New governance, public policy, and social movements in India: Rethinking MKSS movement and RTI act

Good governance was one of the slogans that were raised under the new governance banner in the late 20th century. Has it lived its zenith? Is it fading away from governance scholarship when India continues to chant the mantra of development, good governance, and stability? New governance and related practices have been a matter of debate since 1970s. Nonetheless, when new governance was emerging in 1970s, a social movement was also in the making in the state of Rajasthan -namely, MKKS movement, which would later contribute for a major change in public policy making in India. MKSS movement's contribution in the form of RTI Act, a milestone in local to national governing practices, is a part of popular knowledge now; adding something more would be useful. This paper tries to do the same by relocating MKSS movement in the governance scholarship. It addresses the following two questions: How do we interpret and explain a social movement that has added something new to governance and public policy making in India? How and where do we locate such a movement in the new governance scholarship? The paper is based mainly on archival sources.