By: Anup Choudhary

Anup Choudhary — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 19:46:16 +0000

LONELY WARRIORS & WINDS OF CHANGE IN BIHAR!……Thanks to Mr. Sanjay for the inspirational talk, very nostalgic too as coming from Bihar, I can relate with the experience of ‘opening up the development’ as shared during the TED talk. Indeed, chronically backward Indian state of Bihar is undergoing ‘de-envelopment’- a transformation with sweeping departure from business-as-usual approach. And key drivers are open knowledge and governance as shared by Mr.Sanjay. Right to information Act-2005 is slowly but firmly changing the governance landscape of Bihar as well as India by empowering common citizen to demand and enforce accessible and accountable bureaucracy and Government. These changes reflect life time passion & commitment of ‘lonely warriors’ as said by Mr Sanjay. The spirit and momentum provided by these lonely warriors is made by well-known personalities like Anna Hazare but more notably by numerous anonymous torch bearers like late father of Mr Sanjay. Armed with constitutional rights and unrestrained knowledge flow of social media, people are coming together and raising their voices for political and developmental accountability from Government. Part of the credit goes to the strategies, practises & advisory support provided by humanitarian organisations like World Bank as well as committed leadership fostering citizen responsive governance. I wish to share an experience of mine when I was part of a UN team in Bihar technically facilitating state Government in geo-mapping key socio-economic indicators in 2009. Our initiative was reciprocated with astonishing support of Government and we were able to assist the state Government in publishing a ‘Planning Atlas’ for entire state for the first time using cutting edge GIS technology. This helped the Government to identify indicator based disparities within the state and hence devise informed strategies and policies. I hope & have firm belief that this journey of engagement and empowerment of the ‘last in the line’ will continue, not only in Bihar but throughout the world where blot of poverty and powerlessness persists. Thanks again for the talk.

By: efilongoe

efilongoe — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:38:49 +0000

Reblogged this on efilospoetry and commented: The issue of corruption has led many to believe that the world is coming to an end. But the success of every individual as well as society lies on the ability for one to use the opportunities at one's disposal with shrewdness and a sense of tenacity, believing that the good could even come from the bad if management of the bad changes hands.

By: efilongoe

efilongoe — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:34:58 +0000

This is great friend. Keep up. Actually the vice of corruption and poverty in society is growing with quite a doubtful alarm. One wonders if things were the same in the mid centuries or worse.

Comments on: An open model for international aid: Sanjay Pradhan at TEDGlobal 2012

By: Anup Choudhary

By: efilongoe

By: efilongoe