On 6th September 2025, Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), Raipur, successfully organized a One Day Online National Conference themed “Digital Dignity: Safeguarding Human Rights in the Age of Technology.” The event was jointly hosted by the Centre for Law & Human Rights and the Centre for Law and Science, aiming to explore emerging challenges to human rights in the digital era and deliberate the critical concept of digital dignity as part of contemporary human rights frameworks.
Strong Academic Participation and Engagement
The conference generated overwhelming interest from legal scholars and researchers across India, receiving over 150 abstract submissions. After a rigorous review process, 60 research papers were selected and presented in 8 parallel technical sessions, providing a dynamic platform for dialogue between academicians, jurists, researchers, and students.
Inaugural Session Highlights
The inaugural session was graced by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Arup Kumar Goswami, Chairperson of the Assam Human Rights Commission and former Chief Justice of the High Court of Chhattisgarh. In his address, Justice Goswami emphasized the foundational role of ‘dignity’ in Human Rights Jurisprudence, noting its origin in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. He stressed the urgent need to safeguard these rights amid rapid technological advancement and lauded HNLU’s initiative to lead the discourse at this critical intersection of technology and human rights.
Prof. (Dr.) V.C. Vivekanandan, Vice Chancellor of HNLU, delivered the opening remarks, underscoring themes such as Rights-Based Tech Design, Judicial Innovation, and International Cooperation on Human Rights as central to modern tech-HR debates.
Conference Structure and Technical Sessions
The event commenced with a warm welcome by Dr. Deepak Kumar Shrivastava, Registrar (I/c), HNLU, followed by a briefing on the objectives and sub-themes by Dr. Debmita Mondal, Conference Secretary and Head of the Centre for Law and Science. The sessions were seamlessly anchored by HNLU students Ms. Mahika Gupta and Ms. Samridhi Dubey.
Key Issues Discussed:
- Data Privacy
- Algorithmic Bias
- Digital Wellbeing
- Misinformation
- Surveillance
- Secure Communications
The multi-disciplinary approach enriched discussions and highlighted the complexity of the digital dignity challenge.
Valedictory Session and Closing Remarks
The Valedictory Session featured Prof. Paramjit Singh Jaswal, Vice Chancellor of SRM University, Sonepat, and Distinguished Jurist Professor at HNLU. He presented an incisive analysis of seven key parameters to audit the current human rights-technology interface. Prof. Jaswal referenced landmark cases such as Justice Puttaswamy vs. Union of India and Shreya Singhal vs. Union of India, emphasizing that constitutional values remain paramount and human rights non-negotiable in the digital era.
Prof. Vivekanandan further cautioned against unchecked technological opacity and lack of accountability, emphasizing that law must stabilize technological disruptions while protecting human rights.
Conclusion and Way Forward
The conference concluded with a detailed report by Dr. Kiran Kori, Conference Secretary, and a vote of thanks by student convenor Aayushka Pandey. Anchoring was smoothly conducted by students Anuska Sharma and Dimpal Khatri.
The One Day Online National Conference successfully fostered a robust academic exchange, contributing significantly toward developing frameworks for protecting and upholding human rights amid the profound technological transformations of our time.