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Civil Society and Social Justice Programme New Delhi - May 15, 2010 Ms Ranjana Agarwal began her tenure as President of FLO with a panel discussion on Civil society and Social Justice - Reality Check, which was held on May 15, 2010 at FICCI. FLO invited leading stalwarts of social justice to share their experiences. The distinguished panelists were Ms Pinky Anand, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, Manoj Raghuvanshi, Senior Journalist and Ms Sabrina Lal and Ms Neelam Katara, social activists. With such eminent panelists on board, it turned out to be a very thought provoking session on pertinent issues that touches our daily lives. Pinky Anand the fiery designate Senior Advocate of Supreme Court stirred the proceedings with her key note address in which she sighted many cases including that of Khushboo which led to the Supreme Court giving the verdict that live in relationships are not illegal. She recounted how proactive lawyers can bring about change in society by bridging the gap between law and justice by proper representations. Ms Nilam Katara who has been fighting for justice against a system which sometimes favours the rich and powerful, was of the view that ‘nothing is going to change,’ attitude must go. She wondered whether it was wise to collect caste based data for the UID scheme. She also emphasized the need for families to reduce ostentatious expenditures in marriages Sabrina Lal’s sister Jessica’s murder case confirms that public support and media attention is useful in motivating the judiciary to look at issues afresh and expedite matters. Sabrina quoted Gandhiji and said “We have to be the change we are.” If we want justice to prevail. Media interest can be the best weapon for mass awareness. This was the reason why Manoj Raghuvanshi, senior journalist was invited as one of the panelists. He highlighted the drawbacks of laws related to abortion in India which give the right to the mother to terminate her pregnancy after 20 weeks and people take undue advantage of this as sex determination becomes possible within this timeframe. He suggested that this period should be reduced to 12 weeks so that sex determination becomes difficult and thus sex-selective feticides can be curbed. FLO welcomes this suggestion and is ready to contribute towards this cause by taking it up with the relevant ministries. |
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