Last evening (12th October 2008) I had the opportunity to attend RTI Forum, a seminar on RTI (Right To Information) Awareness. The venue of the seminar - organized by social activist organization Hai Ummeed - was the Community Center Auditorium adjacent to NR Windows Play School, sector 50, Noida.
It was an enjoyable event for me, given the fact that it was the first RTI seminar that I had the opportunity to attend. The seminar – which also included a short documentary on the RTI movement in India – was both informative and interactive in nature. One interesting aspect of the event was the presence of one Mr. Sushant, a software professional turned full time RTI activist. Members of the audience had the opportunity to discuss their various problems with Mr. Sushant, regarding how those problems can be solved through RTI provision. Sushant listened to each and every query with patience, and appropriately explained how the problem concerned can be solved through proper utilization of RTI provision. The problems were varied in nature, ranging from one related to the pension of a retired Army officer to that related to the non functioning of a neighborhood hand pump.
One key appeal (at least for me) of the event was the presence of Mr. Anil Shastri, the son of former Indian prime minister late Lal Bahadur Shastri. Well, it is not that I am a great fan of Mr Anil Shastri (though I have no disrespect for him either). Actually I am a huge fan of Lal Bahadur Shastri, undoubtedly one of the best prime ministers that my nation has ever had. And as I have never had the opportunity to meet him (as he died before I was even born), I could somehow reduce that pain by meeting his son.
It was an enjoyable event for me, given the fact that it was the first RTI seminar that I had the opportunity to attend. The seminar – which also included a short documentary on the RTI movement in India – was both informative and interactive in nature. One interesting aspect of the event was the presence of one Mr. Sushant, a software professional turned full time RTI activist. Members of the audience had the opportunity to discuss their various problems with Mr. Sushant, regarding how those problems can be solved through RTI provision. Sushant listened to each and every query with patience, and appropriately explained how the problem concerned can be solved through proper utilization of RTI provision. The problems were varied in nature, ranging from one related to the pension of a retired Army officer to that related to the non functioning of a neighborhood hand pump.
One key appeal (at least for me) of the event was the presence of Mr. Anil Shastri, the son of former Indian prime minister late Lal Bahadur Shastri. Well, it is not that I am a great fan of Mr Anil Shastri (though I have no disrespect for him either). Actually I am a huge fan of Lal Bahadur Shastri, undoubtedly one of the best prime ministers that my nation has ever had. And as I have never had the opportunity to meet him (as he died before I was even born), I could somehow reduce that pain by meeting his son.
