Lakshmidhar Mishra

Lakshmidhar Mishra is currently Special Rapporteur with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). He holds a doctorate in Educational Planning from the Intercultural Open University, Netherlands. He has held important positions in both state (1964-78) and central government (1979-2000) and took voluntary retirement on 30th September, 2000, when he was Union Labour Secretary in order to join the International Labour Organization (ILO), a specialized agency of UN, in a senior position. He is...See more

Lakshmidhar Mishra is currently Special Rapporteur with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). He holds a doctorate in Educational Planning from the Intercultural Open University, Netherlands. He has held important positions in both state (1964-78) and central government (1979-2000) and took voluntary retirement on 30th September, 2000, when he was Union Labour Secretary in order to join the International Labour Organization (ILO), a specialized agency of UN, in a senior position. He is a prolific writer and has over 300 articles and 15 books to his credit. These cover a wide range of subjects-labor welfare to rural development, health and education, mobilization and organization of the poor and deprived for social justice, etc. Many of his articles have been published in journals of national and international repute. As a socio-legal investigating commissioner of the Supreme Court, Dr Mishra submitted three voluminous and valuable reports on the plight and predicament of workers in brick kilns and stone quarries. A condensed version of the work he did for the apex court has since been published as Burden of Bondage in May, 1997. For his outstanding contribution to public service and, in particular, in the field of adult literacy and education, Dr Mishra has received a number of awards such as National Unity Award, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Award, Dr Malcolm S. Adiseshiah Award, Sramik Bandhu Award, Saheed Dhoom Das award, etc. Dr Mishra has carried out the following studies and investigations in his capacity as Special Rapporteur with the NHRC, which are of great interest and relevance for the poor, deprived and disadvantaged sections of humanity: 1. A study on poverty, hunger, starvation and malnutrition and malnutrition-related deaths of tribal children in 15 tribal districts of Maharashtra. 2. Investigation into the affairs of stone quarries and prevailing debt bondage in the stone quarries of Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh. 3. Investigation into admission and continuance of children in the jails of UP and incarceration therein. So far-from 2006 to 2010-he has submitted over 100 reports to the Commission on issues such as bonded labor, child labor, migration, trafficking, mental health and custodial justice and reforms. Scholarship tinged with clear perception, deep insight, empathy, sensitivity and commitment with which the studies and investigations have been conducted and reports submitted make all his publications interesting and relevant to the poor, deprived and disadvantaged sections of the society. See less