Jan Lokpal Bill- A Ray of Hope

Corruption is a common word which has become a topic of discussion in all areas of life, corner of the world and by all people of the globe. Greed for money and position and the corrupt nature and mentality acquired by birth are the factors operate and inspire to promote and live in corruption. The corruption is the result of a corrupted mind. Things around are so corrupted and it so easy to get away things which are next impossible to acquire and accomplish. These generally promotes corruption. Corruption comes under many different guises: bribery, misappropriations of public goods, nepotism (favoring family members for jobs and contracts), and influencing the formulation of laws or regulations for private gain are common examples of wrongdoing or misconduct.

Corruption decreases the amount of wealth in a country and lowers the standard of living. Corruption affects you even if you don't come into direct contact with it. For example, corruption discourages businesses from operating in a corrupt setting, reducing the overall wealth in a country. It reduces the amount of money the government has available to pay workers and buy supplies, such as books, medicine and computers. It distorts the way the government uses its money, lowering the quality of the services it provides: schools, health clinics, roads, sewer systems, police. It allows those with money or connections to bend the law or government rules in their favor. It undermines everyone's trust in government. In order to combat this disease called corruption in a country like India something concrete is wanted and Jan Lokpal bill is the best thing which is available to help us, if not remove corruption at least to limit it.

The Jan Lokpal Bill (also referred to as the citizens' ombudsman bill) is a proposed anti-corruption law designed to effectively deter corruption, redress grievances and protect the victims. It is drawn up by prominent civil society activists seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body that would investigate corruption cases, complete the investigation within a year and envisages trial in the case getting over in the next one year. Drafted by Justice Santosh Hegde (former Supreme Court Judge and present Lokayukta of Karnataka), Prashant Bhushan (Supreme Court Lawyer) and Arvind Kejriwal (RTI activist), the draft Bill envisages a system where a corrupt person found guilty would go to jail within two years of the complaint being made and his ill-gotten wealth being confiscated. It also seeks power to the Jan Lokpal to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without government permission.

The Lokpal Bill has been earlier drafted but never got passed. The first Lokpal Bill was passed in the 4th Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament, in 1969 but stalled in the Rajya Sabha. Subsequent Lokpal bills were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and 2008 but all failed to pass. Following the four day Anna Hazare fasting struggle, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated that the Lokpal Bill would be introduced in the 2011 monsoon session of parliament.

 The Jan Lokpal Bill provides for an institution called Lokpal at the centre and Lokayukta in each state will be set up. Like Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations. Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore: Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years. 

The Government of India has also come up with their own version of the bill. But their version is being criticized a lot. Government's Lokpal will not have any power to either initiate action suo motu in any case or even receive complaints of corruption from public. Whereas the Jan Lokpal proposes full powers to initiate investigations suo motu in any case and also to directly entertain complaints from the public. The government's Lokpal will not have any police powers and it will not be able to register an FIR.  Whereas the Jan Lokpal proposes police powers and would be able to register FIR, proceed with criminal investigations and launch prosecution. The government's Lokpal won't have powers to investigate any case against Prime Minister, which deals with foreign affairs, security and defense. But the Jan Lokpal Bill proposes no such bar on Lokpal's powers. The Government's Lokpal will not have jurisdiction over bureaucrats and government officers. But Jan Lokpal will have jurisdiction over politicians, officials and even judges. It also proposes merging the entire vigilance machinery into Lokpal.

With Jan Lokpal Bill, further scams or leaks will be stopped. In case the JanLokpal Bill is allowed to come and stay then definitely in a short time many scams will be ripped open and money robbed will be recovered, that itself is big revenue. The present Jan Lokpal Bill may sound a bit utopian, but we must remember one thing that we, the people of India are the Jan of this Lokpal Bill and it is in our hands to make it realistic. All that laziness and all that fear which stops many of us from complaining against the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats has to be done away with.

Corruption is continuously increasing in India and due to this increased corruption talented people are not getting good jobs in government sectors because in every field of institution there is a bacteria called Ghoos means official people will only work when you will offer them some good money then only they will work. From top to bottom almost everybody is corrupt, some people are honest but corrupt people cover them in every section. This is one of the reasons why brain drain is increasing in India. Jan Lokpal bill is very much necessary to remove corruption from India. If Jan Lokpal bill will pass in the Lok Sabha then this institution will be have power to give punishment to all the guilty people, which is the only way to remove corruption from India.

Further information about the Jan Lokpal Bill may be obtained from:

1. India against Corruption

2. Salient Features of Jan Lokpal Bill

3. What is Jan Lokpal Bill?

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Right To Education- A Human Right

Education, is it Important? Of course it is. It is very easy to explain the necessity of education in one’s life. No human beings are able to survive properly without education. By the means of education only one’s potential can be used to maximum extent. Education tells men how to think, how to work properly, how to make decision.  Then why is it difficult for all to gain it. Why the chosen few only have an easy access to education? Human beings around the world live their lives on their own terms and make their own identity and yes it is education which helps in the development of this identity and one’s personality. So this means education is and should be an essential right to be possessed by all. But sadly it is not the case everywhere.

Education and Human Rights whether they be Civil, Political, Social, Economic or Cultural have a direct relation. Even after more than 60 years of independence, the literacy rate in India is still very low. This rate is indeed shameful for a country like India which dreams to be a super power of the world in the 21st Century. The significance of right to education can very well be demonstrated from the fact that it is indeed a basic human right which everyone should be aware of and allowed to enjoy.

People say they did not have an easy access to their right to get educated so how can they even think about sending their own children to schools. Will they be able to do it this time? To this question the answer lies in the Right To Education which has been incorporated in the Constitution of India through 86^th Amendment Act in 2009.  It received Presidential assent and was notified as law on 3 Sept 2009 as The Children's Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act. The law came into effect in the whole of India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1 April 2010, the first time in the history of India a law was brought into force by a speech by the Prime Minister. In his speech, Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India stated that, "We are committed to ensuring that all children, irrespective of gender and social category, have access to education. An education that enables them to acquire the skills, knowledge, values and attitudes necessary to become responsible and active citizens of India." The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act (RTE), describes the modalities of the provision of free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 in India under Article 21-A of the Indian Constitution. India became one of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child when the act came into force on 1 April 2010.

Art 21-A inserted in Fundamental Rights as per 86^th Constitutional Amendment states:

“The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 6 to 14 years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine.”

The Act promises to ensure education for all children between 6 and 14, a whopping 22 crore children, out of which nearly 1.1 crore are out of school and the act makes it obligatory for the appropriate governments to ensure that every child gets free elementary education. The Act mandates that even private educational institutions have to reserve 25 per cent seats for children from weaker sections. The Finance Commission has provided Rs 25,000 crore to the states for implementation of the Act.

The Act also provides that no child shall be detained, expelled, or required to pass a State Council until the completion of basic education. There is also a provision of children’s right to education for the right to special training for school leavers to make them equal with students of similar age. It prohibits unrecognized schools from practice, and makes provisions for no donation or capitation fees and no interview of the child or parent for admission. The Act also provides that no child shall be held back, expelled, or required to pass a board examination until the completion of elementary education. There is also a provision for special training of school drop-outs to bring them up to par with students of the same age. The Right to Education of persons with disabilities until 18 years of age has also been made a fundamental right. The Act provides for the establishment of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and State Commissions for supervising proper implementation of the act, looking after complaints and protection of Child Rights. It also says that qualification for appointment of teachers is to be laid down by academic authority authorised by Central Government. It prohibits deployment of teachers for non-education purpose, except for decennial census, disaster relief and elections to Parliament, State Legislatures and Local Bodies.

Why the Children's Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act is considered a revolution? It is because in a country like India, education is the only way to development, prosperity and success.  The right to education has been recognised since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. Article 26 of the Declaration proclaims that: ‘Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.’ Considering this India as a nation can definitely benefit from this Act provided the people of India are not unaware of it.

For more Deatils about the Right to Education Act please refer to-

1. Government of India Database for Documents Relating to RTE.

2. The Right to Education Act Official Govt. Gazette

3.Right to Education.in

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