RTI Activist Ms Aruna Roy talks about ‘Rights Based Approach to Social Movements’
RTI Activist Ms Aruna Roy talks about ‘Rights Based Approach to Social Movements’ during a lecture in memory of Late Fr Claude D’souza SJ and Late Fr Ambrose Pinto SJ, both Jesuit activists, which was organized by St Aloysius College, Mangaluru at LCRI Hall.
Mangaluru : A talk about “Rights Based Approach to Social Movements” in memory of Late Fr Claude D’souza SJ and late Fr Ambrose Pinto SJ, both Jesuit activists and social workers, by RTI activist and Co-Founder of Mazdoor Kissan Shakti Sanghatan Ms Aruna Roy, organized by St Aloysius College, Mangaluru was held at LCRI Hall. The programme began with a prayer song by Miss Sanjana and team, followed by welcome address by Rev Dr Praveen Martis SJ-the Principal of St Aloysius College, Mangaluru. Prior to talk by Ms Aruna Rao, a brief profile on late Fr Claude D’souza SJ and on late Fr Ambrose Pinto SJ, was given by Joselyn Lobo (Faculty at Roshni Nilaya, Mangaluru) and Fr Francis Guntipilly SJ ( activist at Ashirvad Bengaluru) respectively.
Addressing the audience which was predominately mixed, with students and adults, Ms Aruna Roy said, “Impunity in political system has resulted in democratic institutions loosing their autonomous status. Freedom of speech and RTI had legitimized the right to ask questions. But the amendment introduced by the present Central government to the RTI Act, has put right of people to question the government at stake. RTI commission has lost its status which was equal to that of an Election Commission and the RTI Commission is not more than a government servant”
” People should join hands to keep the Constitution “alive as it is” by exercising the right to question. People should know that the legitimacy to ask questions has come through the Right to Information Act. The legitimacy to ask questions actually laid the foundation for democracy. Younger generation needs political education, and that if people thought that politics and governance were not their business, they were hurting themselves. People keeping quiet without questioning elected representatives and the government was not a healthy sign for a democracy” added Ms Roy.
“Many democratic institutions in the country have either compromised themselves or have lost their independence now. Many independent commissions have become just another government department and government servant. Unfortunately, speaking the truth to power has become very difficult, and people should know that voicing dissent is not anti-national. There were multi-dimensional inequalities in the country. The issues facing the country should be inferred from this perspective. There have been sectarian divisions in the country during the past four months. “Can we rise above it,” questioned Ms Aruna Roy.
She further said, “Democracy should be built with people’s participation. Equality and justice mattered more in a democracy. If they are not there, there is no India. Regarding the impunity with which the political system is functioning in the country, no system should take sides but [it] should adhere only to the Constitution. It’s sad to note while there have been way too may lynching incidents that took place in the country, the government has taken to steps or action to end lynching of Dalits and Muslims without taking sides. Space for activists and their rights have come down in the media as multi-nationals were owning many media houses”.
“After decades old fight demanding social audit in the works carried out by govt departments, the govt of Rajasthan has now launched an open portal to make the information on govt transactions accessible to the public. People should know that India is a multi-dimensional country, and it should remain so. I have pursued my education in Christian as well as Hindu institutions and also have close links with Islamic culture. This defined my identity as an Indian, an identity which is multi-dimensional and multi-cultural. India is a country of diversity, and there should not be any differentiations between religion” said Ms Roy.
Speaking further she said, “Sadly in the present climate dissents were being curtailed and any form of dissent were being branded as anti-national. Therefore we have to argue, and through arguing with differences we can come to a conclusion for a better or invigorated logic. Hence dissent is important in society. We the people of India have the right to practice culture of our own and this right has to prevail. Inequality is multidimensional as there are so may intersections, due to religious and caste bifurcations. This has to go and people should stand united to throw away inequality”.
Ms Aruna Roy was also joined by yet another RTI activist Nikhil Dey, where both answered a few queries posed at them during the interaction session. Rector of St Aloysius Institutions Fr Dionysius Vaz SJ also spoke on the occasion. The vote of thanks was proposed by Ms Swetha Rasquinha, the HoD of dept of social Works, and the programme was compered by Ms Arati Shanbagh, the HoD of BBA, both at St Aloysius College.
ABOUT RTI ACTIVIST ARUNA ROY :
Aruna Roy is an Indian political and social activist who founded the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) (“Workers and Peasants Strength Union”) along with Shankar Singh, Nikhil Dey and many others. Known for her work for the vulnerable sections of society, she was also a member of the NAC, national advisory committee which was set up by the then UPA-1 government which was headed by Sonia Gandhi through most of its tenure.
Born in Chennai, she grew up in Delhi where her father was a government employee. She studied English literature at Indraprastha College, Delhi University. She served as a civil servant in the Indian Administrative Service between 1968 and 1974. Ms Roy resigned from the civil services and began to work on issues related to the poor and marginalised. She joined the Social Work and Research Center (SWRC) in Tilonia, Rajasthan. In 1987, she along with Nikhil Dey, Shankar Singh and others founded the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan.
The MKSS began by fighting for fair and equal wages for workers which shaped and evolved into a struggle for the enactment of India’s Right to Information Act. Aruna Roy is a leader of the Right to Information movement in India through the MKSS and the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), which was finally successful with the passage of the Right to Information Act in 2005.
Ms Aruna Roy has been at the forefront of a number of campaigns for the rights of the poor and the marginalised. These have included, most prominently, the Right to Information, the Right to Work (the NREGA), and the Right to Food. More recently, she has been involved with the campaign for universal, non-contributory pension for unorganised sector workers as a member of the Pension Parishad and the NCPRI for the passage and enactment of the Whistle blower Protection Law and Grievance Redress Act.
Ms Roy served as a member of the National Advisory Council [NAC] until 2006 when she resigned. While with the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Aruna Roy was awarded the Times Fellowships Award for the year 1991 for her work for rural workers rights to social justice and creative development. In 2000, she received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership. In 2010 she received the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academia and Management. In 2011, she was named as one of the hundred most influential people in the world by Time magazine. In September 2017 India Times listed Roy as one of the 11 Human Rights Activists Whose Life Mission Is To Provide Others With A Dignified Life
