"Are human rights a stumbling block in fighting evils like terrorism & naxalism?"

You might think there's a pretty obvious and settled answer to this question ("no, human rights are not a stumbling block"). But the National Human Rights Commission wants to open it up for debate; this is the topic they chose for their annual debate competition for the Central Armed Police Forces.

First, some background: The NHRC has conducted annual debates on human rights for forces since the 1990s. In 2019, participants held spirited debates on "Terrorism & militancy in the country can be tackled effectively while observing human rights". That was the year when a member of the CRPF courted controversy with a fiery speech on how "terrorism could not be fought by maintaining human rights".

Unsurprisingly, this year's topic ruffled feathers on social media for obvious reasons.