Hello!

Welcome back to the second entry of the Citijan blog! Last week, we tried to present the essence of Citijan, and today, we will try to elaborate more on the core vision behind Citijan - "Empowering E-Democracy".

For Citijan, 'E-Democracy' stands for both 'Electronic Democracy' and 'Evolution of Democracy'. While the primary objective is to incorporate technology into existing democratic processes, the long term vision is to assist the evolution of democracy itself. While this vision may sound inspiring, it will raise more questions than it answers. Let's break it down and understand where Citijan fits in.

At the heart of any discussion about democracy lies Abraham Lincoln's famous definition - "Government of the people, for the people, by the people." But, who are these "people"? In today's reality, the concept of "people" is far from homogeneous in the context of democracy. There are many categories of "people" in democracy today!

Modern democracy has multiple intersecting groups of people, often having their own self-interests, each influencing and interacting with each other - common public, political entities, media, judiciary, civil society organizations, corporate entities and so on. For democracy to thrive, each group must play its intended role meaningfully, and each group must have the necessary means to play its role. That's where Citijan fits in.

Leaving no one behind!

Citijan aspires to assist all stakeholders of democracy in enhancing their participation and contribution. Citijan aspires to be a bridge between all the different stakeholders, catering to the needs and demands of every participant of democracy.

For common public, needs could be voter empowerment and grievance redressal. For political entities, demands could be citizen engagement and campaigning. For civil society, needs could be public mobilization and legislative action. For corporate entities, needs could be lobbying and reforms. For NGOs and CSOs, needs could be greater visibility and fundraising.

It is incorrect to say that none of these needs are being met, because there are existing traditional processes and mechanisms to fulfill these needs. But their efficiency and efficacy are questionable, and they suffer from lack of transparency, accountability and objectivity.

Technology is a great enabler!

Citijan aspires to bring together these widely scattered needs and demands under a single integrated digital socio-democratic platform. Its ambition stretches far, and every principle, process and procedure of democracy - from Right to Information (RTI) to social auditing - is envisioned to become a part of Citijan in due course of time. We understand that such an ambition is too far-fetched to become a reality! But, we will try! The journey ahead may be challenging and time-consuming, but Citijan embraces the motto of "Dream Big, Start Small!"

Now, the obvious question -

Is such vision feasible?

To give you a straight answer - We do not know!

What we are tackling is not an economic problem, but a social, democratic and political problem with challenges aplenty! We are attempting to solve not a business problem, but a social problem. There are many uncertainties and risks, and we very well recognize what we are getting into. That's why we say our vision is 'blind'!

But then, why are we pursuing such a blind vision? Simple answer -

There is a need!

We are extremely passionate to serve the society through technology, and we believe Citijan has the potential to transform the way each and every one of us participates in democracy. Our desire is to see a better World driven by a better democracy, and that's a single reason enough to pursue relentlessly our blind vision. We are not driven by money, we are not driven by the materialistic criteria of success, we are not driven by growth metrics. Instead, we are driven by the social impact we deliver.

Is that a reason enough to convince others of our vision? No, not at all! Don't trust us, until we deliver on what we promise! Stay connected and follow our journey, and we hope our actions will speak louder than these empty words in due course of time. When that time comes, our vision will no longer be 'blind', and when that time comes, we hope Citijan shines the brightest in empowering evolution of democracy.

That's all for today! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for next week's post, which is about the biggest adverse reaction that we often receive in our conversations - "No One Cares!" Please stay tuned, and we look forward to your continued engagement.

We yearn to connect with like-minded individuals, esteemed lawyers, public policy enthusiasts, political science experts, civil society organizations, media personnel, and all those fervently invested in the democratic processes. If you would like to help, just drop a mail at hello@citijan.in. Your support is invaluable to us. We are just a message away!

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