NEW DELHI: The politics of so-called freebies, for which society sees a "mad race," distort expenditure priorities, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Sunday and asserted that the need is to "empower not pockets but human minds."
In his address at a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) event marking Human Rights Day at Bharat Mandapam, he also said that no part of the globe is so "blossoming, prospering with human rights as our country."
The occasion marked the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
UN Resident Coordinator in India Shombi Sharp also was present on the dais. Sharp, in his address, read out a message from UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Dhankhar, the chief guest at the event, said "A coincidence, this (75th anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights) just follows our 'Amrit Kaal', and our 'Amrit Kaal' has become our 'Gaurav Kaal' -- primarily due to the blossoming of human rights and values."
"We had an occasion to get a message from the (UN) Secretary-General. It would have been appropriate and worthwhile to take note of the massive, revolutionary, affirmative changes that are taking place in Bharat, home to one-sixth of humanity, on the promotion of human rights," Dhankhar said.
No part of the globe is so blossoming, and prospering with human rights as India, he added.
"And why not? Our civilisational ethos, constitutional framework reflect our deep commitment to respecting, safeguarding and nurturing human rights. It is in our DNA," the vice president said.
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He also emphasised that human rights are spinally strengthened when there is "human empowerment in sharp contradiction to fiscal patronage."
"Empowerment of pockets by fiscal grant only increases dependence. The politics of so-called freebies for which we see a mad race distort expenditure priorities. Freebies, as per economic giants, undercut the basic framework of macroeconomic stability," he said.
There needs to be a "healthy national debate" on how expensive this fiscal patronage is for the economy, life quality and social cohesion in the long run, the vice president added.
"I will greatly appreciate if the National Human Rights Commission...catalysing a debate, coming out with a paper that can be extremely informative, motivational and inspirational for people at large, and those who are in seats of governance can be enlightened that we need to empower not pockets but human minds, human resource," he said.
Dhankhar also said that "no one is above the law, be you ever so high, the law is always above you, is the new norm in the country. A peak paradigm shift."
"There was a time when some thought they were above the law, there was a time when some thought they were beyond the reach of the law. Now, all high and mighty, you may be just anyone, you are accountable to the law," he said.
"This is happening," Dhankhar said and added that it is an "inalienable facet of promoting human rights."
Transparency and accountable governance, a new norm, is a game-changer for promoting human rights, he said.
Notably, Dhankhar's latest remarks come amid several global human rights bodies continuing to highlight the erosion of civil rights and religious freedom under the Narendra Modi regime.
Amnesty International in its India 2022 report noted that arbitrary arrests, prolonged detentions, unlawful attacks and killings, internet shutdowns and intimidation using digital technologies, including unlawful surveillance as major concerns faced by minority groups, human rights defenders, dissenters and critics of the Union government.
Similarly, Human Rights Watch, an international human rights research and advocacy group, has also continued to highlight the crackdown on civil society and media under the Modi government citing persecution of activists, journalists, protesters and critics on fabricated counterterrorism and hate speech laws. The vilification of Muslims and other minorities by some BJP leaders and police inaction against government supporters who commit violence are also among HRW's concerns in India.
Similarly, the US-based non-profit organization Freedom House had lowered India's standing from a free democracy to a "partly free" democracy in its global freedom and internet freedom ratings, while V-Dem Institute, a Sweden-based independent research institute, had classified India as an "electoral autocracy", as part of its 2022 Democracy report.
(With Primary inputs from PTI and additional inputs from Online Desk)