We the People, Reclaim the Republic

A Republic Day March Of the People, By the people, For the people January 26, 2014, New Delhi
What are we having this liberty for? We are having this liberty in order to reform our social system, which is full of inequality, discrimination and other things, which conflict with our fundamental rights. - B.R.Ambedkar WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation. - Preamble to the Constitution of India

January 26th, 2014:Republic Day marks the adoption of the Constitution of India, the end of colonial rule, and the creating of an independent Indian nation. Yet sixty four years later, where do we stand? The promises of our Constitution of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity remain distant. As citizens, we cannot forget that the rights of the marginalised in our society continue to be gravely violated, as too many continue to face violence, discrimination and stigma due to their gender, sexual, caste, class, ability, racial, regional, and religious identities. The three arms of government the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary have failed their Constitutional duty to protect and advance our rights and include every citizen in the promise of freedom from inequality. Rejecting the spectacle of the parade of weapons, this year we declare an alternative agenda for the peoples republic. We do so because recent and on-going blatant violations of Constitutional Rights have made us all hang our heads in shame: the re-criminalisation of homosexuality by the judiciary through Sec 377 IPC; the failure of the executive to introduce suitable amendments into as yet untabled Disability Rights Bill, 2013; the continuing presence of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA); the active use of UAPA and sedition laws; the apathy of the state in the face of deepening caste and religious violence; the inadequacies of the Criminal Law Amendment Bill 2013 to address violence against women, among many others. Today, as citizens and peoples movements, we stand here together to show that our exclusions are deeply inter-connected as are our struggles against them. We stand together against the active denial of basic rights to LGBTQ persons and people with disabilities just as we refuse the pervasive violence against women in all spheres of life and deepening caste based discrimination and violence. We pledge continuing resistance to moral policing just as we jointhe struggles of all workers from individual domestic workers, to sex workers, and to collectives of workers employed by large corporations. We name and protest the forcible eviction of farmers, indigenous people and urban poor communities from their land with its consequent environmental fallout and devastating impact on livelihoods. We are aware of how corporate interests direct the violence of copyright and patent laws on students and the severely ill, compromising their rights to education and health. We bear witness to governmentsthat unleash the violence of its armed forces upon its own citizens, while enacting and upholding laws that make the executive unaccountable to the legislature, the judiciary or to its citizens. We argue that more violence cannot be the answer: either in the form of the death penalty, or the surveillance, torture and killing justified in the name of national security. We fear and resist the advent of fascist, fundamentalist

forces that may claim to represent the people of this country by manipulating the processes of electoral politics. As members of the LGBT community, women, workers, sex workers, students, teachers, activists, persons with disabilities, health rights activists, Dalits, indigenous people, farmers, those affected by unconstitutional military rule, we are united not as minorities or others, but as the people. We invoke the promises of the Constitution of India in our name. Our struggle will continue until all arms of the state are unwavering in their constitutional promises towards the marginalized in our society, rather than only representing the powerful. As we commemorate another Republic Day, We The People proclaim that the parade of the powerful at Rajpath does not represent us. We The People, Reclaim our Republic. Organised by: Voices Against 377, AIDWA, AIPWA, AISA, All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (AIDMAM), Anhad, Anjuman, Breakthrough, Citizens Collective against Sexual Assault (CCSA), CREA, Delhi Queer Pride Committee, Dhanak, duqueercollective, Haq: Centre for Child Rights, Jagori, Jamia Teacher's Solidarity Association (JTSA), JNUSU, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), Must Bol, Naz Foundation (India) Trust, National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), National Campaign for Peoples' Right to Information (NCPRI), Nigah, Nirantar, Partners for Law in Development (PLD), Pension Parishad, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), PUDR, Prism, Saheli, Sama, SAMARTHYAM National Centre for Accessible Environments, Talking About Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues (TARSHI), Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression, Women With Disabilities India Network, Youth Ki Awaaz, The YP Foundation and many individuals from diverse movements
Email: voicesagainst377@gmail.com and reclaimtherepublic@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1451397835083871/ Twitter: @peoplertr #ReclaimTheRepublic

*******The Agendas of the Peoples Republic **********

Gender, Sexuality and Violence Repeal Section 377 of the IPC and other laws on sexual or gender identity, obscenity, or public nuisance that render people vulnerable because of their sexual orientation or gender identity Address extra-legal violence in private and public on the basis of gender, caste, and faith Address urgent lacunae in the laws on sexual violence to include violence against transgender people and men, penalise marital rape and remove impunity for the Army Work across institutions to make private and public spaces safe for women Recognize organised violence against minority communities and strengthen their claims to justice by passing the Communal Violence Bill. Abolish the Death Penality Amend the Special Marriage Act to remove notification to homes and police stations. Opening homes for protection for inter-faith and inter-caste couples in need

Non-Discrimination Pass comprehensive Non-discrimination legislation that prevents discrimination between citizens and private actors, institutions and within the family. Mainstream people with disabilities inclusion is non-negotiable! Mandate and encourage making private and public spaces accessible for people with disabilities

State Violence and Power Repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and end millitary rule Repeal UAPA and Sedition Laws used to target citizens and political activists Repeal the Prevention of Torture Bill and introduce new legislation in line with Convention against Torture Implement police reforms to make the police forces accountable

Transparency and Accountability Protect and strengthen RTI by enacting an effective whistleblower protection law immediately and activating Information Commissions Enact proposed legislations on accountability: Grievance Redress Bill, Judicial Accountability Bill must be passed Grievance redressal centres must be set up at panchayat and ward levels. Establish and require institutionalized social audits for every public scheme, and create a separate agency for the same. Safe drinking water & sanitation in every household

Economic Development and Social Security Strengthen peoples control over their own development and stop evictions, land grabs and appropriations of natural resources Universalise social security pensions with exclusions for the non-poor, increase the pension amount to Rs. 2000 or half the minimum wage and link all social security pensions to inflation, to be revised regularly. Expand and protect fair use within copyright and patent regimes to ensure access to generic medicines as well as educational materials. Revise mininum wage indexes for NREGA and extend livelihood guarnatee to urban areas and workers Expand provisions and effectively implement the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act 2008 Land to every landless family, specially dalit and adivasi women Considering the massive expansion of the private sector to the tune of almost 75% of India's economy, it is necessary that the constitutional mechanism of reservation in private sector be legislated and enforced. < this list is work in progress. we look forward to receiving more suggestions >