ABSTRACT
As movements around transparency and accountability intensify, the shift in the citizen-state dynamic has become quite visible. Citizens are no longer viewed as passive beneficiaries of government programmes. In India alone, the Right to Information Act, Public Interest Litigations and social audits has become the weapons of choice of citizens in their mission to make governments more accountable. These instruments shine a light on the inner workings of governments which have traditionally been viewed as being ‘shrouded in mystery’. Indeed, public services cannot expect to remain divorced for long from the values and political processes which created them in the first place!
