DEPUTY CHAIRMAN DR. (SMT.) NAJMA HEPTULLA PARLIAMENT HOUSE

I have great pleasure in enclosing the inaugural issue of the Newsletter of the Parliamentarians Forum for Human Development. The Forum, initiated under the agies of UNDP, was formally launched by Hon'ble Vice-President of , Shri K.R. Narayanan on 12th August, 1993.

While inviting you to join the Forum, I would request you to kindly fill the enclosed form and send it to the address indicated in it so that I can keep you informed of the activities of the Forum from time to time.

We propose to organise three National Seminars on each of the key areas of Human Development, namely economy, health and education. Subsequently it is proposed to undertake projects in selected backward areas to demonstrate Human Development in its actual working. The Forum would also support and undertake research in Human Development—related fields.

T shall be grateful if you could send your suggestions in this regard. Your active participation would go a long way in ensuring success to this venture. The Forum is open to all Members of Parliament, Legislative Assemblies and Councils and all Ex Members. You may pass on photocopies of this form to your friends and colleagues who would be interested in joining the Forum.

With kind regards,

Yours sincerely,

(NAJMA HEPTULLA) A newsletter on the Volume I No. 1 activities of the September, 1993 Parliamentarians' Forum for Human Development

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I APR I 7 ?QO| Parliamentarians' Forum for L.^™ Human Development Launched ,, : ^rCREIARY-GENERAL

A new Parliamentarians' Forum dedicated to the cause of human development in India was launched in New Delhi on 12 August 1993 by the Vice-President of India, Shri K. R. Narayanan, under the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), at a well-attended function in the Main Committee Room of the Parliament Annexe, presided over By Shrimati Najma Heptullah, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who is also the Chairman of the Forum. The Minister for Human Resources Development, Shri Arjun Singh, the Minister for Welfare, Shri Sitaram Kesri, and the Resident Representative of UNDP, Mr. Erling Dessau, also spoke on the occasion. A number of other Ministers and a very large contingent of Members of Parliament (who are expected to become active members of the new forum), cutting across party lines, diplomats, UN officials and media representatives were present at the function, The Vice-President of India delivered a thought-provoking and wide-ranging inaugural address on the process and goals of human development. An edited version of his speech is reproduced below:

"There are many I recollect that crucial tasks that when the first Parliamentarians Human can perform in Development order to spread Report from the idea of the UNDP appeared importance of in 1990, the UNDP human Resident development and Representative, also in harnessing Mr. Erling Dessau, Parliamentary as organised a The Vice-President of India Dr. K. R. Narayanan addressing the Parliamentarians' Forum. well as popular Sharing the dias with him are (L to R) Mr. Arjun Singh, Dr. Najma Heptulla, seminar in Delhi . Mr. Erling Dessau and Mr. Sitaram Kesri opinion behind at which I was this effort. also present. At Parliamentarians are lawmakers. Through legislation that time the idea of setting up a Parliamentary Forum they can do a lot, especially by cooperating when legislations in order to support the human development movement in concerning human development subjects are in Parliament, this country was germinated. I am happy that so that these are easily passed, rather than facing the usual Dr. Najma Heptullah has now taken up this challenge. extraneous difficulties. Parliamentarians are also active in the field. Most of the human planning process, we enshrined this idea development subjects are grassroots in our Five Year Plans. There is a lot of subjects — decentralisation, the misconception that our planning process organisation and proper functioning of was so obsessed with industrialisation Panchayats, giving self-employment to and higher technology development that people, looking after health and it had not given sufficient importance to sanitation, housing, literacy and the aspect of human development. On education — in all these innumerable the contrary, here are two sentences tasks Parliamentarians can really help "I am specially happy that UNDP is from two Five Years Plans. The First by taking an active role as leaders and helping us approach the subject in a Five Year Plan says:" Economic planning workers in the field. very scientific manner. This scientific has to be viewed as an integral part of a "I must congratulate UNDP for the approach to human development wider process aiming at the magnificent work they are doing in the analysis is the major contribution of development of human faculties and realm of human development. This year UNDP's Human Development Reports. building up an institutional framework the third UNDP Human Development I say this because the concept of human adequate to the needs and aspirations Report has been published, focusing on development, as such, is not unknown of the people.' The Third Five Year Plan people's participation. The next one, I to us. In fact, we can go back centuries in says: "Economic development is but a understand, will be on social this. Even our independence movement means to an end. Ultimately, it is the development, to set the agenda, as it was rooted in the idea of human development of human personality that were, for the World Summit on Social development. counts. Although planning involves Development to be held in Copenhagen presented Indian independence to the material investment, even more

"The inspiration for the creation of such a forum came as a consequence of my meeting with Dr. Mahbub-ul-Haq, Special Adviser to the UNDP Administrator, in September 1992 in New York. During our discussion, Dr. Haq mentioned that the new report on Human Development brought out by UNDP had "People's Participation" as its main theme. It was felt that a Parliamentary forum be created, to evaluate the findings of the Report and to have a greater involvement of people in the development process. "Subsequently, a meeting of Members of Parliament was convened on 12 May 1993 at which parameters for such a forum were discussed with the Resident Representative of UNDP, Mr. Erling Dessau. The response for a Parliamentarians Forum for Human Development was overwhelming. Even State Legislators showed inclination to convene regional chapters of the Forum. . . . "We propose to hold three national-level seminars initially on each of the three parameters: economy, education and health. In the second phase, our aim would be to identify areas where development through people's participation can be demonstrated as a model. While interacting with other national and international organisations having similar objectives, we would also endeavor to promote developmental research."

Shrimati Najma Heptullah, Han'ble Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha and Chairman of the new Parliamentarians Forum for Human Development in India

in March, 1995. The fifth report will nation as development of the focus on women's issues to dovetail individual human being. The important is the with the World Conference on Women rights of the individual, his investment in man.' to be held in China in September that amenities, his betterment - that "There was thus a very year. By methodically and scientifically was his primary concern. He vivid understanding of the analysing and highlighting these held that if you looked after all process of development as being separate subjects concerning human these aspects, independence motivated by humanistic development, UNDP is making an would naturally follow. considerations and by factors of human immense contribution. "When we started our development, rather than being a mechanistic process. But, of course, achievements, one indicator I should while we have been very conscious of like to point out is the rise in the average this, I must confess that we have not expectation of life in India. I want to say succeeded in carrying it out in practice this in the context of the Human as much as we should have liked to. Our Development Report 1993 putting India expenditure on health and education at the 134th position amongst 173 has been pretty inadequate in the past, countries on the Human Development to a large extent because of the so-called Index. But between 1951 and 1981 the balanced approach we took in regard to manner that ultimately both our average expectation of life in India rose development. economic rate of growth and the growth from 31 to 52. No less a developmental

"The Report that has been brought out by UNDP is very significant, because it has attempted to recapitulate the various stages through which the efforts for human development have gone. It is now focusing attention on the fact that real and worthwhile human development is linked with the participation of the people... The end of the 20th century has brought us to a stage where it is realised that human development will depend on what we do for ourselves. That is why a Parliamentary Forum assumes very crucial importance, especially in a country like ours, where democracy has taken roots and where the representatives of the people in Parliament and in the Assemblies directly reflect the urges, the yearnings, the frustrations and the longings of the people at large from every strata of society.... In spite of our shortcomings and handicaps, the Indian genious is capable of addressing the real problems of the people of this country and bringing them into a shape which is not only sustainable inside the country, but which can compete with anything, anywhere in the world.... The future of the human race now depends on how we are going to address the central objective of reconciling the contradictions of inequity and bringing about a better way of life for the teeming milllions of the world... This Forum will, I arn sure, especially with the focus that the UNDP report has given it, contribute substantially to efforts on the challenge that faces us today. The main element of the challenge in the developing world is the challenge of education. To educate is to make people aware. To become aware is the first step to becoming concerned, and when concern assumes a certain dimension, proportionate action follows. ... In that direction the UNDP Report will provide us with many good guidelines on which we need to focus our attention. We have already taken a decision that by the end of this century our objective is of achieving universalisation of primary education and 100% literacy. With women now taking to the literacy campaign in a most determined way, there is great hope that these targets are not a distant dream but could become a reality. . . . We eagerly look forward to the conclusions and suggestions which will emanate from this Forum and which will help us in our common task of nation building." Shri Arjun Singh, Hon'ble Minister for Human Resqurce Development

"We were faced with an immense of human development were authority than Robert problem, where there was absolute somewhat slow. Jawaharlal McNamara remarked that scarcity of resources for development, Nehru argued that in a this achievement was and the course we adopted was to spread democracy development may unprecedented anywhere in out our resources thinly over all fields. have to be slow, but ultimately history during such a short While trying to push up economic it would lay the foundations of period. Since 1981 the average growth, we had to deal with the more rapid growth later on. It expectation of life has gone up undeveloped regions of this country, as is this period of rapid growth further to above 60 years, another well as the undeveloped, deprived into which we are moving remarkable jump. Now behind this sections of our community. We tried to today. phenomenon lies a whole range of spread out our resources in such a "With regard to our actual human development factors — food, education, health, literacy and other "This was a diversion. The main amenities of life. There is no black magic thrust of the latest UNDP Human by which you can make a person live Development Report is, of course, on long without enhanced access to these people's participation. And people's basic amenities. Therefore, somewhere participation is a central issue all over we must have had thinly spread advance the world today. There has been an in some of the factors which contribute explosion in the consciousness of to human development. ordinary people and there has been a

"The all round development of a nation should be measured in terms of the integration of the various sections of its population in the economic and political development of the country. If vast sections of society are neither able to enjoy the fruits of economic development nor are capable of participating in the national mainstream., then this so- called development is lopsided and has the potential of producing tension and friction in the society, which would shatter the fabric of our rich heritage and ancient civilisation. It is unfortunate, but true, that in our country there is a vast chunk of population which is deprived of the fruits of economic development and not allowed to participate in the national endeavor on equal footing with other citizens of the country. This section comprises of the Minorities, the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Disabled. .. ."The benefits of the numerous existing State schemes intended to uplift the deprived and discriminated sections do not percolate down to the intended extent. The schemes are good but there are loopholes and shortcomings in their implementation. Therefore the thrust now must be on the proper implementation of these schemes and the formulation of newer, more innovative schemes. . . ."Everyone, irrespective of cast, creed, religion or race is endowed with some potential. The need is to groom them, tap their potential and gradually integrate them into the national mainstream. In this context, I congratulate all concerned for launching the Parliamentarians Forum for Human Development and wish all success to it in its endeavors towards total participation by people from all walks of life in the process of development."

Shri Sitaram Kesri, Hon'ble Minister for Welfare

"In my own state of Kerala, average was no hospital or dispensary. demand for decent- life expectancy today is 71 years, which Now I would like to invite you ralisation the world over. is as good as that of Sweden. But it is not to that village to see the Even here, if one looks at an affluent state, it is just on the brink of development that has taken RF what Gandhiji said, the the average for India. Therefore I am place. concept he put forward about sometimes very suspicious of statistics. "But statistics still seem to people's participation, we find that 1 find it difficult to believe that some of show that we have hardly his idea was of the entire polity of the the factors of human development in progressed. So this goes against country being based on village India have not progressed more than at least my personal brute panchayats, and on a system for what is told by our satisticians. I go to experience of life as it is. Maybe representation moving upwards from my village, which was, in my own youth, there are many other cultural and the panchayats, in which at every level one of the most sordid and undeveloped traditional factors, even with regard to there is opportunity for people's villages anyone could imagine. Every intake of food and nutrition which is participation. And today we have at last other family had a member afflicted by available, which are never taken into presented the country with a Panchayati tuberculosis or asthma, many families account at all while these statistical Bill which at least partially responds to were starving, there was no road, there figures are being presented. Gandhiji's idea of participation by the was no bus coming to that area, there people. "And women's participation is one panchayat affairs is something to be of the most important factors here. The seen to be believed.We have suddenly idea of reservation for women in released a new force by giving them this the panchayats which we have brought opportunity. Once these opportunities about has been often criticised, very are given, reservation may no longer be often by proud representatives necessary later on. But one of the most of women's organisations themselves, important secrets of people's who have objected to the concept participation certainly is releasing the

"Following upon national and international brainstorming seminars on human development in the Indian perspective, organised by UNDP in New Delhi and Bombay in 1991 and 1992, in both of which we had the privilege of the Honourable Vice-President's participation, a Human Development Country Initiative has been launched in the country with the cooperation of the Government of India. "One project, executed by NCAER, under the guidance of the Planning Commission, is working towards creating a profile of human development for different socio-economic and occupational groups on the basis of a nationwide sample survey of households. This will be complementary to a second project which is supporting specially commissioned research on the pricing of and access to health and education, social protection for the vulnerable sections of the population, particularly women in difficult circumstances, and essential linkages between development strategies and India's de'mographic transition. Case studies on action programmes in the social sector will be commissioned and analysed with the aim of formulating an effective and practical human development strategy. "In the light of the statements by the Honourable Ministers of Human Resource Development and Welfare today, as well as the inspiring ideas presented by rhe Honourable Vice-President, there are a number of further areas where the UN system can collaborate fruitfully with the Government on human development strategies and progammes. "In this context, it would be our hope that your Forum will work closely with the collaborative Human Development Initiative. We would seek advice based on your vast grassroots level experience and we would enlist your political leadership and support in operationalising proposals and strategies from analysis to action. Your Forum can play a major role as a powerful, apex, opinionf orming, watchdog body in the cause of national human development. We would, of course, be very glad to provide whatever support we can to the three seminars which Madam Heptullah mentioned would be the first activities of the Forum. "However, I should also like to emphasise that, beyond national cooperation, UNDP attaches high importance to a closer involvement of Parliamentarians in the international development dialogue as well. The reason is that today's world, with its profoundly altered geopolitical and physical

Continued on the next page

of reservation and favoured open Government institutions. hidden, unutilised competition.' This is a laudable power of women at every "I have seen the effect of level of life and government. sentiment, but the sad fact of life is that, reservation for women in my own not only in local government'but in the "There is another Parliamentary constituency. important issue - that of world as a whole, below 10% of Suddenly in the last elections, Parliamentarians are women. Therefore, employment. The Human women have been elected to the Development Report 1993 states unless one does something very radical, Panchayats under this reservation the proportion of women's that productive employment is quota and the very active interest really one of the most crucial aspects representation will not increase in thesewomen,whohaveneverdone Parliamentary and Legislative and local of human development. The Report such work before, are taking in the has also referred to the peculiar phenomenon of "jobless growth" taking production with the fact that place everywhere in the world without employment is not just an income creating new jobs. This is an amazing producing process, it is a process in phenomenon. Because of the use of new which a human being is involved and technologies, the growth process does his physical and spiritual needs are not create jobs, with the result that even satisfied. Ultimately, therefore, I think the most advanced countries are talking one has to encroach on the spiritual about jobs. But while they talk about realm also before we can achieve real

Continued from last page features, needs change. It needs new policy perspectives; and new development paths will have to be identified. This requires major policy change - the vision and the commitment of policy makers and, first and foremost, that of Parliamentarians. "This is why we have decided to support the European Conference of Parliamentarians on a New Approach to North-South Cooperation to be held in Bonn, Germany. The Conference will discuss structural adjustment in the North, that is, what change is required in the North in order to create I8S more room for the development of the South and hence for global development, peace and security. "There is also the necessity to discuss similar themes within the South, in the context of South-South cooperation. Here, specially in the light of the Honourable Vice-President's remarks about South- Asian cooperation, India might wish to host an Asian or South-Asian Parliamentarian Conference on New Approaches to Global Cooperation and Human Development." "Such a conference, which we would be happy to support, could make a significant contribution towards addressing the challenge of expansion of the new development consensus reached at the Rio Earth summit, and of moving frpm sustainable development to sustainable human development. The deliberations of the conference could become an important input to the World Summit on Social Development, to be held in Denmark in 1995, which will deal with all these issues: a new consensus on sustainable human develoopment; strategies for ensuring human security through poverty reduction, greater employment and income security; and new patterns of governance giving all people a more active role in development.

Mr. Erling Dessau, Resident Representative, UNDP

jobs they are using more and more high- your job. There is even talk of human development." tech machinery and methods for sharing of jobs as a method of "In conclusion, I production which result in less and less keeping more people employed would like to say that, jobs being produced. on shorter working days or particularly in our country, "Here again I should like to go to weeks. I think this kind of we can imbibe many ideas on Gandhiji. He said that whatever jobless growth will create a the basis of UNDP's very mechanical civilisation may bring to frightening situation in the scientifically produced Human humanity, it will not bring full world where people will have Development Reports. It will help our employment. That was his thesis and he nothing to do. And out of it education and health processes. It will emphasised it particularly in regard to what we will get is not cultural also give a new dimension to India. I think this is what the world is activities by the people but our employment programmes. By facing today. You talk in the West of a crime — criminal activities by people mobilising, activating and motivating threat to jobs. There is a tendency to whose hands and brains are idle. Parliamentarians through the new destroy the old idea of lifelong "I think these are the problems that Forum, we can do a very crucial job and employment in an institution or a one has to look at when we talk about make a great contribution to our company. Now, after every three or human development. One has somehow development and to the betterment of four years you are expected to change got to match one's own techniques of the human being." and the, Mandate of tinman Development

UNDP has, since 1990, taken the lead role in carrying forward the mandate of human development in the international development arena. This has been done principally through its annual Human Development Reports, under the able guidance of Dr. Mahbub ul Haq, top development economist and Special Adviser to the UNDP Administrator. He has been assisted in his task by several prominent Indian scholars, including Amartya Sen and Lord Meghnad Desai. The central message of these Reports has been that it is people who matter and who must be at the centre of the development debate - what really counts is how people participate in economic growth and how they benefit from it. The reports ranked countries by a new human development index which combined measures of education and health with the traditional one of per capita income. Using these relatively more comprehensive criteria to examine the performances of countries, the Reports showed that income levels of societies have not always been translated well into human lives. They argued and demonstrated that, for people-centered human development to be accelerated, the emphasis of development planning needed to shift to the social priority sectors like health, education and protection for and empowerment of vulnerable sections, especially women.

This was not perhaps the most novel of conclusions for the development community. What was important was that the conclusion was now reached through a more systematic and scientific analysis of world data than hitherto undertaken, and presented in a manner which made governments and the international development community take serious notice.

Most importantly, the really pathbreaking contribution of the Human Development Reports is the conclusion that lack of political commitment, not financial resources, is often the real cause of human neglect. Most developing countries can finance their essential human goals if they have the political will to lower their current military expenditures, privatise some inefficient public enterprises, correct their development priorities. They also need to address issues of national governance, such as lack of decentralisation and insufficient harnessing of NGOs. The world as a whole is poorer for not according due recognition to the enormous contribution of women as economic agents, leaders and the mainstay of the social fabric.

It is these findings of the Reports which put a very crucial onus of responsibility on the elected representatives of the people, requiring them to provide leadership and political support to efforts to accelerate national human development. It is this role that will be embodied in the activities of the Indian Parliamentarians' Forum for Human Development. Interparliamentary Union and tinman Development

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) conference/ held in Santiago, Chile, in October 1991 unanimously adopted a resolution on "Human Development in ensuring the necessary links between Freedoms, Citizen Involvement, Economic Growth and Social Investments".

Some specially relevant paragraphs of the Resolution are reproduced below:

"The 86th Inter-Parliamentary Conference,

1. Calls on all countries to make a firm political commitment to human development and to undertake measures to redirect current spending to human development;. . .

11. Calls on Parliaments to ensure the distribution of public and private spending targets social and human needs;....

13. Calls for the development of specific planning tools to analyse public spending on human development, and requests that Parliaments set up appropriate structures to monitor human development in their countries;

14. Recommends that parliaments use the criteria established by the United Nations Development Programme to analyse public spending on human development;

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