UAPA necessary to act against terrorists: Union Minister R. K. Singh

Minister R. K. Singh was speaking at the National Human Rights Commission’s conference on rights in the Indian context

Union Minister R. K. Singh. File. | Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Union Minister R. K. Singh on Thursday said it was necessary to have certain laws like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) so that action could be taken against terrorists and those who “behead other people”, while addressing the National Human Rights Commission’s conference on human rights in the Indian context.

Mr. Singh spoke of his experience as a bureaucrat, having served as the Union Home Secretary before retiring and joining politics. He said law enforcement agencies faced challenges while protecting rights and bringing culprits to justice, leading to the need for special laws.

Citing attacks by Naxals on security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir as examples, Mr. Singh said it was “necessary to infringe on due process of a few citizens in order to protect the larger humanity”.

Referring to the incident where a tailor was beheaded by two men in Udaipur earlier this week, Mr. Singh said, “It is necessary to have special laws like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act so that we can act against terrorists, so that we can act against the type of people who behead other people. That is something which has to be said and has to be accepted. (Sic).”

He said the West felt it was the first to propagate the concept of human rights, but India has had a historic tradition. “Human rights is in our DNA,” Mr. Singh said, adding that India did not need lessons from outside. “Let no one come and preach to us,” Mr. Singh added.

The two-day conference, organised by the NHRC and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), was supposed to be inaugurated by Home Minister Amit Shah, but Mr. Singh attended in his stead as he was unable to.

Earlier during the inaugural session, NHRC chairperson Justice (retired) Arun Kumar Mishra said there was a need again establish “Din-i Ilahi”, Mughal emperor Akbar’s religious beliefs combining Islam and Hinduism. “Today, I don’t know what is the reason that we have tried to divide religions,” Mr. Mishra said, adding that assimilation of religions was a strength of India, not a weakness.