RTI has gradually been weakened, both in letter and spirit

How did Devdungri become a focal point for the RTI move- ment? How has the movement transformed the village?

- BY NIRMAL JOVIAL

The idea of living in Devdungri was to live with the people, like them. Even before MKSS was formed, a struggle with a feudal landlord in nearby Sohangarh spread the word that this group works on people's issues. Initially, people were sceptical about our motives but soon their confidence grew. When people came with grievances, it became clear that access to information was critical to getting basic rights.

In 1992, a ration truck arrived late in the evening, and the following morning when villagers went to collect their ration, the dealer told them it had already been distributed! This resulted in an investigation that disclosed the fraud. At the time, a committee—Devdungri Vikas Samiti—was formed and a PDS (public distribution system) licence was obtained. A person trained by the MKSS now runs the ration shop with transparency.

The campaign for the Right to Information made people realise the need to engage with governance not as a supplicant but as a citizen—to demand a right. What began with the campaigns for the right to work and right to food has now spread to a demand for universal pension and more.

What are your most memora- ble experiences from the RTI campaign? What were the innovative ways in which the demand was raised?

The struggle for RTI has been a people’s campaign. Their modes of communication have been built organically into a transformative and, for some, even a spiritual journey for truth. Mohan Ram of the MKSS, an illiterate dalit bard, shaped a strong communication stream of collective singing. The movement developed many songs, street plays, puppet shows, pamphlets, slogans and political skits and satires like Ghotala Rath Yatra (scam chariot march).

Many of these songs were in the local dialect and picked their tone and rhythms from traditional songs. The