BANGALORE: Karnataka has become the second state in India after Tamil Nadu to start human rights education in schools. From this year, under the UN World Programme on Human Rights Education, 60 schools in Bangalore Urban, Rural and Kolar districts will teach human rights as a subject to students in Class 6 to 8. The Karnataka initiative is implemented by South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring, Institute of Human Rights Education and Directorate of State Education Research and Training.

Apart from Karnataka, nine other states — Tripura, West Bengal, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Pondicherry — will take up human rights education from this year.

Stressing the need for such an initiative, Justice A J Sadashiva said: “Human beings have stopped caring about other beings.

“The only answer is love. You need to tell people to love the entire creation and not just human beings.”

At the inauguration of the five-day residential training programme for teachers from 60 schools here, Sadashiva urged the government to extend the programme to all states and not to restrict human rights education just to schools. “There should be awareness at all levels. This should be taken up by all organisations. Human rights education should become a movement,” he said.—By arrangement with The Times of India