This story is from November 19, 2007

Awareness on food security

Pragya Kaushika / TNN / Nov 19, 2007, 00:00 IST

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The core idea that emerged from the discussion was the need of a legal entitlement to guarantee every citizen his/her right to food as a fundamental right.

To generate awareness among students on hunger crisis and deprivation in India, students from Delhi University (DU) are spearheading a drive on food security, in the Capital, besides spreading awareness on increasing deaths in the country due to starvation.
A large number of students and faculty members were present at the interactive session, held recently at the Janaki Devi College, DU, for a presentation on 'The Right to Food and Issues of Food Security.'
The core idea that emerged from the discussion was the need of a legal entitlement to guarantee every citizen his/her right to food as a fundamental right.The role of some concrete actions by citizens in the form of a national campaign for this cause was also discussed.
A few people even came forward to share their views and experiences on the issue and to extend their support. Also, there was an overwhelming response from students who were willing to volunteer to take forward this campaign.

Involved in addressing social issues, these students are tying up with various non-profit organisations. Master Choa Kok Sui's (MCKS) Food For the Hungry Foundation (FFHF) is one such non-profit relief and charitable organisation, which has involved DU, JNU, Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D) and Jamia Millia Islamia students in the campaign.
It has also chalked out a strategy through which several other activities will be carried out in various colleges and universities to generate awareness about food security in India.

"We all know about farmers' suicides every year. We, as students, are trying to do our bit and are involved in social issues with various organisations as most NGOs and entrepreneurs feel that students can be most expressive about certain issues," said Babyrani Yumnam, a student from Delhi school of Economics.
One of the delegates who represented the MCKS-FFHF at the presentation said: "The question of Right to Food as a legal entitlement and food security is too complex a problem to be singled out from other socio-economic issues. Livelihood and food security are interwoven," adding that, "there is an urgent need to raise awareness and spread information about this complex issue. What can be a better way to start than involving students, who are the future.

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