Letter from an ordinary CITIZEN of India

Letter from an
Ordinary Citizen of India
To
Information Commissioner


Honorable Sir,

In last 60 years of independence, I have been honored for the first time, to have a right which has the potential of changing my life and that of generations to come, who prefer to live in India.

However, every thing depends on your spirit, deep intentions and mission to do some thing positive for the common Indian on the roads and in remote villages. Most of you are retired judges and IAS officers. You have been gifted by the God to have this august seat, to accomplish extraordinary mission of changing the fate of masses in the remaining years of life. I think you should thank God for his kind gesture, daily when you pray. Most of us do not get such ready made opportunities in life.

Sir, while discharging your duties kindly keep me in view and rest of your actions will automatically be right for the people of this country and spirit of the law.

You would be having problems of poor infrastructure, computers, non-cooperation of government, staff shortage, your old colleagues and political pressures etc etc. But Sir, look at me for a moment and you will feel privileged. You have to only decide whether
you intend to please the God above by honestly discharging your duties or just find out excuses. It were odds in the lives, which made men great. Gandhi did not have luxury of facilities, but he did it for you, me and the masses.

Hope of crores of ordinary citizens rests on you and your approach. I simply wish I be respectfully treated by government officers and employees, when I refuse to bribe or try to find out where money rightly meant for my welfare, has evaporated. I will not be required to make rounds and rounds for years for my small but just and legitimate requirements. This I wish after 60 years of our independence! I think I am not asking too much.

You can make a big difference to lives of people like me. You can make governments transparent, law abiding, fair and accountable to the people of this country. You are the right person Sir, who can take out the rights from the books of the government and put in the hands of masses. The God has bestowed His powers on you. Some of you have done commendable work for common good, despite all odds. It is not the facilities but the approach and attitude that count. Once you approach your work as God’s own work, nothing will bother you and you will have inner satisfaction of having done some thing special for the masses in your remaining life time. Giving back to the society, is not it? If not now then when, Sir? Time is running out fast.

If you do not subscribe to people empowerment or you are not prepared or capable to come out of old mind frame of bureaucracy or you have joined just as a pass time after retirement or for money, perks and status, or you dare not displease your old colleagues; please, please, please do not betray the God and common men of this country and voluntarily quit. Let God choose some more competent person to replace you. At this age be honest to God and to your soul, Sir. It will be in the interest of your and my
future generations also, whom you would not like to be in our situation of secrecy, inordinate delays, corruption, scams, frauds, manipulations, irresponsibility, unfair practices, and and…….

I am a lay man of India and do not know much of many things. You are learned, informed and qualified. But I believe that religion does not end at the last word of prayer or at the last step of temple, but it starts there from. If RTI fails, democracy will also fail, if not today, tomorrow.

When you are presented before God, you will definitely be required to supply information to him, under His RTI Act, as to what you did as Information Commissioner. I pray you will be in a position to happily supply him the required information! My good wishes are with you.

I am, Sir

Yours faithfully and truly,

Common man of free and democratic India,


AWAITING REAL SWARAJ AND RAMRAJ

since

1 9 4 7

!!!


Authored by:
Jitendra P. Shah, JUNAGADH [Gujarat ] 362 001 Mob: 09924106490