ಉಡುಪಿಯ ಡಾ. ರವೀಂದ್ರನಾಥ್ ಶಾನುಭಾಗ್ ಅವರು 90 ರ ದಶಕದಿಂದಲೂ ನನಗೆ ಪರಿಚಿತರು. ಬಳಕೆದಾರರ ವೇದಿಕೆ ಮೂಲಕ ಅವರು ಹೊರತರುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆ ಓದಿ ನಾನು ಅವರತ್ತ ಆಕರ್ಷಿತನಾದವನು. ಆಗಲೇ ನಾವೆಲ್ಲ ಮಿತ್ರರು ಶ್ರೀ ಭರತ್ ಕುಮಾರ್ ಜೈನ್ ಅವರೊಡನೆ ಸೇರಿ ತುಮಕೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ 1996 ರಲ್ಲಿ ಡಾ..ಶಾನುಭಾಗರನ್ನು ಆಹ್ವಾನಿಸಿ ಒಂದು ದಿನದ ಶಿಬಿರ ನಡೆಸಿದ್ದೆವು. ವೃತ್ತಿಯಿಂದ ಮಣಿಪಾಲದ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಸರಾಂತ ವೈದ್ಯರಾದರೂ, ಪ್ರಾಧ್ಯಾಪಕರಾದರೂ, ದೇಶ-ವಿದೇಶಗಳ ವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ಕಾಲೇಜುಗಳ ವಿಸಿಟಿಂಗ್ ಪ್ರೊಫೆಸರ್ ಆದರೂ, ಪ್ರವೃತ್ತಿಯಿಂದ ಪ್ರಖರ ಹೋರಾಟಗಾರರು. ಬಳಕೆದಾರರ ಹಿತರಕ್ಷಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ, ಮಾನವ ಹಕ್ಕುಗಳ ರಕ್ಷಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೀರ್ತಿಶಾಲಿಗಳಾದವರು. ಭ್ರಷ್ಟರ ಪಾಲಿಗೆ ಸಿಂಹಸ್ವಪ್ನರಾದವರು. ಹಿರಿಯ ನಾಗರಿಕರ ಹಿತರಕ್ಷಣೆಗೆ ಅಪಾರವಾಗಿ ಶ್ರಮಿಸಿದವರು. ಅಷ್ಡೆಲ್ಲ ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧರಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಸರಳ ಜೀವಿಗಳು. ಎಲ್ಲರೊಡನೆ ಹಮ್ಮು ಬಿಮ್ಮುಗಳಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಬೆರೆಯುವವರು. ಅವರು ದಿನಾಂಕ 17-01-2016 ರಂದು ಭಾನುವಾರ ಸಂಜೆ ತುಮಕೂರು ನಗರಕ್ಕೆ ಆಗಮಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ತುಮಕೂರಿನ ನ್ಯಾಯವಾದಿಗಳೂ, ಗ್ರಾಹಕ ಹೋರಾಟಗಾರರೂ ಆದ ಶ್ರೀ ಟಿ.ಎಸ್.ನಿರಂಜನ್ ಅವರು ಡಾ.ಶಾನುಭಾಗ್ ಅವರನ್ನು ಸಂವಾದಕ್ಕೆ ಆಹ್ವಾನಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ಅಂದು ಅವರನ್ನು ನೋಡುವ, ಬಹುಹೊತ್ತು ಅವರೊಡನೆ ಮಾತನಾಡುವ, ಅವರ ಮಾತು ಆಲಿಸುವ ಸದವಕಾಶ ನಮಗೆಲ್ಲ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿತ್ತೆಂಬುದು ನಮ್ಮ ಅದೃಷ್ಟವೇ ಆಗಿತ್ತು. ಅಂದು ನಾನು, ನನ್ನ ಸಹೋದರ ಶ್ರೀ ಆರ್.ವಿಶ್ವನಾಥನ್, "ಆಟೋ ಯಡಿಯೂರಪ್ಪ" ಎಂದು ಹೆಸರಾದ ಶ್ರೀ ಕೆ.ಎಂ.ಶಿವಕುಮಾರ್ (ಇವರು ಡಾ.ಶಾನುಭಾಗ್ ರವರಿಗೆ ಆತ್ಮೀಯರು ಎಂಬುದು ವಿಶೇಷ) ಅವರೊಡನೆ ಹಲವು ವಿಷಯಗಳನ್ನು ಚರ್ಚಿಸಿದೆವು.
https://hrpfudupi.wordpress.com/2015/11/15/dr-ravindranath-shanbhag/
President, Human Rights Protection Foundation, Udupi
Dr Ravindranath Shanbhag,was a Professor of pharmacology at Manipal University for the 30 years and in 2009 he moved to Himachal Pradesh as Dean in the Shoolini University.At present he is a visiting professor to several Indian and Foreign Universities.
He has been a Consumer and Human Right activist for the last three decades. Apart from writing more than 1000 articles in the popular public interest columns of ‘Bhahujana Hithaya Bhahujana Sukhaya’ in Udayavani , he wrote 12 books on Consumer and Human rights protection.
From 1980 to 2014 more than 26000 cases have been registered with Consumers Forum, Basrur and Human Rights Protection Foundation, Udupi percentage success of 78%. Most of these problems were solved through journalism by creating public opinion against injustice. Very few cases were taken to the court of law. He has guided and supported aggrieved citizens to file more than 300 petitions in various courts in India including Supreme Court Of India. Land mark judgments have been pronounced by Supreme Court of India in PLI filed by Human Rights Protection Foundation include Endosulfan case, Akku-Leela case, and Mangalore Teachers’ PF case. HRPF Udupi has successfully released several Indian Laborers stranded/ imprisoned in Middle East countries on various charges.
Dr. Ravindranath Shanbhag: A Short Biographical Sketch of the Activist
Dr Ravindranath Shanbhag’s career in public interest movement began in 1976, when he was arrested in Udupi, during the Emergency, for raising his voice against police atrocities. After three months in the Mangalore prison, he was acquitted by the court because there were no charges against him. During his stay in the prison, he observed several episodes of gross human rights violations.
Shortly after the emergency, Dr Ravindranath Shanbhag and a group of youngsters in Udupi gathered together to find a permanent solution for the evils that enveloped the society. They first identified the major reasons for the dismal state of affairs. While feudalism, bureaucratic arrogance and corruption allowed the powerful to exercise their authority in the most arbitrary manner, illiteracy, fear and ignorance about the governmental machinery, rights and duties of a responsible citizen, weakened the victims of social injustice. Judiciary, which was overburdened with millions of pending cases, was unfortunately reserved for the rich and influential.
Those were the days when victims of injustice were afraid even to complain. Local Newspapers were afraid to write or even publish any material against the governmental authorities. Political leadership were hand in glove with the bureaucracy, and nepotism was the norm. Thus, it was necessary to have an apolitical noncontroversial, not-for-profit, self-sustaining, self help movement.
To start with, a Consumers’ Forum was established in 1980 in a small village called Basrur having a population of 5000. A modus operandi was developed, first to educate the citizens about their rights and responsibilities and then to encourage and empower them to take up the fight on their own. Consumers’ Forum Basrur. stepped in only when victims failed to get justice. Cases were filed in the court of law only as a last resort. Creating public opinion was the key to sustaining the struggle and therefore a fortnightly periodical was introduced in 1981. With the taste of success, more and more people started approaching the forum for guidance and support. The movement also spread to the Taluks of the Dakshina Kannada district.
In 1996, when more and more cases of human-rights violations began to contact the forum, Dr Shanbhag established the Human-rights Protection Foundation, Udupi. The local newspapers invited Dr Shanbhag to write weekly columns, which were used to spread the message to the nearby districts.
From 1980 to 2012, more than 23000 cases have been registered with a percentage success of 78%. The remaining cases were related to false complaints or misconceptions by the complainant himself/ herself.
Most of these problems were solved through journalism by creating public opinion. Very few cases were taken to the court of law.
At present, because of his poor health, Dr Shanbhag has restricted his activities only to guide the activists working for various movements
**************************************
ನಾವು ತುಮಕೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ 1996 ರಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಸಿದ್ದ ಬಳಕೆದಾರರ ತರಬೇತಿ ಶಿಬಿರದ ನೆನಪಿನ ಫೋಟೋಗಳಿವು
