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    Law, Democracy and Human Rights

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    TU KOTHARI RSH SETHI cxiption’: riVist/STUDENT Re, 25 aIVIDUAL Re 4 $25 STITUTIONAL Re @ $35 shove rates are for sx itues, Intemational subsriptions fe sent by airmail. Cheques should be made out 10 KAVAN BULLETIN, Please write you fll address lpibly eating a subscription, Taform ws if you do not reaxive ‘Bulletin by te last week of alternative months starting from vary. ack ines Rs 8/83 each. yKAYAN BULLETIN Alipur Road, shi—110 058 one § 2523990, Law, Democracy And Human Rights Upendra Baxi over again, radical niques of the law in Tain are eartigulatingtbemslves ‘The reductionist theme is well-worn ‘arn less persousive for hal. The criqu teases ws ecognize thatthe awe i nsrument of cass domi ‘organizing the dbadvantage, of fractring tei m arstend doriating te people’ struggles fora ust soxey Tui onique provides ra, bloody, here-and-now accounts ol the actual suffering of subjugated Tadin citizens. "The radial enigue of la basa procial summonin urgency. tnany struggle to teansform: or limit the Indian ta eee ie uate nw Doh a ology und as repesion has also Tobe sombalted. Impl in the eique ofthe law is vision ‘teounter-lay, an altermatelpalty which wil base ite on storages, iScologies and pettces not merely diferent from but Taperior o those ofthe state bw. we ask precisely what these aarrret nt of, no lear answers emerge asf Dow expt perhaps savtfe soca with human face, The agonizing perplexies erik face have not as yet moved politcal discourse and practice the radical nique. “This indeed, to we Pere Bourdow's dificult phrase, the saneory of prac” of those who through a variety of struggles seek wo limit oe transform the Indian state. The critique is —Gpenia aa ihe Dir ese we ‘valuable and must not be ignored: And, surprisingly, or perhaps ol, it carries a mestage simular in raul, though alter instances where jadges and judicial power have wilted before the imperious assertion of exevtivesopermcy, where they have ‘proved powerless to change things forthe better by mere haneiaion of constitutional norms (ight to speedy tril ‘Compensation fr violation of fundamental right, right 19 Tielbood). ‘Thete counterastances are true. And they tend to ‘Show that while the adjadicaive legal order is autonomous itis ‘only clay 20 ‘What does the relative autonomy ofthe adjudicative legal onder really mean? In oe seatence, i signifies independence Within dependence, The judiciary structured asa sate ‘pparati, may ot be transformed into a revolutionary one. But it may be deployed to develop an isurectionary jurisprudence, at eat ftom the standpoint of the executive ‘power oran el supremo, Ad this is what the processes of foci aston ligation, miscaled public interest tigation, for example, rch demonstrate, ‘Tey bave transformed the Suprome Court of India nto a Supreme Court for Indians ‘And the transformation vas itated by those who had grasped the meatiog of the contradictory reality ofthe state and te aw inlndia, Toda, ogatlet of many real ficulties, sci ‘eign ligation has ensuted democratization of judicial acces, theright to acces fo usin thowgh inarticulate present in the {ext and content of the Constitution, a the most basic of all fights Iritis premature to elebete the sucess of soci Astin Migation ax inaugurating a new hum righis Jarapredence i indi fs equally untimely to offer a requiem oft mM ow isit that this independence in dependense for judi power as an apes of ate power was allowed 10 emerge in the [rn place? "The tendency to avoid simple answers because they reample must be avoided here, And the simple answer was Provided bythe Communist Manifesto where Macx and Engles ‘wrote, ina mach maisqoted phrase, that the sats the Tanaging commie of the whole Bourgvisi. Note the word Whole The bourgeoisie 8 whole represents «certain Kind of ‘nity within dso, The stato, i hasbeen righ si, does tot tehave as an omoiraiona, deal, collective capitalist thas omunage intrelite conics, epresented by diverse material {interests of the fractions of capil, Autonomous judiciary, owtoeer lative neesary to mediate intarclae and = faterclass confit, Relatively independent judiciary x not = Primarily intended to create sate-fre spaces forthe sual ‘Utne tix designed, consiousy or oterwis, to mediate onifitng interests within the ali forwation, ‘All he becomes exiting clear when we eal, for czampl, that contemporary Lediapreseats a peculiar capitalist tain that aside fom capitalism we as ind tate captain {nd sateregulated capitalism, Stat capitalism has ovr time ‘Created a ole new ealegory, if nota clas, of stat bourgeoisie ‘howe interests offen confit with the fractions of capital. This TEporculany so inthe area of finance capital where the stato toons lage hough te nationalization of banks and insurance fd forcgn exchange regulation. The conflicts are acute and prolonged, asthe recent Escorts Cave sugests, It becomes Important forth state to have elaively autonomous judiciary to mediate these confets, so that to a seta extent they Besome distanced from overt pote. itis inthe aena of sateregulated capitalism that we find capital fighting the state apparatus: andthe fight usually {ates place in courts, though of cours not only there, And ‘ypicelly the idiom is tha of rights, The rights are couched in {tems of fundamental rights aad righ to natucal justice and fair play. Not so explicitly, but through their dep structure, we find at east the following rights against the state clined by capitalist classes — the ight to ox planning, Siamese win of tax evasion and fess = the ight to immunity from the proce of law searches and wines, and even ids), — the eh to met favoured testment (leading industritits Should be iimune from hats treatment whic shoul be regularly and mindesy rested to when dealing ith the ‘pled cate: ito te lack af erniral roseton ft Unsion Ceti India Lid top management for cating eth nd daabement on a massive sale, nd the rcet “Thapar ex); = herigh to exploit unorganized abou aigrnt,cit! and female labour, — the ight to exploit consomers = the ight to gender exploitation (hing and wage policies sMfcting women, exploitation of ex i adveraement amigos een trough sate owned elton meth — theright to plat ok at th ets before the Supreme {Court where eminent lawyers, o bball of industry argue that water pllatonequpmnst ito cowl or ha the roscation iridled with teshnval defect 9 mater bother the same angers contribte to human rights and {olny protection afer court bouts or on weekend) — theright to mismanagement (eg ration of ck erie milo be taken ove y the ste ~ the ight to oreunine pti dependencies rough fending of polis! prt) — the right telly injre publi ells hrovgh ‘manipulation route opposition to regulatory lw eg. ru conto — therient to appropriation ofthe achievements of pro-poor, soci action tigation araprudenoe (the right fo pein gerrated by har unr ete 7 {Sought be invoked fr “smagler” a wel dete SowticeChinnapa Res recent Sem rer t extend tis Fight to the rewurcef — the right 1 conpcaoes consumption: ‘And, of course, statereglated capitalism ig not an ssversryof private capitals; it isan ally which has often to ‘masquerade as an adversary. Very rarely, it appears as an adversary in public discourse, But when iso does, we se the hideous face of state and clas power though the law ain the Iegatiaton of black money through the Bearer Bonds Act, and {ts consttutionalzation bythe Supreme Court of India, ela by some ofits most stv justions ‘Weate at an interesting conjuncture ofthis interaction between sate and capital, a the evolving jrispradence of Fairfax and Bofors has begun to show. The confit betwen ‘managers ofthe India state and faction of capital has now reached full-blown proportions. ‘This is clearly showa bythe current discourse between Ramnath Goenka and Rajiv Gandhi over the Express rai, arly a refletion of contest between two well kaown industrial ants, If the freedom of press emerges as a major publ ste, tis Because the rhetoie of rights helps mask buss instability and disruption within the govering cts, Thus the managers ‘ofthe people conduct the dicourseof power intr se through the theoroof rights “The struggles of hose who are managed must en refsing ‘to be the grass when elephants fight; and in, ast were, ‘jacking th aren ora aerate vison of fadandenoeriy, gy fate andthe law to convert an iatr-clasdituption into 8E resource fr intrclas relations Activ as idologucs ofthe people, should try to rep the whirlwind around the Bofors ‘eal, not resting content with a change in players but ariulting ‘demand that the rules ofthe gums, which constitute the game, ‘must be altered fundamental ‘Thos, one may struggle for an enuecaton ofa righ toa clean ‘deficient governance, wihost which all fundamental rights ae meanings. ‘They must refuse to bear itany more by © Straggle agsist micr-fascism symbolised by routine ect of coraption, which makes impoverishmest, staggering human Imagination, even more unendurib. ‘One principal message of these elections tha the state needs relatively autonomous jadiciany for its own ditinet, Drposes, fo codify and recodify dominant power relation; to ‘convert an indirect ral, as twee, of the bourgeoisie into a iret rte bythe managers ofthe sate ove them By the same token, all hose who endetvour to iit and ven transform the state, also needa relatively autonomous diary as providing democrat space for their own sre. ‘A reductionist critique of state and law deprives us not merely of ‘his rial insight, but leads us to a deprivation ofthe aves of 18 Jay and adjudication for change. Cite of tcl ation Iiigation among the activists ought to appreciate the radical ses ‘of adjudiative legal order and its conttbution to creation of ‘onditon for more elestve emancipatory seuggles? v Itisto te hoped tha activists wil, ver tim, amend the ical erigue of state law recogeizing the fall pay of Complenty and contraction; this wil also have some impoct ‘a the practice of activin. Dt thi, while important, does not {ake eareof the other dilemmas conioating activists. Even ‘when one may regatd clarity and eoberence ns racial resources Tor protection and promotion of burma right thee is no easy ‘way in which these maybe aquired and sustained in coneste Tirogees for vights. The dilemmas of activist are acute and real (@) Empowerment, Disempowerment ra, tw ook att new idiom of some of ou atv Inher docnune ot nee wn aon) wo od the {pealig eens of tee fot india nnd ‘sins se ob empowered te state mat be ‘Srrepondigydsempowered Broa tention seems tobe thurputiptry,elfvelat sd ay Somocraie dodopmest tay nt or unite shadow of te wtat—barnaray poe Iu pray foes. Sol sve cen bt ent a8 itocumeutyoftenfomaton there xt expe tate rec reas Ta one may ot te propor, il taking reds ‘imongpoweatb tat rl vletry agence be eet trent eile snd segsltry ooh o ett {ear te sda fhe Kd Connon, esha alowed to peor pret actos or ong ere "Thisnothn ct dowmpowerment makes sete Bu shoul it teesenad lhe way? Obvious not Asis do ask that ew tows may be une aden the wort forms of vlatont Funan rhein the rl oie, wal anos with he most eee fra socal beavoue torte ih 2 ator eval of gon alr and eb Soul tee pot te tice low ad eatin fo exams om at dowry Inurdersseccetveaborions tough th abuso nlcetes tigen, mation sx ieinination wick fetes new form Of Sted fea afte, il ss, familia violence against women, atrocities agsinst dit, tploitation of bonded, migrant and contract labour? The answer [ses The dituly with tis answor that it empower the Fat, a it were, onthe insistent demand of activi themssves, ‘And therefore, an immediate caveat sues: he state muse not, te “undemocratic” compulsions through law and executive ‘What ae these “undemocratic” compulions? At roent ‘public mestng in New Deli on st in Rajasthan, Lurge, for Frample thatthe state police, ori need be the pars-miitary Fores ofthe Union, should do all they canto ip this vi fevival inthe bud, a i¢ were, This rested a how of protest fine this would empower the state abi 100 mach, Acts mere worried about state lector; the discourse on Panjab was Inumediately invoked! And it was even sad that force of te fate was aot an effective answer to problems of changing fatral styles and values! you then a how wil activists deal with these {manifsations you are told tha they would stage non-violent provet, without a Mohandas (the word "Gandhi" may now 20 Fonger be used fo him). When you frter ask how each protest will suse before tens of thousands of sword-wiiing Rajput mals, they would say iis the job ofthe state to protect the free exercise of freedom of speech and association; this means that union parscitay forces oe sate police have a duty t0 proc he protestors against sat! bt they have no watraat to UBpoot fetcly the resurgence of the practice. Obviously what Istiote protection for activist i sat error against the Detpeeaors of sat ’A similar kindof ‘log’ has pervaded our approach tothe tradition of the worst forms of uncoushabiity, i the mame Df liming the sate through rights and the rue oflaw we are Fontent to allow a state of affsirs when untouchables, forty years fer independence, may not draw water from the saarka Wels, where the Chamar, gules: ofthe age, physical ability and Flimaticcondvons and time of diy nd night is coetoed to dra {he areas away from the vilage only because be is a Chamar, Ivhere an untouchable maybe Inches bythe Thakur at hie whim and wil. And if you ask the same activist whether the [eployment of Indian troops in Sei Lanka was juste, some [ua say i vas usted for the protection ofthe ethnic isoties, An action dross the sas lands sified for the very fame reasons Tor which it would be condemned if wied at bom 88 - Je ej on inte, Man athe afi Al he fe ome fara, Ls ee ae eee tea tae why dd th stv hae to ma fr the ‘be justified. We fet, again rightly, that bloodthirsty justice is [® tHE another example, why did women’s groups at ‘inhumane and that in the long rus it does not deter. But let us4¥e (0 Wait from 1979, when some of them protested against ‘sk ourselves whether the provision of such a sentence is, not 4 Btimation procession for sui from the Chandni Chowk to all its indiscriminate application, for calculated dowry murder?* 80%t Club, till 1987? rnecesaiy a bad thing? Should we not introduce auch a. -Dificult questions these; but ones that need tobe ee een da rans aie tetid, (ocalenacuinn rays terrae ae inthe top management ofthe companies which engage in sunt Prdenc and tcc, ch of which nex disinet ‘behaviour only for profits? Imagine if a prosecution for [cmtion. It those in power can claim un eternity in the pesebogohi bray capele ema tg omepey Cepek eeraedecrn perf Feta. Udalinkaerceny tae Recess: [ieee causa camsecomie ames ae bp erpear pony peed ronment re peoreromelrg de Wes foc rpra coon qk pcr tt etn rete? re fa ech ec eat ak prose “The problem of mead of intervention tums ott be Se aera ee car helms Ontseeed pauls et Eee eee Seen ae abel oak erg es aes er tely kts waar foneren ho meee gee 0 othe pont that we apprehend a ate wih vast powers. Btn”. AS fo the Bt, docs the acs arcuate acrimony PETE hg foe ocr dapmbte spartan” [epee tr gape fear among those who would indulge in uch behaviour. The ,$hide ora Moody hovel? Or both? Do ou reinforce fre canadien towards dignity of dicouse or asl the beastly sis mt eee celle eft coseneazes een thw whoa ote? No mater man ieee gg ‘SS reoune his sour aogtier alow eter the Pals, you ner cov fou dieeune nwo wom tee 8S tata of controling the privileged las deviance, whichis ess {Cocos of eedibilty on eter side. Activists have Cone Men to hunt withthe Hound and ran withthe hares an platen bereie in which the rip, gt caught and are often lode. Pere re camino eration es rkique sles of dacoursAn ative aideal 9 (6) Dilemmas of Moment, Method, Mood, and {asta esiioutycomboae tt ihne snd Ye ood te ee Message ‘opportunistic poticsng. A Himalayan an this bat al. For the managers of the prope thereat wool of ‘Second ther are acutely diticut choices to be made and remade concerning the moment, the meted, the mood andthe ‘message of soil intereation. On the moment of intervention ‘ise thre exists interminable theoreti and actual Hood letting. Is there aright moment and an inapposte one? Can ‘one sy this in advance or only ia retrospect? What are the costs of misjudgement and who hast bear thes, aide fom thea Later i Do.we havea dzoureof moments among activist Whey ne tution cotonatio a ly of espeaioa, dees hae fo sy for example conering Bop” Why wey? pres comme czaerning Bhoral Why Wha tvash whi avo nat pn Arete ses intveton? The chow of tchnolog, can of pan, epg VHE of oterogemony and the se in the of workers npr asidents extensive expose ofthe uss freee pera aileieats i cape: ‘vodition atthe UCIL plant, and victimization of the load poroprate discourse styles. Active woud, by and large, ‘sist such training or counter power; even crgtszaton of ‘hang of reflections among them i often quit a difeutt erp, ‘The problem of arculatory styles is in esence, the “The problem ofan agenda of action includes the moment intervention but alto goes beyond It. Activists must do may {hinge at ones: “educate” copstuencies, lobby power, Fesort) to law (both a 0 este favoured judi outcomes and ‘utright legitative change), maintain such aseomplsimens © the ground asa pre-condition forgoing ahead with tak \isdosed by paral attainments, preserve thee cohesive morak find above all survive with integity a politcal actos Tall his one must realise two ational complexities: Fe cach apenda of exp socal ation, there are hidden agendas ‘Soong activists themselves at eohancng the viopias 264 ‘ontibuting tothe advent oftheir own millenia. And econ for ech activist agenda for ation there ithe countr-agenda ‘tthe state whieh as to be mace either compatible wi the Shjetves of democratic sca action or exposed fr what it 12 otis counter-agenda always represeats the cunning of ‘Siplal and the state It may appese in varooseuses: ns dvi for cooptation at strategems of consenss on what ought to be (done, an generation of fle consciousness thatthe tasks toward ich the struggles ae directed are about to be accomplished bystate action. "The promise of the guns ofstrugle immanent in shifts of potion stance, epsative policies and judicial ction bas to ery etalydespbered all along the way to avoid a fl ito {he bottomless pt of “efoemisn”™ used ere in its most erative sens. ‘socal activism or democratic social ation isa proses ot searing and unearnng through doing, it wil of couse, be ‘aturt for an agenda of ection to energe only through ation. ‘Ge mus leave the mirage of blue peatng of total change 10 e eehnocratic whi playing endlesly on computerey [Asuviam fosters those kinds of organic knowedes whic ‘Should ot be, idenly, emesable to subjucation bythe eri “if, tus, onc asks of roca aetvsm : should it be engaged caforcement and implementation of rights, willy, ‘tcognized by state power and the law, the answers yes! It ‘She further aks: shoud i aso be engaged in promoting the ‘Conception of new rights (dhe rght to food, to shelter, 0 work i velihood as Component rights ofthe right to ie and Tiers), the answer i also ‘yea Ifyou ak frter, wheter tctvsts ought to ensure the procest of realization of thew new Fish the ansver i also in the affirmative, "The thre sficmative answers awoke the Indian activists te esform al the twelve labours of Herel athe sae Une! ett does ons empower soca active as 2 storie proce ae oh theoretal production of pranties and progaeion etc eestion through practise? How do we crete cinaitons for gromh and aumulation of experience and Teesadg in ways which cumulatively tespond to the agents 0 tetvitm in Tdi today! wim in Wane ofthis becomes clear wen we ask covets quesinnt aro how do soit rote thei ations Stools Seca themscves and oter inthe wake of Sa they cattne nature of Hiduns and religion, srularsm and cone renalism, and thir poical economics, a8 providing eaten endominents to the people? Or should they, ere and Tonge Ste het mite to te rooting ofthe eit Are the net in Bhopal jute in educating themselves and the sa Bhopal into the deeper siroctures of catastrophe vane cme and tcheology domination, even atte cos of see ag ther bere and now" Or shoul they undertake, ean amsoe,opesdy actives of amelioration, faving asks winsial pedagogy tila dstat date? Cts the ater, Dow 2 are comp the ovay ofthe critique which embrace heat Oa ae now ar they to exape the charges of exploiting 87 canal ed emboli welenceof he Bhopal eastoPbe ‘ae liga? Dow, ke the infamous xntipede, oP an ing when asked how does she walk on hundred Tes st 072% Urterp walking and ignore the question? wat nav to be #Nstorcal force, continuing iaioges neon the many spendoured agents is essential: But celeett aot think tat whats hstoicaly nesessary is aes posable. This i 0 becase activist are previous ‘ee ter coma hie oom solar sytem and reg me puncedtechaologie for te penetration of thir inshoste sovereigns. er is the problem of accountabliy. Ever ready to inde the manegers ofthe state at tbe br of pul opinion ve steare unable to submit themselves tothe sume rigour of ae tcoountaily. Ifthe state aan asembiage of Papemely ev intins fai o provide rele 10 the Bhopal ‘WEims, ave the activits been abe to (espe tht Berok Tfowo afer resplendent alternative for victims? If SStnporation withthe states tainted by the origina sin ofits canst with the Union Cerbie, did the activists mobilize he pont comiienos to an exent where the immediate sede of nation wore rdresed through nationwide and international sistance? Undoubtedly, these are easy questions to ask of setvss, But one reason why the manager of state power €o ‘ot give much credence to activism is precely this with all {hei ritiqus of state power, the activists ref some areas no ‘more capable of doing what they aac the tate for defaulting, ‘When the victims, rightly or wrongly alo fel revictimized by social action groups, one must sso begin to acknowledge the “legtmation eis" time not so much ofthe state But of social activism aa historical process. Fourth, atv, as non-paty people, are often seen by the managers ofthe state a having no more than 4 nuisace vale, iow does his come about? From the standpoint of politial ‘power what the activists think a mobilization of public ‘pinion, orto use that barabrie notion ‘coneientzation’ proces is regarded, to parody Lenin's word, a ef-ing lofanalism. Take the example ofthe eflete opposition to the ‘tld labour bill whic has now become the aw ofthe land. The ‘opposition to it was through seminars and conferences— preaching to the converted, After is enattent thee is n0 ‘onsitatona challenge to he Act, no sgnieant effort ‘exposing the horrors ofits legalization; 0 atempts at caltvatng a campaign fori repeal. One reason may be that ‘many activists have mo alternate answers, ntrmofEveprints ‘of wiat canbe done; many themelves ae alleped to accept ‘hid labour in thei daily lives. The entre morality of protest is deeply fractured at so many points tha ifthe politcal managers regard it as an atv of opposition forthe sake of. ‘opposition, it would be difclt to persuade them others, ‘Activism thus renders ahistore opportunity to constrain the Fifth there isthe area of colosal default. Aer the open Iter to the Chet Justice of Inia on custodial rape of Mathur, almost all women's organisations joined in & massive campaign to reform the law on rape; they partialysaceded. Since then ‘stoi rapes have occured; sme activins have taken the ‘matters to cours, but the oveal response to this by the national ‘movement of womea’s rights has been miniscle, Tho very same sev who erie social ation Iiigation as syboi sberett ‘of any fllow-up ation, are theres unable to organize regional, et alone all-adia, vigilance onthe implementation of the aw, which they have Relped to rewrite, If the managers of the tate are tobe faulted for aymboti, gesturing legal reorms ‘whi they lack the polit wil to implement, how do We {essount forthe lack of on the part of socal activism and [Toke the moat spectacular example f recent defal. The ‘Parliament has just pateed a Lapal Services Bil which totally | denature the nial inspiration of Arte 39-A af the | Constitution and the labours of ngpted leadership by Jstioes | ike Justice Krishna Iyer, Bhagwat and D.A. Desi. There is | not a srap of exprestion of outage by or among the atv. | Bren Ela Bhatt of SEWA, whose activist oredeatias broght her |to Rajya Sabha a8 a nominated member, and who has fis-hand Knowledge ofthe legal needs ofthe unorganized, and Justice ‘Bhagwati an explosively atv justice aow i is retirement, hve fied, ofa o protest atthe governmental mockery of legal series, a conception asduously promoted by him and others, Where are one may ask, the activist voices protesting at ‘his historiedfatit? Ione is notable to generat a impact on ‘one's kindred in activism, how i one to be expected to [transform or limit the state? ts perhaps pointless to multiply the instances. Activists who indeftignbly lament and expose the peice ofthe state {nd class power aze simply unable o achleve ideological and praniologeal cohesion which woud etitle them to be Fecognized as historical tendensie, let aloe force. As riven by factonalsm and terorialty whih they condema in state and ‘lass power, ax ambvalnt i her vsion of alternate futures a8 the manager ofthe state are, as epsodclly excellent in ‘mobilizing’ public opinion on spectacular issues but devoid of ny transformative eapabiliis asthe manages activism overall als to sriously constrain the tate, Ta sense, through ter obsesion withthe condemnation ‘of state and clas power, some activist groupsend up interjeting thove very characteristics of power they so falsely ‘ondema. Ia this coatet, the arrogance of power stands feinforcd: to bareaerats and poltical managers tend to ‘isis activism a a very teplieation of power politics. Finally, without being exhaustive, activist groups are not wholly able to convey deep theoretical efetion on human nse to their own consents, For example, they must ‘wlingy do thei best for drought rel, shoulder to shoulder ‘wth the governing cites, Buti between droughts tbece ace ‘encounters where public education campaign on their underying ‘nuies—rapacious capalist framing; the permanent vested Interest of powerfalproup in conditions which impoversh the linkages tetween and among depletion of pant genetic is ‘iversiy, the pesticides and fertzed revolutions; the nature Interational depeodeney and exploitation, all need tbe | communieated in terms which will make sow tothe sal ‘amec and ladles labourer in immediate, existential terms, ‘opposed to critiques ofthe ‘development paradigm’ and proffering of alternate development. Very few atvsts in fn have the ality to transform erudite knowledges into organic ‘nes and vice versa. Ifthe constituents of change entepreneun begin to become ambivalent, Doth as regards he state and soc ‘tiv, Blaming the state fn eny, bt till an evasive responte. wv “The forgoing reetions assume entities called “activists” and processes called “activism; to them have been assigned the storie tole of linitog and transforming the state. No longer doce one giv, the post Marx texnario, either epistemological ‘orhistoeal priority tobe working lasses; one either abandons the or considers them tobe just one ofa numberof eollective ‘actos formed in te public sphere” engaged i the “production ofp”. “Tne bas come in Tada for frend interrogation of these nts and the procestes, Obviously this interrogation may proced ftom a umber of standpoints. One may ask ofthe scivits” and “activin uncomfortable questions concerning their las origins, their aeourtabilty to their constiuences, ‘ei impact a terms of politial power and their ideologies. ‘One may even condemn the as “non-puty poled formations”. have chosen to Jook at some acutely elt silemmes “These friendly questionings invite a wider dialogue onthe nature of iasks abead. Tt was Albert Einstein, who towards the nd of his luminous stentifecaree, sid that politi harder ‘than phys. IFone may add footnote to this observation, it will hae o be said tat the politics of promotion and Drotestion of human rights seven bade than the plies of

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