Answer: A popular government is one, that is created by the people, for the people, and is subject to the will of the people. For the healthy functioning of a democratic setup, access to information is significant:

• It allows individuals to be informed about issues that affect their lives, such as public policies, laws, and government decisions.
• It enables them to make informed decisions about voting, participation in their community, and interest advocacy.
• It allows citizens to hold the government accountable by making it easier for citizens to see how decisions are being made and how public resources are being used.
• It helps protect citizens’ rights and freedoms by giving space to individuals to advocate for them.

Without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, the popular government is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or both, because:

• It is very difficult to expose abuses of power and corruption and prevent violations of individual rights in the absence of a transparent account of information to the citizens.
• It affects the legitimacy of the government in the longer run because the lack of regular reporting and updates on government actions to the public affects their trust in the system.
• Without means of holding the government accountable for its actions, the government tends to behave in a biased manner not paying attention to treating citizens equally as well as being responsive to the needs and concerns of the population and efficient in its operations.
• Lack of popular information in the hands of the public prevents them from raising their concerns appropriately. Also, the government being opaque in its functioning may not include the diverse voices of a nation in their decision-making process rendering the popular nature of the government a farce.

Moreover, this lack of trust, responsiveness, inclusivity, accountability, efficiency, and legitimacy results in nothing but a prologue to a tragedy as it leads to civic disengagement in the long run. The extent and quality of civic engagement is a key factor that determines the effectiveness of the popular government. In fact, the active participation of citizens or the lack of it is what supports or mars the progress of development programs and other policies and decides the success or failure of governance.