From Praxis to practice: An initiative of PVCHR for healthy and happy childhood

 Peoples’ Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) since its inception was working on the child health and nutrition. During our visit and focus group discussion with mothers, Kismatti, whose three years old son died due to hunger said, “We cook once in three or four days, can our children be healthy?

We on the urgent basis intervened in the case of malnutrition (underweight), starvation and hunger death of most marginalized communities and weavers in Uttar Pradesh.  We were successful in advocating with state Government for providing emergency assistance of 1000 INR through village council.  It enabled Supreme Court food commissioner, National Human Rights Commission and Member of Planning commission to visit the target areas and communities for creating specific strategies to curb the malnutrition’s. We used different strategies and tools for bringing the voice of survivor in the corridor of policy makers.

1.    In 2007 the issue of starvation and malnourishment was also picked up by various political parties in the state. Mr. Rahul Gandhi, a Member of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh coming to know about the case of Mukesh made arrangements to provide treatment to Mukesh at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Mukesh was shifted to the AIIMS and received treatment there. While this was going the immediate Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ms. Mayawati appeared on television and gave a statement that the reports made by the PVCHR and the AHRC concerning starvation and deaths from malnutrition were false. Simultaneously Dr. Lenin started receiving life threatening calls on his mobile telephone number +91 99355 99333. http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/UP-163-2007/

2.    Once the appeals were issued, the administration immediately dispatched some of its senior most government officers to the remote villages to study the situation. In one such case some of the senior most administrative officers literally flew into the Anei village in a helicopter. Anei is the village from Jigar case was reported. The officers, under the direction of the Chief Minister office took immediate steps to ensure that there would be no further starvation deaths in the village. The officers made overnight arrangements to measure the land and even allotted land to the lower caste community in the village within hours.

 

It brought the changes as the grassroots level but the grassroots activists faced death threat, with intention fake cases. 

3.     On 9 December 2007, Rajendra Tripathi has filed a complaint against Dr. Lenin and his colleagues, (Shruti Nagvanshi, Anupam Nagvanshi, Prem Nut and Kalwati) at the Phulpur police station, making false allegations against PVCHR and Dr. Lenin under IPC 505 B (Public tranquility) in crime no. 357/07.

4.    First time malnutrition became political agenda in UP in 2007 and different Government brought different program and schemes for elimination of malnutrition. Our organization developed nearly two hundred village free from chronic and acute hunger and malnutrition through resilience of community breaking culture of silence of most marginalized community, changing knowledge, attitude and practices of stakeholders, activation of different Government social welfare schemes and model for livelihood such as kitchen garden and others.

5.     Prime Minister in 2014 started to adopt model village but in 2000 PVCHR created Belwa as first centric model village and torture village https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2019/12/belwa-is-the-first-child-centric-and-torture-free-model-village-of-pvchr

6.    During the COVID pandemic work of PVCHR was appreciated by NITI Aayog and National Commission for Women. The slogan given by Lenin Raghuvanshi 'ई बात हव बहुत जरूरी,रखा दुई गज दूरी was talked by Prime Minister during his Man ki Bat' https://pvchrfightagaisnstcorona.blogspot.com/2020/04/blog-post_777.html

Now we are doing intervention in the double burden of malnutrition. We used our previous work learning and strategies for addressing this issue and advocating with the Government for Front of Packet Labeling with warning label. In August, 2022 we wrote to Prime Minister of India. We also wished on his birthday and asked for the strong and mandatory FOPL with warning label as return gift to the children of India.

This campaign has brought together doctors, public health experts, civil societies, academicians and think – tank together human rights defenders, faith leaders and political parties.

 

Our  intervention in last 15 months:

 

Political:

1.    Meeting held with 28 Members of Parliament. In which 7 Union Ministers of State and cabinet: https://healthofchidren.blogspot.com/2022/04/advocacy-effort-for-mandatory-and-alert.html ,   https://healthofchidren.blogspot.com/2021/12/political-advocacy-on-fopl-for-better.html

o   RamDas Athawale –Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment,

o   Dr. MahendraBhai Kalubhai Munjpara, Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Ayush,

o   Prof. S.P Singh Baghel, Minister of Law and Justice,

o   Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma,  Ministry of Micro- small and medium enterprises,

o   Shri Kaushal Kishor,  Ministry of housing affairs

o   Ms. Anupriya Patel,  Ministry of commerce and industry

o   Shri Pashupati nath Paras, Ministry of food processing industry.

 

S.no	Name of Political parties	Number of Members of Parliament
1	Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)	23
2	Indian National Congresss	2
3	Apna Dal Sonelal	1
4	Rashtriya LokDal	1
5	Republic Party of India - Athawale	1

 

 

S.no	Name of state	Number of
1	Uttar Pradesh	17
2	Delhi	1
3	Bihar	2
4	Chattisgarh	1
5	Rajasthan	1
6	Maharastra	3

 

Outcome:

o   6 MPs wrote letter to Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, Ministry of Health and family members.

1. RamDas Athawale –Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment https://healthofchidren.blogspot.com/2022/02/state-minister-shri-ramdas-athawale.html and
2.  Dr. MahendraBhai Kalubhai Munjpara, Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Ayush. https://healthofchidren.blogspot.com/2022/04/mos-dr-munjpara-writes-to-health.html

 

2.     Meeting held with 13 Members of Legislative Assembly and Council. In which 12 Members were from Uttar Pradesh and 1 from Bihar. https://healthofchidren.blogspot.com/2021/12/report-of-in-person-meeting-with-mlas.html 

o   Shri Sanjeev Kumar Gond, Minister of state, social welfare and SC/ST department.

o   Shri Daya Shanker Mishra, Ministry of Ayush and Food Security DA.

o   Shri A.K Sharma, Minister for Urban Development & Energy,

o   Shri Neelkanth Tiwari Minister Independent Charge, Tourism, Culture & Religious Affairs

 

S.no	Name of Political parties	Number of Members of Parliament
1	Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)	7
2	Indian National Congress	1
3	Suhail Dev Bhartiya Samaj Party	2
4	Samajwadi Party	3

 

S.no	Name of state	Number
1	Uttar Pradesh	12
2	Bihar	1

 

 Outcome:

o   3 MLAs and MLCs wrote letter to Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, Ministry of Health and family members including

o    Shri Sanjeev Kumar Gond Minister of state, social welfare and SC/ST department.

o   Mr. Ashutosh Sinha, Consultative Committee Member – Prevention of adulteration of foods and prevalence of counterfeit drugs, Government of U.P.

o   Shri Sanjay Paswan, MLC signed and sent comment to FSSAI on draft regulations.

3.    Political Champions: Meeting held with 17 political champions

Outcome: Lalji Desai, Chief Organizer, All India Congress Seva dal and many political champions participated in the program and sent their best wishes.

 

1.    Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

2.    Rashtriya Lokdal

3.    Indian National Congress

4.    Suhail Dev Bhartiya Samaj Party

5.    Apna Dal (Sonelal)

6.    Rashtriya JanLoksakti Party

7.    Samajwadi Party

8.    Republic Party of India

9.    Communist Party of India

10.          Nation federation of Indian Women

11.          Congress DevaDal

 

4.     Political think – tank

o   Pushparaj Deshpande, Samruddha Bharat Foundation

o   Asivardhan Acharya – Documentation head of Kamal Sandesh, regular magazine published by Bhartiya Janta Party

o   Sachin Rao – AICC incharge for publishing Sandesh magazine.