RS Mugilan
RS Mugilan is a human rights defender from Chennai and the Coordinator of the Tamil Nadu Environment Protection Committee. He has worked tirelessly on environmental issues in Tamil Nadu, opposing such issues as illegal sand mining and nuclear power. He has most recently been involved with the Anti-Sterlite Movement, which opposes a copper plant in Thoothukudi set up by copper-smelting company Sterlite Industries (India) Limited, a subsidiary of the UK-based company, Vedanta Resources. The human rights defender had been part of the fact-finding team to Thoothukudi and it is believed that his disappearance is linked to this line of work.
Human rights defenders in India face a diverse range of attacks and harassment from state and non-state actors alike, including killing, physical assault, arbitrary detention, threats and judicial harassment. Police officials are often the perpetrators of violence against HRDs, which is usually carried out with impunity.
