SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2244The state human rights commission established in Jammu and Kashmir by an actof the state legislature, in 1997, has no power to investigate independently allegedhuman rights violations committed by security force members. Credible humanrights monitors say that the Jammu and Kashmir Commission has not yet demonstratedeffective, independent protection of human rights in the state.A People’s Commission that was established in 1998 by retired Supreme CourtJustice Kuldip Singh to highlight the fate of more than 2,000 persons who ‘‘disappeared’’during the period of political unrest in Punjab (see Section 1.b.) continuedto receive little cooperation from state government authorities.The prison visits program in Jammu and Kashmir by the ICRC, initiated in October1995, continued during the year (see Section 1.c.). ICRC representatives alsocontinued training police and Border Security Force personnel in international humanitarianlaw.The Government continued to refuse repeated UNHCR requests for access to theSri Lankan Tamil refugee camps in Tamil Nadu (see Section 2.d.).Section 5. Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability, Language, or SocialstatusThe traditional caste system as well as differences of ethnicity, religion, and languagedeeply divide society. Despite laws designed to prevent discrimination, otherlegislation as well as social and cultural practices have a profound discriminatoryimpact. According to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and ScheduledTribes, caste clashes are frequent in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu.Women.—Domestic violence is common and a serious problem. According to a1996 survey in Uttar Pradesh, 30 percent of married men acknowledged physicallyabusing their wives. In a survey of 10,000 women released during the year, morethan half of the women said that violence was a normal part of married life. TheHealth Ministry released a different survey during the year that indicated that, of90,000 women surveyed, more than half acknowledge being battered. Dowry disputesalso are a serious problem. In the typical dowry dispute, a groom’s familymembers harass a new wife whom they believe has not provided a sufficient dowry.This harassment sometimes ends in the woman’s death, which family membersoften try to portray as a suicide or kitchen accident; recent research suggests thata significant percentage of kerosene attacks also are due to domestic violence. Althoughmost ‘‘dowry deaths’’ involve lower and middle-class families, the phenomenoncrosses both caste and religious lines. According to National CrimeRecords Bureau (NCRB) statistics, 6,917 dowry deaths occurred in the country in1998, including 2,229 dowry deaths in Uttar Pradesh, 1,039 in Bihar, 598 inMadhya Pradesh, 500 in Andhra Pradesh, 420 in Maharashtra, 200 in Karnataka,176 in Tamil Nadu, and 21 in Kerala.Under a 1986 amendment to the Penal Code, the court must presume that thehusband or the wife’s in-laws are responsible for every unnatural death of a womanin the first 7 years of marriage—provided that harassment is proven. In such cases,police procedures require that an officer of deputy superintendent rank or aboveconduct the investigation and that a team of two or more doctors perform the postmortemprocedures. According to human rights monitors, in practice police do notfollow these procedures consistently.The issue of rape has received greater political and social attention than in earlieryears. In July the NHRC directed the Andhra Pradesh government to pay $1,100(50,000 rupees) in compensation to each of four Dalit women who were raped inGodavari district. The NHRC overturned a state ruling that had denied the womenmonetary compensation because the victims and their attackers were members oflow caste and tribal communities. The press consistently reports that such violenceagainst women is increasing, although local women’s organizations claim that theresimply has been increased reporting. Only 10 percent of rape cases are fully adjudicatedby the courts, and police typically fail to arrest rapists, thus fostering a climateof impunity. In May the Central Bureau of Investigation initiated an inquiryinto the alleged gang rape of three women by police officials in Pilibhit district,Uttar Pradesh in August 1998. According to a complaint filed by a witness, threeofficers of the Madho Tanda police station in Pilibhit district entered the victims’home late on the night of August 16–17 and raped the three women. On May 30,a court in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal sentenced Kashinath Tripathy and BhusonBarua to life imprisonment for the 1982 rape of a girl in Jalpaiguri.In September in Kulkul village, Orissa, a group of villagers hacked to death a 60-year-old tribal woman, Namsi Ho, allegedly for practicing witchraft. Police arrestedfour persons in connection with the killing. On October 16 and November 19, inGanjam district, Orissa, villagers accused Kumari Behera, of sorcery, and torturedVerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.035 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1