RADICAL SOCIAL CHANGES
are direly needed in the current critical circumstances in our country. Ever since we the Indian people in our march for freedom adopted the resolution for complete independence through the December 1929 session of the Indian National Congress, and marked 26 January as the ‘independence day’ to be celebrated every year thereafter, it is this historic day which in reality inspires our vision and guides our action for building a liberal, democratic, socialist republic ending all exploitation of man by man and ushering in a welfare society in consonance with the ancient ideal of ‘sarve-jana sukhino-bhavantu’ (let all people live happily). However, we are still very far from achieving that ideal and in the words of the National Alliance of People’s Movements, “Country is fighting with food scarcity. Farmers are committing suicide. Economic inequality had crossed the limits. Corruption had forced the citizens to come on the roads. Parliament is not working towards upholding the true spirit of the constitution. Capitalist Market forces have taken over Justice and Equality; displacement and exploitation of the natural resources became high. Participation of the ‘Gram Sabha’ … became low in the decision making process of development …. … New ports and townships, mega dams, National parks, Sanctuaries, Forest Conservation, Mining, Industries and Special Economic Zones are coming up in the name of so called development and industrialization. By this … capitalist forces are making profit and displacing the native people from their land. No social security for the workers in the cities as well. … Cities are witnessing infrastructure development for the rich day by day but at the same time minimum basic requirements for the urban poor have decreased. … Development projects and land mafias in both rural and urban areas have grabbed most of the land. Government even supports this kind of action. Due to this entire climate has been changed. Centralized capital growth has increased unemployment.” This state of things is certainly worrying and has to be transformed forthwith – the concern for the common man should be paramount in all policy framing and planning for sustainable development in an eco-friendly and people-participatory manner and we wish and hope all this will not remain a utopian dream §§§
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