INDIA

December 2003

Country Name

• Republic of India

Capital

• New Delhi

Geography

Location	India dominates the South Asian subcontinent bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan.· Its geographic coordinates are 20 00 N, 77 00 E
Area	total: 3,287,590 sq km land: 2,973,190 sq km water: 314,400 sq km India is slightly more than one -third the size of the United States of America
Land boundaries	total: 14,103 km border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km
Coastline	7,000 km
Maritime claims	contiguous zone: 24 NM territorial sea: 12 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate	varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
Terrain	upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south flat to rolling plain along the Ganges deserts in west Himalayas in north
Natural resources	coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land
Land use	arable land: 54.35% permanent crops: 2.66% other: 42.99% (1998 est.) irrigated land 590,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards	droughts flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains severe thunderstorms earthquakes
Environment - current issues	deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country huge and growing population is overstraining natural resources
Environment - international agreements	party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

People

Population	1,045,845,226 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure	0-14 years: 32.7% (male 175,858,386; female 165,724,901) 15-64 years: 62.6% (male 338,957,463; female 316,063,497) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 24,975,465; female 24,265,514) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate	1.51% (2002 est.)
Birth rate	23.79 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate	8.62 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate	-0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Ethnic groups	Indo-Aryan 72% Dravidian 25% Mongoloid and other 3% (2000 est)
Religions	Hindu 81.3% Muslim 12% Christian 2.3% Sikh 1.9% other groups including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000 est)
Languages	English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language
Literacy	52% of the total population aged 15 and over can read and write 65.5% of males and 37.7% of females (1995 est.) aged over 15 can read and write

Government type	federal republic
Administrative divisions	28 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal * Union territories come under the jurisdiction of the Central government whereas the States have their own administrative systems and laws.
Constitution	26 January 1950
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal
Executive branch	chief of state: President Abdul KALAM (since 26 July 2002); Vice President (vacant) elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states for a five-year term; vice president elected by both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; prime minister elected by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative elections. head of government: Prime Minister Atal Bihari VAJPAYEE (since 19 March 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Prime Minister
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States or Rajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more than 250 members, up to 12 of which are appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies; members serve six-year terms) and the People's Assembly or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543 elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms) Main parties and their % of votes in the People's Assembly: Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP alliance 40.8%, Congress (I) alliance 33.8%, other 25.4%; seats by party - BJP alliance 304, Congress (I) alliance 134, other 107
Judicial branch	Supreme Court judges are appointed by the President and remain in office until they reach the age of 65
Legal system	based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory International Commission of Jurists jurisdiction, with reservations. The main sources of law in India are the Constitution, statutes (legislation), customary law, and case law. The statutes are enacted by Parliament, state legislatures and union territory legislatures.Because India is a land of diversity, local customs and conventions that are not against statues or morality or otherwise undesirable are, to a limited extent, also recognized and taken into account by the courts when they administer justice in certain spheres. People of different religions and traditions are governed by different sets of personal laws which deal with matters relating to family affairs.A unique feature of the India Constitution is the judicial system. A single integrated system of courts administers both union and state laws. The Supreme Court of India, seated in New Delhi, is the highest body in the entire judicial system. Each state or a group of states has a High Court under which there is a hierarchy of subordinate courts.The Chief Justice and the other judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President. The Supreme Court has original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction. Its original jurisdiction extends to the enforcement of fundamental rights recognized by the Constitution and to any dispute among states and the Government of India. The decisions of the Supreme Court are binding on all courts within the territory of India.While the judicial process is considered fair, a large backlog of cases to be heard and frequent adjournments can result in considerable delay before a case is closed. However, matters of priority and public interest may be dealt with expeditiously, and interim relief may be allowed in other cases, where appropriate.At the village level, people are encouraged to solve their local problems with help of "Panchayats." The Panchayat is a group of five respected people of the village whose ruling on the matter is final.To encourage trade and industry to have recourse to arbitration rather than time-consuming court litigation, it has been proposed that the existing arbitration law be revised under the Arbitration and Conciliation Bill 1995. Political parties and leaders: All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [C. Jayalalitha JAYARAM]; All India Forward Bloc or AIFB, [D. BISWAS (general secretary)]; Asom Gana Parishad [Brindaban GOSWAMI]; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Jana KRISNAMURTHY]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist or CPI/ML [Dipankar BHATTACHARYA]; Congress (I) Party [Sonia GANDHI]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK (a regional party in Tamil Nadu) [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National League [Suliaman SAITH]; Janata Dal (Secular) [H. D. Deve GOWDA]; Janata Dal (United) or JDU [Sharad YADAV]; Kerala Congress (Mani faction) [K. M. MANI]; Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [VAIKO]; Muslim League [G. M. BANATWALA]; Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Revolutionary Socialist Party or RSP [Abani ROY]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal [G. S. TOHRA]; Shiv Sena [Bal THACKERAY]; Tamil Maanila Congress [G. K. VASAN]; Telugu Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]; Trinamool Congress [Mamata BANERJEE]
Political pressure groups and leaders	numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy, including the All Parties Hurriyat Conference Economy India's economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of support services. Overpopulation severely handicaps the economy and about a quarter of the population is too poor to be able to afford an adequate diet. Government controls have been reduced on imports and foreign investment, and privatization of domestic output has proceeded slowly. The economy has posted an excellent average growth rate of 6% since 1990, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. India has large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language; India is a major exporter of software services and software workers. The poor monsoon of mid-2002 has reduced agricultural output substantially. GDP: · purchasing power parity - $2.66 trillion (2002 est.)· real growth rate 4.3% (2002 est.)· per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,540 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 25% industry: 25% services: 50% (2002 est.)
Inflation rate	5.4% (2002 est.)
Labor force	Total 406 million (1999) agriculture 60% services 23% industry 17% (1999)
Unemployment rate	8.8% (2002)
Industries	textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software
Agriculture - products	rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish
External Debt	$100.6 billion (end-March 2001) (2001 est.)
Economic aid Received	$2.9 billion (FY98/99)
Currency	Indian Rupee (INR)

International Relations

International Disputes

Discussions with Bangladesh to delimit a small section of river boundary, demarcate and fence off the entire boundary, exchange 162 minuscule enclaves, and allocate divided villages remain stalled while skirmishes, illegal trafficking, and violence along the border continue. Bangladesh has protested India's attempts to fence off high traffic sections of the porous boundary and the dispute with Bangladesh over New Moore/South Talpatty Island in the Bay of Bengal continues. Much of the rugged, militarized boundary with China is in dispute but talks to resolve the least contested middle sector resumed in 2001. The armed stand-off with Pakistan over the status and sovereignty of Kashmir continues as does the dispute over the terminus of Rann of Kutch, which prevents the extension of a maritime boundary. Water-sharing problems with Pakistan persist over the Indus River (Wular Barrage). A Joint Border Committee was formed with Nepal in 2001 and is intended to resolve 53 disputed sections of boundary covering an area of 720 sq km.

Illicit drugs

India is the world's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets. It is also a transit point for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries, and an illicit producer of methaqualone.· India is vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through the hawala system (an illegal system based entirely on trust, by which individuals transfer money internationally).

 

National Human Rights Institutions

The National Human Rights Commission of India

The National Human Rights Commission of India is an autonomous body set up under The Protection of Human Rights Act 1993. The functions of the Commission are set out in Section 12 of Chapter III of the Act. The Commission shall perform all or any of the following functions:

1. inquire, suo motu or on a petition presented to it by a victim or any person on his behalf, into a complaint of -
   i. violation of human rights or abetment thereof or
   ii. negligence in the prevention of such violation, by a public servant.
2. intervene in any proceeding involving any allegation of violation of human rights pending before a Court with the approval of such Court;
3. visit, under intimation to the State Government, any jail or any other institution under the control of the State Government, where persons are detained or lodged for purposes of treatment, reformation or protection to study the living conditions of the inmates and make recommendations thereon;
4. review the safeguards provided by or under the Constitution or any law for the time being in force for the protection of human rights and recommend measures for their effective implementation;
5. review the factors, including acts of terrorism that inhibit the enjoyment of human rights and recommend appropriate remedial measures;
6. study treaties and other international instruments on human rights and make recommendations for their effective implementation;
7. undertake and promote research in the field of human rights;
8. spread human rights literacy among various sections of society and promote awareness of the safeguards available for the protection of these rights through publications, the media, seminars and other available means;
9. encourage the efforts of non-governmental organisations and institutions working in the field of human rights;
10. such other functions as it may consider necessary for the promotion of human rights.

The National Human Rights Commission of India is a founding member of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions.

Relevant International Instruments Ratified or Acceded to by India

ILO Underground Work (Women) Convention, 1935 (No. 45) (ratified on 25/03/1938)

ILO Night Work (Women) (Revised) Convention, 1948; and Protocol, 1990 (No. 89) (ratified on 27/02/1950)

ILO Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) (ratified on 25/09/1958)

ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) (ratified on 03/06/1960)

ILO Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) (ratified on 17/11/1998)

ILO Benzene Convention, 1971 (No. 136) (ratified on 11/06/1991)

ILO Rural Workers' Organizations Convention, 1975 (No. 141) (ratified on 18/08/1977)

UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1979 (ratified on 09/07/93)

UN Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 (ICESCR) (acceded to 10/04/1979)

UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 (ICCPR) (acceded to 10/04/1979)

UN Convention on the Political Rights of Women, 1953 (ratified on 01/11/1961) Updated by IC. Approved by GT. Last update: 20 June 2002.

The Politics of Exclusion

Although India was not established as a separate Hindu country according to its constitution, many have pursued a politics of exclusion. The politics of fear and exclusion has affected attitudes and behaviour and is being used to distract from issues such as poverty. Tension and sectarianism are manipulated in order to win votes during elections.

 Abuse of the Prevention of Terrorism Act

India's response to perceived threats of terrorism intensified in the wake of an attack by militants on the national parliament in December 2001. On March 26, 2002, the long debated Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) was enacted. Like its predecessor, the much misused and now lapsed Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) of 1985 (amended 1987), POTA has already been used by the Indian government to target minorities and political opponents.

POTA creates an overly broad definition of terrorism, while expanding the state's investigative and procedural powers. Suspects can be detained for up to three months without charge, and up to three months more with the permission of a special judge. Its close resemblance to TADA foreshadowed a return to widespread and systematic curtailment of civil liberties. Under TADA, tens of thousands of politically motivated detentions, acts of torture, and other human rights violations were committed against Muslims, Sikhs, Dalits (or 'untouchables'), trade union activists, and political opponents in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the face of mounting opposition to the act, India's government acknowledged these abuses and consequently let TADA lapse in 1995.

Indian and international human rights groups, journalists, opposition parties, and minority rights groups have unequivocally condemned POTA. Numerous political parties have alleged the misuse of POTA against political opponents in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Since it was first introduced, the government has added some safeguards to protect due process rights but POTA's critics stress that the safeguards do not go far enough and that existing laws are sufficient to deal with the threat of terrorism. India's own National Human Rights Commission has stated that "existing laws are sufficient to deal with any eventuality, including terrorism, and there is no need for a draconian POTA." India has a plethora of security laws, some pre-dating independence. Many lack adequate procedural safeguards and have been similarly abused.

Since its passage, POTA has been used against political opponents, religious minorities, Dalits, tribals and even children. In February 2003 alone, over three hundred people were arrested under the act.
On July 11, 2002, in the state of Tamil Nadu, Vaiko, a leader of the political party Marumalarchi Dravida Munetra Kazhakam (MDMK), was arrested and charged under POTA for making remarks in support of the banned terrorist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Only two weeks after Vaiko's arrest, P. Nedumaran, a leader of the Tamil Nationalist Movement, was also arrested under POTA for making pro-LTTE remarks at a conference on April 13.

In Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman, Yasin Malik, was held under POTA the very day of its enactment, March 26, on charges of receiving smuggled money from a Pakistan-based separatist group. Malik was released on bail for medical reasons, but was immediately rearrested under a Jammu and Kashmir preventive detention law, the Public Safety Act (PSA), for anti-national activity. Acknowledging the extent of its misuse, the newly-elected government of the state of Jammu and Kashmir announced in October 2002 that POTA would no longer be used in the state.

An independent member of the legislative assembly in Uttar Pradesh and political opponent of the state's chief minister was charged under POTA in January 2003, along with his seventy-year-old father. Both were arrested in November 2002 under the National Security Act. Also in Uttar Pradesh, between April and July 2002, over twenty-five Dalits and tribals were charged under POTA. Tribals in the area, who work for Rs. 20 (U.S.$0.42) a day, claim that POTA has become an instrument to brand them as Naxalites (members of extreme leftist Maoist-Leninist groups) whenever they challenge the government official-landlord nexus. One villager remarked, "We are thrashed, arrested and called Naxalites. The nexus between the contractors, police, landlords and industry is just growing stronger here.... when we protest we are booked under POTA." In one case from Sonbadhra district, nine out of twelve people arrested were bonded laborers who refused to return to work because of the physical abuse of their employer.

On February 19, 2003 in Jharkhand state almost 200 people were arrested under POTA, among them a twelve-year-old boy and an eighty-one-year-old man. According to the government, the accused are being held for supporting Naxalites. According to press reports most of those arrested were farmers, students, or daily wage earners. When asked how a Naxalite was identified, a senior police official told reporters, "Anyone caught with a copy of the Communist Manifesto or Mao's Red Book becomes a suspicious character. We then watch him and often find clinching evidence." Following widespread criticism against the charges, Deputy Prime Minister Advani directed the state to review the cases. As a result, officials decided to drop the POTA charges against eighty-three of the detainees. Rights groups have charged that POTA is being used indiscriminately against ordinary citizens in the state, including young children. In January 2003, for example, a thirteen-year-old boy was arrested because his father was suspected of involvement with the insurgent Maoist Communist Centre group. The charges were later withdrawn. At the time of writing, a total of ten children, mostly students, had been arrested under POTA in Jharkhand state.

On February 19, 2003, the Gujarat government charged 131 Muslims under POTA for allegedly attacking Hindus. A year earlier, a Muslim mob set fire to a train carrying Hindu activists in Godhra in the western state of Gujarat. Fifty-eight people were killed. In the days that followed, Hindu nationalist groups and their supporters killed more than 2,000 Muslims throughout the state. Muslims were branded as terrorists while armed gangs set out to systematically destroy Muslim homes, businesses and places of worship. Scores of Muslim women and girls were gang-raped before being mutilated and burnt to death. Human Rights Watch investigations revealed that attacks against Muslims were carried out with extensive state participation and support and planned months in advance of the Godhra attack. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party that heads the state government has not charged any Hindus under POTA for violence against Muslims.