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VOICE&FOR&CHANGE:&A&POST12015&DEVELOPMENT&AGENDA&BY&PEOPLE&LIVING&IN&POVERTY!!

PANEL&The! Ground+Level! Panel! (GLP)! in! India!comprised! 14! members! from! diverse!backgrounds! who! listed! their! several!identities! as! follows! +! seven! women,! one!transgender! and! six! men,! of! whom! three!were! children,! one! was! over! 60! and! eight!hailed! from! rural! areas! whereas! six! were!from! urban! areas! and! nine! were! landless.!The!group!had!four!Muslims,!one!Christian,!a! free! thinker! and! the! rest! Hindu.! There!were!six!Dalits!and!three!tribals,!one!person!each! from! a! disaster+affected! and! conflict!area!and!three!persons!with!disabilities.!!RECOMMENDATIONS&These!are!the!15!goals!framed!by!the!GLP!in!response!to!the!12!goals!of!the!High+Level!Panel.!As!far!as! the!GLP! is! concerned,! these!are! recommended!goals!without!which!overarching! rights!of! food,!shelter,! primary! education,! healthcare! and! livelihoods,! to! all! persons! irrespective! of! gender,! age,!faith,!caste!or!creed!cannot!be!achieved.!Besides!its!recommendations,!the!process!also!drew!up!a!critique!of!the!High+Level!Panel’s!goals!outlining!the!things!that!the!GLP!felt!had!been!sidelined!or!left!out.!The!team!had!people!from!various!linguistic!background!and!different!levels!of!literacy.!To!bring!everyone!on!a!common!platform,!the!goals!were!illustrated.!!!ILLUSTRATIONS&& GROUND1LEVEL&PANEL’S&GOALS&! GOAL&1&

&Establish&a&corruption1free&society&and&state:!Corruption!is!all+pervasive.!Even! national+level! movements! on! corruption! have! been! sidelined! by!political!parties.!

! GOAL&2&&Promote&Equity:!The!state!shall! recognise!the!need!for!creating!a! level+playing! field! so! that! everyone!has! an! equal! opportunity! to! realise! their!dreams.! Therefore,! there! is! need! for! reservation! and! targeted! support,!be! they! are! poor,! Dalits,! tribals,! minorities,! women,! the! elderly,!transgender,!children,!slums!dwellers!and!people!with!disabilities.!

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GOAL&3&!Establish& robust& accountability& mechanisms:! There! should! be! more!transparency! in! the! way! that! the! state! works! and! more! information!should!be!made!available! to! the!public! free.!This!needs! to!build!on! the!right! to! information!and!proactive!of! sharing! information.!There! should!also!be!better!grievance!redressal!mechanisms.!An!emphasis!should!also!be!placed!on!collectivisation!of!people.&

GLP&1&INDIA&!Amrita!Naik!!Joshna!Pradan!!Mayavati!!Mohammad!Akbar!!S.!Mohammad!Ismail!!Mohammad!Samsul!Haque!!Nandlal!!Pinki!!Raghunath!Sada!!Ravikant!Redkar!!Sunita!Devi!!Ushaben!Dineshbhai!Vassava!!Uzma!!Vineetha!

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ILLUSTRATIONS&& GROUND1LEVEL&PANEL’S&GOALS&

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GOAL&4&!Provide&identities&not&doles:&Groups!that!are!excluded!and!marginalised!–! including! the! transgender! community,! people!with! disabilities,! Dalits,!religious! minorities! should! all! be! recognised! as! equal! citizens.! Care!should! be! taken! to! ensure! that! identities,! rather! than! labels! are!established.!

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GOAL&5&&Create& institutional& spaces:! to! promote! people’s! participation! in! local!governance!and!policy+making!processes.!

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GOAL&6&&End& discrimination& and& stigma:! based! on! identities! such! as! caste,!language,!disability,!sexual!orientation,!gender,!age,!religion!and!region.!

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GOAL&7&&Abolish& such& traditions& and& practices& that& sustain& discrimination& in&society:!as!the!caste!system,!dowry!system,!female!foeticide!and!purdah!system.!

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GOAL&8&&Create&stringent&restrictions&on&the&sale&and&promotion&of&alcoholic&and&other& addictive& substances:! and! sever! the!profit!motive!of! the! state! in!the!sale!of!!!alcohol.!

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GOAL&9&&Facilitating& awareness,& sensitisation& and& collectivisation& of& citizens:! of!all! groups!of! citizens,!on! issues!of!excluded!and!marginalised!groups!as!well! as! laws! and! policies.! At! the! same! time,! create! an! environment! to!facilitate!the!creation!of!collectives!of!people!to!achieve!this.!

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GOAL&10&&Promote&a& safe&and& secure&home&environment:&so!that!vulnerability!at!households! does! not! expose! family! members,! especially! children,! to!more!risk.!It!is!also!important!to!maintain!their!emotional!health.!

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ILLUSTRATIONS&& GROUND1LEVEL&PANEL’S&GOALS&

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GOAL&11&&Promoting& interests& of& agricultural& labourers,& poor& farmers,& peasants,&tribals& and& slum& dwellers& and& their& rights:& They! should! be! protected!from!advancing!corporate!investments!on!land!and!resources.!

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GOAL&12&&Protect& the& environment:! by! creating! stringent! systems! which! deter!companies! and! other! business! establishments! from! polluting! the!environment.!

! GOAL&13&&Enforce& mechanisms& to& prevent& tax& evasion& by& corporates:& This! tax!should!be!rightfully!paid!to!Governments!who!can!in!turn!use!this!for!the!development!of!the!poor.!

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GOAL&14&&Creating&and& implementing& rigidly,& such&systems&that&protect&workers’&rights,&including&their&minimum&wage&and&social&security:&for!all!private!enterprises!and!bring!parity!between!government!and!private!wages.&

& GOAL&15&&Promote&gender&equality&and&safety&in&public&spaces:&!this!should!apply!to!men,!women!and!transgenders.!&

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THE&DISSEMINATION&The! dissemination! on! July! 19,! 2013,! was! well! attended! by! representatives! from! civil! society,! media! and! the! Planning!Commission!of!India.!The!Ground+Level!Panel’s!presentation!revolved!around!three!aspects!–!‘Who!are!we’!presented!by!Nandlal;! ‘What! was! the! process! we! followed’! presented! by! Raghunath! Sada! and;! ‘What! are! our! recommendations’!presented!by!Vineetha,!Amrita,!Ushaben!and!Samsul.!!Raghunath,!a!panel!member! from!Dabhanga!district!of!Bihar,! said:!“Promises!of! roti,!kapda,!makaan,!Roji,! swasthya!and!Shiksha!(food,!clothing,!housing,!employment,!health!and!education)!are!being!repeated!in!different!forms!since!1950s.!We!want!action!now.!We!want!goals! to!be!written! in! such!a!way! that! they!address! all! barriers! that!prevent!everyone! from!realising!these!promises.”!!Amrita!recalled!her!own!past!of!fleeing!from!a!family!that!wanted!to!get!her!married!off!at!a!young!age!and!stressed!on!the!need! for! protection! at! home.! Vineetha! raised! the! poignant! question:! “Aren’t! transgenders! people?! Why! then! are! we!discriminated!against?”!and!made!a!plea!to!the!audience!to!think!twice!when!they!spoke! ill!of!a!person!from!the!sexual!minority!in!future.!Samsul!recounted!a!story!about!a!man!who!fed!his!pet!cat!just!enough!to!keep!it!hungry!enough!to!hunt!for!mice!and!said!the!state!and!the!government!should!not!adopt!such!an!attitude!towards!its!citizens.!!Planning! Commission! of! India!Member! Dr! Syeda! Hameed,! social! activist! and! former! member! of! the! National! Advisory!Council!Aruna!Roy!and!eminent!journalist!Mr!Vinod!Mehta!were!also!present.!!!