India’s Rights Revolution: Has It Worked For The Poor?

Putting social justice and human rights at the core of its developmental policies, India enacted four important socioeconomic laws for its citizens in the past few years—the Right to Information Act, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the Forest Rights Act, and the Right to Education Act. Despite lofty aims, there have been serious shortcomings in their implementation. The benefits of these laws have, therefore, not reached the poor and marginalized. India's Rights Revolution raises crucial questions in order to discern reasons for this gap between their aims and ground realities. Are these laws really accessible? Are the poor well-equipped to realize their rights? Is the quality of our institutions good enough to provide access to goods and services? Is there a remedy if the laws are violated? Are these remedies easily accessible? While critically analyzing these questions, the book discusses why these rights have failed to benefit the poor in this country. The author highlights the need for appropriate laws, adequate resources, and an institutional infrastructure. He stresses that proper political instrumentalities would effectively bridge the gap between these rights and their rightful beneficiaries. The book offers a detail discussion on how goals of inclusive growth and social justice can be attained within a rights-based framework.