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70 Years of Indian Years of Indian
Constitution
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is most unfortunate that even today we see a significant part or ‘developmental’ forces [……], before liability is placed at the
of the population living in extreme poverty. doorstep of the State.”
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Approaching poverty through the prism of human rights
Rights stated in 2001 that poverty was “a human condition would result in lifting it from the status of a social problem
characterized by the sustained or chronic deprivation of the to that of an unavoidable imperative. Torture is held to be
resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary unacceptable, poverty merely unfortunate. But it is such
for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other bifurcation of human rights that is unacceptable in the present
civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.” Who then, day. Treating poverty as a violation of human rights would
is to be blamed for these gross failures and deprivations? enable the Courts to enforce such rights. The Indian Supreme
The Supreme Court has already treated Court has already treated the various facets of poverty such as
the right to food, shelter, etc. as a part of the fundamental right
the various facets of poverty such as the to life under Article 21 of the Constitution and this has enabled
right to food, shelter, etc. as a part of the the Courts to enforce these rights. The Government would be
fundamental right to life under Article 21 of violating the right to life under Article 21 if it were not to take
the Constitution and this has enabled the concrete steps for the purpose of rescuing that section of the
Courts to enforce these rights population suffering grievous poverty from its tentacles. This
raises a further question, namely, is the obligation one that the
State alone has to discharge, or, are there other actors who
I have often felt that we, Indians, are fatalists, for we believe have to participate in the exercise of eradication of poverty?
that it is fate which has imposed a terrible deprivation on a Today we have multi-national corporations which control
section of the population or that it is God or the unfortunate industrial or business empires with all the trappings of a State.
“social starting position” in regard to that section of the Their budget equals or exceeds that of a small State. Their
population and there is, hence, nothing that man can do about employees run into hundreds of thousands. The influence they
it. It is most astounding that an entire class undergoes this wield is so great that they can affect the future of the people
debilitating deprivation with passive forbearance. and of Governments. They are quasi-states and therefore,
Scott Leckie, a renowned human rights advocate, had stated would have to share the burden of eradicating poverty from
that “When someone is tortured or when a person’s right to within the sphere of their influence.
speak freely is restricted, observers almost unconsciously hold Dwight D. Eisenhower had once remarked that:
the State responsible. However, when people die of hunger or “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every
thirst, [……], the world still tends to blame nameless economic rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those
28 70 Years of Indian Constitution
