India September 2010
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COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT INDIA 21 SEPTEMBER 2010 UK Border Agency COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION SERVICE INDIA 21 SEPTEMBER 2010 Contents Preface Latest News EVENTS IN INDIA FROM 17 JULY – 16 SEPTEMBER 2010 REPORTS ON INDIA PUBLISHED OR FIRST ACCESSED SINCE 16 JULY 2010 Paragraphs Background Information 1. GEOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... 1.01 Maps .............................................................................................. 1.11 2. ECONOMY ............................................................................................. 2.01 3. HISTORY ............................................................................................... 3.01 Mumbai terrorist attacks, November 2008 ................................. 3.03 General Election of April-May 2009 ............................................ 3.08 4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS ....................................................................... 4.01 5. CONSTITUTION ...................................................................................... 5.01 6. POLITICAL SYSTEM ................................................................................ 6.01 Human Rights 7. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 7.01 UN Conventions ........................................................................... 7.05 8. INTERNAL SECURITY SITUATION ............................................................. 8.01 Naxalite (Maoist) violence ........................................................... 8.02 Islamist terrorist attacks.............................................................. 8.03 Jammu and Kashmir .................................................................... 8.04 Northeastern states...................................................................... 8.06 9. SECURITY FORCES................................................................................. 9.01 Police............................................................................................. 9.01 Paramilitary forces and centralised police organisations subordinate to the Ministry of Home Affairs............................... 9.13 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) .................................... 9.14 Armed forces ................................................................................ 9.15 Paramilitary forces subordinate to the Ministry Defence ........... 9.18 Other forces ............................................................................... 9.19 Human rights violations by security forces............................... 9.21 Extra-judicial killings .................................................................. 9.24 Arbitrary arrest and detention .................................................... 9.30 Torture ....................................................................................... 9.34 Avenues of complaint .................................................................. 9.40 National and state human rights commissions .......................... 9.42 The Courts ................................................................................. 9.46 Complaints at police stations ..................................................... 9.47 10. MILITARY SERVICE............................................................................... 10.01 Desertion and Absence without leave........................................ 10.03 Courts Martial and the Armed Forces Tribunal ......................... 10.07 11. NON-GOVERNMENT ARMED GROUPS .................................................... 11.01 Overview of armed groups .......................................................... 11.01 ii The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 16 July 2010. Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section to 16 September 2010. INDIA 21 SEPTEMBER 2010 Naxalites (Maoists) .................................................................... 11.02 Jammu and Kashmir.................................................................. 11.08 Northeastern states ................................................................... 11.10 Islamists..................................................................................... 11.12 Human rights abuses................................................................... 11.13 12. JUDICIARY........................................................................................... 12.01 Organisation ................................................................................. 12.01 Supreme Court .......................................................................... 12.02 High Court.................................................................................. 12.03 Fast Track Courts ...................................................................... 12.05 Lok Adalats (‘People’s Courts’).................................................. 12.06 Independence of the judiciary..................................................... 12.09 Corruption in the judiciary .......................................................... 12.13 Case backlogs .............................................................................. 12.16 Fair trial ......................................................................................... 12.20 Provision of legal aid.................................................................. 12.23 Penal Code.................................................................................... 12.27 Code of Criminal Procedure........................................................ 12.30 13. ARREST AND DETENTION – LEGAL RIGHTS ........................................... 13.01 General provisions....................................................................... 13.01 Security legislation ...................................................................... 13.03 Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) ............................. 13.03 National Security Act ................................................................. 13.07 Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA)/Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) ........... 13.11 Jammu and Kashmir: Security legislation................................. 13.14 J&K Armed Forces Special Powers Act..................................... 13.14 Public Safety Act........................................................................ 13.15 14. PRISON CONDITIONS............................................................................ 14.01 15. DEATH PENALTY.................................................................................. 15.01 16. POLITICAL AFFILIATION........................................................................ 16.01 Freedom of political expression ................................................. 16.01 Freedom of association and assembly ...................................... 16.02 Opposition groups and political activists.................................. 16.04 17. FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND MEDIA ........................................................ 17.01 Treatment of journalists .............................................................. 17.08 18. HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS AND ACTIVISTS ............ 18.01 National and state human rights commissions......................... 18.01 Human rights NGOs and activists .............................................. 18.06 19. CORRUPTION....................................................................................... 19.01 20. FREEDOM OF RELIGION........................................................................ 20.01 Overview ....................................................................................... 20.01 Religiously motivated violence and communal tensions......... 20.08 Jammu and Kashmir.................................................................. 20.13 Attacks by terrorist organisations, 2008-2009 ........................... 20.16 Gujarat Riots in 2002 (update)................................................... 20.17 Destruction of the Babri Masjid mosque in Ayodhya in 1992 (update)................................................................. 20.21 Inter-religious marriages ............................................................. 20.23 Religious conversions ................................................................. 20.25 Muslims ......................................................................................... 20.29 Christians...................................................................................... 20.36 Sikhs.............................................................................................. 20.42 Sikh religion and historical background ..................................... 20.42 The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 16 July 2009. iii Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section to 16 September 2010. INDIA 21 SEPTEMBER 2010 Militant organisations in Punjab ................................................. 20.48 Human rights concerns.............................................................. 20.51 Prosecution of security force personnel .................................... 20.54 Internal relocation for Sikhs ....................................................... 20.57 Buddhists and Jains ...................................................................