America
US report highlights 'widespread corruption' in India
By
By Arun Kumar Washington, June 25
Even as it praised India
for holding "the largest democratic elections in history", the US on
Thursday highlighted "police and security force abuses" and "widespread
corruption" among its "most significant human rights problems".
"India's
parliamentary contest in April 2014 was one of the largest elections in
history," Secretary of State John Kerry said in his preface to the
annual Human Rights Reports speaking of "stifling of free and open
media" from China to Saudi Arabia.
"Governments in China, Egypt,
Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, among others,
continued to stifle free and open media and the development of civil
society through the imprisonment of journalists, bloggers, and
non-violent critics," he said.
"For far too many people, 2014 was
defined by suffering and abuse perpetrated by terrorist groups
exploiting religious discourse and divisions to advance their
totalitarian ideology," said Kerry who later presented the report at a
State Department briefing.
Taking note of the Narendra Modi-led
National Democratic Alliance's victory in the May 2014 elections in
India, the report said: "These elections, the largest democratic
elections in history, were considered free and fair, despite isolated
instances of violence."
"Authorities maintained effective control over the security forces," it said.
In
India, "the most significant human rights problems were police and
security force abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and
rape", as also "societal violence based on gender, religious
affiliation, and caste or tribe," the report said.
"Widespread
corruption (that) contributed to ineffective responses to crime,
including those against women and members of scheduled castes or
tribes," it added.
Other human rights problems included
disappearances, hazardous prison conditions, arbitrary arrest and
detention, and lengthy pre-trial detention, the report said.
"A lack of accountability for misconduct at all levels of government persisted," it suggested.
"Investigations
and prosecutions of individual cases took place, but lax enforcement, a
shortage of trained police officers, and an overburdened and
under-resourced court system contributed to infrequent convictions."
"The
judiciary remained backlogged, leading to lengthy delays and the denial
of due process. There were instances of infringement of privacy
rights," it said.
Noting that "the law in some states restricts
religious conversion", the report said, "there were reports of arrests
but no reports of convictions under those laws".
"Some limits on the freedom of movement continued," the report said.
"Rape,
domestic violence, dowry-related deaths, honour killings, sexual
harassment, and discrimination against women remained serious societal
problems."
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])