"Anger against corruption lit the fire in me"
I wouldn’t say there was a single event or a turning point that fashioned a social activist out of me. Ever since I grew up, I was angered by the corruption in government office. As I grew older, I began to understand that it was the worst form of corruption because it ended up creating a corrupt society.
I used to wonder if it is possible to find a solution to the problem. There are many people who don’t want to pay bribes but end up doing so because they don’t have a choice. I used to think if it was possible to give them an option. My stint in the Indian Revenue Service added to what I felt. The department exposed the extent of corruption that prevails. I could see that corruption was here, there and everywhere.
In 2000, we started Parivartan, an NGO. We gave a call to the people: don’t pay bribes in the Income Tax department and Delhi Vidyut Board. Weencouraged them to come to us with their grievances. We would collect about 200 such consumer grievances and take them to the concerned government office. The work would be done.
But after about one and half years, we realised that this was no long-term solution. Our efforts helped the people but it did not empower them. In December 2001, Delhi government enacted the Right To Information Act following which it was possible for a common man to obtain information from the government. I studied the Act thoroughly.
In February 2002, one Ashok Gupta of Patparganj came to us. Despite numerous applications, he hadn’t received an electricity connection. We drafted an RTI application for Gupta and asked him to submit it to the electricity department. As if by magic, within 10 days, he got the connection.
You can say that this is when we evolved from middlemen to facilitators. Soon, we were drafting such RTI applications for most departments in the Delhi government. From then on, it grew bigger and bigger. We got involved in the efforts to get the national Right to Information Act passed. The central RTI Act came into effect in 2005.
I wouldn’t say there was a single event or a turning point that fashioned a social activist out of me. Ever since I grew up, I was angered by the corruption in government office. As I grew older, I began to understand that it was the worst form of corruption because it ended up creating a corrupt society.I used to wonder if it is possible to find a solution to the problem. There are many people who don’t want to pay bribes but end up doing so because they don’t have a choice. I used to think if it was possible to give them an option. My stint in the Indian Revenue Service added to what I felt. The department exposed the extent of corruption that prevails. I could see that corruption was here, there and everywhere.
In 2000, we started Parivartan, an NGO. We gave a call to the people: don’t pay bribes in the Income Tax department and Delhi Vidyut Board. Weencouraged them to come to us with their grievances. We would collect about 200 such consumer grievances and take them to the concerned government office. The work would be done.
But after about one and half years, we realised that this was no long-term solution. Our efforts helped the people but it did not empower them. In December 2001, Delhi government enacted the Right To Information Act following which it was possible for a common man to obtain information from the government. I studied the Act thoroughly.
In February 2002, one Ashok Gupta of Patparganj came to us. Despite numerous applications, he hadn’t received an electricity connection. We drafted an RTI application for Gupta and asked him to submit it to the electricity department. As if by magic, within 10 days, he got the connection.
You can say that this is when we evolved from middlemen to facilitators. Soon, we were drafting such RTI applications for most departments in the Delhi government. From then on, it grew bigger and bigger. We got involved in the efforts to get the national Right to Information Act passed. The central RTI Act came into effect in 2005.
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