COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT INDIA 31 JANUARY 2007 RDS-IND COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION SERVICE INDIA 31 JANUARY 2007 Contents PREFACE Latest News EVENTS IN INDIA FROM 1 JANUARY – 31 JANUARY 2007 REPORTS ON INDIA PUBLISHED OR ACCESSED SINCE 1 JANUARY 2007 Paragraphs Background Information 1. GEOGRAPHY.................................................................................... 1.01 Map............................................................................................ 1.06 2. ECONOMY........................................................................................ 2.01 3. HISTORY.......................................................................................... 3.01 4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS ................................................................. 4.01 5. CONSTITUTION................................................................................. 5.01 6. POLITICAL SYSTEM .......................................................................... 6.01 Human Rights 7. INTRODUCTION................................................................................. 7.01 8. SECURITY FORCES........................................................................... 8.01 Police ........................................................................................ 8.01 Arbitrary Arrest and Detention ................................................... 8.04 Torture ....................................................................................... 8.06 Extra-Judicial Killings................................................................. 8.10 Armed Forces........................................................................... 8.11 Arbitrary Arrest and Detention ................................................... 8.16 Torture ....................................................................................... 8.18 Extra-Judicial Killings................................................................. 8.20 Other Government Forces ...................................................... 8.23 Avenues of Complaint............................................................. 8.25 9. MILITARY SERVICE........................................................................... 9.01 10. ABUSES BY NON-GOVERNMENT ARMED FORCES.............................. 10.01 Torture ...................................................................................... 10.06 11. JUDICIARY ....................................................................................... 11.01 Organisation............................................................................. 11.01 High Court.................................................................................. 11.05 Fast Track Courts ...................................................................... 11.07 Lok Adalats ................................................................................ 11.09 Independence........................................................................... 11.10 Fair Trial.................................................................................... 11.12 Provision of legal aid.................................................................. 11.21 Penal Code ............................................................................... 11.22 Code of Criminal Procedure ................................................... 11.25 12. ARREST AND DETENTION – LEGAL RIGHTS ....................................... 12.01 Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)......................... 12.05 13. PRISON CONDITIONS ........................................................................ 13.01 14. DEATH PENALTY.............................................................................. 14.01 ii This Country of Origin Information Report contains the most up-to-date publicly available information as at 31 January 2007. Older source material has been included where it contains relevant information not available in more recent documents. 31 JANUARY 2007 INDIA 15. POLITICAL AFFILIATION.................................................................... 15.01 Freedom of Political Expression ............................................ 15.01 Freedom of Association and Assembly ................................ 15.02 Opposition Groups and Political Activists............................ 15.08 Naxalites .................................................................................... 15.15 Tripura ....................................................................................... 15.24 Assam........................................................................................ 15.28 Manipur...................................................................................... 15.36 16. FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND MEDIA .................................................... 16.01 Treatment of journalists.......................................................... 16.13 17. HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS AND ACTIVISTS ....... 17.01 18. CORRUPTION ................................................................................... 18.01 19. FREEDOM OF RELIGION .................................................................... 19.01 Interreligious marriages.......................................................... 19.08 Religious tension..................................................................... 19.10 Religious conversion .............................................................. 19.24 Muslims .................................................................................... 19.30 Ayodhya mosque ....................................................................... 19.41 Gujarat riots 2002 godhra train incident..................................... 19.48 Best bakery case ....................................................................... 19.55 Other incidents........................................................................... 19.62 Christians ................................................................................. 19.66 Sikhs and the Punjab .............................................................. 19.84 Sikh religion and historical background ..................................... 19.84 Militant violence in Punjab ......................................................... 19.94 Human rights concerns in Punjab.............................................. 19.103 Methods of ill treatment ............................................................. 19.111 Prosecution of security force personnel..................................... 19.115 Punjab state human rights commission ..................................... 19.119 Committee for coordination on disappearances in Punjab (CCDP) ...................................................................................... 19.123 People’s commission on human rights ...................................... 19.125 Nanavati Commission................................................................ 19.126 Current situation in Punjab ........................................................ 19.130 Internal relocation for Sikhs ....................................................... 19.139 Buddhists and Zoroastrians ................................................... 19.149 20. ETHNIC GROUPS .............................................................................. 20.01 21. LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER PERSONS.................. 21.01 22. DISABILITY....................................................................................... 22.01 23. WOMEN ........................................................................................... 23.01 Overview................................................................................... 23.02 Legal Rights ............................................................................. 23.11 Political Rights......................................................................... 23.17 Women in politics....................................................................... 23.17 Women in the workplace......................................................... 23.23 Gender Imbalance.................................................................... 23.27 Marriage.................................................................................... 23.37 Dowry........................................................................................ 23.48 Social and Economic Rights .................................................. 23.58 Gender discrimination................................................................ 23.58 Violence against Women ........................................................ 23.61 Domestic violence...................................................................... 23.61 Societal violence........................................................................ 23.82 Sati............................................................................................. 23.92 This Country of Origin Information Report contains the most up-to-date publicly available information as at 31 January 2007. iii Older source material has been included where it contains relevant information not available in more recent documents. INDIA 31 JANUARY 2007 Rape .......................................................................................... 23.94 Organisations offering assistance to women ............................. 23.108 24. CHILDREN........................................................................................ 24.01 Basic Information ...................................................................