People's Union for Democratic Rights is an organisation based in Delhi which is committed to legally defend "

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

and

democratic rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

" of the people. The People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) is an independent entity and is not affiliated to any

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

or organisation.

Background

The PUDR was initially formed as the Delhi's unit of the ''People's Union for Civil Liberties and Democratic Rights'' (PUCLDR) in 1977, but the PUCLDR discontinued its activities after the Janata Party's success in the elections, while the PUDR continued to work. The national forum (PUCLDR) was later revived in 1980, but in a "new form" and with a new name, PUCL, creating a dichotomous bisection between civil liberties and democratic rights. Later in February 1981, the PUDR opted to function as a separate organisation.

Aims and objectives

* "To protect, extend and help implement the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution and to make people aware of the same." * "To work towards making the

Directive Principles of State Policy The Directive Principles of State Policy of India are the guidelines to be followed by the government of India for the governance of the country. They are not enforceable by any court, but the principles laid down there are considered "fundamen ...

enforceable and justiciable." * "To build public opinion towards the ratification and enforcement by the Indian government of the United Nations Charter of Human Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights,

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom ...

, and other such covenants and charters." * "To defend and help democratic struggles against

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

, class,

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

ethnicity An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

and

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

based oppression."

Organisation structure

The PUDR has an executive committee that is constituted of 7 members that includes two secretaries and a

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

. The executive committee is elected every year during the ''Annual General Body Meeting'' by the

Secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

. Every member of the PUDR is a part of its ''General Body.'' The secretaries of the PUDR in 2013 were Asish Gupta and D. Manjit. Gautam Navlakha is also veteran activist of the PUDR, and has worked as the organisation's secretary as well.

Membership

The PUDR's membership is accorded only to the individuals and is not granted to organisations, based on the precondition that the member concur to the aims and objectives of the PUDR, and would "work actively and support the programme" of the PUDR. The applicants are required to get their membership application approved by the executive committee which thereafter has to be renewed annually. The membership fee per year is 10.

Funding

The PUDR raises funds for itself by "income received from sale of its literature, membership fee, and donations received from members and sympathisers from time to time;" and does not obtains money from the government, institutions, or political parties. It does not take any financial aid from any source in other countries as well. The members of the PUDR work as

volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

s and are not given any payment for their time.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 1981 establishments in Delhi Civil rights organizations Human rights organisations based in India Legal advocacy organizations Organizations established in 1981 Volunteer organisations in India Democracy promotion