Law Students NGO Parinamika envisages Resulting in Change through RTI

Law students are certainly paving the way for social change in the present day society. After Infocracy India, Parinamika, a 4-month-old organisation has started making waves in Bangalore. Started by Adoksh Shastry, a second year student at School of Law, Christ University, Parinamika aims at social change..Its objective is to resonate the voice of the people to bring about effective results. It is a student run social activism group and has its motto as, ‘Resulting in Change’. It started off by working in collaboration with Infocracy India on a petition campaign to introduce a chapter on Right to Information (RTI) in political science textbooks of Class IX and XII..Parinamika gained momentum with local Bangalore newspapers along with The Hindu highlighting its efforts..Its first individual task was to hold a seminar at Alpine Public School, Bangalore, where the law students oriented the students of Class VII-IX with the concept of RTI, how to use it, and finally on how to draft an RTI application. Following this, seminars were given at various other Bangalore middle schools including NSVK Public School and Coorg Public School..Parinamika also held a conference at Christ University in collaboration with the Legal Aid Society of School of Law, Christ University to spread its message at the undergraduate level. Delegates included students and professors from Bishop Cottons Law College, Seshadripuram Law College and representatives of various NGOs. The panellists included the ex-Chief Information Commissioner of India, Mr. M. M. Ansari (who is now working in collaboration with Parinamika for furthering the project of RTI), Prof. B. T. Venkatesh (practicing lawyer, Executive Director at ReachLaw, also a professor at IIJNM) and Vikram Simha, one of the leading RTI activists in India. The panellists spoke about the backdrop of the RTI Act, practical aspects of the RTI Act, its benefits with respect to human rights, effect on today’s governance and future implications..The future objectives of Parinamika look extremely strong. It has already been requested by the Head of Kannada Department, Lingraj College, Belgaum to draft a chapter on RTI for non-law students. It has collaborated with the NGO, Centre for Social Action to go to rural areas and create awareness about RTI, and its necessary uses and implications in the rural sector. Further it has joined hands with National Institute of Fashion Technology to clothe the poor..Parinamika in a short span of time has been able to make a tremendous impact on the present day society.