It has been famously said, that “People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people.” We, the people of India, have been protected from such a fear by the safeguards that our Constitution provided for us- both as rights, as well as protocols. But as the years after Independence passed by, excessive bureaucracy, red-tapism, and the lack of a proper mechanism meant that accountability and transparency became forgotten words with respect to our administration. And all of a sudden, we were helpless- helpless to know if our hard-earned money was being utilized rightly, helpless to obtain information from those meant to serve us, helpless to defend our own rights. And with helplessness comes fear- fear of approaching the authorities for answers, fear of the shroud of secrecy that could be dropped against us without the slightest thought, fear that justice could not be attained. But it is not so any longer. The Right to Information Act, 2005, is but the icing on the cake of a strong movement of public awareness, a movement that seeks to ensure that the government of the people functions according to the desires of the people.

The RTI Foundation endeavours to catalyse the explosion of public awakening towards government accountability and democratic processes. Armed with the potent device of the Right to Information Act, the citizens of the country can now directly involve themselves in ensuring that the state machinery, established to work from the people, by the people and for the people, does not lose sight of its goals and purpose.

It is here that the RTI Foundation aims to contribute to the foundations of a more transparent and accountable India. It wishes to re-instate the real rulers of the country, the citizens, to their original pride and glory, by bringing the servants of the nation to greater responsibility and answerability.