UPDATE 11 (March 2003)

Dear friends,

The right to food campaign is brimming with life after a short following the Asian Social Forum and the Delhi public hearing on 10th January. The Supreme Court resumed on 3 March, with a new bench headed by Justice Sabarwal, who seems to be taking strong personal interest in this matter. More importantly, preparations for the "week of action on the right to work" at the end of April are in full swing.

Once again, Rajasthan seems to be in the lead here, with potentially useful insights for other states. For this reason, and also because we are less well informed about recent events in other states, we give quite a bit of space in this update to what is happening in Rajasthan. No favouritism intended.
(Update: We have started receiving more feedback from other states, including Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, and will be including this in the next update, within a few days.)

This is the first part of a special, two-part update. The first part (this one) focuses on the right to work. The second part, to be sent very soon, deals with other issues.

Today's headlines:

1. WEEK OF ACTION ON RIGHT TO WORK: UPDATE

2. RAJASTHAN: RIGHT TO WORK CAMPAIGN TAKES OFF

3. DHARNA FOR THE RIGHT TO WORK (JAIPUR, 3 FEBRUARY)

4. NAPM YATRA MARCHES ON

1. WEEK OF ACTION ON RIGHT TO WORK: UPDATE

As mentioned in earlier updates, plans are afoot for a "week of action on the right to work" at the end April, culminating on 1 May (Labour Day). An appeal for action has been widely circulated (if you missed the appeal, you can access it from the home page of our website, www.righttofood.com). The
initial signatories of this appeal consist of a number of organizations and individuals committed to the right to work, and further names are being added as the campaign grows (an updated list of signatories will be circulated in due course). Organisations that have already decided to participate in the week of action, or are very likely to do so, include Akal Sangharsh Samiti, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), Paschim Banga Keth Mazdoor Samiti, Tamilnadu Agricultural Labourers (TALM), National Campaign Committee of Rural Workers (NCCRW), Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS), Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), and the National Alliance for People's Movements (NAPM), among others. 

The response to this appeal has been very positive. So far, proposed activities include yatras and padyatras, public hearings, "exposing" the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana(SGRY), interactions with MLAs and other political leaders, district-level public meetings, etc. On a more assertive note, some members of the campaign have floated the idea of lying down in front of trains that are transporting grain to be exported - but so far it is all gong and no dinner. Further ideas and suggestions are most welcome, atthe usual address right2food@yahoo.co.in.

Active campaigning has already begun in several states, particularly Rajasthan (see below), but also other states. For instance, there are active preparations for padyatras on the right to work in Surguja (Chattisgarh), public hearings in Kalahandi (Orissa), and an investigation of SGRY in Hardoi (Uttar Pradesh), and much more. Action plans for the week of action have also been formulated in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. We are a little short of specific information right now, but will circulate a further update on this as soon as possible. Meanwhile, we proceed with some further feedback on the right to work campaign in Rajasthan.

2. RAJASTHAN: RIGHT TO WORK CAMPAIGN TAKES OFF

The right to work campaign in Rajasthan is rapidly gaining momentum. Akal Sangharsh Samiti staged a dharna in Jaipur on 3 March (see below), and the event gave clear signs of an overwhelming public response on this issue. Indeed, in drought-affected areas, employment is the main concern. Akal Sangharsh Samiti's member organisations resolved to take this issue forward through local agitations as a matter of priority. Padyatras, dharnas, etc., are already taking place in many areas. On 8 March, the right to work was the main theme of a large demonstration for "Women's Day" in Chittorgarh.

Another important development is that, in Rajasthan, the right to food and the right to work are emerging as a possible counter to the Hindutva agenda. As Aruna Roy of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) put it at the Jaipur dharna, the right to work unites working people instead of dividing them, and provides a constructive alternative to the communal agenda.MKSS is planning a series of yatras around the state from early April onwards, focusing on the right to work and communal harmony. The right to work campaign in Rajasthan is all set to intensify during the next few months.

Along with these activities, Akal Sangharsh Samiti and its member organisations have been actively lobbying for the introduction of an "employment guarantee act" in Rajasthan. The practical modalities and financial implications of an employment guarantee programme are being actively explored, with expert advice from Prof. Pradeep Bhargava (Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur) and others. Similar research is being conducted in some other states, notably Madhya Pradesh.

3. DHARNA FOR THE RIGHT TO WORK (JAIPUR, 3 MARCH)

A major dharna for the right to work took place in Jaipur on 3 March, 2003. We reproduce below the report published in the Hindu on 5 March (also available in the "archives" section at www.hinduonnet.com):

Jaipur, 4 March. Two thousand working women and men from drought-affected areas in Rajasthan held a day-long dharna outside the Vidhan Sabha in Jaipur on Monday, demanding guaranteed employment for all at the minimum wage. The dharna was organised by Akal Sangharsh Samiti, a wide coalition of grassroots organisations working on drought issues in the rural areas of the State. The participants came from Bikaner, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Barmer, Jaisalmer, Baran, and other drought-affected districts. Wherever they came from, the tales of hardship were similar and the main concern was employment. 

As things stand, the best a drought-affected family can hope for is 10 days of relief employment a month for one member. With the minimum wage pegged at Rs. 60 a day, this fetches only Rs. 600 a month for a whole family. In village after village, there is fierce competition for the available jobs, and poor people are often left out. Even those who are lucky enough to get work can barely make ends meet with Rs. 600 a month. The participants were united in demanding that ceilings should be lifted and that work should be available for all. Specifically, they demanded that the right to work should be recognised in the form of an `Employment Guarantee Act'. 

The demonstration united working people from different castes and communities. Aruna Roy, one of the speakers, contrasted this unity with the divisive politics of communal outfits. The slogan `Talwar naheen, trishul naheen, kaam chahiye' resonated through the day and caught the public's imagination. 

At the end of the day, a delegation met