তথ্য অধিকার আইন

Jan 15, 2025

By Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

While 2025 was a year marked by despair over the paralysis of Bangladesh’s right to information (RTI) regime, the beginning of 2026 has brought a welcome note of resistance and resolve. One may recall that the departure of all three information commissioners in September 2024 effectively rendered the Information Commission defunct, leaving RTI users frustrated and the law itself dangerously adrift. Yet, rather than surrendering to institutional inertia, RTI activists who persisted in using the law throughout 2025, however hesitantly, began the new year with a clear and defiant pledge: transparency and accountability will not wither through neglect.

At a meeting held in Dhaka on January 8, activists from across the country, joined by prominent representatives of leading civil society organisations, announced plans to form a citizens’ platform to coordinate collective action, support embattled RTI users, and confront the persistent intransigence of public authorities who continue to treat the RTI Act of 2009 with derision. This moment of mobilisation is significant because the RTI regime stands at a critical juncture today. For around 17 years, Bangladesh’s RTI law has survived not because of robust institutional enforcement but because of the quiet perseverance of a relatively small yet committed group of users—journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens—trained and supported by a handful of dedicated NGOs. Their steady engagement demonstrated that access to information could improve service delivery, expose maladministration, and strengthen democratic participation. It was never a mass movement; it was a living one.

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Dec 15, 2025

‘It is equally fundamental that all political parties seeking a mandate to govern uphold and promote the RTI Act as a cornerstone of good governance and participatory democracy.’ FILE VISUAL: ANWAR SOHEL

The absence of Bangladesh’s three information commissioners—vacancies that, almost a year and a half on—have left the Right to Information (RTI) regime severely debilitated, with replacements still inexplicably pending. However, instead of lamenting about it today, let’s learn how the country’s dedicated RTI activists—our “RTI warriors”—are coping with the situation. Trained over the years by a handful of committed NGOs, these individuals are locally recognised for helping people use the law to promote transparency and oversight in governance. In the absence of a functioning information commission, their work has become riskier and more complex, demanding greater perseverance and strategic acuity.

Encouragingly, although some have grown disheartened and stepped back, a significant number continue with remarkable determination and tenacity. Rather than retreating in the face of bureaucratic inertia, these RTI warriors have adopted a strategy of persistence: signalling to public officials that—even without formal oversight—citizens remain vigilant, committed to monitoring public services, and prepared to demand accountability.

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Nov 15, 2025

FILE VISUAL: ANWAR SOHEL

Despite widespread public outcry for over a year, Bangladesh’s Right to Information (RTI) regime remains stuck in a deadlock. Its consequences are becoming harder to ignore. Frustration is mounting among those who have long supported the law and used it as a means to hold public authorities accountable. For more than fifteen years, civil society organisations have patiently nurtured a community of RTI users. Their numbers were never large, but their dedication kept the law alive. Through small, steady efforts, they showed all the power of disclosure and the democratic promise embedded in the RTI Act.

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Oct 15, 2025

FILE VISUAL: SHAIKH SULTANA JAHAN BADHON

An encouraging outcome of the protracted crisis confronting Bangladesh’s right to information (RTI) regime over the past year has been the growing attention the law has received from concerned citizens and civil society leaders. The July 2024 uprising further amplified the debates.

Out of this moment has emerged a clear public demand: to explicitly include political parties within the RTI Act’s definition of “public authorities.” Such inclusion is contested in most jurisdictions, most notably in neighbouring India, precisely because it would subject political parties, like other public-serving bodies, to statutory record-keeping and disclosure obligations. Unsurprisingly, many parties resist this expansion, wary that their internal records, finances, and decision-making processes could be scrutinised under the law.

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