Harivansh

Harivansh
(Preface of the book on RTI, written by Vishnu Rajgadia and Nandini Sahai, Published by MICCI, FES and UNESCO)

“I would have been surprised, if implementation of the Right to Information Act had taken place without any hindrance; from where would a bureaucrat who has been working under the cover of the Official Secrets Act bring in transparency immediately?” This comment by senior IAS officer from Jharkhand T. Nandkumar was pregnant with meaning.
Prabhat Khabar tried to compile experiences related to the Right to Information Act five months after its implementation in a workshop organized in Ranchi. The responses from the participants were mixed. Some of the participants were happy as they felt that they had received an important right, there were many others who were not so optimistic. Even whereas if, reactions of the participants varied, the government machinery tried to take the easy way out by stating that it did not know about the new Act, intellectuals ridiculed the Act saying that since so many others acts did not work, how could this one work? Some others maintained that the Act would be misused as had happened in the case of Public Interest Litigations (PILs).
If the meaning of information is taken in its classical form, then it is clear that intellectuals, particularly the media, are directly related to information and its dissemination. However, it is interesting to note that real credit for the long war for access to information in India goes to the poor labor and farmers of Rajasthan. On the other hand, social organizations in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities are trying to remove the bureaucratic web and are trying to expose the corruption which is hidden in the files through the use of Right to Information.
At another level, the right to information has been used for the spread of democracy. Its benefits for the public at large too have been realized by the media. In the field of journalism the use of the RTI Act for investigative reporting has shown its great importance.
In India the vibrancy of new democracy can be felt through three experiments: initiative of farmers in Rajasthan; questions being raised by people in cities like Delhi and Mumbai; and the use of RTI in journalism in Jharkhand. This has led to the birth of a democracy where people are raising their voices and asking questions. They are not depending on Members of Parliament (MPs) or Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) to do this for them any more. Now they are not begging sarkari babus for pending work being completed. Instead they are questioning why the work has not been completed, and more importantly who is responsible for the delay.
The path for a rapid increase in economic development, improvement in the quality of democracy and checking corruption crosses from the bridge of the successful use of the Right to Information Act. This is neither another weapon nor another law to strengthen the roots of Indian democracy, but is an option available with us. The question of corruption is not only a moral question but it is directly related to the economic development of the country. The role of Right to Information is quite effective in informing crores of grassroots people whose development is marred due to corruption. Critics of democracy suggest that this arrangement is useless and motionless. Even today the greatest challenge for India is bad governance. Decades ago Professor Genner Mirdle raised his voice about a “soft state” in the “Asian drama”. What he meant was sluggish and slow moving and if the Indian democracy was a “soft state” then the RTI makes it dynamic, transparent and speedy. The use of RTI at the lowest level of the administrative arrangement i.e., at the village, block and district levels has shown tremendous possibilities in making democracy dynamic, energetic and useful for the public. India will certainly flourish in terms of accountability when millions of people use this right.
The Indian democracy is going through a new phase. It is difficult to hypothesize about a real democracy without good governance, transparency and responsibility. Right to Information has made all these possible. It has brought the common citizen into a new democratic role where he can directly question the administration.
What this has also led to are new experiments in Indian democracy. That is why an officer of the Indian Revenue Service can be seen moving around the slums of Delhi requesting people to seek information and not to pay bribes. Arvind Kejriwal and Parivartan’s experiment has taught the administration a new lesson of transparency and accountability. Similar successful experiments are also heard of from other parts of the country.
Right to Information is being used in many places for achieving new democracy, whereas, some of our colleagues are also experimenting to find the efficacy of the use of Right to Information in the field of new journalism. The initial signs are encouraging; in fact, it has been our firm belief that Right to Information can be used effectively for investigative and serious journalism. This is the reason, we appoint a special reporter at the time of the implementation of the Right to Information Act. A group of students undergoing training in journalism at the Prabhat Khabar Institute were also encouraged to use RTI. The result of this initiative was that the conspired negligence of the administrative machinery could not face the enthusiasm of our team. When by and large people were not bothered about the Right to Information, officials were surprised to see the Prabhat Khabar team showing so much interest in it. Many predicted that the reporter would have an uncertain future. People too were surprised at the newspaper’s move to appoint a full-fledged reporter to specifically work on Right to Information.
However, while all these arguments were going on, this team highlighted news which would not have been possible under the regular stream of journalism. In the usual pattern of journalism, news generally gets highlighted when there are differences between the officials or between those in power. But this team brought out news which can best be compared to hunting prey from a lion’s mouth.
As per the slogan Akhbar Nahin Aandolan we would like to salute the young people associated with this courageous and dedicated effort in an age where page-three, glamour and journalism based on public relations are the prevalent norms.
Right to Information is in fact a great strength in the hands of the media. But without trying to understand what it means we cannot think about its proper utilization. Many stories are heard about the freedom of press in independent India, but the bureaucrats have the Official Secrets Act, the judiciaries have the Contempt of Court Act and the legislatures have parliamentary privileges in front of which freedom of speech looks like a very small weapon. The Right to Information Act has given people, including the media, a similar weapon. We will have to learn its marksmanship.
RTI is also a weapon to improve the standards and increase the credibility of Hindi journalism. It is said that Hindi journalism is only limited to reporting on speeches by political leaders, crime and revealing sensational mysteries and that Hindi journalism is not based on facts. In Hindi journalism there has been a tradition of making news based on gossip and half-baked information. It is also a truth that journalists did not have many means of getting official information. The Right to Information Act has provided the means to make Hindi journalism credible. Now, by providing correct information regarding governance, development, bureaucracy and the administration Hindi journalism can widen its horizons.
Inaugurating the Grassroots conference, the President of the country Dr. A. P. J. Kalam had suggested that academic institutions should build research centers where special training could be given to those associated with the media. He also suggested that the media should initiate research on original and serious issues of national interest. Following the direction provided by the President, Prabhat Khabar came up with the Jharkhand Development Report and the Citizen Handbook and is carrying out continuous research on issues original to Jharkhand. The work being done by the Prabhat Khabar Institute on the RTI is also an extension of this step. We would be happy if we can move a few steps in the direction that was set out by the President.
Successful experiments using the RTI Act have clearly given the message to bureaucrats and political leaders, including the stakeholders associated with public welfare, that public servants and the people sitting in positions of responsibility cannot play with public welfare under the cover of secrecy.
However, we have to be aware of this right because if we are not aware of what it means, it is possible that attempts will be made to reduce its significance. This is the right time to use this Act in its totality so that a new dimension can be given to Indian democracy. This would mean the participation of the people in ensuring transparency and accountability of the administration. It is necessary for all those who want to see a change in society to know how RTI can make this possible.
For instance, in Bihar and Jharkhand, the machinery available for providing information is insufficient, prejudiced and unsympathetic. It is, therefore, essential for people’s organizations and the media to highlight this issue and to take it from books and seminars to the streets in these two states.
Thanks to Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey and all the poor farmers of Rajasthan who fought for the Right to Information, today this Act is not only real, but it has made the British Official Secret Act (1923) irrelevant. That is why the Administrative Reforms Commission has recommended the banning of this Act. The Commission has clearly suggested that in this era of information and transparency, keeping things secret has no meaning. The Commission has also recommended the implementation of Right to Information amongst the legislature and judiciary. Instead of including people from the administrative services, more people with social concerns are required to be associated with the Information Commission to make it more vibrant. This has been the primary concern of the Act and the Administrative Reforms Commission has stressed it as a new challenge.
Let this book, which is based on experiments on the use of Right to Information for the path of new democracy and new journalism, become a weapon for bringing good governance in the country.
(Harivansh is the Editor-in-Chief of Prabhat Khabar, Hindi Daily from seven centers of Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bangal.)