Reflections of Rajaram Bojji

Whenever I look at the way youth of India like you, working so hard and so sincerely trying to solve whatever problem comes in your way. to help the helpless, my heart goes out for you. What hurts me and makes me angry too, is the way the corrupt meantime, invest in elections as a simple business deal, to get government under their control, and then make use of the magic tool of keeping the files secret from public, but issue orders to loot us left and right. Then they also get protected by the same government policy of holding the file secret, hiding the documnets so that the aggrieved cannot get justice in time. That lso gives them time to erase evidence and escape. Once the corrupt get money in hand they become stronger, seduce all the regulatory systems and manipulate press and even the NGOs who come up to fight them. The simplest requirement that government must publish the full file with every govt order made public ,[ obviously secret orders are not required to be made public] ,...

Wish one serious aspect of the terrorist funding and arms trade route as well as the money laundering route of the corrupt state heads, criss crossing with each other is not forgotten. If a state has a history of stealing from nation for private stashing out of the country, then terrorists do have a leverage with such states. The compromised heads can never act as honest as they make public utterances. The US agencies identified this serious problem which helps the terrorism. In India, by the mechanism of keeping the files secret but make public orders, hiding arbitrary& bad nature of the order, corrupt generate massive amounts of black money. This has to take the same route as the terrorists use. We get a compromised state. It is not just NCTC- The corrupt in power can now use this against innocents,not necessarily against the terrorists. First we must remove this very innocent looking mundane practice of keeping file secret and order public. We must get both file and order publis...

Why we cannot have wonderful, beautiful cities, clean and well cared for streets, pure drinking water, practically free transport, pollution-free and noise free, practically free energy, communications, shelters too of high quality but low cost, pain-free agriculture and the rural areas too in no way less in standards of quality of living, every one well dressed, literate and well behaved? I believe we can. But why we could not achieve over the last 60 years of effort by some well-meaning people, and naturally very intelligent hard working people of India? India’s greatest capital is intellect at all levels. Excellent democratic systems Think. It is not because we do not have systems. We have good administrative services, a Police force with 150 years of experience, a free and fair election for choosing own representatives to make laws for us and also head the government to deliver, a truly world class judicial system and a written elaborate constitution, and free press and freedom of...

Corrupt will leave the government once government is forced to Publish Order& File instead of current money making Publish Order Only practice. All the ills of our nation will vanish. It can be forced on govt because injustice is done today to the aggrieved party, as justice cannot be accessed without documentation which is kept secret by the govt. So fundamental right of citizen to avail justice is denied, by wanton delay caused by the govt, putting hurdles to get the documents. The corrupt even have chance to tinker with the evidence by removing papers, burning the file , "missing" the file etc. Today there is no level playing field for the honest. So constitutional right we can enforce, by getting Supreme Court rule that every public order should be published with file, so that justice is not denied by delay, and in real time we get judicial review. Just think, why a public order should have secret file? But the day POF..publish file &order is is practiced, then co...

A simple step of demanding implementing the public right of access to full order of government concerning public, which means the entire file also containing the order, can prevent any arbitrary order against public interest taking effect. Then corrupt will not have attraction for the power in government, whether politician or bureaucrat. But then only honest public service is possible in such a system of governance. You cannot distribute favours. But the fun is lost for many a player. All those power brokers in Delhi will get unemployed. Elections too will lose colourful campaigns. The media too will not get their revenues. The activists, the NGOs will not have any cause to go about giving the media interviews and become important in society shouting at the corruption. Then tweeters and Facebook groups deceive themselves that they are doing something for the country raising slogans and condemning corruption and following the leaders, demanding for more police and more investigation!! ...

Amazing we, the people of India! Perhaps we are special. We elect our legislators in open elections conducted fairly, and hand over all the assets of the nation and our lives to them to manage in our interest. Then we also bestow the boon that they can write whatever they like in secrecy to manage our assets, and need to only reveal final decision-not how or why they arrived at the decision. Full freedom we grant to act arbitrarily in secrecy. After years, when we get a doubt we meekly, apply for information on files dealing with our assets, as to how and why they did some thing years ago. We accept to pay for that service too. We also watch colleagues beaten up or even killed in some accident like event, when sensitive information is sought for. Still we feel proud we got the RTI ! The government uses it as their Right To Insult us. It is ok with us. Then we have iconic great leaders who wage war against corruption. They tell us we should have more powerful autonomous investigating a...