General Rawat Asserts Armed Forces Guided By 'Insaniyat'

New Delhi: The chief of Army staff, General Bipin Rawat asserted that the Indian armed forces were guided by the principles of 'insaniyat' (humanity) and 'sharafat' (essential goodness).

Addressing interns of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Gen. Rawat said that human rights was a matter of great importance to the armed forces.

The Army chief pointed out that the Indian armed forces took special care to protect the human rights not only of their countrymen, but also of enemies. With respect to prisoners of war, our defence forces are guided by norms of the Geneva convention, he added.

Gen. Rawat remarked that the Indian armed forces took every measure in highly challenging situations to isolate and single out militants and terrorists in order to ensure that there was no collateral damage.

The human rights cell which was set up in 1993 in the Army headquarters is being upgraded, he observed. It would be headed by an additional director general and would be mandated with the task of addressing grievances against the armed forces with regard to human rights violations.

General Rawat, had on Thursday slammed those instigating protests saying leadership was not guiding crowds including students to commit arson and violence.

The army chief's remark on leadership kicked up a major storm with several opposition parties criticising him for his comments. Opposition leaders reacted sharply and asked General Rawat not to interfere in civilian matters.