RTI for Research: Using the Right to Information Act, 2005 for Research in India

Preface of the Book: 

As a researcher in India, I was looking for some answers for my research.  I started to look for the answers and reached a point where the answers were in big dusty files and computer systems lodged in some corner of a building where entry was prohibited for the commoners. In an attempt to reach the authorities, I tried many options. I tried going to the office, tried using acquaintance to reach resource persons and  even tried to approach these people through social media and email. Kept waiting for answers. Never got replies. In some cases, there were replies, but no information.  This went on for a while. Then Eureka! I filed a request using The Right to Information Act, 2005 and my inbox had answers. Signed and certified by the same people who didn’t reply earlier.  Here am I presenting this technique for researchers in India. So? Are you in a Research Program in India? Or studying about India?  Well, you will be surprised to know that there exists a method for researchers to obtain information from Government Departments in India using a law called the Right to Information Act, 2005. This law is mostly used in India for public advocacy and transparency, but this book brings forth a promising use of the law by researchers researching on areas from across the disciplines. This book frees the mind of the researcher to look at the RTI Act as a tool to obtain information which otherwise would be very difficult to obtain from the Government Departments. A step by step guide filled with important practical suggestions for you to successfully draft your first application in a way that the Public Authority gives you the information that you require for your research. 

Written by a researcher in India who had used the RTI act a decade ago. Used then for social activism, knowing very little that he would use it later for important research in Disease Spread in the Built Environment.  If you are a researcher in India, of any stream or discipline, you must read this book, designed like a manual, as an important part of your research methodology and incorporate RTI in your Research Design. Who know what information that you get through the RTI can lead to the next big thing in Research!