MGNREGA operationalised the Right to Work. Midday meals translated the Right to Food into a tangible entitlement. The RTI empowered ordinary citizens to demand transparency and hold those in power accountable. There is a reason these rights-based interventions have attracted such fierce ideological opposition. At their core, they challenge hierarchies of caste, class and religion. They recognise that dignity, food, livelihood and accountability are not favours dispensed by the powerful, but rights that citizens can claim. The distinction is fundamental. Rights create entitlements and privileges preserve hierarchies. And for those invested in preserving those hierarchies, the democratisation of rights is deeply inconvenient. After all, a citizen who can demand what is rightfully theirs is far harder to patronise, exclude or control.