Secrecy transparency and accountability

The Right to Information has both intrinsic and instrumental value. Its intrinsic value come from the Act that citizens have a right to know. It is a crucial step towards a deeper, more meaningful democracy. More tangibly, in a country like India it can promote Action for development and therefore has considerable instrumental value. Information enables people to make enlightened choices, and keep tabs on elected representatives and officials who claim to Act on their collective behalf. Thus, accountability and transparency are both enhanced radically. In India, there has been no well informed public debate on the theme of secrecy vs. transparency and accountability. A number of people believe that there is a desperate need to amend or repeal the Official Secrets Act which hinders the right to freedom of information. Transparency is the bed rock on which the functioning of different organs of a democratize state is founded and except in the rarely needed paramount interest of State, there should not be any hindrance in such transparency. In this book the author has dealt with various facets of right to know in the context of fundamental and democratic right to know, legislative enactment for ensuring such light, curbs on such right in view of other legislations and need for relook to such legislations and above all lack of proper appreciation of the right to know and the sensitivity to such right by the enforcing agency, with mature understanding of the issues involved. The entire subject has been analysed in the proper perspective with commendable command for expression.