INVITATION

Third Arvind Memorial Seminar

Democratic Rights Movement in India: Orientation, Problems and Challenges 22-23-24 July, 2011 Lucknow (U.P.)

Organisedby:

Arvind Memorial Trust

Lucknow
Dearfriend, In memory of our dearest Com. Arvind, who left us on 24 July 2008, we are organising the Third Arvind Memorial Seminar in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. In view of its relevance and pertinence, the topic of this years seminar is Democratic Rights Movement in India: Orientation,ProblemsandChallenges. The untimely demise of our brilliant and energetic young comrade Arvind caused an irreparable loss to the workers movement, cultural movement and themovement for alternative peoples media in India. The founding of Arvind Memorial Trust and Arvind Institute of Marxist Studies is a humble and collective endeavour to forge his memory into resolve and to transform griefintostrength.ThefirstandsecondArvindMemorialSeminars(July2009,DelhiandJuly2010, Gorakhpur) focused on the orientation, prospects, problems and challenges of working class movementinIndiaintheeraofglobalization. This time the threeday seminar focuses on the condition, orientation, problems, challenges and prospects of the democratic rights and civil liberties movement in India. The longterm and contemporary importance and relevance of subject is selfevident. The question has been raised

time and again that whatever limited democratic rights the Indian constitution gives to common people, are snatched away and suspended by provisions present in the constitution itself. It has also been pointed out repeatedly that despite the recommendations of various commissions and committees and some glossovers and patchwork, the spectre of colonial past is still haunting the entire edifice of law and order, police and civil administration. Consequently, even the limited democratic rights that somehow seep through the constitution get entangled in the cobweb of our legal system and bureaucracy. Only the vocal, educated and economically welltodo sections of the society have a reach to constitutional remedies. The common people cannot expect more than legal remedies and that too becomes a mere ritual in most of the cases due to corruption and redtape. Millions of cases pending for decades, undertrial prisoners languishing in jails for years, fake encounters, torture, denial of rights to political prisoners, police atrocities these are allwellknownfacts. Somesocialscientistsarguethatit wasimpossibletoempowerpeoplewithsovereigntyand democratic rights in true sense without a radical rupture with the imperialist world and without radically transforming the landrelations. This, indeed, is a serious question of history. Another lingering question is whether the democratic rights of dalits and religious minorities can remain protected in a society where secularism has not been established as a complete separation of religionfrompoliticsandallpublicaffairs! This is no coincidence that in the past twenty years of privatisation and liberalisation, the number of draconian laws has increased both at the centre as well as state level, and the character of police and civil administration has become increasingly oppressive and autocratic. Adivasis and other poor people are being displaced at gun point from their lands for the plunder ofnaturalresourcesandcheaplabourpowerandinmanyareasofthecountrythegovernmentis waginganundeclaredwaragainstthepeopletocrushtheextensivepopularangerinthenameof fighting terrorism and Maoism . It also needs to be highlighted that in Kashmir and in the statesofNorthEastwheretheArmedForces(SpecialPowers)Actisinforcefordecades,people are practically living under army rule. For them, the democratic rights given by the constitution meannothing. The past two and a half decades have also seen the rise of religious fundamentalism, particularly the forces of Hindutva, and most horrible communal riots and massacres since partition. It is not without reason. Economic conservatism (the socalled neoliberalism) has prepared fertile ground for religiousracialethnic conservatism. Even the limited democratic space has shrunk rapidly in the past two decades and the weaker sections of the society have been the most affected. Though resistance has become more vocal against the autocratic and oppressive tendencies based on caste and gender present within the social fabric of India, the newmisanthropiccultureofcapitalhasgivennewvigourandvitalitytothem.

Through this seminar we intend to engage with all the intellectuals who are active in the struggle for democraticrights and civil liberties jurists, academicians, social activists, writers, media persons and cultural activists on the abovementioned conditions. We also intend to bringtheliveandburningissuesandproblemsofthedemocraticrightsmovementtothecentre ofthedebateandsharetheconcernsemanatingfromthepresentconditions.
The struggles to defend the democratic and civil rights have been going on in different

corners of the country. However, hardly anyone would deny the fact that these are scattered and inadequate. Progressive, secular intellectuals and social activists committed to democratic rights are so numerous that if they raise their voice in unison they can become a power to reckon with. However,thebittertruthisthattodaytheresponsetotheonslaughtagainstthedemocraticrights has become even less effective than earlier. Ironically, the number of democratic rights

organisations in various parts of the country has increased as compared to the past. They might have some theoretical disagreements over the nature and orientation of democratic rights movement, but the serious and worrying question is why are they not able to raise their voice in unison against even some very important issues of state repression and draconian laws of long termorimmediateconsequence?Whyisitthatthedemocraticrightsorganisationsofthecountry failtoformajointfrontonanysuchburningquestion?
Of even broader perspective and more fundamental importance is the question whether

the democratic rights movement should limit itself only to filing writ petitions, organising signature campaigns, publishing reports by sending factfinding teams and holding symbolic protest demonstrations? Should not we ask ourselves why there is no participation of those common people in the democratic rights movement, whose democratic rights are violated everyday at every step of their lives? Why has the meaning of democratic rights movement been reduced to some enlightened gentry raising the issues of the common people? Why has it shrunk merely to a symbolic agitation or legal battle against the repression of political opposition by the state, fake encounters and false cases? Dont we need to transform the democratic rights movement into a mass movement with a broad social base? Should it not be a part of our basic tasks to make the common people aware and conscious of their democratic and civil rights, and organisethemfortheprotectionandextensionofthesame?

No doubt, these are big questions; however, big questions too confront us only to be answered. We intend to make a humble beginning through a meaningful discussion on these basic issues, and some pertinent and important peripheral issues related to them. We extend a heartfelt invitation to all intellectuals who are active and interested in this field jurists, academicians, media persons, cultural activists, writerspoets, and social activists, to come and participate in thisdiscussion.Wehopethatifweputourheadstogether duringthesethreedaysofformaland informalexchanges,wewillsurelybeabletogetsomeclueofthedirectioninwhichwecanmove ahead. We will try that besides the discussion on orientation and problems of the democratic rights movement, there are also discussions and paper presentations on the related issues of religious fundamentalism,oppressionofdalitsandwomen,theabductionofdemocraticrightsofpeoplein thenortheastandKashmir,thewarwagedbythegovernmentagainstthepeopleinthenameof combattingMaoism,variousdraconianlawsanddemocraticrightsmovementandthemedia. We will welcome if you can come with your paper/writeup. And we will be obliged if you canintimateusaboutitbyJuly10.Ifyoucansendyourpaperinadvance,itwillbeeasierforus toplanthesessions. We sincerely request you to participate in this seminar. Kindly, inform us about the date of yourarrival,bus,train,flight,etc.onanyofthemobileorlandlinenumbersgivenattheback.You can also contact us for any information on the email ids. We promise you of warmhearted hospitalityandassureyouthattherewouldnotbeanykindofinconvenience. Awaitingyourreply. Withsincereregards, Meenakshy(ManagingTrustee) AnandSingh(Secretary) Katyayani,Satyam(Member)

Arvind Memorial Trust

Programme 22July Firstsession:(10AMto1PM) Welcomeaddress.Introduction. Presentationofkeypaper. Secondsession:(3PMto8PM) Discussiononkeypaper. Presentationofotherpapers. 23July Firstsession:(10AMto1PM) Presentationofpapersanddiscussions. Secondsession:(3PMto8PM) Presentationofpapersanddiscussions. 24July Firstsession:(10AMto1PM) Presentationofpapersanddiscussions. Secondsession:(3PMto8PM) Discussionsanddeliberations. Sumupofviewsandideaspresentedinthe seminar. Lunchbreak:1PMto3PM Teabreakduringsecondsession: 6PM BreakfastforguestsatNehruYuvaKendra: 8:30AMto9:30AM DinnerforguestsatNehruYuvaKendra: 9PMonwards

Venue: ValmikiRangshala,UttarPradeshSangeetNatakAcademy,NearReserveBankofIndia campus,VipinKhand,Gomtinagar,Lucknow Guestsaccomodation: JawaharLalNehruRashtriyaYuvaKendracampus,NearRoomiGate,Chowk,Lucknow Youcancontactanyofthesemembersoftheorganisingcommittee, ortheLucknowofficeoftheTrust: MeenakshyPh:9212511042,Email:meenakshy@arvindtrust.org AnandSinghPh:9689034229,Email:anand.banaras@gmail.com KatyayaniPh:9936650658,Email:katyayani.lko@gmail.com Satyam9910462009,Email:satyamvarma@gmail.com AddressofLucknowoffice: 69A1,BabakaPurwa,PaperMillRoad,Nishatgunj,Lucknow226006 Email:info@arvindtrust.org,arvindtrust@gmail.com Website:arvindtrust.org