T E N Y E A R S O F T H E C O M M I S S I O N I N R E T RO S P E C T 9) Summing up 2.36 From the foregoing, it will be seen that much has been endeavoured and achieved in the past ten years. Yet those who strive for the promotion and protection of human rights can never be satisfied with their efforts and, certainly, that postulate applies to the Commission. A year after it was established, the annual report of the Commission observed: "The Commission cannot begin to assert that its efforts have transformed the human rights ethos in the country or that it has as yet adequately developed a capacity to defend the least powerful of the citizens of India. But it can assert that its efforts have begun to strengthen the hands of the just and the compassionate, of whom there are legion in this country, in all States and in all walks of life." 2.37 That statement remains substantially true even today. But in the course of the past decade, despite its inadequacies of which it is acutely aware, the Commission has - in the public estimation - evolved from being a body that was initially viewed with unconcealed skepticism to one that is widely viewed as an instrument of good governance, on which increasing reliance can and is being placed by the citizens of India to ensure the defence of their rights and the verities of the Constitution of their Republic. 2.38 In the chapters that follow, this Report will elaborate on the major efforts of the Commission over the past year in respect of many of themes that have been touched upon briefly in this chapter. It will commence that process by bringing up-to-date its proceedings and actions in respect of the human rights situation in the State of Gujarat, which continues to be a cause of concern to this Commission and to numerous others in this country who are keen to see that the Constitution and laws of the land are upheld and that justice is done to those whose rights have been violated. ANNUAL REPORT 2002-2003 ... ... 27 ... ... ..