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{{Infobox organization
| name = People's Union for Civil Liberties
| logo =
| type = [[Non-profit organization|Non-profit]]
| founded =
| location =
| key_people =
| fields =
| homepage = {{URL|http://www.pucl.org}}
}}

'''People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)''' is a human rights body<ref>{{Cite news
| last = Agrawal
| first = Anoop
| last2 = Shankar
| first2 = Jay
| title = Prosecutors Demand Death Sentence for Mumbai Gunman
| newspaper = [[Businessweek]]
| date = 4 May 2010
| url = http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-04/prosecutors-demand-death-sentence-for-mumbai-gunman-update2-.html }}</ref> formed in India in 1976 by [[Jayaprakash Narayan]], as the '''People's Union for Civil Liberties and Democratic Rights (PUCLDR)'''.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Naliyath|first=Sunil|date=2013-06-13|title=Guardians of liberty|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/guardians-of-liberty/article4810340.ece|access-date=2021-08-20|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==Background==

===Indian emergency===
{{main|Indian Emergency}}

[[Jayaprakash Narayan]] was a [[Gandhian]] leader in [[India]] after independence.<ref name="DonnellyHoward-Hassmann1987">{{cite book|last1=Donnelly|first1=Jack|last2=Howard-Hassmann|first2=Rhoda E.|last3=Howard|first3=Rhoda E.|title=International handbook of human rights|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3u0oqY8-KdMC&pg=PA156|access-date=23 June 2010|date=1987-11-06|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-24788-0|pages=156–}}</ref> When [[Indira Gandhi]] was found guilty of violating electoral laws by the [[Allahabad High Court]], Narayan called for her to resign, and advocated a program of social transformation. He asked the military and police to disregard unconstitutional and immoral orders. However, [[Janata Party]] opposition leaders and dissenting members of Indira Gandhi's party, [[Congress (I)]] were arrested, beginning [[The Emergency (India)|The Emergency]] in 1975. Narayan was detained at [[Chandigarh]], and when released in 1976, formed the PUCLDR to oppose the suppression of civil and political rights during the emergency.<ref name="DonnellyHoward-Hassmann1987"/> The organization was thrown into disarray by his death and the election of the [[Janata party]] to power, which promised to enact the PUCL platform.{{cn|date=August 2021}}

Narayan originally intended PUCL to be an organisation free from political ideologies, bringing those concerned about defending civil liberties and human rights from different backgrounds onto a common platform.{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}} According to the PUCL, the PUCLDR was a loosely organised group of people who were working with Narayan, a prominent figure in the Indian Opposition in the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.pucl.org/history.htm |title=PUCL History |access-date=2007-03-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222034855/http://www.pucl.org/history.htm |archive-date=2014-02-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Post-1980===
After the return of Indira Gandhi to power in the 1980 elections in India, the organisation regained momentum<ref name="DonnellyHoward-Hassmann1987"/> and was renamed as the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). Its founding conference was held in November 1980.

As of 2019, the President of the PUCL is Ravi Kiran Jain, Senior counsel from Allahabad, and the General Secretary is V. Suresh.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pucl.org/office-bearers/dr-v-suresh|title=Dr V. Suresh {{!}} PUCL|website=www.pucl.org|access-date=2019-07-19}}</ref> Other notable office bearers include [[Dr. Binayak Sen]], [[Sudha Bharadwaj]] and Kavita Shrivastava among others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pucl.org/office-bearers|title=Office Bearers {{!}} PUCL|website=www.pucl.org|access-date=2019-07-19}}</ref>

==Operations==
The founding conference of the PUCL in November 1980, drafted and adopted the organization's constitution, making it a membership based organization.<ref name="A Short History of PUCL">{{cite web|url=http://www.pucl.org/history.htm|title=A Short History of PUCL|publisher=People's Union for Civil Liberties|access-date=27 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222034855/http://www.pucl.org/history.htm|archive-date=22 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The PUCL's constitution does not allow members of a political party to hold any office and hold membership in the PUCL; the number of members, belonging to political parties, in the national or state executive committees shall not be more than 50% of the members of the National Council and the National Executive Committee respectively (and also the corresponding bodies at the state and local level). The PUCL does not allow more than 10% of its members to be from the same political party.<ref name="A Short History of PUCL"/>

[[V. M. Tarkunde]] served as president and editor-politician. [[Arun Shourie]] served as general secretary. Y. P. Chhibbar was appointed as executive secretary. Those elected as president and general secretary have included V. M. Tarkunde, [[Rajni Kothari]], [[Rajinder Sachar]], [[K. G. Kannabiran]], [[Arun Shourie]], Y. P. Chhibbar, [[Arun Jaitley]], [[Satish Jha]], Dalip Swami, and others.

It publishes a monthly journal in English, the ''PUCL Bulletin'', that was founded by Satish Jha, Arun Jaitley, Smitu Kothari and Neeraja Chowdhary and helped bring a large number of people to the fold of PUCL. PUCL also organises a ''JP Memorial Lecture'' on March 23 every year, the date on which the [[India]]n [[State of Emergency]] was lifted in 1977.

It presents its Journalism for Human Rights' Award which carries a citation and an award of Rs 20,000. PUCL, as its policy, does not accept money from any funding agency, [[India]]n or foreign. All the expenses are met by the members, the office bearers, and the activists.

The PUCL supports [[grassroots]] movements that focus on organizing and empowering the poor rather than using state initiatives for change.

They have brought to light the cases of the [[Bonded labor|bonded labourers]], children in prison and violence committed against women undertrials.

The PUCL has worked on the issue of the hundreds of people detained by India and [[Pakistan|Pakistan's]] governments and accused of [[espionage]] after trivial crimes like minor trespassing, a problem linked to the tension caused by the [[Kashmir conflict]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2012/43/ws-nowhereman.html Your World: The Nowhere Man], Rupa Jha, October 21, 2012, BBC (retr 2012 10 20) (Program link:[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00z57wt The Nowhere Man])</ref>

==Charges against Dr Binayak Sen==
[[Binayak Sen]], who is the National Vice-President of the Union and General Secretary of its [[Chhattisgarh]] unit, was arrested in May 2007 by security agencies for his alleged links with [[Maoists]]. In 2010, Sen was convicted of [[sedition]] and several other offences under [[Indian Penal Code]] by [[Raipur]] Sessions Court in Chhattisgarh after finding him and two others, guilty of sedition for helping the Maoists in their fight against the state. They were sentenced to [[life imprisonment]].<ref name="The Times of India">{{cite news
| url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Dr-Binayak-Sen-found-guilty-of-treason-gets-life-imprisonment/articleshow/7156208.cms#ixzz191pfBuqX
| title = Dr Binayak Sen found guilty of treason, gets life imprisonment
|work=The Times of India |location=India
| date = 25 December 2010
| access-date = 25 December 2010
}}</ref> After his conviction, he was later released by the [[Supreme Court of India]] though the apex court said it was giving no reason for granting bail and left it to the satisfaction of the trial court concerned to impose the conditions for his release on bail.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timesnow.tv/SC-grants-bail-to-Binayak-Sen/articleshow/4370495.cms |title=Times Now: SC grants bail to Binayak Sen – 15 Apr 2011 |publisher=Timesnow.tv |date=15 April 2011 |access-date=18 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326034007/http://www.timesnow.tv/SC-grants-bail-to-Binayak-Sen/articleshow/4370495.cms |archive-date=26 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> His appeal against conviction is pending with the [[Chhattisgarh High Court]].

==See also==
* [[Citizen's Justice Committee]]
* [[Confederation of Human Rights Organizations]]
* [[Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisations]]
* [[People's Union for Democratic Rights]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website|http://www.pucl.org/}}
* [http://www.alrc.net/doc/mainfile.php/cl_india/144/ Links to court cases at alrc.net]
* [https://archive.is/20130415063616/http://india.indymedia.org/en/2001/11/292.shtml PUCL completes 25 years, on Indymedia.org]

{{Indian Emergency}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Human rights organisations based in India]]
[[Category:Human rights in India]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1976]]
[[Category:Civil liberties advocacy groups]]

People's Union for Civil Liberties - Revision history

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