The Humble Hut that Changed a Nation

IN the heartland of Rajasthan, nestled on the slope of a spur of the bleak, rock-strewn Aravalli range, lies the quaint village of Devdungri

- Vikram Raj

Its dusty tracks wind through Babool shrubs, and its landscape, though harsh, possesses a strangely evocative beauty. The soil is dark and arid, and water is a scarce resource, drawn from deep wells and preserved in ponds dug from the stony earth. Devdungri represents a long history of toil as its inhabitants have strived to extract a livelihood from the rugged terrain.

The village, for many activists and journalists, holds significant historical importance as the birthplace of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. It was here, in a simple mud house in 1987, three years before the formation of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), that the seeds of the RTI movement were sown. The hut in Devdungri served as a shelter, an assertion, and a silent witness to the events and discussions that would shape the debate on the Right to Know.

In 1987, three individuals from diverse backgrounds came tog ether to live and work in Devdungri. They were Aruna Roy, a former civil servant who had resigned from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) to work with the rural poor; Shankar Singh, a local with exceptional communication skills and a passion for rural politics; and, Nikhil Dey, the son of an Air Marshal, who had returned from the US with a strong desire to make a difference in the lives of his people. These three individuals shared a common concern about exploitation, poverty and inequality in villages and sought to bring about change by empowering the marginalised.

Moving into the home of Haggu and Jait Singh in the hamlet of Chokkavadia, the trio embraced a simple way of life—sleeping on the ground, drawing water from a well, cooking on a choolah (stove) and washing their clothes and utensils. Their rented hut, with an adjoining goat pen that they converted into a kitchen and bathing area, became a base for their work.