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The article exposes a disturbing intersection between media integrity, government accountability, and civic transparency in Assam. It details how several journalists and RTI activists have been arrested or interrogated, allegedly linked to extortion attempts involving a suspended IAS official implicated in a major educational scam. This highlights the precarious position of those seeking truth, suggesting that individuals attempting to enforce accountability may become targets of state surveillance and legal harassment rather than protected informants. Furthermore, the narrative reveals deep-seated corruption within the National Register of Citizens (NRC) update process, involving allegations of money laundering and collusion with private technology firms. Despite clear evidence and complaints from civic activists and former officials, mainstream media coverage has been inadequate or biased, while judicial avenues for redress have proven inaccessible. This demonstrates how opaque processes and powerful entities can manipulate information flows and legal systems to evade scrutiny, undermining public trust in institutional oversight. This situation is critically relevant to open data because it illustrates the severe risks faced by those who rely on transparent, verifiable information to challenge authority. When journalists and activists investigating data integrity are silenced or criminalized, the public loses its primary mechanism for auditing government actions. It underscores the urgent need for robust protections for data journalists and the independence of civic monitors who depend on open data to expose systemic corruption and ensure democratic accountability.

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Published on 2023-06-02

Open Data

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