The People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) is an Indian non-governmental organisation that fights for the rights of marginalised people in several North-Indian states, especially t the grassroots level in the city of Varanasi and in around 200 villages situated in Uttar Pradesh and 5 other states in India.

 

The organization was founded in 1996 by Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi, his wife Shruti Naghuvanshi and the Sarod Maestro Vikash Maharaj. To date, PVCHR has about 50,000 members including 3,000 former torture victims.

 

To provide basic rights for all, the organization work by eliminating situations which give rise to exploitation of vulnerable and marginalized groups and to start a movement for a people friendly society (Jan Mitra Samaj) through an inter-institutional approach.

 

The goal of our activities is two-fold: First, to have a strong grassroots organization to work for democratic rights of those in marginalized communities and second, to create the structure and dynamics to receive the assistance of a national and international institutions.

 

Main activities

• Accurate investigation and documentation of human rights violations connected with advocating, publishing and networking for the cases of human rights violations on a local, national and international level.
• Creating models of non-violent and democratic communities (people friendly villages, torture-free villages.)
• Linking local and international human rights together
• Linking grass roots activities and international human rights networks and institutions together.
• Building up local institutions and supporting them with active human rights networks
• Creating a democratic structure for the ‘voiceless’ enabling them to access the constitutional    guarantees of modern India
• Providing psychological support through testimonial therapy
• Empowering marginalized communities through education and access to information
• Promoting a human rights culture