Trouble in paradise: Human rights activists protest against illegal detentions and fake encounters in Srinagar

What will you do if one day you are thrown out of your house because ‘your country needs it’? You will probably try to prove that you alone have the right to decide whether or not to give up your home ‘for the common good’. The Narmada Bachao Andolan is the response to a similar problem, only on a much larger scale. The farmers in Singur are also in the same position — the government is taking away their right to a livelihood. Elsewhere, people are being denied the right to life itself — innocents are being killed in fake encounters and there are deaths in police custody. What links these seemingly disparate incidents is that all of them involve the violation of human rights, an area of study that is fast gaining prominence as a serious discipline.

“Any injustice is a violation of human rights. These can range from deprivation of basic needs to discrimination against women, children, Dalits, tribals, ethnic, linguistic and other minorities. To establish a truly democratic, just and peaceful society, the need of the hour is to develop human resources who would be adequately equipped to fight for human rights,” says Buddhadev Chaudhuri, co-ordinator of the human rights programme in Calcutta University.

Rahul Rai, director of the Delhi-based Indian Institute of Human Rights (IIHR), feels that human rights is a subject that touches everyone’s lives. He too feels that there is a need for specially educated human rights activists.

For a long time, the study of human rights and its violations remained limited to international lawyers, diplomats and statesmen. Recently, however, it has become a subject of concern for national lawyers, activists, reformers, policy makers and even concerned citizens. And it has become imperative that those involved in fighting for or researching human rights gain a solid grounding in the subject.

The study route

A graduate of any stream can pursue a course in human rights but you have to have a first class to be eligible for the masters course that Calcutta University offers. The curriculum for this course, introduced in 2002, includes the history and development of human rights, the effects of globalisation and terrorism on human rights laws and violations of human rights with regard to the environment. The tuition fees for this course are Rs 1,000 a month. Projects and field trips cost extra.

Any denial of a person’s civil, political, socio-economic or cultural rights can be considered a human rights violation. Even environmental exploitation is considered a human rights issue. With such varied topics, it is natural that human rights professionals from diverse backgrounds are needed,” says Rai. The IIHR offers graduates the option of studying the two-year diploma course in the subject. For non-graduates the institute has a special certificate course.

The employment opportunities in this sector are immense. From non governmental organisations (NGOs) to inter-governmental bodies to companies — everyone seems to have suddenly realised the advantages of having a human rights professional on board. “You can also seek employment with NGOs outside the country,” says Rai. “Organisations like Oxfam and Greenpeace recruit human rights professionals in India.” One of the largest recruiters of human rights professionals is the United Nations. They work in various bodies like the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). Some of the other international agencies that recruit human rights professionals include Amnesty International and the Red Cross.

Great placements

“We have had 100 per cent placement of the first two batches and many students of the 2006 batch are already working. They have mainly found employment as lecturers or in national or international NGOs. Some are working as interns with UNICEF and in international NGOs,” says Chaudhuri of Calcutta University.

Of late, there has been a demand for human rights professionals in the corporate sector too. As more and more companies wake up to their social responsibility, human rights professionals are recruited to help the company fulfil this role.

The work profile of human rights professionals cannot be stated in concrete terms. It varies with every organisation, so the salary too varies. If a student joins an NGO in India as a trainee, the average salary is between Rs 2,500 and Rs 4,000 a month but the entry-level salary of a human rights professional who joins a multinational will be similar to that of an MBA, that is, around Rs 15,000. People with international assignments get paid in dollars, with the minimum being $1,000.

So who can be a human rights professional? Says Chaudhuri, “Those who are caring about others, have respect for all and are ready to face challenges for the disadvantaged can do well in this field.”

The flipside to pursuing a career in human rights is that you often bear the brunt when you fight for less advantaged people. Think Medha Patkar, Baba Amte, Aung San Su Ki and even Sunderlal Bahuguna.

If you can face adversity in the hope of a victory, you are a human rights professional in the making.