Narayan Bareth
State Information Commissioner of Rajasthan
In office
December 2020 – October 2022
Personal details
NationalityIndian
Occupation
WebsiteNarayan Bareth on Twitter

Narayan Bareth is an veteran Indian journalist, political analyist and the former State Information Commissioner of Rajasthan.[1] As a journalist, he has been associated with various news groups including BBC, The Asian Age, and The Pioneer.[2][3] He has served as Professor of Journalism at both the University of Rajasthan's Centre for Mass Communication and Haridev Joshi University of Journalism and Mass Communication.[4][5]

Career

Journalism

Bareth has been working in the field of journalism for around three decades. He began his career at Navbharat Times in Kota in 1986 and went on to work with various news groups, including The Asian Age, BBC, Dainik Bhaskar, Deccan Chronicle, and The Pioneer. He is credited for laying the foundations for BBC in Rajasthan, working as BBC Rajasthan correspondent for over a decade.[6][7] As an esteemed journalist in Rajasthan, he has extensively covered the desert region's droughts and reported on issues such as the Indo-Pak border, migration, and the influx of refugees from Pakistan. He has also written numerous articles on social discrimination, women's empowerment, and development stories from marginalized communities such as Muslims and Dalits in the state. He was associated with the campaign for the establishment of the RTI Act.[8] In 2005, Prof Bareth retraced Gandhi's famous Dandi March from Sabarmati to Dandi and documented his journey. Along with attending several orientation programs, he has delivered speeches on media and journalism and participated in workshops in various locations. His research interests include radio journalism.[7][9][10][11]

According to Bareth, caste-issues play minimal role in state elections in Rajasthan which alternates between Congress and BJP every five years.[12] However, it is still an issue today where having a name associated with lower castes sets them apart. He highlighted the name change notices in newspapers, revealing the widespread impact on countless names, not just in Rajasthan.[13]

Speaking on recent trends, Bareth stated that India has much to preserve in every field, but the market is now dominating everything. According to him, India's culture, spirituality, yoga, clothing, food are its soft power, but the country is losing sight of its identity.[14] He expressed concern about the media's growing focus on advertising over the public interest, and believes that questioning is crucial to the understanding of society, which should not be suppressed.[15]

State Information Commissioner

Narayan Bareth was appointed State Information Commissioner in December 2020.[16][17][18][19]

During his 21-month tenure, Bareth resolved more than 7,000 cases, including 389 complaints. In some cases, officers were also directed to update their service records. During his tenre, Bareth fined over 200 rural development and Panchayati Raj officials, plus 35 urban development and local body officials who had failed to provide required information with regards to RTIs filed.[20][21][22] Bareth stated that he had only 17 months of actual work due to Covid lockdown, and treated all work with priority, including low-influence applications like pension cases and document requests.[23][24][25][26][27]

Narayan Bareth acknowledged the importance of using the Right to Information (RTI) Act for good governance. According to him, only 3.5% of the population in Rajasthan is currently using the RTI. Bareth cited Sweden as an example of a country where the RTI has been implemented for nearly 250 years, resulting in faster work pace and almost non-existent corruption. He also stated that the Information Commission is working on increasing awareness about the RTI and that the biggest challenge for the Commission is the backlog of nearly 18,000 pending cases in Rajasthan, with only 5,000 cases resolved so far. Despite the lack of resources, efforts were being made to work on people's appeals.[28][29]

As the Information Commissioner, Bareth's last working day saw the resolution of 10 cases. In 21 months, he took no leave and resolved an average of 396 cases per month, which was a record. Bareth instructed Panchayati Raj and local bodies not only to provide information to applicants but also to disseminate and publish that information on their websites.[23]

Positions held

Position Organization Term
Commissioner State Information Commission of Rajasthan December 2020 – October 2022
Minister Journalists Association of Rajasthan
Professor Haridev Joshi University of Journalism and Mass Communication 2013—2016
Professor Media Studies, University of Rajasthan 2016—2017

References

  1. ↑ "India's Karnataka state votes in 'do or die' battle for Modi rivals". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  2. ↑ "Jaipur: कल से जवाहर कला केंद्र में होंगे राजस्थान डेल्फिक खेल, कला-संस्कृति में ये खेल कराने वाला पहला राज्य". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  3. ↑ Aron, Sunita (2016-04-01). The Dynasty: Born to Rule. Hay House, Inc. ISBN 978-93-85827-10-5. Senior journalist Narayan Bareth who wrote for the BBC from Jaipur, talks about the impact of globalization, which according to him has given the royal families a new aura in the twenty-first century. People have forgotten the atrocities committed by them before the Independence.
  4. ↑ "राजस्थानः डीबी गुप्ता पर जताया सीएम गहलोत ने भरोसा, बने मुख्य सूचना आयुक्त". आज तक (in Hindi). 2020-12-05. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  5. ↑ strike, the news (2022-10-21). "Newly appointed APRO's five-day capacity enhancement workshop concluded". The News Strike. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  6. ↑ प्रसाद, अयोध्या (2018-04-13). चौथा धंधा: किस्से जर्नलिज़्म के (in Hindi). Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-64249-670-3.
  7. 1 2 "Colloquium Series: "Rajasthan Assembly Elections 2018: A Panel Discussion" | Azim Premji Foundation". azimpremjifoundation.org. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  8. ↑ Roy, Aruna; Collection, MKSS (2018-05-31). The RTI Story: Power to the People. Roli Books Private Limited. ISBN 978-81-937049-1-2.
  9. ↑ जयपुर, संतोष कुमार पांडेय (2023-01-15). "राजस्थान का एक साल वाला वो पहला दलित मुख्यमंत्री, जिसकी एक गलती पर आलाकमान ने छीन ली कुर्सी". www.abplive.com (in Hindi). Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  10. ↑ भारद्वाज, पुलकित (15 May 2019). "अलवर कांड राजस्थान की कांग्रेस सरकार को शर्मसार करने वाला अकेला हालिया मामला नहीं है". Satyagrah (in Hindi). Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  11. ↑ "राजस्थान के मुस्लिम समुदाय में विषय वस्तू का जानकार व ढंग के भाषण देने वाले सियासी वक्ता का है पूरी तरह अभाव: अशफाक कायमखानी – New India Times". Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  12. ↑ Aron, Sunita (2019-06-24). Ballots and Breakups: The Games Politicians Play. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-93-88414-18-0. The BJP came back to power in 1993 and since then it has been rotating government with the Congress every five years. Senior journalist Narayan Bareth said caste-based politics had a limited impact on the state's electoral politics.
  13. ↑ National Council of Churches Review. National Christian Council of India. 2000.
  14. ↑ "गुरु तेगबहादुर जी के आदर्शों को जीवन में उतारने की आवश्यकता – रामप्रसाद | पाथेय कण". 2021-11-14. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  15. ↑ "हमारी विरासत में आक्रामकता नहीं, शालीनता है, इसे सहेजने की जरुरत-बटब्याल". Univarta. 11 February 2023.
  16. ↑ "डीबी गुप्ता राजस्थान के मुख्य सूचना आयुक्त, नारायण बारेठ व शीतल धनखड़ बने आयुक्त". Hindustan Smart (in Hindi). Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  17. ↑ कायमखानी, अशफाक (4 December 2020). "नारायण बारेठ को सूचना आयुक्त बनाने की मुख्यमंत्री गहलोत के फैसले की चारों तरफ हो रही है तारीफ – New India Times". Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  18. ↑ "वरिष्ठ पत्रकार व जर्नलिस्ट्स एसोसिएशन आफ राजस्थान जार के पूर्व मंत्री नारायण बारेठ को राजस्थान सूचना आयुक्त नियुक्ति की बधाई". जर्नलिस्ट्स एसोसिएशन ऑफ राजस्थान (जार). 2020-12-05. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  19. ↑ "सूचना आयुक्त बारहठ का सम्मान". Mahanagar Times. December 15, 2020. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  20. ↑ Codingest (2021-09-21). "सूचना के अधिकार के तहत सूचना नहीं देना राज्य के अधिकारियों को पड़ा भारी, सूचना आयोग ने 5—5 हजार रुपए का लगाया जुर्माना". First Bharat. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  21. ↑ स्टाफ, द वायर (2021-03-08). "राजस्थान: राज्य सूचना आयोग ने दो अधिकारियों पर जुर्माना लगाया". The Wire – Hindi. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  22. ↑ "Four officials fined for ignoring RTI pleas". The Times of India. 2022-03-10. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  23. 1 2 Delhi 1, Admin (2022-10-01). "राज्य सूचना आयुक्त नारायण बारेठ का कार्यकाल हुआ समाप्त". jantaserishta.com (in Hindi). Retrieved 2023-05-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. ↑ "नारायण बारेठ का कार्यकाल समाप्त, किया 7 हजार से ज्यादा मामलों का निस्तारण". dainiknavajyoti.com (in Hindi). Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  25. ↑ "सूचना के अधिकार को लेकर आयुक्त ने लगाई अधिकारियों की क्लास, कही ये बात". Zee News (in Hindi). Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  26. ↑ भाषा (2022-04-27). "राजस्थान : सूचना कानून के प्रति बेरुखी अपनाने वाले वाले पांच अधिकारियों पर जुर्माना लगाया गया". ThePrint Hindi. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  27. ↑ Iqbal, Mohammed (2021-07-17). "Information Commission upset over pension delay". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  28. ↑ "Special सूचना के अधिकार का इस्तेमाल करने में देश पीछे RTI से सुधर सकती है सरकारों की दशा नारायण बारहठ". ETV Bharat News (in Hindi). Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  29. ↑ "राज्य सूचना आयोग का बड़ा फैसला, अब अधिकारियों को लापरवाही पड़ेगी भारी | Ongoing decision of State Information Commission". Patrika News (in Hindi). 2022-09-15. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
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