Lest We Forget

The Pandemic was not just a public health crisis. It reshaped governance, everyday life, and the very fabric of democracy. Citizens are increasingly being reduced to mere “beneficiaries”, while unaccountability and rights erosion are being normalised in ways that often escape scrutiny.

On 21–22 August 2025, at Jawahar Bhawan, New Delhi, we gather to confront the deeper truths the crisis exposed: systemic neglect, deliberate mismanagement, and the entrenchment of inequality.

A common refrain is that the pandemic is “over.” But this Conclave insists otherwise. The pandemic is not just about the past—it continues to shape our present. This gathering is an opportunity to remind, reflect, and rebuild around the rights, justice, and truths that were taken away from the people.

Through testimonies, investigations, and public analysis, the Conclave will connect the pandemic’s immediate devastation to the policies and power shifts that continue to shape lives today. It will present what communities, workers, and movements have uncovered: how temporary “emergency measures” became permanent tools of control, how public resources were quietly handed to private interests, and how the denial of justice persists long after the crisis was declared over; from waste pickers battling privatisation to forest communities resisting the expansion of army firing ranges.

We meet not to “move on,” but to remember, analyse, and rebuild. Because justice, truth, and accountability cannot be left behind.

This Conclave is being organised collectively by people’s movements, trade unions, and civic initiatives, in collaboration with the People’s Commission and Public Inquiry Committee (PC–PIC) and a wide network of partner organisations.