The Talk
We claim to be the world’s largest democracy: Government of the people, by the people, for the people. But, is government and its instruments capable of delivering? What are the causes for our governments not being able to deliver?
What can be done to make our governments work? How do we manage corruption, judicial delivery and many other issues?
What can we, citizens, do?
The Talk, by one of India’s foremost activist and thinking citizens, delves on all these issues.
Shailesh Gandhi, Former Central Information Commissioner
Shailesh Gandhi was a first generation entrepreneur and a Distinguished Alumnus awardee of IIT Bombay. He sold his company to become an RTI activist. Shailesh was part of the National RTI movement which was involved in drafting the National Act. He was convener of the National Campaign for People’s Right To Information. He used RTI and also trained many citizens and government officials in over 1000 workshops to use it. The only RTI activist to have been chosen as a Central Information Commissioner, he disposed a record of over 20000 cases in 3 years and 9 months, and ensured that most cases were decided in less than 90 days. He gave many landmark decisions on RTI, apart from organizing the first digital paper-less office in the Commission. He is now at his home in Mumbai to further and deepen RTI to empower citizens to take effective participatory charge of their democracy. He is passionately pursuing the cause of evolving ways for a time bound justice delivery system, and improving governance systems. Amongst many awards he has been awarded the Nani Palkhiwala Civil Liberties award, and the M R Pai award.
