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A NEW GENERATION
— A Training Manual for Young
Consumer Leaders
#9606
M CUTS
A NEW GENERATION
— A Training Manual for Young
Consumer Leaders
%
Published by:
H CUTS
A NEW GENERATION
Published by:
SKZH K CUTS
Consumer Unity & Trust Society,
D-218, BhaskarMarg, Bani Park
Jaipur 302 016, India
Email: cutsjpr@jp1 .vsnl.net.in
Website: www.cuts.org
With the support of:
Consumers International
Regional Office for Asia & the Pacific
Penang, Malaysia and the
Consumer Welfare Fund
Government of India, New Delhi
Edited by:
Ruba Banerjee
Calcutta
Laser setting and layout by:
Mukesh Tyagi
CUTS, Jaipur
Printed by:
Jaipur Printers Pvt. Ltd.
M.l. Road, Jaipur 302 001
© CUTS 1997
ISBN:81-87222-08-5
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#9606 SUGGESTED CONTRIB
K CUTS
Established in 1983, Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) is a
leading social action group in India, and an active member of
Consumers International (CI), [erstwhile International Organisation
of Consumers Union (IOCU)] working at the grassroot, national,
regional and international levels by pursuing social justice and economic
equity within and across borders.
It is represented in several Government of India policy bodies: the
National Road Safety Council, the Technical Committee on Ecomark
and the Think Tank of the Ministry of Commerce. Internationally CUTS
is associated with Cl's Global Policy & Campaigns Committee on
Economic Issues and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable
Development, Geneva.
Consumers International
Ci
e
Founded in 1960, Consumers International (formerly the International
Organisation of Consumers Unions) is a federation of consumer
organisations dedicated to the protection and promotion of consumers'
interests worldwide through research, information and education. An
independent, non-profit foundation, CI currently links the activities of
some 240 members in about 100 countries, and represents consumer
interest at international level.
USING THE MANUAL
The following pages present all about the exciting training workshops. We, the organizers
feel that it can serve as a very useful training manual. The document has been designed
and written in the following sequence:
Foreword
5
i
1.
Introduction.....................................................................
This includes the welcome address by Shanthi
Ramanathan; the background of the consumer
movement; and finally the report of the four workshops.
1
2.
What is Social Change?.............................................
It takes the reader through the theory of social change
and also attempts to answer what it is and why it is
necessary.
19
3.
The What and How of Organising a Campaign .
This chapter includes the know-how and do-how of
organising a successful campaign and carries SWOT
analyses of its causes.
29
4.
Why and How Campaigns Fail or Succeed ? .....
This section presents six empirical case studies of
successes and failures in campaigning and analyses the
causes.
49
5.
Essentials of Advocacy and Lobbying ....................
How to deal with the governments and courts in furthering
the cause of consumers is an imperative of successful
campaigning. This chapter is on dealing with the
government and courts. It also includes two papers —
on communication and environment and the law.
67
6.
Valediction
.
The valedictory chapter presents the acknowledgements.
83
Looking Back
87
Appendices..........................................................................................................
Annexure -1 List of Participants and Resource Persons............................
Annexure -1 Logical Framework Analysis and Plan of Action of V-CAN
Annexure -III Evaluating the Workshops: Group Exercises.......................
Annexure-IV Programmes of the four TWYCLs..........................................
.89
.91
.95
.98
100
Foreword
"Problems which are too complex to be
handled by one can be solved by many.
One voke might be moved by a chorus of
voices. Socially conscious persons have
immeasurable quantities of creativity
energy and generosity of human spirit"
— Ralph Nader
onsumer Unity and Trust Society was born in 1 983 as a purely voluntary organisation — the
product of a burning zeal and a desire to change the wrongs in and around the world we live
in. The founder members and other rural activists who joined us went on to make CUTS one of the
largest consumer groups in the country. We learned the art of consumer activism through a simple
process of trial and error, avoiding past mistakes. There was no training involved, just the belief that we
were capable of doing it and a strong commitment to the cause.
But that was another time. Today's world has become much more complex. Borders are crumbling in the
wake of globalisation of several protected economies, including that of India. Liberalisation of the
economy has heralded newer forms of products and their marketing, and created a very complex
market leaving consumers confused and bewildered.
Simultaneously, there has also been a spurt in the growth of voluntary organisations. The issues and
consumer rights' abuses are many; and activists few.
In such a scenario CUTS realised that the present consumer movement dominated by a handful of
consumer activists, is incapable of tackling the new challenges. An urgent need was felt to scientifically
promote a generation of young consumer leaders who could carry the flag for achieving consumer
sovereignty into the 21 st century. These people would be taught the skills required to make successful
activists to avoid repetition of past mistakes and learn from them. Today there is a need to know what to
do and how to do it apart from possessing a strong commitment.
The regional office of the International Organisation of Consumer Unions (IOCU) saw reason in this
viewpoint. As part of its programme to strengthen the consumer movement in India, the IOCU selected
CUTS to organise a training workshop to impart leadership traits among the young leaders. Thus
resulted a unique training programme i.e. the Training Workshop for Young Consumer Leaders launched
in 1 994.
One workshop led to another, and eventually a series of four workshops evolved. About 25 young
activists were taken through a course in skills importation, campaigning, media advocacy, strategic
planning and organisational development. As a successful experiment an action project was woven
into the programme to keep the interest of the participants alive. Modestly speaking, I have not come
across a similarly designed, effective and innovative training programme elsewhere in the world. Most
1
such programmes are run in isolation leading to low absorption. A Voluntary Consumer Action Network
(V-CAN) also evolved from this unique project viz., a national campaign on Prescription Audit.
During the last workshop, it was decided that we would compile the valuable learnings of the series into
a report cum manual so that other groups could a) organise training workshops in future on similar
lines, and b) replicate the procedure required to conduct a national campaign; and c) incorporate the
learnings in their daily work as consumer activists.
We were fortunate in being able to learn from qualified resource persons who are skilled in their
respective fields and receive hands-on training from them. An attempt has been made to incorporate
information presented by including papers wherever possible and for the rest annotating the material
presented by them.
The editors of this volume have tried their best to maintain as much accuracy as possible in producing
the document. However, we apologise for any errors which may remain.
Jaipur
1997
Pradeep S. Mehta
Secretary General
ii
e
Section One
Welcome Address by Shanthi Ramanathan
(IOCU-ROAP)
The Background of the
Consumer Movement
The Report of the
four TWYCL - Workshops
Coordinating a Stronger Consumer Movement
Welcome address by Shanlhi Ramanathan* IOCU-ROAP
targeted at young consumer activists, who will
someday be at the forefront of the consumer movement
in this country, is a big step in the right direction.
A ATadam Chairperson, Mrs. Sathi Nair, Joint
VISecretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs,
Government of India, Mr. Pradeep Mehta, my
respected colleague, Ms. Minaxi Shukla, our esteemed
workshop facilitator, honoured guests, fellow
consumer activists, ladies and gentlemen. I bring you
warm greetings from the regional office for Asia and
Pacific of the IOCU (International Organisation of
Consumers Unions.)
Consumer power after all, is firstly people power and
secondly organisation power. Until and unless we can
empower people, in this case, young consumer
activists who will in turn empower their organisations,
who in turn will empower every consumer and citizen
in this country, India will never experience the real
meaning of consumer power. It will never have a real
consumer movement. All it will have is pockets of
isolated consumer activism. And so my dear fellow
participants, there is a big challenge before you today.
IOCU as the internationally recognised federation of
consumer organisations worldwide is very proud to
be associated with this training workshop. For IOCU
the Indian consumer movement has always been
somewhat of an enigma. Nowhere else in the world
have consumer activities progressed so rapidly as they
have here. Since the enactment of your Consumer
Protection Act in 1986, consumer groups have
sprouted up endlessly like wild flowers all over this
big beautiful country.
We have gathered here some of the best and most
experienced consumer activists, campaigners and
trainers in India. They will over the course of the next
four days share with you all their knowledge,
experiences and skills in consumer campaigning. They
have made great sacrifices to come here and assist us
with the training workshop, but at the end of the day,
it will not be how well Mr. Parigi spoke, or how well
Ms. Mala Banerji's case study presentation was
organised or even how brilliantly Ms. Minaxi Shukla
was able to facilitate the workshop that will determine
its success.
This tremendous growth poses a real challenge for us
in IOCU in terms of deciding how best to foster
support and serve a more coordinated and stronger
consumer movement in India. We strongly feel that
this training workshop on consumer campaigning —
one of the backbones of all consumer successes —
■
M CUTS
3
The final evaluation of the
success of this workshop
lies in how much each and
everyone of you young
activists is able to grasp
and internalise from these
presentations and how
much of it will be used
when you return to your
respective organisations
when this workshop is
over. In short, it is how
many campaigns that
spring forth as a result of
this workshop that will
determine its success.
A New Generation
consumer movement forward by leaps and bounds into
the 21st century. This is the challenge before each
and everyone of you today. I am confident that you
will rise to that challenge with confidence and
determination.
All consumers have a right to have their basic needs
fulfilled, the right to safe products and technologies,
the right to choice, the right to information, and
education, the right to redress, the right to a safe and
healthy environment, the right to be represented, to
speak out and be heard.
We are also honoured here today by the presence of
the honourable Mrs. Sathi Nair, Joint Secretary of
Ministry of Consumer Affairs in the Government of
India, who will address and inaugurate this training
workshop shortly. The presence of Mrs. Nair serves
as a sign of the commitment of the Indian Government
to consumer protection and we are indeed grateful for
this support.
We have described these rights in many ways over the
years such as the right to a fair and just marketplace;
the right to a decent standard of living and quality of
life, and the right to economic and social justice.
Whatever we call these rights, it is only sound and
strategic consumer campaigning that will move us
closer to the day when they become a reality for each
and every citizen in India. And it is vital that in all
our campaigns, we do not lose sight ofthe real problem
at the root of most of the consumer ills that plague
people in this country — sheer poverty.
I would also like to place on record our enormous
gratitude to the Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA) for their financial support without
which there would be no training workshop.
My former director Mr. Anwar Fazal used to make
this analogy: “If you see a baby drowning in the river,
r-you jump in to save it. Then you see a second baby
Aand a third, and you do the same. You get so busy
saving the babies, you never look up to see that there
is someone there throwing those babies in the river.
Those babies need saving of course and that seems
like the immediate problem, but one needs to stop the
person from throwing the babies.”
And finally our deepest appreciation goes out to our
co-organizers, the Consumer Unity and Trust Society
(CUTS) under the capable leadership of Mr. Pradeep
Mehta. Time does not permit me to list out each and
every person on the organising committee but the
excellent venue and arrangements so far are only an
indication of how much dedicated work has gone on
behind the scenes to make this training workshop
possible.
So if we want to design successful consumer
campaigns that really make a difference, then we
have to begin to look more closely at the source of
the problem we choose to address.
Thank you CUTS for agreeing to be the local
organisers of this important event. We are proud to
have worked together with you on this project and
last but not least, I would like to thank some of the
staff back home in our office in Penang who have
also contributed in someway or the other to this event.
At this workshop we will be sharing information,
knowledge, experiences and skills, and I urge all of
you to learn from each other, to inspire each other,
and to strengthen each other. There is no greater
strength than that which is provided by unity. Despite
all your differences, ifyou can speak as one movement,
one voice, I have no doubt that you will take the Indian
I wish everyone of you a truly inspiring and fruitful
four days of learning and deliberations in this 'City of
Joy'.
[Thank you.]
* A4s. Shanthi Ramanathan, a Post graduate in Industrial Communications and a Malaysian citizen, joined the IOCU as a trainee three years
ago and now as Projects Officer is responsible for development activities in its Asia Pacific regional office at Penang.
sjen M cuts
4
A New Generation
*
Background
Role of Consumer Movement in India
T n India the consumer movement as a
social force originated with the
necessity of protecting and promoting
the interests of consumers against
unethical and unfairtrade practices. The
movement initially reflected the outlook
of consumers that characterised traders
and manufacturers as people who
bothered about their profits with scant
regard for consumers’ well being.
Consumer resistance initially took the
form of selective shopping. ‘Buyers
Beware’ was the basic principle which
governed the legal position of
consumers.
ROOTS
The international consumer movement has its roots in the
United States of America. In 1900 the American Consumer
League was formed to also tackle an increasingly complex
marketplace following the Industrial Revolution. "If the
consumers' interest suffers, the national interest suffers", said
the illustrious US President, John F. Kennedy, while
advocating the famous Bill of Rights for Consumers before
the US Congress on March 15, 1962.
Ten years later, the International Organisation of Consumer
Unions (IOCU), adopted March 15 as World Consumer
Rights Day to be celebrated from 1983. In 1985 the IOCU
achieved another milestone when its ten-year's efforts
succeeded in the United Nations adopting the UN Guidelines
for Consumer Protection—a tool for nations to adopt
measures for protection of consumers, and for consumer
advocacy groups to press their governments to do so. Since
then the consumer movement has never looked back.
Gradually the movement found
expression in efforts to bring pressure
on business firms as well as government
to correct business conduct which may
be unfair and against the interests of
consumers at large. Over time it
embraced the assertion of certain rights of individual
consumers.
Four basic rights held sway for sometime:
•
•
•
•
•
_
Right to safety,
Right to be informed,
Right to choose and
Right to be heard.
With mounting pressure on Government for remedial
legislation, the right to seek redress and the right to
consumer education came to be recognised as crucial
to the upholding of basic rights. In the wake of these
assertions, particularly in developing countries, it has
found expression through the recognition of two other
rights:
• Right to healthy environment and
• Right to satisfaction of basic needs.
In 1989, CUTS decided to look closer into the existing
framework as it did not actually complete the bill of
H CUTS
rights. To begin with the right to satisfaction of basic
need was meaningless unless consumers had the 4 right
to opportunity’. That is to say that a person can acquire
his/her basic needs if only an enabling framework
exists i.e. the social contract between the state and
the citizen.
Furthermore, consumers have been using the weapon of
boycott for long, thus there is an inherent right to boycott.
Thus, in 1990 CUTS declared these two more rights in
a Memo to the State as a Consumer’s Ten
Commandments. In the 3rd National Convention of
Consumer Activists organised at Calcutta in November
1991, it was also adopted as a resolution.
• Right to opportunity
• Right to boycott
While the consumer movement has enlarged in scope
and coverage, its strength and spread among the Indian
masses cannot be said to have advanced much, though
one may contend that the movement has made
considerable progress during the last one decade.
5
A New Generation
There are today more than 700 consumer groups in
the country of which about 20-25 groups are well
organised and recognised for their work.
(<A customer is the most important visitor in
our premises. He is not dependent on us, we
are dependent on him. He is not an interruption
in our work, he is the purpose of it He is not
an outsider to our business, he is part of it. We
are not doing him a favour by serving him, he
is doing us afavour by giving us an opportunity
to do so.
So far it seems the consumer movement has made
considerable progress in terms of numbers of organised
groups and their activities. In the 1990s the movement
has struck roots in rural areas as well in many of the
states in India. However, the organisations which exist
in cities enjoy much higher profile and several
resources, than the who operate in villages, but with
lesser outreach and/or resources. This imbalance is
changing, but slowly. One reason is that
professionalisation of the consumer organisations is
also far to go. The movement is still spearheaded by
volunteer activists.
—Mahatma Gandhi
I
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I
■
(CONj
Teri
J1
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K CUTS
6
A New Generation
Why the Consumer Movement
Adaptation ofa speech by Dr. Shram Khanna* of VOICE, New Delhi
However, there are certain key factors which give birth
to a dissatisfied consumer, such as:
A new movement is slowly sweeping across
xYthe world. It is democratic in nature; it speaks of
the urges and aspirations of the people. It is unified
and embraces all people irrespective of age, sex, caste,
colour and creed.
Public Sector: In theory, the public sector is supposed
to protect the interests of consumers; it is supposed to
act in the public interest and ensure consumers' rights.
In practice a very different course is followed.
Any person, man or woman, young or old, rich or
poor, in every second of his or her life, is a consumer.
The end purpose of all economic activity is to satisfy
the consumer. In a developing country like India, a
large portion of the population lives below the poverty
line. Their purchasing power is also limited. It is the
duty of the government and all kinds of producers not
only to be fair to its consumers in quality and price, but
also to actively participate in the upliftment of society,
while ensuring certain basic rights to the consumer e.g.
right to safety, right to choose, right to be informed,
right to fair contracts, right to quality goods, right to
redress and compensation, right to representation and
right to a safe and healthy environment.
Unfair Trade Practices: Most of the unethical traders
are ruthlessly exploiting consumers through black
marketing, using defective weights and measures, poor
quality goods and fake goods. Even essential
commodities in the public distribution system are being
subjected to these unethical trends.
Inconsistent government policies: Frequent changes
in governments and their divergent economic policies
have enhanced the rate of price rises and inflation,
causing a dent in self sufficiency aspects and increased
foreign debts.
According to the Hindu philosophy of universal
brotherhood we have to ponder as to where we are
now and where we should be.
The consumer movement basically starts from the
helplessness and anger of the citizens caused by social
injustice. As history speaks, inequity between buyer
and seller, a totally sellers market, and unfair trade
practices act as the ignition to the mass movement.
Several voluntary organisations in India have been
endeavouring to create awareness amongst consumers
and leading them in order to create a better
environment.
After 50 long years of protectionism during post
independence period, the door is now opening to
liberalisation. During this period, India has achieved
a moderate development, modernisation,
liberalisation. The result was that markets came to be
dominated by seilers.
The objective of the consumer movement is to protect
the consumers' interest. The alert consumer reacts and
moves to change the situation to his/her advantage.
Consumer organisations function as the spokes
persons of the people. Consumer leaders are not made,
they emerge out of ordinary' people and don the role
of torch bearers of the peoples' movement against
injustice. A “Diksha” in consumerism makes a leader
professional which helps to develop a positive attitude
towards service which is very much necessary to make
a movement successful.
K CUTS
The
concept
of
consumer protection first
emerged during early
seventies when Prime
Minister Mrs. Indira
Gandhi set the ball
rolling with an aim to
protect
consumers'
interest. In 1980s Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi
7
"The end
purpose of
oil economic
activity is to
satisfy the
consumer."
A New Generation
took up the issue seriously.
With the initiation of economic
liberalisation
he
simultaneously enacted the
Consumer Protection Act in
1986, also known as COPRA.
"The single most important
acid test of any consumer
movement is the ability to
boycott*"
If we analyse the present state
of the Indian consumer
movement in the light of the
world consumer movement, the trend shows that, like
any other movement, a consumer movement also has
three phases in its life cycle i.e.
consumer movement, it has
been seen that the political
parties tend to ignore
consumer groups. But as the
movement intensifies, the
polity takes up consumer
issues and tries to rope in
consumer groups to make their
campaign credible. Consumer
groups need to be wary of such
a process of co-option.
It is one of the duties of the business and industry to
pay full attention to consumers. After several years
of total ignorance, the Indian consumer movement has
been able to attract attention of large companies. Some
big business houses like Voltas, Godrej and Kelvinator
have also set up separate consumer complaints/
redressal cells.
1. Infant stage
2. Stage of slow growth
3. Mass movement.
Every movement needs media coverage to get itself
recognised throughout the world. During infancy it is
seen that media covers consumer interest related news
once in six months. During the stage of slow growth
consumer news becomes visible. After eight years of
enactment of COPRA, India is passing through a stage
of slow growth. Today the print media is carrying
consumer news more regularly.
A mass movement envisages professionally managed
group of organisations with full-time top and middle
level management and staff to take care of the issues
in the society. It also foresees the change of attitudes
of media, business community as well as politicians.
Linkages with other important movements, especially
the trade union movement is essential. Having attained
that level of professionalism, the Indian movement
will have reached the status of a mass movement.
In a democratic country like India political parties
play a crucial role. During the first phase of the
* Dr. Sri Ram Khanna, Ph. D. formerly a student activist, now teaches International Marketing at the Delhi School of Economics and is the
founding managing trustee of VOICE, New Delhi, pursuing several battles in courts on behalf of and for consumers.
K CUTS
8
A New Generation
The Report
Need for Training of Activists
protection and promotion of
consumer interests worldwide
through
research,
information, and education.
An independent non-profit
foundation registered in The
Netherlands in 1960, Cl
currently links the activities of
some 240 consumer groups
in about 100 countries and
represents the consumer
interest at international fora.
| ■'he future agenda
A confronting the Indian
consumer and the consumer
organisations, is to explore the
implications of globalisation
on Indian economy. The big
Northern consumer groups
have hailed trade liberalisa
tion as pro-consumer,
because it will fight petty
protectionism, bring down
prices and allow greater
consumer choice. But the
widening definitions of
consumer interests are
shifting the focus of consumer
movements
towards
projecting the consumer as a
responsible and ethical citizen
and not an avaricious mindless buyer. The consumer
of the ’90s needs to question and probe the impact of
free-trade on local and global environment, as well
as, on public health and ethical issues.
IOCU has reached many
milestones in the history of
the consumer movement. It
adopted March 15 as the
World Consumer Rights Day
to be celebrated from 1983.
In 1985, its ten years efforts succeeded in the United
Nations adopting the UN Guidelines for Consumer
Protection - a tool for nations to adopt measures for
protection of consumers, and for consumer groups to
press their governments to do so.
As the scene is dominated by a handful of activists, it
was felt by all concerned activists and the
organisations that there was a need to scientifically
promote a generation of young consumer leaders who
could professionally take over the mantle in the 21st
century.
As a part of its programme to strengthen the
consumer movement in India, the IOCU’s regional
office for Asia and the Pacific, in 1993 launched a
series of collaborative events - one of which was
TWYCL-Training Workshop for Young Consumer
Leaders in association with CUTS.
Genesis of Training Workshops for Young
Consumer Leaders (TWYCL)
Involvement of CUTS
Currently the IOCU has 17 members in India, one of
which is the Consumer Unity and Trust Society
(CUTS).
This need of training young idealistic young men and
women to grow into future leaders gave the idea of
TWYCL or Training Workshops for Young
Consumer Leaders.
Launched in 1983, today CUTS is the second largest
consumer group in India and at the forefront of
several happenings in the history of the Indian
consumer movement. It also serves on several
important government committees at the centre.
Genesis of TWYCL is also linked with IOCUInternational Organisation of Consumer Unions
renamed as Consumers International now. It is a
federation of consumer organisations dedicated to the
K CUTS
9
A New Generation
Rajasthan and West Bengal, and is also a founder of
two major national coalitions.
CUTS was selected as the anchor group for the
TWYCL programme in view of its experience and
skills in training.
THEME OF TWYCL
All organising is about the development of leadership,
although this takes place in many different ways.
The skills needed to become leaders who have the
following attributes:
Shanthi Ramanathan addressing the workshop
Commitment. The leader needs a commitment to
his/her organisation, a long-term commitment to social
change, and a vision of what the future can be.
REPORTS OF TWYCL
The first ever training programme on Skills in
Consumer Campaigning, was held in Calcutta during
first week of January.
Positive outlook. A leader must radiate a
positiveness that looks for solutions to problems
instead of focusing on the difficulties.
“The success of this workshop can only be measured
in what you young leaders do with the newly acquired
knowledge in the months to come. It should be your
commitment that your knowledge should enrich your
organisation and they be better equipped to conduct
consumer campaigns”, thus spoke Shanthi
Ramanathan, Project Officer of IOCU, Penang, at
the inaugural session of the Training Workshop for
Young Consumer Leaders at Calcutta on January 22,
1994.
Honesty. Honesty should be given utmost
importance by the leaders.
Trust in people. Leaders must fundamentally trust
and believe in people. They must draw out the best
in people and urge them to live upto high standards.
Confidence. A leader must have confidence in him/
herself and should be self assured enough to ask for
help and to admit weaknesses.
In the first round it was decided to identify about 25
activists in the country between the ages of 25-35
who should be invited to participate in the first ever
training programme on skills in consumer campaigning,
with first preference to IOCU members.
One key feature of the programme was to enable
the trainees to interact with current consumer leaders
in India. Realising the fact that the best learning can
be done through actual examples, CUTS selected
three successes and three failures of consumer
campaigns at three levels: local, provincial and
national. The participants analysed the causes for
failure and success of a campaign. The rest of the
event dealt with the know-how and do-how of
designing and implementation of a campaign advocacy, communicating and dealing with the
government and courts.
It was also felt that a proper regional and gender
balance must be maintained. There were three each
from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, two each from
Rajasthan, UP and Gujarat, and one each from West
Bengal, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and
Orissa, five from New Delhi including one each
from Punjab and Kerala, and one from Nepal. Of
the 25 participants, 13 were women and 12 men,
achieving perfect gender and regional balance.
The process was extremely interactive with trainees
divided into four working groups to ensure optimum
participation and interaction. Said a trainee Sonal
Mehta: “The workshop was indeed exhilarating,
excellent combinations of theoretical framework and
practical experience with actual examples of
successes and failures. It gave a lot of intellectual
excitement and emotional triggering. We look forward
to the next one.”
Goal setting. All leaders need to develop skills in
setting measurable and realistic goals.
SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS
K CUTS
10
A New Generation
SERIES LAUNCHED
The workshop programme was such a huge success
that both the participants and organisers felt that one
workshop is not enough for imparting the multifarious
skills of consumer activism. And thus the idea of
second workshop came into being. The second on
Skills in Advocacy and Media: “Reaching Out” was
held at New Delhi during 14-18, August, 1994.
Instead of lectures in the abstract, the workshop was
woven around four current issues of social concern:
Secretary in the Consumer Affairs Department of
the Government of India, Justice VB. Eradi, President
of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal
Commission, Ms. PushpaGirimaji, a popular consumer
columnist, Mr. S.P. Virmani, a businessman and past
President, Council for Indian Food Trade & Industry,
and Mr. Pradeep S. Mehta, General Secretary of
CUTS. The programme was an eye-opener for all
the participants, as they got a hands-on exposure in
using the electronic media for lobbying.
1. Legal redress, innovations and delays.
2. Pollution in cities, quality of life.
3. Safe drinking water, elusive goals.
4. Irrational and substandard drugs and prices.
The structure of the second workshop involved the
imparting of skills in both advocacy and media with
real persons.
The success story of first workshop was repeated in
the second one also. The participants were divided
into four groups and were asked to draw up workable
plans on the four issues. The response of the
participants was quite enthusiastic and they came out
with many innovative ideas.
CAMPAIGN ON DRUGS & MEDICINES
At the concluding session, it was decided unanimously
that one single issue should be selected for evolving
a workable action plan. The issue selected was drugs
and medicines - a very timely and important issue,
thus a campaign was revitalised.
Eminent resource persons made presentations which
can be classified in four different categories — a)
overview on the four topics; b) Information and
Documentation; c) Media and d) Advocacy and
Lobbying.
Stressing the importance of a rational drug policy,
the All India Drug Action Network coordinator. Dr.
Mira Shiva, as one of the resource persons at the
workshop, said: “If we do not immediately gather a
mass base for a rational drug policy, essential drugs
required by 80 percent of our population will be beyond
their reach in terms of prices.”
The most interesting and exciting part of the workshop
was the participation of the youngsters on the
‘Question Forum’ - a popular national TV programme.
The young activists threw a number of questions to a
distinguished panel of persons like Dr. G. Sundaram,
A four point action plan was proposed by the
participants to work on the drug issue:
1.
A mass signature campaign on a memorandum
demanding a rational drug policy be launched,
so that while people are educated a pressure is
also created on the government.
2.
Many banned drugs are still sold in the local
markets. Consumer groups should buy them and
file cases in district forums under the Consumer
Protection Act, so that there is a local media
interaction leading to higher awareness.
III
c&ZHMCUTS
11
A New Generation
3.
A writ petition on banned and bannable
drugs is already pending in the Supreme
Court. Consumer and health groups
should intervene in the same to pressure
the court and build up solidarity.
4.
In view of attractive incentives, doctors
often over-prescribe unnecessarily.
Consumer and health groups should
conduct test checks at major
pharmacists' shops, obtain copies of
prescriptions and expose such doctors.
consumer organisations in the development
context, macro trends and major problems
faced by them, the present scenario in relation
to drugs and medicines, the national drug
policy and need for propagating and
promoting rational drug therapy.
i
I
I
I
■
The structure of the workshop was such that
the participants could practice their learnings
through developing a plan of action for a
workable project in relation to the drug policy.
The logical frame work analysis of Voluntary’
F Consumer Action Network (V-CAN), the
network which emerged from the workshop,
gave the participants a sense of achievement. (See
appendices).
1
A MILESTONE
Thus the final outcome of the second workshop was
concrete and on a timely issue in India. This outcome
charged the participants, as succinctly observed by
one ofthe young activists Yogini Acharya of AC ASH,
Bombay: “It’s good to be back with our respective
organisations armed with the strong knowledge base
and skills acquired at the workshop.”
A set of background papers and reference material
was provided to the participants. Structured time for
self-study followed by discussions also helped
facilitate the learning process.
As a result of this workshop, participants were to do
a national campaign on prescription audit by collecting
data of over 5000 prescriptions from all over the
country. Getting their rationality assessed by expert
pharmacologists and using the results for advocating
a standing prescription audit system with the state
health authorities would complete the project.
Others were overwhelming in their feedback, Said
Parag Redkar of Mumbai Grahak Panchayat,
Bombay: ' CUTS have foresighted the need of Indian
activists and organised such a unique programme for
constructing a movement, itself a milestone in the
consumer movement”. His colleague, Raghav
Narsalay acknowledged the values learnt: “The
workshops are among the few instances in my life
that have taught me what hard work is. Most of the
resource persons were outstanding.”
As a follow-up to the campaign, a preparatory
workshop for collecting data was organised in
Calcutta during 13-14, May, wherein experts spoke
about the issues as well as the methodology for
collecting the data. A practical session was also
organised in the city of Calcutta.
FROM IDEALISM TO REALITY
The third workshop was organised by CUTS in
collaboration with CHETNA at Ahmedabad during
February 20-24, 1995 on Strategic Planning. Eight
activists participated in this. While some reported
sick, few dropped out for several reasons.
TAKING STOCK
The fourth and final TWYCL - Taking Stock was
held in Bangalore during 22-26 August, 1995. The
aim of this workshop was to take stock of the
campaign, the workshop series and decide strategies
for future. Additionally the workshop was used to
impart basic skills for advocacy and lobbying,
including public speaking.
The goal of the workshop was stated as enhancing
skills of young consumer leaders in the context of
the campaign on a rational drug policy with the
objective of understanding the importance of strategic
planning for consumer action.
Mr. Pradeep S. Mehta, General Secretary of CUTS,
and the chief architect of the programme, welcomed
the participants and recapitulated the earlier TWYCL
workshops. He explained in brief the background of
the workshop series culminating in formation of VCAN at the third workshop at Ahmedabad and its
activities.
Content areas like vision, mission, strategic planning
of a programme and organisational issues were
covered through use of participatory training methods
like dialogue, discussions, case studies and role play.
The workshop content also included examining
3T7F K CUTS
12
A New Generation
‘Equipping activists through policy research
and advocacy, training and networking on
health issues.’
Ms. Shivani Prasad of CUTS, Calcutta
briefed the audience on the first major
activity taken up by V-CAN: Prescription
Audit Campaign. She gave the background
information on the prevailing culture - ‘a
pill for even' ill' and irrational prescribing
by doctors in lieu of some incentives from
pharmaceutical companies, which provoked
the V-Can to launch this campaign. The
J campaign included collection of data from
prescriptions and assessment of their
rationality by reputed pharmacologists.
s-..;
J v" •'>•4
Eminent resource persons explained in detail about
the consumer movement in India and the world.
Besides, the young leaders were provided with
practical knowledge on public speaking, advocacy and
lobbying. On the last day a public meeting was held
at which the participants presented their learnings.
She then reported what the analysis of 1200
prescriptions collected from various parts of the
country, done by Dr. Krishnangshu Ray of Calcutta
National Medical College had to reveal. She
presented the interim report that revealed some
shocking facts like around 60% of the
prescriptions were irrational, tendency of
doctors to prescribe costlier drugs and those
manufactured by MNCs and the tendency to
prescribe useless drugs.
Raghav Narsalay of Mumbai Grahak Panchayat,
Bombay, in his introduction gave a nutshell idea of all
the TWYCLs. “The first one was held in Calcutta
on 'Skills on Campaigning’. The workshop was such
a tremendous success that a decision of organising
three more such workshops was instantly taken. The
second one was held in Delhi where the issue of
Rational Drug Policy was selected by the participants
for evolving a workable plan. Subsequently a signature
campaign for rational drug policy was launched. The
third TWYCL at Ahmcdabad which was on Strategic
Planning saw the activists forming a new coalition.”
As the first step in this direction it was decided to a)
translate Patient’s Charter in regional languages, b)
translate the comprehensive prescription audit report
in major languages, and then c) launch a programme
for advocacy for an essential drug list and a national
health policy.
Through training and networking the activists would
S. Martin of FEDCOT, Trichy, started with a strong
be imparted with necessary skills on campaigning,
comment on the present pathetic health scenario of
capacity building etc., she summed up.
the country. The Right to Health is enshrined in our
Constitution yet good health has remained an elusive
drcam for most of the people. The new
coalition formed at Ahmedabad named
Voluntary Consumers’ Action Network (VCAN i.c. We Can) decided to take up health
%f
issues as health is the topmost priority today.
■.
,•.
.A.
He narrated the Vision Statement of V-Can:
“Affordable and sustainable health care for
all”, and the mission as: “Equipping activists
to empower people to achieve their right to
health.”
Ms. Sonal Mehta of CHETNA, Ahmedabad,
spoke about the future activities of V-Can:
MCUTS
13
A New Generation
desired results and in reaching out to masses and to
those who frame policies for the masses.
Thus ended the workshop: TWYCL-IV was the last
of the four workshops in the series. The Workshop
saw the rejuvenation of the coalition V-CAN and
it can be concluded that the mantle of
strengthening the consumer movement was
passed on successfully from one generation to
the next.
In the third workshop the activists learnt to do
strategic planning for translating the ideas into reality
in a systematic manner. They also learnt organisational
development and capacity building processes.
The fourth one ‘Taking Stock' helped in recapitulating
the whole experience once again. Besides this
workshop provided ample opportunities to polish their
public speaking skills which is one of the most vital
qualities for a dynamic leader.
LEARNINGS
Each TWYCL was a unique experience and proved
to be a rich and rewarding experience for all the
young participants.
Thus, the first two workshops gave theoretical
impetus to the budding consumer activists, while the
last two gave more emphasis on practical aspects.
The end result was very encouraging and helped in
launching two important projects.
The interaction made them aware of the activities of
various consumer organisations in different parts of
the country. It was heartening to know that a great
awakening was taking place among the masses
regarding their consumer rights as many of the
participants who either joined or organised some
consumer group, came into this
field after being themselves the
victims of violation of their
consumer rights.
V-CAN
India is a land of myriad problems
and the most important one
amongst them is poverty. About
one-third of our people remain
half-starved. As a result their
health is worse off. Many work
in a hazardous atmosphere and survive in abysmal
living conditions. For them to have good health has
remained a distant dream.
WEr CAN
WE
MUST
_
All TWYCLs were woven around
certain specific themes and as a
whole these workshops tried to impart maximum
possible information and practice on the chosen
themes to the activists.
At one end of the spectrum are the states of Kerala.
Punjab, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, while at the
other are the BIMARU states of Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Except for
the first two decades after independence, the response
of the health system to these challenges has
generally been disappointing, preoccupied as it is
with either the sterilisation programme or externally
prompted vertical programmes like immunisation
or crisis management. In the areas of utmost need,
the government health system is dissipated and the
private sector is thriving at the cost of human
misery.
The first TWYCL was on 'Skills in Campaigning' and
here the participants leant to select issues for
campaign, galvanise the action plans and to assess
and analyse the causes behind success and failure of
any campaign.
The second one was on 'Media and Advocacy' which
made it clear to them how powerful media is and
how its effective handling can help in achieving
One of the biggest mistake that the country has
committed is that they have left health to medical
personnel and pharmaceuticals to the Ministry of
Fertilisers and Chemicals. Health is too precious a
commodity to leave it to the medical personnel alone.
There is hardly any coordination among health
scientists, economists, social scientists and the
ministries/departments concerned wzith health,
consumer affairs, fertilisers and chemicals or even
industry, to tackle the problem in an integrated manner.
M CUTS
14
A New Generation
Secondly, when economic restructuring and
liberalisation was launched in 1990-91, one of the
major cuts that came was on the social sector.
However right from the first plan to the eighth plan
the government has spent only about 17-18% of its
total developmental budget on the social sector: health,
education, nutrition, social welfare, water supply and
sanitation etc.
The network has resulted from this series of Training
Workshops for Young Consumer Leaders (TWYCL)
organised by CUTS and Consumers International
(formerly IOCU) to impart skills and create a secondline leadership in the consumer movement in India.
The organisers felt that while activists have sources
of information, they often lack the appropriate skills
of advocacy and campaigning to strategise and bring
________________
about the crucial change.
‘<1
■
The countries that have spent
major part of their budgets
on social development have
shown relatively good
progress in terms of their
health and other social
indicators. The best example
is that of Sri Lanka. And
even countries like Nepal,
which
are
making
tremendous efforts to go up,
TA:
are spending 30-35% of their
developmental budget on the
social sector. Even within the
country, if we look at the states which have shown
better progress like Kerala and Tamil Nadu, they tend
to spend much more on the social sector.
i
Thus V-CAN, a coalition of
10 concerned consumer and
health groups was launched
as a network to provide a
sustained thrust to the
advocacy and campaigning
programme on health issues.
To name some of the
organisation
CUTS,
CHETNA, Consumers
Guidance Society of India,
FEDCOT, Mumbai Grahak
Panchayat, Consumers
Guidance Society (Bezwada
Consumers Council A.P.). CUTS was elected as the
host agency to be responsible for implementing the
programmes: capacity building, guiding research,
advocacy and networking campaigns, and collecting
fecdback/inputs and devising the scope of future
workshops.
• • • aM
Thirdly, the government programmes lack drive and
enthusiasm. There are a lot of vertical programmes
but there is no integration of these programmes as
well as any emphasis on building infrastructure. There
are hardly any programmes for primary health care.
And there is no national health policy statement which
can put forward the issues cogently and create a
coordinated response.
PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN
Prescription Audit
A rational drug policy is an integral part of the health
policy. Unfortunately, we have never ever had a
comprehensive rational drug policy. An honest effort
was made in the year 1975 in the form of the Hathi
Committee, that had recommended a restricted
essential list of 116 drugs which were to be sold under
their generic names. But the majority of the
recommendations of the Hathi Committee were
ignored in the first Drug Policy of 1978.
Fourthly, one of the prime reasons behind this pathetic
situation is lack of literacy among the people. When
the Constitution was drafted in 1951, it said that free
and compulsory' education will be given to all. Now
our literacy level is 51% according to the 1991 census.
But the truth is that the total number of illiterates has
actually doubled. Half of the total illiterates of the
world are in India. Illiteracy coupled with ignorance
has made people live an unhealthy life-style.
After a long gap the Government of India finally
announced a New Drug Policy on September 15,
1994. Alas! The New Policy is totally industry
oriented and not consumer oriented. At present there
are about 153 drugs under Drug Price Control Order
(DPCO), 21 of these arc under category 1 i.e. drugs
which are required for various national health
programmes, and 132 under category 2, that of
In order to meet the goal of a healthy nation, the
Voluntary Consumer Action Network (V-CAN) has
articulated its vision statement as: ‘affordable and
sustainable health for all’, with the mission of:
"equipping activists to empower people to achieve
their right to health”.
K CUTS
15
A New Generation
I
useful check against unscrupulous
doctors.
essential drugs. According to the
New Policy, now there will be only
73 drugs under DPCO.
In simplest terms, it means
collection of prescriptions from
medical stores and patients and
geting them audited by expert
pharmacologists and expose such
doctors.
Another significant change is the
merger of category 1 and category
2 in the DPCO. Earlier for
Category 1, the Maximum
Allowable Post-manufacturing
Expense (MAPE) was 75% while for those in category 2, it
was 100%. Now the MAPE for
the merged category will be 100
percent. All these changes will
increase the cost of drugs
considerably, the brunt of which
will be borne by consumers.
Death in the bottle
The survey of prescriptions was not
an easy work as patients usually
did not keep prescriptions with
them. Besides, the majority of
consumers especially in rural areas,
were ignorant about their rights as
patients.
For the genuinely concerned public, this
announcement did not spring any surprise, as it is
well known that government is quite helpless against
the pressure of the strong pharmaceutical lobby in
this era of globalisation and liberalisation.
Considering these facts, a comprehensive action plan
was made to make the campaign an effective one.
Pharmacologists, voluntary organisations and
consumers all joined hands to play the role of watchdog
on unscrupulous doctors.
It was felt that it was necessary' to strike against not
only the government policies but also unscrupulous
doctors along with pharmaceutical companies, as they
were equal partners in the crime against the people.
The volunteers used posters, charts leaflets, pamphlets
for educational purposes near public places,
government hospitals, nursing homes, chemist shops
etc.
Z•
Today pharmaceutical companies openly bribe
doctors to prescribe their products.
•
Doctors, often overprescribe drugs which may
result in serious side-effects. A survey conducted
by Dr. Jaishree Mitra Ghosh of National Medical
College, Calcutta showed that overprescription of
antibiotics by the city doctors has resulted in
serious kidney and liver problems.
Then the volunteers collected data from the
prescriptions prescribed by doctors. Here health
workers and field workers helped them considerably.
Experiences of some volunteers were different as
they had to face stiff resistance from chemists and
doctors as well as from people.
•
Another malady is the existence of so many brand
names for a single drug source, adding to the
cofusion.
•
Some doctors were found to have switched from
one brand name to another in the mistaken belief
that they were prescribing different drugs. This
brand name prescription could lead to dangerous
consequences, since many drugs with quite
different actions and use have similar brand
names.
Networking with pharmacologists was the most
essential part of the action plan. For this purpose Dr.
Krishnangshu Ray of Calcutta National Medical
College and his team was selected to assess the
rationality of the data collected by the activists.
The final comprehensive report was released on
December 16, 1995 at a press conference in New
Delhi. The report revealed these shocking facts:
Doctors continue to prescribe costlier drugs than
are necessary. And the prescriptions are generally
for drugs manufactured by MNCs.
• Doctors have a tendency to prescribe useless
y medicines like tonics, restoratives, vitalisers and
vitamin formulations, when they are hardly
indicated.
In the background of these handicaps, it is essential
that consumers question doctors whenever a
prescription is written out. Prescription Audit is a
K CUTS
16
A New Generation
*
/ •
Interestingly, government doctors have shown
more rationality than private doctors while writing
prescriptions.
•
Doctors generally prescribed medicines by brand
names, possibly due to lack of awareness about
the generic names or due to commercial interests,
however government doctors mostly prescribed
by generic names.
days to come. But the path is still full of hurdles and
problems. Prominent among them being poverty, lack
of awareness, social evils, traditional and cultural
barriers, language problems etc. Vast majority of
consumers still remain voiceless and inarticulate and
at the mercy of petty traders and sellers. It will take
many more years for Indian consumers to reach a
position of strength wherefrom they can dictate terms
to the people on the other side of the fence, an envious
position many of our Western counterparts have
achieved.
While West Bengal showed the highest number of
irrational/incomplete prescriptions, Gujarat showed
the most alarming prescriptions (10 Percent),
followed by Maharashtra (9 percent) and Tamilnadu
. (8 percent).
The consumer movement in India has to get out of
the bind it is in now. For this purpose attempts should
be made by all concerned activists to counter this
consumer-hostile atmosphere.
The survey revealed that unnecessary drugs like
antibiotics for diarrhoea, cough mixtures for common
cold, anabolic steroids in contra-indicated cases were
used by both general practitioners and consultants,
indicating a serious drawback in their education
during undergraduate and postgraduate studies.
For this prospect to become a reality, and to be able
to face the challenges, the consumer movement
should aim at new horizons with a new vision. The
most essential element in this stride is to build up a
cadre of “socially conscious persons with
immeasurable quantities of creativity and generosity
of human spirit” as desired by Ralph Nader, the doyen
of consumer activism in the United States.
The uniqueness of the compaign was reflected in
the extremely successful press briefing. It was carried
by the prestigious British Medical Journal (Vol 312)
and on the front pages of the Sunday editions of The
Pioneer, New Delhi and The Telegraph, Calcutta.
Most other newspapers also carried the report in
their Sunday editions.
The TWYCL workshops tried to achieve this goal
and succeeded as well. The second generation of
young consumer leaders is now ready to take up the
challenges and to provide a strong leadership to the
consumer movement. Armed with knowledge and
skills this young team has joined hands to bring about
the desired social change.
CONCLUSIONS
Consumer movement is definitely making strides and
is going to be one of the strongest movements in
i fa
\Ts
A 1
jj n
OUi
00/
00/
n /
J
\ 0^
H CUTS
17
A New Generation
Section Two
What is Social Change?
"The exact measure of the progress of the civilisation is the
degree to which intelligence of the common mind has
prevailed over brute force. In other words the measure of the
progress of the civilisation is the progress of the people."
Theory of Social Change:
What it is and Why it is necessary?
What is Social Change
— Shanthi Ramcinathcm
WHAT IS DEFINED AS SOCIAL CHANGE?
Having no dictionary with me, I had little choice but to try and define "social change" using my
limited knowledge and understanding of those two words in English.
"Change", as I understand it, is a process of transformation whereby the output, be it a person,
object, social structure etc., is different from the input. This can be
I illustrated by the following
diagram :
Process of change
Output
Input
Y
Change can both be positive and negative in nature. Change does not necessarily mean that the
output is better than the input. Change can also be for the worse. Another feature of change is that it
is dynamic.
{<You see what is and ask 'Why’ ?
I see what could be and ask 'Why Not,?,>
“Social”, the other word in the term “social change”,
gives the process of change a greater dimension. It
does not refer to change in one person. It means a
change in a particular society at large. This sort of
change can only occur if there is some change in the
inherent structures (political, economic, social and
cultural) that govern society at a particular time. A
mere change in the viewpoints and attitudes of
individuals in the society is not enough. There must
be some structural change in a society’s institutions
before it can be called “social change”.
If we subscribe to the first sentence and just ask why,
then social change will not take place. If we see how
things could be i.e. have a vision for the future and
ask uwhy not’ then there is a foundation to build on
that can cause social change to take place. A
‘VISION’ is the seed for social change. Someone
or a group has to have a vision of how it can solve a
particular problem before we can change society.
HOW DOES SOCIAL CHANGE COME
ABOUT?
TRANSLATING A VISION INTO “SOCIAL
CHANGE”
Now that we have defined social change, let us look
at what brings it about. According to a recognised
social scientist, social change comes out of a
recognition of a problem and a clear vision and
strategy on how to remedy the problem. Once again
this change may make things better or worse. At this
point, I would like to share an anecdote with you from
the works of George Bernard Shaw:
So how can we translate a vision into real social
change? In order to change society, we have to change
several aspects of that particular society. Using your
vision of ‘what should be; and ‘what could be’ you
have to try and change the inherent ideology, value
and structures that exist in that society to reflect
your vision. Let me briefly define what each one
means:
M CUTS
21
A New Generation
1. Ideology: A set of ideas, doctrines, theories and
beliefs that are formulated in order to attain a certain
vision for the individual and the society.
Trying to solve problems individually without looking
at complex social roots that cause these problems
will keep us running around in circles. Instead of
joining together, we will be separated from each other
2. Values: Convictions and norms which dictate what and prevented from making basic changes to the
is considered acceptable behaviour in a society. The I economic, political and social structures which are
standards or norms that guide people’s behaviour.
often the source of the problems in the first place.
3. Structures: The inherent social, political, economic
or cultural structures/institutions that govern how
society functions.
An acceptance of the status quo is part and parcel
of being powerless. Isolated from each other, we all
tend to lack self-confidence. And this also leads to
the belief that nothing can be done. Organising, at its
most basic level is an attempt to prove that ordinary
people can take responsibility of their own lives.
Organising is about breaking barriers between
individuals, it is about people working together to solve
common problems. To illustrate it. I’d like to share
with you two commonly used illustrations that
elaborate on how ‘“organising” is an invaluable tool
that can be used to cause social change.
In order for ‘social change’ to occur we must be
able to cause a change in the existing structure,
systems and institutions that govern a particular
society at a particular point of time.
Firstly, there is a need to change the prevailing ideology
and social values and norms of the time in order to
effect a change in the structures/systems, but this
can sometimes occur without a change in ideology
and values.
Diagram 1 illustrates how we have to look for issues
that will draw the participation of as many groups as
possible. We will always find that in any society, there
are various sectors which do not always have the
same perspective (denoted by the three small circles).
If we are able to pick an issue that has mass appeal
or if we are able to express the issue in terms that
can be understood and accepted by all three groups,
than we will actually be building a campaign (a big
Occasionally there are exceptions and I must stress
the word ‘exceptions’. These are occasional cases
where some fearless firebrand is able to cause some
structural change by single-handedly fighting the city
council but is extremely rare and more often than
not, this sort of crusading Ralph Nader model usually
fails.
In addition, there is always a tendency that this sort
of one-person campaign fails to address the root
problem and therefore fails to alter the underlying
structures of power. Thus, if we want to make a real
change, we have to be able to organise people and
get them involved in any campaign for social change.
Diagram 1
Life is filled with problems — from the personal to
the world shattering, from the rise in the price of milk
to the escalation of the global arms race. Everyday,
problems spring up with such alarming regularity that
most of us do not take time to think strategically about
what can be done. We are too caught up with making
a living and addressing other day to day duties. By
and large society also tends to reinforce the whole
notion of individuality. Personal problems — personal
solutions. It is part of the prevailing methodology of
our times.
9
Diagram 2
Unfortunately, society is a lot more complicated, more
multi-dimensional than this focus on the individual
leads us to believe. If we look at societies as living,
breathing organisms comprised of competing interest
groups vying for power, we come up with a different
picture.
J3L CUTS
22
A New Generation
circle) that will encompass all the three sectors (small
circles).
Diagram 2 on the other hand illustrates how many
small fish (representing single persons) swimming in
an organised manner can completely overwhelm a
bigger fish. Despite our differences, we must be able
to rise above them and unite for a common goal. Unity
in diversity allows us to overcome tremendous
opposition. All major ‘social change’, like the right to
unionise, the vote for women, 8-hour work day and
even the anti-colonial struggle in the Third World all these things were not won fthrough single person
campaigns but through organised groups campaigning
for the same cause.
SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND BEFORE
WE TRY TO MAKE CHANGES IN OUR
SOCIETY
♦ Understand how POWER is organised in society.
Be clear about how political parties, governments,
business, media etc. are organised.
Often it is well-thought-out and well-planned
campaigns that make the greatest impact and
cause real social change.
Finally, I would like to try and elaborate on how this
workshop will try and share with you, skills that will
allow you to cause change in society. Basically, I am
going to use a diagram that will attempt to illustrate
the Workshop process that will take place and how it
will impart skills for social change.
As depicted by the following workshop diagram, you
will be taken through a learning process through which
infonnation and knowledge will be shared in the areas
of campaign organising, tools for organising and
everyday skills. You will need these skills as
campaigners. You will also be given a chance to
participate, analyse, criticise, debate and share ideas,
thoughts and experiences and through this process,
we hope you will be able to grow and reach some
level of self-realisation. In addition, when you return
to your respective organisations, we hope that those
organisations will also be enriched and be better
equipped to conduct consumer campaigns.
♦ Always work at multiplying LEADERS, not
followers. This will escalate the process of ‘social
change’.
♦ Use NETWORKING as a key strategy. Try and
link up laterally with those working on the same
issue.
Tools for Organisation
* Networking
* Understanding power
structure
* Developing leaders
* Assessing the
Environment
* Communicating
♦ Employ USER-FRIENDLY campaign tactics as
far as posssible. These can then be easily
replicated and adapted for use in local situations
and will have far greater reach.
♦ Aim for strategic ACTION that encourages
PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION - the more allies
you have and the more people you get on board
the better - PARTICIPATORY ACTION.
People
* Growth
* Self-realisation
V
Campaign Organising
* Planning
* Implementation
* Evaluation
A
♦ Look for the ROOT OF THE PROBLEM.
Unless we change the root causes, real social
change will not take place. We have to look
beyond the obvious causes that often blind us to
the real cause.
Organisational Gain
* Better leaders and
managers
* Greater efficiency &
effectiveness
* Better understanding of
how organisations
work
Everyday Skills as
Campaigners
* Handling & using
information
* Lobbying & Advocacy
* Working with other
sectors
♦ Engage in LONG-TERM PLANNING. Don’t
look for immediate solutions and instant gains.
epzH Moots
23
A New Generation
■
I
The Sth Estate: Making Things Happen
— Sushmita Ghosh*
INTRODUCTION
Popular will to change has, historically, moved
mountains. It is a force politicians defy and society
depends on for regeneration. But how often do we
connect this power to ourselves as individuals or
groups? Whenever we have seen the connection and
the potential, an idea has been bom, opening a new
window for society.
Realising that his larger task was economic
reconstruction, Paz went on to found the “Centro de
Estudios Barrio”, to provide planning, research, legal
assistance and training for cooperative activities. As
a result, members have more competitive products,
increased market power, more jobs and — most
important — financial security. And Campamentos
Unidos’ who sincerely try to serve it.
All that was needed for Antonio's work to grow from
a tent to an institution was the will and the resultant
self-taught skills to make things happen. To a lesser
or greater degree these skills are present in all of us,
lying dormant, perhaps, for want of confidence that
there is a world out there which bends for people
who sincerely try to serve it.
Take the example of Antonio Paz of Mexico whose
work exemplifies what could have been done after
the Latur earthquake.
When Antonio’s house collapsed in the devastating
Mexico City earthquake of 1985, his home, along with
millions of others, became a tent in the street. But
where many in the tent cities saw destruction and
despair, Antonio saw opportunity. Already a veteran
community organiser at the age of 26, Antonio quickly
turned his talents and those of his neighbours into
founding Campamentos Unidos — “Tent Dwellers
United”.
THE CONTEXT
A look at the nature of citizen initiatives in India
from the early nineteenth century reveals a variety
of approaches and themes.
•
The late colonial period (from 1810 to 1947) saw
the emergence of church-based non-profit
organisations, social and religious reformers from
the Hindu elite, socio-religious movements and
organisations formed by other religions.
Introduction of political content in voluntary work
and emergence of new forms of communal
organisations.
•
The post-independence period saw a newborn
nation spawning a large number of Gandhian
NPOs (Non Profit Organisations) who involved
themselves in development work. Followers of
the Gandhian movement who did not or could
not join the government were natural recruits for
this kind of work.
•
“Welfare-oriented” NPOs emerged in the 1960s
and “empowerment-oriented” NPOs in the 1970s
— both developing in character and tone in
The three guiding principles followed by this
organisation are:
Autogestion — people meet their own needs
doing things themselves,
b. Trabajo Communal — it’s not individuals, but
teamwork that gets the job done, and
c. Reconstruction — rebuilding not just homes but
lives and families for half the cost of government
housing units, with shared courtyards.
a.
Common living areas fostered greater community
cohesiveness and spurred the growth of what Paz
calls “grassroots economic cooperatives”. And these
co-ops have been directly responsible for driving
down the cost of new units as members produced
more and more of their own components — from
aluminium window frames to furniture made from
the earthquake rubble.
M CUTS
24
A New Generation
•
accordance with the socio-economic and political
evolution of India.
•
An achiever who is determined, driven and gives
all his/her time to the realisation of the vision.
Currently, the increasing influence of the
government on all spheres of activity, the 1980s
and '90s saw the formation of “NonGovernmental Organisations” (NGOs) and the
resurgence of separatist and fundamental
movements and organisations.
•
A skilled strategist who can not only outline
concrete measures to actualize his/her vision, but
also has clear plans of spreading its impact far
beyond the initial demonstration.
•
An independent, self measured, sensitive and
persuasive leader, who is capable of managing
and inspiring his/her team as well as other players
in the fields.
THE MECHANICS
Armed with the will to make things happen and a
knowledge of the context, the formulation of a
specific strategy is a logical next step. And the nature
of this strategy really depends on the kind of people
we are at core. An academic, for example, will write
a paper and a journalist an article. A member of the
rubber chicken circuit—professional conference
speakers who thrive on words and more words at
forum after forum—will make a conference
presentation.
A sound administrator who matches his/her
creativity with a strong grasp on the economics
and the other practical aspects of the venture.
•
Perhaps one of the toughest hurdles a social
changemaker has to overcome is the initial one —
what do we tell a family which is expecting one to
follow a lucrative career groove? In the sphere of
business, an entrepreneur has been understood and
accepted as being one who introduces fundamental
change. The gains being personal, it is easy for society
to understand the drive, energy and practical flexibility
that necessarily go into the dream-realisation process.
Commercial incentive structures as well as family
and friends recognise and support this difficult trek
towards a new business horizon.
The neighbourhood social worker will try to service
localised neighbourhood needs. But a ‘changemaker’
will bum with the energy of all of the above and add
a generous dose of entrepreneurial determination.
S/he will not rest until the idea is followed through
from design to execution, from print on paper to
specific, quantifiable intervention or change in the
problem being addressed.
As the organisation I represent, the Ashoka
Fellowship, has as its central goal the building of a
world fellowship of such entrepreneurs, I have had
the privilege of meeting a wide array of exceptional
individuals who have pioneered specific ideas. And
we have formulated a table of very typical character
traits on the basis of obvious commonalities. This
kind of person is usually:
•
A practical visionary with an original vision of
substantial public improvement in any public
service field.
•
A pathfinder, who pioneers an innovative
approach towards his/her vision.
•
An informed, articulate spokesperson for his/her
vision, able to pinpoint its innovative dimension
and the reason for its importance.
•
What happens though, when a clearly entrepreneurial
mind decides to pioneer social change rather than a
new business? Commonly, well-meant persuasion to
do otherwise or incomprehension is trans formed into
respect only when the struggle is over and the vision
in question is clearly successful reality. And even
when the work as well as the person behind it
ultimately wins laurels, the career path that has been
carved out remains largely unrecognised. S/he is
labelled an authority in a particular field of interest,
but the acute similarities in thinking and approach
among public service entrepreneurs of every
discipline are not perceived. Thus a highly important
profession is left without a definition, only open to
institinctive rather than deliberative entry.
From a historical perspective why is this profession,
if it is so important, so unrecognised? Arguably this
may be a phenomenon associated with democracy
since undemocratic societies do not welcome the
dictation to change by individuals or small groups.
A creative problem solver, who sees the
important next steps as well as the hurdles and
finds innovative ways of moving on.
cEZH KCUTS
A person of honour whose strong ethical fibre
and commitment lends the trademark of ‘quality’
to his/her work.
25
A New Generation
Moreover, while a period of rapid social change and
emerging democracy - in a global sense - has been
accompanied by an increase in scope and methods
of change, support institutions have not kept pace.
This is the slot Ashoka seeks to fill by granting equal
recognition to the changemaking visionary, the vision
and the career being defined by the change making
process.
The kind of strategies chosen by successful
changemakers are almost always highly leveraged
ones. Thus, networking with colleagues in same field
and across subject matters and intelligently designed
campaigns are essential ongoing activities - because,
in these busy times, even the best of ideas have to be
'sold' well and sold persistently. Hence the stirrings
of social messages in print and electronic media,
designed to catch your eye with the same verve
displayed by, say, a brand of television. Hence, also,
the increased interest of the Corporate Sector in
development work, as it begins to perceive that the
“market” wants its money’s worth in terms of
products as well as social change. Which is why
corporate visionaries such as TISCO define itself as
a concern that ' ALSO makes steel”.
tfl
New social needs and mores are requiring the
increased professionalisation of social campaigns and
the sooner that analogy with the commercial
entrepreneur is perceived by the social changemaker,
the more professional the approach. After all. while
detergent manufacturers sell detergent, Dr.
Bindeshwar Pathak of Sulabh sells a combination of
IDEAS of hygiene, sanitation, environment and
human rights through easily-designed toilets. And the
latter has a presence all over India now because he
knows that people never accept ideas because they
are “good” for them, but have to be persuaded to
“buy” them in the same way they buy detergent —
except they will be using moral support, active
participation or networking support as currency.
As the struggle to develop effective campaigns is a
lonely and challenging one, strong leadership and
gatherings such as these which set the base for it
become increasingly crucial.
*
Sushmita Ghosh, formerly executive editor of SURYA magazine, is currently producing CHANGEMAKERS for the Ashoka
Innovators for Public - a US-based foundation developing public service entrepreneurship in several parts of the world. Also
heads its North and East India office.
ron Mcuts
26
A New Generation
Campaign as The Tool of Social Change
V. K. Parigi*
i(The exact measure of the progress of civilisation is the degree to which the intelligence of
the common mind hasprevailed over wealth and bruteforce, in other words, the measure of
the progress of civilisation is the progress of people.
- George Bancroft, 1854.
A public interest group is one that seeks a collective
good, the achievement of which will not selectively
and materially benefit the members or activists of
the organisation.
become the condition for the fullest activity
devoted to caring and sharing.
•
Being fully present; where one is.
•
Joy that comes from giving and sharing, not from
hoarding and exploiting.
•
Love and respect for life in all its manifestations,
to the knowledge that not things, power, all that
is dead, but life and everything that pertains to its
growth are sacred.
•
Trying to reduce greed, hate, and illusions as much
as one is capable.
•
Developing one’s narcissism and accepting the
tragic limitations inherent in human existence.
•
Making the full growth of oneself and of one’s
fellow beings the supreme goal of living.
Willingness to give up all forms of having, in order
to fully be.
•
Knowing that to reach this goal, discipline and
respect for reality are necessary.
Security, sense of identity, and confidence based
on faith in what one is, on one’s need for
•
Knowing, also, that no growth is healthy that docs
We need —
- to know what to do
- to know how to do it
- to believe we are capable of doing it
- to make a commitment to do it
Campaigning is a full time job. A campaigner’s
conduct should be above reproach. The importance
of a strong commitment to the cause needs all the
emphasis.
The following excerpt from uTo Have or
To Be” by Erich Fromm should serve as the
motivating philosophy for those who are
campaigners for social change.
•
•
relatedness, interest, love, solidarity with the
not occur in a structure, but knowing, too, the
world around one, instead of one’s desire to have,
to possess, to control the world, and thus become
the slave of one’s possessions.
difference between ‘structure’ as an attribute of
life and order as an attribute of no-life, of the dead.
•
•
Acceptance of the fact that nobody and nothing
outside oneself gives meaning to life, but that this
radical independence and nothingness can
MCUTS
27
Developing one’s imagination, not as an escape
from intolerable circumstances but as the
anticipation of real possibilities, as a means to do
away with intolerable circumstances.
A New Generation
I
•
Not deceiving others, but also not being deceived
by others; one may be called innocent, but not
naive.
•
Knowing oneself, not only the self one knows,
but also the self one does not know - even though
one has a slumbering knowledge of what one
does not know.
•
Sensing one’s oneness with all life, hence giving
up the aim of conquering nature, subduing it,
exploiting it, raping it, destroying it, but trying,
rather, to understand and co-operate with nature.
e
| f*
Freedom that is not arbitrariness but the
possibility to be oneself, not as a bundle of greedy
desires, but as a delicately balanced structure
that at any moment is confronted with the
alternative of growth or decay, life or death.
•
Knowing that evil and destructiveness are
necessary' consequences of failure to grow.
•
Knowing that only a few have reached perfection
in all these qualities, but being without the
ambition to “reach the goal”, in the knowledge
that such ambition is only another form of greed,
of having.
•
Happiness is the process of ever-growing
aliveness, whatever the furthest point is that fate
permits one to reach, for living as fully as one
can is so satisfactory that the concern for what
one might or might not attain has little chance to
develop.
“Citizens pay their taxes and then they abdicate They have lost their skills as citizens, they
have contracted them over to public employees.,f
- E. S Savas.
* V. K. Parigi is the head of Consumer Education Centre, Hyderabad and Bangalore and is a pillar of the Indian consumer
movement. Formerly a corporate executive, he is now a full time consumer activist, having keen interest in responsible consumerism
and studying impact of consumption patterns.
K CUTS
28
A New Generation
e
Section Three
The Making of Activists:
Developing Leadership Skills
For some people the day comes
when they have to declare the great Yes
or the great No. It's clear at once who has the Yes
ready within her/him; and saying it, s/he goesfrom honour
to honour, strong in her/his conviction....
C. P. Cavafy
CAMPAIGNING:
The What and How of Organising a Campaign
SWOT Analysis of a Successful Campaign
e
Leadership Skills
/Campaigning is a series of carefully planned,
supported, and sequentially interconnected
events spread over time; the prime objective being to
change the attitude and behaviour of the target
population with respect to an identified issue, product
or cause. Campaigning is often necessary for
consumer organisations faced with situations requiring
rapid mobilisation of the general public.
T
tilllli
.. o
AN ISSUE is by definition a problem to be solved.
Problems vary in magnitude and the amount of time
required to solve each problem depends on the
organising ability and the resources available to
consumer organisations. The first step, therefore, is
to identify the problem and get organised.
\
U
4
according to the plan to achieve the objective(s)
assigned.
The mass media (radio, television, print press) play a
major part in campaigning.
An issue should not be chosen haphazardly. It should
be well thought out in terms of consumer concerns.
Important issues are usually easy to identify because
they motivate consumers to act, and seek solutions,
hence exposing themselves.
The aim of a campaign varies according to the
situation. It may be:
• to give correct information on a rumour; in that
case, media campaign is generally enough.
A good organising issue needs the support of all
consumers or target groups. A good issue is defined
by a number of important characteristics. The issue
can be chosen from a survey carried out by the
organisation amongst consumers, considering areas
of greatest concern. An issue could also arise out of
a major consumer problem that could have cropped
up suddenly.
• to boycott a product or denounce a service whose
characteristics are harmful to the interests of the
consumers. Here, the campaign uses multiple
means, from the media to demonstrations of sitins to conferences and meetings with opinion
leaders.
Though an issue may appear simple, it may actually
be complicated and hard to solve. A complex issue is
more difficult to explain to consumers. When you are
confronted with such a situation, be precise and explain
in a few short clear cut sentences.
• to protect against an unfair measure or denounce
measures which bear risks for consumers (texts,
agreements, conventions etc.)
THE IDEAL CAMPAIGN MODEL
Criteria for a good issue
We must have a clear understanding and statement
of the objective of our campaign. The objective and
the mission make up the philosophical foundation of
a good campaign.
A good issue must come from people and must be
one that improves the consumers’ lives. An issue must
be manageable, achievable and easily understood.
Members of the campaign team should be chosen on
the basis of some or all of the following qualities:
A campaign must be controlled throughout by the
organisation which must ensure that everything goes
K CUTS
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a
31
A New Generation
fr
-.J
)
Is
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
general elections may be confused with the opposition
and face political sabotage. Improper timing may be self
defeating, for it may leave the organisation unpopular.
ability to communicate
ability to lead
availability to work within the campaign
time frame
area of interest of the group.
PUBLICITY
Publicity is of great importance to a consumer
organisation. Good publicity spreads the word about
the organisation and helps to establish its name and
objectives. Publicity establishes credibility, provides
a good coverage and support from various individuals
or groups, fighting for a just cause. Publicity includes
everything from radio, television, newspaper, posters,
and word of mouth.
Developing Strategies
Strategy is the preparation of the plan about how we
are going to achieve our goals. The various steps must
be in a sequence that can be easily monitored or
altered as the ennvironment regarding the issue
changes. The goal must be defined clearly before
attempting to develop a strategy.
Publicity Method
When a changing situation arises, we have to modify
our goals and restart from the beginning by preparing
our analysis of the present situation, state of
environment and then present an amended Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT)
analysis.
Posters: Colourful posters are “catchy”. Because
people do not usually give much time to reading
posters, it is vital to portray the image of the objectives
of our issue with as few words as possible. At the
same time ensuring that we have provided as much
detail as possible. Provide your address and phone
numbers to enable readers to access you for queries.
Display posters in most frequented places such as
shopping areas.
Tactics for Campaigning
Different issues require different tactics. Tactics is
the art of doing what we can with what we have. In
a campaign, tactics refers to controlling the situation,
that is, taking power.
Leaflets: Leaflets must have the same qualities as
posters. In addition, they are handy, striking, easy to
distribute, and not difficult to post.
Tactics that can be used are:
Press Releases, Letters to the Editor,
Interviews. The issue needs wide media coverage
such as through local news papers, television, radio
stations, news conferences and letters to the editor.
Press releases should be newsworthy.
Public meetings: to inform people about our action.
Petitions: to the government to accept our proposals.
Boycott: to advise consumers not to buy certain
products.
Effective Press Conference
Demonstrations: to attract the attention of indecisive
people.
Checklist: Plan the press conference well in
advance. We should provide reporters with a site plan
to facilitate accessibility. The date for the press
Letter writing: to address the concerned party. Send
a copy of the letter to the press.
Press conferences: to inform the public
about our goals and how far we have reached
in the negotiation with the target group.
Z?’
Timing of a campaign
The success of any campaign largely rests
on when, where, and how it is conducted. A
consumer campaign mobilised on a major
holiday may not win adequate following and
support, it will miss a large number of
followers who will be occupied elsewhere.
Similarly, a campaign coinciding with national
MCUTS
32
A New Generation
conference should not coincide with a major event in
the country.
SOLICITING SUPPORT
Without support, it is difficult to campaign or lobby.
Support from other groups of NGOs is vital.
Depending on the problem, we have to decide which
groups we want to get support from such as, the
general public, non governmental organisations, trade
unions, groups related to that particular issue.
Send the agenda for the press conference as soon as
possible. If you have personal contact with reporters,
invite them as well as chief editors or heads of news.
Have a list of reporters to whom you have sent
invitations ready so that it may be used as an
attendance sheet when they sign against their names.
Support can be solicited through telex, telephone,
public meetings, demonstrations, boycotts, bargains,
and direct mail.
Prepare a written statement. Do not distribute any
written statement about the subject of the press
conference before the press conference. Distribute
your statement after the press conference.
It is important to solicit support in rural areas to
facilitate the spread of consumer activism to
marginalised areas, where it is most needed.
Answer all questions true to your knowledge as briefly
as possible. Elaborate on questions which touch the
issue directly.
It is vital to note that the methods used to solicit
support may vary with socio-economic, cultural,
religious and institutional differences. The nature of
problems faced by consumers may also vary between
rural and urban areas. It is therefore imperative for
solicitors of support and campaign organisers to come
up with relevant strategies that will capture such
disadvantaged folks.
The most important issue after the press conference
is the follow up. Deliver by hand, a copy of written
statement to each of the reporters who have not been
able to attend the press conference. Make sure that
the press conference will appear in the media.
Effective Press Release
Influencing target groups: An important tactic to
solve the problem. We have to place our facts in an
influential manner in order to be convincing. At times,
it will depend on the issue and the target population
that we want to convince. As a consumer
organisation, our target group may be:
• professional group - lawyers, doctors
• business community - Chambers of Commerce
and Industry’
• political leaders - Ministers, political part} leaders.
A press release should be short. Always place the
important points in a descending order, that is, the most
important at the top, followed by the less important.
The date and time of the conference should always be
placed at the top. Your idea should bejustified with quotes.
Be as brief as possible. Using the organisation letterhead
will help people to identify you easily. Wherever possible,
provide a photograph to the media.
PRESS RELEASE
A press release should contain the following:
LOGO/SYMBOL
TELEPHONE/FAX
DATE RELEASE
NEWS FROM ACM
Sample identification heading
HEADLINE:
Brief identification of story
OPENING PARA
Summary of the issue
Highlights of issues
Not indented
Double Spacing
OTHER PARAGRAPHS
Advantages: what is new/different
Applications: use and users
Other information
THE RULES OF POWER TACTICS FOR
CAMPAIGNING
Power is not what you have, hut what the
opponents think you have
Never go outside the experiences of your
©
own people
Wherever possible, go outside the
experiences of your enemy
Confine your opponents to live up to their
mvn hook of rules
Hold your opponent to decision
Keep the pressure on until you achieve
your goal
Do not drag on
O
A good tactic is one that makes people
<9
enjoy
Name of writer and contact person
K CUTS
33
A New Generation
Involvement and Commitment to a Campaign Strategy
«=>
Identify and concentrate on the strategy to be adopted
Develop a step by step plan
o
Organise a goal setting and realisable process
Develop a tight campaign time table
Train and equip volunteers if necessary
Include executive members and staff in the plan
Maintain written campaign policies and
procedures
■=>
Provide a periodic campaign report to partners
t=>
Maintain proper campaign monitoring and
accounting procedures
<=>
Use campaign promotional materials
r=>
Organise periodic reviews and appraise materials
Evaluate the compaign.
DISCOVERING AN ISSUE THROUGH A SURVEY:
STEP BY STEP APPROACH TO CONDUCTING A SURVEY
Step 1. Get expert advice
Convene a meeting with members who are professionals in social sciences. If you do not have members,
contact friends or local experts. These persons will help you to design questionnaires, pretesting and analysing
results.
Step 2. Determine what your organisation wants to know (that is the aim you want to achieve).
Step 3. Identify the target group, for example, for price/quality sellers of target product/service.
Step 4. Test questionnaires.
Provide samples of the questionnaire to members of your organisation. Brainstorm on difficulties arising in
answering the questionnaire from the consumer's point of view.
Step 5. Collect data.
Visit, call or write to consumers. Make sure that the information provided is correctly entered in the
questionnaire.
Step 6. Interpretation of data collected.
Get expert advice from a statistician or a social science graduate.
Step 7. Result.
Present the results in a reader-friendly way so that a layman can understand it.
Step 8. Capitalise on the result of the particular issue.
When you have completed your survey, you should have enough indications of how appealing the problem is
to the consumers.
K CUTS
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A New Generation
Factors to be considered when campaigning
i)
It is the responsibility of a campaign organiser
to campaign professionally and not haphazardly.
ii)
For consumer organisations in developing
countries and with limited resources, campaigning
is a challenge. Professional campaigning requires
the organisation to be imaginative, responsive,
to be able to show a sense of goodwill, good
communication and dynamism.
iii)
LOBBYING
It is the prime role of consumer organisations to
pressurise governments to give priority to human life
before personal glory. To effectively exert pressure,
consumer organisations require the support of the
masses and other sympathisers.
Planning is ofgreat importance in any lobbying activity.
The important things that have to be considered when
planning are:
A successful campaign depends on several
factors such as the nature of public relations with
the media; the image of the organisation; and
leadership of the organisation.
•
•
•
iv) Professional campaigning can be more
successful if it portrays its intention to satisfy
the needs of the consumers.
v)
•
There is need for the involvement of all
concerned parties through a transfer process.
•
Understanding the authority you are planning
to lobby.
Finding out the functions and responsibilities
of this authority in relation to other authorities.
Following the planned steps as accurately as
possible.
Establishing contacts with the authorities and
sending them material you have such as working
papers, reports, research carried out etc.
Inviting them to your organisation for discussion,
allowing them to address and express their views
on the issues discussed at the meeting.
The transfer process may be as follows:
The consumer organisation must be well prepared to
defend its ideas from being refuted by the authorities
during discussion.
Hostility-------------------------- >
Sympathy
Not all the people will collaborate in a
campaign. Some groups or non governmental
organizations may be hostile. You must try to win their
sympathy by all means necessary.
EXISTENCE OF AN ORGANISATION
Lobbying can only be envisaged when the same
reason and set of issues, concern a more sizeable
group of people. These people should be organised,
with well set objectives and strategies. The
organisation then defines a cause which all its
members identify themselves with. Areas of concern
could be the quality and cost of products and various
services, and or, laws to protect the consumer.
Prejudice----------------------- >
Acceptance
A particular campaign may seemingly
prejudice some religious, educational and social
communities. It is vital to win their acceptance.
Apathy----------------------------- >
Interest
Some people may be disinterested due to lack
of understanding. This usually happens when the
subject matter has not been presented in a convincing
and interesting way. Provide information on the subject
matter.
CONTROLLING A NETWORK
Lobbying by an organisation can only be carried out
through a network, that is, a set of structures or
institutions defending the organisation’s cause. The
success of lobbying will depend on the extent of the
network, its capacity to influence, and on the nature
and diversity of its field of influence and components.
Ignorance-------------------------- >
Knowledge
This is a common failing. As human beings we
usually assume that everyone knows about the issue.
Make people more knowledgeable about the issue.
•s
ft CUTS
35
A New Generation
Consumer organisations should establish good
relations with all private and public media such as,
television, radio and the print press.
Elements of the network
Creating the pillars of a network
Consumer organisations should establish relations
aimed at creating a network supportive of the
consumer movement’s cause. Such a network may
be based on the following pillars:
Mobilising the network
When the network is well established, and there is a
strong relationship between the organisation and
supporting network, it becomes easier to act.
Political organisations and
administrative structures
The representative institution of this
pillar is the parliament. Parliament is
made up of elected people in charge
of drawing up legislation. Through the
Members of Parliament (MPs)
supporting their cause, consumer
organisations can influence decisions,
foster the revision of laws or the
elaboration of new laws to enhance
consumer protection.
The most adequate approach is to
contact parliamentary groups on issues
related to consumer rights, through
specific questions to which the majority
of the population (voters) are sensitive.
TACTICS THAT CAN BE USED TO LOBBY
Prove your support: Demonstrate that several people
feel the same as you do about the issue. Obtain the support
of representatives and sympathetic officers who would take
the issue to higher organisational levels, such as Parliament.
Use questions ana declarations from international
organisations such as the World Health Organisation and
Consumers International to substantiate your issues.
Use experts' opinions: Use sympathetic professionals
and scientists to build up your argument.
Develop friendly material: Materials should not be bulky
or complex; they should be simple and as brief as possible.
Any criticisms that the organisation puts forward should be
accompanied by valid alternatives.
Civil society organisations
By definition, these are groups of
people committed to participating in the
life of the nation and the development
of humankind outside political parties.
They are:
Know when to take a bold step: If you anger the
authorities, do so in a conscious and calculated way.
Adapted from IOCU paper: "Campaigning on issues"
• non-governmental organisations
• various associations
• cooperatives
• movements (youth, women etc.)
• trade unions.
Mobilisation of the network arises from a situation
where the organisation realises that its sole efforts
can solve a given problem. The organisation must only
use lobbying as a last resort, when all else fails.
The way to mobilise a network depends on the nature
of the problem and the situation to be changed. In a
given situation it is advisable to contact one element
of the network, which you know will have
repercussion on the other elements, and facilitate their
mobilisation. Generally, the media makes it possible
for the whole lobbying network, so as to support the
pillar whose action is fundamental and decisive.
This pillar is crucial because it is capable of influencing
all other pillars when everyone is mobilised. To win
civil societal organisation structures to their cause,
consumer organisations must take interest in their
activities and concerns. They must invite them to take
part in public consumer activities.
The media
The role of the media in lobbying is undeniable. It has
great influence on public opinion on all kinds of issues
and situations.
^HMCUTS
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A New Generation
ADOPTING A COHERENT APPROACH
CONCLUSION
Coherent action is a guarantee of success and a proof
that the organisation is serious. Coherence is reflected
in the following elements:
Lobbying is a strategy which should be adopted by
every7 consumer organisation.lt allows the organisation
to deal with all kinds of situations, to win many battles
and impose itself as an unavoidable interlocutor to all
professionals.
a)
Perfect knowledge of the situation
The organisation must gather as much information
as possible on the situation so as to better understand
it and inform the lobby on “What is the situation like?”
What are its characteristics?
What are the foreseeable consequences?
How can it be influenced?
b)
Setting clear and realistic targets
The organisation must know clearly what results are
necessary, and what objective is to be pursued.
c) Identifying a strategy, a precise plan of
action
The following concerns arise:
• By what means can the objectives be achieved
in the most effective and least costly way
possible?
• What person (private, corporate) is the best
placed to influence the situation?
• Which element of the network is the most relevant
at which stage of the action?
• What resources are needed?
• Are there any other alternatives?
ADVOCACY
Advocacy is an act of giving support to a cause. Any
one who attempts to resolve a problem in a non-violent
way by negotiation, persuasion, perseverance and by
convincing the other party, is practising advocacy.
When the beneficiary is an individual, the effort could
be considered as private advocacy. But when the
efforts are directed towards the benefit of the public
at large, or a large group of individuals, they could be
considered as public advocacy.
Advocacy efforts may vary in their external
manifestation depending on the issue it is focusing
on. Advocacy as a democratic tool consists of several
independent techniques, strategies and tactics.
Advocacy may take shape with any permutation and
combination of these characteristics and many more.
Yet it has a single purposeful result viz., to bring about
social change so that the weaker sections of the
community get greater access to political power and
economic resources of the country. This social change
does not necessarily emerge through a sudden
revolution. It may take place as a result of a peaceful
and gradual transition.
d) Good positioning of campaign within the
action
Advocacy efforts arise from field situations or an
individual case or a policy initiative.
In stage (c), the organisation must decide whether it
needs a campaign to support the action.
COLLECTING INFORMATION
In general, the campaign is aimed at reinforcing the
network’s actions and involves the network. The
organisation should have control over the campaign
in all aspects of organisation, funding, implementation,
coordination and assessment.
A lot of work needs to be done after the issue is
identified, but before it is properly framed. In fact an
issue cannot be framed unless a lot of related
information is collected. The information to be
collected would be regarding the following:
STRENGTHENING THE LOBBY
It is clear that lobbying requires a methodical
approach and rigorous organisation. It is only
workable when the organisation is credible, has
managed to convince people of its public usefulness,
the relevance of its interventions and the transparency
of its management of affairs.
3^ M CUTS
37
•
Laws relating to the issues.
•
•
Policy on the issues.
The persons concerned in implementing the
laws/schemes
•
Sympathisers within the government, of the
issue and opponents of the cause.
A New Generation
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•
Media coverage and its analysis
•
Other groups working on the same issue.
•
Possibility of fonning a coalition with other
groups.
FORMING AND SUSTAINING
COALITIONS
Coalitions in the context of advocacy are alliances of
organisations working together for a common
concern. These organisations may belong to different
sectors, and may ordinarily carry out different
activities. What is peculiar to the coalitions is that
they form associations of different groups and
organisations that are driven by common concern.
The social action organisation must ensure that the
issue is understood by the affected people and that
they are aware and ready to take initiative in the
advocacy efforts. The issue as identified, has to be
properly framed before any action could be taken on
it. Once the information is collected, it forms the
background for framing the issue in a manner that
would help achieve the desired objective.
Depending on the cause of the concern, a coalition
should function for a short duration or over a long
stretch of time. In order to maintain good relations
among the members of the coalition and also
effectively pursuing the cause it is necessary to fulfil
the following conditions:
MOBILISING INTERESTED PERSONS
For any advocacy effort to be effective, it is essential
that the people interested and affected by the issues
come together. This can help in projecting the
importance of the issue. It is expected that the
interested people can be mobilised by any of the
following methods:
Appeals, letters.
•
The goals and objectives of the coalitions are
clearly stated.
•
The tasks and responsibilities among the groups
are clearly defined.
•
Perfect and open communication and dialogue is
maintained among the groups.
•
Collective leadership should emerge from the
coalition.
Exhibitions, posters, leaflets, handbills.
Speeches.
Meetings.
Signature campaigns.
Coalitions provide support and strengthen the
movement. They help to look at the problem from
different angles and pool experience and expertise of
different groups.
Dramas, rallies, demonstrations.
Street plays.
Conferences, workshops.
Networking
PLANNING CAMPAIGNS
It is very important to establish links with groups and
organisations having similar interests. Such groups
may interact with one another primarily on matters
of common interest.
Every advocacy campaign to be optimally effective
has to be properly planned. This planning would
include the following:
FORMING ALLIANCES
Collecting all relevant information relating to the
campaign including legal information, policy statement,
scientific information and similar activities.
After knowing the people who are interested in the
issue, it is very useful to form alliances and get into
close association with some of them. The groups may
not always have common priorities, but as long as
they have interest in the issue, they are potential allies.
Greater the alliance, greater the impact it would have
on decision makers, be it judiciary, bureaucracy,
legislature or the media. Different allies increase the
strength of the group as a w'hole and therefore
increase the impact on the issue.
K CUTS
Identifying the key players including:
Those who make decisions
Those who oppose the action
•
Those who are proponents of the issues
Those who have no opinion on the issue.
38
A New Generation
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Analysing one's own and opponents’ strengths and
weaknesses would provide opportunities for further
action.
Searching the proper tool and where it could be used
and when.
INVOLVING MEDIA
Media, whether print or electronic, plays a very crucial
role in the advocacy action. It is an effective tool
which can give wide exposure to the cause. It can
influence a large number of people
including the main or the influential
workers. Advocacy in fact is
influencing the influential and other
people involved in the cause.
to implement the laws and the schemes that are
introduced for their benefit.
If all people are vigilant and alert about their rights
and responsibilities there would be little work left for
the social advocates. However in a country where
the majority of the people are illiterate and unaware
of their rights and entitlements the social activists have
to step in to make these weaker sections of the
community, aware of their rights. They need to be
encouraged to take initiative in leading their own lives
as competent members of the community.
STRATEGIC PLANNING
li
If the cause is newsworthy and the
media also have the policy of
focusing on that cause, the task
before the social activists is very
easy. But if the media is unaware of the impact of
the issue, an activist has to convince them of the
importance and the newsworthiness of it. This can
be done by creating sympathy for the cause among
media personnel or by appealing to the feelings of
compassion in them.
Strategic Planning is the process of determining
what an organisation intends to be in the future and
how it will get there. It is finding the best future for
the organisation and the best path to reach the
destination. Such planning involves fundamental
choices about the future of organisation-choices about:
•
The mission or the goals the organisation will
pursue
•
The programmes, services, or products to
accomplish this mission
How to attract and utilise the resources neededpeople, money, expertise, facilities etc.
BUILDING PRESSURE ON LEGISLATURE
COHSUMCI?
a democracy, the legislature is
the representative of the people.
They arc expected to give effect
to the desires and aspirations of
the people whom they represent.
It is therefore essential that the
legislature know what people
want and what they do not want.
THE NEED FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING
•
To improve performance.
•
To stimulate progressive thinking and clarify future
direction.
• To solve major organisational problems.
The legislators need to be
POWE#
informed on different issues based
on factual statistical data. This
would help the legislators to take a reasoned stand in
formulating policies.
•
To ensure optimum utilisation of available
resources.
•
To build team work and expertise.
RELEVANCE OF ADVOCACY
• To influence rather than be influenced.
In a democratic society it is the responsibility of the
people to be vigilant. They must exert sufficient
pressure on legislature, so that they are compelled to
take action in a manner which is most desirable for
the people, especially the poor and the politically weak.
People must exliibit their strength by joining hands on
common issues and compelling the bureaucracy also
•
K cuts
To ensure professionalism in management of work.
DEVELOPING A VISION
Strategic planning can be described as developing a
vision for the future of the organisation. The task in
strategic planning is twofold:
39
A New Generation
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the creation of that plan. These components
are:
- An organisational vision
- A system of group values
- A mission statement
- A set of objectives
THE VISION
Develop the best vision of what an organisation
should look like in the future.
•
Vision can be defined as a unique insight into a
problem. For an organisation, this special
understanding of the situation or problem is what
necessitates the group’s existence. It is, therefore,
crucially important for the organisation to articulate
its vision statement.
Determine how to move the organisation
toward that desired future.
•
COMPONENTS OF A STRATEGIC PLAN
The vision statement is a farsighted, well-articulated
long term ambition. These statements are, generally,
very broad in nature and serve more as overall
motivation than as pragmatic agenda for action. The
vision statement should define the problem which
necessitates the organisation’s existence.
Mission
The mission of an organisation is what it intends to
accomplish in future. Mission is a broad term which
reflects the ideology of any organisation.
Time-frame
VALUES
These can be short, medium and long term plans.
The time-frame is important since the development
of a functional project is contingent upon a realistic
period in which to finish all the related work.
Values, on the other hand, define the
character, method of operation and
working environment of a given
organisation.
Goals
When formulating a strategic plan which involves a
number of related actions, it is important to prioritise
the organisation’s goals. The following questions need
to be answered:
•
Which goals are the most important ?
•
Which goals is the organisation ready to work on
now?
•
Which goals are long term goals ?
•
Which short term goals will help to achieve the
long term goals ?
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission is quite simply a statement of purpose. It
is a simple one or two sentence statement that should
address:
•
•
•
An organisation’s main purpose
The target group involved
The principal means of serving the target group
It is important that the mission statement be
understood and agreed to by all members of the
organisation.
FORMULATION OF A STRATEGIC PLAN
Each organisation, each campaign has a mission i.e.
what it wishes to achieve as the ultimate goal. In order
to accomplish the articulated mission, it is required to
To form an effective strategic plan, one must
understand and define the elements which comprise
^hKcuts
40
A New Generation
Step Four
elaborate the ways/the system and steps which we
think are appropriate for moving in the directions set
by our mission.
The next activity is to identify the main issues that
are facing the organisation. An issue can be a problem,
a weakness, a question, a challenge or a concern.
The issues should be limited to those concerns that
have to be resolved if there is to be agreement on the
strategic planning.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goals are simply those objectives which an
organisation would like to accomplish. The goals need
to be specific enough to allow an organisation to work
towards it. To set goals, it is important to ask:
•
What are our problems?
•
Who do these problems affect ?
•
How can w'e overcome them ?
•
What do we need to overcome them ?
Step Five
The next step involves the development of vision for
the organisation. It means the members should think
and imagine what they wish their organisation- would
like to achieve in the next three or five years.
Step Six
The goals should address these questions and the
statement of the goals needs to be specific. Besides,
they should be closely related to the mission or purpose
of the organisation.
Stage six represents the first part of the formal
planning process i.e. preparation of statement of
purpose. This statement may contain a reference to
the vision (why we are working), the role of the
organisation in achieving that vision, the direct target
group (for whom we are working) and possibly the
main activities (how we will work).
TEN STEPS OF STRATEGIC PLANNING
Step One
The first step is to evaluate the current situation and
the activities of the organisation.
Step Seven
Once the statement of purpose is completed, the goals
are relatively straightforward, which is the next step
of the planning process.
Step Two
Step two involves the assessment of the organisational
strengths and weaknesses. It helps in getting the idea
what the organisation is capable of achieving.
Step Eight
The next step is to take each goal and identify the
main activities, target groups, time frame and
geographical location and thus to develop the planning
Step Three
The analysis of internal strengths and weaknesses
leads naturally to an assessment of the external
opportunities and constraints (threats) facing the
organisation.
grid.
Step Nine
This stage proviaes the opportunity to go back over
the plan and check to see if the various ideas are
both feasible and appropriate.
Step Ten
Step ten includes the drafting of final and revised plan.
M CUTS
41
A New Generation
How To Implement a Campaign
V. K. Parigi
PLAN, PLAN and PLAN..., but then ACT.
Planning is anticipatory decision making.
Prepare a work plan with time schedules and monitor it. If things are not moving as per plan ask questions and
reschedule the work plan if needed only. Speed and punch are important in implementing the plan. Sometimes,
an element of surprise is needed.
Begin by giving the group a name that is brief and self explanatory.
Prepare a position paper describing the issue you are concerned with, the major problems that
need corrective action and the action that is necessary to correct the situation.
Gain public support (narrow possible base of opposition).
Decide on a core group of volunteers.
Organise all material into a comprehensive filing system. (A well run organisation and easy
accessibility to information is essential to your credibility and effectiveness.)
Prepare and research your data.
Anticipate problems that your campaign/your proposals may cause.
Develop thorough background material.
Build coalition groups, and use networking. Contact individuals with expertise in the area
concerned.
Z
Budget permitting, send personal letters to as many persons as possible.
Z
Hold press conference.
Select a Co-ordinator for each region.
IMPLEMENTATION
Stage I -
The initial stage (getting ready)
Stage II -
The launch itself
Stage III - The feedback and review of strategies
Stage IV - Modify, re-orient the campaign if required
Stage V -
Evaluate progress and results
Stage VI - Close action
M CUTS
42
A New Generation
9.
Strategy may be defined as broad plan of attack or
general approach. Tactics are the specific actions
taken to advocate certain policy positions. Various
tactics are:
Getting information from insiders and using
it to strengthen the facts and the campaign.
Secrecy of the source should be assured.
1. Signature gathering. The best places to do so
are:
Each tactic should be weighed against its costs
and benefits.
Social events
High density traffic areas
Public libraries
Colleges/University campus
Independence Day/Republic Day events
2.
Personal presentations. Face to face contacts
— Identify friends and avoid enemies.
3.
Presentation before Parliamentary
Committees.
4.
Legal Action
5.
Political Protest
Whistle-blowers:
ACTION PLAN
Week one:
Call initial meeting to explain the
campaign, plan dates and determine
tasks to be done.
Continue throughout the week to
firm up committees and recruit
volunteers.
Week two:
Publish endorsements of campaign
by prominent citizens.
Week three: Organise the key event planned
for the campaign.
Letter writing: to MPs, MLA, Government
officials.
Week four:
Urge the public or members to write to a
particular Minister or Parliamentarian or
Government official.
7.
Publicity and education
Display posters, distribute leaflets,
speak to like minded groups.
Street demonstrations, picketing and sit-ins
aimed at gaining publicity to the cause. Get
the media to cover the protest when it takes
place. Will help expand public awareness of
the issue. For synergetic benefits, protest
marches should be simultaneous on a given
date at all places chosen for the purpose.
6.
Getting started
Analyse feedback
Evaluate results.
Decide further course of action.
Press Conference: Releasing reports/
research data.
The media event needs a great deal of
planning and the cultivation of individual
reporters. A sympathetic news report is
invaluable to a consumer group, it is a
resource to be nurtured, cherished and
protected.
8.
Share-holders^ Actions:
Using the AGM of companies for a cause,
through collection of proxies.
H CUTS
43
A New Generation
How to Use and Handle Information
— Sudha Sachdeva Dhar* and Sucharita Eash™er**
T n recent years, the consumer movement has grown
JLtremendously both in scope and in size. It is
constantly expanding and covering newer information
about consumer related issues and their possible
redressal.
International, national, and regional media.
Academic research, academic and institutional
libraries, libraries of other consumer and related
organisations.
Special libraries of different government bodies
and world bodies like United Nations, World
Health Organisation etc.
More and more attention is needed towards informing
consumers of bad business practices. A consumer
needs simple answers to his day-to-day problems like
what to buy or not buy, how much to pay, what to
select etc. Consumer organisations that are
responsible for creating awareness among people
need also to be well equipped in terms of information.
Up-to-date and current information plays a key role
in their work. For the consumer groups information is
power.
For planning and designing a consumer campaign,
selection of relevant information should be done very
carefully. While doing scanning and selection some
fundamental questions should be kept in mind:
•
•
•
•
A successful campaign depends on gathering right
and unbiased information, verifying and identifying
right information, sharing relevant information with
other organisations and communicating the information
within the group, among likeminded groups,
consumers, adversaries like government, companies
etc., redressal agencies, media and policy makers.
How up-to-date is the information?
Is it complete?
Is the source dependable?
What are the possible biases of the source?
It is advisable for a campaigner to be selective on
issues and use information only of dependable as well
as unbiased sources.
Information is such a raw material, proper handling
of which gives success to a campaign. A campaign
is a process which brings changes in structure and
function. Changes in terms of service, attitude, quality
of goods, accountability, awareness and empower
ment.
Consumer organisations arc recognised as the bank
of information. With this naturally a basic question
emerges: where do the consumer groups look for
information?
The consumer movement - a movement for, through
and with the people depends largely on input and
effective dissemination of information. Information the tool for consumer campaigning helps strengthen
this democratic movement which is trying relentlessly
to make this world a better place to live in.
Information can come from various sources:
Consumers themselves and activists.
Government policies and data.
Corporate bodies,
NGOs in the country, national and foreign
consumer groups.
* Sudha Sachdeva Dhar, a teacher in consumer economics and development communications in the Lady Irwin College, New Delhi, works
as a volunteer with several NGOs and has coordinated the sanitation project of UNICEF in Rajasthan, Haryana and J & K. Has keen
interest in issues of trade and economics as well.
** Sucharita Eashwer, a post graduate in Mass Communications, is head of Madhyam Communications, Bangalore, which brings out
several journals, conducts training seminars, and workshops, and is involved with consumer advocacy and awareness.
K cuts
44
A New Generation
SWOT Analysis of the BVO Case
Pradeep S. Mehta
T n order to understand the planning process of any
JL campaign it is necessary to do a SWOT analysis
before undertaking it, so that one knows where one
stands and carry on the battle with full preparedness.
Having made a presentation in an earlier session on a
national campaign conducted by CUTS to get BVO,
a toxic additive used in soft drinks like Limca and
G0I4 Spot, banned, the SWOT analysis of the case
was related thus:
3. Availability of dedicated activists and volunteers
including lawyers who were ready to devote time
and energy for research, documentation and
advocacy.
Besides Mehta, Naresh Sahai Mathur, honorary
counsel for CUTS in New Delhi, Aniruddha Bose
in Calcutta and office staff N. K. Sinha and
Champak Roy put their heart and soul in the
matter.
Strengths:
4. Availability of allies in media and other pressure
groups.
1. Whistle Blowers in the government, i.e. honest
and upright technocrats who shared the information
on the continuing use of BVO. as they were
inadequate in pressuring their committees to take a
common stand.
The Times of India, convinced of the credibility of
CUTS, frontpaged a story (enclosed with the case
study) before CUTS moved the National
Commission, creating favourable public opinion.
Subsequently the whole press picked it up and
launched a campaign even beyond the ban date.
N.Suresh, the reporter of the Times, who launched
and followed up the story resolutely became a
friend of CUTS and was also nicknamed as 'BVO
Suresh ’ by his colleagues.
Two persons who helped CUTS in this campaign
were O.PGera of the Ministry of Food Processing,
who stated on record: “128 countries in the world
have banned it. " And Dr S K Khanna of the
Industrial Toxicological Research Centre,
Lucknow, whose remarks in the minutes of the
Food Additives Sub-Committee are apt: “If they
can't find a substitute, why should our innocent
children consume their poisonous drinks”.
Following the ban, Parle, makers of Limca,
relaunched their soft drink with a new additive.
2. Availability of uptodate and accurate information
from consumer groups/standards institutions all over
the world where BVO was already banned.
r
//J»
The Australian Consumers Association, Centre for
Science in Public Interest, Washington, British
Standards Institution, Consumers Association of
Penang, Malaysia and Stiflung Warentest, Bonn,
Germany sent the latest information. Dr Khanna
gave a document of Codex, which said that the
additive has been classified as a C-l additive, i.e.
unsafe for use in food.
M CUTS
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rvjfl
BVO
1 B
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A New Generation
any action against Parle for violation of the Fruit
Products Order.
but without disclosing the substitute, leading
CUTS to call for a boycott. Both the The Telegraph
of Calcutta and Mid Day of Bombay carried the
news prominently forcing Parle to declare the
substitute.
Opportunities
1. Consumer Protection Act which empowered
consumer groups to file public interest petitions
to seek remedy of withdrawal of defects from
goods.
Subsequently the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat on
seeing this news in Bombay sent a telegram to the
MRTP Commission, New Delhi that soft drinks with
the banned additive are still being sold in the
market, which led to its issuing an ex-parte
injunction ordering health authorities to
immediately seize the impugned soft drinks from
the market.
The law was enacted to offer better protection to
consumers' interest and provided a simple and
speedy redressal system.
2. Access to information from helpful sources.
Weaknesses
Higlighted in Strength 2 above.
1. Inadequate law and weak enforcement
machinery to order ban and withdrawal of soft
drinks containing BVO
3. Helpful bureaucrats and politicians as
countervailing forces to the unhelpful ones.
Highlighted in Strength. I above. Additionally the
then Environment Minister, Maneka Gandhi took
up the battle for consumers and impressed upon
the Prime Minister and the Health Minister to
enforce the ban. Her activist role sealed the fate
of an impending extension.
The National Commission felt that it had only the
power to order compensation if consumers came
to them with proof of harm caused by consuming
BVO. Its power to order removal of defects in
goods was interpreted as being conditional on a
laboratory test. Arguments that it is an admitted
defect did not jell with the court. The apex
consumer court was unwilling to develop or
interpret the law in consumers' interest.
Threats
1. Intimidation by the interested parties as it
affects their business.
2. Lack of allies in the consumer movement due
to influence or ignorance.
In a press conference and in another interaction,
people told Mehta that he was writing his obituary
as the affected parties were known to be powerful
and unscrupidous businessmen. One of them was
also a Congress Party M.P, though at the time oj
this action the Janata Dal was in power at the
centre.
Consumer groups who were members of the
Central Committee for Food Standards, Ministry
of Health, where the issue could have been
decided favourably were either ignorant or
influenced. Gera mentioned the latter in one case.
3. A system which is corruptible and laden with
inertia.
2. Influence by vested interests in purchasing
decision makers and even CUTS activists.
The decision making system in the government is
often mortgaged to vested interests and/or inertia,
and the political masters make hay while the sun
shines. It is in their interest to have anomalies so
that both business and consumers can be milked
for extraneous reasons. For instance in another
case, Gera informed Mehta that his minister,
Jagdish Tytler put a note on the file not to take
K CUTS
The fact is that the concerned officers in the
Ministry of Health refused to share any
information or respond to CUTS embarassing
letters showed that they were influenced by the
soft drinks lobby. Feelers were also sent to CUTS
activists to drop the case at a certain 'price ', which
was of course refused.
46
A New Generation
reason was that even Pepsi was interested in
introducing citrus-flavoured soft drinks using BVO
as a clouding agent.
3. Counter litigation for defamation, loss of
business and reputation.
Once the CERC, Ahmedabad had to face litigation
from the Birla Textile Mills for releasing a report
challenging their fabric formulation. The fear that
if one lost the case, the soft drinks lobby could
file a similar defamation and damages suit.
Turning Points:
One major outcome of this battle was that consumers
started questioning the safety aspects of food items
including soft drinks, which caused manufacturers to
carry a slogan: “Contains no BVO’: in their
advertisements and on the bottles.
4. Blackmailing and tarnishing image of CUTS
by showing the campaign as a plant by
competitors.
The second major outcome was that the COPRA
was amended in 1993 empowering consumer courts
to (a) order the withdrawal of any hazardous
substance from the market, and (b) order the ban of
any substance which is hazardous to health.
In this case the losers did conduct a quiet
campaign to show that CUTS was set up by Pepsi
to harm national manufacturers of soft drinks, but
in the end people saw through it. One simple
f,
■■■
“If they (i.e. soft drink companies) can’t find a substitute, why
should our innocent children consume their poisonous drinks”
... Dr, S.K. Khanna
Industrial Toxicological Research Centre,
Lucknow (during the BVO case).
M CUTS
47
A New Generation
Section Four
Why and How Campaigns
Fail or Succeed
"Campaigning is a full time Job "
Case Studies of Three Successful and
Three Non-successful Campaigns
Local
Regional
National
Case Study: Campaign on Milk Prices in Jaipur
— Presenter: Anant Sharma
e
Background
History: Jaipur, the capital of Raj asthan
is unique and very prominent among all
the cities of the world. Popularly known
as the PINK CITY, it was founded by
Maharaja Jai Singh II in the year 1727
with proper planning and guidance by
specialists in architecture in those times.
Modem planners are astonished to see
wide roads in a rectangular pattern
having huge buildings. Present day
architects also have a lot to learn from
the work done by their counterparts in
the 1 Sth century'.
The Jaipur Dairy twice increased prices of milk without
considering the impacton consumers. AnantSharma,
a young activist trained in consumer protection by
CUTS, had set up a new outfit — Consumer Action
and Network Society. The issue was picked up by
the Society which raged a successful battle by using
the media through a coalition of several consumers,
students and citizens groups, which included CUTS.
Strategically the coalition set up a peoples court
consisting of senior citizens where the Dairy mode
an appearance. Subsequently it bowed to public
opinion and reduced its prices. This cose study was
selected as a successful example of a local campaign.
From the historical point of view Jaipur
is a new city. The founder of this city
was Maharaja Sawai Jai Singhji who belonged to
Kacchawa clan of Rajputs of Rajasthan. The
Maharaja was also an architect and astrologer who
founded Jaipur in a manner befitting his knowledge
and talents. The city resembles a modem city as if it
were planned just a few years ago.
Consumer Activities: Despite being a state capital,
awakening of a consumer agitation was difficult since
most people were unaware of consumer laws and
hence unable to demand their rights through consumer
protection laws. The fact that people of Northern
India had ignored the various changes taking place in
the country so far, didn't help either.
Geography: Jaipur is surrounded by the Aravalli
Mountain Range located on the Delhi-Ahmedabad
Route. Two main National Highways also pass
through Jaipur. Every year a large number of
foreigners visit Jaipur to see the old monuments and
ancestral heritage.
Concerned Group: All of a sudden the prices of
milk were raised in Jaipur and about 1.5 million
consumers were affected. The price rise didn't affect
the richer sections of society.
The issue particularly affected the middle and lower
middle class consumers dependent on limited sources
of income. It also affected innocent children and
sick persons undergoing medical treatment. On the
whole, the problem was a general one affecting the
total population of Jaipur city.
Political and Economic Scenario: Situated close
to Delhi (India's capital), the two have been politically
connected in Mughal times, the British era and the
post-independence era, having prime importance in
the politics of the country. Rajasthan has a state
assembly with 200 elected members, while 25
members are elected to the parliament from the state.
With a population of 2 million people involved in trade
and industry, the city is world famous for arts and
crafts such as jewellery, stone carvings, printed cloth,
ready-made garments, blue pottery, brass articles,
carpets and leather goods.
M CUTS
Is(
>i
The Problem:
Direct: Jaipur Dairy is a cooperative institution run
by highly qualified persons for production and sale of
milk under State government administration. On April
51
0538'
A New Generation
1, 1992, prices were increased by 20% while the
supply of milk was only 70, 000 litres.
Due to increase in prices private milk vendors also
increased their prices by 25-30% which further
deteriorated the situation. The consumption of milk
in Jaipur City was about 2 lakh litres per day and due
to the increase in prices the household budget of low
income consumers was badly affected .
Strategy:
The overall strategy was to connect a large number
of consumer activists so that their action may take
the form of a public agitation and awaken the public.
The three-part strategy was divided thus:
Indirect: An indirect aspect of the problem was the
lack of a consumer movement in Jaipur, offering
resistance to offenders regarding consumer rights.
Manufacturers, sellers, and other government
organisations were increasing their prices repeatedly
without bothering about the interest of the consumer.
Inaction was combined with ignorance regarding
ways of increasing consumer awareness and interest.
Therefore a dire necessity was felt to approach
people, make them recognise the issue and appeal to
them to unite and solve the problem. Awareness had
to be increased to the level that they would be willing
to prepare for public agitation to realise their legitimate
rights. Consumer groups had to know that they could
rely on the public for support.
1.
Awakening the movement through publicity
and contacting officials.
2.
Wide publicity in local papers to seek
cooperation of the general public
3.
Direct action and agitation.
An awareness campaign was started to publicise the
issue among the masses. Representations were also
submitted to the officers of the state government,
articles were published in local papers to spread
awareness of the problem.
Further action was taken to distribute pamphlets,
posters, and other publicity material. People joined
the movement either directly or through their
organisations. Press conferences and comer meetings
were held so that people could realize their due rights
as consumers.
The problem was highlighted when various complaints
were lodged by consumers in local newspapers. One
such paper published a special supplement which
aroused consumer interest and letters were sent to
concerned authorities. As soon as the news was
published in local papers the general public realised
that this was a matter of common interest, and
cooperation should be extended to a consumer
organisation.
In the third phase planning for direct action was taken
such as ‘Dharna’ (sit-in strike), ‘Pradarshan’
(demonstration), and ‘Jan Adalat’ (citizens' courts)
and other methods.
e
K CUTS
52
A New Generation
Critical strategic activities:
1.
Contacting all organisations for direct action.
2.
Publicity in local papers to gain the confidence
of people.
3.
Boosting of workers' morale till the goal was
reached.
4.
Arranging the method of action.
Key players and allies:
The main action — giving the United Agitation
Committee’s decision a practical shape—was
undertaken by Consumer Action and Network
Society (CANS).
a. Lack of general public support
The main problem of the agitation was that despite
all efforts we could not get support of the public in
general. Except for those who joined due to personal
efforts, people did not assemble in demonstration
programmes on a large scale.
b. Pressure of Government
Efforts were made to suppress the agitation directly
or indirectly. The moral support of the workers was
given by CANS to continue the agitation.
c. Lack of financial resources
The associations gave moral support to the agitation
but finances posed a problem. Funds could be obtained
only through the efforts of CANS.
d. Leadership related problems
Various problems (mainly personal, ego-related) of
leadership occurred during the course of the agitation.
Cooperation was extended by various institution of
the University and College Students Union, Employees
Association, Advocates Association etc. Other allies
were:
e. Legal complications and hindrances
One problem which came into light was legal
hindrances. A case was filed for increase of rates of
milk in a local court and when the agitation was
appearing to be redundant, it was agreed to settle it
mutually.
Rajasthan University Students Union.
Consumer Unity and Trust Society.
3. Bar Association.
4. Sajag Consumers Association
5. Rajasthan Students Development Union.
6. Genius Students Society
7. Citizens Association for Rights.
8. Consumers Awareness Forum.
9. Socialist Youth Federation of India.
10. Janwadi Writers Union.
11. Senior Citizens Council.
12. Citizen's Action Society.
13. Public Interest Protection Society.
14. Hindu Students Union.
15. Muslim Action and Welfare Society.
16. Rajasthan University Women's Association.
17. Public Awareness Society.
1.
2.
Learnings:
1.
There should be complete cooperation among
all the actors.
2.
While conducting a public agitation, it is
necessary' to collect adequate funds.
3.
The agitation should be planned on a sustainable
basis.
4.
The state government and all social action
groups should be taken into confidence for
which advance planning is necessary.
Limitations of the campaign
Various problems came up during the course of the
agitation. Some of these were:
KCUTS
53
A New Generation
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••a
Action
cif=
18 Apr 92
Representation to Mr. S. K. Miglani, Managing Director of Jaipur Dairy;
discussion on the subject of restricting preparation of'Mawa' (product of milk)
for sweets so as to save milk for the consumer. Assurance given.
19 Apr 92
Representation given to the Chief Minister and Food Minister Ram Kishore
Mina; discussion held to stop preparation of Mawa from milk.
22 Apr 92
Declaration of restriction of manufacture of Mawa from milk. Chairman Ganesh
Ram Khoji and MD contacted to reduce the increased price of milk.
Sudhir Varma, Secretary to the Government Dairy Department contacted and
representation given. Discussion with Food Minister for imposition of restriction
on preparation of Mawa.
Ccf’
cxe
23 Apr 92
Declaration of agitation /‘Jan Jagriti ’ (Public awakening) to solve the problem.
28 Apr 92
Representation to the State Government Minister for Dairy and start of public
agitation.
29 Apr 92
N K Verma, Commissioner Jaipur Division and B S Singh, Collector Jaipur,
contacted and representations given; discussions held to take action on those
who were defying the Government order on restriction of preparation of Mawa.
30 Apr 92
Representation to various MLAs and public representatives.
1 May 92
Discussion with Dr. S. P. Mittal, MD, Rajasthan Cooperative Dairy Federation.
2 May 92
The State Government inspected 20,000 sweet shops and CANS declared that
Government did not take proper action.
4 May 92
Representation to the Governor to decrease the price of milk by the Cooperative
Federation.
6 May 92
Representatives of CANS approached the Chief Minister; representation given
for immediate action.
7 May 92
Dhama on Badi Chopar for a day for decrease in prices.
9 May 92
Representatives of CANS contacted the Governor; representation given and
prompt action assured to decrease the prices.
13 May 92
Joint meeting of public organisations and federation of 30 organisations formed.
15 May 92
Action committee gave seven days time and ultimatum issued.
21 May 92
United Action Committee called upon the general public to cooperate regarding
the problem, kept fast and prayers held in temples, mosques to give wisdom to
authorities.
24 May 92
Constitution of ‘Jan Adalaf and public participation.
27 May 92
Demonstrations postponed in view of favourable attitude of Dairy authorities.
28 May 92
Dairy organisation members contacted.
29 May 92
Reduction in milk prices declared by the cooperative dairy federation.
M CUTS
54
A New Generation
Case study: No Stops for Fares of Public Transport
Mala Banerjee*
The Problem: Fare hike in public transport system
in West Bengal for buses, mini
buses, taxis
Of course the Central Government had
increased the cost of petrol in that period but public
vehicles do not run on petrol. Buses, mini-buses, even
99 percent taxis run on diesel which affects running
of vehicles directly and can be directly related to perkilometre pricing. The steep hike in fare structure on
kilometre basis was unjustified, unwarranted, and
malicious.
Background:
Socio Economic
Public transport is used by the lower and middle
class people of the society who are economically
handicapped and constitute the majority of daily
commuters. Thus a sharp hike in fares affects a
majority of consumers.
•
Consumer Interest
Due to the unjustified and malicious cause of
fare hike whereby the basic interest of majority of
the consumers was being severely hampered, a mass
action became necessary to protect the interest of
the consumers. Nearly 2000 middle class commuters
drafted a petition pleading to the Consumers’
Association to take necessary action to stop the
unjustified steep price hike.
Structural
The public transport system in West Bengal is
operated by both government and private owners. The
government transport system is inefficiently run with
huge overheads, which leads to huge losses being
made each year. On the contrary the private owners
run their business efficiently and profitably. A rise in
fare structure was in the interest of both the
government which was looking for an opportunity to
reduce losses and the private owners who would
always look for higher profits.
•
Strategic Action
1. The Consumers’ Association protested through a
memorandum to the Transport Minister
Government of West Bengal, highlighting the
unjustified reason of the price hike, and demanded
a dialogue with the price revision committee. The
latter had taken the decision of the price hike
through discussions with only the owners of
vehicles totally ignoring the interest of consumers.
It was pointed out in the memorandum that
consumers reserved the right to know the basis of
the fare hike.
Creation of Problem
In 1990 the West Bengal Government
decided to hike the fare structure steeply on flimsy
grounds. Reasons put forth by the government were
that sharp increases in the cost of motor accessories,
petroleum products etc., insurance rates and taxes,
capital costs such as chassis, engine, body building
etc. have necessitated a fare hike for the transport
service to survive.
2. The Government of West Bengal completely
ignored the consumers’ memorandum and
unilaterally passed the proposal of the committee
ordering its implementation.
Unjustified Reasoning
It is true that in that period there was a sharp
increase in prices of essentials required in the transport
service. But the increases were indirect and, if
considered over per-kilometre running of vehicle, the
percentage was very low and did not justify the
percentage hike in fare made by the government.
ft CUTS
3. Since the memorandum fell on deaf ears, it was
decided to file a petition before the president of
West Bengal State Consumer Disputes Redressal
Commission against the implementation of the
revised fare.
55
A New Generation
Critical Problems encountered
4. The petition was made in the consumer court based
on the following points:
i)
Deficiency of service. The term deficiency as
per Section 2(g) of the Consumer Protection Act
1986 is directly related to the charge for a
service, in as much as a service rendered for a
higher charge, would make that service deficient
compared to the same service rendered for a
lesser charge.
ii) The said definition to hold that a service can be
considered to be deficient only if the quality of the
service alone fell short of a reasonable standard
of expectation whereas the definition clearly states
that deficiency means any imperfection in the
manner of performance in relation to any service
and not an imperfection only in the quality of the
service.
The jurisdiction of the court regarding the
interim stay order was challenged by the Government
of West Bengal through Article 226 as writ petition
at Calcutta High Court praying to vacate the order
for smooth implementation of the proposed
recommendation of the revised fare structure. The
argument was based on the ground that the revision
of fare structure is purely a policy matter which is
not coming under the purview of the Consumer
Protection Act.
The advantage and attraction of the
consumer court is speedy redressal and free of cost
legal proceedings for the benefit of the public.
Whereas the procedures of the regular court not only
take a lot of time but also involve a lot of money.
Thus the advantage of moving the consumer court
for the express benefit of the public was jeopardised
by the West Bengal Government by challenging the
consumer court verdict in a regular court. The High
Court of Calcutta took three long years to decide
whether the consumer court had jurisdiction in this
regard or not.
iii) The said fare hike is excessive and disproportionate
to all the facts and circumstances and such
disproportionate fare of all transport vehicles is
arbitrary as no consideration was given to the side
of the commuters in whose interest the transport
services are run.
Tackling the Problems
iv) The fact that the present fares of all sorts of
transport vehicles have been enhanced
disproportionately is a deficiency within the
meaning of the act or in other words it is a defect
in the services, as it is oppressive to use the mildest
of terms.
Regarding legal affairs on fundamental rights
as per Indian constitution, which lies under Article
226, no one has any control over the matter. Under
the circumstances, in Consumer Protection Act, when
there is alternative remedial court the Association
being the member of the Consumer Protection Council
recommended to amend the said obstacle applying
the Article 323B of Indian Constitution for not
admitting such cases in high court other than National
Commission, the highest authority of consumer
dispute redressal.
Key Players and their Role
Being the petitioner or the complainant the
Association will be called the key player of the
episode. The legal action was taken in the name of
the Honorary' General Secretary. Being the executive
power holder, the General Secretary was supposed
to be the main responsible person.
Learning from this experience
To protect consumers interest as a whole
through Consumer Protection Act without having
proper amendments in Constitution and other
prevailing laws is not complete. Experience says that
there is a total imbalance between a victimised
individual or a section of deprived consumers and a
large multinational company or public sector
undertaking with efficient adjudication department.
It requires many more rectifications and attention to
mend the loopholes of the legal system to provide a
perfect grievance redressal to aggrieved consumers.
Order passed by the State Commission
So far as consumer movement and consumer
causes are concerned the association won the case
by having the interim stay order of fare hike on all
kinds of public and private vehicles. The stay order
would be in force till reconsideration of fare structure
was made by the Government of West Bengal.
* The Government of West Bengal raised bus fares by a proper notification, and Mala Banerjee, then General Secretary of Consumer Action
Group, challenged the hike by using the Consumer Protection Act. The State Commission granted an ex-parte stay order but this in turn was
stayed by the Calcutta High Court, as it did not fall under the jurisdiction of COPRA. This case was selected as an unsuccessful example of
a local campaign, which did not happen.
KCUTS
56
A New Generation
Victory for Electricity Consumers
— John Joseph
To challenge the slab system of electricty rates the Kerala State Consumers Coordination
Committee, launched a grass roots campaign and their persistent effort compelled the
Government to scrap the slab system and introduce a new meter reading system, where
consumers would report their own consumption.
This case study was selected as an extremely successful example of a provincial campaign,
which not only brought the people together but also: (a), introduced a new system for meter
reading, (b). large number of consumers were made aware of their consumer rights, and
(c). Kerala achieved a rapid expansion in consumer movement. In the process several consumer
groups were set up at the district and lower levels.
This scenario can be replicated elsewhere subject to local socio-econo-cultural factors. It may
be noted that Kerala has the highest literacy rate and the lowest population growth rate in
India and Keralites are a very daring people willing to travel and live anywhere, even a
remote village.
r I ^he Kerala State Electricity Board replaced the
A monthly meter reading billing of electricity with
slab system billing. The slab system consisted of
grouping consumers under different slabs on the basis
of their monthly average consumption:
In theory, the slab system seems to be just and
convenient. It is truly so if practised according to
theory. But in practice, the employees of the KSEB
converted it into an exploitative instrument. The
practical demerits were as follows:
UNITS
1. They fixed the slabs without carefully verifying
the actual average consumption of the consumers.
Thus in many cases the slabs did not have relation to
the actual consumption of consumers.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
01
20
40
60
80
to
to
to
to
to
20,
40,
60,
80,
100,
2. They did not take meter reading at regular six
monthly intervals. Sometimes meter reading was
taken at one or two years’ intervals. Naturally, the
adjustment bills added heavy burden to consumers.
6. 100 to 150,
7. 150 to 200,
8. Above 200.
3. Gradually, a practice of incorporating 'table’ reading
developed. That is, without visiting the premises of
consumers and without taking actual meter reading,
the employees would incorporate a reading sitting on
their table arbitrarily and adjustment bills prepared on
that basis. Many a time, the Board sent signals to the
lower offices that there was revenue shortage and,
therefore, collection need to be vitalised. The
employees issued adjustment bills cooking up table
readings and forced the consumers to remit money
on the basis of adjustment bills.
The tariff, the cost per unit of electricity charged from
consumers increased proportionately for the higher
groups. Fixed monthly amounts were to be remitted
by consumers belonging to each slab or group. Meter
readings were presumed to be taken once in six
months. If it was found that the actual consumption
of a consumer differs from the average of the slab to
which he belonged, an adjustment bill was served on
him on the basis of which he would have to remit the
amount or he would get the refund.
KCUTS
57
A New Generation
In a few years, the slab system became a curse to
the consumers. Symptoms of protests were exhibited
by consumers all over the state, but, there was no
organised force to register the protest. Political parties
did not care as they were all having their own trade
unions, among the employees. All the trade unions,
without distinction to the colour of their flags,
supported the slab system as it gave opportunity for
workers to idle their time.
It was at this time, in 1985, the consumer movement
was initiated on a state level in Kerala. A state level
convention of consumers was held in which it was
decided that the movement should be launched by
developing a fight against any of the serious common
issues faced by the consumers. After discussion, it
was decided that the fight should be against the slab
system of billing of electricity.
An action committee was formed which contained
an introductory note on consumer protection first,
followed by a memorandum of the people demanding
the scrapping of the slab system. The state level action
committee initiated conventions at the district level in
which district level action committees were formed.
Thousands of signature campaign booklets were
printed and distributed. As it related to a burning issue,
people who had protests against the issue carried the
booklets to houses in their neighbourhood and got the
memorandum signed by more consumers. This
process resulted in organising the consumers on the
basis of a lively issue and simultaneously in
conscientising them generally on consumer protection.
The struggle against the slab system was carried
forward with determination almost in the style of the
Freedom Movement adopting satyagraha and various
other types of demonstrations of people’s feelings.
While so, a general election became due and one of
the political fronts included a promise in their manifesto
that they will remove the difficulties caused by the
slab system.
the action committees were expanded and converted
into district consumer organisations and at the state
level a State Consumer Co-ordination Committee was
formed. Thereafter, the Co-ordination Committee
pursued the struggle against the slab forcefully with
people’s participation and the government was
compelled to reach an agreement with the Co
ordination Committee to scrap the slab system.
The natural consequence would have been to re
introduce the Monthly Meter Reading Billing System.
Here, the consumer movement caused a significant
change.
The Co-ordination Committee after studying the billing
systems in various states developed a proposal to
introduce Self Meter Reading System. The Co
ordination Committee got the idea from Lakshadweep,
a neighbouring island, where this system is practised
successfully. All trade unions and political parties
opposed this proposal as it would bring down the
employment opportunities in the KSEB. But the Co
ordination Committee fought with vigour and the
Government was brought to terms to agree that the
Self Meter Reading System may be introduced in
stages.
To begin with, it was introduced in four major
electrical section offices. After one year, it was
extended to another fourteen electrical sections thus
making up the total to eighteen sections, i.e. one
section in each district with self meter reading system.
The struggle is not yet finished; it has to be carried on
till the Self Meter Reading System is implemented all
over the state.
It is logical to state that the consumer movement was
built up on the slab system but it is not an easy logic.
A movement similar to the Freedom Movement was
launched and it is the combination of the issue and
the dedicated struggle that resulted in the strength of
the movement. Not less than four state level indefinite
satyagrahas were launched in addition to various
satyagrahas and other forms of demonstrations.
In the elections the same political front won. It may
be noted that the consumer movement or the action
committees did not work for any political front, but, it
raised a campaign against the slab system in the
election propaganda.
Perhaps, it may be a useful piece of information that
in order to take the movement further down to the
grassroots, the Co-ordination Committee has now
embarked on a new struggle to build up a satisfactory
system of rationing. If the struggle against the slab
system took the consumer movement to the panchayat
level and to the electricity consumers, the struggle
for a satisfactory system of rationing, it is hoped, will
take the movement to each home.
Though the Front which had promised to scrap the
slab system came into power, it did not do anything to
ameliorate the problem for one year as its trade unions
in the KSEB were dead against the demand of the
consumers. While consumers waited for one year for
the government to act on the basis of the manifesto,
K CUTS
58
A New Generation
Case study of an unsuccessful campaign on the
Public Distribution System in the
state of Bihar, India
— Bejon Misra
7. Test run conducted at Jamshedpur, Bihar.
Situation: Public Distribution System (PDS) is the
most popular network in our country with the
maximum government subsidy and touches the total
population of our country. A welfare scheme for
consumers, PDS is a most sensitive political issue in
India.
8. Opposition from vested groups affected by the new
approach.
9. Public opinion organised and Government support
obtained for implementation of the project but the
concept failed due to delayed government action
which made it risky for the private sponsors to
continue. Hence the campaign failed.
Issues: Reaching the subsidy to the consumer;
identifying the bogus consumers; providing the most
important instrument—the ration card; and organising
a computerised database.
Learnings:
Problem: Non-availability of ration cards due to lack
of resources with the government and denial of
subsidised food grains to the consumers.
Government involvement should be at all levels.
Should look for government sponsorship at first
and then go to private sponsors.
Action:
The task should have been given to an established
professional marketing agency instead of local
small time advertising agencies.
1. Public opinion built amongst the consumers for the
need of ration cards.
2. Representation to Government with the problems
and Government's version of the problem
recorded.
The ration card should be priced so that there is
a revolving fund for consumer welfare projects.
This project could be undertaken under the aegis
of the consumer welfare fund, in cooperation
with a reputed advertising agency or a consumer
organisation.
3. Resource constraints identified and research
conducted on professional level with marketing
experts to find the solutions.
4. Government presented with the proposal for
consideration and approval.
There is an urgent need to provide ration cards
to every consumer and complete information
should be computerised for research and
development.
5. Lobbying done with the Government to give consent
as it would be the first time in the country it agreed
to private funding of government schemes.
6. Government approval obtained.
K CUTS
59
A New Generation
‘BVO’ Triggered Consumer Consciousness
on Health and Safety
Pradeep S. Mehta, CUTS, Calcutta
Brominated Vegetable Oil, a toxic additive banned in 128 countries of the world, continued
to be used in India due to a relaxation in USA. However the Government did ban it on 15
April 1988, but illegitimately relaxed the ban for two years. When fighting for declaration of
fruit juice percentage in tetrapack drinks CUTS stumbled upon this fact. Faced with several
odds, in a well orchestrated research, advocacy and boycott campaign CUTS led by Pradeep
Mehta succeeded in bringing about the implementation at the end of the two years of the
relaxation. This case was selected as a successful case study of national dimensions for two
other reasons. First, it led to a turning point in consumer consciousness on health and safety
issues and secondly as a result of this case, the Consumer Protection Act was amended in
1993 empowering consumer courts to order withdrawal and/or ban marketing of hazardous
substances in the marketplace.
This paper presents a case study of Brominated vegetable Oils (BVO) which
were hitherto used in India, in citrus flavoured aerated waters as a clouding
agent, although banned in many countries as being toxic.
The paper outlines the steps of a multifaceted campaign launched by Consumer Unity & Trust
Society (CUTS) in getting BVO banned and arousing consumer consciousness on health and
safety issues.
TTood additives are necessary evils used by
1 manufacturers to enhance taste of packaged and
treated edibles but considerations for safety are
always secondary.
At this juncture, I must point out that no wrong can
thrive without public support. Otherwise, the soft
drinks trade in India would not flourish with such zing
and thunder post BVO incident.
Do we need soft drinks?
Despite the present situation, we as a leading
consumer protection group. Consumer Unity & Trust
Society, have been able to spark off consumer
consciousness on health and safety issues to a certain
extent by campaigning against the marketing
procedure of soft drinks, for a start.
’ Do we need soft drinks” is a rhetorical question.
Artificially built desires of a consumption oriented
society has led us into wanting something we can
easily do without.
But once a product necessary or unnecesary enters
the market, it is the bounden duty of the manufacturer
to provide complete information on the product’s
safety and its effect on the health of its consumers.
Why BVO?
Soft drinks (citrus) are artificially flavoured with
natural essential oils like lime oil, lemon oil, orange oil
etc. But these flavouring oils do not blend properly
with water until a weighting agent is added to it. That
is, the flavouring oil tends to float on top of the
beverage forming an unsightly ring in the bottle, taking
away most of the product appeal.
Yet there are many such examples where products
have entered and established a good name in the
market, without being least bothered about its
consumers’ health or safety. Food additives are one
such product where safety considerations always take
a back-seat.
H CUTS
60
A New Generation
change. In another research in the USA, behavioural
birth defects were evident in animals treated with high
doses of BVO. USA put an immediate ban, until the
Reagan Government relaxed it, but only very slightly.
The consumer tends to think that a product with such
a ring is spoilt either due to chemical or microbiological
spoilage. A weighting agent is that whose specific
gravity is more than water. Brominated vegetable oils
(BVO), estergum and sucrose acetate isobutyrate
(SAIB) are the three recognised weighting agents.
But of this, BVO is most effective.
After the 1979 declaration by JECFA, Japan, UK and
West Germany among other countries declared an
immediate ban. And in fact, an Asian country,
Malaysia had banned it as long ago as 1952.
The specific gravity of BVO: 1.32 at 28 degrees
Celsius is ideal to uniformly distribute the flavouring
oils in the body of the beverage. The added advantage
of a weighting agent is that it acts as a clouding agent
in the beverage giving it a fruit-juice look, which is
more appealing than a clear drink.
India was not sleeping all this while, but only
responded phlegmatically. In 1979 itself, a notification
was issued asking for objections and suggestions to
omit BVO from rule 60 of the Prevention of Food
Adulteration
Rules
(PFA), 1955. But it died
down without a murmur
and no deletion was made.
But for every advantage there
is a disadvantage: In this
case, the drawback was
dangerous. BVO had earned
a bad name for itself due to
its toxic factor. Yet
manufacturers of citrus
flavoured soft drinks like
Limca, Gold Spot etc.
deliberately chose to ignore
the harmful nature of this
weighting agent.
■I
Ji
There is no testing procedure
of estergum available in India
and anyway BVO was more
in use.
But as in India, nothing is
possible without the
politicians’ and their
financiers’ consent, this
imposition too seemed
useless. The omnipotent
soft drinks lobby managed
to get the ban relaxed, without a proper government
order. Even if such an order was issued, it would have
been bad in law, as a rule can be changed only through
another rule.
BVO, Unsafe for use in
Food: JECFA
World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) had conducted
various experiments on animals as well as humans
on the effect of BVO, and published its results as
early as 1970. It said that a human epidemiological
problem could arise from the use of BVO as
experiments had demonstrated accumulation of lipid
and lipid-bound bromine in adipose tissue and in
intracellular fat of various other tissues, both in man
and experimental animals.
Three months later, the expert Food Additives Sub
Committee (FASC) of the Central Committee for Food
Standards, Ministry of Health made a categorical
declaration at a meeting held at the Industrial
Toxicological Research Centre (ITRC) Lucknow that
“use of BVO cannot be allowed since its toxicity has
been established”.
In 1979, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on
Food Additives (JECFA) classified BVO as a C-l
additive - i.e. “unsafe for use in food”.
But such was the pressure on the Health Ministry
that it brushed aside the recommendation of its own
expert committee and even sought to re-introduce
‘BVO’ in Rule 60 of PFA 1955 i.e. in the list of
permitted emulsifying and stabilising agents.
According to a 1969 study of Canada’s Food and
Drug Directorate, rats that ate food containing 0.5
percent to 2.5 percent BVO for eighty days suffered
heart, liver, thyroid, testicle and kidney damage or
M CUTS
Eight years later on 31
March 1987 a second
effort was made on the
same issue, to find that a
simple decision took the
government one year and
15 days. On 15 April 1988
the ban was imposed.
It is at this point, that CUTS got into action.
61
A New Generation
Consumer rights asserted
tragedy incident, also a CUTS intervention. Yet, here
was a case falling squarely within its ambit, which it
refused to take up. But it was merciful enough to
suggest compensation to consumers who had been
harmed by the drink. It was definitely possible for
NCDRC to take action but I feel they got cold feet.
Not only was our right to health and safety being
violated, but our right to information was being denied
outright. If soft drinks manufacturers were finding it
difficult to sell their products without BVO, all they
needed to do was to print on the bottle: “Contains
BVO - harmftil/injurious to health.” And then supply
the information to the consumer. But, soft drink is not
as addictive as cigarettes, which enjoys a regular
market despite all checks and measures. Thus this
money making and power-play at the expense of
consumers.
By now the BVO fright had got into the general public.
Spontaneous boycott
When a bartender in Calcutta Club was asked to fetch
a Limca, the thirsty customer got a pat reply : “Saheb,
kisi doctor ne kaha hai ki Limca se cancer hota
hai” (Sir, some doctor has said that Limca causes
cancer).
Moreover, it was time they learnt a few things about
consumer power.
In Delhi, socialites at a kitty party took a soft drink
supplier and a home delivery man to task for selling
Limca and other citrus flavoured, synthetic aerated
soft drinks. The hostess ordered him out, telling him
never to come back. Surely they were not speaking
through their hat.
The first move that CUTS made was to request the
Ministry of Health to give better particulars on the
issue, and file an objection with the Ministry. The
Ministry refuse to supply anything saying that all
material was for “official use only”.
Inquiries from CUTS to the same ITRC, Lucknow
and All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health,
Calcutta brought the same response: Ask the Health
Ministry. When tapping the responsible bureaucracy
proved futile, we tried it through the consumer court.
At this point, the Health Ministry, keen to erase
adverse publicity declared the appointment of an
Expert Group Commission which was to report three
months later. NCDRC dismissed the case after this
undertaking from the Health Ministry.
Public action initiated
The Commission that sat on 6 October 1989 found
members from FASC, CUTS and Soft Drinks
Manufacturers Association (SDMA) at the same
table. CUTS by then had enough material to place its
arguments on behalf of consumers.
The Times of India taking keen interest in the matter,
front-paged our move to reinforce the ban. This
assured us a considerable amount of pressure from
the public itself.
References from British Standards Institution,
Consumers Association of Penang, Malaysia, Federal
Research Centre for Nutrition, Republic of Germany,
Department of Community Services and Health,
Australia and Centre for Science in Public Interest,
USA not only helped us to solidify our case but gave
the FASC members, a lot of information which they
could not acquire in any other way.
The National Consumer Disputes Redressal
Commission (NCDRC) turned out to be a greater
hurdle. CUTS filed a class-action complaint with the
NCDRC under Consumer Protection Act (COPRA)
1986, because the objection filed with the health
ministry was in vain.
The two major manufacturers. Pure Drinks and Parle
Exports and the Health and Food Processing
Ministries were named as adversaries in the
complaint. CUTS also demanded a ban on the sale
of soft drinks containing BVO.
The expert group now wanted to permit use of BVO
uptil 15 PPM (parts per million), along with estergum
and SAIB, as in USA, which was vehemently opposed
by CUTS.
Either the NCDRC did not have enough guts to go
against a power lobby or it had sold out. CUTS’ plea
that the NCDRC had the power to order removal of
the ‘defect’ under Sec. 14(l)(a) & (b) of COPRA
fell on deaf ears.
Ultimately, the group allowed only estergum. This
suited SDMA immensely, as there is no way to test
estergum in India since the procedure is not available.
By then the 2 years illegitimate extension of BVO
use was over.
NCDRC had travelled outside the purview of
COPRA in some cases, particularly in the Behala oil
M CUTS
62
A New Generation
It was as early as 1976, that, Thankamma Jacob wrote
a book titled ‘Food Adulteration’, and published by
the Government of India, where she warned that BVO
could be carcinogenic, causing growth retardation,
anaemia and enlargement of the heart. “The bromine
present in the oil was the toxic agent”, she had pointed
out.
I call our campaign multifaceted, not only because
the grievances were in plural number but because
we tried every possible nook where our grouse would
be considered. Ultimately it was the Press who fought
with us. Not only was it a scoop that would sell, but
also because their consciousness and conscience
were moved. After all it was our children who would
suffer, because some men were not willing to change
their ways.
Had this been adequately highlighted at that time, then
the pandemonium could have been avoided. But our
system is such that until an issue is sensationalised
there is little or no interest shown by the government
or press. Both the government and the soft drinks
lobby thought they could get away without
repurcussions.
Consumer rights reasserted
To come back to the topic - the soft drinks
manufacturers now went into an advertising blitzkrieg
;No BVO'. But nothing on the substitute. It had the
gall to claim 'trade secrecy’.
But there is always a first time, as CUTS has proved.
The consumers, once united become an awesome
power. Parle and Pure Drinks have swallowed a few
gulps of it. They still get hiccups.
CUTS had spear-headed the movement, and was not
going to let go so easily. In a Leviathan attempt, CUTS
called for a country-wide boycott of all soft drinks
that was carried on Saturday the 28 April 1990. Thus
the boycott was not against BVO as many are misled.
It was against the soft drinks manufacturers' violation
of the consumer’s right to information. Prominent
newspapers all over the country carried the CUTS
boycott call.
The BVO issue triggered off consumer consciousness
on health and safety. Till the time the government
does not alter the Rules, for safer and healthier food,
the people should continue to agitate, and slake their
parched throat with natural fruit based drinks or a
glass of water.
Parle woke up to it 3 days later, but cleverly avoided
to reply directly. In a big advertising campaign, it said
that the emulsifying agent used in their citrusflavoured soft drinks was a mixture of edible gums
and esters of monoglycerides and diglycerides of fatty
acids which are mentioned in Rules 60 & 61 of PFA
1955. It did not mention whether the clouding agent
was a BVO substitute.
This will be the beginning of change.
Epilogue
This campaign had a tremendous effect on Justice V
B Eradi, the president of the NCDRC. Subsequent to
our uproar he went around the country saying that
COPRA must be amended giving power to consumer
courts to ban the sale of hazardous goods from the
market.
Pure Drinks, by then had stopped manufacture of
Campa Orange altogether and marketing an
unclouded version of ‘Tripp’ - a lemony drink which
earlier used BVO. Even then the old stock of soft
drinks containing BVO was marketed openly.
The campaign paid off. In 1993, COPRA was
amended to include the power of the consumer courts
to do both.
Parle, in a cover-up gesture invited similar consumer
protection organisations in Bombay to their factory.
As though consumer activists would be able to tell
BVO from estergum, SAIB or ketchup for that matter.
LEARNINGS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
It was Parle who in an appeal to the Health Ministry,
had said on 16 September 1988 that there were only
two substitutes for BVO - estergum or SAIB, without
which the flavouring oil could not be evenly
distributed. Yet they refused to divulge information
on the plea of trade secrecy. As India is helpless in
testing estergum, it suits them no end.
K CUTS
63
Research
Tenacity
Media support
Empowering decision makers
Victory
Luck
Spinoffs :
a. Consumer Consciousness
b. Ban
c. Amendment in Law
A New Generation
Rational Drug Policy
Dr. Krishnendu Roy
The health movement in India in association with several pharmacologists has been fighting
for a rational drug policy for a long time in spite of the the fact that the Hathi Committee
of 1973 and the WHO have been advocating the adoption of one. It was noted that even
a small neighbouring and much poorer country, Bangladesh has one. The example was
selected to not only exhibit the odds one has to fight against, in this case powerful
multinationals, but the fact that people are now aware or interested in the issue. The
presenter, Dr Krishnendu Roy ofBurdwan Medical College enlightened the participants on
the issue, which did provoke them to take it up more vigorously in future.
maximise earnings use various gimmicks like ‘Shot
Gun Therapy’. Due to lack of regulation, homoeopaths,
hakims and (ayur) vaidyas prescribe modern
medicines.
“The health of the people is really the foundation
upon which all their happiness and all their
power as a state depend.”
Benjamin
Disraeli
Health care system in India generally exists in two
forms, medical and non-medical. The medical form
of health care system is constituted in three phases:
preventive, curative and promotive. In the curative
phase the government serves only 20 percent of the
total Indian population, 80 percent of who are urban.
Voluntary sector serves 10 percent while private and
corporate medicare system serves the rest.
In spite of enormous amounts of money that flow
into our health care system, it does not offer all Indians
satisfactory health care. In fact unnecessary surgery,
over and misprescribing ofdrugs, absence of a rational
drug policy, negligence leading to death or injury,
inadequate health care system, malpractices,
carelessness, indiscipline, maladministration and
corruption are causing unaccountable misery to the
common people.
Non-medical health care system is offered in the form
of food, shelter, environment and health education.
One of the major factors behind this situation is lack
of awareness, knowledge and united effort
to change the situation. The consumer
seeks relief for his grievances but cannot
determine appropriate service and value
for money. The consumer is not in a position
to intelligently exercise his choice, he
Iti
cannot even determine whether he needs J
medicines/surgery/investigation or nonJ
pharmacological therapy.
While an ideal state medicare system should
be fully engaged to serve exclusively the
poor, in practice an entirely opposite
procedure is followed. In India the state
medicare serves only a very small
percentage of the population, people are
often refused service on the ground of nonavailability of drugs and services;
emergency and superspeciality services arc
also absent.
ib
■
The drug and medicines industry employ
high pressure sales techniques on doctors
to convince them on the necessity and
efficacy of products which they cannot
assess or verify. Moreover the doctors
predominantly guided by their urge to
M CUTS
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f
64
If we analyse the present drug situation of
India it is seen that 80 percent of the drugs
available in the market are either harmful
or useless. Exhorbitant prices of medicines
prevent a larger section of the people from
availing them. While state governments are
A New Generation
e
required to regulate the quality and distribution of
drugs. Unscientific and spurious preparations capture
the market. In the industry there is absence of proper
scientific approach to develop new drugs and the post
marketing surveillance programme is also minimal.
Bangladesh Ganaswasthya Kendra under the
leadership of Dr Zafarulla Chowdhury against the
system compelled the Bangladesh Government to
adopt a new drug policy in 1982 which not only
covered fundamental health needs and rights, banned
harmful and useless drugs but also improved national
economy by saving foreign exchange and empowered
the regulatory authority in improving the situation.
Drugs like Analgin, Baralgan, Enteroquinol and
Mexaform which are banned in Bangladesh and Sri
Lanka are readily available in the Indian market.
Added to this, 80 percent of the 60,000 drug
formulations available in the market are not only
unscientific but also harmful and useless. No proper
scientific study has been taken up yet to develop
cheaper and useful drugs with least side effects.
Moreover licences are given readily to the ayurvedic/
herbal drug industries which are said to have huge
potential. Poor pharmaco-vigilance system
encourages private drug industries to manufacture
poor quality and often spurious drugs.
Now Bangladesh is in such a position where essential
drugs are easily available to all strata of people. Prices
of drugs have also minimised by replacing costly
imported drugs with cheaper preparations, including
the container and packaging expenses. More sectoral
reservations have been adopted by Government
towards local manufacturing units based upon
priorities like antacids and antibiotics. Irational drugs
and useles combinations are now banned in
Bangladesh, old stocks are also being destroyed. Strict
legislative measures have also been adopted. Proposal
for a special Drug Court with power of sessions court
is now under consideration.
Our neighbouring country Bangladesh has adopted a
rational drug policy in 1982. Before that 166 licensed
companies and 8 drug MNCs together used to control
the country’s market spending Rs 60 crore on
advertising alone every year. Irrational prescribing
habits were frequently seen among doctors, over-thecounter sale of any kind of medicine as well as self
medication was the order of the day. The most
important factor was the regulatory system which was
so poor that the Government did not have proper
control over the system.
Only consumer awarenes can bring about a rational
drug and health policy, rational drug therapy and
market medicare. The literate and enlightened have
a greater reponsibility since only they can educate
and enlighten others about areas of deprivation. All
consumer groups in the country must form a panel of
experts for rendering consultancy. It is the consumer
leaders’ task to organise a strong peoples’ movement
and establish a value for money and people.
But a strong peoples’ movement engineered by
Death in the bottle
H CUTS
65
A New Generation
FACTORS LEADING TO THE SUCCESS OF
A CAMPAIGN
Simultaneous fund raising to ensure constant
availability of funds
&
&
Identification of key factors that caused the
problem.
Encouragement of people's cooperation
&
Systematic planning at all levels
&
Coordination with allied organisations
Selection of a vital issue
A viable alternative solution is given
Systematic planning
Issue-based rather than personality-based
campaigns
Intensive research
&
Strategic use of chinks in enemy camp
&
Networking i.e. linking with like-minded
organisations
&
The presence of consumer unity and trust
FACTORS LEADING TO THE FAILURE OF
A CAMPAIGN
Implemented with multifaceted actions
Long drawn out —loss of tempo and mass
Continued perseverance and sustained
support
efforts
Approaching the wrong forum
Conscious effort to encourage people's
participation
Lack of sufficient research and information
&
Use of collective leadership
relevant authorities
&
Strategic timing
Improper assessment of opposing forces
&
Linking consumer education to an issue
Top down approach, not involving the grass
&
Access to and use of relevant information
root level
6
Committed leadership; devotion to the cause,
fearlessness and courage
&
&
No networking with useful allies and other
Flaws and gaps in the law
Incorrect tactics
Strategic use of government infrastructure
Absence of effective lobbying
&
Creation of second line leadership
Lack of government support
&
Cooperation of the media
Lack of knowledge
Use of key public figures/personalities
A sense of helplessness
&
Use of modem information systems
&
Professionalism
&
The lack of or nonexistence of party politics
N.B.. Many ofthe factors leading to the failure ofa
campaign were found to be the reverse (the other side
ofthe coin) ofthe factors leading to the success ofa
campaign.
The use of practical methods
H CUTS
66
A New Generation
Section Five
The Essentials of Advocacy and Lobbying
How to deal with the Courts
Working with the Government
Communication
Environment, Pollution and the Law
What are the Essentials of Advocacy?
Henri Tiphcigne*
ADVOCACY
Pre requisite: A democratic 'state’
The major skill
required in "public
advocacy" is to Skills
know how the system
Core content of Advocacy:
The extent of democracy in the country
determines the space one is provided for
advocacy.
operates.
these only by
One learns
observation, making mistakes,
Advocacy creates more space within a
democracy.
burning one's fingers etc.
This is an action of citizens to keep
democracy responsive and relevant to
pro-poor concerns.
Participatory and democratic approach
Open declaration of ideological position, if any.
Scientific analysis which has its grassroots basis.
Pro-poor, pro-women, respect to all cultures and
religious tradition.
8. Firm belief in equality, co-operation, justice,
freedom.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Caution:
- Advocacy and lobbying are to be rooted in people
and not processes alienated from them.
Advocacy:
Process:
It is basically to do what advocates do, that is,
plead, argue etc., for another, for a public cause
or speak in favour of and/or defend a cause or a
group of persons.
a. An individual can influence the system.
b. Members of a group, community, are ready to
link through a network.
c. People with different ideological positions can
network on issues.
d. Even “insiders” can be involved in the networking.
e. “Political power” has to be tackled through
“sub-systems” in the structure.
We will concern ourselves with public advocacy
which is in the interest of the public.
'Public advocacy' is not only speaking in favour of a
cause which is basically pro-poor but it means
“speaking loud” so that you are heard and
“acknowledgements” are received.
Examples of areas of advocacy in India
Essentials:
Drugs, dams, workers’ rights, forest policy,
rape, nuclear installation. Consumer
Protection Act, housing, environment, dalit
issues, civil and democratic rights, child labour.
1. Truth
2. Openness (nothing to hide)
3. Honesty about source of finance
A CUTS
The power politics
within the system.
69
A New Generation
LOBBYING
Speak the truth - knowing the supporters and
your adversaries.
9. Good interpersonal relationship but definitely
not adversarial.
10. Open politics.
11. Knowledge of inner happenings in
committees
Study power dynamics
Identify key players.
12. Knowledge of when to be offensive and
when to be defensive.
13. Knowledge of other agencies involved in
lobbying, their politics etc.
8.
Lobbying is persuading a legislator with view
to influencing a particular piece of legislation.
The word ‘lobby’ originated from that practice when
persons stood in the U.S. House of Senate Chamber’s
lobby to talk to legislators before they cast their votes.
It is the power of persuasion, co-operation, support,
consensus, compromise, reason and understanding.
It has so far been associated with professional
lobbyists working for powerful and moneyed interest
groups.
When you approach a Legislator:
People’s organisations have basically a right to lobby
- which in fact is 'putting democracy into practice'.
It is a process of educating legislators and the general
public.
Know the Parliamentarian/Legislator/
Councillor
a) His understanding of the issue being lobbied.
b) How to appreciate the issue.
Principles in lobbying
Access his/her bias
Political
Caste
Religious
1. The thrust of the policies being lobbied should
benefit the poor and underprivileged sectors.
2. Lobbying should be undertaken by peoples’
organisations themselves and not by professionals
engaged for the purpose.
Before you approach the Legislator:
Approach the personal secretary/aide of the
legislator, explain the purpose behind the visit and
fix up an appointment.
3. Lobbying should be based on values. The power
of lobbying should be on the strength of peoples’
organisation and not money power.
While approaching the aide try to access the
personal views of the legislator.
Levels of Lobbying
1.
2.
3.
4.
Develop a very personal relationship with the aide
because s/he is the person who will follow up.
Local authority
State legislature
Parliament
International
How to Lobby:
1. Analyse the political situation (the
undercurrents among the elected
representatives)
2. Have a realistic objective.
3. Have a brief, clear, accurate persuasive
message.
4. Develop supporting arguments through policy
analysis.
5. Your timing should be perfect.
6. The audience should be definite.
7. Develop a discreet strategy.
TOR H CUTS
a “ the I -.hl
p«taen‘t
* '
0.0
e
—______________
70
A New Generation
With the Legislator:
Explain the competence, expertise and credentials of
the group undertaking the lobbying.
Remember that within a short while (10 to 30 minutes)
the explanations to be given should be completed.
Presentation should be honest and factual without
exaggeration.
Be prepared to listen to the reaction of the legislator
on the issue.
After meeting the Legislator:
Continue the campaign by increasing the visits.
Press statements of key legislator to be released as
individuals or a group of legislators (beyond politics).
* Henri Tiphagne, a lawyer and human rights activist in Madurai, is the founder of the Consumer Rights Protection Council and general
secretary of the Federation of Consumer Organisations of Tamilnadu, which is engaged in pristine work on organising rural consumers.
MCUTS
71
A New Generation
How to work with the Government
Rajendra Bhanawat*
T n the initial phase of the consumer movement, a
-Lconsumer was synonymous with consumer of
'goods’ only. As the time went by it was realised that
'consumer' is a much larger term and includes very
significantly and substantially the consumers of service
as well. This enlarged the scope of the movement to
almost all sections of the society as there is hardly
any one who does not consume or avails the goods
and services provided.
b. Lack of accountability of government officials.
The safest way for a government officer to pass
his time is not doing anything as then he is not
likely to commit any “irregularities”.
In the case of products, consumer and consumer
groups have a number of simple straight methods for
getting redressal. We read and hear about a number
of such cases being successfully dealt with at various
levels. But when it comes to government the provider
of “services” to a large section of society in various
sectors, the story is not that simple and straight.
e. Dependence of ‘NGO’ on the government.
c.
d. Job security of government officials.
f. Lack of credibility of consumer groups.
NO PRESCRIPTION, BUT!
Though, attempting to suggest a prescription to deal
with government will be a folly, yet consumer activists
are more likely to have an effective and successful
dealing with the government, if the following points
are borne in mind:
THE “TINA” FACTOR
One of the effective methods to deal with provider of
products could be to even “boycott” the product to
force the product out of the market, as there are a
number of alternatives available. With liberalisation
in economic policy, the alternatives are going to
increase further. This is not the case with government
where There is no alternative’ (TINA) for example,
in utilities: drinking water supply, drainage, street
lighting, agriculture, irrigation, electricity, roads etc.
a. There are no simplistic solutions to problems with
the government.
b. Understand the government system in a particular
department so as to be able to pin point the right
person for a solution.
c.
It is therefore very essential for any consumer leader
dealing with government to know as to how different
and difficult it is to handle the situation. To my mind,
based upon my 19 years of experience in various
administrative positions like the district administration,
industries, panchayati raj, tourism, the points of
difference in dealing with government and others are
as under:
Demystify the environment of government offices.
The procedures are not as complicated as they
appear from outside.
d.. Keep politics away. Many a case has been
adversely affected by bringing in too much of
political pressure which may displease or alienate
the officers. Ultimately it is the officials who are
going to find solutions.
a. As mentioned above there is no alternative to
e. Involve the government functionaries in your
programmes. This will help in doing away with
consumer versus government situation.
getting the services provided by the government
Hence the monopoly results into complacency.
M CUTS
Mysterious systems of working - inherited from
the British Raj, when any access to government
information was denied.
72
A New Generation
9
f. Try and find like minded friends in the government
and increase their numbers. They can be the best
advocates for your cause.
k. If there are many consumer groups at the same
place for the same function, government officers
can play up one against the other.
g- Provoke the right person in government at the right
time. After all. they come from the same society
as you come from.
1. Consumer fora treat consumer and government
on equal footing whereas they are not. Amendment
in law must be pressed for being presumptuous
about the complaint.
h. Have an investigating, open eye on what is
happening in the government deptartment. There
may be a number of willing persons to share
“official secrets” for a good cause. These may
be at very junior levels also.
i.
While, we are trying to sensitize the government
functionaries through various training programmes,
a real dent would come only through a continued
association of government officials and the consumer
leaders because ultimately both have a common
commitment to the society.
Government is faceless and therefore it is more
likely to lose in a court case and still not “mind” it.
J- Identify with the client group. Many government
officials do not like talking to some one on behalf
of others. Suspicion of “toutism” is there.
Rajendra Bhanawat, a senior state civil servant of Rajasthan, is currently Director, Directorate of Literacy and Continuing Education,
Rajasthan, Jaipur, and has been a keen follower of the consumer movement contributing articles to the local newspapers. When at the state
training academy, he involved consumer activists in training for bureaucrats.
® CUTS
73
A New Generation
How to work with Courts
Henn Tiphagne
CAUTION
1. I
is not the end of all.
2. Social change cannot totally rely on law.
3. Legal initiatives can succeed and equally fail
4. The orders can even work detrimentally.
A. Premise:
i) Presence of a responsible and independent judiciary.
ii) A constitution which ensures basic rights (fundamental rights).
iii) Law can be an instrument of social change.
B. System : (I) From within
(Civil/Criminal)
Supreme Court
oflndia
Art 32
& Interview
High courts
Art 226 & Interview
District Court
IL From Outside
Sub-Court
Chief Judicial Magistrate
Munsif Courts
Judicial Magistrate
i) International treaties
ii) UN bodies/organisations
- Parallel Courts
K CUTS
74
A New Generation
c.
Persons involved and their hierarchy:
1) Supreme Court
i) Chief Justice
ii) Judge
Ex-Judges
2) High Court
i) Chief Justice
ii) Judge
Ex-Judges
F. Need for publicity:
a) through media
b) Through activists - Invite them to court during
& affected people
hearings
- Public actions highlighting
address
- Public discussion of
orders.
3) Subordinate judiciary'
4) Consumer Disputes Redressal Agencies
5) Advocate - Senior advocates
Past and present Advocates
General/Govemment Pleaders
Specialists on subjects.
A Must
Use every opportunity to expose the
judiciary to problem areas of the people
6) Legal Aid:
a) Government legal aid programme
b) NGO legal aid programme
c) Para legals.
By
inaugurating/delivering /chairing
an address etc.
inviting, but please be sure you
know their views
also provide them with well
researched materials, articles
Also by
requesting retired social minded
judges to address and write on the
subject under consideration.
D. Twis Prudence
Adversorial
Civil
- Media attention to orders
(after orders only)
- Feature articles
- Letters
Public Interest
General
- Interim orders
- Penal provision
- Compensation
- Publicity threat
- Fear of punishment
- Moulding of law
E.
Public Interest Litigation
By whom— a) filed by affected people
b) filed by representatives of
affected people
c) filed by a disturbed citizen.
Caution
Not a publicity stunt
Preceded by a research in which social
activists have been involved.
Prayers in the petition to be evolved
through a discussion.
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75
A New Generation
Communications
Dilip Bose*
should speak their language,
should use the terms they understand and
should provide the stimulus that can generate the
desired response.
onimunication has played a great role not only
in creating the demand but also in supplies.
Communication as we understand is a two way
process. Classical Theory of communication says that
there should be a sender, a medium and a receiver.
But in practising communication in real life, one needs
two more elements - stimulus and response.
This fact should always be remembered that the
audience plays a key role in any effective communica
tion.
According to Stimulus-Response Theory, each
communication should be made in such a manner that
it should elicit a desired response.
Identifying needs: The first step
The first and foremost fact in any communication is
to identify the needs of the people. You must not
decide what is right and what is wrong for them. We
should not decide what they should know and what
they should not. I cite two examples.
The second important fact related to response is that
to generate the desired response, stimulus or a
relevant set of stimuli should be given.
This stimulus-response theory is
very7 important when applied to
social developmental commu
nication.
The third aspect is that who
decides whether a commu
nication has occured or not. It is
the receiver. This knowledge is
very important that the receiver
decides
whether
a
communication has taken place
or not. Ann Murien has stated on
developmental communication “We want to create puppets who
can pull their own strings”. In
developmental marketing and
management this concept is very
important that the receiver is the most important
link.
In Africa, among coffee
plantations, it was seen that the
yield was not high, their growth was
stagnating. Some experts were
called to study the case. After
some inquiry they came to
conclusion that if the coffee plants
were pruned at a particular time,
the yield would be higher. Then they
created a very nice communication
for them. After some years, when
the place was revisited, it was
found that the communication had
produced no effect. It happened
because though people knew this
fact, but they did not know how to
occupy themselves during the
interim 2-3 months during which the
plants were pruned. Thus the communication was not
according to their needs and it failed to create any
impact.
*3
All these facts mean that those who are in the business
of creating messages
Second example is of India. Some 20-30 years ago,
there was a severe problem of malaria here. A very'
effective film was made about the mosquitoes and
how to control them. This communication was not
should always put themselves in the receiver^
shoes.
M cuts
76
A New Generation
and they may in turn help to generate population
management. Thus understanding of the issues plus
a constant exploration of these issues are very
important.
successful, as the large mosquitoes that were shown
in the film, did not exist in our environment.
Therefore, in social marketing research, investigation,
inquiry all play a very important role.
Work monitoring charts should be dealt carefully,
otherwise it can create adverse effect. Numbers,
columns etc. play a very important role for the
villagers.
Issue analysis
Issue analysis is another important aspect of effective
communication. We must continuously explore what
are the issues that should be taken by us. Once a
very knowledgeable person came to me and asked
to make a massive campaign on population growth.
The last aspect of communication which is also the
most important aspect for the persons who are
working at grassroot level is the interpersonal
communication. These workers should learn how
to become friends, how to learn from the experience,
how to manage group dynamism etc. to acquire
effective interpersonal communication skills.
We researched for 9 months and finally told him that
such a campaign on population growth can not be
made. Campaigns on status of women, on literacy
and education, on economic empowerment of women
* Chief of Social Advertising, Hindustan Thompson Associates
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77
A New Generation
Environment, Pollution and the Law
-—Anuradha Rao
TT'ortunately for us, we are not entirely at the mercy
of industry and government agencies to
effectively control pollution and safeguard the
environment. The citizen has on her/his side, a set of
laws which can be a powerful tool, depending on
two things - the state of the law itself, and our will
and ability to use it skilfully and effectively. The
constitution, our primary document of governance,
specifies in Article 51 A, the duty of all citizens to
preserve and protect the environment. Article 21 of
the Constitution guarantees a citizen his right to life,
which has through a series of test cases, been
expanded in meaning to include a safe and healthy
environment. Common law allows legal action when
a person's life and health are endangered by acts of
commission or omission by his neighbours. Even if
no specific rights of an individual are articulated,
s/he can plead constitutional right, expand its scope,
and take it to the court in a writ petition.
of water or such alteration of the physical,
chemical or biological properties of the water
or such discharge of any sewage or trade effluent
or any other liquid, gaseous or solid substance into
water (whether directly or indirectly) as may or
likely to create a nuisance or render such water
harmful or injurious to public health or safety, or
to domestic, commercial, industrial or agricultural
uses, or to the life and health of animals or plants
of aquatic organisms.v
3. The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution)
Act of 1981, constitutes Central and State Boards
for prevention, control and abatement of air
pollution. But it is ineffectual since it does not
specify criminal and civil liability covering cases
of air pollution. The Air (Prevention and Control
of Pollution) Act also covers noise pollution.
4. The Environment Protection Act of 1986
defines ‘environment’ as including “air, water, and
land and the inter-relationship which exists among
and between water, air and land and human beings,
other living creatures, plants, micro-organisms and
property.” It incorporates several environmental
laws. It provides new powers to the Central
Government, and the Ministry of Environment and
Forests can directly order closure of firms that
violate effluent controls, without routing
prosecution through the courts, a time consuming
and expensive process.
We are not, however limited to these generalised
concepts of constitutional and common law which
by their general nature may provide difficulty in
specific liability and enforcement. Certain provisions
in the Penal Code, and more focused legislation
which have been enacted in the past decade give
specific protections and be used in cases of pollution
and environment protection. Some of these provisions
relevant to our discussion are:
1. Sections 277 and 278 of the Indian Penal
Code make it an offence to foul the water of any
public spring or reservoir and to make the
atmosphere noxious to health.
5. Another post-Bhopal piece of legislation is the
Factories (Amendment) Act of 1987 with
significantly better controls over use and handling
of hazardous substances in the work place. It has
stricter punishments for non-compliance.
Section 269 of the Penal Code punishes
negligent acts likely to spread infection and disease
dangerous to life.
6. The Public Liability Insurance Act 1991
addresses another important gap identified after
the Bhopal disaster. Under this, every owner of a
hazardous industry has to insure every person likely
to be affected by the handling of hazardous
substances for Rs.25,000.
2. The Water (Prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act of 1974 marked an important
milestone in environmental legislation in India as
the first national law for pollution control. It
provides for action against “such contamination
M CUTS
78
A New Generation
few
IW - •.
e
7. Finally, the latest addition to environmental policy
is the Environment (Protection) Second
Amendment Rules, 1992, which requires all
industries covered under the Air and Water
Pollution Acts as well as the Hazardous Wastes
Handling Rules, to submit an environment audit
before March 31 each year, to the Pollution Control
Board.
managers and senior executives liable due to their
social positions.
tort law which relates to private action to obtain
compensation for injury and negligence, is not well
developed in India.
public accountability and transparency in action
taken by the Pollution Control Board is low, giving
room for corruption and collusion between
regulators and regulatees.
All of the above laws are intended to address the
control of pollution and protect human life and the
environment. But they are limited in their
effectiveness and have some common factors which
weaken implementation:
SCOPE FOR CITIZENS’ ACTION
Given all of the above, is there anything at all that an
individual or a citizens’ group can do to protect their
right to clean water and air, and a healthy environment?
Let us take a look at some of the cases that one
consumer group (Consumer Action Group, Madras)
has handled.
almost all the Acts designate the Central and State
Pollution Control Boards to monitor and regulate
compliance. These Boards, however, do not have
the necessary staff, training, expertise, or
equipment to carry out such an extensive role.
the penalties do not act as an effective deterrent
because costs of environmental degradation are
lower for the polluters, than for society as a whole,
which bears most of the costs. Besides, the
economic benefits of non-compliance are far
greater than any fines to be paid.
A. A residents’ colony in South Madras protested
against the noise generated by the cooling system
of a Five-star hotel in a residential area. The
cooling system and generators were placed
adjacent to the dividing wall between the hotel
and a row of houses; and were operated 24 hours
of the day, creating high levels of continuous noise.
under most ofthe Acts, the Pollution Control Board
does not have the powers to prosecute defaulters
or legally enforce the provisions. All such action
must be conducted through civil and criminal
courts which are overloaded, procedurally
cumbersome, and cause long delays.
• The residents’ Welfare Association wrote
several letters to, and personally met the
General Manager of the hotel, and senior
officials in the Corporate head office. They
got no favourable response. They approached
Consumer Action Group (CAG), who advised
them to write to the State Pollution Control
Board giving details of the complaint and
even where the Act provides for it, prosecutors
and courts are reluctant to hold corporate
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79
A New Generation
requesting that immediate action be taken.
Section 43 of the Air Pollution Act enjoins the
Pollution Control Board to take suo motu action
against offenders. A citizen can give a 60-day
notice to the PCB that since no action has been
taken by them, s/he will file a criminal complaint
against the offender. The PCB is mandatorily
required to investigate and take required action.
If the polluter still does not comply, he can be
criminally prosecuted by the complainant.
Alternatively, a Writ Petition can be filed on
grounds of violation of a citizens' right to life
and a safe environment, and the PCB made a
co-respondent for not having taken effective
action despite its powers for suo motu action
and a statutory notice being given.
covering of wells, etc.
• The complainants first wrote to the PCB, CAG
and local media in November, 1992. CAG wrote
in support of the complainants’ claims to the
PCB and the Ministry of Environment and
Forests, New Delhi. There has been no
response from the PCB. The Ministry of
Environment and Forests wrote to say that
TALCO has been requested not to pollute the
environment and that the situation was being
closely monitored by the Tamil Nadu Pollution
Control Board.
• In reality, there is no change in the situation,
and after consultation with CAG, the
complainants have decided to file a writ petition
making the PCB a co-respondent. This is an
interesting case to watch, because although the
pollution caused is grave, the polluter is a
Government Corporation, and the leather
industry lobby is very strong in Tamil Nadu.
• CAG supported the complainant’s claims and
met senior officials, including the Chairman, of
the Pollution Control Board. Still, no action.
Finally. CAG advised the complainants on two
possible course of llegal action:
- a criminal complaint against the General
Manager of the Hotel for not taking action.
• There are six such cases pending as complaints
with CAG, where there has been no effective
action by the PCB. CAG is considering filing
one criminal case to see how effective this is
as a deterrent, and a scries of writ petitions
making the PCB a co-respondent and claiming
compensation for the victims.
- a writ petition against the hotel management,
as well as the PCB.
• Both parties were put on notice of legal action
being instituted if there was no compliance.
Largly because CAG had a history of public
interest litigation which was well published, both
parties responded. The PCB carried out a site
inspection and suggested remedial measures sound-proofing the equipment and housing it
at a distance of more than twenty-five feet
from the dividing wall. Both these measures
were carried out, key factors being constant
monitoring and feedback from the residents,
and some adverse publicity which might affect
the image of the Company.
C. The period of December 12-Jan 15 is the coolest,
most festive one in Madras and Tamil Nadu. But
it is also a recurring nightmare, for during this
month of Margazhi Masam, every roadside
temple and slum blares film and religious music
at unbearable volumes from 3 p.m. until late at
night, with brief respites in between. In Tamil
Nadu, Section 71A of the City Police Act gives
the police powers to regulate loudspeakers. A
Government Order stipulates that a licence must
be obtained from the police for the use of
loudspeakers; no loudspeakers can be used before
9 a.m. or after 10.30 p.m., and that the volume
cannot be beyond a specified decibel level. Each
of these provisions is consistently violated, and
until recently, little action has been taken.
B. A residents’ colony in the outskirts of Madras is
seriously affected because an adjoining tannery
is causing air and water pollution by discharging
noxious fumes and effluents. The tannery - Tamil
Nadu Leather Corporation (TALCO) is a
Government one, and the case has received wide
media publicity. The residents had the water tested
at the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive
Medicine. It was certified that the water had high
levels of toxicity. The Directorate also suggested
remedial measures such as pumping out the
existing water from wells, allowing fresh spring
water to regenerate disinfection, plastering and
K CUTS
• For the past two years, a campaign has been
mounted by CAG, along with two or three other
citizens groups. Information notes on the
effects of noise pollution and action to be taken
by affected citizens, have been printed and
distributed. A constant dialogue, with the Police
Commissioner demanding better implementa
tion and stressing the need for awareness
80
A New Generation
0
within the police department is carried out;
posters on hazards of noise pollution have been
printed and an awareness campaign is being
carried out through other voluntary
organisations working in slums.
framing issues with a good knowledge of the law
in order to make the authorities and the offenders
realise that they are on strong legal ground and
would not hesitate to go to court.
• There has been an audible difference in the
past two years - the police department has
instituted a special telephone for loudspeaker
complaints, and due to mounting public
pressure, the timings and volume are far more
reasonable. We hope to revive the campaign
in September/October this year, well in
advance of the anticipated noise.
advocate amendments to the law for more
effective implementation of its provisions.
concretise the problem through good research and
testing so that the public is aware of the
seriousness of health hazards.
undertake strategic litigation which expands the
scope of the law; serves as an effective deterrent;
and tests out remedies under criminal tort laws
which had not been used frequently.
• What do the above case studies illustrate?
Legal remedy, while available to the citizen on
paper, is cumbersome, time consuming, and
often does not bring relief to the complainant,
let alone generate systemic change. But
knowledge of the law is a powerful tool which
can be needed in dialogue with enforcement
authorities and polluters; and in the presentation
of a case in strategic litigation. If citizens’
groups learn to use the law with competence,
skill and imagination in test cases which expand
the scope of legislation and bring relief to the
victims, they not only set precedents, but
provide effective deterrents to other potential
or actual offenders.
advocate for the principle of ‘polluters pay’ to be
incorporated into law, so that it becomes more
costly for industry to violate rather than to comply
with the law.
A range of talents is needed to do many of the above
- testing and technical studies, media, legal resources,
professional and active participation by the people. A
consumer/citizens’ group can provide the platform for
all these to come together and forge effective public
action.
CONCLUSION
e
• Again, judicial action is not the only effective
course of action. Other forms of pressure such
as advocacy campaigns and lobbying, public
education, and political action may be more
effective mechanisms to improve
implementation of environmental legislation,
than litigation. A key strategy is to promote
environmental education in schools, colleges
and professional education - surprisingly,
despite the vital importance of environmental
issues, there is poor awareness of
environmental problems even among the elite
such as industry executives, government
bureaucrats, politicians and professionals. It
requires the combined efforts of voluntary
organisations, the media and such international
agencies as United Nations Environment
Program (UNEP), UNICEF, WHO and ILO
to bring about an urgently needed attitudinal
change.
Pollution in the cities relates largely to water
contamination, toxic fumes in the air and health
hazards due to a polluted living environment caused
by inadequate disposal of solid wastes, lack of water
and sanitation, and industrial effluents. Levels of
pollution are rapidly on the increase, and the causes
are complex industrial development, pressures of high
population; inadequate provision of basic civic
services; and poor implementation of regulatory laws.
Although there are a range of laws for environment
protection, litigation alone is not the most effective
tool for change. Voluntary organisations have a critical
role to play in shaping public opinion and bringing about
attitudinal changes among policy-makers, government
authorities, polluters, and the general public through
well-researched and well-presented arguments for the
urgent need to control pollution and protect the
environment. They also have a key role to play to
advocate more effective implementation of the law.
Voluntary groups in particular, can take effective
action by :
M CUTS
81
A New Generation
9
Section Six
VALEDICTION
What yve call the beginning is often the end,
and to make an end is to make a beginning,
the end is where we start.
— T.S. Eliot
A CKNO WLED GEMENTS
Lastly we would like to convey our thanks to
the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture
at Calcutta, Indian Social Institute, New Delhi
& Bangalore and the Gujarat Institute for
Development Research, Ahmedabad, where
the tour workshops were held, for their
hospitality and wonderful arrangements, and
also offer our apologies if any inconvenience
was caused to them.
On behalf of the CUTS team, I express my
gratitude to the IOCU for its selection of CUTS
as a partner and kicking off a very exciting
and quantifiable programme. We would also
like to acknowledge the lOCU's help in
designing the programme, and providing the
funds from its programme being assisted by
the Canadian International Development
Agency for the 1st and part of the 2nd
workshop. For the rest our gratitude to HIVOS
for the financial support.
For the prescription audit campaign, I must
acknowledge the valuable financial support
extended by the Indian Institute of Health
Management and Research, Jaipur, and Anne
Frasenfonds, The Hague, Netherlands for the
campaign. Gratitude also for all the
youngsters who participated in the training
programme and the data collection. Last but
not the least, Dr. Krishnangshu Ray for the
rationality assessment and ancillary activities,
and for his inspiration guidance and inputs to
make the campaign successful.
We would be miserably failing in our duty if
we did not acknowledge the valuable
participation of resource persons, and the time
which they spared to enthusiastically share
their in-depth knowledge and rich experience,
which made the series successful.
We would like to heartily thank Ms Minaxi
Shukla for maintaining her cool in the most
trying role as Workshop Facilitator and doing
a splendid job without ruffling any feathers.
it
Pradeep S Mehta
Secretary General
CUTS, Calcutta
©
m
K CUTS
85
A New Generation
T t was said at the beginning of the workshops that
A.true success would be measured by how the
participants use the knowledge and skills acquired at
the workshop in furthering the consumer movement.
The editor of this report met a few of the participants
in July 1997 at another workshop organised by CUTS
and asked them to describe their feelings regarding
the learning experience in retrospect. Looking back,
this is what they had to say:
Ch. Divakar Babu
"TWYCL was a unique experience for me and I can
say, without hesitation that all these workshops have
made me a committed consumer activist with
necessary skills for advancing the cause of the
consumer movement. Before participating in the
workshops my knowledge about the consumer
movement was fragmented and more or less
unpragmatic. The workshops empowered me with
various skills needed to design and implement
consumer campaigns. Several of my activities were
a direct result of my learning experience. Some
instances include:
1.
Collected and sent around 275 prescriptions to
CUTS for analysis. During collection, I was able
to overcome resistance from the medical
fraternity.
2. Also published articles on the dismal drug scenario
in the Indian Express and other leading Telugu
dailies highlighting the need for immediate
remedial action.
3.
4.
Conducted a one-day workshop for young
consumer activists to build their skills with the
help of CUTS.
Conducted training programmes for rural women
to increase their knowledge regarding practical
laws so that they can be more conscious and
assertive regarding their rights and duties.
Babu enumerates certain skills such as maturity,
understanding, sincerity, the ability to persuade and
K CUTS
e
87
an unflinching commitment to the
cause, as those which have helped
him in his work. They have helped
other people to select him as their
leader.
Raghav Narsalay
Raghav called himself a "novice", a
young (nineteen years) activist who
basically grew up as a professional
and honed his skills as an activist and
consumer leader at the workshops.
The overall impression was of total professionalism.
Rigorous management techniques were used to deliver
both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. The
discipline put us in the right frame of mind! I
remember, as part of this skit we had to write a
proposal, and our funders were sitting right there in
front with a rupees one lakh cheque. We were so
very involved, we couldn't sleep all night! The work
culture changes your perspective, your way of looking
at life.
Specific things that I learnt and have put to use in my
work ever since include:
a) Networking. I have learned to build and maintain
contact and rapport with other people and
organisations. In this the personality of Mr. Mehta
has also been a driving force. He never lost contact
with us, communicating in some way or the other. He
also inspired me and taught me to believe in myself,
that I could do it and that "age was no bar."
b) Writing and Research. I didn't know I could
write so much! Since the workshops, I have been
doing research and writing papers which have been
published.
c) People skills. I learnt how not to exploit other
people. It was important not to force someone to agree
but rather understand his frame of mind and where
he comes from and then help him come round to your
way of thinking. I learnt not to hurt other people.
A New Generation
Even as we talked, another chapter of V-CAN began.
A meeting was held of old and new members as an
attempt to resurrect the same inspiration, enthusiasm
and rapport with which the network was born during
the workshops. Among other things, it was decided
to conduct another prescription audit campaign on a
larger scale, networking w ith maiw more organisations
in different states. As a beginning, a proposal would
be written to obtain
funding for this purpose.
The V-Can newsletter LA
"We Can. We Must"
would also be revived and
circulated so that members
could keep in touch.
Participants
from
Bangladesh and Nepal
expressed interest in the audit exercise and promised
to send research reports and studies conducted in their
countries in the field of medicine.
Surendi a Kanstiya
Kanstiya basically agreed with what Narsalay said
about the learning experience and had a few more
specifics to add.
"I was involved in consumer activism for five years
before attending the workshops but the TWYCL
programme laid the foundation in a more systematic
way. As a part-time activist. I learnt ways of utilizing
my time and skills more effectively. I also learnt the
art of lobbying. Writing letters to the Editor was
something 1 used to do even earlier. But after the
workshops I became more systematic. One
specifically useful thing I learnt was following the
Questions raised in Parliament, and keeping a
systematic record, especially of issues regarding
health and bank trends etc. Again, networking,
maintaining a list of addresses and keeping contact
w ith people is something I do on a regular basis now."
Such is the stuff that leaders
are made of
And the story continues...
$ CUTS
88
A New Generation
Appendices
i.
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS AND RESOURCE PERSONS
2.
LOGICAL FRAMEWORK ANALYSIS AND PLAN OF
ACTION OF V-CAN
3.
EVALUATING THE WORKSHOPS: GROUP
EXERCISES
4.
PROGRAMMES OF THE FOUR TWYCLs
ANNEXUREI
LISTOF PARTICIPANTSAND RESOURCE PERSONS
07. Mr. SaumyaTripathi
Consumer Research Action And
Information Centre (CRAIC)
Uttara,
P.O. Kaushalaya Gang,
Bhubaneswar 751 002
Ph.0674 50324/463438
01. Ms. Yogini Acharya,
Coordinator
Association for Consumer Action on
Safety and Health (ACASH)
21, Lawyers Chamber
R. S. Sapre Marg,
Bombay 400 002.
Ph. 022 873 6455(R)
02. Ms. Kavitha M.
Coordinator
Consumer Action Group
44, Venkatakrishna Road,
Mandaveli, Madras 600 028.
Ph/Fx. 044.493 9984
08. Ms. Sonal Mehta
CHETNA
Lilavatiben Lalbhai’s Bungalow,
Civil Camp Road,
Sahibaug, Ahmedabad 380 004.
Ph. 079-7866695, 7868856, 7865636
Fx.7866513
03. Mr. Shamshir Rai Luthra
Consumer Forum (Regd.)
B-24, Maharani Bagh,
New Delhi 110 065.
Ph. 641 2419
09. Mr. DivakarBabu Ch.
Bezwada Consumers Council
Siddharha Law College
Vijaywada 520 007
Ph.68592 (O) 583249 (R)
04. Mr. Surendra Kanstiya,
Hon. Gen. Secy.
Consumer Guidance Society of India
Hutment-J,
Mahapalika Marg,
Opp. Cama Hospital, Bombay 400 001.
Ph.022-2621612/206 4230
10. Mr. Gulab Noor Khan
Field Organiser
CUTS Manav Vikas Kendra
Senti, Chhittorgarh 312 025
11. Ms. K. Susila
FEDCOT
Oxford Mission,
Bodinayakanoor,
Madurai Dist.
05. Mr. RaghavManoharNarsalay
Mumbai Grahak Panchayat
GrahakBhavan,
Sant Dnyaneshwar Marg,
J.V.P.D. Scheme, Vile - Parle (West)
Bombay 400 056.
Ph.022 6209319(O)/494 5188(R)
12. Mr. A. Shankar
FEDCOT
215-A, West Car Street,
Tirunelveli 627 006
Ph.0462 322599(O)26599(R)
13. Mr. Prakash Poddar
Consumer Rights Protection Council
Allahabad Bank Campus
Rajkumarganj,
Darbhanga 846 004,
Ph. 06272 22773
06. Ms. Santosh Sharma
Co-ordinator, CUTS
Rawala, Senti
Chittorgarh 312 025
Ph.01472 41472/Fx. 40072
M cuts
91
A New Generation
14. Dr. Raman Kumar, VOICE
College of Vocational Studies
University of Delhi
Sheikh Sarai, Ph-ll,
New Delhi 110 017.
23. Ms. Rinky Budhiraja
Consumer Coordination Council
66, Qutab View Apartments
2nd Floor, Saheed Jitsing Marg,
NewDelhi 110016.
Ph.ZFx.011 686 2229
15. Mr. Hemant D. Shah
Consumer Protection Council
9, Savita Society
Naranpura Railway Crossing,
Ahmedabad 350 013.
Ph. 0272 451126(R) 354615(0)
24. Ms. Sujata
Centre for Womens Development Studies
D-706, Chittaranjan Park,
NewDelhi 110 019.
Ph.646 3028/647 5496
16. Ms. Geeta Chengappa
Consumer Service Society
Kavery Motel,
Ganapathy Road,
S. Kodagu Dist. Mysore, Karnataka
25. Mr. S. Nagrajan
Consumer Education & Protection Society
No. 239, Sth C Main
Remco layout
Bangalore 560 040
17. Ms. Mausumi Dutta
Executive Asstt. CUTS
3-B, Camac Street,
Calcutta 700 016
Ph. 033-297391/2786
26. Mr. S. Martin, Advocate
FEDCOT
P-48 III Cross V Main
Ramalinganagar
Trichy 620 003
18. Mr. Anup K. Badola
ASSEFA
200A, Road No 6,
Ratitalai,
Banswara 327 001.
Ph. 02962 40071
27. Mr. M. Jayaraman
Citizen’s Voice Club, FEDCOT
13, Shanmughan Colony
Saradha Mill Road
Podanur
Coimbatore 641 023
Ph. 210229/210313/213251
19. Ms. Puja Gupta
CICO
12A, DDA Flats,
Gulabi Bagh,
Delhi 110 007.
Ph.751 9448
28. Ms. Sumathi
FEDCOT
No. 12A, Desipalayam Street
Kanchipuram 631 501
Ph. 06272- 22773
20. Mr. Paudyal, Bhola Nath
Safe Water and Environment
Conservation Group
P.O.Box No.46
Kathmandu, Nepal
Ph.410126 Fx.977 1411642
29. Ms. Sabita Swain
NYASASDRI
N-3/445, IRC Village
Nayapally
Bhubaneswar
Ph. 0674 410432
21. Mr. Mathew N. M.
Voluntary Health Association of India
40 Institutional Area,
NewDelhi 110 016.
Ph.66 5018FX.011 685 3708
30. Ms. Shivani Prasad
CUTS
3 B, Camac Street
Calcutta 700016
31. Mr. N.K. Sinha
CUTS
22. Ms. Sucharita S. Eashwar
Madhyam Communications
Post Box 4610,
59 Miller Road,
Benson Town,
Bangalore 560 046.
Ph.080 558 6564 Fx.56 9261
M CUTS
92
A New Generation
RESOURCE PERSONS
10. Dr. Anant Sharma
Gen. Secy. CANS
21, Gangwal Park,
Jaipur 302 004
Ph.0141 47137
01. Mr. John Joseph
CICO
189, Hari Nagar,Ashram
New Delhi 110 014
Ph.011 63 4223
11. Ms. Mala Banerjee
Fed.of Consumer Asscns. W. Bengal
34, Theatre Road,
Calcutta 700 017
Ph. 247 1446
02. Mr. Rajendra Bhanawat
Director, Directorate of Literacy and
Continuing Education, Rajasthan
11/23, Jal Path, Gandhi Nagar,
Jaipur 302 015
Ph.0141 512234(R)37 0181(0)
12. Mr. Bejon Misra
Consumer Guidance Society
of Jamshedpur,
21, Circuit House Area (E)
Jamshedpur 831 001
Ph.0657 310548(R)
03. Mr. Henry Tiphagne
General Secretary,
FEDCOT
57, American College Bldg
Madurai 625 002.
Ph.0452-481051 (O)/45727(R)
13. Mr. PradeepS. Mehta
Gen. Secy. ‘CUTS’
3-B, Camac Street,
Calcutta 700 016
Ph.033.29 7391/29 2786
Fx.033.29 7665/76 2785(R)
04. Ms. Shanthi Ramanathan
IOCU/ROAP
P.O.Box 1045,
10830 Penang,
Malaysia
Ph.604 2291396 Fx. 604 2286506
14. Dr. K. Roy
Prof, of Pharmacology
Burdwan University
Medical College
Burdwan. (W.B)
05. Ms. Sushmita Ghosh
Director,
Ashoka Innovators for Public
1/1 New Road,
Calcutta 700 027
Ph./Fx. 244 9169(0)
15. Mr. DunuRay
117, Uttarakhand
JNU
New Delhi 110 067
06. Ms. Meenaxi Shukla
CHETNA
Lilavatiben Lalbhai’s Bungalow
Civil Camp Road, Shahibaug,
Ahmedabad 380004.
Ph. 079-7866695, 7868856, 7865636
Fx.7866513
16. Mr. Umesh Anand
Times of India
B. S. Zafar marg
New Delhi 110 002
17. Dr. Mira Shiva
VHAI
40, Institutional area
Near Qutab hotel
New Delhi 16
07. Ms. Sudha Sachdeva Dhar
13, Gandhi Square,
Malkaganj, Delhi 110007
Ph.291 1897 (R)
08. Dr. Sriram Khanna
VOICE
108, Golf Links,
New Delhi 110 003.
Ph.011 462 0455
18. Mr. SatishPande
Communication for Education and
Development
K-1/169,2nd floor
Chittaranjan Park
New Delhi 19
09. Mr. V. K. Parigi
Managing Trustee, CEC
2/27, 47th Cross, 8th Block,
Jayanagar,
Bangalore 560 082
Ph.080-664 3904
cFZH K CUTS
Ph. 647 5496,684 2656
93
A New Generation
19. Mr. Gautam Vohra
DRAG
75, Paschimi Marg
New Delhi 110 057
27. Ms. Jajie Mandanna
Indian Institute of Consumer Studies
32/A Benson Cross Road
Bangalore 560 046
Ph. 556 0686
20. Ms. Anuradha Rao
CAG
Madras
28. Dr. Heather MacPhail
2,15 Harn’s Street
Benson Town
Bangalore 560 046
21. Ms. Veena Ravikumar
B-22, Nanakpura
1st Floor, South Motibagh
New Delhi 21
29. Mr. M. M. Kumaraswamy
AIKYA/SHSD
377,42nd Cross
Jayanagar, 8th Block
Bangalore 560 082
22. Ms. Akhila Sivadas
WFS
49, Golf Links
New Delhi 3
Ph. 462 9886
30. Mr. Mahesh Lobo
ICR
902 Indiranagar
Bangalore 560 038
23. Mr. Leo Fernandez
Indian Social Institute
10, Institutional Area
New Delhi 3
31. Mr. BinuS. Thomas
ActionAid
3D Blessington Apts
34 Serpentine Street
Richmond Town
Bangalore 560 025
Ph. 224 0399
24. Ms. Chitra Sirur
Coordinator ICPP
Datta Prasad Konark Villa No. 11
Kalyani Nagar
Pune 400 014
India
32. Dr. Sreedhara A. R.
Community Health Cell
367,Jakkasandra
Kuramangala I Block
Bangalore 560 034
25. Ms. UshaJumani
Management Consultant
63, Thakorbhai Towers
Ahmedabad 386 006
33. Dr. Bhamy V. Shenoy
Mysore Grahakara Parishat
6/1 Vivekananda Road
Yadavagiri
Mysore 570 020
26. Mr. Binoy Acharya
UNNATI
G-1 200, Azad Society
Ahmedabad 380 015
K CUTS
94
A New Generation
ANNEXUREII
Logical Framework Analysis and Plan of Action of V-CAN
Vision: Affordable and Sustainable Health for All.
Mission: Equipping activists to empower people to achieve their Right to Health.
ANNEXURE
Logical Framework Analysis
Long term
1 objective
Indicators of success
How to assess/
quantify them
Assumptions, Risks,
conditions
Affordable and
sustainable health for all
1MK MR, Nutritional
levels, life expectancy,
per capita health
expenditure
Government and data
from monitoring
institutions including
international
organisations or
structures
Epidemics, natural
calamities, reliability
and availability of data;
Regional differences
Accessibility of health
care facilities
Water and Sanitation
Unknown diseases
Aware consumers
True representation
Sample survey
Decrease in health
needs
Reduction of costs
Secondary data
Patients charter
Policy
Non-compliance
Poor publicity
Opposition by medical
lobby
Apathy
Agreement to charter
Improvement in
legislation
Amendments in Law
Shortterm
* objective
Indicators of Success
How to assess/
quantity them
Assumptions, risks,
conditions
In the context of
curative health, to
ensure availability of
essential drugs at
affordable costs and
withdrawal of
hazardous and
irrational drugs, by the
year 2000 A.D.
Policy change
Publication oflist by
state governments of
essential drugs
Price monitoring survey
Business lobby
influencing policy
makers and
implementors
Media
Medical fraternity
Inefficient enforcement
Subjective elements
Opposition from vested
interest groups which
include pharmaceutical
trade
H CUTS
Ban on bannable durgs
Aware consumers and
informed doctors
Availablility ofdrugs at
fair price
KAP study
True representation
95
A New Generation
Inputs
Indicators of success
Alliance withNGOs,
GOs in Consumer orga
nisations, health and deve
lopment Networking
Allliance formed to act
together on the cam
paign
Network formed
Prescription audit
campaign
System Design
Pretesting
Outreach and response
Training of Task
Leaders
Audit
Advocacy
Simplicity
Clearly established
parameters
Practicability
Commitment /support
from pharmacologists
How to assess/
Assumptions, risks,
quantify them
Conditions
Commitments fulfilled
Partner NGOs backing
out
Sustainable contacts
developed
Number of prescriptions Indifference
Quality of prescriptions
Response and report
Poor design response
Specificity of area
Training material gener
ated and report
Agreement
Process may not be
appropriate
Availability and
expertise. Credibility,
Inclination
Availability and
Expertise, Credibility,
Inclination
Commitment from
partner NGOs
Joint efforts
Indicators of Success
How to assess/
quantify them
Assumptions, risks,
Conditions
Recruitment, Training
for Camp volunteers
Appropriate selection
ofvolunteers
Volunteers engaged
Timely availability
Collection of prescrip
tions
Prescriptions collected
No. of prescriptions
Non-cooperation of
patients
Resistance from
druggists
Resistance from doctors
Audit
DEC
Analysis
Increase in awareness/
information
Report
Consumer's participa
tion in the Campaign
Assertive Consumers
Volume ofwork
Apathy
Lobbying
Influencing all the
estates
Changes in Policies
Media coverage
Attitudes of Policy
Litigation
Cases filed by
consumers and
or organisations
Judgements
Cases filed by oppo
nents
Judiciary delaying
tactics
Fulfillment of Objec
tives
Degree of impact on all
estates
Increasing participation
of member organisa
tions
4
Outputs
Results
The network
K CUTS
Amendments in Laws
96
Apathy
Subjectivity, Disunity
Non-cooperation
A New Generation
Action plan and Budget for Prescription Audit Campaign
..... —
■
■■■■■ ■■
II I
■ ■ ' ■ ■ ■i > ' 1
Particulars
I
'A'.'.1.
' 1 '/ ' ' * '
W
' ' '* ' '
''''
Amount (Rs)
Dates
......................................... " ' ' ' '
Organisation
1. Pretest and
developing
guidelines for audit
15-30 March
CUTS
2. Recruitment of
volunteers
30 April
ALL
3. Training ofTask
Leaders (Decisions
on decide-andfinalise guidelines.
Date oflaunching
the campaign
release pamphlet,
information etc.)
13-14 May
50.000
CUTS
10 May
4,000
VHA1
6000
VHAI
4. Material
1. Media kit (500
nos.)
2. Posters (2000
nos.)
3. Pamphlets/
Banners
(matter during TOT)
ALL
5. Training of
volunteers
20 May
ALL
6. Field Work
(Honorarium,
photocopy, etc.)
24 May to 15 June
15,000
7. Prescription Final
Audit
Note: A detailed report ofthe Prescription Audit Campaign and analysis of the results are available
with CUTS.
K CUTS
97
A New Generation
ANNEXURE HI
Evaluating the Workshops: Group Exercises
1. ROLE PLAY
presentations of their proposals before him and his
managers at 9.00 a.m. on Saturday, 29 January 1994.
He has set no conditions except that the project has
to do with the youth in Calcutta. Group presentations
should not be more than 30 minutes.
To conclude the workshop and assess the learnings
of each participant, it was decided to design a role
play session and announce a competition to get the
best of their presentations. The whole workshop was
already divided into four working groups from the
beginning of the training and they remained so in this
session. To begin with the participants were handed
over the following guidelines:
Instructions:
Organise yourselves
1. Decide on the name of your organisation.
2. Spell out its values and objectives.
3. Agree on a structure for the organisation: roles
of each person in the group.
Plan the Project
1. Decide on the goals and objectives of the project.
2. Work out strategy and activities.
3. Work out the budget.
4. Work out the schedule.
Guidelines for Role Play
You are four organisations A, B, C, and D with this
overall mission: "To protect the well being and promote
tlir4 intAFACtc rxf tlio
the interests of the youth in
in tl-io
the City of Calcutta. ••
Seth Kirorimal, the richest man in Calcutta will be
celebrating his 99th birthday on 31 January 1994. To
commemorate this auspicious occasion he wishes to
donate Rs. 10,00,000 (10 lakh) to one of the four
organisations in Calcutta for a project that concerns
youth in the city. The project should be completed
before his 100th birthday.
Plan how the proposal will be presented:
1. Come up with a proposal properly packaged.
2. Decide how it will be presented.
3. Decide the role of each person in the group.
Make the presentation on the appointed day and time
He invites representatives of organisations A, B, C,
and D to bid for this donation and to make
Note: 'Youths' for the purpose of this project is defined
as persons from the age of 12 to 22.
Criteria forjudging Project Proposal
WEIGHT
ON SCALE-I
TOTAL
p- Clear and measurable objectives
10
2.
5
Fit between the objectives and the organisation's mission and values
3. Workability of the project
10
4.
Originality of ideas
5
5.
Budget planning
10
6.
Schedule
10
7.
Fit between the organisation's structure and the chosen working method
5
8.
Potential for real and lasting improvement in the lives of youth in Calcutta
10
9.
Does the project build the organisation?
5
10. Likelihood of the project being sustained even after the funding is over
10
11. Presentation
5
12. Teamwork
10
K cuts
98
A New Generation
Case for Group Work
Consumer Organisation for Rural Awareness (CORA) is an agency started in 1990 in
Ahmedabad. The founder trustee of CORA is Mr Sohrab Malik who is basically an
academician. He used to teach economics in a college.
Sohrab got involved in the consumer protection movement when his twelve year old daughter
suffered from the serious side effects of steroids prescribed by the doctor (or curing eczema.
Sohrab filed a case against the doctor and won compensation. However, the suffering of his
daughter motivated him to organise activities to help others.
Three other members who had faced various problems as consumers, like purchasing
electronic goods which were poor in quality and inadequacy of facilities in a private travellers
bus service, joined him later.
CORA, as an organisation has grown and has established its credibility as a Consumer
Protection Organisation. Sohrab with his three full time working members - Meetu. a lawyer;
Paresh a commerce graduate; and Ravaji, B.A.,
take up various issues concerning
consumers. They believe that every citizen is a consumer and should assert and exercise
his/her right as a consumer.
The main activities of the organisation include litigation, fighting the case in the court to
get justice and solving consumer grievances. The organisation has successfully handled
various cases and helped the people. However. Ravaji feels that CORA should concentrate
more on helping rural people as they are exploited more due to low level of literacy and
education.
Two other members have joined CORA. Manju, who has a masters degree in Social Work
from the Tata Institute of Social Work, Bombay, believes that only awareness and education
can bring about social change and that CORA should take up activities in this direction with
a focus on educating rural communities particularly women.
Sameer. an MB.A. from B>K> School of Management, Ahmedabad is attracted by the concept
of civil society and influenced by the present trends of development He thinks that people at
all levels -urban/tribal, poor or middle class are exploited and that there is nothing wrong in
working with middle class people.
The donor trustee of the organisation who is a retired Civil Surgeon of Civil Hospital has
expressed that the private sector/voluntary organisations should take on responsibilities for
health, He has shown initiative and interest in getting funds for health activities.
Group Work -I
Given this situation:
(1) Prepare a mission statement of CORA present.
(2) Explain the reasons for choosing this particular mission.
Group Work -- II
(1) Keeping your mission in perspective, prepare the strategy of CORA.
(2) Give reasons for adopting this particular strategy.
M CUTS
99
A New Generation
ANNEXURE IV
PROGRAMMES OF THE FOUR TWYCLs
TWYCLI
Calcutta, January 26 to 30, 1994
PROGRAMME
Wednesday the 26th January, 1994
0930 to 1045
INAUGURAL
Welcome by Mr.Pradeep Mehta,CUTS
Address by Ms.Shanthi Ramanathan,IOCU-ROAP
Inaugural address by Mrs. Sathi Nair,
Joint Secretary, Consumer Affairs,Govt of
India. Speech by Mr. V. K. Parigi. CEC
Vote of thanks by Ms. Meenaxi Shukla,
CHETNA and Workshop Facilitator
1045 to 1100
Tea/Coffee Break, Mutual introductions
1100 to 1215
including presentations of expectations by participants.
1215 to 1315
SESSION 1
What is Social Change?
by Ms. Shanthi Ramnathan, IOCU-ROAP
1315 to 1400
Buffet Lunch
1400 to 1500
SESSION!
The 5th Estate: Making things happen
by Ms. Sushmita Ghosh, Director, Ashoka Foundation
1500 to 1530
SESSIONS
Why the consumer movement? An overview
of the national and international scenario
by Dr. Sriram Khanna, Mg.Trustee, VOICE
1530 to 1545
Tea/Coffee Break
1545 to 1615
Confirmation of Session 3
1615 to 1700
SESSION 4
- Campaigning, the Tool for Social Change
by Mr. V. K. Parigi, Mg.Trustee, CEC
1700 to 1830
Visit to Mother Teresa
1830 to 2030
SESSIONS
Group discussions on the day’s learnings in rooms
2030 to 2130
Dinner in Dining Hall
Thursday the 27th January
0730 to 0845
Breakfast
M CUTS
100
*
A New Generation
0900 to 0930
SESSION 6
Presentations by Four Group Leaders
0930 to 1100
SESSION 7
Case Study of a Local Campaign:
“Successful” by Dr Anant Sharma
“Not Successful” by Ms. Mala Banneiji
1100 to 1115
Tea/Coffee Break
1115 to 1230
SESSIONS
Case Study of a Regional Campaign:
“Successful” by Mr John Joseph
“Not Successful” by Mr Bejon Misra
1230 to 1330
Lunch
1330 to 1530
SESSION 9
Case Study on a National Campaign:
“Successful” by Mr Pradeep Mehta
“Not Successful” by Dr K. Roy,
1530 to 1615
SESSION 10
Four Working Groups to determine :
a. The factors that lead to the success of
a campaign.
b. The factors that lead to the failure of a campaign.
Tea / Coffee Break.
1615to 1715
SESSION 11
Report back by groups on the factors that lead to the success
of a campaign facilitator: Shanthi Ramanathan, IOCU-ROAP
1715 to 2030
Free Time
2030 to 2130
Dinner
Friday the 28th January, 1994
0730 to 0845
Breakfast
0900 to 0930
Continuation of Session 11
Groups report back on factors that lead to
the failure of a campaign.
0930 to 1100
SESSION 12
Organising for a Campaign: The What to ?
by Ms. Sudha Sachdeva
1100 to 1115
Tea/Coffee break
1115 to 1230
SESSION 13
Implementation of a Campaign. The How to ?
by Mr. V.K.Parigi
1230 to 1315
Lunch
1315 to 1430
SESSION 14
Essentials of Advocacy & Lobbying
by Mr. Henri Tiphagne
M CUTS
101
h
37 I
0538:
U(
j r~
A
A7
A New Generation
t
1430 to 1545
SESSION 15
Handling and Using Information
Ms. Sudha Sachdeva and Ms. Sucharita
1545 to 1600
Tea/Coffee Break
1600 to 1615
Continuation of Session 15
1600 to 1715
SESSION 16
How to work with the Govt, and Courts
by Mr R. Bhanawat/ Mr. Henri Tiphagne
1715(0 1830
Stretch Out Break
1830 to 2030
SESSION 17
Working Groups on Planning a Campaign: Role Play
2030 to 2130
Dinner
2130 to 2400
Preparation of Presentations by Working
Groups. Typing up and Photocopying
Saturday the 29th
1000 to 1100
SESSION 18
Presentations by Groups before a Panel:
MrR. Bhanawat/Ms Sudha Sachdeva
Mr. V. K. Parigi/Ms. Shanthi Ramanathan
1100 to 1115
Tea/Coffee Break
111510 1245
SESSION 19
Earlier session continues with different panellists
1215 to 1245
Continuation of Session 15
1245 to 1400
Lunch
1400 to 1430
Speech and presentation of certificates by
Mr. Amal Dutta, M.P.(Lok Sabha)
1430 to 1530
SESSION 20
Feedback by panel on presentations
1530 to 1545
Tea/Coffee Break
1545tol615
SESSION 23
Question and Answer (Open Forum)
1615 to 1715
Evaluation by participants
1715 to 1745
Address by Ms. Mccnaxi Shukla
Address by Ms. Shanthi Ramanathan
Vote of Thanks by Ms. Keya Ghosh
1745 to 1915
Stretch Out Break
1930 to 2230
Reception at Calcutta Rowing Club
with local dignitaries and mediapersons
» CUTS
e
102
A New Generation
Sunday the 30th January
0800 to 0900
Breakfast
0900 to 1900
Sightseeing, shopping, visit to CUTS office
- briefing on CUTS datafiling system.
a
TWYCLII
REACHING OUT”: PROGRAMME
Day One: 14.8.94
9 am to 10 am
10 am to 11.15 amwith definition of tasks/workshop
1. Inauguration
2. Introductions/ Division of groups
11.30 am to 1 pm
3. Overview - on importance of communicating and the art.
Principles of oral and written communication
Dilip Bose/Rita Mukherji
2 pm to 3.30 pm
4. Overview on
3.45 pin to 5.30 pm
COPRA: Pradecp Mehta
Rational Drug Policy: Dr Mira Shiva
5. Overview on
6.30 pm to 8 pm
Pollution in Cities: Anuradha Rao
Safe Drinking Water: Dunu Roy
6. Group Discussions : Strategies & Plans
Day Two: 15.8.94
9 am to 9.30 am
7.
Recap- presentations by groups
9.30 am to 11 am
8.
Information and Documentation -1
Need, issues, methods: What to ?
Leo Fernandez
11.15 am to 1 pm
9.
Information and Documentation - II
Research,tools,collection.collation
Veena Ravikumar
2 pm to 3.30 pm
10. Publishing - An overview
Reports, newsletter, guides.books
Gautam Volira
3.45 pm to 5.30 pm
11. Media-I
The Print Medium. An extension of the earlier session on
publications and press relations
Umesh Anand
6.30 pm to 8 pm
K CUTS
12. Visits to Newspapers and Magazines
for hands-on experience
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A New Generation
Day Three: 16.8.94
9 am to 9.30 am
13. Recap- presentations by groups
9.30 am to 11am
14. Media Relations
press conferences, releases etc.,
Pradeep S Mehta
11.15 am to 1 pm
15. Advocacy
Finer points and the use of effective communications,
petitioning letter writing etc.,
Akhila Sivadas/Anuradha Rao
2 pm to 3.30 pm
16. Campaigning
Finer points and the use of
effective communications, advertising
Kunal Sinha
3.45 pm to 5.30 pm
17. Media-II
The Electronic medium - how to conceptualise a film /radio talk.
Ravi Narula/ Satish Pande
6.30 pm to 8 pm
18. Group preparatory excercises for presentations
Day Four: 17.8.94
9 am to 11.00 am
19. Group presentation before subject resource persons.
Anuradha Rao/Dunu Roy /Pradeep Mehta
11.15 to 1 pm
20. Advocacy excercises with real persons
2 to 3 pm
21. Free time for preparations for evening
3 pm to 8 pm
22. Visit to DD CPC for Question Forum
Evening:
Dinner, Fellowship, entertainment by TWYCLers
Day 5:18.8.94
9 am to 10.35 am
23. Summing up/taking stock
- presentation by participants
- presentation by resource group
10.30 to 11.30 am
24. Press conferences with both print and electronic media
11.30 to 12.30 pm
25. TV Interview
12.30 to 1.00 pm
26. Closing Session.
Dr G Sundaram, Secretary, Govt of India
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TWYCLIH
IDEALISM TO REALITY -PROGRAMME
Day One- February 20,1995
10.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m.
Registration of participants
12.00 to 1.00 p.m.
Welcome, Inauguration of the w orkshop
background, Logistics, Introduction, Goal
of the workshop. Steering committee.
1.00 to 2.00 p.m.
Lunch break
2.00 to 3.00p.m.
Recapitulation of the previous workshops
Expectations from the TWYCL - III Objectives
3.00 to 5.30p.m.
Developing clarity about vision
Day Two February 21,1995
9.00 a.m. to 9.30 a.m.
Recapitulation of the previous day sessions Steering committee.
9.30 a.m. to 1.00 p. m.
Enhance our understanding and articulation of Mission Statement
* Case work
* Mission Statement for our organisation
1.00 p.m. to 2.00 p.m.
Lunch break
2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.
Operationalisation of the Mission Statement into workable strategies
* Strategy-Strategic planning discussions, input from the trainer
* Case work: Participants work in small
groups, presentation strategy/ies for our organisation
Day Three February 22,1995
9.00 a.m. to 9.30 a.m.
Recapitulation. Steering committee
9.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.
Key issues in institution development and capacity building
1.00 p.m. to 2.00 p.m.
Lunch break
2.00p.m. to 5.30p.m.
Examining consumer organisations in the development context
* Macro trends and major problems before the consumer organisations.
Day Four February 23, 1995
9.00 a.m. to 9.30 a.m.
Recapitulation, Steering Committee
9.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.
Strategic planning
Group work, presentation and input from a trainer to
understand steps in strategic planning
1.00 p.m. to 2.00 p.m.
Lunch break
2.00 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Participants develop project proposal/plan of action - Group work
Day Five February 24,1995
9.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m.
Presentation of project plan, feedback
12.00 p.m. to 1.30 p.m.
Follow up plans, evaluation of the workshop, conclusion
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A New Generation
TWYCLIV
TAKINGSTOCK
Day One 22.8.95
10 am to 11.15 am
Session One:
Inauguration
Welcome and introduction
Mr. Pradeep S Mehta
General Secretaiy, CUTS
Address by
Mrs. Jajie Mandanna
Indian Institute for Consumer Studies, Bangalore
Thanks by
Ms. Sonal Mehta
CHETNA, Ahmedabad
11.30ain to 12.30 pm
Session Two:
Emerging trends and problems of the
national consumer movement in India
Mr. V. K. Parigi
Consumer Education Centre, Bangalore
2 pm to 3.30 pm
Session Three:
International Consumer Movement and role of
Consumers International
Mr. Pradeep S Mehta
3.45 pm to 6.30 pm
Session Four:
Overview of rural consumer movement in India
Mr. Henri Tiphagne
Gen. Secy. FEDCOT, Madurai
Day Two: 23.8.95
9.30 am to 11 am
Session Five:
Organisation Management
Dr. Bhamy Shenoy, Mysore Consumers Council
Mr. M.M. Kumaraswamy, SHSD, Bangalore
11.15 am to 1 pm
Session Six:
Group dynamics - facilitation
Mr. M. M. Kumaraswamy
2 pm to 3.30 pm
Session Seven:
Community organising
Mr. Mahesh Lobo
ICR, Bangalore
3.45 pm to 5.30 pm
Session Eight:
Advocacy and lobbying
Mr. Binu Thomas
ActionAid, Bangalore
6.30 pm to 8 pm
Group discussions
Day Three: 24.8.95
9.30 am to 10 am
Recap - presentations by groups
10 am to 11.30 am
Session Nine:
Organising meetings and exercises
Mr. VK. Parigi
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11.15 junto 1 pm
Session Ten:
Writing and presenting reports
Mr. V. K. Parigi
2 pm to 3.30 pm
Session Eleven:
Art of public speaking
Ms. Heather MacPhil, Bangalore
3.45 pm to 5.30 pm
Session Twelve:
Evaluation of issues:
Health and rational use of dmgs
Dr. Sreedhara A. R.
Conununity Health Cell. Bangalore
6.30 pm to 8 pm
Session Thirteen:
Strategy planning and discussions on action plans
Day Four: 25.8.95
3 pm to 5.30 pm
Evening
Day Five: 26.8.95
11 am to 1.00 pm
Sight seeing and visit to local NGOs
Group preparatory exercises for public meeting
Dinner, fellowship, entertaimnent by V-CANers
Valedictory Session
Welcome
Pradeep S Mehta
Guest Address by
Mr. Ben Witjes,
Resident Representative, HI VOS, Bangalore
Presentation by participants
Mr. Raghav Narsalay
Mr. S. Martin
Ms. Shivani Prasad
Ms. Sonal Mehta
Vote of Thanks
Ch. Diwakar Babu
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CUTS
Consumer Unity & Trust Society,
D-218, Bhaskar Marg, Bani Park, Jaipur 302 016, India
Ph: 91.141.202940/205802, Fax: 91.141.202968/203998
Email: cutsjpr@jp1 .vsnL.net.in
Website: www.cuts.org
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