Rosemary Dzuvichu
As the epoch making Right to Information Act comes into effect at midnight, on the 12th October 2005 hopefully, this will herald changes that brings true democracy in the relationship between the government and the governed. For a state like Nagaland which has a record of perhaps one of the most corrupt states, it will mean a good step towards checks and balances, giving the right for people to have a say. And this is the state that has been raising slogans of transparency and accountability in governance, but not followed it in practice. The fact that the state does not have income tax like other Indian states, has made it smooth sailing for most people- bureaucrats, technocrats, politicians and salaried masses to indulge in corruption as though the funds, which have been pouring into the state from the Central Government for development of the state and its people, for the last forty odd years, were inheritance from their grandfathers. And so what do we have? A poorly developed state, bad roads, poor health care, corruption in all departments meant for developing the state and its people ,absolute neglect of the women population in terms of health care and empowerment, a frustrated future generation of youth .A very dismal picture but heartrendingly true.
The Right to Information Act will empower the people giving them the right to question, have access to information on all relevant issues, except on that which threatens the security of the country, and the Government is duty bound to release such information. This change in making the government answerable to the governed will hopefully bring down corruption levels in Nagaland. But this can only come about if the people exercise this right, without fear, prejudice and obligations. And then maybe we will see the end of bureaucratic red tap ism, the blank wall of confidentiality, official secrets and politicians and their games behind the four walls of their sanctuaries. The main reason why corruption has been able to flourish and prosper in this small state of so called Christian believers is because there are very few who question and raise voices of dissent.
The Church often tends to forget that it has a great role to play in bringing about accountability in governance among its flock. And so today, the best front seats are reserved for the highest donors, who usually accrue and donate money beyond their salaries to the church. This implicates the church, because it does not ponder upon the source of the huge donations and instead invest the highest honor on such people. For ordinary people, we look upon the church and its leaders to question, raise dissenting voices for the total neglect of development in all sectors, because the church is the biggest platform for the whole Naga community to chastise, make leaders accountable and bring changes into our society. Hopefully, true and committed church leaders will deliberate and act upon this right to information too in the days ahead.
The onus of responsible citizenship will surely fall upon the intellectual community, upon those who have the freedom to speak and write without fear and prejudice, to educate and speak on behalf of the silent, illiterate masses. Today we cannot talk of monetary neglect by the Central Government, because it would be untrue. The amount of money that the central government has pumped into the state, if utilized properly would have made Nagaland the most developed state in the north eastern region. But over the years it has become personal assets of those in power and development plans have withered away and died a slow death. Speaking of the right to information, I am reminded of an incident some years back, when the Feis Fashion Society of Nagaland fired against the Nagaland Government on a case of forgery and we witnessed a ridiculous network of government agencies, including our law enforcing department, trying to hide behind the code of ‘confidentiality’ when confronted with an NGD fighting for the right to information. What was ludicrous was the fact that the high profile government officials charged the NGD of infringing on official files and secrets, without realizing that the very documents were actually meekly handed over to the organization, by the Minister in charge of the concerned Department himself. Perhaps it was a case of lack of Government co-ordination when faced with a group of people demanding the right to information.
For Nagaland it is not only the powers that be and the bureaucrats that need to be sensitized on the Right to Information Act, but the people- the general masses for whom this act will bring changes into their lives. The important question will be what sort of steps is the Government taking to apprise the people of their right on this particular Act? Secondly the law is already passed that every state would have to constitute an Information Commission at the earliest, and our state has not done so till date. If the State Government is really committed in empowering the people then this needs to be urgently constituted, with no bureaucratic excuses for delay. We look forward to a Commission that will be constituted of members, men and women of integrity, who believe injustice, truth and the rights of the governed. Hopefully, the Government of Nagai and will do justice to the true spirit of the Act and not appoint another retired bureaucrat to head the Information Commission, because this very Act has come about, to do away with unnecessary ‘bureaucratic hurdles of confidentiality, which many of such bureaucrats have been responsible for the lack of transparency and accountability in our state.
