One of the objectives of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has been to work with reputed institutions, even as providing legal support and training to NGOs which work for the protection of human rights. With this aim in view, it has collaborated with the following organizations:
- Navsarjan Trust: With a long experience of fighting for Dalit rights in Gujarat, Navsarjan is one of the foremost NGOs operating today in India. The CSJ partnered with the Navsarjan Trust to set up the Centre for Dalit Human Rights, which operates in seven districts of Gujarat.
- Working Group for Women and Land Ownership (WGWLO): The WGWLO is a network of organizations working on women’s rights to land. The CSJ provided legal support to the WGWLO and has been an active member of the group. It has conducted capacity building programmes for its partner organizations.
- Saath: The Saath is an NGO based in Ahmedabad, which works in urban slums for women, children, men and youth in areas of livelihoods, capacity building, health, education, physical infrastructure improvement, access to resources and services, slum development and natural resource management. The CSJ collaborated with the Saath on programmes aimed at providing legal insurance cover to women, and human rights education to school children. The programme helped women with legal procedures, including affidavits, court case filing on domestic violence, maintenance, sexual harassment etc.
- Indira Gandhi Open University (IGNOU): The IGNOU has headquarters in Delhi with regional offices across India. It was the first organization to recognize the significance and relevance of the role of paralegals in the context of access to justice. The CSJ-supported Indian Institute of Paralegal Studies (IIPLS) was nominated in the IGNOU’s curriculum committee. It helped established the groundwork for designing the paralegal course to the IGNOU. The IIPLS also assisted the IGNOU in developing and preparing reading material for the paralegal course.
- Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA): An autonomous institute based in Gujarat, run with the mission to promote sustainable, ecologically-friendly, and equitable socio-economic development of rural people through professional management. The CSJ has held several workshops with IRMA on how to merge social justice with rural management.
- The Nirma School of Law: Located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, the Nirma Law School was established in order to meet the ever-increasing demand for innovative legal education in the state. It aims at providing world class facilities for imparting training and conducting research in law. The CSJ has partnered with it to orient BA LLB (Honours) students towards legal requirements of the vulnerable sections.
- Kutch Sankalan Ekam (KSE): KSE is a unit set up by the CSJ, which is now working under the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS). Following the massive earthquake that struck Kutch district in Gujarat on January 26, 2001, the KSE provided legal aid and advice to vulnerable communities. Its notable success was to get compensation for the pregnant women, who had lost their babies in womb.
- Sanand Bavla Mahila Vikas Sangathan: It is a women’s NGO working in the villages of Sanand and Bavla talukas of Ahmedabad district of Gujarat. The CSJ provided legal training to the NGO’s paralegals and helped set up legal programme.
- Saurashtra Kutch Violence against Women Network: It is a network of organizations working on women’s rights in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. It has been very active in the implementation of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. The CSJ provided legal perspective and support to the network of organizations which worked under it.
- Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (UCMOU), Nasik: This academic institution focuses on distance education in Maharashtra and appreciates the role of paralegals and has collaborated with the CSJ-supported IIPLS on designing a diploma course on paralegal studies.
- Janadhikar: In 2002, the Panchmahals district witnessed some of the worst communal flare-ups in Gujarat. A CSJ unit, which worked in Vadodara, shifted to Halol following the 2002 riots to provide legal aid and advice to the victims of the Gujarat carnage. The Janadhikar promotes and leads conflict transformation processes through its law clinics. The NGO spreads awareness on law, human rights and socio-economic issues. It also provides legal services to the victims of human rights violations.
- People’s Watch: The People’s Watch has been actively engaged in promoting human rights education to school children. Its programme has been running in 10 states, including Gujarat. Apart helping the organization in implementing the programme in 100 schools in Gujarat, the CSJ contributed towards developing the methodology and curriculum on human rights education for the People’s Watch partners operating in different states. The CSJ has developed several modules and conducted national-level training for teachers on human rights as well as staff involved in the project.
- Yuvshakti: The Yuvashakti is an NGO based in Halol (Panchmahals district), working with the youth for peace. The CSJ provided legal support to it in fighting post-Gujarat riot cases, even as handling the process of setting up Janadhikar as a legal programme of the Yuvshakti.