Inequality: yawning gap that remain to be bridged, says Hamid Ansari

Where does India stand on the ladder of equity, after 70 years of legislating welfare laws and measures to deliver social justice? “A fragmented ‘we,’ divided by yawning gaps that remain to be bridged,” said Vice-President Hamid Ansari, who also termed the ground reality “dismal.”

Delivering the inaugural address on ‘Social justice, Constitution and the Supreme Court’ at the ninth National Conference of the Indian Association of Lawyers here on Tuesday, Mr. Ansari presented instances of how “democratic mobilisation, while it has produced an intense struggle for power, has not delivered millions of citizens from abject dictates of poverty.”

Among the pointers he used was India ranking 130th out of 188 countries in the Human Development Index, and a recent New World Wealth report which ranked India as the 12th most inequitable economy in the world.

“Data from our National Human Rights Commission indicates that in 2012, 37 per cent Dalits lived below the poverty line, 54 per cent were undernourished, 83 per 1,000 children born in a Dalit born in Dalit household died before their their first birthday, and 45 per cent remained illiterate. In regard to children of the largest religious minority, the 2006 Sachar Committee Report had observed that only 17 per cent of them above the age of 17 years were found to have completed matriculation as compared to the general average of 26 per cent,” he added.

On the constructive role of courts in the enforcement of economic, social and cultural rights, Mr. Ansari also said it was crucial to investigate who benefits from court enforcement and under what circumstances judicial enforcement is likely to advance the broader realisation of the rights.

Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala spoke about the delay in delivery of justice, which he said defeats equity. “Almost 70 per cent of the cases in the High Court are either of the government or against it, and it loses 95 per cent of them,” he pointed out, suggesting that retired judges could advise the government on which cases can be resolved through conciliation. He also asked if ‘Lok Adalat’ like systems for government cases.