Greater Kashmir: Srinagar: Thursday, November 23, 2017.
RTI (Right to
Information) is a part of fundamental rights under Article 19(1) of the
Constitution. Article 19 (1) says that every citizen has freedom of speech and
expression. In 1976, the Supreme Court said in the case of Raj Narain vs State
of UP that people cannot speak or express themselves unless they know.
Therefore, right to information is embedded in Article 19. In the same case,
Supreme Court further said that India is a democracy. People are the masters.
Therefore, the masters have a right to know how the governments, meant to serve
them, are functioning. Further, every citizen pays taxes. Even a beggar on the
street pays tax (in the form of sales tax, excise duty etc) when he buys a
piece of soap from the market. The citizens therefore, have a right to know how
their money was being spent. These three principals were laid down by the
Supreme Court while saying that RTI is a part of our fundamental rights.
RTI is a tool
given to citizens by government to make public Authorities accountable and make
them deliver their work in transparent manner. Although there are many success
stories by RTI and huge Rise in RTI Activist from diverse professions but
Student Community has neither produced much success stories nor they have put
forward the Student Activist.
Onus lies on
the Civil Societies and NGO’s working on RTI to hold an awareness programs in
school, colleges and Universities to aware them about their rights. There is
also responsibility on universities and colleges to introduce this as a
mandatory subject and produce army of vigilant students every year, which can
help themselves and others.
Activists are
warrior in today’s time they are fighting the war with the corrupt officers
without gun and sharp weapons but not without giving lives. It is a well-known
fact that around 65 RTI activist have lost their lives in India while bringing
accountability and transparency in system.Beside deaths, activists have to face
the mental torture and harassment by corrupt officer.
It is a
government who keeps check on citizens of their wrong doings but who keeps the
eye on the wrong doing, atrocities of government. It’s an activist, someone who
questions the authorities. Activist is nothing more than a well-informed
citizen. Solider protects the country from the outside threat while activists
try to take the curtains from the face of the peoples who are ruining country
internally bit by bit like a termite.
The objective
of this article is to raise and build
the confidence in students to ask questions to the school, college and
university authorties. They can ask them why there is delay in result, where
the money of mid-meal has been utilized, why there is no good infrastructure,
qualifications of teachers, are they competent to teach, why student union is
banned, why clerks in office misbehave, why clerks in office doesn’t show
politeness, why he make us wait for hours, why we have to go office to office without
any genuine reason, why don’t senior officer take any action when the complaint
is made, why only selected students are sent for student exchange programs
without any advertisement and notification, why only selected students are sent
for debates and other programs, why all other student are ignorant to such
notification and advertisement and all the stupid question you can think,
stupid because all the genuine questions are stupid in their eyes. We are the
victim of this education system and only you can bring the change by asking a
question. RTI is not the end, it is the basic step to the change. Be activist
and bring a change.
.JPG)
.JPG)
