Fiction depicts the other side of human society which normative discourses are unable to do due to certain political or cultural issues. The relation between human rights and fiction is inevitable as in contemporary world most of the creative writers are human rights activist. Arundhati Roy, Tasleema Nasreen and Mahashweta Devi are live examples of such combination

1. Pardeep Kaur
Certificate Course in Human Rights and Duties
Central University of Punjab
Bathinda

2. Aim of Literature
To Represent
 Gives voice
 Makes the subaltern
speak
 An agency for ensuring
rights of all human
beings
To Re-Present
 Literature re-present
the issues related to
the condition of
different groups
 Document the
violation of human
rights through fiction

3. As Root/Route
 The root of Human Rights is Human Being.
 For accomplishing the human dignity of all
human beings literature becomes a route.
 Literature paved the way for initiating some
political/social movements for the
betterment of society for instance dalit
writing, feministic fiction etc.

4. Women’s Rights in Literature
 Women as sexual object and related issues
like marital rape in Shashi Deshpande’s The
Binding Vine, child sexual abuse in Shusham
Bedi’s Maine Nata Tora.
 Violation of women’s rights during war,
insurgency and riots as depicted in Amrita
Pritam’s Pinjar, Chaman Nahal’s Azadi and
Shauna Singh Baldwin’s What The Body
Remembers.

5. Queer Literature
 Taslima Nasreen’s French Lover and Jhumpa
Lahiri’s The Lowland depict issues of
homosexuals.
 R. Raja Rao’s The Boyfriend deals with gay
identity.
 Vijay Tendulkar’s Marathi play Mitra’s Story
deals with lesbian and in the play On a
Muggy Night in Mumbai by Dattani
homosexuals are at the centre.

6. Dalit Rights in Literature
• Autobiography as prominent genre among
dalit writers.
• Om Prakash Valmiki’s Joothan, Mohandas
Namisray's Apne-Apne Pinjarey and Bama’s
Kurukku and Sangiti are the narratives of
human rights violation of dalits.
• Articulate the voice and awareness among
dalits towards their fundamental rights .

7. Child Rights in Literature
 Mulk Raj Anand’s novel Untouchable
depicts the condition of a small boy Bakha
who is devoid of his human rights due to his
caste.
 In Bama’s work Sangiti,a small girl has to
suffer in the feudal caste based Indian
society.
 Mannu Bhandari’s novel Apka Bunti throws
light on the problems faced by children
after their parents’ divorce.

8. Animal Rights in Literature
 Violation of animal riots during war,
political upheavals like India’s Partition as
depicted in Bhisham Sahni’s novel Tamas
and during riots in Amitav Ghosh’s The
Shadow Lines.
 Novels like Indira Goswami’s The Man from
Chinnamasta demands to stop animal
sacrifice in the name of religion.

9. Rights of Elderly Persons
 Punjabi Stories Apna Apna Hissa, Goi and
Rajai depict the condition of old age people
who have to suffer in the hands of their own
children in the absence of any legal rights
for them.
 The condition of childless couples, widows
and old age people who suffer from the
trauma of partition can be found in Indian
literature especially Punjabi and Bengali
literature.

10. Rights of Tribes in Literature
Violation of fundamental rights of
tribal women in Mahashweta Devi’s
stories Breast Giver, Dopdi and Dolti.
Narayan’s novel Kocharethi depicts the
pitiable condition of adivasi
community who have to face forest fire,
drought, poverty as well as exploitation
by landlords and businessmen.

11. Peasant’s Rights in Literature
 Peasant writing is revolutionary in nature.
 Sant Ram Udasi’s poetry, Ajmer Singh
Aulakh’s plays and Munshi Prem Chand’s
novels throw light on the violation of
peasants’ rights.
 Bengali literature with naxalite overtones
like Jhumpa Lahiri’s recent novel The
Lowland is related with the exploitation of
peasants and the killing of human beings
through fake encounters for political gains.

12. Human Duty
To speak on behalf of those who cannot
speak for themselves
Literature is the voice of people not of
an individual
Indian Literature played a pivotal role
in realising the human rights of various
marginalized sections of society.

13. Thank You!