Aruna Roy 2: If I'm fighting for accountability,the first person I should make accountable is myself

What this episode covers

This is part 2 of Aruna Roy’s story. Listen to part 1 on our feed. In part 1, Aruna spoke about her early life and upbringing, her career with the Indian Administrative Service and her move to Tilonia, Rajasthan to work at the Social Work Research Centre where she developed deep friendships with the women of the village, and equally learnt from them. In this episode, Aruna speaks about her move to Devdungri in 1987, to live by the values of sangharsh, or struggle, in the search for a way to work for the betterment of society through collective action and citizen participation. She recounts how the first few years were spent learning how to live with the hardships of rural life and grappling with earning the trust of the people of Devdungri. Along with her colleagues Shankar Singh and Nikhil Dey, Aruna founded the Mazdoor Kisan Seva Sanghatana (MKSS) in 1990, where they relied on the mobilisation of collective action in order to secure the rights of the rural poor. She also speaks of the Right to Information movement through the National Campaign for the People’s Right to Information or NCPRI, which resulted in the Right To Information Act in 2005. Aruna Roy is in conversation with journalist and curator of Ahimsa Conversations, Rajni Bakshi. Additional Resources: Dunu Roy is a well known development sector leader and runs the Delhi-based Hazards centre. Read about the School for Democracy at https://schoolfordemocracy.org. Archival Audio: Sushila chants ‘Humara Paisa Humara Hisaab’ by Nikhil Dey Main Nahin Maanga- MKSS Song on RTI Demand by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Rajasthan, India People's Audit to Fight Corruption by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Rajasthan, India For additional information including additional resources and show notes, please go to www.rohininilekaniphilanthropies.org

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