People’s Watch and the torture issue

People’s Watch is a human rights organisation, which has been very active in the protection and promotion of Human Rights in Tamil Nadu since 1995. Currently, it has branch offices and representatives across India. Its mission is to create a society free from Human Rights violations and discrimination by cultivating a human-right-based culture. The aim is to give immediate assistance to affected persons, regardless to what they have suffered.

The significance of People’s Watch lies in the legal support and rehabilitation programme provided to the violation-affected communities in both Tamil Nadu and Karanataka. Its intervention began with the cases of torture related to ‘Veerappan’. In 1990, the Tamil Nadu Government formed a Special Task Force to capture him and put an end to this problem. As a result, the STF started suspecting all people living near the areas of action of Veerappan as his potential followers and/or supporters. Under this allegation, many villagers (mostly men) have been illegally imprisoned for years, tortured and in some cases, killed. Women were usually beaten, electrocuted, and raped. Among these suspected villagers, very few were from Veeprappn’s kin and high castes.

People’s Watch has been working relentlessly to advocate for the cause of these victims, let the world know about it and get the support needed for their families’ livelihood, legal, medical and psychological assistance. Though most of the victims got released from jail and, through further legal interventions, also received monetary compensations from the Government, the trauma and scares of the torture are still there and make them permanently mutilated (physically, emotionally and mentally).

<< Back