Friday, September 22, 2006

RTI Act of India


For folks in India and those who want to truly make a difference in India's domestic policies, you need to look into the RTI Act (Right to Information Act) which is currently gaining momentum in some cities. But what we need is the same momentum in rural areas. People need to be made aware of what they can do in the face of the Government's actions/inactions.
Citizenship is more than just voting and deciding who the leaders are. The responsibility doesn't stop there. Citizens have to realize that the taxes they pay to the Govt are to be brought back to the country's welfare and development. More than 70% of the people in India don't realize that the Govt is accountable to them every bit they promise in their manifestos.
Check out Parivartan - Fighting Corruption and Arvind Kejriwal the man behind it and who has been selected for the Ramon Magsaysay Award (http://www.parivartan.com/)
What we need is to spread this awareness in every state in India - the people/citizens can make a difference after all. The key is to propagate this through educational channels where the primary recepients are children and the youth.
(picture courtesy http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Rags,That is a good thing you brought up...Awareness is the key word. First of all, people should be made aware of the system which surrounds them and then about the people in the neighboring states, then countries around them and then finally on a larger level - the world around them.It is the responsibility of the every educated citizen of this world to guide the others who are ignorant to the system in which they live.People should be made aware that the government is not a separate entity from themselves but is a major part of them and everything is interconnected. The people sometimes talk about the government being corrupted and refer to it as a stinky,unsafe gutter. But it is our responsibility to guide them through the truth and tell them we could all clean the so-called gutter together and try to replace it with drinking water..When awareness is created among the people and the truth is imparted to them about the how everything around them works, they will have a clearer mind and then will tend to work for its betterment.
Most of the people who get into politics come with a good intention- to create a better place for the people around them...but somewhere in the process give themselves to corruption and get sucked into its venomous hold. But with the support of people who can make a difference anytime, the concerned politicians will definitely make an effort to remember why they were there in the first place.
So, it is time for us to unite and educate the citizens of the world and help them realize that they can make a big difference and bring about the necessary change in the system around.