[icernet] The power of knowing

[Arul Selvan MIC]

The Freedom of Information Bill makes it obligatory for every public
authority to make available all its records. It answers, to some extent, a
long campaign by groups like Rajasthan’s Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathana,
which have consistently argued that the right to information is an enabling
right for all other rights, such as the right to know the identities of
individuals arrested by the police during riots or the right of taxpayers to
know how their money is being spent.
Additionally, the Bill has not really had a significant impact in the states
in which it has already been passed such as Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and
others. Thus, the Bill is probably more symbolic than real. But it is a
highly potent symbol as it gives hope that the governing culture of our
country might just transform itself from a secretive and colonial one, to
one that is transparent, egalitarian and socially democratic.
Source:
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=14184