Overview

• Citing a Rig Veda verse Justice Surya Kant highlighted equality and shared humanity as the foundation of India’s rights tradition
• He called for recognition of diverse national human rights systems shaped by unique legal traditions, socio-political realities and cultural ethos
• He criticized countries with stringent immigration controls and documented use of excessive force for positioning themselves as global human rights champions
• He recounted colonial-era atrocities such as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and Bengal Famine of 1770 to illustrate historical denials of Indian rights
• He underscored the Supreme Court and national and state human rights commissions as vital to dynamically interpreting and enforcing constitutional guarantees