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Social Movements Archive
Notes on social movements in India and abroad
Thanks to my engagement with campaigns working on hunger, education, corruption, health, peace and other issues, I have had an active interest in collective action and its role in the society. The following articles are based on my experience with these campaigns (mainly right to food and the right to information campaigns in India). There are also a few articles that look at literature on this subject, as well as a selection of interesting talks and documentaries.
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Combatting corruption with mobile phones
Posted on August 9, 2012 |A project for proactive transparency using mobile phones -
Can crowd-sourced discussions be democratic?
Posted on July 27, 2011 |A note on online discussions and democracy -
Creating a Yelp for the government
Posted on October 13, 2010 |Yelp-like tools can help with citizen monitoring and feedback. -
Politics, technology & accountability II
Posted on July 27, 2009 |“To be ruled is to be kept an eye on, inspected, spied on, regulated, indoctrinated, sermonized, listed and checked off, estimated, appraised, censured, ordered about…to be ruled is at every operation, transaction, movement, to be noted, registered, counted, priced, admonished, prevented, reformed, redressed, corrected”. Proudhon quoted by James Scott in Seeing like a state. The power of information is often used by those in powerful positions to control others. The right to information movement inverts this principle and turns the gaze on those in positions of power by making their actions visible and thus amenable to democratic control. Sharing information... -
Politics, technology & accountability I
Posted on July 26, 2009 |In an earlier post I asked if there are technological answers to the problem of accountability, or if accountability is purely a political problem needing political solutions. I then argued that while accountability is best seen as a political issue, technology can have an impact on the political terrain, and thus have an impact on accountability. Let me illustrate this an example. Micro-politics of accountability At the heart of accountability in government programmes lies the process of specifying a set of responsibilities, clearly recording activities of various agents, cross verifying this information and holding agents accountable if there are breaches... -
Usability: Giving information is not enough
Posted on July 16, 2009 |Merely providing more and more information online will not make a government transparent. Usability of information is as critical as the quantity of information shared. -
8 Principles for open government data & beyond
Posted on July 16, 2009 |In an age of digital information, how should government publish electronic data in keeping with high standards of right to information. -
Will the Unique ID project improve accountability?
Posted on July 5, 2009 |Improving accountability depends on political and social initiatives, and not technological solutions. But technology can shape society and politics in limited ways. This article looks briefly at how the Unique id project can help in improving accountability of the government to people in India. -
Obituray to a great soul: T R Vishwanathan (TRV)
Posted on June 23, 2008 |T R Vishwanathan was one of the founding members of the communist movement in South Arcot District I met TRV for an interview two weeks ago. Though he was unwell and very old, he insisted on speaking to me. “I may have a heart attack and pass away anyday”, he said, “if I talk to you, you may take my message to more people”. We went on to have a delightful 4-hour discussion on his legacy. I am sad to say that he has passed away last night and will be cremated today. This post offers a short snap shots... -
Jharkhand police: Enquiry or cover-up in Lalit Mehta’s murder case?
Posted on June 17, 2008 |A report by the Dy. Commissioner, and SP Palamu indicates that police in Palamu is not serious about pursuing Lalit Metha’s murderers One of our colleagues, Lalit Mehta, was brutally murdered in Palamu, Jharkahand recently. A sloppy report has prepared by the Deputy Commissioner and the SP, Palamu indicates that the Jharkhand police is either insincere in pursuing the murderers or actively protecting them. Lalit was in the process of organising a survey on NREGA along with Jean Dreze and a band of volunteers. Instead of pursuing the murders, the report casts aspersions on the survey team and even goes...
