Right to dream first fundamental human right: Mahasweta Devi

New Delhi, Aug 25 (UNI) Jnanpith Award winner Mahasweta Devi has stressed the need to turn the dream of a prosperous India into a reality by ensuring the protection of the rights of the underprivileges.

She was delivering the ninth D S Borker Memorial lecture on ''My vision of India: 2047,'' here yesterday.

''The right to dream is the first fundamental right of any human being,'' she quoted her own statement once said at the World Book Fair in Frankfurt, adding the importance of social movements to uplift the poor.

Stressing the urgency of a closer look at the Indian villages and proper planning of upliftment, she said, ''Through my visits to the villages, the surveys I carried out, my interactions with the tribal and non-tribal people in West Bengal, Palamau, Singbhum, Ranchi and oher places, I was introduced to India and the people.'' ''Nothing will reach the poor in India unless the privileged sector, the educated ones with some sense of social committment, fight fearlessly for their rights,'' said the Jnanpith awardee putting greater responsibilities on members from the upper strata of the society.

Denouncing the Bonded Labour System, officially abolished in 1976, Mahasweta Devi expressed her doubt over the proper implementation of the passed acts. She felt the same for a number of other acts regarding women and children passed earlier.

All through her speech, she was vocal of Nandigram, the centre of SEZ controversy, and praised its people for struggling for their rights. ''In Nandigram, I see India that is truly independent,'' she said.

UNI