Module 04 — Sustaining a campaign + protecting yourself

Multi-month campaigns burn volunteers. Rotate:

1. 1 month per volunteer per state
2. Pair-up: senior + new volunteer
3. Burnout check at week 6 — give breaks.

Document: every volunteer's RTI list, current status, expected next action. Hand-off cleanly.

For RTI-led work that exposes corruption:

1. The Whistleblower Protection Act, 2014 protects identity of complainants to vigilance authorities.
2. The Act has not been rolled out via Rules in most states — coverage is patchy.
3. For activists facing retaliation: file complaint with CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) under Section 4 of the Act.

Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) — large entities sue activists for defamation/criminal-intimidation just to drain resources.

Defences:

1. Truth + public interest — primary defence under §499 IPC.
2. Privileged communication — judicial-process documents are privileged.
3. Justification — stick to what RTI replies say; don't paraphrase numbers.
4. Insurance — some NGO networks pool legal defence funds (e.g., Common Cause).

Before publishing a critical campaign report:

1. Send draft to the named authority for response (gives 7-10 days).
2. Quote any response (or refusal-to-respond) verbatim.
3. Show the report to a friendly civil-services reviewer for accuracy check.
4. Pre-brief sympathetic journalists for the launch.

Activist work outlives campaigns. Build:

1. Public archive of all campaign RTIs + replies (Google Drive / Github).
2. Searchable database of PIO contacts you've engaged with.
3. Lessons learnt doc updated every 6 months — what worked, what didn't.
4. Mentor pipeline for next-generation activists.

Quiz available from your course dashboard.

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• Next: Final exam — RTI for Activists & NGOs

Last reviewed: 24 April 2026.