Dr. Asis Mistry
In the age of rising authoritarianism, censorship, and social exclusion, one question continues to resonate across the margins of Indian society: Do we truly have the right to rights? At a time when civic space is being systematically constrained — from the silencing of dissent to the criminalisation of protest — the Right to Rights Movement emerges not merely as a campaign, but as a foundational reminder of what it means to belong in a democracy.
A Crisis of Citizenship and Belonging
The crisis we face today is not just political or economic; it is existential. Millions in India live in what can only be described as a “zone of abandonment” — denied access to healthcare, education, housing, legal recourse, and dignity. Whether it is the daily wage worker in a metropolitan slum, the manual scavenger in rural Bihar, or the tribal family evicted from their forestland, the experience is the same: the state is either absent or predatory.
It is in this context that the Right to Rights Movement becomes crucial. Emerging from the grassroots, especially in states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, this movement is not a demand for charity or welfare. It is a demand for recognition — a call to be seen, heard, and respected as rights-bearing citizens.
What Is the Right to Rights Movement?
Conceptually rooted in Ambedkarite and Gandhian traditions of social justice, the Right to Rights Movement brings together marginalised communities, social workers, legal activists, and public intellectuals in a sustained effort to transform the relationship between the citizen and the state. It seeks to reclaim the idea that rights are not favours bestowed by the government, but entitlements guaranteed by the Constitution.
This movement insists that the poor are not “beneficiaries” but claimants. It moves beyond the language of benevolence and charity, often deployed in government schemes, to one of accountability and justice. It is not enough for the state to provide subsidies or relief; it must ensure justice, equity, and dignity in structural terms.
Shrinking Civic Space: A Global and National Trend
The idea of shrinking civic space refers to the increasing restrictions placed on civil society organisations, grassroots mobilisations, independent media, and ordinary citizens’ rights to organise, protest, and speak freely. Globally, watchdogs like CIVICUS and Freedom House have reported alarming trends — India has, in recent years, been downgraded from a "free" to a "partly free" democracy.
The recent amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), which have choked funding for NGOs; the arrest and harassment of activists under draconian laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA); and the vilification of student and farmer protests in mainstream media — all signal a deepening erosion of civic freedoms.
In such a climate, movements like Right to Rights do more than articulate demands; they hold space for participatory democracy to survive.
From Protest to Praxis
What distinguishes the Right to Rights Movement from other forms of resistance is its insistence on praxis — the translation of ideals into actionable, everyday strategies of engagement. It has made significant interventions in areas such as:
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Right to Work: Strengthening implementation and access to MGNREGA, ensuring proper wage payments, and demanding transparency in employment data.
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Right to Food: Organising social audits, monitoring PDS delivery, and combating exclusions in Aadhaar-based systems.
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Right to Health and Shelter: Demanding accountability for underfunded primary health care centres and working toward urban housing rights for informal workers.
By creating Jan Sunwais (public hearings), community rights clinics, and social accountability platforms, the movement has generated a culture of democratic assertion that thrives in the everyday, not just in elections.
Democracy Is a Verb, Not a Noun
One of the most radical insights of the Right to Rights Movement is that democracy is not an event but a practice. Voting once every five years does not guarantee justice. Rights must be lived, claimed, and defended every day — especially by those for whom the law remains out of reach.
In this way, the movement reclaims the spirit of India’s Constitution. It puts Ambedkar’s warning front and centre: that political democracy must rest on a foundation of social and economic democracy. Without equality and dignity in everyday life, the right to vote becomes hollow.
Towards a New Democratic Ethic
We must understand that the shrinking of civic space is not just about fewer protests or less media freedom. It is about a moral contraction — the narrowing of who counts as a citizen, whose pain matters, whose voice is legitimate.
The Right to Rights Movement pushes back against this contraction. It offers a radically inclusive vision of citizenship, one that is not based on class, caste, religion, or location, but on the shared dignity of human beings.
This is not easy. The movement faces harassment, fatigue, and the immense challenge of sustaining hope in deeply unequal and hostile environments. Yet it endures — precisely because it is not just a movement, but a moral argument for the republic itself.
A Call to Action
If we are to reverse the democratic decline we are witnessing, we need to do more than vote. We must listen, accompany, and amplify those on the frontlines of rights-based struggles. We must question policies that criminalise protest and demonise dissent. We must reclaim the language of rights — not just as legal tools, but as ethical imperatives.
Supporting the Right to Rights Movement is not just solidarity; it is self-interest. A society that denies rights to some ultimately endangers rights for all.
Let us remember: democracies don’t die in one day. They die slowly, through everyday silences, erasures, and exclusions. The Right to Rights Movement — with all its limitations and imperfections — refuses that silence. And for that reason alone, it matters more now than ever before.
@ The Author is Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Calcutta
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