CULTURAL RELATIVISM VS UNIVERSALISM: IT’S NOW BHARAT’S TURN TO REDEFINE, REFRAME & RECLAIM THE HUMAN RIGHTS REGIME

What are human rights? Are human rights universal or culturally relative? Is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) merely a textbook instance of Western cultural imperialism? Right from the creation of the UDHR in 1948, these questions have been the subject of policy & intellectual discourses & debates between the ‘Universalist’s & the ‘Cultural Relativist’s. While the Universalists believe in the existence of same legal enforcement mechanisms of human rights everywhere; the Cultural Relativists argue that there’re diverse ways to interpret & to use or abuse human rights which are necessarily subservient to time, space & subjectivity. 

Universalism of Human Rights

The UDHR defines ‘Human Rights’ on the basis of universal dignity of all human beings by virtue of their humanity. ‘Dignity’ refers to the universal aspiration that all humen are entitled to be treated with respect, as ends rather than means, to be recognized as of equal worth, & to be permitted to advance their gifts. These perspectives provide the foundation for human rights claims. This universality of human rights can be broadly traced from 3 aspects or perspectives which are as follows:-

1. They’re endorsed by maximum number of states which makes them legally universal.
2. They’re functionally universal as they’re the proven ways of protecting human beings.
3. They’re accepted by the leading schools of thought & philosophy & the religions which makes them historically universal. 

According to eminent scholar Jack Donnelly:- “Despite striking & profound international differences in ideology, levels & styles of economic development, & patterns of political evolution, virtually all states today have embraced – in speech if not in deed – the human rights standards enunciated in the UDHR & the International Human Rights Covenants. This consensus presents a strong prima facie case for a relatively strong universalism; that’s, for weak cultural relativism. Even if this ‘consensus’ is largely the complement of vice to virtue, it reveals widely shared notions of  ‘virtue’, an underlying ‘universal’ moral position compelling at least the appearance of assent from even the cynical & corrupt.”

Cultural Relativism & its Connection with Human Rights

However; this Universalism can never come at the expense of the complete pixelation of history & truth. & the truth is as simple as that every culture in the World has something, of value, to contribute to the global pool of thought & this laissez-passer, of the Universalisation of human rights, named UDHR, is, at the end of the day, nothing but an inadvertent (if not deliberate) manifestation of only & only European cultural colonialism & its perfect descendant, Western cultural imperialism (collectively referred to as Eurocentrism or Western-normativism), whose origin has been traced to the ‘Age of Discovery’ in 15^th century when Columbus set out in 1492 to ‘Discover’ the ‘New World’, namely the ‘Non-Christian’ World or pejoratively referred as the ‘Pagan’ World. Columbus’ voyage marked the inception of the European colonisation & heralded a new & completely repressive, bloody, racist, genocidal & sullied chapter in the World’s history which led to the extinction of several Indigenous cultures & severe damage to nature & emergence of new conceptions of time, space & subjectivity having tectonic implications for Europe & quite unfortunately, for the rest of World. Eminent legal scholar J Sai Deepak has wonderfully elucidated, in the 1^st section of his book ‘India, that is Bharat: Coloniality, Civilisation, Constitution’, on how it resulted in the unwarranted Universalisation of European history as the history of humanity, in particular its ‘Modern’ history. It severely affected the mental constitution of the colonised societies & reoriented the Indigenous Worldviews to bring it in line with the colonisers’ by maliciously dismantling, distorting, denigrating, mischaracterising, falsifying, stereotyping, eliminating & acculturating the Indigenous Worldviews. This colonial matrix of power had the effect of negating the cultural experiences & subjectivities of colonised societies, so much so that according to the colonisers, their histories began only upon their advent. The period between 15^th & 19^th centuries has given birth to the so-called ‘Modernity’ & ‘Rationality’; unconsciously accepted by the rest of the World significantly affecting & altering the conceptions of nature, universe, human agency, religion, race, language, political organisation, nature of state, conceptions of law, treatment of genders, science, notions of development & much more across the globe. If European provincialism was imposed on all these facets of life & Universalised in all those colonised societies replacing all the Indigenous Worldviews, then how can the human rights be an exception at all & not come under the purview of it? The aforementioned words of Donnelly subtly hints at the draconian effect of the unwarranted universal standardisation of human rights, achieved by the colonisers, by deftly gagging the diverse nature of Cultural Relativism constituting the uniformity of human rights across the globe. The method proposed by eminent thinker John Rawls, in his book ‘The Theory of Justice’; to resolve the ongoing dispute between the Universalists & the Cultural Relativists & achieve objectivity that all people should be treated simply as human beings, notwithstanding their unique characteristics; is a textbook instance of this malicious standardisation. The rhetorics & practices of human rights, as per the UDHR, reflect the values of Western colonizers emphasizing more on the individual than anything else as opposed to the Indigenous Worldviews & value systems considering individual only as an integral part of something much bigger than himself or herself, such as families & social groups. The international human rights regime has no moral authority to pontificate & dictate on what the countries should do with their rights & practices. Eminent geopolitical scholar Rajiv Malhotra has perfectly shown; in his books ‘Breaking India’ & ‘Snakes in the Ganga’; how this absolute negation of Cultural Relativism, in the Universalised framework of UDHR, ultimately results in certain viciously influential human rights organisations of the USA unfairly lecturing & pontificating the rest of the World on human rights; as per their own respective conveniences & agenda based on their radical Christian, Marxist or Wokeist lens. In the present geopolitical context, USA considers itself to be the ‘World’s Policeman’. But; it has the bloodiest history of directly or indirectly leading to the deaths of over 2 million innocent people in Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan & Libya respectively. Further; it, by providing arms, particularly cluster munitions to the Ukrainian forces, are violating international law for long. Hence; exposing the West’s human rights hypocrisy is imperative. The West is hypocritical to the core, it regards itself as superior to others & tries to superimpose its way of life & institutions on others after unfairly & unauthorisedly questioning those of others. It must perform deep introspection before questioning others, on human rights, particularly a sacred country like Bharat; which is the eternal mother of all democracies & had been a democracy, in its true sense, even before Christianity had come to existence. It must stop preaching human rights to Bharat & should focus on improving its own track record & commence atoning for its numerous sins.

Human Rights & Bharat: History, Evolution, Present State & Future Prospects

The Human Rights Day is observed every year on December 10 – the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the UDHR. Each year, a theme is chosen to draw attention to a particular facet of the effort to uphold human rights. The theme for 2024 is going to be, “All Human Beings are Born Free & Equal in Dignity & Rights.” The fundamental recognition of this inherent dignity & the equal & inalienable rights of all members of the human family is indeed the foundation of freedom, justice & peace in the World. This respect for human rights & dignity has been significantly existing in the ethos of the oldest, richest & most prosperous & glorious culture & civilisation of Bharat; the edifice of which, by resting on the strongest foundation of Sanatan Hindu Dharma, has been extant through all the ruinous Abrahamic & Western-normative invasions; from time immemorial. The wisest ancient Vedic Arya Hindu Rishis realised & disseminated the fundamental truth that the nature & the status of different fundamental human rights necessarily correspond to the nature & the mode of duties from which they are derived; through all the holiest Sanatan Hindu texts, having divine origin due to being experienced by the Rishis, in terms of intuitive hearings, at the level of Para Vak, in forms of Anahata Shabdas, during their Savikalpa Samadhis, typically of the highest categories. In order to achieve the goal of these duty-centric human rights; the notion of Rina (debt), Yajna (Sacrifice) & Purushartha (Eternal objects of human life) were developed. The eternal concept of the 3 Rinas (Deva Rina, Rishi Rina & Pitri Rina) & 5 Yajnas (Deva Yajna, Rishi Yajna, Pitri Yajna, Bhoota Yajna & Manushya Yajna) is integrally woven into the scheme of the fourfold Purusharthas (Dharma, Artha, Kama & Moksha). The merit of Bharatiya perspective of fundamental human rights lay on the goals of putting an effective check on the possibility of the inclusion of putative immoral rights & can’t be misused to permit the pursuit of prima facie immoral ends. The Rig Veda; which is unequivocally considered as the oldest literary document of the World; is, simultaneously, the oldest source of human rights in the World. The eternal concept of equality is duly found in the Rig Veda, which is as follows:-

अज्येष्ठासो अकनिष्ठास एते सं भ्रातरो वावृधुः सौभाय|

(Rig Veda, 5^th Mandala, 60^th Sukta, 5^th Mantra) 

It means:- “Nobody is superior or inferior; all are brothers; all should strive for the interest of all & progress collectively.”

The Atharva Veda also emboldens these basic human rights, which is as follows:-

समानी प्रपा सहवोऽन्भागः समाने योषत्रे सहवो युनाज्मि|

सम्यंचोऽग्नि सपर्य्यतारा नाभिमिवा भितः||

(Atharva Veda, 3^rd Mandala, 30^th Sukta, 6^th Mantra)

It means:- “All have equal Rights to articles of food & water. The yoke of the chariot of life is placed equally on the shoulders of all. All should live together in harmony supporting one another like the spokes of a wheel of the chariot connecting its rim & hub.”

The right to happiness, stated in the UDHR, is beautifully mentioned there in a famous verse, chanted during the Vedic Shanti Patha, which is as follows:-

सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः|

सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः|

सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु|

मा कश्चित् दुःख भाग्भवेत्||

It means:- “Let all be happy. Let all be free from diseases. Let all see auspicious things. Let nobody suffer from grief.”

The right to happiness is also emphasised in the Arthashastra of Pandit Kautilya:-

प्रजासुखे सुखं राज्ञः प्रजानां च हिते हितम्|

नात्मप्रियं प्रियं राज्ञः प्रजानां तु प्रियं प्रियम्||

(Arthashastra, 1.19)

It means:- “In the happiness of the subjects lies the happiness of the King; in their welfare his welfare. The King shall not consider what pleases himself as good; whatever pleases his subjects is only good for him.”

Although Bharat wasn’t an independent nation rather a British colony when the draft of the UDHR was being prepared; it actively participated in the process of the drafting of the same. The Bharatiya delegation to the United Nations made important contributions in drafting, especially highlighting the need for reflecting gender equality. Bharat is a signatory to the 6 core human rights covenants, & also the 2 optional protocols to the convention of the rights of the child. Since inception, the Bharatiya Constitution incorporated most of the rights enumerated in the UDHR in 2 parts:- the Fundamental Rights & the Directive Principles of State Policy, covering almost the entire field of UDHR. The 1st set of rights are enunciated in Articles:- 2-21 of the UDHR & incorporated under the Fundamental Rights – Articles:- 12-35 of the Constitution. The 2nd set of rights, enunciated in Articles:- 22-28 of the UDHR, is incorporated under the Directive Principles of State Policy – Articles:- 36-51 of the Constitution. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was established on October 12, 1993; under the provisions of The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. It serves as an independent & autonomous body for protection of human rights in the country. Since inception, it has been commendably & effectively discharging its assigned functions for protection & promotion of human rights across the country. But; even today, it’s unable to create & promote a strong & credible alternative to the prevalent Western-normative stereotypes & frameworks of human rights, based on the oldest & richest Dharmic cultural & civilisational values of Sanatan Bharat. Fortunately; for last several years; some significant changes are visible in the ground level. 

Conclusion

Hence; it’s immensely necessary to find a proper reconciliation between both the ‘Universalist’s & the ‘Cultural Relativist’s & also certain culture-specific solutions in resolving the human rights issues. Donnelley perfectly used the term ‘Universalism without Imperialism’ to conceive human rights in a better sense. Such understanding also facilitates amicable solutions for the culture-specific issues on human rights. Then not only Universalism can protect culture specific protection but also can question all the evil practices rooted in any culture. & in this regard; Bharat; which has always upheld universal acceptance over tolerance & sheltered the persecuted & the refugees of all nations of the World (as elucidated by Swami Vivekananda in the World’s Parliament of Religions on 11 Sep,1893 at Chicago); has to take the leading role to reestablish itself as the ‘Vishwaguru’. The frequent expressions of concern; by Dr. S Jaishankar, the incumbent minister of external affairs of Bharat; regarding the human rights violations by USA; & exposals of the West’s hypocrisy, regarding human rights, by him, for last 5 years, definitely show that Bharat is no more, being grinded, in the chakki of the ‘Global Standards’ of human rights; the textbook instance of unfair mischaracterisation, denigration & hypocrisy of the West. But; still, it has to pave a long path to redefine, reframe & reclaim the international human rights regime which should be carried on by commissioning annual reports on the human rights violations of USA & other Western countries, resulting in the complete exposal of the hypocrisy of the malicious Western human rights organisations, unfairly lecturing & pontificating the rest of the World on human rights; as per their own vicious propaganda. China has been doing the same for last several years to successfully combat the unwarranted Western hegemony in human rights; now, it’s Bharat’s turn to prove, in this ‘Amrit Kaal’, that the international human rights regime is totally barren without the eternal Bharatiya wisdom. 

REFERENCES

• JACK DONNELLEY, ‘CULTURE RELATIVISM AND UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS ’ IN HUMAN RIGHTS QUARTERLY.
• JACK DONNELLY, (1989). ‘HUMAN RIGHTS IN THEORY AND PRACTICE LONDON’: CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS.
• J SAI DEEPAK, (2021). ‘INDIA, THAT IS BHARAT: COLONIALITY, CIVILISATION, CONSTITUTION’: BLOOMSBURY INDIA
• JOHN RAWLS, (1971). ‘THE THEORY OF JUSTICE’: BELKNAP PRESS
• RAJIV MALHOTRA, (2011). ‘BREAKING INDIA’: AMARYLLIS
• RAJIV MALHOTRA, (2022). ‘SNAKES IN THE GANGA’: OCCAM
• https://organiser.org/2023/12/10/210152/bharat/international-human-rights-day-barren-without-bharatiya-wisdom/