Good democracy cannot survive without protecting human rights: NHRC chief

NHRC Chairperson justice (retd) Arun Kumar Mishra on Tuesday said that good democracy cannot survive without respecting and protecting human rights.

He made the remarks during the opening of an online 15-day internship programme hosted by the National Human Rights Commission.

''Good democracy cannot survive without respecting and protecting human rights,'' he was quoted as saying in a statement by the NHRC.

He said the concept of human rights does not lay so much in legalese as much as it is embedded in social behaviour and practices, having a spiritual tenor and tone.

Mishra said India has a long tradition of respect for whole of the universe, including all living beings as in the ecology and not just human beings.

Therefore, it is necessary that people strive for inculcating those values, which promote and protect human rights, and do not violate them, the NHRC chief said.

He expressed hope that the student interns will make the best use of knowledge imparted by experts during the internship programme on different aspects of human rights.

Hundred and ten student interns from across the country are participating in the online short-term internship, the statement said.