Dhagamwar has set up a national legal aid center which brings important public interest test cases before the courts. Her goal is to obtain precedent-setting judgments, especially those from India's Supreme Court, on behalf of the poor and unrepresented, then to provide follow-up services through… Read more
Dhagamwar has set up a national legal aid center which brings important public interest test cases before the courts. Her goal is to obtain precedent-setting judgments, especially those from India's Supreme Court, on behalf of the poor and unrepresented, then to provide follow-up services through local voluntary organizations. Her chief focus for these public interest cases is in land-use law. Consequently, her follow-up plans are of crucial importance, both to insure that the judgments obtained are enforced and that the beneficiaries are protected from direct and indirect retaliation for having the temerity to bring such cases.
Dhagamwar herself, however, stresses the need to de-emphasize the courts, as they are too backed up. In addition, the hefty expense of putting a case through the courts exaggerates the problem of getting the decisions enforced. She argues that the people have real power if they know how to use it, but they must learn to stand up for their rights directly
Vasudha has created a national Public Interest Litigation office that brings precedent-setting cases of policy significance. For example, she focused on a series of cases that she hopes will require that the compensation/rehabilitation costs of dealing with people hurt by development projects (e.g., villages flooded by dams) as a necessary component in calculating such projects' cost-benefit ratio. She is working with local lawyers to help bring such cases and with local voluntary organizations to provide follow-up services. Vasudha is also collaborating on a film that describes what happened to tribal people who were displaced by the Topi dam in India. 50,000 of these people are now landless laborers.
Vasudha and her organization are printing manuals for tribals emphasizing the relevant laws in their case and also explaining to the tribals their rights. These manuals are also meant to help tribal people organize effectively to lobby their political leaders for help. The Ford Foundation is funding the production of these manuals. Bread For The World, a German Organization, is the primary funder of Vasudha's organization. During the summer 1984, she helped Fellow Vivek Pandit's struggle to force the government to provide help for bonded laborers he helped release. She also helped in Kirtee Shah's efforts on behalf of Bangalore slumdwellers facing bulldozer evictions.
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