( January 18, Kerala, Sri Lanka Guardian) ‘‘WHEN we fight as individuals it’s one voice against the establishment. But when the documents speak, it’s the fact against them.
This makes people more vocal. That’s why the Right to Information (RTI) Act speaks for the people. RTI is one of the most powerful Acts we have recently formulated,’’ observed socio-political activist Aruna Roy, winner of Magsaysay Award in 2000 and the master-brain behind RTI.
She was speaking to this website's newspaper on the sidelines of the national seminar on human rights organised by the School of Social Sciences, Rajagiri College, in Kochi on Tuesday.
‘‘The Act gives the right to ask for and inspect government documents. The government cannot deny us the right to know. It’s one of the major human rights,’’ she says.
One of the founder members of Mazdoor Kisan Sakthi Sangathan (MKSS), Aruna said that the public hearing organised by MKSS in 1994 was the inspiring force behind the formulation of RTI. ‘‘We asked for social audit, transparency of government records and redressal. People of India look at details.
That’s why we chose the motto Hamara Paisa; Hamara Hisab (Our money; Our account),’’ she said. Elaborating on the political opposition to RTI when the concept was formulated, Aruna said, ‘‘There was stiff opposition from officials and political parties.
But there was open support also. V P Singh came forward to support us. The Congress officially supported us. Only the BJP officially opposed our dharna’’. Why didn’t she join hands with the political parties? Does she think the parties we have are sufficient to fight corruption?
‘‘Presence of political parties is important. But we don’t have participatory democracy here. We need ethics and democracy within the party. Truth and government are important. But sometimes truth is more important than the government. We should take Gandhiji’s ethics and the Left ideology together,’’ Aruna said.
On the recent trend of NGOs becoming business oriented, she said: ‘‘We don’t call our organisation an NGO. It depends on many things. If you are a profit-making organisation, you can’t say you are for human rights activities. We can’t generalise NGOs.”
“There are NGOs which take contributions from rich people. There are moneymaking NGOs. But there are many who are not into moneymaking. Money has no colour. That debate will go on,’’ she said. Finally, does she consider herself a successful person? ‘‘I don’t know whether I’m successful. However, I have no regrets,’’ she concludes.
This makes people more vocal. That’s why the Right to Information (RTI) Act speaks for the people. RTI is one of the most powerful Acts we have recently formulated,’’ observed socio-political activist Aruna Roy, winner of Magsaysay Award in 2000 and the master-brain behind RTI.She was speaking to this website's newspaper on the sidelines of the national seminar on human rights organised by the School of Social Sciences, Rajagiri College, in Kochi on Tuesday.
‘‘The Act gives the right to ask for and inspect government documents. The government cannot deny us the right to know. It’s one of the major human rights,’’ she says.
One of the founder members of Mazdoor Kisan Sakthi Sangathan (MKSS), Aruna said that the public hearing organised by MKSS in 1994 was the inspiring force behind the formulation of RTI. ‘‘We asked for social audit, transparency of government records and redressal. People of India look at details.
That’s why we chose the motto Hamara Paisa; Hamara Hisab (Our money; Our account),’’ she said. Elaborating on the political opposition to RTI when the concept was formulated, Aruna said, ‘‘There was stiff opposition from officials and political parties.
But there was open support also. V P Singh came forward to support us. The Congress officially supported us. Only the BJP officially opposed our dharna’’. Why didn’t she join hands with the political parties? Does she think the parties we have are sufficient to fight corruption?
‘‘Presence of political parties is important. But we don’t have participatory democracy here. We need ethics and democracy within the party. Truth and government are important. But sometimes truth is more important than the government. We should take Gandhiji’s ethics and the Left ideology together,’’ Aruna said.
On the recent trend of NGOs becoming business oriented, she said: ‘‘We don’t call our organisation an NGO. It depends on many things. If you are a profit-making organisation, you can’t say you are for human rights activities. We can’t generalise NGOs.”
“There are NGOs which take contributions from rich people. There are moneymaking NGOs. But there are many who are not into moneymaking. Money has no colour. That debate will go on,’’ she said. Finally, does she consider herself a successful person? ‘‘I don’t know whether I’m successful. However, I have no regrets,’’ she concludes.
(Photo: Socio-political activist Aruna Roy)
 ‘‘WHEN we fight as individuals it’s one voice against the establ...){kind=link}
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