For two decades, the RTI Act made democratic participation possible by enabling ordinary citizens to demand transparency from the state. Yet there’s a long list of activists who have been killed, assaulted, abducted, harassed, or driven to suicide for using this constitutional right. What began as a legal right has turned into a site of political conflict.
RTI has exposed the collusion between political power, bureaucracy, and private interests. In return, the activists who filed these applications were met with violence instead of justice. The dismantling of RTI mirrors the broader erosion of democratic institutions in India.
