‘I was asked once to behave or else, I opted for or else’
Freedom is a very simple concept. It means liberation from all kinds of slavery. But is it enough? There was no Right to Information (RTI) Act when I was in high school in Buxar. But I strove for information even then. I was only 17 but rushed to the office of the Block Circle Officer, who was not issuing a sugar permit to a villager. An argument broke out; and I was arrested for disturbing a public servant on duty and sent to jail.
Ironically, the mentality of common bureaucrats has not changed much in decades. Nor have I. In 2008, when the then Buxar district magistrate (DM) summoned me to his office and ordered me to behave or else... I opted for ‘or else’. The DM was unhappy because I was relentlessly pursuing my unanswered RTI petition about beneficiaries of government subsidy. I was summoned to his office and asked to sign blank sheets to confirm having received the desired information. When I refused, he got me arrested on charges of trying to extort Rs 25,000 from him. I spent 29 days in judicial custody before a police probe found the case false. The DM was quietly shifted from the district the same month. It was the sixth time I was arrested for raising a public cause.
Over the years, I have realised the system we have created to run this country is like the human body: susceptible to disease. Worse still, those who run the government, the bureaucrats and politicians, deliberately obfuscate and expand the number of rules to deny free flow of information.
Freedom has to be a victory over darkness. But how can you feel free if you are clueless? My idea of freedom, therefore, is transparency. Transparency tells the truth about the system that governs us, how it runs and its goals. Transparency allows people to be aware; and gives them the freedom to opt in or out, and make some kind of active choice. Transparency helps tackle corruption and, therefore, encourage development.
I believe the advent of the RTI Act in 2005 was a game-changer. It gave us some teeth and strengthened the resolve of countless activists to confront the high and mighty for public good.
Is it enough if the government delivers what it thinks is best for society? Or is it important to let people know what is happening and then let them say precisely what they think of it and want? In the coming decades, these questions will grow in importance, and decide the central features of our lives. Transparency will always remain key.
(As told to Amitabh Srivastava)