During the course of the first week I became familiar with the Transparency International India work environment. After constant dialectic with my directors I was able to understand good governance and corruption in a clearer light. The reading materials such as the Anti-Corruption reports, the IP Pact reports and reports from Transparency International Nepal and Bulgaria acted as a prism into understanding the need for garnering political activism and ethics based governance as a basis for an ideal society.
At a personal level I also become much more comfortable interacting with people and shouldering responsibilities. Desk jobs although mundane made me understand the logistical workings that go into making an organization tick smoothly. It was also very essential in helping me understand the nuance of formalities between organizational interactions.
The second week was by far the most enlightening week with regards to my experience in Transparency International India and also with regards to my fundamentals in understanding society. I came with the aim of understanding public policy making and the issues that affects everyday people at grass-root level.
The first step in this understanding came with my interaction with the vice-chairman of Transparency International India Dr. Agarwal. Dr. Agarwal shared with me his vast experience in the field of economics and good governance by elaborating the issues of the everyday man in an insightful manner. Having a background as an economic advisor to the Indian government he spoke with authority. Our interaction consisted on discussions about abject poverty and how even poverty has taken the form of an art in our Indian society. Begging schools can now be seen in parts of Delhi which teach children how to beg and emotionally manipulate people into giving them money. He was firmly against giving money to beggars as he felt they did not understand the value of money. The only value they understood was that of manipulation.
We further discussed his current project which is implementing the citizens charter which he believed would bring accountability into the public service institutions such as judiciary, hospitals, police etc. He explained at length the already existing wrought that occurs within the system that makes all government services and functioning of bureaucracies inefficient. He suggested that I take a day off from work and visit the courts and question the complainants, the accused, and the staff working there on their first hand experiences of judicial functioning. Following this talk our discussion now shifted to corruption.
In a historical brief Mr. Agarwal explained at length the history of corruption in India. From the landlords to the mighty Gandhi and TATAs he elaborated landmark incidences of corruption that are not normally known to the common man. He followed this up with rhetoric on how Indian Law actually functions which he based on 3 rules: rules are for fools, show me your face and I will show you the rules, discretion is the only rule of law.
Our discussion finally ended back on poverty and how poverty is defined. According to Mr. Agarwal poverty has 3 parameters of definition: relative, comparative and absolute. Most people are oblivious to the real definition of poverty because most of them have never seen absolute poverty.
28th April, 2012 was a very important day for the organization as it was the launch of the ALAC (advocacy and legal advice centre) anti-corruption helpline. It offered free of cost advice to people afflicted by corruption over a hotline. The Chief Guest of this event was none other than the prominent lokayukta of Delhi Justice Manmohan Sareen. With a media laden event I was given the responsibility of introducing mr. Sareen in front of the prominent audience. It was an important step in improving my public speaking skills. But the most telling experience of the night was the speech given by Mr. Sareen. As an active lokayukta of the capital of India he gave first hand insight into the meaning of democracy with a wonderful quote, “A public that is able to express itself is a sign of freedom, a government that listens is a sign of democracy.” He followed this opening rhetoric up with the limitations of his position and how a pro-active lokayukta can overreach it. An important comment that Mr. Sareen made was inclusion of the police force under the ambit of the lokayukta and the lokayukta’s budget free from control of the ministers who in a case of irony are the people that lokayukta investigates.
The launch of the anti-corruption helpline was the underlying theme of week three. Being given the responsibility of interacting with complainants in the hotline and briefing their complaints gave me an opportunity to experience the issues faced by the common man, a fundamental understanding needed in order to learn public policy making. Although an emotionally taxing and frustrating job my directors made me understand the value of practicality. At a personal level I learned how to balance sympathy which I had for every caller and the limitations of the organization in helping them. I also learned how to tackle frustration when faced with the inability to help a caller but most importantly I took some very important lessons in justice, equality and equitability needed in society.
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