india...
India’s Right to Food campaign is an informal network of organizations and individuals committed to the realizations of the right to food in India. Originally, the campaign began with a writ petition submitted to the Supreme Court in April 2001 by People's Union for Civil Liberties, Rajasthan. It demanded that the country's gigantic food stocks should be used without delay to protect people from hunger and starvation. This petition led to a prolonged “public interest litigation” and Supreme Court hearings were held at regular intervals with significant "interim orders" being issued from time to time. However, it soon became clear to the campaign members that the legal process would not go very far on its own. This motivated the effort to build a larger public campaign for the right to food and guaranteeing employment was a key component of the movement. The campaign led to a sustained focus on legislation and schemes such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Mid-day Meals (MDM) scheme, and the Public Distribution System (PDS) became part of the public policy dialogue. The Right to Food website contains a wealth of information that introduces India’s landmark legislation of 2005 National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The bill provides a annual guarantee of 100 days of employment for every rural household in which adults are willing to do manual labor at the minimum wage. A great deal of material is included on many campaign activities and on social audit reports including on the Right to Information Act.
