Ranchi: More than 3,000 grassroots activists from 15 states recently met in Ranchi, capital of Jharkhand state, and called for a ban on forcible land acquisition and end to corporate control over food systems and policy.
The sixth national convention of Right to Food activists also demanded food for all and maternity benefits to village women.
The September 23-25 convention that also addressed agrarian crisis, land grabs and food security insisted that water be used first for drinking, then for domestic purposes agriculture. Industrialization and urbanization should be the last users of water, the participants said in their resolution.
The meet also explained to the delegates the right to food in the context of seed sovereignty and food sovereignty and called for ban on forceful land acquisition and end to corporate control over food systems and policy. It also endorsed the struggle against BT mustard and implementation of the Forest Rights Act and other legislations related to land.
A number of activist leaders addressed the inaugural plenary.
Jesuit Father Stan Swamy of Bagaicha briefly discussed the struggles for jal, jungle and zameen (water, forest, and land) in Jharkhand.
Bezwada Wilson, national convener of the Safai Karmchari Andolan, a movement to eradicate manual scavenging in India, criticized Indian prime minister’s silence over growing marginalization in the country. He said the country spends millions of rupees on the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Movement) when hundreds of thousdands people are forced to indulge in “contemptible act” of manual scavenging.
Soni Sori, an Adivasi leader from Chhattisgarh, talked about the atrocities inflicted on her and other indigenous people in Bastar, a region in the central Indian state. A new group called Bastar Battalion is being created to further indict Adivasis on the pretext of tackling anti-national forces, she alleged. Thousands of innocents are still in prisons, many routinely raped and tortured.
Jean Dreze, a Belgian-born Indian development economist who has been influential in the country’s economic policy making, cautioned against the mandatory used of Adhar (base, India’s Unique Identification Number) to access subsidized food from local ration shops. This, he explained, is part of a larger state project of Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT). The state, he reasoned, wants to transfer money in lieu of cash and how that can be detrimental to food security because the amount of cash transferred will not be pegged with the price fluctuations of food grains in the market.
Jesuit Father Irudaya Jothi, who represented West Bengal, shared grassroots activists in most districts in his eastern Indian state have managed to utilize the space given by the government to lobby for the rights of the people to quality food. He also stressed that the recent publication of West Bengal PDS (Public Distribution System) Rule 2016 needs time for debates and discussion with the government for a better grievance redressal mechanism.
The convention also organized a “youth plenary” facilitated by young members of the campaign. It was addressed among others by Kanhaiya Kumar from New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, Damodar Turi of Visthapan Virodhi Jan Sangathan (anti-displacement union), Shyama Singh of Latehar-based Gram Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, Bhanwar Meghvanshi, a Dalit writer and editor, Diamond India, Nadeem Khan of All India People’s Forum.
The largest number of women, 252 delegates, at the venue, Gossner campus, was from Udayani social Action Forum from West Bengal. They also brought 15 men along. After landing at Ranchi railway station they marched to the venue, 2 kilometers away carrying banners and placards.
The convention started with a rally where the activists raised slogans celebrating their struggles and victory of getting the National Food Security Act (NFSA) implemented.
The opening program ended with state representatives highlighting difficulties faced by people in accessing ration. A large part of it, they claimed, is mediated through untested and inappropriate technological interventions that have become substitutes of accountability of the administration.
Gita Bag of Udayani said she was proud to attend the convention as she felt she owned it. “I am proud and happy because this is our program,” she told Matters India.
Pushpa Murmu, another Udayani activist, said she was traveling first time such long distance to come to the ‘Disam’ (country of tribals). “It is a dream come true,” said the woman, who was seen moving around the venue admiring everyone.