Citizens’ manifesto for political parties
We need to engage with the democratic process and demand that we be treated as a free people, not a subject race
The first amendment of the American constitution says the opposite thing as the first amendment to the Indian Constitution. The Americans guaranteed in 1791 that their legislature “shall make no law” that restricts freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The Indian amendment came over a century and a half later, in 1951 under Jawaharlal Nehru, and it was regressive. It said “nothing prevents the state from making any law” that restricts the freedom of speech of Indians. Over time, many of the freedoms that the Constitution gives us have been whittled away in this fashion by a State suspicious of its people. Such restrictions of course open up the space for all sorts of mischief. Gujarat, which has been the leader in many things of our time, passed a bill under Narendra Modi, named, quite thoughtfully, the “Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill”. It orders the following: “( 1) Whoever converts any person from one religion to another either by performing any ceremony by himself for such conversion as a religious priest or takes part directly or indirectly in such ceremony shall take prior permission for such proposed conversion from the District Magistrate concerned by applying in such form as may be prescribed by rules. (2) The person who is converted shall send an intimation to the District Magistrate of the District concerned in which the ceremony has taken place of the fact of such conversion within such period and in such form as may be prescribed by rules.
(3) Whoever fails, without sufficient cause, to comply with the provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2) shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to rupees one thousand or with both.”
This was challenged 10 years ago in the Supreme Court as being unconstitutional, as it surely is. I’m not sure if the Supreme Court decided on this, and no doubt it was dealing with other, more pressing things. The thing is, if we do not as individuals constantly stand up to claim our rights as a free people, the State will take them away.
I was part of a group that met in Delhi a few days ago to sketch out civil society’s response to the 2019 elections. Many of us felt that things had happened in the last few years that needed to be corrected, and that there were things that were handed down as legacy which also needed to be stopped or changed. We all felt that we needed to reclaim our rights. I began compiling a list of things that should be sent to all political parties as a citizens’ manifesto. Here are some of the things that are in it:
Freedom Of Expression 1) Repeal Section 124 A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with the offence of ‘sedition’, which is inconsistent with international standards on freedom of expression.
2) Ensure that no restrictions placed on the rights to freedom of expression, assembly or association. Today it is all but impossible to stage a protest.
3) Amend the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act to ensure that it does not restrict the rights of NGOs to freedom of expression and association, and is not used to repress critical groups. The law originally regulated funding of political parties. 4) Ensure that the Aadhaar biometric ID project is not used to block access to essential services or benefits, or to violate people’s right to privacy
Communal Harmony
1) Enact laws to prevent communal and targeted violence like lynching, and ensure access to justice and reparation for victims.
Caste Equality And Social Justice
1) Ensure the full and effective implementation of The Scheduled Castes and The Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, including by providing training to district-level officials responsible for its enforcement and holding accountable police officials who refuse to register complaints under the Act.
2) Ensure the full and effective implementation of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. More people die in this line of work than do soldiers.
School Education
1) Improving the implementation of the Right to Education Act and making necessary amendments ensure free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 18.
2) Ensure that both private and public schools respect and integrate human rights in curricular and co-curricular activities, in relationship, in the school environment, and in school governance
Internal Security
1) Repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Acts (1958 and 1990) and ensure that provisions from these laws are not reintroduced in future legislation. Act in all pending cases requesting sanction for prosecution of armed forces for alleged human rights violations in areas where the AFSPA has been in force.
2) Repeal or extensively revise anti-terror laws like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the National Security Act to bring them in line with international standards. They are not at present. 3) Abolishing the use of administrative detention, and repealing all laws which allow or enable its use. 4) End the use of indefinite detention for persons declared foreigners.
Gender-Based Violence
1) Introduce legislation to recognise rape within marriage as a crime that carries the same punishment as rape, as recommended by the Justice Verma Committee.
2) Provide specialised training to police officials, government doctors, judges, and others working in the criminal justice system, to ensure that all investigations, prosecutions, treatment and medical examinations of survivors of gender-based violence respect their rights and dignity.
3) Carry out household crime surveys to assess the true extent of gender-based violence and underreporting. Government data indicates that 99 per cent of victims do not report.
4) Establish a comprehensive and adequately resourced victim and witness protection programme at the Central and state levels, especially for cases of sexual violence.
5) Provide specific and effective legal assistance to women affected by sexual violence during communal riots.
6) Prosecution of offences against women in conflict areas should not require the sanction of central Central government under AFSPA.
7) National crime records should capture the segregation of data on sexual violence committed on marginalised women.
We will never be a perfect society and no society can make that claim. But we can keep improving along the path that our Constitution and its preamble lead us to. This will only happen when we stand up, engage with the democratic process and demand that we be treated as a free people and not a subject race.