Shillong: Joining the rest of the country, Meghalaya Human Rights Commission on Friday celebrated International Human Rights Day with Chief Justice of High Court of Meghalaya Justice Sanjib Banerjee as chief guest.
With the theme “Equality – Reducing Inequalities, Advancing Human Rights”, Justice Banerjee stressed the need to protect diversity within the homogeneous identity of India.
Lamenting the caste system and suppression of women, which are realities to this day, he said that these are an inheritance of a post-colonial feudal culture that we cannot be proud of.
Coming down heavily on the VIP culture which separates those in power from the common man, in terms of the way they conduct themselves and the extent of privileges they enjoy, he said it is futile to demolish mass structure only to feed the VIP culture of the uber cast of those in authority. While India boasts of many modern amenities, hunger, poverty, lack of shelter and healthcare have not been addressed adequately, Justice Banerjee said.
Adding that human rights are centered on the very notion of peace and development, Justice Banerjee said that promotion of political rights alone will not lead to the full enjoyment of human rights; economic, social, and cultural rights are equally important. The Judiciary also has a crucial role to play in safeguarding the individual’s right to dignity, he reiterated.
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