Local is true universal

Local thinking, local-global action

Lenin Raghuvanshi, Convenor, PVCHR

I am highly obliged to ZEBRA for providing me this valuable opportunity. Here I would
like to discuss how local thinking can be transformed into global. Local is true universal.
This means local people are inevitable part of globe, which requires local-global action
base on local thinking for the survival of people with dignity.
In this regard I would like to draw your kind attention on participation and empowerment
of marginalized communities of Damahi village of India, in their hunger situation. This
village is very near to the village Dabahi of Aharoura, related with small dalit girl PINKI,
whose film “Smile Pinki” has won Oscar Award for best documentary film for this year.
Initially this marginalized community was reluctant and afraid to explain their situation
before anybody, but when they were encouraged and mobilized to explain their
situation, they came forward and talked about their hunger situation before human
rights activists. Thus they uncensored themselves against the fear created by
patriarchal-feudal system and feudal forces. The human rights activists highlighted the
issues regarding hunger situation, bonded labor practices, absolute crisis of rule of law,
corruption in PDS, torture of marginalized community and class by the local police in
the name of Naxalism. On the basis of these facts Hong Kong based regional Human
Rights group Asian Human Right Commission (AHRC) issued urgent and hunger
appeals and Peoples’ Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) filed petitions to
the Chief Secretary UP, District Magistrate Mirzapur, National Human Right
Commission, Supreme Court Commissioner on Right to Food. Further the AHRC raised
the issue before UN, international and national human rights institutions. NHRC send
notice to the Chief Secretary UP, District Magistrate Mirzapur. Thus voice of these
marginalized people had been amplified. Apart from this print and electronic media have
played important role in highlighting the situation. The impacts of this amplification are
as follows:
• Many official teams visited the locality and under emergency action food grains
had been distributed among starving families.
• With immediate effect four hand-pumps have been bored for potable water.

• 53 families got Antyodaya Ann Yojana AAY (red ration card) as urgent.

• Irregularities in distribution of ration at PDS have been rooted out.

• 54 job cards under National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) have
been issued to the community people.
• One bigha (2/3 acre) land has been allotted to each mushar family for
agriculture.
Thus administration has been awakening due to local-global action and every musher
family of Damahi has got basic amenities and other facilities from the government. It
means if we want social transformation, local thinking must be included which support
the opinion “Local thinking, local-global action.”
It is very important to understand the phenomena of local-global action on the local
thinking. There is a gap in the policies and its implementation at grass root level. This
gap can only be identified while working at grassroots and realizing through
“participatory evaluation process”. This requires organizing campaign and
awareness programme with the aim of inculcating such values and imparting such
knowledge which go into making a human being more humane and awake to the task of
creation a world, where all beings co-exist peacefully. For this local to global campaign
is followed at three levels. Firstly, at gross-root level, it can be campaigns to change
people’s perception and local norms. It does not only mean work to get policies into
placed, but also monitoring policies and pressuring them to be enact as well as work to
ensure that the intended beneficiaries are aware of policies and have a sense of
ownership for them. Secondly, at national level, it might be government’s regulations
legislation or industrial/development policies which are anti-people that are challenged
and, thirdly, at international level, to influence international institution, this in turn will
put pressure on the national government for appropriate action on issues.
Since justice requires un-censorship and breaking silence and the demoralized
communities confine themselves within some unwritten law and they have no courage
to break this law to un-censor themselves, so the foremost thing is to encourage the
people to break their silence and un-censor themselves to speak about their sufferings
and pain. This requires:
• The location from where the rules of censorship can be broken.

• The will to break such rules of censorship.

• Creation of audience for hearing.

• Continue the process until the problem is fully dissolved.

The PVCHR is striving to comply with above requirements through testimonial process,
honor ceremony, folk school, peoples’ tribunal, demonstration, protest and local
meetings. The community people share their problem at this platform and enrich with
confidence to continue their struggle. Their problems are being discussed at peoples’
resistance platform and it can be published at local level through print and electronic
media, leaflets and peoples’ centric advocacy is done before appropriate authority.
Modern technology of internet is used to give the voice for the pain and suffering of the
most vulnerable section of the society. A network is created through web to create a
mass campaign on these problematic issues. Thus the voice of the community is
amplified and it reaches to the government and administration. Now the government
and administration cannot ignore the problems of the community. However for
sustaining it individual alone are not sufficient. PVCHR itself may be an extension of its
leader, providing him/her the necessary organization supports in order to mobilize
people into movement around the campaign’s issue which is critical for greater impact
at the national and grass-root level.
PVCHR is fighting back the caste system of India through participatory activism in
philosophy of “local thinking and local-global action”. Now Dalit is un-censoring
themselves and claiming their own rights in sustained way, Fighting Dalit associated
with PVCHR asking,

”We ask, "Is the earth alone?" Don't you have to go to the earthworm,
busy making earth fertile, and ask before taking any important decision!
Who knows if the ants are more concerned about the earth’s future than you?

I am worth an earthworm. For you I am only an ant to be crushed.

My human rights puny before your demon rights

We may be insignificant come on.

Agreed
yet our claim over the earth is no way less than yours.”

In last I would like to conclude by saying that any process should be taken after taking
into account the peoples’ emancipation and empowerment. For this, people should be
involved in decision making, implementation and ownership, which inculcates the
participatory activism. However there is the possibility that people may give
unsystematic and un-concentrated idea. After scientific analysis and validation base on
values of justice, equity and non-violence, systematic and concentrated idea will be
generated and this idea should certainly be the peoples’ idea for dissolution of
centralized structure in favour of control system of small communities solving local
problems with their own material and intellectual resources.