This is a guest post by Vibhav Mariwala

The 26th of June 2015 marks the 40th Anniversary of the declaration of National Emergency by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The Emergency (1975-1977) was one of the darkest periods in Indian history, a period in which people’s fundamental rights were repeatedly violated. Forty years on, I wanted to see if the youth today knows about the Emergency and what one’s fundamental rights are. But most importantly, I wanted to see if people today have the inclination to resist dictatorial rule if an Emergency-like situation were to occur again. This desire caused me to pursue a project on fundamental rights in India and it has taught me a lot about the Emergency, the implications of curtailing fundamental rights in a country as diverse as India and whether people think that an Emergency can occur and why they think it may/may not happen. Based on the responses I got from the various people I interacted with, I do have a feeling that there may be an Emergency like situation in the foreseeable future. On the other hand, I do have a feeling, that it will be far harder for the government to crack down on the public mainly because the current generation is more aware, better connected and will do anything to ensure that politicians do not exploit their power. This desire caused me to find answers to these fundamental questions.

• How much does youth know about the Emergency?

• How far do individuals in India value their fundamental rights?

• Why was the emergency declared?

• How could it be declared?

• How did it affect the lives of businessmen, journalists and other professions?

• Do people believe it can happen again, and if so why?

• Do people believe that a dictatorial form of government is required in a country like India or not?

I would like to thank all the participants for taking out time from their lives to answer my survey or participate in my interviews. To those who lived through the Emergency, it was very difficult for you all to tell me about your experiences, but thank you for opening up to me. To the youth, thank you for your incredibly penetrative responses to my questions. Without you, this project would not have worked out. I would also like to thank my mentor, Rajni Bakshi, who is the Senior Gandhi Peace Fellow at Gateway House, for supporting me and working with me for the past four months in order to ensure that the project was successful. I went about this project by carrying out a series of interviews of people from different backgrounds – the army, journalism or education. I got very insightful, unique and unexpected responses to the questions that I asked. I also conducted two surveys, one for the youth (those had not lived through the Emergency) and another for those who did live through that time period. Youth surveys/interviews focused more on fundamental rights and the future of Indian Democracy while my adult surveys/interviews focused more on past experiences during the Emergency, the reactions to it and the future of Indian democracy, which was the crux of this project.

Continue reading The Value of Fundamental Rights: A Study of the Implications of the Emergency, 40 years on: Vibhav Mariwala →

Guest Post  By ENAKSHI GANGULY

(A response to THE CHILD LABOUR (PROHIBITION AND REGULATION) AMENDMENT BILL, 2015) 

The Government of India is presenting before the country an amendment to the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012. This amendment had been first proposed by the UPA government in 2012.[2] The initial announcement that the law would now ban all forms of labour for children upto the age of 14 years and in hazardous occupations till the age in the 14-18 year age group was welcomed by activists. We felt that at last our plea of over two and a half decades to harmonise the child labour law with the right to education had been finally addressed.

Reading the final print of the law however raises a number of concerns. Frankly, apart from the distinction made in separating the children up to 14 years and 14 -18 years, in their treatment, and increase in penalties on employers, the law is not a huge progress between 1986 and 2015 or for that matter 1938, which was the first time a law child labour was enacted. This, despite the changes in socio-economic status as well as law and policy in the country in this period.

In fact, it is very much in keeping with the arguments offered by the government on social realities,  to continue with the reservation on Article 32 (dealing with child labour)  of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (which India ratified in 1992), with the it arguing “….that it is not practical immediately to prescribe minimum ages for admission to each and every area of employment in India – the Government of India undertakes to take measures to progressively implement the provisions of article 32, particularly paragraph 2 (a), in accordance with its national legislation and relevant international instruments to which it is a State Party”[3] Continue reading Should we ‘MAKE IN INDIA’ on the backs of our children?: Enakshi Ganguly →

क्या भारत में दो संवेदना-क्षेत्र बन चुके हैं:हिंदू संवेदना क्षेत्र और मुस्लिम संवेदना-क्षेत्र? क्या यह नाटकीय वक्तव्य है,या ऐसी आशंका जिसे हकीकत बनते देर नहीं लगेगी और  जिसे भारत के राजनीतिक दल और बुद्धिजीवी भी स्वीकार नहीं करना चाहते.उनका कहना है कि भारत जैसे विशाल देश के क्षेत्रफल और जनसंख्या के लिहाज से अटाली,गाज़ियाबाद,शामली,मुज़फ्फरनगर,लखनऊ,जहानाबाद,नागौर,छीपागढ़,जैसी घटनाएं नगण्य हैं और इनसे पूरे देश के बारे में कोई भी निष्कर्ष नहीं निकाला जा सकता.लेकिन वे भूल रहे हैं कि टेलीविज़न और इंटरनेट के इस वक्त में कोई भी घटना,कितनी ही छोटी क्यों न हो,स्थानीय नहीं रह जाती.वह घटित की जाती है एक सीमित, स्थानीय स्तर पर लेकिन उसका लक्ष्य वह व्यापक जनसमूह है जो भौतिक रूप से बिखरा हुआ और उस घटना स्थल से दूर है, यहाँ तक कि अमरीका और ऑस्ट्रेलिया में. Continue reading हिंदू भारत, मुस्लिम भारत →