Risky aberration  The implementation of the Right to Information Act (RTI Act) a couple of years ago has brought a huge hope for the Indian masses as they now have the power to know the doubtful details of all acts of omission and commission, including monetary transactions indulged in by those in their official capacity. The main reason for which corruption has eaten into every conceivable field in India today had been the lack of any transparency for the public by which they could gather the details of official acts and make the officers accountable for the actions or inactions. However, with the coming of the RTI Act people now have access to any official record having relevance to the people. In fact, due to lack of awareness and illiteracy, the mass people are still to learn in detail about the power they wield through the RTI Act. The Act is potent enough to bring down corruption drastically as most of the corrupt people we have amidst us today would not like to get themselves stamped as corrupt, officially. But the truth is that some people are utilizing the RTI Act with the intention of earning some quick bucks from the ‘black coffers’ that are in plenty everywhere. Therefore, it’s time for a coherent attempt by a group of genuinely honest people to highlight the misdeeds of government under the provisions of the transparency laws. It will be like allowing their dirty linen to be washed in public. This Act has a lot of promise to curb the menace of grave misdeeds and rampant corruption. But the recent verdict of the State Transparency panel against a request seeking records of public distribution system where large-scale misdeeds were suspected does not augur well for the future of RTI Act. However, let’s consider it as just an inadvertant aberration that would not be repeated.

Knowledge game  Srimanta Shankar Academy became the proud winners of the Guwahati city finals of ‘Limca Book of Records Quiz, 2009’ recently. The event, held at Guru Nanak English High School, Guwahati, saw participation of 42 city schools with six making it to the city finals, where Don Bosco School was adjudged the runners-up. The other finalists were Maria’s Public School, Army School, Kendriya Vidyalaya Khanapara and Happy Child School. The young quiz enthusiasts from Srimanta Shankar Academy will now compete with the winners from 74 other schools from across the country in the semifinals, which will be followed by the grand finale to be conducted by renowned quizmaster Derek O’Brien. The national finals are slated to be held in December. This multicity initiative from Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd has been launched in partnership with ‘Know & Grow with Derek’, founded by Derek O’Brien, and it involves participation of young geniuses from class VIII to XII. The quiz aptly takes its lead name from the Limca Book of Records (LBR) as the record book, another initiative from the beverage giant, celebrates the outstanding achievements of Indians across the globe being a source of inspiration, especially for the country’s youth. The LBR quiz is being organized across 3,000 schools in 75 cities, divided into four zones — North, South, East and West. Niranjan Kataki, Area Human Resources Manager, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd, who gave away the prizes at the Guwahati city finals said, “LBR Quiz is in continuation of Coca-Cola India’s vision to promote knowledge and awareness amongst the young minds of the country. And what better way to ignite young minds than to make them all a part of a quiz. We received an overwhelming response to Limca Book of Records Quiz last year. This year we are proud to take this initiative to the next level by organizing it in over 3,000 schools across 75 cities.”

Simanta / Mridumoloy