Nandita Haksar was a journalist before her involvement in the women's rights movement forced her to take to law. For the past three decades, she has worked as a human rights lawyer, campaigner and writer. She has set many precedents in human rights and refugee law. She has taken up cases in the courts in India as well as appearing before international courts and committees. She has evolved and taught courses on human rights in various universities. Haksar's publications include: Ego and other Poems (1972) Demystification of Law for Women (1986); the book has been translated into regional languages and extensively used by women's groups for spreading legal literacy; Nagaland File: A Question of Human Rights; (the co-edited book which first exposed the human rights violations being committed by the Indian security forces in the North East of India); Framing Geelani, Hanging Afzal: Patriotism in the Time of Terror (2007) in which she writes about her experience of defending two Kashmiri Muslims accused of attacking the Indian Parliament, and Rogue Agent: How India's Military Intelligence Betrayed the Burmese Resistance (2009) in which she exposed the RAW, Indian’s external intelligence agency ; The Judgement That Never Came: Army Rule in North East India (with Sebastian Hongray, 2011); ABC of Naga Culture and Civilization (2011) which has been taught in schools for Naga children and; Across the Chicken Neck: Travels in North East India (2013); The Many Faces of Kashmiri Nationalism: from Cold War to the present Times (2015) and Framed as a Terrorist (with Mohammad Aamir Khan) (2016) She was awarded a Degree of LL.D. (Honoris Causa) from NALSAR in 2015 in recognition of her work in the field of human rights.