India, the European Union and Human Rights

Growing media attention and international criticism about human rights violations in the wake of the resurgence of insurgency led India to make major policy changes in its attitude towards human rights and begin to discuss human rights with the European Union for the first time in 1990. This article critically examines Indian perceptions of the EU’s approach towards human rights since the 1990s to the present. It evaluates Indian responses to the inclusion of human rights provisions in trade agreements and criticism of the ‘one size fits all’ model of the Europeans for the promotion of human rights. It explores the sources of Indian scepticism about the international human rights regime and criticism of Western countries’ selectivity in enforcing human rights. In the ultimate analysis, the responsibility for initiating and implementing the multitude of structural, economic, social and political reforms necessary to improve human rights implementation must be taken by Indians themselves. External players can only play a supportive role and their capacities to bring about fundamental change are necessarily limited.