Category: Thinking through ZenC
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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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Zen Updates – Nov ’25
We built a prototype tool that helps citizens post grievances on X even without an account or knowing which government body to tag. We are rethinking our DIY-first approach for processes like obtaining death certificates and considering more hands-on support for grieving families. We are feeling bolder about scaling and are shaping a roadmap guided…
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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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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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Who We Exist For
Zen Citizen primarily exist for ‘Principled Challengers‘: those who resist corruption, question bribes, and demand accountability, going out of their way to avoid paying a bribe on moral grounds. They are a minority, and keeping their voices alive and strong is crucial; there is no greater danger to society than the apathy and indifference of…
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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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RTI Application for Information on Sakala Appeals
Zen Citizen filed an RTI request on Feb 15, 2025, seeking details of Sakala appeals from the past six months. Our goal is to identify which services receive the most appeals, which have the highest rejection rates, and the reasons for rejection. This will help us prioritize services that need guides the most and pinpoint…
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Spectrum of Reactions for Zen Citizen: Strong Support to Outright Dismissiveness
I’ve had some interesting conversations over the last couple of weeks – three heads of civic engagement organizations, one retired bureaucrat, and a high-ranking bureaucrat. All the civic organizations actively supported ZenCitizen. A couple even offered their resources, including office space. The retired bureaucrat was lukewarm about the outcome but still encouraged me to give…