RTI campaign reveals tribal woman waited for three months to get her thumb impression approved

RTI on Wheels in Banaskantha

By A Representative
Do the tribal people of Banaskantha district in Gujarat have to face official indifference towards getting simple formalities done for getting their subsidized ration from fair price shops? It would seem so, if impressions gathered during the latest campaign by the premier Gujarat body propagating the right to information (RTI), Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP), are any indication. Currently on a tour of Gujarat’s eastern tribal belt for making RTI popular, the MAGP found exactly this when the RTI on Wheels reached the mamlatdar office at Bhabhar taluka in Banaskantha district, where tribals live.
Narrating one such experience, Pankti Jog, the activist who is leading the MAGP campaign, said, “It was 10:30 am, yet there was no one was in the office. The security personnel told us that all the saheb would reach the office about an hour late -- 11:30 am. To make use of our time, we went to the bus stand and decided to do a short outreach programme.”
“By the time we came back, we could see one of the two officials had come to office and were on sitting their chair. As they recognized us, chairs were offered to us, tea was ordered. One of them said, for some reason, they were a little late, though this was not the case generally”, Jog said, adding, “Meanwhile, we noticed one lady waiting outside the cabin of the deputy mamlatdar (food and civil supplies). She was sitting on the floor, while her son, around 14 years of age, was standing with two papers in his hand.”
Jog said, “I asked her what work she had in the office. She replied that her husband had migrated to another district, hence she was not getting her ration. The reason offered to her was that the husband’s thumb impression was required. She complained to us that she was not getting ration for the last three months as her thumb impression was not taken by the computer. She came to the office several times with the request to allow her to get ration and certify her thumb impression. Yet, no one was listening to her.”

Real face of voluntary disclosure under RTI

“This made me to turn to the official, and ask him to look into her problem. Looking at my camera, she was asked to be seated on the chair. A simple piece of information about how she could add her thumb impression to the computer data to access her public distribution system (PDS) ration was given to her after three long months! If we were not there, she might have been asked to pay Rs 50 or Rs 100 to do the job”, the activist said.
“Two days after the incident we got a phone call, and she was so happy. Finally she was able to get her ration! Who was this woman? One might wonder. Does that really matter? Name her as Bhikhiben, Kamuben or Somaben… She is one of the faces among thousands who have been denied ration! Gujarat has heavy migration ratio. People migrate when there are no local livelihood options. This period if very crucial, and families experience food insecurity. It is time when the government becomes more proactive to ensure families get their PDS quota”, Jog pointed out.
The RTI caravan, which she claimed was “getting very good response” and was also leading to “amazing impact” in the tribal area, was helping people connect with the RTI, motivating them to file RTI for seeking accountability from the government, she said, adding, "The RTI on Wheels visited government offices to checked the status of disclosures, discussed issues with officers, and gave them inputs on RTI”.

The Bhabhar mamlatdar office, interestingly, was found not following the RTI rules, which make voluntary disclosures mandatory. “As per section 4 of the RTI Act, information needs to be proactively disclosed – disseminated. A notice board was put inside the office (as seen in the photograph), but no information was provided on it, and Bhabhar was no exception,” Jog said.

Comments

Anonymous said…

I am aware of high credibility and the effective work being done under RTI Act by MAGP and many activist group. We must support them in whatever manner we can. One suggestion- some local volunteers at the village level and Taluka level may be trained to help the local needy people and if any problems, report to MAGP. Virani

December 26, 2013

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

The ultimate all-time ODI XI: A personal selection of icons across eras

By Harsh Thakor* This is my all-time best XI chosen for ODI (One Day International) cricket: 1. Adam Gilchrist (W) – The absolute master blaster who could create the impact of exploding gunpowder with his electrifying strokeplay. No batsman was more intimidating in his era. Often his knocks decided the fate of games as though the result were premeditated. He escalated batting strike rates to surreal realms.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

Search This Blog