Social Justice as Demonstration of Truth: An Oral History Analysis of People’s Participation in the Struggle for the Right to Information in Rajasthan, India

Abstract

The present study uses oral history to understand the nature of people’sparticipation at the public hearings (Jan Sunwai) that played a catalytic role inthe people’s movement for the right to information in Rajasthan between1994 and 2005. At these hearings, the people— marginalised by caste, classand gender– expressed their grievances openly before their electedrepresentatives and the officers of the state. The public records were sociallyaudited, revealing large scale corruption in panchayat expenditure.