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New teaching tool on human rights

By K. Kannan

NEW DELHI APRIL 25. Human rights impinge on the life of the common man but it is a pity that few people are aware of these. Those who are partially aware do not understand much about its significance. This at a time when all the clashes and conflicts in families, communities and even in different countries are due to violation of human rights.

Realising the need to educate the common man and people's representatives about the promotion and protection of human rights, the Udaipur-based Institute of Local Self-Government and Responsible Citizenship has developed a popular Snake and Ladder game for sensitising even the layman in a simple and interesting manner.

The Institute, which has been set up by Vidya Bhawan Society, has been orienting elected representatives of Panchayati Raj since 1997 in order to strengthen grassroots democracy in Rajasthan. This game bearing the title "Khel Ki Dagar -- Manavadhikar Ka Safar'' has been developed under a project supported by the European Union.

Interestingly, many Delhi schools have evinced keen interest in introducing this game as part of their human rights awareness programmes. A lot of non-government organisations too have expressed interest in making it part of their human rights sensitisation strategy.

In the game, 49 square blocks are drawn out on a card sheet. Of these, 29 have pictures with some messages.

In some blocks, there are pictures displaying positive acts of human rights while in other blocks, there are pictures depicting violation of human rights. The picture blocks depicting promotion and protection of human rights are shown connected with one another through ladders and the causes and consequences of violation of human rights have been shown interconnected with `snakes'.

This game can be played by two or a group of persons. A single person can also play this game. Each player has to select a button of a particular colour. A player in his turn throws a dice and then he will count dots on the upper face of the dice and the player will move his button forward according to the number of dots.

While moving forward if the button of the player reaches a block showing the foot of a ladder then he can move his button to the top of the ladder, leaving behind a number of blocks.

But in the process of moving forward, by chance if a player reaches a block having the mouth of a snake, then he comes down to the tail of the snake which means he will be trailing behind by a number of blocks. An act of human rights violation is picturised along with a snake-bite while human rights are depicted by pictures that represent collective effort of nation building.

In the process, people can imbibe a number of messages about human rights like freedom of worship, right to social security, right to cultural freedom and many others related to protection of human rights and their consequential impacts.

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