THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION
One of the main aspects of democracy is freedom of speech. It is inevitable that the people should be allowed to form their opinion and express them through various Medias. But the problem is that if there is a restriction on this the people cannot form their opinion about the nation and the political and economic developments of the country. It will adversely affect the smooth functioning of democracy.
The age of voting right has been now reduced from 21 to 18. It is intended that the young people should know what is going on in the country. Their opinion can be formed only if they get all information related to the developments in the country without restriction.
When a person, a family, group or a party remains in power for a long time, he or it wants to stick to the chair. Long rule generally begets corruption.
In the past, it was possible in communist countries or in countries ruled by the military to withdraw information from the people. But it is not possible in democratic countries like India, Great Briton, France or the USA. The people have the right to know what the government does. Nothing can be kept secret in the name of “the interest or security of the nation”. It is rather said that in the most of the backward countries people have neither the right to form their government nor of expressing their ideas nor of gathering information about what the government does.
Although India is a democratic country, the freedom of expression is at low ebb. People are unaware of the secret behind many matters relating even to the security of nation since independence. The true information in many cases of corruption like Bofors and of murders like that of Mrs. Indira Gandhi was not passed on to the people. As the parliament had a brutal majority of the ruling party, the opposition could not do anything. Only one or two newspapers in the country dared to reveal the truth. But that to, was limited to a great extent. If the conditions remain the same, Indian democracy may change into a dictatorship.