Category: Perspectives
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The Lost ‘Last Mile’ in Government Service Delivery: A citizen’s eKhata journey
This article presents a detailed account of the ambiguities, pain points, and uncertainty experienced by a couple, Latha and Anand, despite having all the necessary documents. It raises the question: if the process is not contactless even when all documents are in order, then for whom is it contactless? We deeply respect the bureaucrats who…
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Pre-Mortem: Imagining How Zen Citizen Can Fail and What We Can Do to Prevent It
Scaling ambition: From helping a handful of people to igniting a movement When we started Zen Citizen, our goal was simple: to help a handful of people. By that definition, we’ve already succeeded; more people than we imagined have found support through our work. Our goal now is to ignite a movement. Our next step…
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We Are Not Anonymous, Just Low-Ego
One of our recent posts was removed by a subreddit moderator with the explanation: ‘This initiative lacks any real names associated with it, and there’s no information on your website about who is behind it.’ We’d like to clarify our thinking, as this issue may come up again. The default tone of the site emphasizes…
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When a Single Day Drags On: Addressing Delays in Karnataka’s Marriage Registration
We recently published a guide on the marriage registration process in Karnataka. Under Sakala, Karnataka’s implementation of the Right to Services Act, the mandated turnaround time for issuing a marriage certificate is 1 day. While this appears to be a quick and citizen-friendly process, in practice, it is not. There are two distinct stages in…
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Why We Don’t Name and Shame: A Different Way to Fight Corruption
Recently, an esteemed mentor suggested we add a section to the website where citizens could upload photos or videos to document instances of VIPs misusing their privileges. We respectfully declined. At Zen Citizen, we focus on working around broken systems. No whistleblowing, no lobbying for policy changes, no signature campaigns, marches, or protests. There are…
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An Experiment That Took on a Life of Its Own
What began as an experiment is now shaping into an open-source model for a single department in one state, that others can adapt across departments, states, and countries. Zen Citizen began as an experiment to see if clear, comprehensive, and practical information could help curb corruption. We set out to provide a practical fix, a…
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Why We’ve Chosen to Remain Unregistered and Do Not Seek Funding – For Now
The administrative burden of registration does not seem worth the effort; we operate frugally; we continue to attract volunteers regardless of our size; we want the freedom to explore meaningful solutions without being steered by the pressures that often come with external funding. Launched with a full-time volunteer in August 2024, Zen Citizen operates as…
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The Rocky Road to eKhata: A Zen Citizen Perspective
The Administration is making strides to reverse eKhata’s turbulent beginning by resolving glitches and implementing safeguards. We also urge them to proactively share updates about known technical glitches, address individual concerns on social platforms, establish a complaint tracking system and a safe space for reporting bribes – in that order. Zen Citizen was launched in…