Week 1

9/08/2021; 11/08/2021
Date
Overview of the topic covered Introduction to the Course, Discussion about
and/or discussion/activity in the the meaning and understanding of the words
class
“Rural Governance,” “Justice,” “Citizen
Participation,” and “Clinic.” Further,
discussion about the promise amongst citizens
and people regarding the addressal of
disconnect that is present between the
government machineries and citizens, and to
aid and help in making the democratic system
function in a better way. Also, clarification was
received regarding the marking scheme,
assessment plan, and various initiatives that
can be undertaken by the students while being
a part of the clinic.
Description of the approach/es to Various initiatives were discussed by the
make learning real and effective Professor. This includes preparing legal

literacy material, 5 questions a day initiative,

portrayal of functioning of an ideal gram
Sabha meeting, conducting Online workshops,
preparing newsletter explaining the different
procedures and mechanisms. Furthermore,
organizing online conference meetings with
the villagers with the help from volunteers
situated in different villages, and organizing
public hearings regarding different issues that
are being faced by the villagers.
Tasks in hand Prepare a list of demographic information and
other related information of two villages
situated either near campus, or near our
homes. Additionally, research and find out
about the village sarpanch of the two villages.
Tasks accomplished Yes, I researched about the details of two
villages situated near Bhopal. These villages
are Mugaliya Hat (Huzur Teh.) and Parwaliya
Sadak (Huzur Teh.).

Interaction with I visited these villages to interact with the

people/clients/visits to locals. I inquired about the name of the
institutions, situations etc. and
application of the class room village sarpanch.
learning to real situations

Reading and writing done Research work undertaken to create a list of

(including books, cases,
vital information about the demographics of
newspapers, reports, articles,
letters, representations, emails the abovementioned two villages. Further,
etc.) compilation of the research work undertaken.

Skills identified, worked on and Research skills, Communication and network

developed building skills, Data interpretation skills, and
data compilation skills.
Values identified, worked on Imbibed core values related to research and
and imbibed compilation work such as, honesty,
accountability, fairness, openness, objectivity,
and impartiality.

Achievements and learning of Successfully researched and complied data

the week about two villages. Further, gained experience
in public dealing and interactions. Learnt
about the importance of citizen participation
in a democracy and functioning of democratic
institutions at the micro level.
Concerns and questions N/A

Comments and signature of

supervisor
 Week 2

16/08/2021; 18/08/2021
Date
Overview of the topic covered This week’s class stated with feedback and
and/or discussion/activity in the guidelines discussion regarding week 1 diary
class
submission. Later, the class engaged in various
discussions and sharing of experiences from
the first assignment. There were discussions
about the discrepancies that exist between
official records of village data and the onsite
actual situation. Fellow classmates also
highlighted towards the various continuous
disagreements between the elected
representatives and government officials. At
the same time, discussions were held
regarding the construction of social map of a
village. This was further divided into three sub
categories, namely, (1) Information available
through online sources, (2) Information based
on our understandings and perceptions, and
(3) indentification of the gaps between
information available online and information
from our perceptions on one hand, and ground
reality of the available facilities in villages on
the other.
Description of the approach/es to Various approaches were discussed in class in
make learning real and effective order to collect data about the villages to

construct a social map of a village. Such

approaches include conducting online
searches and basing reliance upon secondary
sources of information, interacting with the
 government and elected officials to
understand the available facilities in villages.

Tasks in hand Draw and prepare a social map of a village.

Tasks accomplished Yes, I prepared a social map of Nandaha

Village, Unchehara Tehsil, Satna District,
Madhya Pradesh.

Interaction with Interacted with locals and aquintances from

people/clients/visits to the village to understand the available
institutions, situations etc. and
application of the class room resources and facilities in the village. Further,
learning to real situations engaged in discussions about various issues
present in the village. I found out that there
are multiple cemetery in the village for people
belonging to different castes of the society.
Further, the lack of electricity, and

Reading and writing done Research work undertaken to create a social

(including books, cases,
map and gathering vital information about the
newspapers, reports, articles,
letters, representations, emails demographics of the abovementioned village.
etc.) Further, compilation of the research work
undertaken.
Skills identified, worked on and Research skills, Communication and network
developed building skills, Data interpretation skills, and
data compilation skills.

Values identified, worked on Imbibed core values related to research and

and imbibed compilation work such as, honesty,
accountability, fairness, openness, objectivity,
and impartiality.

Achievements and learning of Successfully researched and created social

the week map of Nandaha Village. Further, gained
experience in public dealing and interactions.
Gained insights about the gaps present in the
official data and ground realities. Learnt about
the importance of citizen participation in a
democracy and functioning of democratic
institutions at the micro level.
Concerns and questions N/A

Comments and signature of

supervisor
 Week 3

23/08/2021; 25/08/2021
Date
Overview of the topic covered This week’s class stated with discussions
and/or discussion/activity in the related to various experiences that the class
class
faced during preparation of a social map, as
assigned in week 2. Pathora of thes
experiences highlighted that in various
villages on record government data about
facilities available in village areas are not very
accurate or reliable. These discussions about
the discrepancies that exist between official
records of village data and the onsite actual
situation, included situation in government
schools, availiblity of hospitals and their
present conditions, etc. Furthermore, these
discussions also highlighted that there exists
various social segregations in the villages on
basis of castes, and religion. For example,
people belonging to a lower caste reside in a
different part of the village. The class then
moved towards presenting, and explaining all
the social maps that were created. This
presentation was done in the form of groups.
The presentation also included information
about the source of receiving data about the
village for which the class created the social
map. Furthermore, Professor also highlighted
towards the fact that we need to double check
the information we have received and then as
 a group have to find out ways to improve the
situation and fill the gaps present in the
villages.

Description of the approach/es to Various approaches were discussed in class

make learning real and effective that the students used to collect data about the

villages which was utilized to create the social

map of a village. Such approaches include
conducting online searches and basing
reliance upon secondary sources of
information, interacting with the government
and elected officials, interation with the local
residents, and visits to villages to understand
the available facilities in villages.
Tasks in hand Group presentation of the social map created
as a part of last week’s assignment.

Tasks accomplished Yes, I prepared a powerpoint presentation

explaining the social map of Nandaha Village,
Unchehara Tehsil, Satna District, Madhya
Pradesh. However, my group presentation
could not be completed in the last class due to
time limitations.
Interaction with Interacted with locals and aquintances from
people/clients/visits to the village to understand the available
institutions, situations etc. and
application of the class room resources and facilities in the village. Further,
learning to real situations engaged in discussions about various issues
present in the village. Interation with the
fellow classmates about the social map that
they prepared. Understood about the various
issues that are present in their villages.

Reading and writing done Research work undertaken to create a social

(including books, cases,
map and gathering vital information about the
newspapers, reports, articles,
letters, representations, emails demographics of the abovementioned village.
etc.) Further, compilation of the research work
undertaken.

Skills identified, worked on and Research skills, Communication and network

developed building skills, Data interpretation skills, and
data compilation skills.

Values identified, worked on Imbibed core values related to research and

and imbibed compilation work such as, honesty,
accountability, fairness, openness, objectivity,
and impartiality.

Achievements and learning of Successfully created a presentation about the

the week social map of Nandaha Village. However, the
same could not be presented due to limited
time availability. Gained insights about the
gaps present in the official data and ground
realities. Learnt about the importance of
 citizen participation in a democracy and
functioning of democratic institutions at the
micro level.

Concerns and questions N/A

Comments and signature of

supervisor
 Week 4

30/08/2021; 01/09/2021
Date
Overview of the topic covered This week’s class stated with a presentation on
and/or discussion/activity in the various basic Constitutional provisions
class
relating to democracy at ground level. This
presentation was conducted by Hitharth (TA).
These provisions included, various powers,
authorities and responsibilities of Panchayats
and rural governments, as under Art. 243g and
243w of the Indian Constitution. This
presentation also discussed about 73rd and 74th
Amendment Act, which significantly changed
the system of rural governance by granting
more powers to the panchayats.
During the second class of the week, social
map presentations of the remaining groups
were held. Pathora of thes experiences were
brought up by fellow classmates and all of
these experiences highlighted that in various
villages, on record government data about
facilities available in village areas are not very
accurate or reliable. These discussions about
the discrepancies that exist between official
records of village data and the onsite actual
situation, included situation in government
schools, availiblity of hospitals and their
present conditions, etc. Furthermore, these
discussions also highlighted that there exists
various social segregations in the villages on
 basis of castes, and religion. For example,
people belonging to a lower caste reside in a
different part of the village. The class then
moved towards explaining all the social maps
that were created. The presentation also
included information about the source of
receiving data about the village for which the
class created the social map. Furthermore,
Professor also highlighted towards the fact
that we need to double check the information
we have received, and then as a group have to
find out ways to improve the situation and fill
the gaps present in the villages.
Description of the approach/es to Various approaches were discussed in class
make learning real and effective that the students used to collect data about the

villages which was utilized to create the social

map of a village. Such approaches include
conducting online searches and basing
reliance upon secondary sources of
information, interacting with the government
and elected officials, interation with the local
residents, and visits to villages to understand
the available facilities in villages. Further, the
approach of presentation was opted for by the
students. Students also discussed various
approaches to bridge the gaps in villages.
Tasks in hand Group presentation of the social map created
as a part of 2nd week’s assignment.
Tasks accomplished Yes, I prepared and presented a powerpoint
presentation explaining the social map of
Nandaha Village, Unchehara Tehsil, Satna
District, Madhya Pradesh.

Interaction with None.

people/clients/visits to
institutions, situations etc. and
application of the class room
learning to real situations

Reading and writing done Research work undertaken to understand

(including books, cases,
ways to bridge gaps present in the villages.
newspapers, reports, articles,
letters, representations, emails Furthermore, research about various ways to
etc.) work towards betterment was undertaken.

Skills identified, worked on and Team working skills, presentation skills,

developed research skills, communication and network
building skills, data interpretation skills, and
data compilation skills.

Values identified, worked on Imbibed core values related to presentation,

and imbibed team work, research, and compilation work
such as, honesty, accountability, fairness,
openness, objectivity, and impartiality.
Achievements and learning of Successfully created a presentation about the
the week social map of Nandaha Village. Gained
insights about the ways to bridge gaps present
in villages, and work towards the development
in these villages. Learnt about various
constitutional provisions relating to rural
governance and panchayat system, the
importance of citizen participation in a
democracy, and functioning of democratic
institutions at the micro level.
Concerns and questions N/A

Comments and signature of

supervisor
 Week 5

06/09/2021; 08/09/2021
Date
Overview of the topic covered This week’s class stated with a detailed
and/or discussion/activity in the discussion regarding structure of Rural
class
Governance, and tools available for citizen
participation in rural governance. These tools
include, Right to Information as a method of
ensuring effecting functioning of the
governmental agencies. Further, it was
highlighted in class as to how these tools of
awareness and participation are necessary as
they make us aware about the benefits that
exist for the development and betterment of
the society. These tools ensure that the
promise of “We, the people” in a democracy if
fulfilled.
During the second class of the week, several
valuses were discussed and highlighted by the
Professor. This inturn showed the class as to
why citizen participation, and intervension is
necessary for a democracy to function well.
These values include honesty, truthfulness,
paying respect to the nature, and working
together in a team towards completing the
promise made in a democracy. Futhermore,
stories, and anecdotes were shared in class
related to experiences of working towards
aiding the environment.
Description of the approach/es to Approaches and procedures related to filing a
make learning real and effective RTI were discussed in class.

Tasks in hand Prepare a features map of a village which

would later be utilized to prepare a master
map of the village.

Tasks accomplished Yes, I, along with my group, have prepared the

features map of village Nandaha, Satna
District, M.P.

Interaction with Interacted with Shri Deepak Kori who is a

people/clients/visits to resident of village Nandaha.
institutions, situations etc. and
application of the class room
learning to real situations

Reading and writing done Research work undertaken to prepare the

(including books, cases,
features map of village Nandaha. Further,
newspapers, reports, articles,
letters, representations, emails complilation of this research was undertaken.
etc.)
Skills identified, worked on and Team working skills, research skills,
developed communication and network building skills,
data interpretation skills, and data
compilation skills.

Values identified, worked on Imbibed core values related to

and imbibed communication, collecting data, research, and
compilation work such as, honesty,
accountability, fairness, openness,
truthfulness, objectivity, and impartiality.

Achievements and learning of Successfully created a features map of village

the week Nandaha. Understood the importance of the
Right to Information in the functioning of a
democracy.

Concerns and questions N/A

Comments and signature of

supervisor
 Week 6

13/09/2021; 15/09/2021
Date
Overview of the topic covered This week’s class started with viewing of the
and/or discussion/activity in the documentary “Infinite Vision: The Story of
class
Aravind Eye Hospital” followed by a detailed
discussion regarding values. Many values were
discussed such as serving the community,
chasing one’s objectives and goals instead of
chasing monetary gains, creating a movement
by assisting the community, and staying
rooted in compassion. Additionally, there
were discussion about conducting a social
audit. It was highlighted that a larger
participation, and transpency, is a culture that
is absolutely necessary to resolve the issues of
corruption, and the same can be brought
frought by the way of social audit and RTI.

During the second class of the week, firstly,

Professor discussed about the paralegal work
for BCI. Secondly, a more detailed discussion
was held regarding social audit. Social audit is
an essential way to ensure vigilance, and good
governance of the citizen to fight corruption. It
also ensures the growth of quality of citizens,
as the method involves direct participation
from the citizens. Steps of conducting a social
audit were discussed such as indentification
and maping of stakeholders, direct and
 indirect beneficiaries, prepartion of tools for
social audit like building questionaires,
conducting group discussions of stakeholders,
etc. Furthermore, the next step is
identification of experts in the field, and
interacting with them regards the preliminary
report that we prepared from the social audit.
The last step of social audit is implementation,
and publication of the report that was
prepared by the social audit activity.
Description of the approach/es to Approaches and procedures related to
make learning real and effective conducting a social audit were discussed in

class.

Tasks in hand Prepare a framework for social audit in a

village. The same can be undertaken either
individually or in a group.

Tasks accomplished Started working on the framework of the

social audit.

Interaction with N/A

people/clients/visits to
institutions, situations etc. and
application of the class room
learning to real situations
Reading and writing done Research work undertaken to prepare a
(including books, cases,
framework for social audit for a feature in the
newspapers, reports, articles,
letters, representations, emails village Nandaha, Satna District, M.P.
etc.)

Skills identified, worked on and Team working skills, and research skills.
developed

Values identified, worked on Imbibed core values related to team work and
and imbibed research such as, honesty, providing people
space to grow, being respectful, accountability,
fairness, openness, truthfulness, objectivity,
and impartiality.

Achievements and learning of Initiated the work of preparation of

the week framework of social audit.

Concerns and questions N/A

Comments and signature of

supervisor
 Week 7

20/09/2021; 22/09/2021
Date
Overview of the topic covered This week’s class started with discussions
and/or discussion/activity in the about assessing villages by the way of social
class
audit, right to information, interviews and
factfindings, and citizen scorecard. Professor
highlighted the need for a strong background
research. For this purpose, the class can reply
upon legislative acts, provisions, policies,
debates, and secondary sources such as
newspaper articles, documentaries, etc. The
professor also discussed about educational
related issues present at rural areas. He
explained the history and background of RTE.
This involved discussion of Supreme Court
cases such as Mohini Jain v. State of
Karnataka, and Unnikrishnan J.P. v. State of
Andhra Pradesh, which lead to the 86th
Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002, which
added Articl 21A to the Indian Constitution
and ultimately, the creation of the Right to
Education Act, 2009. There were also
discussions about the schemes and programs
by the government to encourage participation
of children in schools such as the mid-day
meal program.

During the second class of the week, in the

beginning professor deeply discussed about
 the ways of complaint redressal available to
aid villagers. This discussion included a
detailed conversation about the exisiting
consumer forums. Professor highlighted about
the people friendly nature of these forums. The
professor also explainined about the
highrearcy of the consumer forums. Fellow
classmates discussed about the various issues
they have heard about consumer forums.
Furthermore, the students also talked about
various ways of citizen participation and
raising voices against inactivity of the
government authroties. A key part in this
system is played by RTI. The class also
discussed about the their concerns and
questions regarding the framework of the
social audit which is to be submitted as this
week’s assignment.
Description of the approach/es to Approaches and procedures related to
make learning real and effective conducting a social audit, and framework of

consumer forum and other related people

friendly ways of citizen participation were
discussed in class.

Tasks in hand Prepare a framework for social audit in a

village. The same can be undertaken either
individually or in a group.
Tasks accomplished Completed creating a framework of the social
audit. Assisted the village residents of
Nandaha to deal with the problem of
electricity supply.

Interaction with Interacted with village residents of Nandaha,

people/clients/visits to Satna District, M.P. to prepare the framework
institutions, situations etc. and
of social audit.
application of the class room
learning to real situations

Reading and writing done Research work undertaken to prepare a

(including books, cases,
framework for social audit for TPDS in the
newspapers, reports, articles,
letters, representations, emails village Nandaha, Satna District, M.P.
etc.)

Skills identified, worked on and Team working skills, communication skills,

developed and research skills.

Values identified, worked on Imbibed core values related to team work and
and imbibed research such as, honesty, providing people
space to grow, being respectful, accountability,
fairness, openness, truthfulness, objectivity,
and impartiality.
Achievements and learning of Completed the creation of framework for
the week social audit. Assisted the villagers of Nandaha
in raising concerns related to electricity
supply.

Concerns and questions N/A

Comments and signature of

supervisor
 Week 8

27/09/2021; 29/09/2021
Date
Overview of the topic covered This week’s class started with discussions
and/or discussion/activity in the about every group’s framework for social
class
audit. Fellow classmates discussed the feature
they selected for the purpose of conducting the
social audit. This discussion included the
background information about the feature
from their village, current sitataion and their
motivation for selecting the feature, and future
steps that they will undertake to complete the
audit. Professor also allowed fellow classmates
to sumit an impoved framework if they wish
to. In the later part of the same class,
Professor highlighted about the various
important aspects that the class needs to abide
by while interacting with the village residents.
One of the most essential parts of this
discussion is active listening. Active listening
will help us ensure that we gain the most out
of our interaction with anyone. Small steps
such as not interrupting someone while they
are speaking, not using mobile phones during
conversations, summarizing their points,
showing sympathy, and the like can make a lot
of impact. Professor also highlighted that at
the beginning, because of lack of experience, it
is better for the class to keep a checklist with
us. However, with time, as we gain experience,
 we will absorbe these qualities, and will no
longer be in need of a checklist.

During the second class of the week, in the

beginning professor asked the class about
their learning from previous discussions
regarding active listening. However, this was
interrupted due to network issues. While
Professor was attempting to reconnect,
Hithart (TA) led the class. Inter alia, we read
about the powers of a village sarpanch. The
class was later ended due to continuing of
network issues.
Description of the approach/es to Approaches and procedures related to
make learning real and effective preparing a questionnaire, and interacting

with village residents.

Tasks in hand Prepare a questionnaire for the purpose of

conducting the social audit

Tasks accomplished Completed creating a questionnaire for the

village residents, in both English and Hindi.
Interaction with No interaction with the village residents.
people/clients/visits to
institutions, situations etc. and
application of the class room
learning to real situations

Reading and writing done Research work undertaken to prepare a

(including books, cases,
questionnaire for social audit for TPDS in the
newspapers, reports, articles,
letters, representations, emails village Nandaha, Satna District, M.P.
etc.)

Skills identified, worked on and Team working skills, and research skills.
developed

Values identified, worked on Imbibed core values related to team work and
and imbibed research such as, honesty, providing people
space to grow, being respectful, accountability,
fairness, openness, truthfulness, objectivity,
and impartiality.

Achievements and learning of Completed the creation of questionnaire in

the week Hindi and English. Learnt different ways of
active listening.
Concerns and questions N/A

Comments and signature of

supervisor
 Week 9

04/10/2021; 06/10/2021
Date
Overview of the topic covered This week’s class started with Professor
and/or discussion/activity in the discussing the furture projects. Class was
class
offered a choice to either implement the Social
Audit or develop a GPDP. The Professor later
explained and engaged in a discussion about
GPDP. Gram Panchayat Development Plan, as
highlighted in the class, is essential for
economic development and social justice of a
panchayat by the way of utilizing the resources
available. Professor also highlighted the
importance of organization of gram sabha in
forming of a GPDP. It was after the 73rd and
74th amendment from the recommendations
of the finance commission that in 2015 GPDP
was introduced in India. For the overall
holiastic development of a village,
participation of citizens is essential. And if the
class decides to proceed with the GPDP
project, they would have to raise awareness
about GPDP and importance of participation
in the village. The individuals will be required
to find out the level of awareness about GPDP
in the village, and start from the basic
grassroot level for the project. Professor also
highlighted the need for forming working
groups in village to provide a more focused
inputs to the Gram Panchayat Planning
Facillitating Team (GPPFT), who will then
follow guidelines issued by the State
government to aid in forming of GPDP.
In case the members of the already present
standing working committees in the village are
not actively working, then the members of
GPPFT are distributed to work with these
committees to provide focused inputs. In the
later part of the class, discussion related to the
questions of expertise of the members of these
standing committees and whether incentives
should be offered to these members of
standing committees were brought up. The
same were carried on in the second class due
to lack of time available.

During the second class of the week, the two

questions related to the membership of these
working groups and the incentive motivation
of the members of the groups were discussed
in the initial part. Professor highlighted that
monetary incentives are not available as per
the provisions to the members because the
work in its entirety is voluntary, and the
incentive available to the members is the
overall development of the village. The class
later started identification of the different
working groups that can be present in the
village such as infrastructure, health and
sanitation, environment, social justice and
security, etc. Professor also mentioned about
the People’s Plan Campain which takes place
 for about four months, to ensure citizen
participation and motivate residents. After
identification of the committees, the next step
discussed was related to the defining of scope
of working of these groups, and prepration of
these groups. This also includes conducting
proper orientation of these working groups.
The next step would include collection of
primary and secondary data for these groups
related to various issues present. Then a
Development Status report could be prepared
in order to assess the working of these groups
which will be shared with the GPPFT.
Description of the approach/es to Approaches and procedures related to
make learning real and effective preparation of working groups, spreading

awareness in the village regarding GPDP.

Tasks in hand Start implementation of Social Audit

framework, setup a network to share legal
literacy material with village residents.

Tasks accomplished Initiated the process of implementation of

social audit framework. Set up a whatsapp
group with volunteers from village Nandaha.
Shared various legal literacy questions to the
residents of village Nandaha.
Interaction with Shared legal literacy questions with the
people/clients/visits to village residents of Nandaha.
institutions, situations etc. and
application of the class room
learning to real situations

Reading and writing done Read about GPDP, its origin, and its working.
(including books, cases,
newspapers, reports, articles,
letters, representations, emails
etc.)

Skills identified, worked on and Communication skills.

developed

Values identified, worked on Imbibed core values related to

and imbibed communication such as openness, and
flexibility.

Achievements and learning of Set up a way to interact with the village

the week residents, and share material with them.
Started sharing legal literacy material with the
village residents. Started working towards
Social Audit.
Concerns and questions N/A

Comments and signature of

supervisor
 Week 10

11/10/2021; 13/10/2021
Date
Overview of the topic covered In this week’s class, previous discussion over
and/or discussion/activity in the GPDP was continued. Professor asked for ways
class
to make participation in GPDP more active.
This involved vision or the long term
aspiration regarding the development of the
village, in terms of social justice, economic
justice, etc. For this we need to look at the 17
goals of sustainable development. This will
later turn into a long term plan. Professor
suggested about working towards the goal of
zero poverty. This could include working
towards education in the field of agriculture as
well. Fellow classmates suggested about
working towards skill and human
development services such as mobile
repairing, talouring services, etc. Professor
highlighted that these innovative and unique
ideas can certainly aid towards development of
the villages.
Other areas that the class could choose as a
vision could be working towards
transportation services, health services,
logistics and warehousing facilities, access to
banking and financial services. Apart from
that fellow classmates highlighted that
working towards clean water and sanitation.
For working towards social justice,
 sensitization workshops on topics such as
caste discrimination and gender
discrimination.

During the second class of the week, Professor

started the class with asking students about
the issues that they are facing in an online
semester and how to overcome them.
Professor to help the students briefly
summaried the previous class. I will not repeat
the same in my diary again to avoid
redundancy as it has already been covered in
my previous diaries. Professor highlighted the
need for being creative in order to spread
awareness in villages. Professor shared his pas
experience of preparing a puppet play while he
stayed in literacy house.
Description of the approach/es to Approaches and procedures related to
make learning real and effective deciding a vision for meeting the 17 goals of

sustainable development, and increasing

participation in the village regarding GPDP.

Tasks in hand Some of the group members wanted to work

towards GPDP. Major task at hand this week
was to finalise the field of work. Share literacy
material with the village residents.

Tasks accomplished Held discussions regarding the way forward.

Continued sharing legal literacy material with
the village residents.
Interaction with Shared legal literacy questions with the
people/clients/visits to village residents of Nandaha.
institutions, situations etc. and
application of the class room
learning to real situations

Reading and writing done Read about SDGs and different ways to
(including books, cases,
achieve them.
newspapers, reports, articles,
letters, representations, emails
etc.)

Skills identified, worked on and Communication skills, and research skills.

developed

Values identified, worked on Imbibed core values related to

and imbibed communication and research such as honesty,
openness, and flexibility.

Achievements and learning of Shared literacy material with the village

the week residents via whatsapp. Read in detail about
SDGs and ways of fulfilling them in the village.
Concerns and questions N/A

Comments and signature of

supervisor
 Week 11

18/10/2021; 20/10/2021
Date
Overview of the topic covered This week’s class started with discussion
and/or discussion/activity in the about legal aid services. Professor highlighted
class
that legal aid sevices access to justice as
fundamental rights would not work without
proper legal aid services, and it brings the
required solace to those in need. Hitharth (TA)
then took over to explain more about legal aid
in India. He explained fundamental rights as
guaranteed under Art. 14 and 21 of the
Constitution would not be fruitful, and will not
have value. DPSP mentioned in Article 39A
talks about the importance of legal aid
services. He later mentioned about the legal
services authorities act of 1987 which ensured
effective legal services available to poor and
underprivileged sections of the society in order
to ensure that they are provided with
opportunites. This is to ensure that justice is
available to all and it is not denied to any
citizen due to economic reasons or due to
disability. He later briefly explained to
hierarchy of the legal services authorities, and
the composition of the National Legal Aid
Services Authorities as specified under Section
3 of the Act, and went on to explaining the
other related sections of the Act. Professor
highlighted that we need to move from legal
literacy to legal empowerment of the
committees. Professor later also highlighted
that students can organize lok adalats and help
dispose off the long pending cases. Hitharth
later explained the sections of the act which
explain about lok adalats.

During the second class of the week, the class

started with the Professor highlighting about
the National Comission for Women’s program
called PMLA (Parivarik Mahila Lok Adalat)
under which they would fund organisations for
conducting lok adalats. Students with the
support of faculty members should work
towards organizing lok adalats. Professor
shared his past experience with orgaising lok
adalats. Professor also suggested that we could
create a simulation of lok Adalat, which would
be a good way of noting the process of speedy
justice. During the later part of the course,
Professor, with the help of past experiences,
highlighted the need for quality legal aid
services which young lawyers provide through
the help of pro bono services. Towards the end,
professor discussed about the submission
dates of the assignment.
Description of the approach/es to Approaches and procedures related to legal
make learning real and effective aid services and organizing lok adalats were

discussed in class. Conducting simulative Lok

Adalats, and contacting the DLSA for
conducting Lok Adalats in a group of students
with the assistance from Professors, in village
areas can help towards accomplishing the
abovementioned approaches.
Tasks in hand Started working towards GPDP assignment.
Also, I wanted to work towards organizing lok
adalats. For this purpose, I want to implement
the same in the Legal Aid Clinic that I am
planning on starting soon. Furthermore, I am
also planning to undertake mock lok adalats in
villages to explain the system better to the
village residents, and raise awareness.
Tasks accomplished Started working towards GPDP assignment
with my group. I also discussed the class
learnings with my friends with whom I am
starting the legal aid clinic.

Interaction with Shared legal literacy questions with the

people/clients/visits to village residents of Nandaha.
institutions, situations etc. and
application of the class room
learning to real situations
Reading and writing done Read more about Legal Aid Services, and also
(including books, cases,
referred to the Legal Services Authorities Act.
newspapers, reports, articles,
letters, representations, emails
etc.)

Skills identified, worked on and Communication skills, and research skills.

developed

Values identified, worked on Imbibed core values related to

and imbibed communication and research such as honesty,
openness, and flexibility.

Achievements and learning of Shared literacy material with the village

the week residents via whatsapp. Read in detail about
Legal Aid Services and lok adalats.

Concerns and questions N/A

Comments and signature of

supervisor
 Week 12

25/10/2021; 27/10/2021
Date
Overview of the topic covered This week’s class started with discussion
and/or discussion/activity in the about two topics. Firstly was citizen scorecard.
class
Professor reiterated that RTI is one of the most
effective tools to bring about transparency in
the governmental systems. Community
scorecard or citizen scorecard, as fellow
classmates and Professor highlighted, is a
feedback mechanism meant to analyse the
various facilities or services by the way of
being rated by the citizens. This also helps in
improving the servies that are available to
citizens by the way of citizen participation, and
hence, becomes very important part of a
democracy. For preparation of a scorecard,
discussions in the community are very
important. The object of this mechanism, as
highlighted above, is assessment of the
services, and be vigilant. The third objective of
this exercise is good governance. This includes
transparency, accountability, and the like. The
main difference between social audit
framework and citizen scorecard is that citizen
scorecard necessarily has to be developed by
citizens, where on the other hand, social audit
can be undertaken by anyone. Professor also
briefly told the class about citizen charter. This
document displays various rights, policies, etc.
First step of preparing a scorecard would be
introduce the idea in a gram panchayat, and
raise awareness about the mechanism by
informing citizens about the need of this.
Second step could be identification of the
services to rate, however, this depends on the
prior knowledge of the villagers of the services.
The later steps would be facilitating the
villagers with the process of preparing the
scorecard, and engaging with the other
stakeholders.

During the second class of the week,

discussions related to the second topic, i.e.,
consumer protection were held. Discussions
related to imagination or idealistic consumer
protection forums were held in class, later, the
Professor built upon these to explain the class
about the mechanism. Professor discussed
about the earlier effective Consumer
Protection Act of 1986 which was later
replaced by the Act of 2019. He highlighted
about the Central Consumer Protection
Authority with effect of the new Consumer
Protection Act of 2019. This new body is
additional to the forums that are already set up
in order to give speedy justice. This body also
has investigation powers in order to provide
better protection to consumers. Professor also
explained about the myth of Consumer Courts.
He stated that these forums are not called
courts because of their people friendly nature,
 and they act for empowering the consumers,
and hence, should not be called courts.
Professor towards the end of the class
highlighted about the Consumer Helpline. It is
a proper portal where consumers can login
using their Ids and register their complaints.
The authorities would then inquire in the
matter by contacting both the parties. He also
mentioned that us as students working in
villages can also register complaints on their
behalf.
Description of the approach/es to Studied more about Consumer Protection and
make learning real and effective citizen scorecard. Analysied the online

consumer helpline portal. Also, worked on the

GPDP assignment.

Tasks in hand Work towards GPDP assignment and create a

poster for simplify and explain GPDP process
to citizens.

Tasks accomplished Held various group meetings to distribute

more work of the GPDP assignment, and
started working to create the poster. Also,
shared various legal literacy questions and
other legal literacy material with the village
residents.
Interaction with Shared legal literacy questions with the
people/clients/visits to village residents of Nandaha, and held group
institutions, situations etc. and
application of the class room meetings.
learning to real situations

Reading and writing done Read about Consumer Protection Act and
(including books, cases,
Citizen Scorecard.
newspapers, reports, articles,
letters, representations, emails
etc.)

Skills identified, worked on and Communication skills, and research skills.

developed

Values identified, worked on Imbibed core values related to

and imbibed communication and research such as honesty,
openness, and flexibility.

Achievements and learning of Shared literacy material with the village

the week residents via whatsapp. Learnt about
Consumer Protection, and citizen scorecard.
Concerns and questions N/A

Comments and signature of

supervisor