Constitutional Interpretation by the Judiciary

This chapter traces the trajectory of ideas that emanated from the judiciary since the early 1950s. The ideational movement within the judiciary coincides with the first two phases. This chapter discusses significant judicial cases in which the Supreme Court has interpreted Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India as inherently containing the right to know. Initially ideas on openness from the judiciary emerged in a nascent form where the judicial verdicts established the linkage between the freedom of press and the importance of information flow and dissemination in a democracy. Later, the judiciary moved beyond the specifics of the press freedom and examined the question of openness in government affairs, challenging the nested norm of secrecy. This interpretation provides the link to the long-drawn process of emerging ideas on openness emanating from within the state.

Introduction

This chapter introduces the book by presenting the case for institutional change. It starts by explaining what institutions are and subsequently argues how RTI is a valid case of institutional change. It poses the core research puzzle and the guiding research questions. It engages with the existing alternate scholarly explanations, point to the gaps, and suggests an alternate explanation. It proposes an endogenous model of institutional change that builds on gradual and incremental ideational shifts over time to finally reach a ‘tipping point’. In this chapter the entire book plan is laid out by indicating that this volume, spread over six chapters, deals with two distinct yet interrelated layers of the ideational and policy moves within the state apparatus and related institutions. The socio-political processes within both state and society and the role of global norms are part of these phases/layers.

Conclusion

This chapter draws upon the evidence presented in the book and provides four broad conceptual points. First, it argues that the institutional change is a result of an incremental, slow-moving process of ‘ideas’ emerging endogenously from within the state resulting in a ‘tipping point’. Second, it points towards the role of ideas within the state. Third, it shows the complementarity of the State and society and stresses on the significance of an epistemic network. Fourth, the influence of global norms is acknowledged but needs to be seen in conjunction with the endogenous socio-political processes at the domestic level. These arguments tie the chapters together conceptually and provide a roadmap for future research on the subject.

Social and Political Processes of State and Society

This Chapter examines the processes around state and society, traces the role of social networks outside the state realm, and conceptualizes these processes as the complementarity of state and society, where strong ideational linkages led to the formation of an ‘epistemic network’. These processes played a significant role in the final phase of the enactment of the Right to Information Act. The period covered in this chapter coincides with the latter half of the second phase. This chapter establishes that mainstream politics converged with the emerging socio-political processes led by the elite within the social movement, judiciary, the press, bureaucracy, and the academia. This convergence needs to be viewed as one of state–society synergy, where the collective ‘epistemic push’ of actors from both within the state and society ‘tips over’ the institution from ‘secrecy’ to ‘openness’.

Do Global Norms Matter?

This chapter examines the role of global norms in institutional change. The nature and extent of the impact of global norm diffusion on the domestic discourse is traced in this chapter. The global–national processes around global norms on transparency, accountability, and access to information are spread over two phases outlined in this manuscript. This chapter shows that while the transparency norms evolved endogenously, they benefitted from the demonstration effect of international norms. At the same time the endogenous movement of ideas played a substantial role in localizing the global norms. Norm diffusion in this case was not part of the coercive conditionalities of multilateral agencies; it was adapted in conjunction with the ideational churning at the national level.

Changing State Thinking

This chapter examines the emerging processes in the second phase (1989–2005), which is treated as the second and final layer. It shows that the incremental effect of emerging ideas on the state’s thinking resulted in tangible policy movements and led to institutional change. We show that in the final stage of layering the transition from ‘opposition’ to ‘mainstream’ politics was consequential in institutional change. Nascent ideas emanating from the ‘opposition politics’ got embedded within the ‘mainstream politics’ resulting in political commitment and tangible policy actions. The rudimentary ideas on the norm of openness matured and were consolidated within the state thinking and reached a tipping point in 2005. The weight and momentum of ideas incrementally rendered the issues of openness and access to official information a sine qua non within the state.

Nascent Ideas to Embedded Norms

This chapter covers Phase 1 (1947–89) or what is termed as the first layer of institutional change. In this stage, the norm of secrecy was securely ‘locked in’ as an institution. At the same time, a counter-narrative of ideas on ‘openness’ emerged on the fringes of policy discourse, albeit in a nascent form. The state pushed for secrecy; yet, ‘openness’ was demanded by some technocratic elements within the state and Members of Parliament (MP) from opposition parties, who demanded greater openness regarding the internal affairs of states. These nascent ideas created pulls and pressures and deepened the ideational churning on openness and transparency within the state. The process of ideational churning can be likened with an ‘institutional cropping’ where the seeds of norm of ‘openness’ were in the process of being planted on the policy periphery.