The RTI Act

In case you haven't noticed, the Honourable President of India ratified the Right to Information Act, which has now come into force (since 12 October 2005 to be precise). According to this law, we Indians now have the right to demand access to most information (except of course, sensitive ones), which till now, was technically "off limits". The hope is to make public servants more accountable.

Anybody who knows the extent corruption in India will appreciate the ramifications of this Law, if properly enforced. Passing the Law is just the first step; the critical issue is to educate the masses of their new Right. Here is where I think the role of organizations like Janaagraha, BATF comes into focus. I also hope that the youth of the country take it upon themselves to try eradicate the rabid corruption that has percolated every facet of Government and public service in the country. I'll have to check with my buddy Chinmay if the Rotract have plans to spread the word about this as part of their great voluntary work.

You may ask why I am making this big a deal about the new Right. My experiences in the days following the retrieval of my stolen bike has left a bad taste about law enforcement (both the police and judiciary). I am yet to accept that these agencies, along with the other obviously corrupt Government departments and politicians (most of them) are any good to the country.

Of course, the expectation is that the enforcers of the RTI Act are upright officers. Guess the world lives on Hope.