They take trip to educate villagers about their rights

[sidmis]

They take trip to educate villagers about their rights
as reported by Kartikeya ,TNN, 13 Oct 2008, Times of India

MUMBAI: It is not every day that residents of a remote village wake up
to find a Bombay high court judge telling them about their rights.
Neither is it common for law students to get tips on last minute preparation for their exams from the same judge in the second class compartment of a local train.

On Sunday morning, Justice S Radhakrishnan of the Bombay high court
hopped on to a local train with 40 students of K C Law College. They
were headed for the tiny hamlet of Mulgaon, beyond Badlapur, to
educate the villagers about their rights guaranteed under three laws
enacted in recent timesthe Right to Information (RTI) Act, National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and The Domestic Violence
Act.

In the journey that took over an hour, the future lawyers interacted
freely with Radhakrishnan, asking him what law books he read as a
student in the 1970s and taking tips on how to be a successful
advocate. Radhakrishnan, too, was full of curiosity.

When he saw a first year student, Prince Gala, with two rather large
diamond studs shining on his ear, he could not help but ask, "Are the
studs stuck or have you pierced your ears?'' Prince smiled and replied
that he had gone through the pain of piercing.

The students were armed with banners and cut-outs meant to spread
awareness about the recently enacted legislations . Their programme
included not only giving lectures under the watchful eye of
Radhakrishnan, but also performing skits which showed the practical
feasibility of demanding rights guaranteed by law.

In Badlapur, local judicial officers joined the group and got onto a
state transport bus that drove them to their destination. The
villagers were not perturbed by the presence of policemen and
officials and gathered in strength in the courtyard of a temple where
the programme was conducted. "Do not get stressed. Just go out there
and take legal literacy to the people,'' Radhakrishnan was heard
telling a student who suffered stage fright before his performance.

The women warmed up to the skits that depicted dowry harassment and
mental abuse. "We showed them that their husbands cannot force their
daughters to work in the fields at the cost of education or demand
dowry,'' said Nilesh, who played the part of an abusive husband in one
skit.

Another skit demonstrated how to secure a government card to be
assured of employment. "I practised dancing in a sari for several days
to convey the message that proper implementation NREGS can bring
prosperity to the village ,'' said Riddhi Badiyani.

The enthusiasm of the villagers could be seen from the fact that both
men and women lined up to collect RTI forms, which they will now use
to get information about projects promised for their village.

Having spent the day at Mulgaon, Radhakrishnan, who chairs the high
court's Legal Service Committee that organises such camps, got into a
local to head back home. He discussed finer aspects of criminology
with students and thanked them for their support to the work his panel
is doing.

"Our next stop will be Arthur Road jail where undertrials are facing
so many problems,'' said Vikas Thakkar, a second year student. As for
the justice himself, all he wanted to do after a hard day's work was
to take a long shower and catch up on the day's score in the
India-Australia test match.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/M...ow/3587981.cms