United to preserve freedom: 40 years of PUCL

Jaipur: An association need not always be registered – people who come together to safeguard liberties and assert the right to protest peacefully can gather and act in concert, said Kavita Srivastava of the People’s Union of Civil Liberties. She was speaking at a function to mark 40 years of the formation of PUCL.
Recalling the history of the organization, she said it was formed during the Emergency.Many founder members were in jail at the time, so the question of registration never arose. “And after all these years, the need for registration does not exist. PUCL has audited bank accounts – these days, you might find it rather harder to set up a bank account for an organization that is not registered. But Article 19 of the Indian Constitution grants us the right to free association,” Srivastava said, adding that registration is often one way by which the government can keep track of organizations.
Speakers recalled the Emergency of Indira Gandhi’s regime, and claimed that what currently exists is a state of “undeclared Emergency”. Even such freedoms as what one can have on one’s plate are at stake, they said. In the name of acting against cattle slaughter, irrational attacks on religious minorities and cattle traders have occurred, they said.
Nikhil Dey of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan said one important right is the freedom to protest. “Given that the media can be bought over, we need to be able to speak our own minds in spaces from where we can be heard. Without access to Statue Circle in Jaipur, our campaign for the Right to Information may not have been what it was. We need to reclaim that space,” he said.
Kailash Meena from Neem Ka Thana of Sikar district spoke of the arbitrary use of power to demolish homes in his area on June 5. “At least 250 families now live precarious lives – what is left standing of their homes might crumble in the rain,” he said.