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1.    Right to Food

Introduction: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger has been one of the Millennium Development Goals. The handbook of the parliamentarians on MDG indicates that poverty reduction must be treated as fundamental human rights. The proportion of people living under BPL (Below Poverty Line) has come down yet 43.8% of the Scheduled Tribes and36.2% of the Scheduled Castes lives below the poverty line. Per capita income of Bihar is Rs 6400 per year and some states have earmarked Rs 9372 for rural and Rs 11580 for Urban people as BPL (Tendulkar Committee)

A family of 4 will get Rs. 781 per month in rural and Rs 965 per month in urban area for food. A family gets Rs 26 per day or Rs 32 per day respectively.  This means a person gets Rs 8 or Rs 12 per day for ones food.

If governments decide this as the margin for BPL, then how do you expect the person or the family to do well? How will they study, clothe and shelter themselves? Isn’t it a mockery of their fundamental human rights of food, clothing and shelter?

In an urban area a living place of 10x10 sq ft costs Rs 1500 as rent. Then what will they eat and clothe? Basing on these data kindly discuss among yourselves the plight of the poor people and food as fundamental right and become aware of the poverty in India as well as your role in eradicating poverty.

Awareness: Today there are 260 million people in India living below the official poverty line of Rs 12 per day. This is 30 % of the poor of the total poor population of the world.

More than half of the scheduled tribe and third of the scheduled castes is living BPL. 70% of Indian rural population is malnourished. Women and Children are a major part of it.  The gender discrimination of female makes them malnourished and as a result their children suffer malnourishment. The intake of calories has fallen in the recent past and there are suicides every 30 minutes in the agrarian families.  70 % of our population is rural and farming but the annual budget for agriculture is 2.7%

IT’S TOUGH TO BE POOR

Table: Courtesy: The Times of India on 21.09.2011 front page.

Deepening the Fact:

a.    What is the reality? Why is this situation?
b.    Who are involved in this and what is their attitude towards the poor?
c.    Have you come across these poor or are you a part of this? 
d.    What way you have contributed to this problem?
e.    What are the causes of this situation and what are the consequences?


Reflection: Analyze the situation taking into consideration the poor you know or want to know

a.    If you were a poor what would be your attitude towards this situation?
b.    What are the values involved in this? Which values would have changed the situation?
c.    What does your religion speak about the poor and this situation?
d.    What is your decision for self transformation?


Action: Take prompt action to become aware and change your mindset or attitude

a.    What is your decision for change?
b.    What is your cell/unit’s decision for change?
c.    What activity you undertake to experience this situation? When and How?


Proposed Activity:

1.    Make a study on Govt. policy on BPL
2.     Visit BPL families and register their reality of daily life
3.    Join hands with an NGO to help BPL families get their right to food
4.    Fast a day to experience the plight of the poor and to transform yourself
5.    Share a meal with your poor classmate at regular intervals to be a part of BPL
6.    Refer Supreme Court Judgments and make a study of it: Integrated child development services, Midday meal scheme, Targeted public distribution system, Antyodaya Anna Yojana, National old age pension scheme, National Maternity benefit scheme, National family benefit scheme, Accountability of Gram Sabhas, Access to information, Schemes not be discontinued.


Evaluation: After the activity come together in the cell and share your experiences. If you have changed your attitude about the poor hungry people share it with your cell members. If you have failed to understand the situation what would be your action as an YCS/YSM member?


2.    Food and Nature

Introduction: In Thiruvanamalai, a village in Tamilnadu farmers were working together and getting their crops from the land that belonged to them. Since ages they worked in this area and the mother earth fulfilled their daily needs. People were poor but they were happy in what they produced and they lived peacefully.

At a given time probably in 1972 a young man from the village who studied in the urban area started land dealing business. Some of the poor uneducated families were shown interest in money and he wooed them to sell their land for a cash price. The people who had never seen such cash in their hand started feeling great and for the greed of money started selling their properties and settled in semi urban areas. The land they owned was sold off for a good price but permanently they lost their livelihood. These real estate people made big money and became rich at the expense of these poor farmers.

The money they earned by selling off their land was spent on building a house for themselves and gadgets. A day came when they realized that they had nothing to eat and nothing could be done. They became daily wage earners working at other’s mercy.

The land sold was used by the developers to build housing colonies and factories. In the bargain the soil lost its worth, atmosphere was polluted, greenery was lost, and the arable land became useless for cultivation. The God given land was lost forever and now they await nature’s fury.

Awareness: Today the cultivated land has been used for factories and housing purpose. Space for cultivation has lessened. Every year 1.3 million hectares of forest and greenery is reduced to these purposes. Earth is losing its balance for population and food that they require to survive. Production is gone down. Hybridization of food grains has given way to poor quality of food and diseases. Use of pesticides has corroded the earth and killed the life of mud. Animals and birds have lost their food and several species of these have vanished from the earth. Natural resources are grabbed by a few and the people have become poorer. Nature’s fury is venting its anger on the mankind.

Deepening the fact: Deepen the fact with these questions.

a.    What is the reality? Why is this situation?
b.    Who are involved in this and what is their attitude towards life?
c.    Have you come across this kind of incidents in your vicinity? 
d.    What are the causes of this situation and what are the consequences?


Reflection: Analyze the situation taking into consideration nature and food production.

a.    If you were a member of this family what would be your attitude towards this situation?
b.    What are the values involved in this? Which values would have changed the situation?
c.    What does your religion speak about the nature and this situation?
d.    What is your decision for self transformation?


Action: Take prompt action to become aware of the plight of the nature.

a.    What is your decision for change?
b.    What is your cell/unit’s decision for change?
c.    What activity you undertake to understand this situation? When and How?


Proposed Activity:

1.    Make a study on the nature and cultivable land that is lost due to these activities.
2.    Visit a natural site to enjoy the natural resources earth has given us (Study tour).
3.    Visit a farmer family who lost or sold their land to understand their remorse.
4.    Make a study on the Real Estate Business.
5.    Hold a chart competition on Natural disaster or nature’s fury or effects of deforestation.


Evaluation: After the activity come together in the cell and share your experiences. If you have changed your attitude about the nature’s beauty and worth share it with your cell members. If you have failed to understand the reality what would be your action as an YCS/YSM member?

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