Ganges and Yamuna rivers granted same legal rights as human beings

March 21, 2017
By Michael Safi
The Guardian

The Ganges river, considered sacred by more than 1 billion Indians, has become the first non-human entity in India to be granted the same legal rights as people.

A court in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand ordered on Monday that the Ganges and its main tributary, the Yamuna, be accorded the status of living human entities.