes the natural trait of citizens and institutions.

Of course, the role of the law and governmental machinery in expanding and deepening the scope of human rights can hardly be overemphasized. The National Human Rights Commission has rendered a commendable service by creating greater awareness about human rights and also by checking their gross abuses. So far, however, only ten states have set up similar commissions. I would urge those States, which have not done yet so, to follow suit speedily. Especially Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which, I am told, account for 65 percent of the nearly fifty thousand complaints that are received annually by the National Commission.

The Commission has suggested some amendments to the Protection of Human Rights Act following the report of the Justice Ahmadi Committee. The Government will examine these suggestions and take early steps to enact necessary amendments to further strengthen the legal framework for the protection of human rights.

I believe that we should be open and willing to fully recognize the deficiencies and infringements in the area of human rights in India. For without being truthful to the nature and extent of the problem, there can be no effective and durable solution. We should spare no effort to infuse greater sensitivity, efficiency, and accountability in the functioning of the police, administration and other institutions that have a direct bearing on the human rights of citizens.

Wherever necessary, rules and procedures of these institutions should be radically overhauled to reduce the possibility of their contributing to the violation of human rights of our citizens. This is especially urgent in the context of the untold difficulties faced by the poor and illiterate in their dealings with the institutions of the State.

All the people working in these institutions should bear in mind a simple guiding principle: The more we enforce the rule of law, the better we promote human rights. It is a principle, which Justice Venkatachaliah himself has enunciated very pithily in one of his famous judgements: “Governance is not of men but of the rule of law.” I would like all of us responsible for governance at the Centre and in State Governments and local bodies to mull over the meaning of these profound words more and more.

At the same time, I wish also to caution against the tendency, seen among some commentators on the human rights in India, to exaggerate, to sensationalize, to judge a situation without regard to the overall context, to view certain issues through the coloured glasses of outsiders, and to wittingly or unwittingly project a negative picture of India around the world.

Another thought. In a developing country like India, the task of advancing human rights is integrally linked to speedy and balanced socio-economic growth. Poverty is one of the worst violators of human rights—and so also is the society that allows poverty to persist. India has all the human and natural resources needed to provide decent living standards to all our citizens. This, however, can be achieved only by removing the shackles on India’s all-round economic progress. This is the true purpose of our economic reforms. Our reforms have a human face because they are designed to promote economic and social justice for all our citizens, especially the poorest and the most deprived.

A word about the timing of this award presentation ceremony, which appears to have something to do with our desire to bring the issue of human rights into greater limelight. Knowingly or unknowingly, the organizers have chosen this day for holding the function, which is only two days before the 25th anniversary of the imposition of Emergency in India. As we all know, it was the darkest period for Indian democracy. It was also a direct assault on the fundamental human rights of our citizens. Happily, that sad chapter came to an early end. It is our duty, and the duty of our succeeding generations, to ensure that it never re-visits us.

Before I conclude, I must applaud Justice Venkatachaliah for the new role in which he is now serving the nation: namely, as the chairman of the Constitution Review Commission. His stature, his erudition, and his impeccable impartiality have been hailed by one and all. The Commission will thoroughly review the working of our Constitution in the past five decades of independence and make such recommendations as will, without altering its basic structure, better serve the lofty ideals of our Republic. Thus, in his new responsibility, too, Justice Venkatachaliah will continue his spirited championing of human rights.

I once again heartily congratulate Justice Venkatachaliah for receiving the Rotary India Award on Human Rights and, thereby, further promoting the cause of human rights in India.

Thank you.