Launch of National Ganga Rights Movement at Kumbh Mela

On the 23rd, the Respected Union Minister for Water Resources, Shri Harish Rawat, stood alongside Pujya Swamiji and other respected saints and dignitaries for the launch of the National Ganga Rights Movement.

The movement, which is being spearheaded by Ganga Action Parivar, is promoting the National Ganga Rights Act to protect and restore one of the world’s most precious and beloved river systems. Present environmental laws, which regulate the amount of allowable harm that may occur to ecosystems, have not proven adequate to protect our National River, which also sustains the lives of some 500 million people.

The proposed National Ganga Rights Act takes its precedence from other nations. Rights have been bestowed upon nature within the Constitution of Ecuador, have been granted to the Whanganui River in New Zealand, have been recognised for Mother Earth in Bolivia, and have been mandated within municipalities including Pittsburgh, USA.

Said HH Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, “If Ganga dies, India dies. If Ganga thrives, India thrives. In violating Her, we are violating basic human rights, and we are putting at risk the bright futures our children so greatly deserve. Now is the time for action. Let us all stand up and say, it’s time for the National Ganga Rights Act.”

Said Shri Harish Rawatji, “This way, we can offer this new thought, change the way of our society and protect future generations.”

Under a rights-based system of law, a river may be recognised as having the right to flow, fish and other species in a river may be recognised as having the right to exist and evolve, and the flora and fauna that depend on a river may be recognised as having the right to thrive. Laws decreeing the rights of nature also grant legal authority to residents and governments to enforce and defend those rights. These laws change the status of ecosystems from being regarded as property under the law to being treated as rights-bearing entities.