Indian Administration

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National Human Rights Commission

The concept of human rights is an ancient doctrine of natural right based on natural law. The concept of human right can be traced to natural law philosophers in modern era, who advocated for these rights to protect the individual from the excesses of the state. In the 18th and 19th centuries in Europe several philosophers proposed the concept of ‘natural rights’, rights belonging to a person by nature and because he is a human being. The term ‘natural rights’ eventually fell into disarray but the concept of ‘universal rights’ took root. Philosophers such as Thoman Paine, John Stuart Mill and Henry-David Thorean expounded the concept. Thorean was the first to use the term ‘human rights’ in his book, Civil Disobedience ...