Mon, 10/18/2010 - 08:43 — cc
 

The National Centre for Advocacy Studies (NCAS) is a social-change resource centre, strengthening people-centred and rights-based advocacy in order to empower people and their struggles for the creation of a just and humane society. Having pioneered the concept and praxis of People Centred Advocacy, NCAS seeks to engage with popular movements and struggles in India, South Asia, and the Global South.


 

 

FROM TODAY's HEADLINES:


Click here to view a selection of today's recommended news reports and articles on advocacy campaigns, human rights initiatives and other issues which engage NCAS.

 

 

 

NCAS  PUBLICATIONS: 

 

 
  
 After the 73rd amendment, the Government enacted the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) in 1996 to bring self governance to Scheduled Areas. PESA Act recognizes the traditional rights of the tribals over natural  resources. The  present booklet begins with a brief introduction to the Panchayat system; the PESA Act, the role and powers of Gramsabha in Scheduled Areas; constitutional provisions to protect the same;
 a comparison in the salient features of the central PESA Act and the amended Gram Panchayat legislation in Maharashtra and then highlights the relevance of PESA to Forest Rights Act and Tribal Sub Plan. It concludes how the absence of the relevant rules has hampered the implementation of this Act and the furtherance of self governance in the Scheduled Areas of Maharashtra.
 
  

Ensuring equal rights to education to Adivasi children is an important aspect of social justice. It is important to ensure quality education and the provision of adequate facilities at residential (Ashram) schools. According to government records 50% of Ashram schools and 60% of student hostels are without buildings. On paper the number and spread of residential schools

 

and hostels for Adivasi children appears satisfactory; but the ground reality indicates otherwise.These institutions lack in providing quality education, nutritious meals, hygiene and the environment for the physical and mental wellbeing of Adivasi children. This booklet attempts to throw light on some realities about residential schools and hostel facilities in the context of equity and quality education for Adivasi children in Chhattisgarh.

 

 

  

MONTHLY UPDATE:

 

 

ACCESSING ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS

 

 

ADIVASI RESOURCE CENTRE (ARC)

 

 

 

 
Current Annual Report 2010-11 Past Annual Reports
 

TOP STORY:


NCAS in Johannesburg

 

 Sandeep Pattnaik of NCAS was invited to participate in a workshop on Human Rights and Development-Induced Displacement, hosted by the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net) and the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) from April 30 to May 4, 2012, in Johannesburg, South Africa. He presented the case of the Anti-POSCO struggle in Odisha and the displacement

 


 Read More...

 

 

 

Bill to Eliminate Manual Scavenging

 
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012 was presented by Mr. Mukul Vasnik, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment (Government of India) in the Lok Sabha on 3rd September 2012. NCAS has been engaged with the issue of basic human rights and dignity for manual scavengers. (See ‘FILTH – the struggles of manual scavengers in Jharkhand’(2007) which highlight the case of the Doms -manual scavengers community).
The proposed bill here defines manual scavengers and has important provisions on identification, monitoring, vigilance, rehabilitation and penalties. The bill has come up in the wake of the Supreme Court pulling up the Government in August 2012 for its callousness in not enacting a law to ban manual scavenging despite repeated assurances that it would do so to eliminate this heinous practice.

 

Workshop on Mainstreaming Advocacy in Social Work Curriculum

 

NCAS in collaboration with Karve Institute of Social Service has organized a three-day workshop on Mainstreaming Advocacy in Social Work Curriculum from 11 to 13 October, 2012 at Conference Room, Karve Institute of Social Sevice, Karve Nagar, Pune. The Workshop aims at sharing and learning approaches, strategies and tools of advocacy along with pedagogy for teaching advocacy both in the classroom as well in the field. Read more

OTHER STORIES: 

 
 

The Status of Education amongst Nomadic and De-notified tribes
 

An article by Dhanaji Khupkar, Research Associate in NCAS appeared in the August edition of Mukt-Saad, a journal supported by the Indian Folklore Support centre. This article focuses on the issues surrounding education amongst children in Nomadic and De-notified tribal communities. Mukt-Saad is an interdisciplinary bilingual journal focused on the Nomadic and the Denotified Communities of India.
   

Chhattisgarh Health Watch
 

NCAS has been working extensively with the Adivasi community in Chhattisgarh. In this context, NCAS was invited to the release of the ‘Chhattisgarh Health Watch’. This is a report by the Chhattisgarh Social Watch highlighting the gap between the demand and supply in the health sector in Chhattisgarh
 

 
 

People’s Budget Initiative: an overview of their Work
 

In 2006 a number of civil society organisations came together to form a coalition - the People's Budget Initiative. This coalition has facilitated involvement of civil society in the budget process of the Union Government every year by creating a platform where civil society activists articulate key demands and expectations from the forthcoming Union Budget. The National Centre for Advocacy Studies is part of the organising committee of the People’s Budget Initiative.
 

 View Past Stories

 
 
 

NCAS IN THE NEWS:

 

Pandharpur’s wari, also its shame

DNA India, 24th Dec 2011

P V Rajagopal takes on farmers’ issues

Pune Mirror, 7th Dec 2011

Deshatil Navya Sampatit kuthe ahe Garibancha Vata?

Sakal, Pune, 7th Dec 2011

Bhoomihinachya Nyayasaathi Janandolanachi Garaz

Sakal, Pune Today, 8th Dec 2011

Jameeni Vachvinyasathi Ladha Hawe

Pudhari, Pune, 9th Dec 2011

 

 

 

  

 
 
 
 
 
 
NCAS is distressed with the news of 14,004 farmers having committed sucide in 2011.

 

provided courtesy of