Vigil India Movement
Vigil India Movement (VIM) is a grass roots level non-governmental human rights organization committed to the protection and promotion of human rights and democratic principles in India. The Vigil India Movement was founded during the dark years of India’s authoritarian dictatorship and Emergency Rule (1975 - 1977) in which all democratic institutions were paralyzed, constitutional and judicial machineries were controlled by the authoritarian leaders of the country, freedom of the press was suppressed and gross and systematic human rights violations were the hallmark of the days. The VIM was officially registered and structured after the lifting of the Emergency Rule in 1977.
Ever since the VIM was formed, it has been striving to promote human rights education and human rights advocacy, mostly at the grass roots levels in India where human rights violations are rampant. The VIM has been developed and grown as a people’s movement in several areas in India through its constant efforts to strive for the furtherance of a truly democratic, secular and just society in India, where human rights and human dignity of every individual is respected and protected and where human values are taken seriously. It endeavours to create awareness in the minds of the people, especially at the lowest economic level, about their rights, and encourages them to struggle to secure them.
Starting from 1977, the Vigil India Movement formed more than 900 Vigil Groups in various parts of India, among those there were about 300 groups worked exclusively on rights of women.
The VIM has its strong roots in States such as Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgrah, Gujarat, West Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Kerala.