Weimar: City Council gives Human Rights Prize 2010 to Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi of India

India FNF Alumni Network (IFAN)
in partnership with
Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit

Invites you to a documentary screening followed by discussion on
Auto Rickshaws: Boon or Bane for Delhi?
1 April 2010, New Delhi

Resource Person: Key stakeholders
Moderator: Prashant Narang, Prabodh
Registration: 1630 hrs onwards
Documentary screening: 1700 hrs – 1730 hrs
Discussion: 1730 hrs-1800 hrs
Hi-Tea: 1800 hrs --1900 hrs

Venue: Indian Women Press Club, Opposite Le Meridian Hotel, Janpath, New Delhi  
RSVP: India FNF Alumni Network, New Delhi; Mobile nos.: 9811322297 (Prashant Narang) & 9818499293 (Nupur Hasija, FNF New Delhi) ; email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Third Wheel |27 minutes|Hindi
On one hand, government spends heavily on employment guarantee schemes and provides stimulus to combat the global financial crisis, on the other hand, it restricts the livelihood of self-employed poor through the license-permit raaj and it is even ready to displace poor in the name of beautification in wake of Commonwealth games. One such sector is Intermediate public transport sector in Delhi which already heavily regulated leading to not just a grey market but also sub-standard services for the commuters. Should these be phased out?  Autorickshaws in India: you may like them, depend on them or hate them-but you cannot ignore them.  Can deregulation and opening up of this sector release it from the clutches of the exploitative auto mafia?, see preview of the film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVWjuH8p1_Q&feature=youtube_gdata.

“The Third Wheel: A Documentary on Economic Freedom for the Urban Poor”
(27 minutes, English and Hindi)

A film by Prabodh and Centre for Public Policy Research under the banner of Liberal Youth South Asia, Directed by Saumitra Rath

About the film
Tuk-tuks or auto rickshaws are a common sight in most Asian countries.  Known as the transporter for the lower and middle class, they are an integral part of the transportation system of the country.  However, one wonders why there has been little improvement in their design or why they seem to be guilty of overcharging their customers and flouting the laws.  In India, as is the case with most professions, the auto-rickshaw is governed by a licensing system which has produced the unintended consequences, mainly being, financial mafia.  The film explores this omnipresent profession and tries to go beneath the surface to find out what is really gone.  And in doing so, it connects even those stakeholders who are usually ideologically opposed on most issues.  

In January 2010, Delhi's Environment Pollution Control Authority has recommended to the Supreme Court to remove the cap on number of licenses given to auto rickshaws for the same reasons as cited in the documentary-the emergence of the auto mafia.  

View the film
Catch a short version of the film at, http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=firstwheel2009#p/u/0/TVWjuH8p1_Q
Order your copy from This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Rs 100)

What can you do?
Organise screenings for key stakeholders in the transport debate (commuters, auto rickshaws unions and drivers, government officials, civil society, MPs and MLAs, media). The film is available in Hindi and English.
Write about this issue in media as it is something faced in all cities in India
Talk to auto rickshaw drivers and learn more about why they overcharge or say no to commuters etc.

 Prashant Narang 

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Parth J Shah

President, Centre for Civil Society

It is in recognition of the merit of private schools that the Act says they must reserve seats for the poor. Why not give students a 100 per cent choice?

The Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act entrusts the government with the responsibility to ensure that every child gets quality education in India. Does this mean that every child has to go to a building called “government school”? Is the school’s ownership really critical to assuring education? Does it really matter to parents and children where they get quality education?

The government guarantees education but this need not be achieved only through government schools. Sadly, many believe that schools have to be built, owned and operated by the government. These educationists seem to have turned a blind eye to the changing reality of the education landscape in India.

Parents are getting tired of teachers’ absenteeism and lack of accountability in government schools where 52 per cent of class-five students can’t even read to match up to the level of class-two (Annual Status of Education Report, 2009). They are increasingly rejecting free government schools and choosing fee-charging private schools. The Aser 2009 report shows that close to 22 per cent of children in rural India attend private schools. This number is much higher in urban areas with states like Punjab and Haryana at the forefront, where two out of every three children attend private school.