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Original Articles

Accounts and accountability: Theoretical implications of the right-to-information movement in India

Pages 603-622 | Published online: 25 Aug 2010

References

  • 1990 . 'The rise of people's movements' . Social Action , 40 (3) : 232 – 240 . In using this descriptor, the MKSS follows a stream of thinking on the role of voluntary organisations in Indian politics which can be traced to the theorising of Rajni Kothari, who coined the term in the mid 1980s. For a more recent elaboration of this concept, see his
  • Mander , Harsh and Joshi , Abha Singhai . 1998 . 'The movement for right to information in India: people's power for the control of corruption' . paper presented to the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative Conference . January 1998 , Harare . In addition to protesting against collusion between ration-shop owners and government inspectors, the MKSS operates its own ration shops. An experiment in 1996 by an innovative civil servant in the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh brought transparency principles to the operation of the PDS in the region under his authority. He issued an order requiring ration shops to prepare duplicate copies of monthly registers of all stocks, sales and ration cards. These were then deposited in sub-district offices and made available for inspection or photocopying. See
  • 1998 . 'Public hearings: why and how?' . in Transparency: Bulletin of the Right to Information Movement , 3 (1) : 3
  • 1996 . 'Three styles in social audit' . Lokayan Bulletin , 12 May : 35 – 44 . Mukhopadhyay also argues that the participatory approach to auditing government expenditure is more effective than formal audits in illuminating local spending discrepancies, which are elided in massive formal audits. See his
  • Mander , Harsh . 1996 . “ 'Battles for people's power' ” . mimeo
  • Jenkins , Rob . 1999 . Democratic Politics and Economic Reform in India , Cambridge : Cambridge University Press . forthcoming
  • Galtung , J . 1994 . Human Rights in Another Key , Cambridge : Polity Press . For an overview of the changing nature of thinking on rights, see
  • Davies , Susanna . 1998 . “ 'Democratization and sustainable rural livelihoods' ” . In The Democratic Developmental State , Edited by: Robinson , Mark and White , Gordon . 289 Oxford : Oxford University Press .
  • Ibid, p. 291.
  • Ibid, p. 289.
  • Jayal , Niraja Gopal . 'The state and democracy in India, or what happened to welfare, secularism and development?' . paper presented at the 'India 50' Conference . September 25-28 . University of Sussex . See, for instance,
  • Mohanty , Manoranjan . 1998 . “ 'introduction' ” . In People's Rights: Social Movements and the State in the Third World , Edited by: Mohanty , M and Partha Nath Mukherji, with Olle Tornquist . 22 – 23 . New Delhi : Sage .
  • Ibid, p. 23.
  • Nigam , Aditya . 1998 . 'Right to work: reading "rights" through discourse on "work"' . Economic and Political Weekly , 31 January : PE – 16 .
  • Merrett , Christopher . 1995 . “ 'In a state of ambivalence: the case of freedom of information in South Africa' ” . In Emerging Democracies and Freedom of Information , Edited by: Turf , Barbara . 160 London : Library Association Publishing .
  • Sathe , S P . 1997 . 'The right to information: pre-condition for a transparent government' . Anubhav , February : 6
  • Ibid.
  • Chambers , Robert . 1997 . Whose Reality Counts: Putting the First Last , Rugby : Intermediate Technology Development Group .
  • Estrella , Marisol and Gaventa , John . 'Who counts reality: participatory monitoring and evaluation' . paper prepared for the International Workshop on Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation: Experiences and Lessons, held at the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction . November 24-29 , Cavite , Philippines . For a thorough review of the literature, see
  • Fox , Jonathan . 1997 . 'Transparency for accountability: civil-society monitoring of multilateral development banks' anti-poverty projects'' . Development in Practice , 7 (2) : 167 – 72 .
  • Mosse , Robert . 1993 . Authority, Gender and Knowledge: Theoretical Reflections on the Practice of Participatory Rural Appraisal , London : Overseas Development Institute .
  • Pavarala , Vinod . 1997 . 'Participatory development, new social movements and the right to information' . Exchanges , 18 September
  • Bhatt , Anil . 1995 . 'Voluntary action in India: role, trends and challenges' . Economic and Political Weekly , 22 April : 870
  • 1996 . Special Issue on 'Liberalisation and the new corruption' . IDS Bulletin , 27 (2) (edited by Barbara Harriss-White and Gordon White)
  • Paul , S . December 1994 . Does Voice Matter? For Public Accountability, Yes , Policy Research Working Paper No 1388 December , Washington DC : World Bank . These accountability mechanisms, labelled 'hierarchical control' by Samuel Paul, emphasise supervision and control of service providers through an upward chain of command, rather than through the participation of the public in key decisions. See
  • Kopits , Georg and Craig , Jori . January 1998 . Transparency, in Government Operations , JMF Occasional Paper No 158 January ,
  • Charlton , Sue Ellen , Everett , Jana and Slaudt , Kathleen , eds. 1989 . Women, The State. and Development , New York : State University of New York Press . Discussions of women and civil society in developing countries which make this point include
  • Tripp , Aili Mari . 1994 . 'Gender, political participation and the transformation of associational life in Uganda and Tanzania'' . African Studies Review , 37 (1) : 107 – 31 .
  • Gray , Cheryl W and Kaufman , Daniel . 1998 . 'Corruption and development' . Finance and Development , March final paragraph
  • Balakrishnan , Suresh and Sekhar , Sita . May 1998 . Public Services and the Urban Poor in Mumbai: A Report Card , May , 24 Bangalore : Public Affairs Centre .
  • Ibid.
  • UNDP . Corruption and Good Governance 80
  • Gray and Kaufman . “ 'Corruption and development' ” . final paragraph

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