Operationalizing Right to Information *Saumitra Mohan While it is often said that we Indians are best at making laws but seldom show necessary gravitas towards their implementation. And of all the laws enacted recently, the Right to Information Act (RTI) is one which is really going to change the way of governance in times to come. Completely in sync with our democratic ethos, this Act is slowly but surely coming into its own. But, still a lot needs to be done to make it more useful and effective. While it was Sweden which pioneered the Right to Information way back in 1766, the same was internationally recognized for the first time by its incorporation in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966). But since then, only 72 countries including India have put in place any enabling legislation. Even though it took a long while coming, still the Indian Act is considered exemplary. In 1975, the Supreme Court, in Uttar Pradesh vs Ra...
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Showing posts from April, 2007