'Countries will face dire consequences if poverty is not checked'

Mangalore, January 18: Karnataka State Human Rights Commission Chairperson S R Nayak warned the modern the modern states of dire a consequence, if they failed to eliminate the mass poverty and macro-hunger and assure the self-respect and human dignity to the constituents of mankind.

He was speaking after inaugurating a UGC sponsored national seminar on 'Developmental Agenda and Human Rights: A Special Focus on Dakshina Kannada' organized under the joint auspices of Human Rights Cell and University College Mangalore at Ravindra Kala Bhavan, here on Wednesday.

Justice Nayak said that the escalation of the arms race and the consequent cutbacks on social service and programmes inevitably lead to chronic mass unemployment, aggravation of social inequality and discrimination and the emergence of millions and millions of poor and homeless destitutes every year.

“Roughly, one and a quarter billion of us who live in absolute poverty with income less than US $ 1 per day, and 50 % of us live in poverty, with income less than US $ 2 per day; millions of people die of preventable diseases every year' millions and millions of children are denied of any chance for a dignified life and number of marginalized communities are left in slavery event today”, he said, adding that all these facets provide compelling reasons as to why another world must be made possible.

Development

Justice Nayak said that human rights approach to development provides its votaries of broader but precise concepts and guidelines to address and intregrate human rights in their work. However, the present development process excludes a majority of people as a structural requirement, he lamented.

“Our development policies exclude several groups particularly the marginalized segments of the society from benefit and consequently the so called development as marginalized and disempowered them”, he pointed out.

Situation in India

Justice Nayak said that human rights situation in India was quite pathetic and nowhere nearer to fulfillment of commitments flowing from the obligations set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations Organisation.

“This country has some of the richest people listed in the Forbes Magazine, while millions and millions of people go to sleep hungry every night. These two Indians live side by side” he lamented.

He revealed that Dalit women living on the borders of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal spend most part of the day looking for food; they pick undigested grain from cattle dung and hunt for rats.

“The situation in rest of India is not drastically different. Every second child in this great India, which is claiming to be a developed country, is malnourished and therefore unhealthy. The disadvantaged and marginalized segments of people, who sleep hungry, have taught their body to live with less food with or with no food”, he pointed out.

Mangalore University Vice-Chancellor Prof T C Shivashankara Murthy presided over the inaugural session. Mangalore University Registrar Prof K Chinnappa Gowda, Gandhian Studies Centre Director Prof P L Dharma, Human Rights Cell Coordinator Dr K R Shani and University College Principal Dr Laxminarayana Bhatta H R were present.