Human Rights in Everyday Life in India: The Praxis from Below

Human Rights in Everyday Life in India: The Praxis From Below

Cambridge Scholar Publishing UK  

https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-0364-4929-2

Today, I received the author copies of this book. It deals with the rhetoric of human rights that is being contested and debated theoretically at various levels. Drawing on several field-based examples from the Indian context, it illustrates how the frameworks of oppression and resistance operate in tandem. It argues that the oppressors manipulate the rights paradigm to justify oppression, whereas the oppressed leverage the same discourse to contest marginalization and assert their dignity in everyday lives. Despite challenges, the wretched of the Earth articulate the language of rights to ‘educate, organize, and agitate’ to challenge oppression and formulate positive rights to demand their dues. In the process, these people's struggles harness lok-shakti (people’s power) to consolidate the idea of swaraj (self-rule) while shattering the monolithic discourse of rights to imagine a diverse worldview. This work suggests reimagining a just world by strengthening the struggles of ordinary people to consolidate the rights framework. 

While relying on Richard Falk's theory of globalization, which contrasts the phenomenon of Globalization from above with Globalization from below, in the context of the Third World, this work argues that the situation of marginalization is based on dual dynamics. The dominant regressive narrative is hostile, whereas the progressive discourse emerging from everyday struggles of the poor and the vulnerable is based on the praxis of rights and challenges the dual hegemony of neoliberalism and authoritarianism. Human rights advocacy, therefore, is more than just ratifying treaties or addressing the cases of rights violations. It is a tool for the defranchised to right the wrongs. The vocabulary of rights operates in numerous ways, from demanding policies and laws to check barbarism and foster democracy. The rights-based approach is being used to contest for redistributing resources and challenging oppression, guised as patriarchy, casteism, poverty, and other forms of structural discrimination.  

Remembering the Founding Mothers of the Indian Constitution

March 8, 2025

In my article that appeared here https://janataweekly.org/remembering-the-founding-mothers-of-the-indian-constitution/, I wrote about the Indian women who played a key role in pre-colonial times, contributing immensely to the freedom struggle and shaping the Indian Constitution. 

The pioneer women paved the way for democracy, and it is because of their efforts that Indian women today enjoy equal citizenship rights. They serve as a role model for future generations. Their legacy continues to inspire generations of women to engage with the state and assert their citizenship rights. 

Decades later, the impact of their work is visible. Then, 15 women participated in drafting the Constitution; today, 1.4 million women serve as panchayat leaders. While more women must be joining the top-level decision-making bodies, including the Parliament, the Supreme Court, the High Courts, and the Legislative Assemblies, it is important to celebrate the role of the Founding Mothers. 

As the world celebrates Women's History Month, India could take a moment to recognize the contribution of its Founding Mothers, who advocated for lasting changes. 

As early as 1939, women's collective, in their report of the Sub-Committee on Women's Role in Planned Economy, reimagined the Indian woman as a complete, self-sufficient, and pro-active citizen. 

This report noted, 

"We do not wish to turn a woman into a cheap imitation of a man or to render her useless for the great tasks of motherhood and nation-building. But in demanding equal status and opportunity, we desire to achieve for women the possibility of development under favourable circumstances of education and opportunity, and while doing so, urge upon the State its responsibility towards women in this respect."

Based on this report, the Indian Women's Charter on Rights and Duties was prepared, which highlighted that educated and capable men and women, enjoying their rights to freedom and equality, could contribute to societal progress. 

The outcome of their struggles was a radical step towards liberation. The writing of the Constitution refuted the colonial logic of natives being incapable of self-rule. 

The Founding Mothers significantly shaped the Preamble, advocating for equality, liberty, justice, democracy, and secularism, besides affirmative actions for the marginalized. 

Despite facing numerous challenges, they championed the rights of women in a male-dominated society. 

Their legacy continues to inspire future generations. 

In the pursuit of justice

 In the pursuit of justice

 

They say justice could be found in courts and police stations

I ran around but couldn’t locate it in the dusty files, or the lawyer’s argumentation

No justice can be done when a judge writes a technical decision

For those privileged, thriving in mansions,

Overlook the starving, hungry, and their desperation that is causing tension

The elite assumed that eliminating the poor, rather than eradicating poverty, is the only solution

Those authoritarian rulers say justice lies in running bulldozers over the hearts and souls of the poor, mocking their deprivation

I could not find justice in those teary eyes full of pain, anger, and frustration

They say justice is mobocracy

In the deep fault lines of inequality, I found dying humanity

I found hateful mobs shattering the love into pieces, killing the democracy

They say justice lies in bombing the innocent

I saw fear and agony in those young eyes whose lives are in a dangerous situation

Those powerful reduced justice to the narrow boundaries of revenge and retribution

The oppressors are deprived of the shred of kindness and compassion

So, where is justice?

Not in the bulky books written by scholars

I found justice in the blooming hope of the innocent eyes of a child desperately waiting for her parents in the middle of the war field,

Justice is the optimism, warmth, and care that a nurse shows when treating patients.

Justice is the blood and sweat of toiling farmers who starved and yet grow food for all, and workers who construct homes for all and yet remain homeless all through their lives

Justice is the confidence and courage of a student who wishes to transform the oppressive situation.

In the ardent rebellious hearts of those who wish for relentless peace and hope, I felt the zest of reasonableness

In the righteousness of empathetic souls lies the zeal for fairness,

Justice lies in the minds that are caring and gentle

Away from the toxicity of hate, war, inequality, or starvation,

Justice exists in the dreams of a happy and equitable world with no discrimination 

Justice imagines a world that is humane and full of consideration

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strengthening the Idea of Participatory Democracy in the Indian Context

Today, worldwide, authoritarianism is rising. So, what is the solution?

In my article on Strengthening the Idea of Participatory  Democracy in the Indian Context (available here https://mainstreamweekly.net/article14797.html), I wrote that the common people hold the power to end such repression, revive the democratic spirit, and save the idea of an egalitarian, secular, hate-free, diverse, and united India. 

I argued that the election process, as it exists today, has several problems and is seriously impacting the concept of representative democracy. Therefore, to establish a strong democratic republic and a plural India, or greater democratization, this work suggests that it is essential to move beyond the idea of representative democracy to the larger concept of participatory democracy. 

Strengthening people’s power or lok shakti through swaraj or self-rule as envisioned by the freedom fighters and the constitution makers, is essential in the contemporary context. 

To rejuvenate the idea of participatory democracy, what is required is a two-step process. 

One is to revitalize the decentralization process as promoted by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, and 

The second is to strengthen social movements and foster proactive citizenship by empowering the marginalized.

I visualized the idea of participatory democracy as an alternative to representative democracy. Participatory democracy is about empowerment and education of the excluded and marginalized. It is about reimagining proactive citizenship for a robust and resilient democracy. 

This idea of participatory democracy is deeply ingrained in the Indian struggle for freedom as evident from Gandhi's idea of gram swaraj, Ambedkar's legacy of empowering the vulnerable, MN Roy's idea of people's committee, and Jay Prakash Naryan's concept of lokshakti or lokniti. 

The emergence of grassroots movements in post-colonial India, such as SEWA and MKSS, articulated the idea of participatory democracy. 

Another significant concept is revitalizing the idea of decentralizing power through strengthening the Panchayati Raj Institutions through the Gram Sabhas. 

Strengthening the civil society and promoting a human rights culture are some of the progressive steps to consolidate the political future of the country in the neoliberal world.

To establish a strong democratic, republic, and plural India, or greater democratization, this work suggests that it is essential to move beyond the idea of representative democracy to the larger concept of participatory democracy, or strengthening people’s power or lok shakti through swaraj or self-rule as envisioned by the freedom fighters and the constitution makers over the ages. Decentralizing power while focusing on enforcing progressive social legislation, strengthening social movements, and fostering active citizenship by empowering the common people are all essential steps to strengthening the idea of participatory democracy. Or in other words, the `little man’ or the common citizens in a democracy need to be empowered to assert their power and claim their rights.