Basic Rights and RTD
 

(i) Right to Food

The right to food is not just a basic human right but also a basic human need. It essentially requires the state to ensure at least that the people do not starve. States have to take all necessary steps towards fulfilling the right to adequate food. The International Instruments which recognises right to food are Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and Convention on the Rights of Child (CRC). Under the Indian Constitution, there is no fundamental right to food but the fulcrum of justiciability of the right to food comes from a much broader "right to life and liberty" as enshrined in Article 21.
 

An important instrument in asserting the right to adequate food is legal action. Of late, the Supreme Court has started entertaining Public Interest Litigation highlighting questions of public importance. The outcome of one such PIL is an interim Supreme Court order directing States to implement eight different centrally-sponsored schemes on food security including implementation of cooked meals in all Government and Government-assisted schools.

However, such legal action does not encompass all aspects of right to food. The role of civil society is of paramount importance. Article 10 (Part IV) of the International Code of Conduct on the right to adequate food mentions that the active participation of all civil society actors - individuals, families, local communities or non-governmental organisations - is essential. Recently, social mobilisation has begun in the form of public hearings. Only a participatory approach will be able to give a more humane shape and the much needed rights perspective to the Government's policies in ensuring food and nutrition security.

(ii) Right to Health

Health, as described in the Preamble of the Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO), 1946, is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. The notion of right to health is thus not only limited to the pathological and biomedical aspects but goes far beyond to incorporate social well-being. The International Instruments, which recognises right to health, are Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and Constitution of the World Health Organization, 1946.

Although the Indian Constitution does not explicitly mention health or health care as a fundamental right, the justiciability of right to health is based on right to life and liberty (Article 21 of the Fundamental Rights). The various Directive Principles, which talks about health and health care, are Articles 39, 41, 42, and 47. In addition to the Constitution, there are five main instruments in the Indian legal system that deal with regulation of health care and safeguarding individuals against medical negligence (World Bank, 2001). These are:Law of Torts, Consumer Protection Act, 1986, Indian Penal Code, Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, Indian Contract Act, 1872.

The foundation of India’s health policy was laid by the Bhore Commission Report in 1946. The report established primary health care as the foundation for the national health care system, and developed the first patterns for primary health care facilities and health personnel in the public sector. The Bhore Commission enunciated the principle that primary health care is a basic right to which people should not be denied access because of their inability to pay or for other socio-economic reasons. Building on this thinking over the years, India became a strong supporter of the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978, where it committed itself to attaining the goal of ‘Health For All’ based on a primary health care approach.

India’s health status is characterized by shifting demographics, altered health behaviours and changes in disease patterns. Although significant improvements have been made in reducing infant mortality and increasing the life expectancy of the population in the last half a century, a high proportion of the population continue to suffer and die from communicable diseases, preventable infections, pregnancy and childbirth related complications, malnourishment and so on. There is also the trend in recent years of a rise in the incidence of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular ailments.  CDHR’s work in this regard is based on the rights framework aimed at securing the objectives of the universal right to health and healthcare as determined by the Universal Declaration and the ICESCR. It is aims at focusing and fostering research to fulfill all aspects of the Right to Health in India.

(iii) Right to Education

The international consensus, expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, recognizes that education is a basic human right. The right to education (RTE) has been formalised in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration which states unequivocally that “(e)veryone has the right to education”.

Education as a human right includes the right to, in, and through education. The right is both a civil and political, as well as an economic, social and cultural human right. The right to education is based on the realization of four main aspects related to: accessibility, availability, adaptability and acceptability.

In the Indian context, the realisation of RTE still has some way to go. Pressure on successive governments is growing as a result of grass-roots movements across the country campaigning for achieving the objective of education for all. As a result, education has finally been granted the status of a basic right in the Indian Constitution, and several schemes have been drawn up to implement RTE on the ground. Overall, the movement towards realisation of RTE is gathering momentum all across India, and CDHR is a part of this process of intensive research and consultation on different aspects of the implementation of this basic right.

It should be duly recognized that all basic pivotal rights such as the right to food, right to health, right to education or any economic and social rights, for that matter, are interdependent. The Right to Development emphasizes this interdependent feature of these basic rights. Research at CDHR, therefore, takes the RTD framework to analyse the importance of basic rights in the improvement in the well-being of the people.