
I agree it's been a long while since I visited my own blog, leave alone post one entry. Well, the news for now is that
AID Columbus is hosting public rights activist and 2006 Ramon Magsaysay Award Winner,
Arvind Kejriwal on May 30, 2007. Arvind who heads the Delhi-based NGO,
Parivartan has been the driving force behind the successful implementation of the Right to Information Act, an act which gives ordinary citizens the right to challenge the actions of government officials, on literally anything from passport applications to the quality of mortar used in road construction outside their homes.
AID Jeevansathi, Ravi Kuchimanchi has called the RTI Act, along with the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) as one of the most progressive laws to have been passed by the Indian Government ever. Arvind has been extensively touring the US to raise awareness among NRIs and Indian students about the power that this Act has given to the people. Some of the success stories can be found
here.