Indians are fast learners. They have required very little tutoring in the past six decades to be able to use the electoral system, one of the primary tools of democracy, to devastating effect. So there is no reason to doubt their lack of facility with the latest addition to the arsenal — the Right to Information Act 2005. This law allows them the right to access information about the actions of public institutions and individuals that affect their lives and person. When Jameela, a patient in a government hospital in Delhi, sought information under the RTI Act to determine whether the hospital treated poor patients like her at a concessional rate, she was acting according to the letter and spirit of the law that required citizens to be pro-active. She suspected the hospital of denying her a rightful share of the State’s healthcare facility provided for those below the poverty line. When she moved the Central Information Commission for the second time to complain about the misbehaviour of the hospital staff, prompted by what appeared to the latter as an indiscretion on the part of the underdog, she was still very much within her rights. Her claim to a privilege and to respectful behaviour is driven by her awareness of her fundamental rights as a citizen. No one, certainly not the hospital employees, can grudge her that.

There have been, and there will be, fears about the RTI Act being misused. There are already instances galore where personal vendetta and vested interests have served as motivations for forcing frivolous inquiries on public institutions and government departments and, thereby, doubling the workload. But Jameela’s instance shows that there is much to be achieved by the citizen’s earnest quest for justice (as in public health), and not merely by those who belong to the educated classes. The use of the RTI Act has worked wonders in states like Rajasthan and Gujarat, where panchayat accounts have been forced open and key witnesses of the riots have made sure that the process of dispensing justice is not disrupted. Elsewhere, recourse to the act has compelled educational institutions and civic bodies to reform their ways of functioning. To bring about greater transparency and accountability in the public arena, it is essential to see that the use of the act is not hindered by misconceptions about who is allowed to seek its benefits.