About Us – South India Cell for Human Rights and Education

Manasa SICHREM

South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM) is a programme unit of Manasa Centre for Development and Social Action. SICHREM is, therefore, not incorporated and hence the legal status of the parent organization holds good for SICHREM. MANASA, the parent organization is registered as a charitable society under the Societies’ Registration Act, Karnataka, vide.S.No.286/95-96, at Bangalore.

The name MANASA is the abbreviation of a statement in Kannada, which means, “Towards a Just and Humane Society”. MANASA is committed as an organisation to promote and defend human rights, afﬁrm gender justice, assert the validity of plural cultures and secular ethos in the society.

The vision of the organisation is translated into action as Human Rights Education to strengthen the civil society and to monitor human rights violations, especially on the underprivileged sections of our society.

MANASA is conscious about the politics of language, especially those that disempower women and perpetuate patriarchal society. Also emphasis is given on the rights of the child, rights of the dalits and tribals and the rights of other minority communities.

MANASA launched SICHREM (South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring) to fulﬁll its commitment to promote and protect human rights.

Vision

Making Human Rights A Household Concept

Mission

To empower the disempowered groups of Dalits, tribals, women, children and minorities to protect their individual and collective rights for a digniﬁed life through, education, monitoring and mobilising civil society for concerted action.

Objectives

SICHREM seeks to empower the disempowered groups of dalits, tribals, women, children and minorities to protect their individual and collective rights for a dignified life, through education, monitoring and mobilising civil society for concerted action.

Prevention of Human Rights Violations
Promotion of Human Rights Culture
Restoration of Human Rights
Advocacy for Human Rights
Campaigning for Human Rights
Human Rights Education & Training
Resource Mobilization to support Human Rights
Support & Solidarity for Human Rights Defenders & NGOs

Board Members

Mr. Koshy Mathew President

Mr. Mathews Philip Secretary

Ms. Lincy Pramod Treasurer

Mr. Prasanna Kumar Member

Ms. Geetha Menon Member

Ms. Lucy Kumar Member

Ms. Mercy Kappan Member

Prof. Dr. D. Jeevan Kumar Member

Ms. Sweety Kalanjali Member

Our Founder

Mathews Philip

After obtaining a Masters in Social Work (MSW) from Loyolla College, Trivandrum, Mathews Philip chose to work with non-governmental organisations. While working with welfare and development organisations, he grew passionate to work for the protection and promotion of human rights. He became an active member of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and held the position of the General Secretary of its Karnataka Chapter from 1993 to 1996.

He founded SICHREM in 1995 along with a few other civil rights activists. SICHREM is actively involved in about 400 schools both in the states of Karnataka & Kerala with a programme of constitutional rights education. The organization is also engaged in monitoring the status of human rights in South India, undertaking fact finding missions into cases of human rights violations, providing legal aid for the victims, coordinating with various campaigns, and doing advocacy work for human rights.

Of his numerous achievements, Mathews was the Director of Childline in Kolar District. He was also the General Secretary of Transparency International – Karnataka chapter. He was also selected to represent the Karnataka State by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to monitor the implementation of the Right to free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. Mathews also serves as a member of the NGO core team of the National Human Rights Commission since 2011.

He was instrumental in launching the Karnataka Chapter of the Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL) and also served as the Convener of the Advocacy Unit.

He is presently the National Convener of Campaign Against Child Labour, a position he was elected for in 2019.

Mathews Philip is known as a trainer, educator and defender of human rights, and has more than 30 years of experience in the field.

Executive Director

Margaret Sampath

After obtaining a degree in Engineering, and working for a decade in the corporate sector, there developed a strong urge in her to do something in the voluntary sector. Her search for a good NGO ended uponidentifying SICHREM.

She has honed her skills as a Trainer in areas such as Human Rights, Women’s Rights, Child Rights, etc. and is a regular resource person in the training programs and workshops organized by SICHREM and government departments for government officials, the police academy, and others.

Through SICHREM’s initiatives of promoting Human Rights Education at schools, she has been actively involved in about 700 schools in the States of Karnataka & Kerala. She is also engaged in monitoring the status of human rights in South India, undertaking fact-finding missions for cases of human rights violations

Some of her noteworthy achievements are –

She prepared and published ‘Yashogathe’, a book on the impact of Human Rights Education in schools.
Designated by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to monitor the implementation of RTE at Schools of Bangalore.
Part of the government constituted Curriculum Committee for the preparation of lessons on Child Marriage.
She has been invited as a member of the Complaints Committee (POSH Act) on Sexual Harassment at Workplace in St. Joseph’s Evening College, Hospitals and several organizations.
Member of the Advisory Committee of BBMP Primary Health Centers to monitor Domestic Violence.
State coordinator of National Alliance of Peoples Movement.
Member of Forum Asia, Bangkok.
Participant of the International Visitor Leadership Program on U.S. Foreign Policy and Human Rights, held in the United States of America in 2008.

Staff

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Name	Designation
Mathews Philip	Founder
Margaret Sampath	Executive Director
Naveen Kumar	Admin & Accounts Manager
R. Sridevi	Asst. Accountant
Sunitha Mary	Documentation Ofﬁcer
Mathew Thomas	Fact- Finding Ofﬁcer
Mariamma Savitha R.	Programme Ofﬁcer
Bheemappa	DHRC Coordinator
Cheryl Linghum	Coordinator Resource Mobilization
Udita Srivastava	National Coordinator - CACL
Rathi S.	Office Secretary
Usha	Office Assistant
Kantharaj	Office Assistant

Legal Team

Name	Designation
Adv. Eunice Mercy	Senior Legal Consultant
Adv. Shashikala H N	Legal Consultant
Adv. Prof. Ravi Varma Kumar	Chief Legal Advisor
Adv. Siji Malayil	Senior Legal Consultant

District Human Rights Centers

District Human Rights Center	Contact	Address	Phone
Kolar	Mr. Susai Raj Babu - Coordinator DHRC - Kolar	Ambedkar Academy Complex, Champion Reefs Kolar, Gold Field (KGF)-563117	9901512407
Hassan	Mr. Gangadhar D.S - Coordinator DHRC – Hassan	Sri Laxmi Arcade, 3rd Floor, CSI Layout, Behind Indian Bank, AVK College Road, Hassan - 573 201	9964480054
Chamrajnagara	Mr. K.C. Revanna - Coordinator DHRC – Chamrajnagara	S/o Chennaabasavaya, Kuderu Post Village, Chamrajnagar, 571316	9901714355
Mysore	Ms. Deepa - Coordinator DHRC – Mysore	No 63, 3rd Cross, Gayathripuram, Udayagiri Near, PF Office, Mysore -570019	7411137994
Chikkaballapura	Mr. Mathew Muniyappa - Coordinator DHRC – Chikkaballapura	Ward No. 1, Bettakote building opp., D.C. House, Vapasandra Chikkaballapur - 562101	9900391634 / 9740614770
Kalaburagi	Dr. Devindrappa - Coordinator DHRC – Kalaburagi	No 6/1 Gurukul Nivas, New GHATGE Layout, Behind Central Bus stand, Kalaburagi - 585103	9845873208
Belagavi	Ms. Meenaxi S Talawar Coordinator DHRC – Belagavi	H.No. 496, Gyangawadi Shiva Badav Nagar, Belgaum 590016	98809 68622

Core Activities of SICHREM

Human Rights Education through diploma courses for more than two thousand college students spread around 15 colleges in Bangalore and through workshops and teaching seminars for young professionals, NGOs, human-rights-defenders. We are also organizing Trainers Training for College and University teachers in Human Rights Education. Human Right Education programs are maintained in 123 schools of Bangalore Urban & Rural and in 55 schools in Kerala in partnership with the Institute for Human Rights Education.

Monitoring of Right to Education Act in Andhra and Karnataka: SICHREM was actively involved in the campaign for free and compulsory education through the network “Campaign Against Child Labour”, that has succeeded in the law “Right To Free and Compulsory Education”, that came into operation in 2010. SICHREM is monitoring the implementation of this law, is engaged to achieve necessary improvements to it and is working on fact-finding and preventing of violations of the RTE, as well as operating the project “Ensuring Children in Southern States of India the Fundamental Right to Education through Enforcement of RTE”.

Monitoring Human Rights – Fact Findings and Interventions: Monitoring of HR violations by a carefully researched and documented process involving fact-findings followed by initiating redressal measures, especially with the help of quasi-judicial agencies such as the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission and National Human Rights Commission.

Advocacy, Campaign and Lobbying for the repeal and reformulation of laws that are repressive in nature and violative of human rights. Public hearings, state and advocacy campaigns, critical analysis of existing statutes, mass signature campaigns, colloquia and interfacing with elected representatives in relation to various human rights issues. One of the important national level campaigns SICHREM has been leading is the “National Campaign for the Prevention of Torture”.

District Human Rights Centers have been constituted in five districts of the State of Karnataka. They are hosted by voluntary organizations functioning in each of the district headquarters and work in the field of human rights monitoring and advocacy on the local level. The work done by the Bangalore office is replicated and it has been able to achieve justice in human rights violation cases and to prevent various rights violations.

Mobile Legal Clinics are conducted regularly once a month in the slums in Bangalore Urban with the objective of offering free legal advice by a team of three advocates, two of them women, specifically on human rights issues. Every clinic attracts an average of 50 participants and about 15 to 20 cases.

The Documentation Centre of SICHREM has a well-catalogued wealth of information covering a wide range of human rights abuses, their remedies, legislations, judgments, protocols and covenants. Other social activists, especially for documentation on women’s rights, Dalit rights and child rights and also the media often use the Centre and it is also helpful in analyzing the status of human rights in the state and in advocacy efforts.

Human Rights HelpLine: The larger public has access to seek legal assistance through SICHREM’s help line that is available on all weekday afternoons. A volunteer lawyer offers free legal counseling on matters of human rights, oftentimes referring the matter to appropriate authorities or other lawyers for follow-up. Human Rights Helpline numbers are: +91-80-25473922; +91-80-25492856.

Childline: As a collaborator with Childline India Foundation (CIF), SICHREM is acting as the parent organization for setting up, managing and monitoring the CHILDLINE 1098 service in Kolar district of Karnataka. It is a 24 hour free emergency phone outreach service for children in need of care and protection.