Synopsis Human rights have been violated since time immemorial. Women have been consistently subjugated and repressed as the `weaker' sex. Children have been exploited and abused systematically by family as well as strangers. In India the record of both these areas is quite dismal. Statutory bodies such as the National Human Rights Commission and their State counterparts have been doing a thankless job and have little resources or teeth. It is time to take stock of the entire subject of human rights as understood in the context of the modern world. It is in this direction that the present publication takes a significant step.