Press Release
Jan Sansad released its Manifesto highlighting key demands
of people’s movements and organizations
New Delhi, 30 Jan 2012: The focus on the concluding day of the five day Jan Sansad, at Jantar Mantar, was on Dalit and tribal issues and gender inequalities. It also saw the release of the People’s Manifesto highlighting the key demands of various people’s movements and organizations that were participating in the Jan Sansad, as a countdown to the 2014 elections. The manifesto included resolutions on anti-corruption legislation like the Lokpal Bill, Grievance Redressal Bill and the Whistle Blower Bill. The Jan Sansad also unanimously opposed the government’s move to implement the cash transfer scheme in lieu of various social policies and demanded that Parliament function and immediately pass pro-people legislation.
Speakers included Baba Adhav, Ms. Aruna Roy, Ms. Subhashini Ali, AIDWA, Ms. Annie Raja, NFIW, Mr. Mungekar, Congress MP Rajya Sabha, Mr. Manik Tagore, MP and a host of other activists.
During the morning session activists and members of the audience spoke of the atrocities that continue to be directed against Scheduled Castes and Schedules Tribes. Their children were being segregated in schools, even made to wash vessels used for the mid day meals, adults are forced to scavenge for a living, and families are deprived of a place to stay; the irony being that while they construct houses for others they themselves don’t have land or a place to stay. Similarly nomadic tribes, suffer exclusion from society and even the Census. They have no ration cards or ID cards or a place to sleep as highlighted by Paras Ram Banjara, MKSS when he said “Our Constitution bestows upon all the right to dignity but even after 65 years of independence this remains a dream and a struggle for the nomadic tribes.” He added that they have no ration cards, no land, no homes, and no documentation as proof of their citizenship. They are branded as criminals and are refused treatment by hospitals. He illustrated the sorry plight of these tribes when he spoke about an incident where a man from the Kalbeliya community of Rajasthan was buried in his own hut because he was denied a place in the burial ground on account of his low caste status. He also brought to light the lack of a legislation to prevent atrocities against the nomadic tribes as there is in the case of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Baba Adav spoke about caste branding and the evolution of untouchability which is taken to the extent of Mantras which are discriminatory against lower castes but blindly followed by all of us. He also spoke of a particular forest dwelling tribe in Maharashtra who are constantly branded as criminals. He said, “Nomadic tribes have a culture that they don’t stay anywhere for more than three days so how will the government accommodate them under the right to vote? These tribes are also demanding that they be included in the Scheduled Tribes category.”
Shankar Singh, MKSS speaking on the issue of manual scavenging said that even today Dalits were doing it for as little as Rs. 2 a day and opined that politicians should apologize that such a practice is still prevalent after 65 years of independence. Why, he asked, were Dalit children not being taught computers like other children? He opined that part of the problem lies with the
community itself which seldom seeks to break free from their traditional forms of livelihood. The road ahead, according to him, is a change in the mindset of the scavengers.
Shiv, who works with Adivasis in Rajasthan said that the government’s solution of providing loans and reservations will not suffice. The need of the hour is for the government to increase its involvement with this issue. Last year 2 lakh government jobs reserved for them were not availed because they lack requisite educational qualifications. He suggested that employment guarantees be provided to Dalit workers in the Nagar Pallikas.
In the second session the atrocities and problems against women were highlighted through street plays, songs and the sharing of experiences by women from various parts of the country.
Annie Raja of NFIW spoke of how, “women in various parts of the country are being branded as witches and killed by elements who want to take away their houses or the small bits of land that they hold.”
Subhashini Ali, AIDWA and former MP, said that globalization and privatization is depriving women who are dependent on common lands for their means of livelihood. This is forcing many of them to go into lowly paid jobs like anganwadi workers who get as little as Rs. 1,100/- a month. She spoke of how the media is promoting stereotypical roles of women by portraying them as second grade citizens and word play is being used to trap them into conservative roles. “Domestic violence, female foeticide and rape have now become tools to suppress women and establish male dominance”, she added.
Mr. Mungekar, MP Congress, Rajya Sabha questioned the legitimacy of Khap Panchayats which are not recognized by the Constitution, Supreme Court or High Courts. He said, “Khap Panchayats are anti-democracy, anti-women and anti-social. Honour killings have no place in a civilized society and these, along with Khap Panchayats, need to be banned.”
Mr. Manik Tagore, MP from Tamil Nadu pledged that when he and other Lok Sabha members meet the Prime Minister next week they will take up the issues that have been raised this morning, specifically the issue of right to pension.
Gargi Chakravarty, NFIW, said that sexual assault has increased manifold in the last couple of years. The reasons being: consumerism, the portrayal of women as objects by the media. “Children who witness violence against their mothers see it as a norm rather than as a violation of their rights. Even educated men continue to perpetrate violence against women which is why the education system must change to sensitize people to women’s issues.”
Aruna Roy, MKSS, introduced Vimla Bhen for Hissar, Haryana who shared the story of how her daughter’s rape had led to the destruction of her family life and led resulted in her husband killing himself. She said, “My husband won’t get peace till the criminals are hung.”
Taking this forward, Ms. Aruna Roy said, “Being born a woman in this world is a curse and being born a Dalit woman is an even bigger curse. Women, irrespective of their class and caste are easy targets of violence. Even the agencies responsible for protecting women are violating their rights. Though the status of women in society has improved, inequality persists within the four walls of people’s houses, which should be safe havens.” She took the example of the State of Haryana and blamed the increase of instances of violence on the declining sex ratio.
The broad resolutions that emerged from this session are:
1. Stringent punishment for perpetrators of sexual assault, child sexual abuse, rape whether it happens in police custody, prisons, shelter homes and orphanages.
2. A demand for the release of all human rights activists who have been arrested while struggling for social and political justice on behalf of the marginalized.
3. A demand for appointment of required judges for speedy disposal of cases of atrocities against women.
4. Reservation for Dalit women in executive judiciary and media so that they can adequately represent women’s issues.
5. A demand for social security benefits for Dalit women like education, insurance, housing, food security, safe drinking water, housing and medical care. Also, the right to gainful employment and land rights.
6. A demand that national and regional media agencies report incidents of atrocities and also engage the public in debates on the larger issue of caste systems.
7. A demand for banning Caste Panchayats.
8. Budgetary allocations to public health be atleast 3% of the GDP.
9. Passing of the Bill on women’s reservation without any dilution in the 33% reservation for women.
10. Immediate legal and punitive action in cases of violence under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
Justice Puttaswamy, a retired judge of the Karnataka High Court, has submitted a petition to Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice Chalameswar, Supreme Court asking why the government was going ahead with the implementation of the UID Project when the Parliamentary Sub-Committee had rejected the Bill. Advocate Anil Divan who is appearing for the Petitioner at the Supreme Court has issued a notice on both the writ petition and the stay application, according to Bharat Kumar, the lawyer for the Petitioner.
