‘Minorities continue to be targets of violence’

Vice-President Hamid Ansari has said despite the constitutional and legal guarantees, religious minorities continue to be target of violence and discrimination from time to time. He was speaking on the topic ‘Citizens and State Conduct’ at the 8the VM Tarkunde memorial lecture Friday. Ansari said weaker sections of society such as minorities, women, SCs, STs, children and persons with disabilities were still being discriminated against.

“These cut into the root of constitutional principle of equality of opportunity and equal access to justice and highlight the failure of the state to act properly,” he said.

Quoting a study by the South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre, Ansari also said the “most serious human rights abuses” in India were the violations by the State of Article 21. “This is particularly acute in areas of internal conflict, such as Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeast and the Naxal belt where serious complaints about the misuse of laws like the AFSPA, the Disturbed Areas Act (DDA) or the Public Safety Act (PSA) continue to be made,” said the Vice-President.