Bridging the gap between the two India(s)

Today when Oxfam India formally launches its Oxfam India Strategy 2010-2015, it a special day for Oxfam India and the day becomes all the more important- today being 1st April 2010. The day when a historic law making education a fundamental right of every child will come into force; it is not a simple law- it is a piece of legislation that will grant one of the most fundamental rights- THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION- to close to one crore children who do not go to schools at present.

For a rights-based organisation like us, today is a day of celebration- the launching of our strategy and the enactment of “Right to Education Law”. We have always felt that it’s the governments duty to enshrine the fundamental rights to its citizens and implement these laws through programs, our role as a Civil Society Organisation starts from there…to make citizens aware of their rights, to raise the awareness levels of the poorest of the poor to exercise their rights and to ensure that the ray of education lights the lives of the most marginalized. The right to get education appears  uni-dimensional but its impact is multifold- children of all communities sitting together, getting enlightened of their culture- science- community, and getting the where withal to lead life with dignity.

 Today is the day when we as Oxfam India pledge to make our programs more meaningful and relevant in India’s emerging context and to bridge the gap between the two India(s)- one, a picture of growth and glitterati and the other India, steeped in acute poverty and inequality.