As the country prepares for a heated parliamentary general election 2024, which will elect 543 members to the lower house of the parliament, also known as Lok Sabha, various advocacy and rights groups have drawn a charter of demands from the prospective parties going to the polls. All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), which works with Adivasi and Dalit communities across the country, representing the traditional workforce in India, has highlighted numerous issues and demands from the parties, touching upon the concerns of labour rights, conservation, forest rights, women’s safety and women’s rights, civil liberties, health, and education.

Adivasis and Dalits, constitutionally recognised as Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Scheduled Castes (SCs), respectively, are the most vulnerable and historically exploited sections of the population. Electorally, they hold a significant sway, with STs alone influencing fourth of Lok Sabha seats (133 seats out of 543), and having a direct reservation in 47 of these. SCs wield even greater dominance, with 84 seats directly reserved for them.

After the hard-won passage of Forest Right Act, 2006, Adivasi communities throughout the country became theoretically eligible to claim individual and community rights over parcel of forest lands and resources, specifically over the land traditionally habituated by them. Similarly, individual or community rights are given for resources traditionally used, collected or harvested by the forest communities. Though the Act provides significant powers to Gram Sabha, a village level representative body (group of villages collectively in some cases), to grant or reject claims over forest rights, or to grant or deny permission to any project affecting the forest and its community, the power of the said body has been whittled down through various amendments in the laws, as the forest department continues to manage the forests while side-lining the indigenous people. These factors have direct implication on forest communities’ livelihood, economy, dignity, safeguard, cultural practices, governmental autonomy and empowerment. Considering these factors, AIUFWP has drawn a list of demand for the parties, including the issues of general importance.

Demands of the AIUFWP

1. Ending the historical injustice on forest dependent communities and ensuring time bound recognition of all individual and community resource rights as per the Forest Rights Act 2006 (FRA)

The demand stems from the fact that even after FRA has been passed, state governments are regularly rejecting or sitting on FRA claims. As per the Ministry of Tribal Affairs data, around 38% of FRA claims for land rights have been rejected till November 30, 2022, The Hindu reported. Notably, the Supreme Court order of February 13, 2019, which was eventually stayed, had directed states to remove forest dwellers whose FRA claims were rejected, putting around 4 lakh forest dwellers at the risk of eviction.

2. Withdrawing all false cases by Forest Department on forest dependent communities and repealing the Forest Conservation Amendment Act 2023

Forest Departments with its colonial legacies have regularly filed cases against poor Adivasi’s for minor disputes, often as a means of harassment. In addition, the 2023 amendment to the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) effectively reduces the protection granted to preserve forest by narrowing the definition of forest to only those recorded forests under Indian Forest Act or “forest” as recorded in government records “on or after the 25th October, 1980”. It further provides blanket exemption to carry out any project in forest land located within 100 Kms from LAC or LOC. Similarly, any defence or public utility project is exempted from the provisions of the FCA. Interestingly, activities like zoos and safaris within forests are no longer considered “non-forest purpose” activities. Apart from directly affecting the protection and conservation of forests, these changes also have a significant bearing on forest rights of the forest dwelling individuals and communities, as they will have no say in the process and could be easily disposed. Thus, the 2023 FCA amendment is directly linked to the undermining of Forest Rights Act, 2006.

3. Enhancing Livelihoods of forest dependent communities through guaranteeing fair market price of seasonal forest produce through public procurement mechanisms

Providing fair market opportunities and remunerative prices for minor forest produce (excluding timbre) can improve sustainable livelihood for forest dependent communities, helping them financially. It also helps utilise natural resources in efficient manner without the risk of overexploitation, effectively contributing to its preservation, conservation, and sustainable use. For this purpose, the State should ensure an effective and fair public procurement mechanism to buy minor forest produces, and support indigenous forest communities.

4. Enactment of Community Resource Rights Act for all marine communities over their traditionally accessed riverine territories, and ensuring resources for their livelihood

The coastal communities in India have for long now been neglected by the policy makers despite their importance in trade, food security, and environmental protection. With depleting marine resources and lack of alternative job opportunities, coastal communities in India face the double whammy of loss of livelihoods and climate change. To protect their traditional routes, and ensure sustainable livelihood opportunities for the community with rights-based approach, there is an urgent need for the protective law, especially to protect small and marginal fishing groups against adverse impact of big scale commercial fishers and companies.

5. Expeditiously granting land titles for landless women

Women in India have historically been excluded from ownership and rights over land, property and inheritance. The situation is further exacerbated for landless and Adivasi women, as they are made increasingly invisible within and by the society. As per one study, only 6.5% women aged 18 or above own agricultural land in landowning rural households. Again, FRA is one of the important tools to increase land ownership of Adivasi women, and the demand in this regard by AIUFWP is to be understood within this context.

6. Assuring women safety at places of work while ensuring equal remuneration for equal work

Women’s safety, especially at work, remains a backburner issue even today. As women continue to work in varied positions and places, be it office, home, field, forest or factory, the risks they face in diverse working environment has only increased. Therefore, creating a safe and healthy working environment, especially for women working on the field remains imperative. Relatedly, Article 39 puts a moral duty on the State to ensure “that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women”. As per the recent ILO analysis, by the end of 2021, the income gap between men and women workers in India remained around 35%.

7. Withdrawal of the 4 Labour Codes and reinstatement of the previous labour laws, focusing on safeguarding labour rights

The four labour codes that were passed by the parliament in 2019-2020 (Code on Wages, Industrial Relations Code, Social Security Code and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code) has been strongly criticised by labour unions for weakening the rights of workers. The new labour codes allow companies’ easier route to hire and fire workers (applicable to companies with no more than 300 employees), and makes it difficult for workers to carry out a legal strike as the code requires them to give 60 days’ notice in advance of any such strike.

8. Ensuring working minimum wage of Rs. 400 and its implementation in MNREGA. Additionally, the guaranteed minimum number of working days in MNREGA should be increased to 200 days

The present minimum wage in India stands at Rs. 176 per day, a miserably low amount by any standard, which has not been hiked since 2017. Given the consistent inflation in the economy coupled with lack of quality job creation, ensuring minimum wage of Rs. 400 can help the most needy and vulnerable section of the society. Similarly, MNREGA, which has helped families in the times of distress, needs to increase minimum working days from present 100 to 200 to ensure regular supply of income for the poorest households.

9. Accepting MSP and other demands of the farmers and putting stop to all the atrocities committed against them

One of the demands of the protesting farmers from the government has been to ensure Minimum Support Price (MSP) guarantee for all the 23 crops, a set minimum price for the purchase of their crops by anyone in the market. Importantly, the demand is for the MSP to be fixed at least 50 percent higher than the cost of production of the crop. Among other demands include loan waiver and scrapping government policies which may harm farmers’ interests. As per the National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO) ‘Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holding, 2019’ survey, the average farm household earned modest Rs. 10,218 per month and around half of such households (50.2%) were in debt, Businessline reported. Therefore, the demand for MSP should be carefully considered taking these factors into account.

10. Building inclusive and public spirited educational and health facilities, while preventing privatization these public goods

Public investment in education and health is essential for creating an informed, educated, and healthy citizenry, which not help increases country’s own prosperity, but also helps the socio-economically disadvantageous citizens to access quality public goods and promote social mobility. As the welfare state takes a backseat with the ascendancy of neoliberalism, the most vulnerable sections of the population are increasingly struggling to access the most basic of needs, affecting their overall wellbeing. During the year 2023, the budget outlay for education was just 9% of GDP and only 2.1% of GDP was spent on healthcare in the same year, even after the overall increase in the spending on the latter.

11. Protecting constitutional rights and values, including freedom of speech, right to association, and secular character of the polity

In the recent decade, as the country witnesses growing intolerance, violation of democratic norms, censorship, and ethno-religious nationalism, AIUFWP strongly believes that it is a duty of every citizen to prevent attempts made to undermine democratic character of the State, and stop all kind of violations and abuse of state agencies, whether directed against minorities, forest communities, political opponents or protesting citizens. In this struggle we stand steadfast in our commitment to preserve the fundamental rights and basic structure of the constitutional polity.

The post All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP) lists out their demands before the Lok Sabha election 2024 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In 2019 Sabrang India reported on an analysis by Community Forest resource-Learning and Advocacy Network before the last Lok Sabha elections, the analysis showed that forest rights made a case for itself as a factor for influencing polls in several constituencies. It reported that there are over 133 constituencies where a campaign for forest rights would have significant influence during the then-upcoming election periods. It seems in 2024 there is further cause for the BJP to be worried about its electoral fate in these constituencies given the number of issues India’s tribal population has suffered with in the recent past.

Out of these, the analysis studied 86 of the 133 constituencies, by dividing these constituencies based on the importance played by forest rights as an issue in three categories – high value, critical value, and good value. Each of these 86 constituencies had witnessed the BJP win by a margin in the 2014 elections. In the critical value areas, a large number of voters belonged to the tribal population residing in forested regions whose lives were thus affected by the Forest Rights Act. Similarly, the ‘good’ areas had fewer tribal residents and less forested land and so forth. Basing its analysis on data from the Election Commission of India, Citizens for Justice and Peace identified some of the key areas which included Bastar, Sarguja and Raigarh in Chhattisgarh; Dindori, Gadchiroli-Chimur, Nandurbar in Maharashtra, Chapatoli, Lohardega in Jharkhand and several others.

So, for instance, if we look at the case of Maharashtra we can see that while several of Maharashtra Scheduled Tribe reserved seats were won by BJP candidates, several of them won by a margin such as Nandurbar, Dindori, with Gadchiroli-Chimur holding a significantly narrow margin between the BJP and the Congress’ candidate, each of which secured 39 % and 42 % of the total votes polled by each candidate in the constituency. Similarly, BJP lost to the Congress party in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar with Deepak Baij as the winner in 2019. Thus, the fact that margin remained low in several of these constituencies is a sign that the BJP’s hold over these regions is present but holds the potential of being shaken.   

Forest Rights and its dissidents

About 27 % of India’s significant population, equalling about 200 million, depend on the forest for their livelihood, a significant section of this is the Adivasi population in India. The BJP with its crony capitalism and adherence to saffron hyper nationalism has appeared as unsettling to India’s tribal communities.

For instance, the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act or what it is more commonly known as, the FOREST RIGHTS ACT has been a historical legislation that is a recognition of rights law that not just grants rights to forest dwellers and Adivasis (tribals) but also grants the Gram Sabha the rights to decision making over any development on Scheduled Lands and Forests. The Right to Forest Produce too –which in effect means the right to production and the market is also a crucial issue. Worldover, and in India, the role of Adivasis and forest dwellers in forest conservation has been recognised.

To try and dilute the rights of Adivasis and Forest Dwellers over their land, an amendment to the Forest Conservation Act was brought in in 2023 by the BJP Government. (FCA-2023). To say that the amendments introduced in a parallel law have invited huge protests is an understatement. It could very well be a factor in contributing to the downfall of the BJP in tribal dominated districts. The amendment witnessed large scale protests across various states.

The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023, now known as the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam was passed by both the Lok Sabha in July and the Rajya Sabha in August, seeks to do away with several of its historical provisions. According to the new law, construction projects for purposes such as national security within 100 km of international borders or the Line of Control will not require forest clearance. The Act is also slated to leave out un-notified forests from under its purview which is catastrophic, because in India, most of the forest land remains un-notified, especially in the north-eastern regions of India. The forests remain a crucial issue for India’s tribal communities; their survival depends on it.

Related:

Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill: North-east to bear the brunt

Adivasi struggle led by trailblazers working on-ground: Teesta Setalvad

Jharkhand tribal activists agitating for a separate Sarna Code, arrested ahead of PM Modi’s visit

How a battle is being waged within India’s forests, for rights over land and resources

Parliamentary Committee Gives Nod to Proposed Dilution of Forest Rights

The post The case for forest rights in the republic of India: why should the BJP be worried? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The survey shows an increase in the Congress vote share in the past year with a decline for the BJP vote share and even seats. Yet, 45% of those surveyed, however, still want Narendra Modi to have a third term.

Interestingly, six weeks before the scheduled polling in the state, the issues most acutely important by voters, according to this survey is the spiralling price rise/inflation (76.55% of respondents feel price of essential goods has increased) and acute unemployment (53.18% of respondents feel price employment opportunities have reduced). This is followed by voter realisation that corruption has increased (45.75% of respondents), the gap between rich and poor has widened (42.02% of respondents) and access to welfare schemes has gone down (37.63% of respondents). This is a scathing indictment of the ordinary voter on a decade of Modi’s rule.

Change in voter trends

BJP which enjoyed gradual rise in their vote share since 1996 shows a decline in their vote share this Lok Sabha election

2019 Lok Sabha Elections

• BJP 51.38%
• CONG 31.88%
• JDS 9.67%

However, interestingly, political perceptions of the voters surveyed throw up these findings:

Perception people have regarding Modi regime.

• 47.64% feel that position and fame of India has increased at global level.
• 56.14% feel that they would vote in favour of the Congress guarantee schemes
• For women respondents this increases to 59.28%.
• 39.67% respondents feel State Government Guarantee schemes are more helpful compared to 20.31% feeling central government schemes are more helpful. 26.31% feeling both centre and state schemes help them.
• 35.8% of respondents feel Narendra Modi’s work to be satisfactory and 33.06% feel Modi’s work is excellent.
• 45.19% of respondents also feel Modi should get the third term.

Eedina.com’s survey, the second since the group was launched was conducted with a systematic random sampling method with door to door, face to face surveys. In 2023, it was the only media house which predicted the election outcome 21 days prior to the Karnataka election date of May 10 2023.

This survey was conducted from February 15, to March 5, 2024h prior to the candidate announcement. With the sample size of 52,678 this is so far the largest pre-poll survey conducted in Karnataka for upcoming Lok Sabha election 2024.

Note: This is a Pre poll Survey before the announcements of the candidates. This trend may change keeping Candidature, Issues crop up and Mode of Campaign parties and civil society hold. 

Related:

Watch | ‘Rich-Poor Issue, Not Just Caste, Is Driving Karnataka Election’: Yogendra Yadav

The post EXCLUSIVE | Karnataka will have a neck to neck fight in LS polls, edge to Congress, INDIA: Eedina Survey appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Though they haven’t directly named the current ruling dispensation, they have urged people to consider the last five years before casting their vote. The letter states, “We have always respected the freedom that we as citizens of this country have enjoyed. We have strongly protested every time these democratic systems came under attack, not mindful of the party in power. The last five years have seen attacks on civil and democratic rights of the citizens. People are being labelled ‘Deshdrohi’ and threatened for voicing their dissent. It is no longer adequate to merely condemn the aggression. We have to act more stridently and the forthcoming election offers us that opportunity.” It has further appealed to the masses to recognise the people who are trying to divide our nation on the basis of religion and caste by using the language of nationalism and completely ignoring the civic issues.

Recently there was another appeal made by 900 artists to the voters to vote out divisive politics from power. This included prominent names like Naseeruddin Shah, Anurag Kashyap, Ratna Pathak Shah, Girish Karnad among others.

The NDA-II has had a bitter sweet relationship with the creative industry. While politically motivated appointments to posts like chairman, CBFC and Director, FTII have predictably drawn the ire of film and creative professionals, there have been attempts to eulogise the current dispensation through films like ‘PM Narendra Modi’ too.

It is significant therefore that eminent artists have consented to lend their name to this brave petition.
 

The post Vote Consciously; Save Democracy: Marathi Artists’ appeal to the Voters appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: PTI

Fearing that “if Modi, the BJP and the RSS succeed in their plans, our democratic institutions will be destroyed, and political parties will become irrelevant”, their statement insists, the “minimum programme” should include scrapping of the sedition law, commitment to strengthen citizens’ rights by not allowing misuse of “draconian” laws like the Narional Security Act, contributions to political parties be made transparent, and so on.

The coming 2019 may prove to be a watershed in India’s political history, as were the 1977 elections forty-two years ago. In 1977, elections were held after a declared Emergency, during which the Constitution was suspended, political activity disallowed and opposition leaders and activists imprisoned. The success of non-Congress parties in those elections strengthened the electoral system in Indian democracy. Since then all ruling parties losing elections have demitted office gracefully, rather than attempting to subvert the popular mandate. 

However, since 2014, the Modi government has attacked democracy in more insidious, thorough-going and indirect ways. This attack is aimed at weakening the institutional and popular foundations of democracy in India. It should be stressed that the regime has functioned in close proximity with its parent body, the RSS. Its policies are designed in pursuance of the RSS goal of militarising the political culture and creating an atmosphere of perpetual communal conflict. These are some of the elements of this strategy.
 

1. The Modi regime has devalued constitutional institutions, subverted the separation of powers, and used executive power for sectarian and corrupt purposes. It has diminished the legislative authority of the parliament, hidden information from parliamentary committees, and used it as a platform for political abuse. The use of CBI against political opponents, meddling in its functioning – including subverting its internal structure with the help of hand-picked officials is one of its infamous deeds. It has lied to the judiciary, and interfered in judicial appointments with mala-fide intentions. Governors appointed by it in states ruled by opposition parties have acted shamelessly as its agents. 
2. The Cabinet system is in a shambles, the principle of collective responsibility thrown to the winds. The PMO and a clutch of favoured officials and non-constitutional authorities such as the NSA have usurped the power to make major decisions. This has been exposed most clearly in the Rafale deal. 
3. The Modi regime has tried to subvert the federal structure of the Union to concentrate central power. Agencies such as the CBI, NIA, ED have been used opportunistically for this purpose. 
4. The Modi regime has shamelessly subverted India’s criminal justice system. The use of sedition law and the NSA against students, journalists and activists who question it has become pervasive. Prosecution trials of Hindutva activists accused of terrorist acts have been wrecked from within. Upright officials have been victimised, and even judges threatened discreetly. The file containing evidence on Aseemanand’s involvement in the (Malegaon blast case) disappeared. Crucial evidence on the death of Judge Loya and two of his friends was apparently ignored and the case was subject to an indecent burial – the manner in which this was done has brought disrepute to our judiciary. 
5. In states like UP, police have unleashed a reign of fake encounters to eliminate and threaten opposition party workers. In scores of incidents involving public lynching of poor people transporting cows, the so-called cow-vigilantes filmed themselves carrying out these brutal acts, indicating their confidence that they would be protected. In sum, the BJP/RSS regime has openly enabled hooliganism and violence. With what face can it confront Maoist and jehadi violence?
6. The Modi regime has tried to destroy the autonomy of important institutions of governance, which are necessary to maintain impartiality, professionalism and transparency. This became obvious in the case of the RBI, NSSO and CBI. The autonomy of institutions such as the Election Commission, Central Information Commission, etc has been sought to be compromised. Even more sinister is the attempt to drag the military and security organs into their political campaign. 
7. The Modi regime has used state power to advance the totalitarian programme of the RSS and its affiliates. Marginalised communities have suffered the most from this policy. Religious minorities have been threatened and attempts made to erode their political representation and constitutionally protected rights. There have been a series of attacks on Dalits who question the caste system; and Adivasis trying to assert their autonomy. It tried to pass a communalised Citizenship Amendment bill which makes a mockery of the secular Constitution, and would have destroyed the delicate fabric of community relationships in North-East India. 
8. The Modi regime has tried to criminalise India’s political culture and reduce it to gutter politics. The Prime Minister and BJP President have lied in public rallies and used offensive language against their political opponents. Its armies on social media have systematically circulated rumours and fake claims, and trolled critics of the government with hate messages in foul language including threats of rape and molestation. Organised groups have attacked and threatened ordinary citizens in the name of patriotism. 
9. In the aftermath of the Pulwama suicide bombing, RSS fronts (ABVP, VHP, Bajrang Dal) have attacked innocent Kashmiri students and traders in places like Dehra Dun, thus further undermining social integrity, which depends on the impartial rule of law. This propaganda campaign was so poisonous that the CRP command had to run a programme to counter the communal poison being spread on social media by the so-called patriots. Senior retired Armed Forces officers have denounced these attempts at politicising the Services. It is now clear that anyone who differs from the RSS/BJP runs the risk of being attacked as ‘anti-national’ All these are taking India towards a totalitarian and violent mass culture, which will be a threat to everyone who do not come out to support the regime. Any successes of BJP in the coming elections will deepen the hollowing out of Indian democracy. All non-BJP political parties, irrespective of their programmes, and regardless of the social groups they represent, will be victims of the implosion of democracy under BJP/RSS rule. 

We appeal to all opposition political parties to realise and confront the gravity of the threat to democracy. It is a time to rise above political competition. Political parties can function only in a democratic institutional structure and popular culture. If Modi, the BJP and the RSS succeed in their plans, our democratic institutions will be destroyed, and political parties will become irrelevant. 

Besides an operational and effective electoral understanding, it is essential that parties project a minimum programme to undo the most insidious actions of the Modi regime. This should include the following.
 

• Law on sedition should be scrapped.
• We need a public commitment to strengthen citizens’ rights by not allowing misuse of draconian laws like the NSA, and further strengthen the right to information (RTI). A charter of citizen’s The law for electoral bonds passed by the Modi government, allowing anonymous corporate contributions should be scrapped. All contributions to political parties should be transparent.
• The colonial rights should be brought out. 
• Strengthen rights-based social welfare programmes like the MNREGA.
• Laws are needed against social media abuse, particularly ones directed at women, in the light of threats of sexual violence received by many women activists, writers and journalists.

The post Rise Above Competition, Combat Elections Unitedly against RSS/BJP: Appeal appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that NRC exclusion will not affect the voting rights of Assamese people in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls provided their names feature in the electoral rolls. This came as a great relief for over 40 lakh persons whose names were not included in the draft Assam NRC.
 
The top court asked the ECI to clarify what action it will take if a person’s name is not included in the final Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) to be published on July 31, but it features in the electoral rolls.
 
A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna asked the ECI to provide the data by March 28 about the addition and deletion of names from voters’ list as revised in January for 2017, 2018 and 2019.
 
At the outset, the bench asked the ECI secretary, who had been summoned by the court, what will be the status of the persons whose names do not feature in the draft NRC but feature in the electoral rolls.
 
On March 8, the apex court had asked the poll panel secretary to appear before it for Tuesday’s hearing in connection with a PIL alleging that several categories of persons in Assam have been deprived of voting rights ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
 
The secretary replied that exclusion will not have any bearing on the voting rights of such individuals.
 
He pointed out that the court should not entertain this petition filed by Gopal Seth and Susanta Sen, residents of Assam, as contrary to their claims, their names were never deleted from the electoral rolls in the past three years.
 
Any observation from the court in this kind of petition would amount to huge adverse publicity for the ECI as if it were doing something wrong, Singh said.
 
The bench said it would further hear the matter on March 28.
 
The apex court had sought personal appearance of the ECI secretary as despite a notice being issued on February 1, no one had appeared to represent the poll panel.
 
The PIL alleged that a category of persons whose names were deleted from the voter list included some whose names appeared in the draft NRC published on July 30, 2018.
 
The petition claimed these people had voted in the last Lok Sabha election held in 2014.
 
The plea also submitted that there was a second category of people whose names were not included in the complete draft NRC, but they subsequently filed claims for inclusion of their names in it. They had voted in the previous Lok Sabha elections and were waiting for inclusion of their names in the voters’ list.
 
The fourth category of people comprised those who had already been declared foreigners by the foreigners’ tribunal and such declarations were set aside by the apex court.
 
However, their names have been deleted from the voters’ list pursuant to the order of the foreigners’ tribunal, the petition said.
 
According to the petition, the fifth category is of people whose names have not been included in the draft NRC, but other members of their families, including parents, have been included in the NRC and they have filed their claims for the inclusion of their names.
 
“The above mentioned five categories of people whose names have not been included in the voters’ list are going to be deprived of their constitutional as well as statutory rights to vote in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election to be held in April 2019,” the petition said.
 
Inputs from Agencies
 

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