Human Rights Day: India’s Voice in a Fractured Global Discourse

Human Rights Day, observed annually on 10 December, commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. Drafted in the aftermath of World War II, the UDHR sought to establish a universal framework for dignity, equality, and justice. Yet, over seventy-five years later, the promise of human rights remains contested. While the language of rights has become a powerful global discourse, its selective application and misuse by world superpowers have undermined its credibility.

India’s civilizational philosophy, rooted in concepts such as Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (“the world is one family”), Dharma (righteous duty), and Sarvodaya (welfare of all), offers a distinctive lens to critique both the failures and the possibilities of human rights. This essay traces India’s historical engagement with human rights, examines the misuse of rights in global geopolitics, and argues for a redefinition of human rights that integrates duties, collective welfare, and inclusivity.

India’s Historical Engagement with Human Rights

Ancient and Philosophical Foundations

• Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: Rooted in the Mahopanishad, this concept emphasizes universal kinship and interconnectedness, transcending national and ethnic boundaries.

• Dharma and Rights-Duties Balance: Indian thought insists on the inseparability of rights and duties. The Bhagavad Gita underscores responsibility toward society and nature, ensuring that freedom is exercised with accountability.

• Sarvodaya: Gandhi’s principle of upliftment of all, especially the weakest, resonates with the UDHR’s emphasis on equality but embeds moral responsibility in social action.

Modern Constitutional Safeguards

• Fundamental Rights (Part III): India’s Constitution guarantees equality before law, freedom of speech, religious liberty, and protection of life and personal liberty.

• Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV): These provisions emphasize socio-economic rights—education, health, livelihood—reflecting India’s commitment to balancing civil-political rights with social justice.

• Ambedkar’s Vision: As chief architect of the Constitution, B.R. Ambedkar insisted that political democracy must be accompanied by social and economic democracy, anticipating critiques of the UDHR’s limited scope.

Global Misuse of Human Rights

Superpowers often engage in selective advocacy, highlighting human rights abuses in rival states while overlooking violations committed by their allies. This inconsistent approach undermines the credibility of human rights discourse and fuels global scepticism about the impartiality of international institutions.

Iraq (2003): The U.S.-led invasion was justified under the rhetoric of protecting human rights and democracy. Yet, it resulted in mass civilian casualties and destabilisation.

Libya (2011): NATO’s intervention, framed as humanitarian protection, led to state collapse and ongoing civil war.
Palestine and Yemen: Grave violations—including civilian bombings and blockades—receive muted responses due to geopolitical alliances.

Human rights violations by Hamas in Israel, including attacks on civilians, also contribute to the complex and tragic nature of the conflict, underscoring the need for impartial and comprehensive human rights advocacy.

Weaponisation of Rights

Human rights have often been used as instruments of strategic influence:

• Sanctions: Economic sanctions against states like Iran and Venezuela are justified as responses to rights violations but often exacerbate humanitarian suffering.

• Diplomatic Isolation: Selective naming-and-shaming campaigns target adversaries while ignoring allies, undermining impartiality.

Failures of Global Human Rights Protection

In Syrian Civil War over 6 million refugees displaced, with inadequate international protection. Despite clear evidence of ethnic cleansing in Myanmar, global responses remain fragmented. In Afghanistan Post-2021, rights of women and minorities have collapsed, with limited international intervention.

Economic Inequality

The UDHR’s promise of socio-economic rights remains unrealised. According to the UN’s World Social Report 2025, staggering levels of inequality and insecurity are destabilising societies worldwide.

Climate Justice

Climate Refugees: Rising seas, droughts, and extreme weather are displacing millions, yet international law does not recognise climate refugees. UNHCR warns that three-quarters of the world’s 120 million forcibly displaced people live in countries heavily impacted by climate change.

India’s Philosophical Contribution to Human Rights

India’s civilizational ethos offers a corrective to the narrow, state-centric view of rights:

• Rights and Duties: The Indian framework insists that rights cannot exist without corresponding duties.
• Collective Welfare: Gandhi’s Sarvodaya and Ambedkar’s insistence on social democracy highlight the moral imperative of uplifting marginalised communities.

• Spiritual Dimension: Indian thought sees dignity not merely in material terms but as recognition of the inherent divinity in every being.

• Integral Humanism: Propounded by Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, this philosophy emphasizes the holistic development of the individual in harmony with society, integrating material progress with spiritual and moral values. It advocates for a balanced approach to human rights that includes duties, cultural identity, and sustainable development.

Towards a Redefinition of Human Rights

Beyond Geopolitics : Human rights institutions must act impartially, free from the influence of superpowers. A redefined charter must emphasize duties alongside rights, ensuring collective responsibility for justice, sustainability, and peace. Voices from the Global South, including India, must shape the discourse. Civilizational traditions that value community, sustainability, and spiritual dignity can enrich the global framework. Human rights must extend beyond material guarantees to encompass the full spectrum of human dignity.

Emotional Needs

Protection against violence, discrimination, and exploitation is not just physical but psychological. Access to spaces of care, empathy, and community support is essential. Rights must safeguard against alienation and marginalisation.

Cultural Needs

Communities have the right to protect their languages, traditions, and cultural practices from erasure. Respect for diversity ensures that minority cultures are not subsumed under dominant narratives. Art, literature, and performance are vital expressions of human dignity.

Metaphysical Needs

The right to seek meaning, practice faith, or embrace non-belief is central to dignity. Rights must recognize the need for individuals to pursue higher ideals—truth, justice, compassion—beyond material existence. Indian philosophy emphasizes that human dignity is inseparable from ecological balance. Protecting the environment is not only physical survival but metaphysical continuity.

Human Rights Day should be more than symbolic. It must be a moment of reckoning. The failures of the global order remind us that rights without responsibility, and advocacy without sincerity, ring hollow. India’s philosophical heritage, rooted in compassion and collective upliftment, offers a path to reimagine human rights—not as tools of power, but as a universal covenant of justice and dignity.