The Press is all about freedom but that freedom should not be absolute rather conditional. Bringing out a newspaper is indeed a courageous effort. One is always both proud and apprehensive so that one's conviction is not misplaced. The Press is all about freedom but that freedom should not be absolute rather conditional, which also stands true for me. Freedom brings with it greater responsibilitie
s and, therefore, The Revenue Transparency Times (RTT) subjects itself to rigorous criticisms and corrections every day. One should know where to draw the line and have faith on their conscience that I never overstep that. Having served in the government myself, I would always be rankled to see how little people trusted us. In everyday life, people and businesses all come in face-to-face contact with the country's administrative apparatus represented by government officials. In that process most officials try to do a good job. However, quite a few of them end up abusing their positions and power to harass people and businesses. More importantly their professional ethics are non-existent, making the administration less effective and accountable diminishing people's trust. The public has been complaining much about the authoritarian attitude of government officials. We cannot help but stress again that government officials must act like the servants of the people if they want to win back public trust and respect. RTT aspires to become an independent and extremely credible assessor of the functioning of the government. But the enormity of the responsibilities in bringing out a newspaper of this nature is hitting me hard. Personally I experienced an utter lack of transparency during my service period, in the revenue department particularly, where officers have to survive pressures, pulls and coercion every day. The goal of this newspaper (RTT) is to expose such hypocrite and corrupt officers who have brought bad name to the department. However it will not shy away from glorifying those who performed their duties with devotion, dedication and honesty
Corruption has become a pervasive aspect internationally including Indian life. In spite of passing myriad of laws and bi-laws by the government guided by regulations and policies for the enforcement authorities, corruption has been permeating not only to the government machinery alone but also in most aspect of the society. Our aim is to change people's mindset. We want to form a network of committed erudite individuals who will try their best to combat the network of corruption. We can't expect overnight changes, but I strongly believe solution is neither far away nor illusive if we act unitedly singing in chorus -
"Together let us move forward,
Together let us speak in one voice
Focusing our minds for the same resolve"
