Sen pitches for unfettered NGOs

Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen has said the government should not restrict NGOs.

Sen, speaking at the first foundation lecture of the Institute for Human Development said, "I was shocked to hear that the Indian government has intensified efforts to restrict the activities of NGOs. NGOs should not be restricted. Globally, NGOs like Oxfam and Action Aid are involved in advancing human rights. I am an NGO person myself."

Sen said despite India's considerable economic and social progress in recent years, the deprivation of children had remained largely unchanged.

"India has a high number of undernourished children. The incidence of anaemia has increased instead of declining and the coverage of full immunisation has not improved, with more than half the children in India being partially immunised or not immunised at all," he said.

Sen said human rights could be used to address the deprivation of children.

"The idea of human rights can be used and is being used in many other ways. Human rights perspective gives us enormous scope to not only discuss deprivation in general but also address specific issues like child rights and bring it into the ambit of legislature."

"This tool could be particularly used in India since India had a tradition of human rights," Sen said.

He added the Supreme Court had been at the forefront in the world in interpreting legal requirements in the broad light of enlightened civil rights recognitions.