Campagining Coordinator, Lok Satta

Without a strong civil society and continuous monitoring in addition to citizen activism, a democracy cannot survive, opines Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, the campaigning co-ordinator of voluntary organization Lok Satta that works in the governance reforms sector. Jayaprakash, popularly known as JP, too, was strongly affected by the infamous 1975 national emergency, just like the great opponent of the emergency Jayaprakash Narayan who gave a clarion call for total revolution. A 1980-batch IAS officer, Jayaprakash, however, quit his job late in 1996 following a highly impressive track record. What is special about Jayaprakash is that he left his IAS job not   because he  was disenchanted  or disillusioned. On the other hand, he

Q. What is exactly the status of Lok Satta? What is its real mission?
A. Technically you can call it a voluntary organization or even a NGO. But right now it is a movement. That apart, it is a professional body, which is developing and spreading knowledge in the sector of governance. Our message to common people is to assert collectively with knowledge. Through our concerted efforts we try to make the government agree for reforms.

Q. This idea of a civil society is an American concept that has become quite relevant in a
post-industrial society.
A. Yes, civil society was an obsession in America even hundred years before. Americans are usually members of one association or another. Even Alexi de Tocqueville observed the same 150 years ago. According to him, not only Americans are joiners, but they tend to belong to more political groups than do people of other countries. So in my opinion, the civil society was much more vibrant in US a hundred years back compared to now. Now the system has become efficient and a lot of economic opportunities are available for individuals. So naturally the role of civil society in
US has become less active compared to earlier era’s.

Q. Could you elaborate on your decision to quit civil services?
A. I joined the civil service because that was the only option for guys like us that time. Politics as an
option because of overplay of money and muscle was completely ruled out. But my decision to quit was not due to the fact that I was frustrated or disillusioned. I was enjoying my time as a civil servant or else I could not have achieved the results which are exceptional by any standard. As a collector when I implemented government programs my deliverance was the best in the state. But I always had a strong notion of public service. What drew people close to me was my approach. I sincerely believed that I am their servant and that too in a messy country. Moreover, all through my stint as a bureaucrat I never took any nonsense form any body including the politicians. But after being in the IAS for couple of years I more or less decided to quit. It was just a matter of time. And timing depends upon circumstance. The choice was between staying inside the system and trying for reforms or challenge the system and force the government to go for reforms. I chose the later. Civil service was an option by default. It was certainly not a career option for me.

Q. Did you join the services with a lot of expectation to change things?
A.Change is a political issue. That apart, it was the 1975 emergency that changed my perspective about the country dramatically. Like millions of other Indians emergency was a defining moment in my life. I had pinned a lot of hopes on the 1977 non-Congress experiment at the center. But when that experiment failed I felt quite disillusioned. It left me really embittered and subsequently I joined the services. Like me a whole generation of Indians have been conditioned by the events of 1975 emergency.

Q.Why did the experiment fail in 1977?
A.At that time the socialist mindset pervaded the mental horizon. There was no clarity regarding what specific role the government has to play. To further compound the problem, Indira Gandhi became their major obsession. As far as JP’s call for total revolution was concerned, it was just a concept. Here also there was no clarity.

Q. Are you a staunch admirer of the late Jayaprakash Narayan?
A. Yes I admired him a lot. Millions of Indians admire JP.

Q. Why was the 1975 emergency such a forgotten chapter as far as popular memory is concerned?
A. We Indians do not have a strong sense of history. We do not bother about truth. For us there is no single truth but several truths. It is correct that the individual rights during emergency came under great peril but the subsequent governments were not any better either. So there is not much reference to the excesses during that time. But emergency still haunts a whole generation particularly those who were in their late teens during that time.

Q. Can you sum up the core activities of Lok Satta?
A. Our two main areas of activities are citizen activism and advocacy for reforms. We have a charter called `People’s Watch. It mobilizes people to fight against mal-administration and corruption and also make them press for better services. We train young people to mobilize public opinion on such kind of issues. Across the state we now have a brand image. That apart, we also train the rural youth about the system. We have something called `People' Charter which serves as a knowledge capsule for people about essential public services. For example, if someone wants a birth certificate our capsule shows him the way. Otherwise these people would lose their identity in the corridors of a corrupt bureaucracy. Because of our initiative, now there are citizen charters in nine government departments’s which are dealing with basic services.

Q. Has your campaign yielded any concrete results so far?
A. Oh! Definitely. Because of our campaign now the meters at petrol filling stations in the city have been set right. To verify the fuel content we simply shed our inhibitions one day and thronged the fuel stations with our pre-measured cans. Our verification revealed that there was a considerable discrepancy. Now the government has woken up to the issue. In another incident, our Kukatpally unit scuttled the bid of corrupt officials. In Bhagyanagr colony at the same locality, municipality approval for several thousands house plans was not coming through. In fact, out of a total of 8000 house plans only 1500 were cleared quite arbitrarily without any order. When our unit took up the issue, the government was forced to bring in regularity into the whole process. Even the bribe money, which had been paid by some, in exchange of favour, has been refunded. Schemes like toilets for 1 million households and parents committee in government-run schools were due to our pressure. We are also partially responsible for farmers committee for irrigation.

Q. What are your other activities aimed at ensuring smooth functioning of a democracy?
A. We are for people’s monitoring of elections. This includes a whole range of activities. Our objective is to acquire insight into the electoral process. At the same time the effort is to make suggestion for electoral reforms.

Q. What about your future agenda?
A. We are working on the right to information issue. And soon it will be materialized. Right to information is basically a poor people's issue even though they may not understand the expression.

Q.What are the basic problems of governance in AP?
A. Look there has been a deterioration in our status.Fifteen years back AP used to be one of the leading states in the country. Now the governance is highly centralized. The industrial infrastructure is not adequate which is in fact keeping the prospective investors away from AP. The literacy is also a trouble area, which is among the lowest. Corruption has also crept into the system.

Q. What is your view about the coming years. Would there be any real reforms?
A. I am optimistic about reforms. India has a large chunk of young population. That apart, people want social change. This system is unsustainable. The greatest thing that has happened in the recent past is access to technology for mass communications. Nobody likes status quo now. Governments are going bankrupt. Without fundamental reforms, even a Prime Minister cannot make a difference. Reforms hold the key to good governance.

Rudy Mohan