Q.Go through the newspapers of the last few days and identify cases of rights violations which have been discussed. What should the government and civil society do to prevent such violations?

This too is a research task with no single fixed answer — the chapter's fourth responsibility, vigilance, gives the framework for identifying a genuine rights violation and judging what the state and civil society should do about it. …

The chapter argues that citizens must stay vigilant about limits placed on rights, especially when governments justify restrictions in the name of national security, because such powers can be misused and can push a government toward becoming authoritarian. This gives a working checklist for spotting a genuine rights violation in the news: an arrest made without a proper warrant or without producing the person before a court; mistreatment of someone in custody; the arbitrary curtailment of liberty on 'mere suspicion' rather than genuine evidence of threat; interception of a person's mail or communications without lawful process; or the denial of a right such as education, healthcare, or protection from harm to a particular group.

For any such case, the chapter's own test is useful: does the person concerned pose a genuine, imminent threat that could justify a restriction, and has due process — legal counsel, a hearing before a magistrate or court — actually been followed? If not, the violation is real, not merely a security measure. …