AN EVALUATIVE STUDY OF HINDUISM WITH REFERENCE TO HUMAN RIGHTS

Ever since the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, universality of internationally recognized human rights norms has been a subject of concern and debate, especially by those espousing cultural and regional relativism. During the preparatory meetings convened in various regions of the world as precursors to the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, governments at the Regional Meeting for Asia advocated the view that human rights should be seen in the context of religious and cultural settings along with national and religious settings. It should, however, be noted that the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action adopted at the Vienna Conference reiterated the universality and indivisibility of human rights.