THE RIGHT TO LIVE YOUR LIFE FREE OF

DISCRIMINATION
What are human rights?

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of
residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all
equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated,
interdependent and indivisible.
Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties,
customary international law , general principles and other sources of international law.
International human rights law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to
refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental
freedoms of individuals or groups.
FEATURES OF HUMAN RIGHTS:-

1. UNIVERSAL AND INALIENABLE

The principle of universality of human rights is the cornerstone of international human rights
law. This principle, as first emphasized in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948,
has been reiterated in numerous international human rights conventions, declarations, and
resolutions. The 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, for example, noted that it is
the duty of States to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms, regardless
of their political, economic and cultural systems.

All States have ratified at least one, and 80% of States have ratified four or more, of the core
human rights treaties, reflecting consent of States which creates legal obligations for them and
giving concrete expression to universality. Some fundamental human rights norms enjoy
universal protection by customary international law across all boundaries and civilizations.
Human rights are inalienable. They should not be taken away, except in specific situations and
according to due process. For example, the right to liberty may be restricted if a person is found
guilty of a crime by a court of law.

2. Interdependent and indivisible

All human rights are indivisible, whether they are civil and political rights, such as the right to
life, equality before the law and freedom of expression; economic, social and cultural rights,
such as the rights to work, social security and education , or collective rights, such as the rights
to development and self-determination, are indivisible, interrelated and interdependent. The
improvement of one right facilitates advancement of the others. Likewise, the deprivation of one
right adversely affects the others.  

3. Equal and non-discriminatory

Non-discrimination is a cross-cutting principle in international human rights law. The principle is

present in all the major human rights treaties and provides the central theme of some of
international human rights conventions such as the International Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women.  
The principle applies to everyone in relation to all human rights and freedoms and it prohibits
discrimination on the basis of a list of non-exhaustive categories such as sex, race, colour and so
on. The principle of non-discrimination is complemented by the principle of equality, as stated in
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “All human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights.”

4. Both Rights and Obligations

 Human rights entail both rights and obligations. States assume obligations and duties under
international law to respect, to protect and to fulfil human rights. The obligation to respect means
that States must refrain from interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment of human rights. The
obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human rights
abuses. The obligation to fulfil means that States must take positive action to facilitate the
enjoyment of basic human rights. At the individual level, while we are entitled our human rights,
we should also respect the human rights of others.

One of the human right is to live without any discrimination in every aspect of life whether be it
in job opportunities, education, livelihood etc. In a country like India where there is a huge
cultural diversity with a huge population with different caste, religion, race and language there is
a lot of discrimination taking place.

What is discrimination?
Everywhere we look, we see differences in wealth, power, and status. Some groups have higher
status and greater privilege than others. This inequality in the system is what we call social
stratification. In this unequal social system, there is often unfair treatment directed against
certain individuals or social groups. This is referred to as discrimination. Discrimination can be
based on many different characteristics—age, gender, weight, ethnicity, religion, or even
politics. For example, prejudice and discrimination based on race is called racism. Oftentimes,
gender prejudice or discrimination is referred to as sexism. Discrimination is often the outcome
of prejudice—a pre-formed negative judgment or attitude. Prejudice leads people to view certain
individuals or groups as inferior. In plain English, to "discriminate" means to distinguish, single out, or
make a distinction. In everyday life, when faced with more than one option, we discriminate in arriving
at almost every decision we make. But in the context of civil rights law, unlawful discrimination refers to
unfair or unequal treatment of an individual (or group) based on certain characteristics, including:

 Age
 Disability
 Ethnicity
 Gender
 Marital status
 National origin
 Race,
 Religion, and
 Sexual orientation

Where Can Discrimination Occur?

Federal and state laws prohibit discrimination against members of protected groups (identified above) in
a number of settings, including:

 Education
 Employment
 Housing
  Government benefits and services
 Health care services
 Land use / zoning
 Lending and credit
 Public accommodations (Access to buildings and businesses)
 Transportation
 Voting

Discrimination is not a new concept but it has its journey starting from the ancient time.

HISTORY OF DISCRIMINATION DURING ANCIENT TIME:-

The least challenged racism remains that of Indian Caste system. Indo-Aryans started the Caste
system in India after they conquered it, to preserve their racial purity in India. Now the Caste
system is a part of Hinduism. The Hindu religious name for the Caste system is Verna, which
literally means color system. Darker-skinned people, Dravidians, who were defeated by Aryans,
became outcaste or Untouchables of the Verna system.

The following list gives a broad idea of what untouchability means:

Denial or restriction of access to public facilities, such as well, schools, roads, post offices, and
courts.Denial or restriction of access to temples where their presence might pollute the deity as
well as the higher caste worshippers, and from rest houses, tanks, and shrines connected to
temples. Untouchables… are forbidden to learn the Vedas (the earliest and most sacred books of
orthodox Hinduism).Exclusion from any honourable, and most profitable, employment and
relegation to dirty or menial occupations.Denial of access to services such as those provided by
barbers, laundrymen, restaurants, shops, and theatres or requiring the use of separate utensils and
facilities within such places.Restrictions on style of life, especially in the use of goods indicating
comfort or luxury. Riding on horseback, use of bicycles, umbrellas, footwear, the wearing of
gold and silver ornaments, the use of palanquins to carry bridegrooms.Restrictions on movement.
Untouchables might not be allowed on roads and streets within prescribed distance of the houses
or persons of higher castes.

According to the Indian census of 1980, there were 200 million “Untouchables” of the lowest
Castes. These 200 to 300 Castes are subjected to very inhuman treatment based on practices
advocated in the Hindu religious manual Manu Smriti. The life, property and honor of
Untouchables still remain threatened by the higher Castes.

Pollution and purification are key concepts in the Caste system. They are based on Hindu beliefs
that each Caste group can maintain its status by restricting contact with the “polluting” effects of
the lower Castes and by regulating its contact with objects thought to be inherently impure. Caste
members customarily marry only members of their own Caste.

There are about 3,000 Castes and more than 25,000 sub-Castes in India, some with only several
hundred members and others with millions. The tragedy is that with the rise of Hindu religious
nationalism nowadays, the Caste system is regaining its power, shaken a bit by modernization.
Most wealth and power is by and large in the hands of the top three percent of Castes in India.”

History (during British rule)

The centralised administration of the British Government and modern methods of rapid
communication like the railways fostered a sense of Indian unity. Some of the evils of British
rule to the contemporary Indians appeared as a blessing in disguise in the long run. One such evil
was the naked racial arrogance of the British. Racial discrimination among Indians which was
unmistakably present in the Cornwallis code at the end of the 18th century rapidly crystallised in
the 19th century.

 Racial doctrines openly preached the predestined superiority of the whites and the permanent
subjugation of the non-whites like Indians to the white supremacy. As a result not only did the
British enjoy numerous exemptions and privileges but also they were so far brutalised as to
insult, assault and even murder Indians with impunity.

This naturally moved self-respecting Indians to challenge the odious alien rule. Secondly, in
1826, a Jury act was passed which introduced religious discrimination in the law courts. Under it
Hindus and Muslims could be tried by European or Indian Christians, but no Christians whether
European or Indian, could be tried by Hindu or Muslim jurors.

Present trend of racial discrimination in India

As we have seen what racism is in the past, now in India racism is still there in the present days.
There is discrimination against north-eastern Indians and even Africans who are residing in
India. Even we have discrimination regarding caste and religion in the past which was less now.
Some of the best examples are what we see in our daily life, in the same Hindu committee people
are divided into various types based on their occupation mostly. That is fine if it is just division
but the concept behind this division is based on the occupation the dignity of people depends in
this division. There are still a lot of areas where the people were discriminated based on castes.

Laws relating to prohibition of discrimination:-

ARTICLE 15:-Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or

place of birth.

1. The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race,
caste, sex, place of birth or any of them

2. No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of
them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to

a. Access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment; or

b. the use of wells. tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained
wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public

3. Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for
women and children

4. Nothing in this article or in clause (2) of article 29 shall prevent the State from making
any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward
classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.

Article 16. Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment. -

(1) There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or
appointment to any office under the State.

(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence
or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of, any employment or office
under the State.

(4) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for the reservation of
appointments or posts in favour of anybackward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the
State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State.

Article 17. Abolition of Untouchability. -"Untouchability" is abolished and its practice in any form is
forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of "Untouchability" shall be an offence
punishable in accordance with law.

Article 19. Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc. -

(1) All citizens shall have the right-

(a) to freedom of speech and expression; 

(b) to assemble peaceably and without arms; 

(c) to form associations or unions; 

(d) to move freely throughout the territory of India; 

(e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; [and] 

(g) to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

CAUSE AND EFFECTS OF DISCRIMINATION

There are many forms of discrimination, besides the more familiar forms like race and gender,
based on ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age , disability or handicap, and sexual
harassment. The mentioned characterization refers to a situation of the direct discrimination, in
which a person is treated adversely directly on the basis of a prohibited ground. Indirect
discrimination, refers to a situation in which an apparently neutral provision or practice is
discriminatory in its effects. Besides direct and indirect discrimination, we may use the term
institutional discrimination. Institutional discrimination refers to the practices or procedures in a
company or an institution, or even the society as a whole, which are structured in a way that
tends to produce discriminatory effects, for example in the Apartheid regime in South Africa.
As to the root cause, discrimination appears to be no clear acceptance of any theory of causation
but that discrimination often causes a chain reaction of disadvantages. For instance, it should be
noted that there is a connection also between discrimination and social distance, given that it is
usually psychologically easier to discriminate against people that one is not familiar with.
Although there is no wide agreement as to the "cause" of discrimination, there is a consensus that
they constitute a learned behavior. The internalization of discrimination starts with parents and,
later, teachers--the groups primary in the formation of attitudes within children. The media and
social institutions solidify discriminatory attitudes, giving them social legitimacy, since
discrimination is learned. At best, one can reduce discrimination. Society looks most often to
education and legislation to alleviate discrimination--for reasons still not clearly known,
intergroup contact alone is not enough to reduce discrimination. On one hand, multicultural
education, whether direct or indirect, constitute the mainstay of educational efforts to eliminate
discrimination. On the other hand, the emphasis on civil rights, enlightened immigration policies,
and mandates for quota hiring are the cornerstone of legal approaches to alleviating the effects of
discrimination. The most overlooked area in resolving the problems of discrimination lies in the
web of close relationships where genuine feelings of love can be fostered and strengthened.
Discrimination produces immense effects in the psychological, social, political, and economic
domains. Whether intended or not, the effects are compounded by the loss of self-worth, a sense
of alienation from the wider society, political disempowerment, and economic inequalities.
Prejudice and ethnic hostilities constitute a major danger to peace both within a nation and
among nations." As a consequence, the emergence of a new global moral order increasingly
provides a leverage point to counter the effects of prejudice and discrimination. While many
agree that the various international instruments to protect people against prejudice and
discrimination are still not universally followed or even implemented, it is clear that a new
international consciousness is indeed emerging and is, in fact, intensifying.

GOVERNMENT MEASURES TO STOP VARIOUS TYPES OF DISCRIMINATION:-

1. GENDER DISCRIMINATION

According to 1991 census, women as a separate group constitute 48.1 per cent of the entire
population. Inspite of great achievements made by women in the field of education, politics, and
management etc., the fact remains that the women's condition is a grim reality. Violence against
women in the form of rape, molestation, Sati burning and son on are quite common in a society like
ours.

The principles of gender equality and equity and protection of women's rights have been one of the
prime concerns in Indian thinking right from the 19th century. In the Constitution of India, Article
14 confesses equal rights and opportunities on men and women in the political, economic and social
spheres.

Article 15 prohibits discrimination against any citizen on the ground of sex, religion, race, caste etc.
and Article 15 (3) empowers the State to make affirmative discrimination in favour of women. Article
42 directs the State to make provisions for ensuring just and humane conditions of work and
maternity relief.

Article 51(A) (e) imposes a fundamental duty on every citizen to renounce the practices derogatory to
the dignity of women. Article 16 provides for equality of opportunities in the matter of public
appointments for all citizens.

2. Welfare Programmes and Policies for Women by Government

Of late, women all over the world have been agitating and struggling for their rights and privileges
and initiating women liberation movements to achieve their rightful place in their respective
societies. The United Nations had declared 1975 as International Women Year and the era 1975-85 as
the International Women Decades.

March 8, is observed as Women's Day in our country every year. The South Asian Association for
Regional Co-operation (SAARC) at its convention at Islamabad in 1989 had agreed upon observing
1990s as the year of the girl child.

3. Policies and Programmes: A Review

(i) Hostels for Working Women

With the change in the economic structure, more and more women are moving from their homes in
search of employment. One of the major problems for them is lack of suitable accommodation in a
healthy and wholesome

(ii) Women's Training Centres/Institutes for the Rehabilitation of Women in Distress.

Adversities of life arising out of economic, social, psychological and environmental situation affect
women the most. Young and old widows, unmarried mothers and victims of kidnapping are some of
the vulnerable groups affected. With the objective to rehabilitate such women and their dependent
children, a scheme was launched in 1977 to provide vocational training-cum-employment and resi-
dential care so that these women could become economically independent.

(iii) Short-stay Homes for Women and Girls

The Department gives grants-in-aid to voluntary organization to establish and run Short-stay
Homes, to protect and rehabilitate those women who are facing social and moral danger because of
family problems, mental strain, social ostracism, exploitation or any other causes.

(iv) Family Life Institute

The Association for Social Health in India runs the Family Life Institute in Delhi. The major
functions of this institute are counselling services and family life education for the maladjusted
spouses, parents, unmarried youth etc.

(v) Education Work for prevention of Atrocities against Women

Assistance under this Scheme is given to organization working with women for their social
upliftment and betterment and for carrying out education work for the prevention of atrocities
against women through propaganda, publicity and research work.
(vi) Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP)

A new omnibus scheme to render support to women's employment in various sectors such as
agriculture, dairying animal husbandry, fisheries, Khadi and Village Industries, handlooms,
handicrafts and sericulture where women are preponderantly engaged in work was formulated at the
beginning of the Seventh Plan.

(vii) Commission of SATI (Prevention) Act, 1987

The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 was passed by Parliament in December 1987 to
provide for the more effective prevention of the commission of Sati and its glorification. (The Act
came into existence when the story of immolation by Roop Kanwar, the 18 year old girl in 1987 not
only shocked India but the entire world).

(viii) Other Acts and Amendments of the Government for the Empowerment of
Women
(a) Equal Remuneration Act 1976 was passed which provides for (1) the payment of equal
remuneration to men and women workers; (2) prevention of discrimination on the ground of sex
against women in the matter of employment thereto.
(b) Hindu Marriage Act 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, 1955 had been amended by the Marriage
Laws Amendment Act, 1976 to provide for the right of a girl to repudiate before attaining majority,
her marriage as a child whether the marriage has been consummated or not.
(c) The Dowry Prohibition Act was made more stringent.
(d) The Child Marriage Restraint Amendment Act. 1978 rise the age of marriage for girls from 15 to
18 years and for boys from 18 to 21 years.
(e) The Factories (Amendment) Act, 1976, provides for establishment of a Creche where 30 women
are employed as against one for every 50 hitherto.

(d) The Maternity Benefits Act 1961 was amended in April 1976 to cover women who do not fall
within the purview of the Employee's State Insurance Act, 1948.

(ix) National Expert Committee on Women Prisoners

An Expert Committee was set up at the National level in May 1986 to enquire into treatment of
women offenders at various stages of the criminal proceedings, facilities available for women in
custody or prison and their eventual rehabilitation.

(x) National Commission on Self Employed Women

This was set up under the Department of Women and Child Development on January 5, 1987 for an
all around development of the present status and welfare of women.

Objective

Empowering women as the agents of social change and development.

Strategies

I. To create an enabling environment for women to exercise their rights, both within and outside
home, as equal partners along with men through early finalization and adoption of "National Policy
for Empowernment of Women".

II. To expedite action to legislate reservation of not less than one-third seats for women in
Parliament and in the State Legislative Assemblies and thus ensure adequate representation of
women in decision-making.
III. To adopt an integrated approach towards empowering women through effective convergence of
existing services, resources, infrastructure and manpower in both women specific and women related
sectors.

IV. To adopt a special strategy of "Women's Component Plan" to ensure that not less than 30 per
cent of funds/ benefits flow to women from other development sectors.

V. To organize women into self help groups and thus mark the beginning of a major process of
improving women.

VI. To accord high priority to reproductive child health care.

VII. To universalize the on-going supplementary feeding programmes-Special Nutritional

Programme (SNP) and Mid-Day Meals (MDM).

VII. To ensure easy and equal access to education for women and girls through the commitments of
the Special Action Plan of 1998.

VIII. To initiate steps to eliminate gender bias in all educational programmes.

IX. To institute plans for free education for girls up to college level, including professional courses,

X. To equip women with necessary skills in the modern upcoming trades which could keep them
gainfully engaged besides making them economically independent and self-reliant.

XI. To increase access to credit through setting up of a 'Development Bank for Women
Entrepreneurs' in small and tiny sectors.

FEW NEWS ARTICLES ON DISCRIMINATION

NEWS
Death of a Martyr Shakes the Land of Untouchables
May 14, 1990 | MARK FINEMAN, TIMES STAFF WRITER
If it had happened in another time, or perhaps another place, few in India would have taken notice of
the day they burned Dhanraj to death in the tiny village of Sato Dharmapur. Except for the national
political implications, few would have known that Dhanraj, a 26-year-old Hindu untouchable,
preferred to die rather than give up his bride to a feudal lord who had built a sort of modern-day
harem while ruling over the likes of Dhanraj and his family. Dhanraj loved Kuchchi Devi that much.
India woman is an 'untouchable,' with a Midas touch
April 18, 2012 | By Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times
NEW DELHI - She was called dirty, ugly, a "little packet of poison," the offspring of
donkeys. These days, Kalpana Saroj is called something else: a millionaire. Saroj, a
dalit , or "untouchable," epitomizes what was once unthinkable in India: upward mobility
for someone whose caste long meant she would die as she was born: uneducated, dirt-
poor, doomed to a life of dangerous and filthy work. The manufacturing tycoon - one
admirer called her "a real slumdog millionaire" - is among a legion of dalits embracing
new opportunities in business, politics, the arts and academia as prejudices ease and
economic reforms open new doors in a culture that traditionally emphasized fate and
reincarnation.
NEWS
Hindu 'Untouchables' Convert to Buddhism
September 10, 2001 | From Times Wire Reports
About 6,000 Dalits, often segregated as "untouchables" in India's Hindu caste hierarchy,
converted to Buddhism in Kanpur, 240 miles southeast of New Delhi. Leaders of the
ritual said they were protesting caste discrimination and India's failure to raise the issue
at the U.N. conference on racism that concluded in South Africa over the weekend.
Hundreds of monks arrived from Nepal, Japan and other countries to witness the
ceremony Saturday, which was presided over by a Japanese Buddhist priest.

NEWS
2 Time Bombs Kill 30 in Punjab; Sikhs Blamed
June 22, 1988 | From Times Wire Services
Two time bombs apparently planted by Sikh separatists exploded in an intersection
packed with hundreds of pedestrians near the Golden Temple on Tuesday, killing an
estimated 30 people and wounding 75 others, police and hospital officials said. Hindus
enraged by the explosions attacked Sikhs and hurled stones at police near the blood-
spattered scene, police said. As a result, authorities imposed an indefinite curfew on
parts of the Sikh holy city, 250 miles northwest of New Delhi in Punjab state.

CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
Holding on to the Sikh heritage in the U.S.
May 7, 2011 | Raja Abdulrahim
On a recent Sunday in a classroom at the Sikh temple in Pacoima, nine young students
sat scattered across four pews, an incongruous reminder of a time the building was
used by a church. As the teacher, Pami Kaur, read aloud a series of words in Punjabi,
the mainly 7- to 9-year-old students slowly repeated them, sounding each one out
before writing it down. Some balanced notebooks on their laps as others knelt, using the
pews as desks. " Kireh , I said, kireh ," said Kaur, repeating a word that means "ant," as
she looked over one little girl's notebook.

CONCLUSION
Discrimination runs against the most fundamental values of a modern society. In fact, it
is a threat to democracy, which is predicated on the idea of a society in which arbitrary
hierarchies and preferences based on, for example gender, ethnic origin, and wealth
have been eliminated with a view to achieving equality. Democracy recognizes worth
and equal rights of all whereby, equality prohibits discrimination which is also the
cornerstone of human rights.

Discrimination not only forms a menace to the society, but also to the individual who is
subjected to such an adverse treatment as it is a direct denial of the equal worth of the
victim. It is a violation of a person's identity. The consequences of discrimination match
the severity of the offence, a causal link to alienation, exclusion, radicalization and
decreasing psychological well-being.
Therefore, discrimination is wrong because it is selfish. Discrimination throughout the
world today occurs to many extremes. From one extreme to another, it is in any way
wrong. Discrimination is happening all over the world, today for many reasons. One
being because parents have taught their children to believe and think the way they do.
The only thing we can do about it is to raise our children to not discriminate against
others. It could lead to more tension and fighting within people and groups. To sum up,
the discrimination can cause many problems. The government should constitute laws
to avoid it, and society should also set up some organizations, programs or
communities to help build a better plateau - rid of discrimination.