The Centre for Advanced Studies in Human Rights (CASIHR), the premier human rights think tank of Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab had recently observed October 2018 as ‘Human Rights Month’ within the campus. In a one of a kind move, the aim of the Centre was to raise awareness on human rights issues and expand the contours of such discourse on campus. The student members with the active support and leadership of Dr. Shilpa Jain, faculty coordinator, decided that devoting an entire month to the cause was the best way to sufficiently address the problem of Human Rights.
Several events were organised and they ran smoothly throughout the course of the month. Some were aimed to be thought-provoking and academic while others were more inclined to raise awareness through fun and games. The underlying purpose, however, was to facilitate an active and impassioned exchange of ideas between students.
The flagship event of Human Rights Month – October 2018 was ‘Conversations: A Human Rights Dialogue’. Envisaged as but a means to provide a platform for senior students to share their ideas on human rights with others, this two-part lecture series/academic discussion proved to be a great success. Headlined by two fifth-year speakers Mr. K.S.Roshan Menon and Mr. Raghav Mendiratta, the event drew a sizable audience and ended up creating quite a buzz around campus. These no-holds-barred discussions threw open the floor to all manner of questions from the audience and the resulting exchanges were equally entertaining and enlightening.
Perhaps the most popular of all the events held during Human Rights Month was ‘InQUIZitions: A Human Rights Quiz’. A first of its kind quiz focusing solely on world events relating to human rights, the event saw active participation from many interested students. The competition was fierce and the cash prizes up for grabs made things more compelling. The Quiz was of 3 rounds went on for about 2 hours. In the end, the event was concluded in a cordial manner with the prize winners undisputed and accepted by all. Also noteworthy were the quizmasters taking great pains to ensure that every participant left a little bit wiser than before.
Another major event organised by CASIHR was the Research Paper Writing Competition. With the objective of encouraging the research and writing skills of the students, this competition was announced with cash prizes and the opportunity of being published in the CASIHR Journal of Human Rights Practise (CASIHR JHRP), the flagship human rights journal of RGNUL, Punjab. The review process for the same is still underway.
