Resource information
The new India’s Right to Food Campaign website was launched in March 2014 at the campaign’s fifth convention. It is an action-oriented website, with lots of action-oriented material on the right to food in India including primers, articles, survey reports, court orders, campaign tools and much more As explained in its foundation statement, the right to food campaign is an informal network of individuals and organisations committed to the realisation of the right to food in India. The campaign began in 2001, as an offshoot of public interest litigation in the Supreme Court, and quickly grew into a country-wide movement. The campaign’s shared values and organisational principles are expressed in the collective statement.
These values include:
Addressing the structural roots of hunger such as the deepening agrarian crisis, the continuing neglect of infants and children in public policy, persistent gender discrimination (together with absence of maternity entitlements), the dismantling of the public distribution system, and the disempowerment of Dalits, Adivasis and other disadvantaged groups (including the urban poor).
No coercive displacement to disrupt people's control over natural resources and food in security.
Resisting discrimination and communalism by committing to challenge and resist the growth of anti-democratic tendencies in the country. Our commitment to the right to food is inseparable from our commitment to social justice and democratic values, and implies firm opposition to communalism in any form. Democracy is premised on the fundamental equality of all citizens. Therefore it is incompatible with discrimination based on caste, gender, religion or other attributes. We are committed to putting these concerns at the centre of our work on the right to food.
Universalisation with equity by advocating universal provision of quality basic services and facilities related to nutrition, health and education (particularly the Public Distribution System, the Integrated Child Development Services and the Mid Day Meal Scheme), with priority to disadvantaged groups and special recognition of the rights of young children to nutrition and care.
The Right to Food Campaign is committed to the principles of transparency and accountability in all its activities. This includes open access to campaign documents and full transparency in financial matters.
Adapted from source.
