The chief of army staff, General Bipin Rawat asserted that the Indian armed forces were guided by the principles of ‘insaniyat’ (humanity) and ‘sharafat’ (essential goodness). Inscribing interns of the NHRC, Gen. Rawat stated that human rights were a thing of great value to the armed forces. The Army chief pointed out that the Indian armed forces took special care to protect the human rights not only of their countrymen but also of enemies. To prisoners of war, our defense forces are guided by norms of the Geneva convention, he added.
Gen. Rawat remarked that the Indian armed forces took every measure in highly challenging situations to isolate and single out militants and terrorists to ensure that there was no collateral damage. The human rights cell which was set up in 1993 in the Army headquarters is being upgraded, he observed. It would be headed by an additional director general and would be mandated with the task of addressing grievances against the armed forces about human rights violations.
