1980 Bhagalpur blindings

The Bhagalpur blindings refers to a series of incidents in 1979 and 1980 in Bhagalpur in the state of Bihar, India when police blinded 31 individuals under trial (or convicted criminals, according to some versions) by pouring acid into their eyes. The incident became infamous as the Bhagalpur blindings. The incident was widely discussed, debated and acutely criticised by several human rights organisations. The Bhagalpur blinding case had made criminal jurisprudence history by becoming the first in which the Indian Supreme Court ordered compensation for violation of basic human rights.[1]

Aftermath and response

On 2 December 1980, during a session of the Rajya Sabha, the issue was debated for over three hours. Members of the Opposition described the act as a barbaric attack by the police. Despite Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's expression of deep agony and the Home Minister's acceptance of responsibility, several Opposition parties staged a walkout, demanding a more action.[2] The government announced an inquiry into the incident and Gandhi decide to give an ex-gratia payment of $2000 to each of the victims, though these measures were considered insufficient by many MPs.[3]

  • In 2017 Amitabh Parashar released his documentary The Eyes of Darkness was based on this incident.[5][6][7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "CHRJ Bhagalpur Blinding Case". Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  2. ^ "December 2, 1980, Forty Years Ago: Bihar blinding undertrials". The Indian Express. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  3. ^ "INDIA: Blinding Justice". TIME. 15 December 1980. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  4. ^ Mujtaba, Syed Ali. ""GangaaJal" Unstitches Wounds of Baghalpur Blinding". Archived from the original on 10 January 2014.
  5. ^ Sinha, Sayoni (22 April 2017). "The Eyes of Darkness highlights the continuing acid attacks in Bihar". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  6. ^ Ramnath, Nandini (15 January 2017). "Documentary 'The Eyes of Darkness' reveals the horrific copycat effect of the Bhagalpur blindings". Scroll.in. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  7. ^ Ghosh, Avijit (24 March 2017). "New documentary shows forced blindings continue in Bihar". Times of India Voices. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
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