Abstract
Since 2004 state has reaffirmed its commitment towards ‘rights-based development’ that granted legal rights to the citizens by enacting laws, such as Right to Information (transparency and accountability), National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (right to food and work), Right to Education and Forest Rights Act (for the tribal citizens living in the forest areas). It can be argued that there is fundamental change in the welfare regime in India in terms of redefining the citizenship-state linkages on at least four counts. First, the Supreme Court rulings and interpretation of constitution in new ways have resulted in crossovers between directive principles and fundamental rights, the former non-justiciable had now become justiciable. Secondly, the legality of the rights has changed the concept of welfare from an ‘end user’ or ‘beneficiary perspective’ to citizens with legal rights. Thirdly, welfare is now legally enforceable and demandable with a well worked out legal system (targeted goals versus due focus on elaborately worked out means and processes), focusing on equity, non-discrimination, transparency, accountability and participation (core of rights-based development). Hence, the citizens can now demand rights and accountability from the state. Fourthly, the programmatic framework of ‘welfare’ can be withdrawn but the legally supported welfare regime cannot be withdrawn. On these accounts, the changed welfare regime is expected to have a direct impact on the inclusion of the excluded. Relevant questions need to be raised, such as: who uses these rights, how do they use it and what form do these legislations take when they hit the ground-level implementation? In this context, this chapter studies the implementation of Right to Information Act (RTIA) in Bihar, a state in eastern India, to examine the progression and deepening of institutional change.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
Corbridge et al. 2013, p.104.
- 2.
For our purpose, North (1990: 3) provides one of the most comprehensive definitions: institutions ‘are the rules of the game in a society, or more formally, are the humanly devised constraints that shape human interaction’ as opposed to organisations. Institutions ‘reduce uncertainty by providing a structure to everyday life’, and include ‘both formal rules such as laws and constitutions, and informal constraints such as conventions and norms’.
- 3.
The Central Civil Services (Conduct Rules), 1964 prohibited the bureaucracy from sharing information with the general public. Accessed at http://www.persmin.gov.in/DOPT_ActRules_CCS%28Conduct%29_Index.asp.
- 4.
Section 22 of the RTI Act says: ‘The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act.’ Accessed at http://www.righttoinformation.gov.in/webactrti.htm.
- 5.
For a causal story of this institutional change, see, Jha (2018b).
- 6.
For institutional progression see, Jha (2018a).
- 7.
Admittedly, Bihar State information Commission (SIC) has published its annual reports only till 2011–2012. Hence, we are using the latest published figures available, that is, 2011–2012 from the Bihar SIC.
- 8.
The Use of Right to Information Laws in India: A Rapid Survey, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Based on Annual Report of State Information Commissions 2011–2012. October 2013. p. 44.
- 9.
Bihar Statistical Handbook 2010, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Department of Planning and Development, p. 2.
- 10.
Economic Survey of Bihar 2015, Government of Bihar. p. 275.
- 11.
Bihar Statistical Handbook 2010, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Department of Planning and Development, Government of Bihar p. 11–14.
- 12.
Economic Survey of Bihar 2015, Government of Bihar. p. 21.
- 13.
Ibid. p. 259.
- 14.
Ibid. p. 260.
- 15.
Brass (1974, p. 51–114).
- 16.
Jha (2003, p. 127).
- 17.
For this purpose, I used the applications which reached for appeal at the State Information Commission (SIC), Patna, which maintains a database of all the applications received and the related orders. SIC database was used for two reasons. First, only those applications where the information was refused in the first instance reach SIC, which provides us with uniformity in the application process. Secondly, SIC maintains a central database which not only has the actual application but also has copies of all the related orders from the SIC. Such database of applications does not exist at the district level, where the record keeping is significantly poor. 10% of the total sample size is considered to be a reliable and representative sample. In this light, I selected 10% as the ‘representative sample’ of the total number of applications in the SIC database from the two districts of Darbhanga and Supaul using ‘systematic random sampling method’. Hence, for instance, total number of applications from Darbhanga was 1000 from which 100 applications were selected. Similarly, I selected 70 applications from Supaul as the database had 700 applications. Each selected application was then coded around the categories/parameters discussed above.
- 18.
For an elaboration of Varchaswa see, Jha (2018a).
- 19.
Kumar (2004, p. 266).
- 20.
Pai (2007, p. 165).
- 21.
Frankel (1989, p. 2).
- 22.
Rao (1989, p. 39–41).
- 23.
Bhattacharya (2009, p. 12).
References
Bhattacharya, S., & Jha, R. (2009). Economic growth, law and corruption: evidence from India. ASARC Working Paper, The Australian National University, September 2009. Retrieved at https://crawford.anu.edu.au/acde/asarc/pdf/papers/2009/WP2009_15.pdf.
Boettke, P. J., Coyne, C. J., & Leeson, P. T. (2008). Institutional stickiness and the new development economics. American Journal of Economics and Sociology , 67(2), 331–358.
Brass, P. R. (1974). Language, religion, and politics in North India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Corbridge, S., Harriss, J., & Jeffrey, C. (2013). India today: Economy, politics and society. Cambridge: Wiley.
Dahl, R. A. (1963). Modern Political Analysis. NJ: Prentice Hall.
Eckstein, H. (1975). Case study and theory in political science. In F. I. Greenstein (Ed.), The Handbook of Political Science (pp. 79–138). Reading: Addison Wesley.
Frankel, F. R. (1989). Introduction. In. F. R. Frankel & M. S. A. Rao (Eds.), Dominance and state power in modern India: Decline of social order (Vol. I, pp. 2). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Jha, U. (2003). Land, labour and power: Agrarian Crisis and the State in Bihar (1937–52). New Delhi: Aakar Books.
Jha, H. (2018a). Emerging politics of accountability: Institutional progression of the right to information act. Economic & Political Weekly, 53(10), 47–54.
Jha H. (2018b). State processes, ideas, and institutional change: The case of the Right to information Act in India. Pacific Affairs, 91(2), 309–328.
King, G., Keohane, R. O., & Verba, S. (1994). Designing social inquiry: Scientific inference in qualitative research. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Kumar, S. (2004). New phase in backward caste politics in bihar, 1990-2000. In G. Shah (Ed.), Caste and Democratic Politics in India (p. 266). London: Anthem Press.
Mukherji, R. (2013). Ideas, interests, and the tipping point: Economic change in India. Review of International Political Economy, 20(2), 363–389.
Mukherji, R. (2014). Globalization of Deregulation: Ideas, Interests, and Institutional Change in India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
North, D. (1990). Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Pai, S. (2007). Political process in Uttar Pradesh: Identity, economic reforms and governance (p. 165). Pearson Education India.
Page, S. E. (2006). Path dependence. Quarterly Journal of Political Science,1(1), 87–115.
Rao, M. S. A. (1989). Some conceptual issues in the study of caste, class, ethnicity and dominance, In. F. R. Frankel & M. S. A. Rao (Eds.), Dominance and state power in modern India: Decline of social order (Vol. I, pp. 39–41). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Roberts, A. (2010). A Great and Revolutionary Law? The First Four Years of India’s Right to Information Act. Public Administration Review, 70(6), 925-933.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jha, H. (2019). Emerging Politics of Accountability: Sub-national Reflections from Bihar. In: Sekher, M., Carciumaru, R. (eds) Including the Excluded in South Asia. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9759-3_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9759-3_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-32-9758-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-32-9759-3
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)