The Jan Haq Yatra, covering 16 Indian states, was recently organised to sensitise people on pressing social and economic issues. Faisal Anurag and Eknath Awad, spokespersons of NAFRE spoke to OneWorld South Asia in New Delhi and shared their viewpoints on the need and objectives of the people’s march.
New Delhi: A march for the people’s rights or A cadre speaking at the meeting ‘Jan Haq Yatra’, covering 16 Indian states, was organised in the months between January and March this year to sensitise people on the most pressing social and economic issues impacting their lives. Faisal Anurag and Eknath Awad, pokespersons of NAFRE spoke to OneWorld South Asia in New Delhi on March 26, when they, along with their 500 cadres, met in the Indian capital for two days to deliberate on the demands from each state and on the future course of action.
When did this march start and what were the issues that it had taken up?
The march or the ‘Jan Haq Yatra’ as we call it started on January 23, this year from Imphal in Manipur and ended on March 9 in Rourekela, Orissa. In about two months, we passed through 16 states of India like Manipur, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Gujarat. Covering 201,000 kilometres, we managed to convey our message to approximately 1.5 million people.
In all these states, a total of about 20,000 people participated, covering 100 kilometres everyday and organising small public meetings along the way. In every state headquarters, there were rallies and large public meetings organised, attended by people in large numbers. Four zonal rallies were also organised to mark the end of the march. These were held in Rourkela (Orissa), Sholapur (Maharashtra), Kolar (Karnataka) and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), which again witnessed large gatherings.
We had four core issues around which we tried to mobilise people. They were against displacement, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and communal fascism, and for a common school system. Unlike the present education system which is discriminatory and favours the rich, there should be common education for everyone in the country.
But different states suffer from different set of problems…
Yes, that is why we have also raised the issue of Armed Forces Special Powers Act in the north-eastern states. People have had to suffer a lot due to this law at the hands of security forces. We believe that unless this controversial law is repealed, democracy will remain in suspended animation in these states.
In Maharashtra, for example, the issues that were raised included education, land rights, dalit and adivasi rights, etc. Apart from these, SEZs are also becoming an issue of conflict. Maharashtra is one state, where maximum number of SEZs are coming up.
In Tamil Nadu, there is an issue of nuclear power plants, which pose grave risks for the people living in their proximity. Similarly people in coastal states have their own set of problems, which we have tried to raise.
Tell us about NAFRE and how it came into being?
Originally conceived as the National Alliance for the Fundamental Right to Education has established its identity in the last 7-8 years. It is a national alliance of 16 state alliances in which several civil society, community based, non-governmental organisations and people’s movements are
Eknath Awad actively involved and is now known simply as NAFRE.
In every state, these alliances work under different names. It had started with the objectives of common school system, to fight against communalisation of education and for the rights of children.
Years of experience working with the people has now convinced us that if we want to achieve these goals it is also important to resist the economic policies so steadfastly pursued by successive regimes – be it the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance or the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance. We have seen how the farmers and adivasis are being deprived of their sources of livelihood – the land and forests. All this is causing displacement and unemployment at massive levels, the effect of which is felt most by women and children. This makes a mockery of the claim that by 2010 India will be prominently on the global map.
So what did you see during the march?
Rural hinterlands of India are suffering. The 1.5 million people whom we have reached through this yatra established without any iota of doubt that people are living in abject poverty.
Children are not able to go to schools. Women remain deprived of their rights. All out subversion of democracy can be seen everywhere. India as a state is becoming increasingly fascist. Like we have seen recently in Nandigram, West Bengal, as to how the Communist Party of India (Marxist) acquired a fascist approach in dealing with the people’s protests. We have also seen how Orissa government has dealt with the issue of POSCO and Niyamgiri Hills. Similarly the massacre of Gujarat was a grim reminder of what fascist mindsets were capable of.
Democracy in this country is failing. Our governments are mere pawns in the hands of big industrialists, multi-national companies and imperialist countries.
Seeing all this we have reached on the conclusion that we have to fight a new battle. And in this fight, we have to include workers, peasants, dalits and adivasis in large numbers. One of the objectives of this yatra was to mobilise and prepare people for a bigger struggle and that is for people’s democracy.
What do you plan to do next?
About 500 selected cadres, who have gathered here will be deliberating over next two days. We will try to gather their experiences during the yatra and devise strategy for future on these four core issues and see if there are any other issues to be taken up. We will also think of ways to mobilise more people with the objective of establishing real democracy.
