CHAPTER VII

CONCLUSION

1. Analysis

The investigator analysed the data presented in different chapters of the study

to examine the hypothesis that the right to food of the economically vulnerable

section is not well safeguarded in the state of Assam. The investigator

scrutinised the positive actions which have been undertaken to safe guard this

economic right. The aim of this investigation was not only to examine the

areas of deprivation but also to devise public action for protection and

promotion of the right to food. The investigator normatively examined the root

causes of the problem. The investigator attempted to diagnose the

achievements of the economic, social and legal measures undertaken for

protection of the said fundamental human right. The investigator further

examined the specific measures if any needed to be adopted to combat

regular and persistent hunger leading to the deprivation of the right. The

investigator discussed the areas of human miseries which can be redressed

through the dynamic interpretations of the right to food.

The investigator on the analysis of the first chapter found that the definition of

the right to food as proposed by the Special Rapporteur to the right to food of

the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations states that the

access to food should be permanent and unrestricted. The right to food was

also defined by Rolf Kumemann as the access to food which is sustainable

over the time. The investigator holds the view that permanent and sustainable

access to food can be obtained in a legal system when the right to work is

protected. The investigator while arguing that access to food to be permanent,

calls for the recognition and safeguarding the right to work in the legal

structure of the country moulded dynamically making it attentive to human

aspiration, amongst people physically and mentally capable to perform work.

However, in case of the street children, sick, infirm and the old destitute

people, who are incapable to perform work, the legal structure should ensure

direct intervention with a view to protect them from hunger. The investigator

presses the point that permanent access to food can be achieved when the

agricultural lands of the farmers and the traditional and perpetual occupation

of the indigenous people are protected. Only guaranteed access to vital

resources like land in an agro-economy based country like India can protect

people from hunger. Moreover if agricultural land is not protected, many other

associated rights like the right of the farmers to sow seed under the Plant

Varieties and Farmer’s Right Act, 2001, including the sue generic as an

intellectual property cannot exist. There is also an imminent danger that the

geometrical proportion of population growth will outstrip the food production

and result in the sharp decline in the availability of food. All such measures on

the part of the Government if taken shall amount to the discharge of its

obligation to respect as well as the obligation to facilitate under the General

Comment 12 (paragraph 15).

The right to food as defined by Rolf Kumemann encompasses within its ambit

the access to food without negotiating with other human rights. The

investigator argues that as per the international law the human rights are co-

existing. It is a settled position of law that the violation of one kind of human

right cannot be redressed through the violation of another. The legal system

of the Nation State therefore needs to provide appropriate economic

protection to ensure that people can realize their right to food without

bargaining with other human rights as they are basic rights which are

inalienable in nature and are complementing each other.

The Special Rapporteur to the right to food enlarged the definition of the right

to food and introduced a new element. It required proper storage of

foodgrains to prevent its wastage. The investigator however found in the

analysis of the first chapter that in India due to the lack of political will there is

wastage of millions of tons of foodgrains in the Government godowns.

Wastage of foodgrains leads to the decline in the availability of food and is

therefore the violation of the right to food. The Supreme Court of India

expressed concern at the wastage of huge stocks of foodgrains in

Government gowdowns due to the absence of adequate storage facility. The

Supreme Court observed that in a country where people are starving, it is a

crime to waste even a grain. The Apex Court directed the Government to

construct adequate warehouse or food storage facilities as a long term

measure. As short term measure the court directed the Government to hire

ware house space or put up water proof tents to save the grains. The

Supreme Court suggested that the Government should distribute the

foodgrains amongst the vulnerable section to prevent its wastage.1 Jean

Dreze and Amartya Sen believe that the Government has no intention or any

plan for constructive utilization of the country’s food stock. The Government

considers postponing the utilization as long as possible by depriving the

people of food even during acute food crisis like droughts.2 The investigator

presses a similar argument that to prevent wastage, the Government is

required to build storage space at village level as well as in the Government

godowns including cold storage facilities which will ensure the availability of

foodgrains throughout the year. The Government is further required to devise

appropriate entitlements for the distribution of the grains mounting in the

Government godowns amongst hunger prone groups to discharge its

obligation to take steps under the International Covenant of Economic Social

and Cultural Rights.

The concept of the right to food cannot be limited to the biological requirement

of food. The investigator through the analysis of the data in the first chapter

found that the right to food requires that the food provided to vulnerable

people should be culturally acceptable to them. The investigator is of the view

that cultural acceptability of food includes preservation and promotion of the

ethnic food habits of the people. The promotion of ethnic food also protects

the local small time traders who are usually associated with the marketing of

such products and belong to the food vulnerable category. It further

discourages the usurpation of the food market by corporate giants. The food

associated with each cultural group can be best preserved by preserving their

ethnic culture. According to Rolf Kunnemann and Ralijan, food plays an

important role in the cultural and religious life of the indigenous people in

accordance to the environment in which they live.3 The investigator agreeing

with the above view holds the opinion that the preservation of the culture of

the indigenous people fuels the mental ability of a person to new heights and

is of vital importance in the realization of the right to food.

The right to food also encompasses within its ambit the right of the people of

the Nation State to get themselves involved in the decision making process on

the right to food. The investigator holds the opinion that the phenomenon of

mounting foodstocks in FCI godowns against the backdrop of devastating

hunger in India clearly indicates that scant attention is given to the opinions of

the underprivileged in the policy debates. It also indicates the failure of the

instrumental role of democratic practice in giving voice to such drastic

deprivation. This is in clear violation of the right to food. The practice of

democracy in its fullest sense is critically important in creating ambitious and

practical policy measures to prevent the violation of such right. The

investigator holds the opinion that participation of the people at the grassroot

level through the grama sabha can ensure the full involvement of the food

vulnerable section in the decision making process.

The jurisprudence of the right to food discussed in the first chapter does not

permit the Nation State to direct its economic policies towards the neo-liberal

economic theory and allow the Nation State to become a ‘soft state’. The

investigator argues that under the neo liberal economic theory the agencies of

the Government along with corporations, due to their vested interest frame

policies which create depreciation in place of appreciation of the resources of

the economically vulnerable section leading to increase in hunger. In a

country which espouses socialism, such economy also works against the

constitutional mandate. Such measures leads to the failure of the Nation State

to discharge its obligations under General Comment 12 paragraph 15.

Therefore the Nation State is urgently required to revisit its economic policies

and adopt policies that advance welfare of its people.

The investigator on the analysis of the first chapter found that the growth of

the economic disparity between states in India including Assam is due to the

structural denials in the planning process by the exclusion of certain states

including the state of Assam from the benefits of the development programs in

agriculture in its initial years. This structural denial has resulted in aggravated

poverty in Assam. Poverty makes food economically inaccessible. Whenever

food becomes inaccessible due to structural denial the Nation State fails to

discharge its obligation to respect under General Comment 12 paragraph 15.

The investigator argues that this is an extreme case of lopsided priorities

creating inter-state inequalities and calls upon the Nation State to undertake

corrective measures and reorient its economic policies to enhance the

economic capabilities of the people in Assam in order to enable them to

realize their right to food.

The investigator on the analysis of the concept of hunger discussed in the first

chapter found that most instances of malnutrition and starvation tantamount to

denial of the right to food. Therefore the malnutrition and starvations are held

as indicators of the violation of the right to food. The investigator endeavours

to bring home the point that the high incidence of malnutrition in India as

found in chapter V strongly supports the proposition that there is a gross

violation of the right to food in India including the state of Assam. The

investigator holds the view that menace of starvation exudes the violation of

the right to food. The directive principles require the Nation State to frame

protections to the nutritional health of the people. Article 31(C) of the

Constitution of India inserted by the Constitution (Twenty fifth) Amendment

Act, 1971, calls upon the Nation State to ensure distribution of the material

resource of the country and an economic order that allow egalitarian

distribution of wealth and means of production. Such acts were made immune

from the challenges under Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution. The

investigator argues that egalitarian society based on such principles ensure

equitable distribution of food. Proportional distribution of food is a crucial

factor that shall lead to the realization of the right to food. This dynamic

provision of the Constitution was extended to include all the directive

principles by the Constitution (Forty-second) Amendment Act, 1976. However

the amendment was declared unconstitutional in Minerva Mills-versus-Union

of India4. In a later case the Supreme Court had expressed doubts on the

correctness of this judgment and further pointed out that the opinion in

Minerva Mills case was not valid as the validity of this provision of the Forty-

second Amendment Act, 1976 was not challenged before the Court.5 The

investigator therefore is of the view that the directive principles still enjoy an

overriding effect over the fundamental rights and the Nation State can

undertake any corrective measures for implementation of the nutritional goal

of the Constitution required for the creation of an egalitarian social order

which promotes the realization of the right to food. The Constitutional (Forty-

fourth) Amendment Act, 1978, further strengthens the powers of the Nation

State when the parliament removed the right to property from Part III of the

Constitution. According to the investigator the frenetic proportion of

malnutrition is a violation of the right to food and can be best protected

through legislation. As the Nation State enjoys an uncompromising power to

create protections in this dimension, it is duty of the Nation State to articulate

entitlements for realization of the right to food.

The investigator on the analysis of the information discussed in the second

chapter found that the legal development of the international law demarcating

the obligation of the duty bearers of the right to food is largely confined to the

obligation of the Nation State. Even though General Comment 12 paragraph

14 and General Comment 2 paragraph 9 calls for attention of the

organizations, corporations and the society towards the violation of the right to

food of the people, the obligations of such actors are not as elaborate as in

the case of Nation State. The investigator holds the opinion that such actors

can play a vital role in assisting the realization of the right to food. If the

obligations of these actors are elaborately laid down as done in the case of

the obligations of the Nation State, they can play a greater role in the

realization of the right to food under the guidance of the international law. The

investigator agrees that the duties of the Nation States under the international

laws is of great relevance as the Nation State is the protector of all human

rights, however the other actors namely the society and the corporation also

play a crucial role in the realization of the right to food. In absence of the

international guidelines, the country as trend setter should adopt regulations

on the actions of the society and corporation which directly or indirectly

expose the people to hunger. The investigator appreciates one such attempt

of the Government in bringing a Bill in the Parliament in the year 2011 to

restrict the varieties of food offered in social functions to prevent its wastage.

However the Government should ensure that the said bill is accepted by the

legislature and thereby bring accountability amongst the members of the

society towards people vulnerable to hunger. The Government of India in

absence of sufficient international law has a greater responsibility to regulate

the activities of the corporations and society which obstructs the access to

food of the people and thereby discharge its obligation to protect under

General Comment 21 paragraph 15.

Through the information in the second chapter it was found that there are a

number of international protections on right to food. Being a customary

international law the right to food is enforceable even when a Nation State has

not ratified the Covenant. As India has ratified the International Covenant on

Civil and Political Right, 1966, International Covenant on Economic Social and

Cultural Rights, 1966, International Convention on Elimination of all forms of

Discrimination against Women, 1979, Convention on Rights of Child, 1989,

and the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disability, 2000, the Nation

State is under the international obligation to realize the right to food of the

people residing within the territory of India. Being a customary international

law, India is bound by the authoritative interpretation of the right to food

through the General Comment 12 though India has not ratified the Optional

Protocol I. The investigator is of the view that India is therefore duty bound to

undertake positive actions to create entitlements on the right to food as per

the requirement of the international law.

On the examination of the various legislations leading to the realization of the

right to food discussed in the third chapter it was found that the Nation State

now possess the basic infrastructure to legislate on the right to food. The

Indian legal system protects certain aspects of the right to food through

legislations like the Food Corporation of India Act, 1954, Essential

Commodities Act, 1955, Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, the

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 and Food

Safety and Standard Act, 2006. The investigator argues that the above

discussed legislative protections nowhere conform to the international

obligation of the Nation State. However the legislations like Food Corporation

of India Act, 1954 create enabling condition for adoption of legislation on the

right to food. Therefore it is time that the Nation State articulate recognition

and protections to the right to food as required under the international law.

The Constitution of India recognizes the right to food as a corollary to right to

life. The right to food is derived through the process of precedent. Due to the

limitations of the doctrine of precedent the right to food is difficult to be

realized by the poor and illiterate ‘have nots’. The directive principles also

make the nutritional health as an aspiration goal of the Government.

Christopher Golay and Malik Ozden hold the opinion that laws guaranteeing

the access to food by equitable distribution of resource, minimum wages or

food aids though are essential for the realization of the right to food, but

cannot provide adequate safeguard when the judiciary plays a limited role.

Under such circumstance a stronger constitutional safeguard can act as a

better protection.6 The investigator holds a similar opinion that the present

constitutional protection in India cannot adequately realize the right to food of

the food vulnerable section. The judiciary has a limited reach in India as the

courts enjoying jurisdiction is beyond the means and reach of the vulnerable

section. Therefore, the investigator is of the view that a constitutional

protection in the nature of the right to education can act as a better guarantee

to the right to food of the food vulnerable population. As such the investigator

argues that the Government crystallizes the right to food as an expressed

constitutional right by amendment of the Constitution.

On the analysis of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act discussed in the third chapter, adopted with the objective to

realize the right to food, the investigator found that the legislation fails to

ensure the right to work as per the skill of a person. According to Edger

Bodenheimer freedom is the opportunity for useful work and constructive

activity consonant with the ability of a person.7 The present legislation does

not recognize the freedom to work as per the skill of a person. The

investigator is of the opinion that the right to work as per the skill is required to

be guaranteed to create sustainable access to food and shall also lead the

Nation State to discharge its obligation to facilitate the realization of the right

to food as laid under the General Comment 12 paragraph 15. However the

investigator in no way denies the contribution of this legislation in enhancing

security of subsistence amongst the food vulnerable section by ensuring a

minimum hundred days of employment. In the view of the investigator the

legislation can broaden its domain to act as a path maker in near future for

guaranteeing the right to work. Moreover the denial of the entitlements

guaranteed under the Act is a deprival of the guarantee of subsistence and

therefore is a violation of the obligation to facilitate as per General Comment

12 paragraph 15.

The investigator appreciates the attempt of the Government to introduce the

National Food Security Bill, 2011 in the Parliament. However the Bill in its

present form discussed in the third chapter requires modification to fit in the

requirements of the international law on right to food.

Furthermore the proposed Bill does not contain provision for the relief to

address the seasonal hunger caused due to continuous rainfall during certain

seasons of the year. With such limitation the Bill in its present form shall fail to

address the aggravated hunger of the people of Assam during the monsoons

when the state faces continuous spell of rainfall for days and even weeks

together. In the view of the investigator the legislation should provide

additional entitlements during such lean period to compensate the loss of

earning for realization of the right to food during monsoon.

As per the proposed Bill no redressal is available when there is a disruption of

supply of foodgrains in conditions like flood etc. The state of Assam being

affected by yearly flood such provision shall legitimise the violation of the right

to food of the people every now and then when the hunger is at its extreme.

This provision is in direct conflict with the obligation of the Nation State to

respect as the provision shall curtail the ambit of the entitlements under the

present intervention schemes during floods and other calamities.

The proposed Bill imposes a substantial expenditure on the State

Government. On the analysis of such provisions on other legislations and

schemes the investigator found that the State Governments are usually

reluctant to comply with such provisions. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 provides a similar provision for payment of

unemployment allowance by the State Government. However, such allowance

was never paid to any job card holder in Assam on denial of employment for

the specified period.8 Moreover, the financial liabilities of such schemes on

the State Governments with limited resources cannot be justified.

The proposed Bill is based on targeted intervention. Therefore the Bill shall

fail to address the violation of the rights of the people who suffer hunger due

to exclusion errors in the BPL list. As eighty four percent (84%) of the rich are

included in the BPL list in Assam, the Bill in its present form shall lead to the

drainage of revenue reserved for the realization of the right to food. Thus, the

violation of the right to food of the food vulnerable people shall remain un-

addressed.

The targeting system as laid down in the Bill shall also fail to realize the right

to food of the people living in the poverty pockets of India like the state of

Assam where the majority of the poor population are concentrated. The Bill

provides no additional intervention package to address the additional hunger

in Assam; as such the Bill in its present form shall benefit the population of the

rich areas.

The current entitlement in the Indian legal system discussed in the fourth

chapter recognizes mostly one of the three kinds of obligation articulated

under the international law. The Indian legal system recognizes the obligation

to provide. The obligation to respect, protect and facilitate are not articulated

as legal obligation by the Nation State. The investigator presses the argument

that with such limitations, the Government is sometimes found to mutely

observe or facilitate the destruction of livelihood of the people which is a

violation of the General Comment 12. The traditional areas of livelihood are

being handed over to the multinational corporations as found through the first

chapter thereby pushing the effected people to slavery due to hunger which is

a violation of the obligation to respect and the obligation to protect. Therefore

in the opinion of the investigator the legal structure should broaden its domain

to acknowledge all the components of the right to food namely the obligation

to respect, protect and facilitate.

The investigator on the analysis of the information discussed in the fourth

chapter found that schemes undertaken for intervention of hunger are being

diluted by rampant corruption in the system. Justice D.V.S Kumar is of the

view that the problem in the realization of the right to food is due to the failure

of the schemes. According to him the failure of the schemes is on account of

the diversion of food grains due to corruption. He further states that to solve

the problem of starvation, corruption should be curtailed.9 The investigator

also shares a similar view that the Government should adopt zero tolerance to

corruption to ensure realization of the right to food. Lon L. Fuller advocates

the proposition that institutions in the nature of French Conseil d’Etat or the

Scandinavian ombudsman can be an effective safeguard against abuse like

greed and thirst for powers of the Government.10 The investigator supports his

view and holds that the Nation State needs an effective complaint mechanism

in the nature of Lokpal through which complaints against corruption can be

sternly dealt with.

The investigator on the analysis of the implementations of the hunger

intervention schemes discussed in the fourth chapter found that the

entitlements created through various schemes failed to address the

starvation. The investigator holds the opinion that the realization of the right to

food requires an enthusiastic and proactive role of all agents of the

Government, more so for the economic rights in the nature of the right to food

which involves a huge resource implication. The judiciary has played a very

proactive role for the realization of the right to food. The absence of the

serious efforts of all other wings of the Government is accentuated by lack of

strong political will. The investigator observes that transformation of the

entitlements into positive rights is however not enough to realize the right to

food. The right must be realized in fact which may require comprehensive

administrative measure. The success of the legal entitlements on the right to

food requires development of a human rights culture amongst the people.

Only when the individuals accept the rights as well as the duties, the

enjoyment of the right is possible. There is an imperative need to incorporate

human right education in the school curriculum to build up judgmental

capacity enriched with human rights reasoning amongst the people.

Analyzing the fourth chapter the investigator found that various policies

protecting the targeted section from hunger have been adopted by the Nation

State. Many of the hunger intervention schemes apply a targeted approach to

intervene. The scheme targets the people living below the poverty line. The

methodology of identification of beneficiaries fails to include some of the most

starvation prone section of the society namely the street children and the

homeless destitute. The identification methodology adopted for the purpose

has many inclusion and exclusion errors. According to the report of the

Controller and Auditor General 2006 eighty four percent (84%) of the BPL

cards in Assam has been distributed amongst the rich.11 The investigator

argues that due to this improper identification methodology, starvation

amongst the masses remains unattended. The failure to address starvation is

the violation of the core content of the right to food which is fundamental and

in-alienable in nature. Therefore the Nation State fails to discharge its

obligation to provide under General Comment 12 paragraph 15. The

investigator agrees with the views of many eminent development

economists12 that a universal entitlement with exclusion criteria would

dispense the need of complicated identification methodology as a better

alternative.

On further analysis of the fourth chapter it was found that the Mid Day Meal

Scheme under the Sharba Shikha Abhigyan has diverted the teaching time of

the school. The investigator is of the opinion that this affects the human right

to education of the child. The right to education leads to the realization of the

right to food. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, imposes the

first responsibility on to the parents to provide meal adequate for healthy

growth of the child, with the assistance of the Government wherever needed.

The Constitution of India also recognises the fundamental duty of the parents

to ensure the wellbeing of the child. The investigator concludes that education

is a means to obtain sustainable access to food and by no means can be

compromised. The investigator suggests that the meals should be distributed

through the community kitchen for children possessing the regularity

certificate issued periodically by the school. Responsibility be cast on the

parents to ensure that their ward have their meal during lunch break.

Accountability of the parents can be scrutinized through periodic health check

up.

The investigator on analysis of the fifth chapter found that the judiciary

through the tools of interpretation has established the right to food as a

justiciable right under the Indian legal system. Against this backdrop,

starvation shamefully persists in India. The legal system in India tacitly

entrusts upon the Supreme Court and the High Court the exclusive

responsibility to bring about justiciability to the right to food. The Supreme

Court is situated in New Delhi while the High Courts are usually located at the

respective state capitals and other important cities of the state. No court in the

rural areas where the food vulnerable people are concentrated enjoy the

jurisdiction to intervene the violation of the right to food. Justice A.N. Roy is of

the view that for ordinary litigant to approach the highest members of the

judiciary or to obtain the best legal advice is as much accessible as the gates

of Hilton Hotel is to the public.13 The investigator therefore argues that the

judicial organs which enforce the violation of the right to food are situated

beyond the means and the reach of this food vulnerable section. Though the

Constitution of India permits the Parliament to empower any other court with

the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court enjoyed under Article 32 (3), the

legislature is yet to take any positive step in this direction. Under such

circumstance the Nation State fails to discharge its obligation under General

Comment 12 paragraph 32 and 34.

The investigator on further analysis of the fifth chapter found that the District

Human Rights Court for enforcement of the human rights have not been

established in the state of Assam. Such courts can play a vital role to redress

the violation of the right to food. The investigator holds the opinion that

Government of Assam should take immediate steps to establish Human

Rights Court in every district of Assam as per the provision of the Protection

of Human Rights Act, 1993.

On the analysis of the sixth chapter the investigator found that two instances

of starvation death have been reported in Assam by the media in the year

2012, despite there being a direction of the Apex Court to the Government to

ensure that no starvation death takes place.14 The investigator through the

analysis of the chapter has also found that a large section of the people of

Assam suffers from starvation. The people of Kamrup district cannot manage

to eat three meals of dal, rice and vegetables every day. The acceleration in

price of food stuff has resulted in further decline in their consumption. The

intervention schemes are not implemented in its proper spirit in the state of

Assam. Therefore most schemes except the scheme for maternity relief has

failed to reach its target population. A large percentage (68.3% as per the

survey by the investigator) of the people in the state of Assam remains

worried as to the economic access to their next meal. Even if it is believed

that there is no leakage due to corruption or maladministration, the target of

providing assistance to twenty seven percent (27%) of the population through

the intervention programmes is highly inadequate to check the incidence of

starvation (which is as high as sixty nine point four percent (69.4%) according

to the survey of the investigator) of the population. A large percentage of the

people of Assam (72.2% as per the survey of the investigator) have to

compromise with other essential human rights to afford three meals a day.

Starvation in Assam gets aggravated during monsoon due to fluctuation in

employment on account of continuous spell of rainfall. Therefore the

investigator draws home the point that all the above findings strongly indicate

towards the gross violation of the right to food amongst food vulnerable

section of the people of Assam. The investigator presses the point that for the

households living on the margin of subsistence, the troughs in income during

monsoon aggravates crisis situation. The present legal protection ignores the

hunger of the people of Assam during this chronically lean period. Amartya

Sen holds the opinion that food plays an extremely important role in fostering

freedom. Hunger may force the vulnerable people to accept activities which

they resent and therefore it curtails their freedom. Hunger has vital impact on

the enjoyment of any freedom. According to him all freedoms and rights are

rendered meaningless when a person is unable to command entitlement over

food adequate for survival.15 The investigator argues that in hunger, the rights

guaranteed through various constitutional provisions are compromised.

Strongly articulated entitlements in the nature of constitutional amendment

and a well articulated legislation for the realization of the right to food can

address such violation. Such legislation should give specific attention to

seasonal hunger and periodic flood which happens to be a unique problem of

the people of Assam.

From the above analysis of the chapters the investigator draws the conclusion

that the economically vulnerable people of Assam live in widespread hunger

and under nutrition. Little has been done to remedy this desperate situation.

The absence of seriousness to overcome this hunger may lead to fatalism.

People may lose the faith in the Government structure. Chronic hunger

usually is a breeding ground for insurgency. The protection of the basic

human rights in the nature of the right to food which is a corollary to the right

to life is the signature tune of the concept of rule of law. It is one of

quintessential responsibility of the Indian Government and a welfare state.

The investigator holds the opinion that the Nation State along with all other

duty bearers is accountable for the violation of the right to food. However due

to lack of clear cut demarcation of obligations and lack of co-ordination

amongst the various organs of the Indian legal system, redressal of this

entitlement failure remains neglected. Therefore the investigator concludes

that the hypothesis undertaken in this study is established.

2. Suggestions

The suggestions of the investigator are as follows

(a) The right to food needs to be articulated as an expressed constitutional

protection as done for the realization of the right to education.16 Without

creating expressed rights those who are rich, powerful and highly educated

can enjoy the advantage of the protections while the starving people will be

denied, however the firmly established rights will empower the weak, leveling

the field a little so that the weak are not so disadvantaged. A well articulated

protection of the right to food as an expressed fundamental right shall also

build confidence amongst the food vulnerable section of the society that the

political system of the Nation has a strong will to address the violation of their

right to food. The Nation State in addition to the expressed constitutional

protection is required to articulate legislation for realization of the right to

food.17 The legislation should also specify the time frame within which the

country aims to achieve a condition of zero hunger.

(b) Rights leading to the realization of other related rights like the right to

health, land, education etc. are required to be realized for the realization the

right to food. The different departments under the Government should

coordinate to ensure that the people can enjoy all the human rights.

(c) The Nation State should revisit the distinction between the right to food

and food security and make effort to realize the right to food of the people in

terms of the international obligation.

(d) The obligations of all the duty bearers namely the Nation State, members

of the society, corporations and the international organisations should be

clearly demarcated under the international as well as the national legal

system.

(e) The Government of India should undertake measures for dissemination of

information on the entitlements under the right to food. This information

should be displayed at public places of the villages and cities frequently

accessed by food vulnerable section of the society.

(f) Intervention programmes undertaken by the Government should address

the hunger of the actual population facing starvation and should not be based

on hypothetically pre-fixed quota.

(g) The right to work as per the skill of a person should be introduced in the

legal system to ensure sustainable access to food. The protection should

specify the adequacy of the working environment and ensure living wage.

(h) The education system should create human rights sensitive temperament

in the country for full realization of all human rights including the right to food.

(i) The entitlements under the Mid Day Meal Scheme should be disbursed

through the community kitchens catering to the needs of other categories of

the food vulnerable people. In places where community kitchens do not exist,

dry ration should be distributed to the parents through the Public Distribution

System. The parents receiving assistance from the state should be made

accountable for the nutritional health of the child as they have the

constitutional duty to facilitate education of their ward.

3. Recommendations

The investigator makes the following recommendations:

(a) The Constitution of India should be amended to introduce the right to food

as a fundamental right. 18

(b) A legislation on the right to food should be passed by the Legislature. The

legislation should clearly lay down the rights and duties. The legislation should

be framed as per the voluntary guidelines of the FAO. The National Food

Security Bill, 2011 as proposed by the National Advisory Committee

incorporates many aspects of the right to food as laid down under the

international law, however there are certain areas which require modification

to make the legislation attentive to violation of the right to food of the food

vulnerable population of Assam due to its unique geographical terrain and

historical background of economic denial. 19

(c) District Human Rights Court should be established in every district. Nyaya

Panchayat should be empowered with the jurisdiction to intervene the

violation of the right to food.

(d) Several sub-themes can be the subject of much more detailed research

activities. Research study is required to be undertaken for realization of the

right to food under the humanitarian law. There is a speculation amongst the

right thinking people of the society that the world is heading towards acute

food crises in near future as the population growth may outstrip food

production. Therefore research work may be undertaken in this direction.

End Note

1 Varadarajan S., ‘Free grains for poor cannot be implemented, says Manmohan’, The Hindu,

7 September 2010, p. 1. Venkatesan J., ‘A crime to allow food to rot, Court tells Centre’, The Hindu, 28 July 2010. 2 Dreze J., Sen A., India Development and Participation, op. cit., pp. 337-339.

3 Kunnemann R., Ralijen S.E., op. cit., pp. 38-39.

4 (1980) 2 SCC 591.

5 Sanjeev Coke Manufacturing Co.-versus-Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. AIR 1983 SC 239.

6 Golay C., Ozden M., loc. cit.

7 Bodenheimer op. cit. p. 228.

8 As found through Chapter VI

9 Kumar D.V.S., TDPS: Food not Reaching Those Really in Need, Higgins M., Nautiyal S.,

Shah A. (editors), op. cit., p. 44. 10

Fuller L., The Morality of Law, Revised Edition, Fifth Indian Reprint, New Delhi, 2009, Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., pp. 176-177. 11

Report No. 16 of 2006 available at http://www.Scribd.com.(accessed on 1 July 2010). 12

Many eminent economists from home and abroad in an open letter to the Prime Minister suggested this methodology for identification of beneficiaries of the proposed Food Security Bill. ‘A simple proposal on food security’, The Hindu, 12 March 2012, p. 9. 13

Roy A.N., ‘Problems of Judiciary vis-à-vis the Right to Food’, Higgins M., Nautiyal S., Shah A. (editors), op. cit., pp. 143-144. 14

Writ Petition No 196 of 2001 Order Dated 4 May 2011 available at http//www.righttofoodindia.org (accessed on 1 September 2012). 15

Sen A., Food and Freedom, Sir John Crawford Memorial Lecture, Washington D.C., 28 October 1987, available at http://www.worldbank.org/html/cgiar/publications/crawford/craw3.pdf (assessed on 30 November 2011). 16

That the investigator presses opinion similar to that of Justice Srikrishna that it is time to clearly spell out the basic necessities of life like the right to food by the amendment of the Constitution, or by adoption of a statute. To stress upon the point he cites the example of the right to education and calls for a similar protection to the right to food. Srikrishna B.N., Right to Food: An Innate Human Right, Higgins M., Nautiyal S., Shah A. (editors), op. cit., p. 7.

17

Jean Dreze has also opined that the right to food in India can be best protected through a legislative framework in addition to the existing constitutional protection. Dreze J., Democracy and the Right to Food, op. cit., p. 57. 18

Infra Appendix B- an Amendment of the Constitution is proposed by the investigator to insert the right to food as an expressed Constitutional right as Article 21 B. 19

Infra Appendix C- Right to Food Bill, 2012 is proposed by the investigator.