Articles
2018
Baljeet Kaur, India’s Silent Acceptance of Torture Has Made It a Public Secret, Economic & Political Weekly
The article highlights the practice of officials in India of denying the prevalence of torture. Despite the guarantee of rights by the Constitution and formulation of guidelines by the Supreme Court granting protection against custodial violence, its practice is rampant. Inconsistent document of instances of torture and complaints by victims and the absence of serious efforts towards passing a domestic anti-torture legislation contribute to the widespread presence of torture.
2016
Alok Prasanna Kumar, Who Will Bell the Cop? Police Reforms and Law Enforcement, Economic & Political Weekly
The article argues for the necessity of bringing about social reformation inorder to effectively curb acts of violence by the police. The instinctive reaction to any social problem is to criminalise it or increase the severity of the existing punishment. Despite the dire need for police reforms in India, none have been brought about for a long time. State governments were lethargic in implementing the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh and Ors. v. Union of India and Ors. (2006).
2014
Jinee Lokaneeta, Defining an Absence: Torture 'Debate' in India, Economic & Political Weekly
The paper discusses the reasons for the absence of torture debates or denial of torture in India, despite there being countless instances of the torture. In India, there is little to no engagement on torture amongst the public, which makes torture a well kept public secret. This is in contrast the United States, which saw an increase in discussions on and around torture in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The author argues that the normalisation of custodial violence by the entertainment industry in India, explicit denial of the existence of torture by those in power, and asserting that the occasional use of torture tactics is restricted only to certain ranks of police are factors that play a role in suppresing the discourse on torture.
2010
David Sussmann, Defining Torture, Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law
The author examines the definition of torture, especially in the UNCAT and the need to distinguish it from acts such as coercion, manipulation or intimidation. He characterizes torture in the context of suffering and argues that all persons being tortured forced passivity in the context of urgent need. There must be a typical equation between the victims and the perpetrators- the victims see themselves completely at the mercy of the perpetrators and be unable to defend themselves from the perpetrators.
2010
Barry Gewen, The Grey Zone: Defining Torture, World Affairs, Sage Publication
The article discusses the permissibility of torture in terror cases, especially in a ticking bomb scenario. While being cebtered around the human rights versus national security debate, the article examines the effectiveness of using torture during interrogation and states that the effectiveness of torture cannot be tested and the decision for its use, if at all, ought to be made in a pragmatic manner by considering the costs and benefits in each case. This position can be countered by the moral anti-torture argument, based on American Enlightenment princliples, that states that any form of torture is wrong. The author also discusses the use of interrogation techniques that are extremely harsh and are yet not under the definition of torture.
2010
Jinee Lokaneeta, A Rose by Another Name: Legal Definitions, Sanitized Terms, and Imagery of Torture in 24, Law, Culture and the Humanities, SAGE Publications
The author examines the effect of portrayal of torture in television shows influences the definition of torture by making it narrower while also increasing the tolerance for less severe forms of violence. Narrow definitions help government officials deny the presence of torture. At the same time, they also depict the torture practices at any point of time as a less brutal in comparison to previous times.
2008
Nora Sveass, Destroying Minds: Psychological Pain and the Crime of Torture, City University of New York Law Review
The author discusses multiple facets of torture such as the implications of torture on the body and mind of victim and the consequences upon the society at large. The author also discusses health care ethics, practices that could potentially be undertaken by them to prevent torture and provide better care to victims, the fear and suffering caused due to torture, torture techniques and reblitation of victims of torture.
2005
David Sussman, What’s Wrong With Torture?, Philosophy and Public Affairs
In order to determine what the moral issues with torture are, the author first examines the meaning of torture, how torture as an act is distinct from other cruel or degrading treatments and why torture is considered to be more morally offensive than any other act of violence. Torture is distinct from other acts that inflict pain upon the victim owing to the intention of the perpetrator to deliberately inflict pain and the inability of the victim to resist the acts of the perpetrator or defend themselves. The author explores the justifications behind torture and the possibilty of torture belonging to a morally distinct category of acts or offences.