From last few days I have been working on developing a curriculum of ‘Human Rights and Law’ for one institute in Thane. When I spoke with the Chairman of Institute he explained. The syllabus should be such to cover points that people come across daily in normal life & people aren’t aware about it or don’t exercise the rights…
It was really good brainstorming job…its easy to write on WHO, UN and Women and Children. I had to think, what are the areas where we can say we have the rights? What are the related laws? While doing LLB, we lean 57 laws. It’s important to select few provisions in each covering all the facets in all the areas. Thanks to my intelligent friends I could develop the curriculum, and while developing it I realised we don’t exercise even 10% of available rights.
Let’s start with Constitutional Rights. The fundamental rights which we can enforce in courts. Right to profess, right to travel, right to speak. We are democratic nation with rule of law. The Indian judiciary is well developed and fundamentally a different body than our executives. This has been really a beauty of our constitution. This is why today Supreme Court can raise questions to PM for Raja and Thomas. In India, law and order is very fine if not the perfect. We Indians can enjoy the fundamental rights generally. However, as compared to US, we people are not so up to the mark about our rights. We are not so demanding. We don’t raise voices and make the government bend down. Yesterday, I met Pradeep Lokhande, founder of Rural Relations. He was telling about neutral nature of people in villages…” they don’t get water for three days, they can’t take a bath but no one raises voice…” No need to justify they are illiterate. We so called literate people accept injustice in the name of “Chalta he yar…”, “yahape time kisko he…”…Its really been so ridiculous, we fight in train if someone puts leg on our feet…we fight for fourth seat, we feel insulted when people rush to catch train and we don’t say anything when politicians ruin our lives, when a girl in next door been raped, when someone is killed on corner in India…or even when people seek bribe to give you a domicile certificate, when for hours we suffer load shading….
What kind of literate we people are?
It was when Raj Thackeray spoke against outsiders coming in Mumbai and ruining the culture, there was voice from Sanjay Nirupam and etc. regarding Article 19 and right to travel, reside and profess anywhere in India…Yes right. Constitution gives you right to go anywhere and reside, profess but not to interfere and spoil the local culture. No one, even constitution gives you right to make political statements. This is what Constitution called “REASONABLE RESTRICTIONS”. It was amazing that neither government spoke anything on it neither the people fighting took any stand based on this provision.
When they referred constitution, we people had to accept even though we might be agreeing to point raised by Raj Thackeray, we might think yes Constitution gives right and talking against it is breaching fundamental rights.( I used the word ‘we’ because there has been same degree of hatred in Delhi, South and Goa on same fact) But actually, this is not the case. Even Constitution provides circumstances when Judiciary and Government can put some restrictions based on justifiable grounds which I think was available had it been rightly advocated.
Constitution gives us right of environment and living with liberty. I am not talking big things like preventive detention. When a person spits on road, doesn't he spread pollution? Is this not against my right of environment? Why I should be compelled to walk on road full of red spots? Isn't it against right to live with dignity? People throw garbage on road, Street dogs and pigs sheets on road, there is bad smell in muhallas, lack of cleanliness around my house, people shamelessly sit on train tracks in morning and we people don’t complain. We have been suffering this for ages and we don’t ask anyone to stop this. Count in your daily life when we get annoyed by such events, which actually breach our rights. But we have accepted it without any reason. We expect Municipality, and government to do something, when we are not aware of our rights, how we expect them to be aware of their duties?
Today women are surely not living a great life. Not in villages but not in urban too. Her wishes and mind were never respected by male dominated society. But coward practices of abusing and harassing women sexually, physically and mentally are still continued in today’s India. RAPE…the most ridiculous offence on the earth still continues. News of kidnapping, raping and killing of girls of15 and below are found once in two days. Each girl in this nation faces ugly eyes of males, postures and even unwarranted, undesired touches every day thousands of times. Molestation is not new to them while traveling, working, with friends, at strange places everywhere. Family tortures are big things found in almost 90% homes yes even white collared well mannered homes even in urban, even from most educated people. …in different forms and intensities…
Has it become part of our life? Are we living in any unmannered society? Our culture is to respect women, not abusing them. Why women don’t raise voice against all these things? Why still everyday they ignore molestations? Can’t they just slap a person who tries to touch them? I have my few friends did it & I m very proud of them. Can’t women raise voice and compel the government, society, judiciary to take serious steps to stop rape Crimes? I mean this is so shameful to be in nation where every woman lives fear for her dignity and person? Why the hell still women couldn't live a safe, fearless life in this nation?
Today too white coloured people harass women in offices and in at home. Women too bear everything that comes into their life in the name of destiny. Though now there has been increasing voices, we also know they are not sufficient. What’s ridiculous, the tolerance is not from the illiterate women, they are the urban, most educated and from self mannered homes and societies. Still they don’t feel its injustice with their dignity and liberty. If someone feels deprived, you can help them, the frustrating thing is today women don’t feel being insulted or deprived by the ill behavior of society with them. Things have to be first changed from their side…
There have been basic laws that been breached to disallow us our rights. Traffic! Today in Mumbai rickshaw and Taxi Drivers roam like kings. They deny us to come somewhere where they don’t want to come. This is their discretion. This is ridiculous, why we have been tolerating this for years? If meter is FOR HIRE, they are obliged to come where we tell them. Today you go to any place, we ask them..”Bhaisahab chaloge kya?” Why the polite question? Why don’t we directly sit and say, “Chalo…”We should learn to respect our rights.
ts when we go to any office, government, judiciary…we tend to give him bribe. Isn't it anything against our right to live with liberty? But we assume that without this no work is possible. Corruption has become part of our life. Who’s fault is this? Politicians. We know they are our representatives. Its their duty to serve this nation. To serve us. But for over Sixty years we are seeing, there has been decreasing morals of politics and no one is exception. But why cant we fight for our Right for good governance? For years we know that they are corrupted, they are selfish, they are liars and they tend to use everything for their own benefit. They did make us fight, they set fire in Hindu Muslims, they did corruption to provide inferior infrastructure to us, they supplied inferior defense material to cause tolls of innocent army men. They used our lacks of crores Rupees to give favors to telecom companies, to builders…and everyone is involved. Today we expect that all scams should come in picture and open, Swiss bank money should come in India, we expect those people to take actions who have committed wrong. Is it possible in next 7000 years to come? Why we people don’t become demanding and pressuring those inactive bullshits? Why don’t we take things into our hand like what happened in Libya and Saudi. Isn't it our right that we shall get good food, water and power? 80 % of Indians have been denied. What have we got in last 60 years? But importantly why we even those who are not direct victims, raise voice?
While voting we have right to caste vote, “no one is eligible…”. Imagine today elections fetch 40 % voting. Means 60% people don’t like the candidates or they don’t find it interesting to even bother to vote. IS it what democracy works? Everyone then blames voter about not voting. Why to vote? Then cant we exercise the option that no one is eligible. Imaging what will happen if in election results it has been declared that voting is 90% and 60 % voted no one is eligible. Will not be the right slap to politicians and perfect reflection of our anger for last 60 years?
What is very important is we should be demanding and even stubborn for our rights. If we don’t respect them, why others will? I used this word so many times but this is so ridiculous that these are basic things, if we start using them, without any special steps from government, our life will become easy and more beautiful!
It’s YOU who should now act, not they!
-HARSHAD MANE
