Suggestions to Reduce the Influence of Money and Muscle Power In Politics

Electoral Reforms Suggestions - Nishank.pdf by Nishank Varshney

Introducing Electoral Reforms to Reduce the Influence of Money and Muscle Power In Politics.pdf by Nishank Varshney

How to file RTI

Last month we filed 26 RTIs across all the states of India to find out the status of implementation of Right to Education Act from all the states and the centre. From some of them, we have got the response, some of them have transferred the application to other departments and notified us, some have replied in their Vernacular languages like Marathi, Kannada and Punjabi, which we are trying to decipher now.

Today, 25^th October is being celebrated as RTI Day. Let us take this day as an opportunity to exercise this Right, and demand any information that is needed from the government. RTI is a very powerful tool for citizens who are aware about their surroundings and want to do something for those around them, or even themselves.

The process to file an RTI is very simple. But unless you file atleast 2-3 RTIs yourself, you will not get the confidence to use it. Therefore, I recommend everyone to use today, RTI Day, as an opportunity to exercise this Right. In this post, I will help you with the steps required to file an RTI.

Step 1 – Decide on what information do you desire. Do you want to know about how your MPLAD/MLALAD fund was used ? Do you want to find out why your application was rejected in any government office ? Or do you want to know about the process and status of any government scheme ?

Write it down very precisely. Your questions should be very specific, and explanatory. Do not mention any ambiguous terms or vague questions. Also clearly mention the time period for which you seek the specific information.

Step 2 – Find out the appropriate Public Information Officer (PIO) from the concerned department. Go to the website of the concerned government department and you will find a link for RTI on the site. You can find the address on which the RTI is to be sent. If you are not sure whether this PIO will have an answer to your query or not, do not worry. If your query does not fall under the department of PIO to which you have sent it, then he has to transfer it to the appropriate department and notify you about the same. You don't need to pay any extra fee also.

Step 3 – Go to your nearest Post Office and collect a Postal Order for an “appropriate amount”. If your query is for the Central Government you will need a postal order for Rs.10. If your query is for the state government, then you will have to pay according to the charges which are mentioned on this link - http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/payment-fee-1101

Step 4 – Fill a performa with your details, and attach the questions with the performa and post it on the address of the PIO. (You can find the performa below)

Some Tips -

1. If you require the information in English from states whose regional language you do not understand, then mention it explicitly in the form - “Kindly provide the following information in English, as far as possible.
2. Some of our posts were returned as the PIO had changed. So in the address when you are sending the post, do not specifically mention the name of the PIO. Just write Public Information Officer, _______ Department, and so on.

For the convenience, I am attaching my RTI Application, here, so that it is easier to see how the questions are framed. You can download the word file from this link and use it to file your RTI - Blank RTI Format

To,

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

PIN: _______________________

Subject: Request for Information under Right to Information Act 2005.

Dear Madam/Sir,
I want to obtain following information from you under the Right to Information Act, 2005. The details are as under.

1. Applicant's Name –

2. Father’s Name –

3. Full Address of the applicant –

4. Phone No -

5. Email –

6. Details of Information required - Mentioned in Annexure – I, which is attached with this form.

I hereby inform that following formalities have been completed by me:

1. That I have deposited the requisite fee of Rs. _____/- by way of Cash / banker cheque / Draft / Postal Order/ others ___________________ ) favoring __________________________________ dated ________________.

2. That I am ‘Citizen’ of India and I am asking the information as ‘Citizen’.

3. I assure that I shall not allow/ cause to use/ pass/share/display/ or circulate the information received in any case and under any circumstances, with any person or in any manner which would be detrimental to the Unity and Sovereignty or against the Interest of India.

Signature of the Applicant

Dated:

Annexure - 1

Date: 18 September, 2013.

Dear Madam/Sir,

Kindly provide the following Information.

1. State Wise List of the designated Local Authorities (as defined in Definition 2.h of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009), along with their Contact Information, such as Name of such authority, their office address, contact number and E-mail Id.

2. Procedure and conditions for Private Un-Aided schools in each State, to claim refund for admitting students from Disadvantaged/ Economically Weak Section. Please enlist the timeline for this process.

3. State-wise list of Maximum Annual Per-child cost reimbursed to Private Un-aided schools, for the academic years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13, for admitting students from EWS Quota.

4. Total number and a list of schools in each State that have been reimbursed for implementing 25% quota for Disadvantaged/Economically Weaker Section, for the academic years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. You may provide this Information in the following format, separately for each state.

Sr. No.	Name of the School	Address of the School	Number of Students for whom reimbursement has been made	Total Amount Reimbursed to the School	Academic Year	Date of Reimbursement	Remarks (if any)

5. Number of students belonging to Disadvantaged/Economically Weaker Section in Private Un-Aided Schools, who have been provided free Textbook and Uniforms for the academic years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 in each state. What was the total cost incurred on same.

6. What are the transport facilities being provided by each State Government for students with disabilities? Also provide the number of students who have benefited from this scheme in past 3 years. Please tell the state-wise expenditure on such facilities for the years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13?

7. What is the rule with respect to the seats in Private Un-Aided Schools which are reserved for Disadvantaged/Economically Weaker Section, which lies vacant due to non-availability of EWS Students?

8. What is the model for Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation being followed? Please provide a copy of this model.

9. Is a Private Unaided school, eligible to claim for refunds for admitting more than 25% students in the EWS/Disadvantaged quota through the Right to Education Act, 2009? If yes, Please mention the procedure.

10. Please enlist the procedure for a Private Un-aided School to increase the limits of its ‘Neighborhood’ (as defined in Section) to fill up 25% seats for EWS students.

11. What would be the appropriate address/income proof required for street-children to seek admission in a Neighborhood Private Unaided School under 25% Reservation for Disadvantaged/Economically Weaker Section? Is there any relaxation for ‘Neighborhood’ criteria of Street Children?

If you feel that any (or all) of the above requested information does not pertain to your department then please forward the application to appropriate Public Authority according to the provisions of Section 6(3) of the Central RTI Rules, 2005.

Yours Sincerely,

________________

Please send the information on following address –

__________________

__________________

__________________

Bird Watching at IIM Campus

Which lazy person would ever want to wake up at 6 AM on a Sunday? But this Sunday, I had decided to do it, as the Nature Club of IIM Ahmedabad, Prakriti, was organizing a Bird Watching Trail around the campus. I got up at 6:15 and went to Café Tanstaafl, which was the assembling point for all of us (Like the ANC Circle in BITS). A lot of photography and bird enthusiasts had cut-short their long Saturday night sleep, which included IIM students, Profs, Academic and Research Associates and also Foreign Exchange students.

We were first of all briefed about Birding or Bird Watching by Mr. Sandeep from Conservation Consortium of India, an NGO that works for Wildlife Protection. He told us that all over the world there are about 30,000 species of birds. India has around 8,000 out of which nearly 2000 are found in Gujarat. Ahmedabad is a host to some 600 species of Birds, and IIM in particular serves as abode for nearly 60 species. IIM serves as an important nesting venue for many birds, especially Vultures. Nearly 50% of Ahmedabad’s Vultures reside on IIM Campus.

A lot of us had no idea about IIM Campus being host to such a rich diversity of Birds, so began our trail with a lot of excitement to discover something that had always been in front of us, but we chose to ignore it, in our fast moving lives. To begin with, we spotted common birds, which all of us usually see every day like Pigeons, Crows and Mynahs. Just after a 5 minute walk, we were able to spot a nest of vultures, on one of the highest branches of a tree, just above our heads. We could see it properly with the help of Binoculars provided by Prakriti Club. We moved ahead, clicking photographs on the way, seeing some more species of Birds. Next we saw a variety of Parakeets, some, snooping out of tree trunks, others, calmly sitting on branches. They were mainly of two types – rose ring and alexandrine.

Vulture

Parakeets

Dove

We came to a garden near faculty quarters, where we spotted birds like Bulbul and Babblers. There was also a Kite, sitting on the top of a tree. We could also see some aquatic birds, flying across the sky in a group. Roaming around the campus, seeing some more birds, we came near FPM Houses. It was then, I realized that for the last 1 and a half months, there had been a Vulture’s nest right outside my room’s window, but we were totally unaware of it. Towards the end, we spotted another specie called Shikra, which had a large body but small head.

Another Vulture

Kite

Aquatic Birds

Shikra

The trail was followed by a small presentation by Aditya on Wildlife Conservation who was doing his Ph.D. in Vulture Ecology, which emphasized on the causes of extinction of vultures and how why should we save them. After this enriching Bird Watching session, we thanked the organizers for widening our view, and move towards the Mess for our Breakfast. Thankfully, due to this session, this was my 2^nd Breakfast in this month :P.

My Opinion Published in The Hindu

If only we had a responsive police force, there would have been no need for two young men to take the law into their own hands — which provided the spark for the communal riots. The police show no empathy for victims of sexual harassment. It is this indifference that makes people think they themselves should “teach a lesson” to the culprits. Had the police been sensitive, the two young men would not have killed the man who harassed the sister of one of them, they wouldn’t have died themselves, and there wouldn’t have been any riots. The incident was not the result of any Hindu-Muslim rivalry. It was later given a communal colour by vested interests for political gains. And the way the issue has developed has shifted our focus from the main issue — security for women.

Link to online Article - http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/letters/a-shame/article5113417.ece

Snippet from the Newspaper on 11th September 2013.

Could the Muzaffarnagar Riots have been prevented ?

Sometimes, the biggest of the problems, have the easiest solutions. Let’s look at a turn of events, which led to Riots in Muzaffarnagar. A Hindu girl was harassed by two Muslim youths. Upon which, the brothers of the Hindu girl, beat the Muslim guy to death. This infuriated the members of Muslim Community, who in turn killed the Hindu Brothers. And the cops reportedly registered an FIR against the girl’s parents. Now, was this a matter of Hindu Muslim divide? I don’t think so. I think the Brothers could have reacted in pretty much a similar manner if the alleged harassers were not Muslim.

How could the government have stopped the riot?

I believe, that in first place, if our Police was pro-active in protecting our citizens, there would not have been any need for the brothers to take law in their own hands. We have repeatedly seen in Delhi over last few months (and it happens all over India) that Police shows no empathy, whatsoever towards rape victims, and out rightly refuses to register FIRs. Almost every week, an AAP candidate is beaten up, trying to get the Cops to register FIRs against the Rapists. But, if this is the response of our Police in Rape cases, just imagine what would they do in cases of harassment?

There have been cases, where victims have given the photos of harassers to the Police, yet our Police have not been able to take any action against them. And it is this failure of our Police, which led the brothers to teach a lesson to the harasser themselves. Had there been an active Police, the brothers would not have killed the harasser, they wouldn’t have died themselves, and there wouldn’t have been any Riots.

A careful examination of the incidence shows that this was not initially a Hindu-Muslim rivalry. Some people later converted it into one, for their political gains. And the development of this issue has totally shifted our focus from solving the root cause of this riot, i.e. "Providing security to our women from unwanted harassment".

Improving the PDS Delivery

The amount of Money Central Govt. loses annually due to Pilferage of PDS = 24,000 Crore Rupees.
Annual Budget of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (RTE) = Rs. 21,000 Crore.
If our government had cared to fix the PDS Distribution before passing the Food Security Bill, they could have doubled the spending on Primary Education.

But can the PDS Distribution be really made leak-proof ? If yes then to what extent ?
We believe, that it is very much possible to make our PDS System 100% Leak Proof, but it cannot be achieved without strong will of Administration.

And here is our solution to the Problem  Leak Proof PDS.pptx
 

ToI still stands by their Story

ToI Still stands by its story. Profiling on Eid indeed took place at Ahmedabad Mall.

They will obviously stand by their story. Because, nobody can prove that the Mall owners charged Non-Muslims also for the entry. Just because I was there, and I myself saw many Non-Muslims including me pay up for the coupon, and I also saw a lot of them get it encashed while shopping, I can definitely say, that this was totally irresponsible journalism from ToI.

They go on to say that "Those dressed in traditional Eid attire or exhibiting other obvious symbols of their faith, like skull caps, were being asked to pay the 20-rupee charge, while others were being politely requested to leave the queue and get free passage."

Being there, I saw that ~95% population there was dressed in a traditional Eid attire. So, when every one was asked to pay, it included them also.
But ToI also says "others were being politely requested to leave the queue and get free passage." - which is totally wrong, because I was in a casual T-shirt and jeans and no way could they have mistaken me as a Muslim. Yet I was asked to pay up. And it was not only me. I saw many other Non-Muslims purchasing entry coupons too.

They further say, "Like any exercise in profiling, this could not have been foolproof. It is, therefore, possible that some non-Muslims may also have paid up the entry fee and some Muslims males were spared because, in the eyes of those screening visitors, they didn't appear Muslim."

So According to ToI, Non-Muslims were asked to pay if they looked like Muslims, and Muslims were spared if they did not appear Muslim. This is where they have stooped to the lowest level of Journalism.
Since, ~95% visitors were muslims. Let's say of the remaining 5% Non-Muslims, 1%  were let go without purchasing coupons. (Also I believe some people might have not been asked to buy entry coupons if they had movie tickets.) So, instead of interpreting that 1% people were let go by mistake, ToI interprets that 4% Non-Muslims were charged by mistake.

ToI futher adds "Women — burqa-clad or otherwise — were being directed towards the green channel."
Now, if the Mall was really against Muslims, would not they have charged muslim women also ? It is after all easier to recognize burqa-clad women.

So I can definitely say, that ToI unnecessarily made it a Hindu/Muslim Issue.

Also read the tweet by Rajdeep Sardesai - Our reporter Megdhoot Sharon tells us Hindus and Muslims were both charged on Eid at Ahmd mall. Wish natl newspapers would be more careful.

While ToI still stands by its story, I still stand with my belief - ToI is actually Toilet Paper of India.