The Sunday Indian : RTI : Go girl, go.

http://www.thesundayindian.com/article.php?type=blog&article_id=10599 Don't catch 'em young PUJA AWASTHI | December 3, 2010 16:36 The adage catch them young apparently does not apply to Uttar Pradesh's Information Commission which has decreed that a nine year old is too small to get any information under the much feted Right to Information Act. The case of of Aishwarya Sharma, a student of the City Montessori School whose petition to the chief minister on how a garbage dump could be allowed in front of a school as it was a potential risk hazard, The CM's office in turn had pointed out that it had received no such letter from the 9 year old prompting her to file another RTI application seeking to know how many such letters went missing regularly from the CM's office. While no response was received from the CM's office, the municipal authorities quietly swept away the garbage dump. The case was much flashed in the local and national media as an example of how transparent the Act had made governance. It now appears that Aishwarya was not even eligible to get such information from the state's information Commission. The state's CIC said that the applicant was prima facie a minor and did not come under the definition of Major under the Indian Majority Act to seek information. Interestingly the RTI Act itself makes no such distinction and only calls for an Indian citizen who can pay the Rs 10 requisite fee to get information from a government department. So exactly how old should Aishwarya be before she seeks information? Old enough to vote? Old enough to marry? Old enough to take the civil services exam? Or old enough to fight an election? We mollycoddle our children denying them sex education under the pretext that it will pollute their young minds. Frown on essentially marketing gimmicks such as Valentine's Day, worse still in rural India we pronounce death sentences for them if they dare marry outside the community. The moot question remains how young is too young? And under the garb of age how long will our children be denied the opportunity to express themselves? Meanwhile the feisty Aishwarya, daughter to one of RTI's most vocal Lucknow based activists Urvashi Sharma is not giving up. After she receives a copy of the SIC's order that she has no locus standi to seek information, she will approach the High Court. Go girl, go.    -- Urvashi Sharma RTI Helpmail( Web Based ) aishwaryaj2010@gmail.com Mobile Rti Helpline 8081898081 ( 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. )