People’s Battle for Transparency

It was a congregation of 2,000 RTI (Right to Information) activists at Madurai (Tamil Nadu) on August 10 to take stock of what they had achieved in the last 20 years since the enactment of the Right to Information Act. The entire gathering was in a contemplative mood, listening to the speakers and suggesting various means to strengthen the Act in the context of the present government taking steps to dilute it.

While narrating the story of the struggle undertaken by the people of Rajasthan, Nikhil Dey (MKSS) highlighted the steps taken by citizens and public intellectuals to impress upon the governing class the need to enact legislation. The legislation did come, but it was not the one people wanted, and hence the bill was referred to a parliamentary committee constituted for that purpose. The committee went across the country to gather opinions from the people under the chairmanship of Sudharshana Nachiappan.

Finally, the committee heard the voice of the poor, incorporated 158 corrections, and passed it in Parliament in 2005. It was not the government’s bill, but the will of the people. It is historic that it became the people’s bill. This was narrated very impressively by Nikhil Dey, which put the participants in a jubilant mood.

Later, Sudharshana Nachiappan explained to the audience the whole process of changing the bill prepared by officials by incorporating nearly 158 amendments based on the views of the citizens of this country. He highlighted the freedom given by his leader Sonia Gandhi and the contributions made by his committee members like PC Alexander, then Governor of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, and Ram Jethmalani, a legal luminary. He underlined the power given to the people to raise questions to the government and the responsibility of the governing class to provide responsible and responsive answers to the citizens.

The impact of the law could be seen only when it was put into action by the government and tested through the claims made by stakeholders. Fortunately, so far, 10 crore RTI applications have been filed in this country by ordinary citizens. This is no ordinary success. Several people have sacrificed their lives to give life to this Act.

It has now become a powerful instrument of the poor to make the government transparent and accountable. People have realised that those at the helm of affairs are living on the money given by ordinary citizens. He pointed out the recent dilutions in the Act, which should be corrected only through pressure exerted by the people, for which activists must continue to work untiringly, as they have so far.

The people in the hall gave a standing ovation to Sudharshana Nachiappan for his brilliant work in bringing the legislation the people wanted. While listening to his narration, one could feel the power of parliamentary committees in shaping legislative measures to fulfill the dreams of the people.

When I was asked to reflect on this subject, I quoted the French economist Frédéric Bastiat’s remarks about human behaviour in a context: “When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in any society, over a course of time, they will create for themselves a legal system that authorises it as well as a moral code that glorifies it.”

Having seen the enthusiasm of the participants, I told them that India fought for Independence, but we gained not only freedom but also democracy. After the dawn of Independence, we received our basic document, the Constitution of India. Subsequently, the Union government enacted a series of Acts—namely the Right to Information, Right to Property for women, Right to Work, Right to Food, the Forest Rights Act, and a few others. All are real weapons of the oppressed and marginalised. These instruments were given to the people to empower the poor and marginalised under the UPA regime. Unfortunately, those who brought this historic legislation did not take it to the people through the state governments. Tamil Nadu was the first state to implement this legislation to empower the people. One has to understand the struggle of the marginalised to claim their rights and entitlements in this country. The activists are engaged in a struggle to deepen democracy and secure the entitlements of the marginalised.

The activists in Tamil Nadu are facing enormous problems because of the sand, mineral, and real estate mafia, yet they continue to work as warriors of democracy. To prepare activists, a series of training sessions have been conducted, and books on RTI have been written by groups of activists rather than academic or training institutions. Their training programmes are not sponsored by any funding agency; instead, they are conducted on a paid basis. In this way, many initiatives have been undertaken, yet one individual has taken the lead in organising these activist groups. Hakkim is the leader of these groups. He is like a university in himself. He has transformed this into a movement in Tamil Nadu, which has become a model for other states to follow. The whole exercise conveys one important message to society: unless people act as citizens, mere legislation will not solve the problems of the poor. People must act unitedly and organisationally as citizens. This has been proved in Tamil Nadu by this group of activists.

After the speeches, an anthology of articles written by eminent activists based on their experiences was released. More than one hundred activists were felicitated and honoured at the conclave. In addition, more than twenty resolutions were passed to exert pressure on the Union government to plug the loopholes in the Right to Information Act. One clear message emerged from the conclave: laws are instruments of fundamental transformation only when they are acted upon by the people.

The writer is a former Professor and Rajiv Gandhi Chair for Panchayati Raj Studies, Gandhigram Rural Institute. Views expressed are personal