Cover; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Table of Contents; List of figures; List of tables; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Prologue; 1 Democratic deepening and the Right to Information; 2 The dominant narrative; 3 Digging up the grassroots; 4 Opening up the government; 5 The foreign hand; 6 How deep is my democracy?; Appendix I State-level Right to Information laws; Appendix II Profiles of National Advisory Council members; Index
Summary
The enactment of the national Right to Information (RTI) Act in 2005 has been produced, consumed, and celebrated as an important event of democratic deepening in India both in terms of the process that led to its enactment (arising from a grassroots movement) and its outcome (fundamentally altering the citizen--state relationship). This book proposes that the explanatory factors underlying this event may be more complex than imagined thus far. The book discusses how the leadership of the grassroots movement was embedded within the ruling elite and possessed the necessary resources as well as u
