As RTI turns four, Aruna Roy, who led the movement for RTI, talks of how rural India is putting the law to use and the lessons that Mumbai can learn from it

Ramon Magsaysay Award recipient in Community Leadership and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Aruna Roy can best be described as one of the pioneers of modern day Right To Information (RTI). It was a movement which she spearheaded in 1994, under the flagship of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathana and sought financial records of expenditure from the local Government institutions, including panchayats.

Roy speaks to Sunday MiD DAY on the lessons learnt in her village Devdungri in Rajasthan. Roy feels that metros such as Mumbai have a lot to learn from small towns and villages. It took over three years of grit and determination on her part to make sure that the State Legislature passed the landmark Rajasthan State Right to Information Act and other states followed suit in the coming years to accept what is today respected as the most vigorous transparency legislation in the world. Excerpts from an interview:

pic/Shailesh Bhatia

What is the basic difference between the use of RTI in rural India and metros like Mumbai?
In rural India, unlike bigger cities, the RTI is aimed at more common causes like panchayats, school buildings and public health and has gone way beyond the parameters of things pertaining to micro level grievances, which lie within the vicinity of an individual.

What are the lessons to be learnt here?
Mumbaikars will have to inculcate the commonality of existence. After all, not everybody lives in bungalows. A common man lives in apartments with multiple neighbours, who share their space. The village of Devdungri, in Rajasthan where I reside, is the perfect example to follow. People have their squabbles and individual grievances, but are collective in their approach to address a common cause and at the end of the day, share a sense of warmth and compassion.