There is sharp division of opinion as to what human rights mean. How they should be implemented? What role the United Nations, other international associations or the non-governmental organizations should play in the process?
For the West, an individual is the focus of human rights. But the non-western countries emphasize on the society. An individual could develop only when the society as a whole develops.
The West and many other countries regard human right norms as universally applicable. Other countries argue that human rights norms are cultural specific, and should not be blindly applied across various cultures and social systems.
India occupies a mid-way position in that stream. In countries, like India, the societal tensions have reached a boiling point and the relationship between the state and society has been altered.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The liberal democratic institutions that India has erected are under threat. While no one denies that terrorism has to be dealt with firmly, is it not a fact that it is corruption and misadministration that has given rise to unrest and militancy? Nor can one turn a blind eye to police the slew of atrocities on the vulnerable sections of the population.
In most situations, the conflict is not between political and economic rights of individuals or society; the tension arises because the Government/ political, administrative bosses support vested interest groups against the common masses.