Human Rights Education in Indian Schools: Curriculum Development

Human rights are the result of humanity’s increasing and persistent demandfor dignity, respect, justice, protection and freedom—all needed for a decenthuman existence. The contemporary conception of human rights has historical roots. Rousseau, Socrates, and Plato in the West, and Manu, Vyasadeva, Gandhi, Aurobindo, and others in India have enunciated principles of human rights. Impor-tant milestones in the struggle for human rights are the struggle between the British crown and Parliament, the French revolution, the struggle for American independence, the Russian revo-lution, and the adoption of the Universal Dec-laration of Human Rights by the United Na-tions on 10 December 1948. The Declaration symbolized the beginning of the international human rights movement. In 1959, children’s rights to life, education, health, protection, and development were proclaimed in the Declara-tion of the Rights of the Child. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights embodies a set of guarantees enabling one • not just to live but to live with dignity; • to develop fully and use one’s human qualities, intelligence, talents, and con-science; and • to satisfy one’s physical, mental, social, and spiritual needs. In other words, it asserts one’s right to be human. The first sentence of the Declaration states that respect for human rights is the “foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. ” The Declaration has influenced the constitutions and legal systems of various coun-tries. It was followed by many other declara-tions issued at the International Congress o