Undermining of Rights Based Legislation since 2014

Activists Aruna Roy, Nikhi Dey and Rakshita Swamy talk to Indian Cultural Forum about the history of various rights based legislations enacted in India during 2004-2014. These include Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005, Forest Rights Act 2006, Right to Information Act 2005 and National Food Security Act 2013. They also elaborate on how these legislations, which ensured empowerment and participative democracy, have been undermined since 2014. The discussion is based on a book edited by the three of them titled, ‘We The People: Establishing Rights and Deepening Democracy’. Drawing on some of the important themes of the book such as decentralization and participation, they also discuss the highly centralized and non-participatory decision-making of the current government.