Questionnaire 1:

Socio-Economic Rights and Role of State

In Bundelkhand, Shakun a 29 year old widow with two kids from Sahariya tribe in Rajvara
village is somehow managing to survive by consuming mud for past several years. She has no
card made by any government department whereby she could claim any entitlements under any
scheme. The village is hit by the drought and since past few years no rains have adversely
affected the agriculture. Most of the males have migrated in search of work. Therefore many
women like Shakun are left to fend for themselves. Bhagwati, another woman whose husband
has migrated is asking for doles from the higher caste communities in the next village. Shakun is
surviving in bad shape. Her stomach ache is not going. She cannot digest a roti now as whenever
someone tried to feed her the same she vomits that out. Her two kids are left to fend for
themselves. (May 2016)

In parched Latur there has been an utter devastation and farmers are agitating over depletion of
water and the district administration has invoked Section 144 Cr.PC. The government is sending
Jaldoots or water trains into the area. However, conflict and clashes are still reported as people
with power or those hailing from higher caste are consuming the same while not allowing the
same to reach to villages where people from lower caste stay. (April 2016)

Sachin, a 10 year old boy living in Marathwada region left home on a bicycle to fetch water from
a well located about a kilometer away from their home. This is his daily routine for past several
months, however that day he lost his balance while lifting water and drowned himself. The well
has no boundary wall and Sachin does not know how to swim. (May 2016)

Sukhlal, a 36 years old farmer, committed suicide in a village in Punjab. The police found a diary
and a few pieces of dried roti in his pocket. On one of the pages of diary it was written, “Live life
like a flower and if you die, die with dignity”. He had loan of Rs 15,0000/- which he has taken
for his daughter’s wedding and he could not repay because the crop failed. His name was
dropped from the Antodaya Scheme when the digitalization drive was carried out by the
government recently as he was ill and could not go to the local office to get his name registered

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under the Scheme. His three kids are surviving on Mid Day Meals given in the school once a
day. (April 2016)

These are only few incidents which were reported by some of the online alternative magazines.
The mainstream media hardly carry any such news items as reporting such news will not affect
their ratings. The state has not done much except providing symptomatic relief at some places
like sending water trains. And this concept of drought or farmer suicide is not new. Since the
colonial regime famines, drought, disasters, epidemics have been happening yet the science and
technology could not be used to find solutions to such issues.

Article 21 of the Constitution of India provides for right to life with dignity to all irrespective of
socioeconomic background and the state is bound to ensure that the constitutional rights
guaranteed under part III and part IV must be met. However, during the recent years, under the
pressure from the international institutions like WTO and IMF the state is rolling back its
responsibilities and has been denying the citizens their rights. More specifically, it is the poor
and the underprivileged who are suffering the most in the current socio-economic regime. The
situation is that 330 million people are afflicted by the drought and because of the lackadaisical
approach adopted by the state they are denied of their basic right to access to water. Over 300
districts in 13 states of the country, including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and
Karnataka, are facing shortage of drinking water. Privatization is taking its toll. In many states,
the water level has gone down to the extent that even drinking water is not available at many
places and women have to walk miles in search of water. Farmers are committing suicide
because the crop failed as there is no water to irrigate and therefore they could not pay the debt.
The compensation provided by the government in many cases is too less that hardly could help
families in rural areas to rehabilitate or start afresh. Agricultural land is being acquired from the
farmers at low rate in the name of development thus depriving them of their livelihood. Forests
are being destroyed for mining and other commercial purposes without recognizing the rights of
tribals who have been inhabitating and surviving in the area where minor forest produce is their
only livelihood. The economic policies are helping the corporate sector rather than masses to
acquire wealth by grabbing natural resources. In such situation what should be done? Who
should be held responsible for the plight of millions of citizens in the country who are deprived
of their basic rights? Can the urban educated Indians who enjoy a privileged life in cities escape

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from their ethical responsibilities to see that those living in villages be left at the mercy of state?
These are some major questions. Considering this we at PUCL are posing some of the queries to
common people.

1. Shakun, Sachin, Sukhlal are few names. There are millions like them who are forced
to live in such awful situation where even the welfare scheme could not help. What
do you think could be done for such people?
ANS 1; Shakun, Sachin, Sukhlal are few names. There are millions like them who are forced to
live in such awful situation where even the welfare scheme could not help. The only way to
actually help them is to make sure that all the schemes that are introduced by the government
should be also implemented and executed properly everywhere not only in some areas.

2. Who do you think should be held responsible for such situation where millions are
left to fend for themselves?
ANS 2; the government and all the political parties that promise the welfare of the state are
entirely responsible for situation where millions are left to fend themselves and the government
is not concerned at all.

3. A large number of farmers like Sukhlal have been committing suicides. And this is
not only in one state but in almost every state that farmers are committing suicides for
various reasons. The farmers from Tamil Nadu recently came to Delhi and protested
for more than 40 days at Jantar Mantar. What do you think should be done to prevent
those?
ANS 3: the main reasons for farmers committing suicide are;
Indian agriculture is unorganized sector at this point. No systematic planning is done
Exploitation by the middle men is also one of the reasons. The governmental
schemes and programs do not reach the small and needy farmers. The root cause of
farmers taking their lives is the increase in their indebtedness and debt burden.
The solution is that multiple crops should be cultivated by the farmers to yield results,
the use of modern technology must be used and also, education must be provided to the farmers.

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 4. Drought is affecting 330 million people in India currently. This has been happening
over past several years because of climate change and global warming and there is a
deficit in rainfall. What do you think should be done in such situation to prevent
droughts?

ANS 4; farmers dying in India due to the effects of drought in our country should make every
Indians head hang in shame, there should be a national awakening and debate on this most
serious issue. Some measures to tackle this problem are firstly, desilting of lake beds or tanks in
summer. This would increase storage capacity and also charge ground water. Secondly, rain
water harvesting should be made compulsory. Thirdly, aggressively invest in technology for sea
water desalination. And lastly less water intensive crops should be advised for farmers in drought
prone areas.

5. Do you think that the government is doing right to roll back the welfare measures and
holding people responsible for their own well-being? In case you are being given the
responsibility to make decisions for India what will you do?
ANS 5; I WOULD UNDERSTAND AND KNOW THAT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE
CITIZEN OF MY COUNTRY SHOULD BE TAKEN BY ME IF THEY NOT IN THE STATE
OF TAKING THEIR OWN RESPONSIBILITY. And therefore, I would make more welfare
schemes and make sure that they are being executed properly.

6. Many of the welfare schemes implemented by the government are not implemented
properly on the ground. For instance, in above cases both Shakun and Sukhlal could
not get anything because either their name is not there or has been deleted for some or
the other reason. What should be done in such situation?

ANS 6; I think removing the small schemes to better focus on larger schemes can improve the
administration in executing. Secondly, the schemes can be tailor made as per the local
conditions. Some states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Gujrat and to some extent Maharashtra
have been successful in implementing schemes but other states like Bihar, Orissa and others are
not. There is a need of better coordination between the state and the central governments.
Thirdly, there is a need of better coordination among the private entities, community, civil
society, NGOs and government in designing a public policy in order to improve the
transparency, quality and effectiveness of a policy or reform.

7. The government is further making Aadhar card mandatory for the poor to get
subsidies and even it is linking Aadhar to get a bank account, pan card etc. What is

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 your view about the same? Do you think that by making Aadhar card mandatory will
help in any way?
ANS 7; according to me, making Aadhar cards mandatory will definitely help in some way or
the other. In the case of getting subsidies they will help the poor, but the main problem here is
that only providing and making Aadhar cards compulsory is not enough to better the conditions
of the poor.
8. In the name of development, the government has made big dams while destroying
many villages and yet water could not be made available because these huge
structures created have either become dysfunctional because of low and cheap
material being used. Who should be held responsible for such irrational and illogical
decisions?
ANS 8; according to me, the only thing responsible for such irrational and illogical decisions is
the government. The government is always ready to make big dams and this destroys many small
villages.

9. India is considered to be an agricultural country. How far this statement is relevant in the
present context? Do you think India should retain its structure as an agricultural based
economy or should it compete with other nations and become a strong industrial economy?

ANS 9; I think that India should definitely retain retain its structure as an agricultural based economy
but also compete with other nations and become a strong industrial economy.

10. The capitalist economic model adopted by the government has not benefitted the
country. Do you agree or disagree with the statement?
ANS 10; I agree that the economic model that is adopted by the country by its government has
not benefited the country in any way because the model adopted has various loopholes that need
rectification and they need to be rectified as soon as possible.

11. Currently, the commercial media has been reporting on sensational news items to
enhance their ratings. Do you think that it is ethical on the part of media to not to
report or highlight the news items that affect rural areas or poor people? In case you
are heading any media channel/magazine/newspaper what will you do?
ANS 11; I don’t think it is ethical on the part of the media to not report or highlight the news
items that affect the rural areas or poor people, the main reason to this is that these rural areas

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that mostly have poor people need the attention of the media more than anyone else. If I were
heading any news channel I would definitely highlight the struggles the poor are facing.

12. The government is making way for the corporate sector in India through schemes like
Make in India, Skill India etc by giving them subsidies, by helping them to acquire
land at cheap prices, by making labor laws flexible, by allowing them to exploit
natural resources like land, water and forests. Do you think that this is a right
decision? Should the government keep on providing subsidies to rich and corporates
at the cost of poor?
ANS 12; The government’s decision of making way for the corporate sector in India through
schemes like Make in India, Skill India by giving them subsidies, by helping them to acquire
land at cheap prices, by making labor laws flexible, by allowing them to exploit natural resources
like land, water and forests is not at all a right decision to make as it is not the rich that need
subsidies but the poor.
13. Science and technology has been used today to do wonders. From exploring the space
beyond solar system to everyday technology like mobile phones, laptops etc the
marvels of science and technology are numerous. Yet these have not been used to
develop mechanisms like dealing with situation of drought and flood, or tsunami or
earthquake or any other form of natural or manmade disasters. Do you think that it is
intentionally that biased decisions are taken to promote the luxurious life for the rich
while avoiding concerns that affect the poor?
ANS. 13; I do believe that science and technology has been doing wonders, from exploring the
space beyond solar system to everyday technology like mobile phones, laptops etc the marvels of
science and technology are numerous. Yet these have not been used to develop mechanisms like
dealing with situation of drought and flood, or tsunami or earthquake or any other form of
natural or manmade disasters. It is initially biased decisions are taken to promote the luxurious
lives of rich people and it just makes the lives of poor worse.

14. What should be the role of science and technology in creating an equitable society?
Can the science and technology help to do so?
ANS 14; the role of science and technology in creating an equitable life is very important.

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 15. Recent reports show that inequality is increasing in India where only a few Indian
amass huge wealth and the rest 95% are sharing only 2% income and wealth. What do
you think should be done in such situation?
ANS 15; inequality is increasing in India where only a few Indian amass huge wealth and the
rest 95% are sharing only 2% income and wealth in such situation the very important thing that
needs to be done is the redistribution on income more of equal distribution of wealth and
education is also important to overcome this problem.

16. There are a large number of tribal communities in India who are surviving on forests
and forest produce. However, forests are also rich source of minerals. A big
multinational applies to the state government to acquire the forest land because it
wants to extract minerals in return of making investments. You as a Chief Minister of
that state has been given the responsibility to decide on the issue. What will be your
decision?
ANS 16; if I were a chief minister then at this situation I would first provide a shelter and all the
basic livelihood requirements to the tribal people and then approve the application of the big
multinational to acquire the forest land and allow them to extract minerals in return of making
investments.

17. A common saying is that `Poverty anywhere is a threat to Prosperity Everywhere’.

What are your views about the same?
ANS 17; I believe that yes! Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere, that is
because once a nation or the people get into this vicious trap of poverty then it will decrease or
effect the overall growth and prosperity of the country’s economy.

18. A large number of people are migrating from the rural areas to urban areas in search
of employment. More specifically if you see in a city like Delhi the situation is
becoming worse day by day. As a Chief Minister of Delhi what will you do?
ANS 18; as a chief minister of Delhi I would provide employment as much as possible and make
sure that they are in a better condition.

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 19. The successive governments elected over decades in India have hardly addressed the
situation of poverty rather through the policy of blame game they try to shift burdens
on others. The one who suffer most in such situation is poor and the marginalized.
What do you think should be done to address this situation?
ANS 19; The successive governments elected over decades in India have hardly addressed the
situation of poverty rather through the policy of blame game they try to shift burdens on others.
The one who suffer most in such situation is poor and the marginalized. The only way to get rid
of this problem is actually to focus on the conditions of the poor and bring in focus their
struggles trough media etc.

20. As an urban educated citizen, one has an ethical responsibility towards those who
cannot voice their concerns or fight for their rights. What do you think you can do for
the millions of people like Shakun, Sachin or Sukhlal?
ANS 20; As an urban educated citizen, one has an ethical responsibility towards those who
cannot voice their concerns or fight for their rights and therefore we should do is do surveys etc.
to know about the percentage of such people and then ask the government to take action for the
same.