09/12/2025
Imagine retiring after a distinguished career in IT, where you helped shape Bengaluru’s tech parks, and dedicating your post-retirement life to fighting corruption and misgovernance using one powerful tool: the RTI.
This is the inspiring story of 80-year-old Ravindranath Guru, whose relentless pursuit of justice has uncovered scams, unauthorized building approvals, and mismanagement of public funds across Karnataka.
"After retirement, I realised that I was receiving a good amount of pension and my children were settling. But what bothered me was society and corruption; which is when I decided to give it back to society in my own way of RTI activism. My goal was simple: to help RTI reach every common man and deliver justice," Guru shared with The New Indian Express.
Starting in his neighbourhood in Banashankari, Bengaluru, Guru’s activism grew into a movement through the Karnataka Right to Information Act Forum (KRIA), which he co-founded.
Since 2004, he has filed over 1,100 RTIs, exposing irregularities in housing for the urban poor, misuse of MP/MLA funds, and unauthorized construction, all while promoting RTI as a tool for every citizen.
On International Anti-Corruption Day, Ravindranath Guru’s journey stands as a reminder that real change doesn’t always require political power or extraordinary resources—sometimes, it begins with one citizen choosing to ask the right questions.
[Heroes Of India, RTI, Bengaluru activist, Ravindranath Guru, International Anti-Corruption Day]
