Doon valley, known for quality school education, has become the hub of human rights education in the entire South Asia. A Post Graduate Diploma in Human Rights (PGDHR), initiated at Dehradun, has become the center of attraction, not only for Indian nationals but is also catching the eyes of students from Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka, Pakistan and even from Sudan.
Surprisingly, many students have joined this course even after obtaining Master's Degrees in Human Rights through correspondence from other institutions. Shefali Shukla, one such participant, feels, "Human Rights cannot be learnt through correspondence. This course offers a fine blend of theory and practice and this makes it unique. Moreover, this is perhaps the only course where the students can openly interact with luminaries such as Supreme Court Judges."
Ten-months, full time diploma, conducted by the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), a Doon based NGO, aims to spread and inculcate a human rights culture in South Asia. Affiliated to the Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, starts in the month of May every year, looks at human rights from a global perspective. Visva Bharati affiliation also means course also provides an insight into the teachings of Tagore. "The syllabus prescribed for the course is all encompassing covering numerous aspects relating to human rights. It may be preservation of environment, helping weaker and ignored citizens of society, protection from child abuse, humane conditions for prisoners and persons in custody, gender justice and so on and so forth. The course provides a wide range of profile and exposure to the current problems," says Justice Brijesh Kumar, Judge Supreme Court of India.
Lokendra Bahadur Chand, Prime Minister of Nepal, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Leader of Opposition of Sri-Lanka, Dr. Kamal Hossain, First Foreign Minister of Bangladesh and UN Observer, Justice P.N. Bhagwati, Former Chief Justice and presently Chairman of United Nations' Committee on Human Rights, Justice A.S. Anand, Former Chief Justice, Justice U.C. Banerjee, Former Supreme Court Judge, Justice V.S. Mallimath, Former Chief Justice of Karnataka and Kerala High Court, Chairman of the Committee on Reforms on Criminal Justice System are some of the prominent luminaries who are regular visitors to the institute. Five guest speakers from UNICEF and ILO also deliver lectures based on their experiences. Infact, some students are currently working as interns with the ILO.
Third Batch students "Independent Observers' Report" on the recent J&K Assembly elections was widely acclaimed all over.
Avdhash Kaushal, Chairman of RLEK, says, "The whole of South Asia portrays a sorry picture with regards to the protection of human rights. Our organisation envisages that the dynamic young men and women trained at this institute would work towards spreading and inculcating a human rights culture in this region. In future are aiming to convert this course into the first University in the world on Human Rights."