Pavitri Manjhi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Bondita Acharya 12 December 1972 |
| Citizenship | Indian |
| Occupation | Human rights activists |
| Spouse | Late. Keyur Acharya |
| Children | 1 |
| Parents |
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Bondita Acharya( Assamese বন্দিতা আচাৰ্য) is a human rights defender from Jorhat Assam, in Northeastern India.[1]. She was part of several fact-finding missions to document cases of sexual violence, human rights violations, witch hunting, and conflict situation in the Assam region of India. Bondita has been engaging with UN mechanisms since 2010 in Geneva, New York and Bangkok, and has been part of various international reviews, sessions, and bodies throughout her career.
Early life
editBondita Acharya was born in Jorhat district of Assam on 12 December 1972. [2].Her father's name was Jogananda Goswami who was a Chemistry Professor in JB College, Jorhat, Assam. Her mother's Marinalini Goswami who was the Principal of ME Girls School, Jorhat, Assam. Her parents died within the span of two years.[2] .She was married to Keyur Achraya who passed away after six and half year of marriage due to Myocardial infraction. She has a son named Palash Achraya.[2].
Education
editBondita did her schooling from Balya Bhavan, Jorhat. She did her 11th & 12th from JB College, where his father was professor. She pursued her Graduation from College of Home Science, Assam Agricultural University and Post Graduation from Department of Extension and Communication, Faculty of Home Science, MS University, Baroda, Gujarat.[3] .
Early activism
editAt an early age Bondita saw that Assam was burning with an Anti-Foreigners Movement in the early eighties. Bondita as a 9-year-old girl along with all other students of Assam was involved in the movement. Her father was in prison twice during that time as a political prisoner. With her young mind she did not understand much, but later on she started understanding the human rights situation of the region of Assam. She gathered knowledge about the security situation and started analysing the situation with her limited understanding of human rights in Assam. She then finally entered into the process by developing alliances with other women's groups and human rights activists of Northeast India, and she formed the network Women in Governance (WinG). With several other women headed NGOs, her organization Purva Bharati Educational Trust has became the member of WinG. [2]
Association with the Organizations
editBondita Acharya is the Director of Purva Bharati Educational Trust, coordinator of Human Rights Defenders Alert (HRDA), member of the network Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS), Converner of Women in Governance (WinG) in Assam. She has been engaging with UN mechanisms since 2010 in Geneva, New York and Bangkok[4] . She was the Coordinating Committee of Asia-Pacific Women Alliance on Peace and Security (APWAPS)[5] , and is an advisor to Urgent Action Fund for South Asia.She was part of the Indian CSO delegation during EU lobby process in 2011, Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of India in May 2012, UN Counter Terrorism Mechanisms (CTM) Review in NY in June 2012, Human Rights Council Session in Geneva in September 2012, Commission on Status of Women (CSW) in March 2013, Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals in New York in February 2014, CEDAW review in Geneva in July 2014, Beijing +20 review in Bangkok in November 2014. [3] .
Fellowship
editHuman life defender at Risk under Protective Fellowship Scheme of Center for Applied Human Rights(CAHR) in 2015 under York University, UK.[2] .
Beef controversy
editOn 10 April 2017, human rights defender, Bondita Acharya, filed a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department in Guwahati, Assam state in Northeast India, after she was the target of violent threats on social media condemning the arrest of three people for the possession of beef on 4 April 2017[6] , Bondita Acharya was threatened with death, rape and acid attacks by members of an extremist Hindu organization.[7] .
A local Hindu group, Bajrang Dal, issued a press statement demanding that Bondita Acharya issue a public apology for condemning the arrests.[8] .The three people were arrested under the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, which lays down the conditions which permit the slaughtering of cattle. However, the State of Assam does not criminalise the possession of beef, and many people questioned the arrest on social media.
On April 4th, three people were arrested by the police in Jorhat, Assam. A complaint was made by the local BJP leader Mridupawan Bora. He accused them of offending religious sentiments [9] , because they were in possession of 500 grams of beef meant for consumption. Since one was a minor, the other two were arrested and charged under Section 295 (a) of the IPC and the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 1950 (hereinafter the Act.According to the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 1950, under which the three were arrested, cattle slaughter is allowed only under certain conditions. As per Ss. 5 and 6 of the Act, cattle cannot be slaughtered unless a certificate in writing from the Veterinary Officer is obtained for the purpose. Nowhere does the Act state that possession or consumption of beef is criminal or prohibited.[10] .
References
edit- ^ https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/bondita-acharya-receives-death-threats
- ^ a b c d e https://www.york.ac.uk/cahr/defenders/past/bondita-acharya/
- ^ a b http://reinenergy.com/Bondita-Acharya.php
- ^ http://womensearthalliance.org/about-us/team/
- ^ http://womensearthalliance.org/about-us/team/
- ^ https://www.awid.org/news-and-analysis/whrds-condemn-online-threats-against-bondita-acharya
- ^ https://thewire.in/rights/bondita-acharya-beef-bajrang-dal
- ^ https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/bondita-acharya-receives-death-threats
- ^ https://bhrpc.wordpress.com/2017/04/21/urgent-appeal-regarding-abuse-and-threats-received-by-human-rights-defender-bondita-acharya/
- ^ http://www.lankasocialistsforum.org/archives/777