Civil Society in Changing India

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Civil Society in Changing India:Emerging Roles, Relationships and Strategies

Debika Goswami

Rajesh Tandon

Kaustuv K Bandyopadhyay

42 Tughlakabad Institutional Area

New Delhi110062

www.pria.org
http://www.pria.org/http://www.pria.org/


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The study on Civil Society in Changing India: Emerging Roles, Relationships and Strategies was initiated by

PRIA in April 2011 with support from INTRAC, UK and CORDAID, Netherlands. Later the study was pursued

through a global initiative called Civil Society @ Crossroads a collaborative effort of CDRA (South Africa),

EASUN (Tanzania), ICD (Uruguay), INTRAC (UK), PRIA (India), and PSO (Netherlands).

This paper intends to investigate how civil societies are changing their composition, roles and relationships

in response to the ensuing socio-political and economic changes in India. In addition, the paper also looks at

what new capacities, opportunities and challenges are emerging for the civil society organisations in the

changing contexts of India. It is aimed at facilitating critical reflections in an inclusive and bottoms-up

manner with a view to develop fresh systematisation of knowledge on civil society.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the partner organisations CINI (Kolkata), DST (Pune),

VK Illam (Madurai), Accion Fraterna Ecology Centre (Bangalore), Samarthan, CASA and VANI (Bhopal) and

Centre for Social Studies (Surat) in organising and facilitating various Round Table Discussions in the above-

mentioned places. The authors also acknowledge the contribution of the various civil society leaders, staff,

colleagues, partners, citizen activists and community members who willingly contributed their time and

share their insights and experiences. The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Pradeep Jena.


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INTRODUCTION

The study on Civil Society in Changing India: Emerging

Roles, Relationships and Strategies investigates how

roles, relationships and strategies of civil society

organisations (CSOs) are changing in response to the

ensuing socio-political and economic changes in India. In

addition, the study also looks at what new capacities,opportunities and challenges are emerging for the CSOs

in these changing contexts.

In the last three decades, certain major shifts have

come into currency as far as the CSOs are concerned.

First, India being categorised as lower middle income

country by the DAC/OECD, a large number of bilateral

donors and their recipient International NGOs have

either withdrawn or declined the aid resources to India.

The Indian CSOs which have been traditionally receiving

developmental resources from these sources are now

faced with a declining resource scenario. Second, the

funding sources for CSOs from the central and state

governments are now primarily geared towards service

provisions and administered though tender based

approaches. In addition, as many accounting and

managerial consultancy farms are entering into the

social development and service provision arena, the

competition has increased between the CSOs and these

consultancy farms. It has also resulted in declining

resources to support actions such as awareness raising,

mobilisation, capacity building, empowerment etc. The

advocacy organisations, specifically, that are engaged in

on policy advocacy, also fall in this line. Third, over the

years micro finance has become the business model

for many CSOs to pursue financial sustainability for the

organisations, which undermined the social and political

empowerment of the marginalised. Finally, with the

proliferation of private sector and accumulation of

enormous fortunes by taking advantage of the

governmental deregulation, economic liberalisation and

globalisation, many such private companies have

started promoting Corporate Social Responsibilities

(CSR) and private philanthropic activities. However, it is

not obvious that CSOs are the primary vehicles of

promoting CSR. The emergence of these above-

mentioned trends prompted PRIA to undertake the

current study on civil society. The study specifically

looked at the following research questions:

What changes have occurred in roles of CSOs in the

last 10-15 years? What have influenced such

changes?

What changes have occurred in relationships within

the CSOs and between the CSOs and other

stakeholders, particularly governments, political

societies, academia and media at the local, provincial

and national levels? What have prompted/

influenced such changes in the relationships?

What new relationships have been developed with

the private sectors?

What are the challenges and opportunities to CSOs

in the changing contexts?

In order to address these research questions, data was

collected from different CSOs by purposively selecting

the organisations. The CSOs were classified in three

categories according to their size and area of

operations: (i) district/sub-district level, (ii) state level,

and (iii) national level (including multi-state operations).

In the beginning, the CSO leaders were contacted in

various state/ regional/ national meetings hosted by

other organisations and the data was collected through

structured questionnaires, semi-structured interviews

and discussions. The process of data collectioncontinued till the end of December 2011. In addition, a

series of consultations were organised between January

March, 2012 in the states of West Bengal (Kolkata),

Maharashtra (Pune), Tamil Nadu (Madurai), Karnataka

(Bangalore), Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal), and Gujarat

(Surat) involving the local CSOs, representatives from

the academia, media, private sector foundations,

students and youths in order to develop a deeper

understanding of the current scenario under which the

CSOs were operating and the challenges they

encountered. Thus, the current study has aimed at

providing insights about the changing contributions,resources, relationships and strategies of the civil

society in India today, its ensuing challenges and ways

of enduring with them. In the process the study would

aim to gear up the following:

Engender critical reflections within the CSOs1

regarding the values and roles that they are pursuing

and to help them generate various strategic choices

in the present context;

Generate rethinking process within the donors

especially in the Indian context of aid recession and

emphasise on the need for funding sources to pursue

development interventions;

1In the contemporary Indian context, different terms l ike

Voluntary Development Organisations, Non-Governmental

Organisations, and Civil Society Organisations are used

interchangeably. The study refers to the civil society

sector/voluntary sector or any such organisations as civil Society

Organisations or CSOs. However, the terms like Civil Society and

CSOs are often used interchangeably in the study.


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Highlight the necessity of government interventions

through enabling policies and procedures and its

collaboration with the CSOs for making welfare and

development inclusive in India.

CHANGING INDIA

The Indian economy grew at an approximate rate of

only 3.5 per cent per year from 1950s to 1980s. This is

referred to as the Hindu Rate of Growth in Indian

economy depicting the low economic growth, economic

un-freedom and the suppressive license regime. After

the 1991 economic crisis and the subsequent reforms,

Indian economy witnessed high economic growth and

rise in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Government

of India data shows that the economy in the last decade

has been growing between 6-8 per cent.2The Indian

economy, with a GDP worth US$ 1.4 trillion, is expected

to double in this decade. India will be the worlds thirdlargest economy (in terms of purchasing power parity)

after China and the US by 2025.3India has emerged as

one of the largest foreign investors both in the

developed and developing world. Now Indian economy

is one of the fastest growing economies in the world

after China.

Besides, India has also emerged as the worlds largest

democracy with a population of 1.2 billion, half of

whom are aged below 25 years, a workforce often

referred by demographers as the potential

demographic dividend. The country has also witnessed

remarkable advancement in the sphere of information

technology with the emergence of various Indian

software companies and their global spread. The spread

of mobile telephony, satellite technology, internet and

software innovations have contributed to the emerging

economy as well.

Parallel to the developments in economic and

technological domains, there are deeper changes in the

political governance of the country too. The

introduction of democratic decentralisation and

constitutionally mandated local governance systems in

1993, enactment of Right to Information Act in 2005,Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee

Employment Act in 2005, Forest Rights Act in 2006, and

Right to Education Act in 2009 have led to

2 Economic Survey 2006-07 and 2009-10. Government of India,

New Delhi: Oxford.3Internet Source:http://www.defence.pk/forums/india-

defence/88007-visits-big-five-leaders-six-months-indicate-india-s-

growing-global-stature.html,Accessed in June, 2012.

institutionalisation of many social accountability

mechanisms in the grassroots governance. These have

invariably strengthened the roots of democracy by

enhancing the scope for citizen led transparency and

accountability in the governance systems.

Besides all the economic and political changes discussed

above, the exponential growth of urbanisation is

another notable feature in changing India. However,

much of the urban growth have remained unplanned

and exclusionary leading towards a number of problems

including growth of slums and squatter settlements,

varying effects on environmental degradation and

increased burden on the already existing

infrastructures.

In addition to the socio-political and economic changes

occurring internally, Indias influence on the global

governance institutions are also expanding. Its

emergence as a potential super power and its

expanding domestic and international market alongwith its rising stature in various international forums has

set a very optimistic future. India has secured non-

permanent membership on the UN Security Council

and also emerged as a strong contender for a

permanent member and proponent of reforms in the

UN systems.

All these positive developments in the economic and

other spheres notwithstanding, a large proportion

Indians still face massive poverty, malnutrition and

numerous socio-economic problems. The benefit of

economic growth has not been distributed evenly. Onthe contrary, the gaps between the rich and the poor

have enhanced considerably. India is still way back in

HDI ratings and ranks 119 much below as compared to

many small countries having much less economic

growth. Such a situation can make India a demographic

disaster rather than a demographic dividend. India is

also experiencing threat from external and internal

extremist groups which has created conflict zones in

several parts of the country. There are prevalence of

conflict, terrorism, violent unrest, naxalism and other

forms of thereat from both internal and external

extremist groups. Pervading issue of corruptions, slowimplementation of various governance reforms, a

sluggish bureaucratic administration have been

impeding factors in rapid reduction of poverty.

CHANGING CIVIL SOCIETY

The changing socio-economic and political tableau in

India has impacted the Indian CSOs and their focuses
http://www.defence.pk/forums/india-defence/88007-visits-big-five-leaders-six-months-indicate-india-s-growing-global-stature.htmlhttp://www.defence.pk/forums/india-defence/88007-visits-big-five-leaders-six-months-indicate-india-s-growing-global-stature.htmlhttp://www.defence.pk/forums/india-defence/88007-visits-big-five-leaders-six-months-indicate-india-s-growing-global-stature.htmlhttp://www.defence.pk/forums/india-defence/88007-visits-big-five-leaders-six-months-indicate-india-s-growing-global-stature.htmlhttp://www.defence.pk/forums/india-defence/88007-visits-big-five-leaders-six-months-indicate-india-s-growing-global-stature.htmlhttp://www.defence.pk/forums/india-defence/88007-visits-big-five-leaders-six-months-indicate-india-s-growing-global-stature.htmlhttp://www.defence.pk/forums/india-defence/88007-visits-big-five-leaders-six-months-indicate-india-s-growing-global-stature.htmlhttp://www.defence.pk/forums/india-defence/88007-visits-big-five-leaders-six-months-indicate-india-s-growing-global-stature.html


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across states within the country. Before tracing the

significant changes that the CSOs in India are

experiencing, some brief highlights on the composition

and role of CSOs in the Indian context is discussed in the

following paragraphs.

According to Tandon (2002a), the phrase civil societyin

India has gained general currency since the beginning of

the 1990s. He defines civil society as individual and

organisational initiatives for public good. In fact, as

described by Tandon (ibid), the wide range of

formations that may possibly constitute the mosaic of

civil society in India are as follows: (i) Community-Based

Organisations (CBOs), (ii) Mass Organisations, (iii)

Religious Organisations, (iv) Voluntary Development

Organisations (VDOs), (v) Social Movements, (vi)

Corporate Philanthropy, (vii) Consumer Groups, (viii)

Cultural Associations, (ix) Professional Associations, (x)

Economic Associations and (xi) Others, which includes,

media and academia (Ibid). It is important to note herethat, there is hardly any consensus on mainstream

media coming under the umbrella of civil society.

Although both media and civil society need to and in

many instances do work together, considering its

corporate character and for-profit initiatives, it is still a

debate whether media can count as non-profit civil

society. However, media and civil society each is

presumed to be a necessary condition for the other (La

May, 2004). Thus in the Indian context it is seen that

civil society will gain roots only if it is perceived as a

continuation of the tradition of voluntary action. In this

sense, it can embrace all those formations and initiativeswhich contribute to the realisation of public good and

operate within the constitutional framework(Tandon,

2002b). Quite interestingly, PRIA in 2002 (see Tandon &

Srivastava, 2002) had conducted a study on the non-

profit sector in India in collaboration with the John

Hopkins University, USA. The findings of the study

indicated the existence of nearly 1.2 million non-profit

organisations in India, but nearly half of them are

unregistered. Thus, even in spite of the wide spread of

the sector, these organisations remain largely invisible.

Changing Composition

The rapidly changing Indian society witnesses varieties

of socio-economic distresses. As a response, numerous

forms of civil societies have come up and undertaken

developmental activities in order to address these

sweltering socio-economic crises. They have come up

with various kinds of formations and hence can be

viewed as heterogeneous in nature. In fact, it will be

wrong to homogenise the sector; rather it is important

to value its diversity.4

Some specific components which are related to the

sphere of civil society are categorised below:

Registered CSOs/ NGOs focusing more on project-

based activities:A significant trend noticed since the

decade of 1990s is the mushrooming of voluntaryorganisations (Tandon, 2002a) in India. A whole lot

of organisations have started emerging abruptly

without being necessarily aware of the local context

and the specific needs of that context. More so,

many such organisations instead of pursuing their

social commitments are flagging business or

commercial motivations. Another practice that has

gained currency is that of the political leadership

forming CSOs. Besides, the number of CSOs set up by

ex-bureaucrats, ex-corporate employees,

industrialists is also increasing. Many of them are

entirely devoid of the vision fordevelopment/welfare and look at the sector from a

business perspective; besides, a section of the

unemployed youth in India is viewing the CSOs/NSOs

as self-employment ventures and money-making

machines. For example, in the post-Tsunami period

enormous amount of funds gushed in the state of

Tamil Nadu for service and relief delivery purpose.

Hence, many people from other sectors and even the

youth became enthusiastic to open CSOs with the

purpose of grabbing such funds. This, in turn,

increased the number of CSOs in Tamil Nadu to a

considerable extent.5Indeed, the mushroominggrowth of CSOs/ NGOs in India with the increasing

entry of opportunist people into the sector is

becoming an appalling phenomenon.

Religious and faith based civil society networks:

Religious foundations are also coming up with their

own networks, associations and even NGOs which

are trying to build up public opinion according to

their own interest. On the whole, in India today,

there has been a perceptible change in the civil

society sphere; earlier the civil society was

approaching to issues from peoples perspective/view-point and the State was seen as an antithesis to

the civil society. Although both of them were

engaging themselves, still the approach was to keep

the interest of people/ civil society intact vis-a-vis the

State. Right now a significant section of the civil

4Mentioned by a Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh based CSO leader

5Mentioned by a Chennai based CSO worker and also by a

professor of Public Administration from the University of Madras


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society is co-opted by the State and they are acting

like extended hands of the state.6

Government promoted CSOs:Side by side, formation

of organisations like National AIDS Control

Organisation (NACO), established in 1992, is also a

notable trend. NACO is a division of Indias Ministry

of Health and Family Welfare leading the HIV/AIDS

control programmes in India; it is considered to be

the nodal organisation for formulation of policy and

implementation of programmes for prevention and

control of HIV/AIDS in India.7It works not only in

close association with several union ministries and

government departments, but also encourages

partnerships and alliances with corporate/ public/

private sector in eradicating the threat of HIV/AIDS

in India. Also, NACO partners with a number of CSOs

especially working on HIV/AIDS and utilises the

latters expertise so far as community mobilisation

and empowerment are considered, in turnenhancing the scope of HIV/AIDS prevention, care

and support.

Self-help groups:Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are

registered or unregistered groups of micro-

entrepreneurs having homogenous social and

economic backgrounds. The model is one of

voluntarily coming together to save small amounts

regularly, mutually agreeing to contribute to the

common fund and to help their emergency needs on

a mutual basis. Thousands of SHGs have been set up

across the country by the NGOs and through various

rural development programmes of Government ofIndia (Sharma, 2011). There are estimated 3.37

million SHGs in India (end of March 2006) and 40.95

million poor households (roughly 200 million people

or 20 per cent of total population and 80 per cent of

total poor population have access to the SHGs.8

Moreover, In India, women's SHGs are playing a

major role in poverty reduction and women's

empowerment through financial inclusion. Although

SHGs have emerged initially as a result of the failure

of mainstream institutions to reach the poor and

women, who form a significant percentage of the

population, they are now seen as partners by

mainstream institutions. However, there is a large

regional disparity in the growth of the SHG

6Mentioned by an Andhra Pradesh based CSO leader

7Internet Source:

http://www.hivpolicy.org/biogs/HPE0016b.htm,Accessed in

June, 2012.8Internet Source:www.apmas.org/pdfper cent5CSHGsper

cent20inper cent20India.doc,, Accessed in June, 2012.

movement with limited progress in the north and

northeast. Though the SHG-bank linkages have

contributed to improved economic conditions, social

change has not been apparent, and there are

concerns of sustainability and further development

of self-reliance of the institutions (Reddy et.al, 2007).

Social movements:The social movements constitute

another prominent face of civil society. Their

objective is to raise voices against anti-people

policies of the government, for better governance

and for a corruption-free society. These sporadic and

spontaneous movements have been strengthened to

such extent that the government is not able to

ignore them and even the mass-emotions that they

represent. One recent example of such movement is

the anti-corruption upsurge by Anna Hazare that

geared momentum since 2011 onwards. Apart from

these, there is also another trend which is emerging

and is seen as the new component of civil society.They are different associations and networks deeply

involved in advocacy and civil society decision-

making processes. Through these formations, several

inconvenient (but people-friendly) issues/ questions

are addressed, which are often found to be difficult

to be expressed by traditional/ conventional patterns

of civil society/organisations. For example, the anti-

POSCO9movement has got the support of many such

formations which are backed by different left-wing

parties and mainstream CSOs/ NGOs whereas they

themselves do not come out openly against the

South Korean Company or the Government ofOdisha obliging their mainstream association with

them. This category unfortunately has a negative

trend.

The most recent social movement witnessed in India is

the 'India Against Corruption', campaign spearheaded

by social activists Anna Hazare and others. Anna

Hazare, a follower of Gandhian principles, opted fasting

9The $12 billion Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO) project

in Jagat Singhpur district of Odisha is the largest foreign

investment project ever in India. The South Korean company,

POSCO needs some 4004 acres of land, of which 10 per centbelong to the cultivators. The rest of the land required belongs to

the government, and this has been recorded as under forest in

official documentation. Government records do not show that

the vast majority of this land has been under cultivation by the

people living in these areas for generations. Opposing the move

by the Government of Odisha to allocate land to the company,

most of which are cultivable and forest lands, people of different

formations including the locals, have joined hands under the

banner POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) to oppose the

proposed plant in the region. For more see, Internet Source:

http://sanhati.com/articles/2170/ , Accessed in June, 2012.
http://www.hivpolicy.org/biogs/HPE0016b.htmhttp://www.hivpolicy.org/biogs/HPE0016b.htmhttp://www.apmas.org/pdf%5CSHGs%20in%20India.dochttp://www.apmas.org/pdf%5CSHGs%20in%20India.dochttp://www.apmas.org/pdf%5CSHGs%20in%20India.dochttp://www.apmas.org/pdf%5CSHGs%20in%20India.dochttp://sanhati.com/articles/2170/http://sanhati.com/articles/2170/http://www.apmas.org/pdf%5CSHGs%20in%20India.dochttp://www.apmas.org/pdf%5CSHGs%20in%20India.dochttp://www.hivpolicy.org/biogs/HPE0016b.htm


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unto death and demanded enactment of the long-

pending Jan Lokpal Bill. The movement is considered to

be a milestone in the constitutional history of India

forcing the government to accept the demand of civil

society to have a word in drafting the stringent anti-

corruption law, the Jan Lokpal Bill. Interestingly, the

upsurge has also successfully galvanised mass support

and enticed the media so much so that corruption todayis highlighted as a major social issue in India, after

remaining blatantly invisible for decades after

independence.

The movement is a protest against not just the high-

level corruption scandals like the 2G spectrum

allocation controversy or the Commonwealth Games

fiasco; it is also a protest against the moral humiliation

that the ordinary citizens witness daily when they have

to pay bribes in order to move files or get their work

done through the government functionaries. The

objective behind the agitation is the demand for a

legislation which can facilitate immediate punishmentof government officials accused of corrupt practices. In

addition to this, the protagonists of the movement

have also demanded that the civil society should be

given a space in drafting the Jan Lokpal Bill.

One remarkable trend that it has exhibited is the shift

in the nature of the social movements in India from

being primarily rural to include urban middle class. The

major combatants of the Anna upsurge were educated

and urbane. Hence, this movement as well as similar

kinds of other citizens eruptions with the educated

and conscious youth lying at their centre and

demanding accountability and governance reforms hasenough potential to make Indian democracy more

inclusive and participatory.

Corporate social responsibility: Another significant

trend is the development of corporate social

responsibility (CSR). It has gained greater currency

since the draft of the Companies Bill, 2009 by the

Government of India which suggests that companies

are expected to earmark two per cent of their net

profits towards CSR each year. Hence, corporations

have started promoting CSR and private

philanthropic activities and several are also involving

CSOs in implementation tasks. However, mostly,these CSR activities are conducted by the corporates

through the formation of separate foundations or

wing under their own banner. Thus, creation of

corporate foundations has become quite a common

feature in this present context.

Community based organisations:The CBOs are also a

significant part of the civil society, both in urban as

well as rural settlements. They mostly operate within

local communities and are essentially a subset of the

larger group of non-profits. CBOs are predominantly

voluntary and self-funded bottom-up organisations

which are extremely effective in addressing the local

needs than the larger charitable organisations. In the

last decade, the emergence of significant number of

urban community based organisations is one

important inclusion in civil society in India. Examplesof urban CBOs are Resident Welfare Associations

(RWAs), Neighbourhood Associations, Apartments

Associations representing the interests of the

citizens of a specific urban or suburban locality in the

Indian cities.

Dalit Shakti Sangathan, essentially a CBO, has been

established in the year of 2006 by the Dalit community

members of Aranya village under the guidance and

facilitation of Jan-Sahas Organisation, a Madhya-Pradesh

based CSO. It has been formed to raise voices against

discriminations practiced against the Dalit and poor

community. It also highlights and demands the rights/

amenities for which the villagers are entitled by the

Government. The organisation, later renamed as Dalit

Vanchit Vikas Manch, consists of forty members including

both men and women. It has been able to successfully

generate awareness among its members about their rights

and demand the same accordingly. For example, they have

demanded a primary health sub-centre, Anganwadi centre

and even drinking water facilities within the village in the

Gram Sabha meetings. Consequently, constructions have

been done and they have successfully accessed their

entitlements.

Changing Roles

The CSOs in the decades prior to economic liberalisation

in India worked for the overall development of the

society and tried to contribute for the upliftment of the

downtrodden. Broadly speaking, the contribution of

CSOs (known more as voluntary organisations during

this phase) had been of three types (Tandon, 1986).

First, they brought certain critical developmental issues

and concerns like environmental degradation,

deforestation, land alienation, displacements, etc. to

the attention of the policy makers while also making it

open for wider public debate. Second, theyexperimented with various developmental models and

solutions to address the socio-economic problems of

the society. The models of adult education, primary

health care, toilets, irrigation system, bio-gas,

ecologically balanced wasteland development, etc. were

developed on the basis of micro-experiments carried on

by them throughout the country. Third, they

contributed towards highlighting the plight of the most

deprived sections of the society. Most of them worked


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with the women, tribal, landless labourers, informal

sector workers, etc., for their political empowerment,

social emancipation, and economic development.

Beyond the government and business, they acted as the

third sector of society.

In post-liberalisation times since the beginning of the

1990s, when the State started withdrawing from many

of its responsibilities, addressing the concerns of society

could not be left at the mercy of the political system. As

Sarah Joseph (2002) writes, civil society and social

actors are being encouraged now to take up

responsibility for the development and welfare

functions which the State wants to shed. It is argued

that the compulsions of survival in globalised financial

and capital markets necessitate such a division of

responsibilities. States, it is argued, can no longer

guarantee employment and redistribution of assets and

remain competitive. Besides, there is a large scale

prevalence of poverty, conflict, exclusion,marginalisation across the world. Handful of people

belonging to corporate and government are also

hijacking money through corrupt means. Therefore, the

CSOs need to focus upon governance and development.

Various international organisations and also the UN

agencies are working actively with the CSOs in India by

providing aid, monitoring and overseeing

developmental programmes in regions hit hard by

socio-economic problems. Quoting Tandon (2002b), in

this context, there can be three important contributions

of CSOs in national development. (i) Innovation:They

have been experimenting with new ways of promotingmore sustainable, people-centered development and

have been able to develop methods, models and

equipment that have been widely adopted by the state

and national governments as well as internationally. (ii)

Empowerment:Involving in empowering socio-

economically marginalised and exploited sections of

society, (iii) Research and Advocacy: They have

undertaken significant public education and policy

advocacy through their sustainable research on the

issues of women, tribes, dalits, environment, education,

human rights, etc. With changing times and emerging

challenges, the roles of CSOs have been diversifying andchanging. As Tandon & Mohanty (2003) have put it,

first,the CSOs have been targeted as the effective

agencies by donors (like the World Bank and others) to

route aid for developmental activities in the poor

countries especially in the event of the rolling back of

the State; second,as recipients of aid, CSOs also provide

safeguards to people adversely affected by the

onslaught of the market; third,following the tradition of

Tocqueville and Putnam, civil society is viewed as an

effective watchdog that can curb any authoritarian

tendencies of State.

Over the last two decades following the summer of

economic liberalisation in India in 1991, some new roles

of the CSOs have evolved which are attaining growing

importance. Few of these are mentioned below:

Promoting participatory governance and democracy:The role of the CSOs in making Indian democracy

alive and participatory is noteworthy. They are

playing an important role in deepening the

democratic process and expanding the spaces where

the poor and excluded people can participate,

contribute as well as challenge the process of

governance. In fact, the CSOs are engaged in a wide

spectrum of activities which encompass issues of

governance, advocacy, policy making and facilitating

peoples participation through awareness generation

(Singh, 2011). Policy advocacy role of the CSOs

should be specially highlighted in this regard as a fewof the most important Acts like Right to Information,

Rural Employment Guarantee, Domestic Violence

etc., have been passed in India in the face of strong

advocacy initiatives from the civil society. In addition

to this, many CSOs work closely in association with

the Panchayati Raj Institutions (institutions of local

governance in rural India) and municipalities

especially in the period following the 73rd

and 74th

Constitutional Amendment Acts. CSO activities have

mobilised organised and empowered the poor and

the marginalised. Due to continuous CSO efforts,

participation of the women and the marginalised atthe levels of local governance is found to have

increased. Identifying local needs, prioritising the

same and implementing the programmes also have

been made possible due to constant CSO

engagement through capacity building interventions.

A growing number of CSOs have also engaged in

strengthening the capacities of the elected local

government representatives in both rural and urban

areas. The issues of transparency and accountability

in local governance have also attracted the attention

of the CSOs many of which have made ceaseless

efforts to ensure that democratic forms of

governance persist at the local governance level (Rai

et. al, 2001).

Implementing government flagship programmes:The

role of CSOs in the present context varies across

states in India. In certain states like in West Bengal

and Kerala, CSOs have limited space to function

where the administration or even political party

cadres have occupied these spaces. On the other,


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7

another remarkable trend is the partnership of the

CSOs with the central and provincial government

departments in implementing various programmes.

Many renowned organisations work in close

collaboration with the governments to implement

various flagship programmes as well as use the

apparatus of the governments to expand their own

innovative models of development. Under suchcircumstances, many CSOs have also shifted from the

role of independent service delivery and have

emerged as facilitators of the government as

implementers of the various flagship programmes.

The story of change for Child In Need Institute (CINI) is

mapped through the lens of its own internal

institutional change from a service provider to a

service facilitator following the strategic planning

process initiated in 2005. CINI which began its journey

in 1974 from two clinics for deprived children in

Kolkata, West Bengal, has over the years, emergedinto a national non-governmental organisation (NGO)

with an outreach of 5 million people across the

country. It works in four sectors health, nutrition,

education and protection of women, children and

vulnerable groups. While its approach was directed

towards specific sectors prior to the strategic planning

of 2005, the new approach is integrated and rights

focused, based on the acknowledgement that the only

sustainable way to address poverty and inequality is

through community based partnerships. This lies at the

heart of most of its initiatives which attempt to link the

government, service providers and community

members in a way that strengthens mutual

accountabilities for ensuring good governance and

providing basic services. CINIs decision to shift from a

service provider to a service facilitator generated

multi-level changes within its organisational structure,

at the level of operations and programmes in the field

as well as its ability to create a climate for change at

the policy level. There was also recognition that the

government was providing a bunch of schemes that

were simply not being availed of because of ignorance

and the schemes were not reaching the vulnerable

sections. CINI could therefore best locate its work as a

service facilitator rather than a provider and strategiseits work more productively in terms of linkages,

convergence, leveraging, building partnerships,

capacity building and advocacy to create what it called

child and women friendly communities.

Providing contractual services: In this context,

another significant trend that has come into currency

is the shift of many CSOs to service-delivery and

contract-based work. Government agencies and

even donor agencies are geared towards service

provision and administer through tender based

approaches inviting bids and therefore there is a cut-

throat competition among various CSOs for

particular project/ work. In the course of such

changes, however, the component of voluntarism in

some way gets lost from the CSOs.

Again, nodal organisations like NACO which are parts

of the Government Departments have also played a

significant role in assembling the CSOs and

partnering with them in reaching out HIV prevention

and care services to the highly vulnerable population

groups. There are numerous CSOs working on

HIV/AIDS at the local, state and national levels. The

National AIDS Control Programme recognises the

importance of their participation, particularly in

preventive or targeted interventions for high risk

groups, care and support of people living with

HIV/AIDS and in general awareness campaigns. Infact, community mobilisation and empowerment are

essential for successful transition of a programme to

the communities and CSOs bring with them their

experience of community level work in enhancing

peoples participation. They, therefore, play a crucial

role in preparing communities to take ownership of

the programme, and thereby enhance the scope of

prevention, care and support.10

Promoting economic inclusion:In the present era of

globalisation and strong market forces, the CSOs also

have an important role to play in integrating the far

excluded sections of society within the globaleconomic chain by developing their income-

generating skills and capacities and providing them

with required financial services and market linkages.

A classic example of this kind is the Project Shakti

Amma, an initiative promoted by the Indian State in

collaboration with Hindustan Unilever Limited

(HUL)11

which aims at creating livelihoods for rural

women and improving living standards in rural India,

providing opportunities of additional income to

these women and their families as well as training

them to become extended arms of the companys

operations. The pilot was initiated in 2001 in Andhra

Pradesh and from 2002 operations scaled up to

Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,

Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Orissa. In various

districts of Andhra Pradesh, five CSOs partnered with

10Internet Source:

http://www.nacoonline.org/Mainstreaming_and_Partnerships/Ci

vil_Society/,Accessed in June, 2012..11

The Indian division of Unilever, a multinational corporation
http://www.nacoonline.org/Mainstreaming_and_Partnerships/Civil_Society/http://www.nacoonline.org/Mainstreaming_and_Partnerships/Civil_Society/http://www.nacoonline.org/Mainstreaming_and_Partnerships/Civil_Society/http://www.nacoonline.org/Mainstreaming_and_Partnerships/Civil_Society/http://www.nacoonline.org/Mainstreaming_and_Partnerships/Civil_Society/


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8

HUL to implement the programme. HUL approached

these organisations who were already involved in

promoting micro-credit, which impressed with the

strategy of Project Shakti, were instrumental in

promoting individual women entrepreneurs within

their areas of intervention (Gaventa & Tandon,

2010). Thus, partnering with the government and the

corporate, the CSOs have scopes of utilising theirgrass-root networks thereby linking their

beneficiaries with the wider economic chain.

Protesting against anti-people policies:Civil Society

in the form of protest movements like the

movement against corruption by Anna Hazare,

movement against POSCO in Odhisa, movements

against agricultural land acquisition in West Bengal,

movement against water privatisation in Karnataka

and many more have become prominent civil society

voices against the neo-liberal policies and their

adverse impact on the people.Promoting informal space for dialogues and

voluntarism: Furthermore, civil society in the form

coalition/ platforms, voluntary in nature, performing

the role of monitoring the government functions and

highlights any explored lacuna through their network

of CSOs.

Open Space is an unregistered coalition/platform which

facilitates the sharing of complementary skills and

resources among citizens. In doing so, they support and

reinforce each other, celebrating life and its challenges.

Open Space specifically does not have structured

funding or resources, and did not invite donations.

However, in 2003--04, out of compulsion because many

who wanted to get involved also wanted to donate

money, they opened a bank account. That is the only

formal recognition that the organisation has. Sharing

information, resources and solidarity are the main

activities of the organisation. They accomplish this by

providing support in institution development,

documentation and training, publishing, human rights

education, advocacy and campaigns. Different groups

under the umbrella of Open Space work with different

communities (sex workers, domestic workers, etc.).

They monitor different commissions about what thegovernment is doing, and the implementation of

various acts. The groups talk amongst themselves, then

take it to the public (if necessary, in campaign mode or

through demonstrations), and through this hope to lock

down government into taking action.

Promoting organisations and mobilisation of the

marginalised:Civil society in the form of

organisations are reflecting the political assertion of

the marginalised sections including the women, the

scheduled castes and tribes, dalits and other

minority communities. Issues of civil liberty and

political assertion of these marginalised communities

have captured a lot of civil society space and in the

process are creating pressure on the State in an

unprecedented way. The constitutional rights and

their protection, the recognition of rights that are notdefined by law but forms an important part of the

day to day living of the subaltern masses like the

control over their resources, the right of indigenous

people to preserve their culture, the transformation

of the feminine concerns from the exclusive concern

of the women to the concern of the larger society,

and the assertion by the lower caste, describes the

new vibrations in the civil society space(Tandon &

Mohanty, 2002).

The struggle of SANTULAN (Social Animation towards

United and Liberative Action), a Pune-based CSO, in

facilitating the stone quarry migrant workers in the

neighbourhood of Pune to lead a life of dignity has ushered

in significant and tangible changes. By adopting a two

pronged strategy that includes not only programmes

designed for development and empowerment of the

migrant/ marginalised communities, but also advocacy for

policy change, SANTULAN has been incessantly trying to

address the issues and miseries grieving their lives.

However, the distinctive nucleus of this voluntary, social

and non-governmental organisation has been the

education and empowerment of the youth and children of

these migrant workers.

Working for the rights and empowerment of these

marginalised people through an integrated approach of

clubbing development process with right-based advocacy

for policy change, SANTULANs overall goal is to combat

dismal poverty, deprivation and marginalisation through

development and right-based approach. With the belief to

evolve an egalitarian, socially just, equal and humanitarian

society, SANTULAN motivates and facilitates the migrant

workers and their families to actively participate in the

collective effort towards liberal development.

There are 3.2-3.5 million workers in Maharashtra in

20,000 stone quarries but the government has no special

legislation to protect them or ensure their safety, says Mr

Bastu Rege, the founder and executive director of the

organisation. He is engaging with the state government

and demanding creation of StoneQuarry Workers Board

and Stone Quarry Workers Protection Act; the main

intention behind this to have some legislation similar to

domestic workers protection act or the construction

building workers act so that the quarry workers are also

covered by a safety net.


11/25

9

Another significant contribution of civil society is to

channel and aggregate collective energy of ordinary

people towards pursuing some common public

purposes, in the domains of culture, community

action, national development, etc. These

associations thus make enormous contribution

towards enriching the life of citizens by creating such

opportunities for mutual engagements (Salmon &Anheier, 1996; Singh, 2011). Now that in the

changing times, with the state parcelling out a

number of its responsibilities to the voluntary sector,

and many non-profit organisations (or CSOs)

undertaking entrepreneurial activities to subsidise

their charitable operations, the line between the

various sectors of activities like the state, voluntary

sector and the corporate, is getting blurred (Singh,

2011).

On the whole, there has been an evolution so far as the

roles of the CSOs are concerned. And suchdiversity/change in the role of the CSOs is happening

mainly due to the following reasons. Firstly, the CSOs

are becoming open to new ideas and taking advantages

of new opportunities. Many organisations change

according to the change in the contexts; they are

sensitive to the changing needs and position themselves

in order to be able to deal with the changing needs of

their locality or area of operation. For example, the A.F.

Ecology Centre in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, which

was earlier engaged in watershed development

Program and through it was building productive assets

for the local people and also generating employment atthe same time, did change the focus from watershed to

sustainable agriculture development soon after the

Government of India introduced the National

Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). Thus, it is

seen that in India today, the national and the state

governments themselves have launched several flagship

programs in the areas of health/education, etc. Hence,

the CSOs should shift their role from separate service

delivery agencies to facilitating agencies of the

government. In the process, it is essential that they try

to make maximum access and utilisation of the

government funds instead of duplicating thegovernment activities in their own way.

12This is also

emphasised in the 12th

Five Year Plan which says that

the role of the CSOs/NGOs should be forming a platform

between the common masses and the government.

Therefore, different organisations, while continuing

their organisational objectives, are changing the focus

or study area taking the shift in socio-economic

12Mentioned by a Kolkata-based CSO leader

situation of the country and the government

policies/schemes into consideration.

On the other hand, some changes have been

understood to have happened due to the current

market-oriented economic structure. The process of

economic liberalisation in India has boosted up the role

of private sector and emphasised the heady power of

the market; simultaneously, it has also reinforced the

growth of the multinational corporations, which in turn

involve themselves in CSR activities. Additionally, in face

of reduction of foreign funds and dependence on

government resources, there is a possibility that the

role of the CSOs as watchdogs, curbing any kind of

autocratic tendencies on the part of the state or district

government departments, can largely be ineffective.

Even the roles and priorities of CSOs are often found to

be impacted by the availability/non-availability of funds,

irrespective of the needs of the region and the

community they are working with. As a consequence,there can be tendency of the CSOs to shift more

towards service delivery, rather than being glued to

advocacy and monitoring.

CHANGING RELATIONS

With the change in countrys economy, international

relations and the shift in geo-political interest, the CSOs

are facing enormous opportunities as well as challenges.

The rapid advancement in scientific and technological

innovations has facilitated fast dissemination ofinformation which has helped the CSOs and activists a

lot for carrying out their activities. At the same time

shifting geopolitical interests, fixing-up of priorities,

regime change in most of developed especially

European nations with the coming back of right wing

political parties to power as well as economic instability

among the developed countries on the one hand and

several domestic developments mostly macro initiatives

taken by the government on the other, there is a stark

shift in the pattern of resources and funding to the CSOs

in recent past. With these changes, the CSOs have

witnessed significant changes in their relationship withother sectors like government, political society, and

private corporations and even in the relationship among

themselves.

Relationship with the Government

Historically speaking, there was an intimate relationship

between the State and the civil society. In fact, the

intervention of civil society was nothing but known as


12/25

10

social politics. There was a commonality in the interest

of the State and the civil society i.e. welfare of people or

to serve the people and therefore, both were working

together in cooperation. However, since the beginning

of the 1990s, which marked the onset of the

liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation processes

in India, there is an increasing interaction between

these two sectors. The Indian State, operating atmultiple spheres (local, provincial, national and trans-

national), plays several specific functions which can very

closely involve and impact the civil society; these

include the following: (a) the State guarantees

democratic rights to its citizens; this in turn provides

legitimacy to all civil society functions in India; (b) the

State is the primary actor for policy making in India; (c)

it also promotes national development, planning and

implementation. The State also acts both as a funder

and a regulator of the CSOs in India. The legal basis for

CSO formation and operations represents a key dynamic

between the State and civil society. Through these legalmechanisms the State can dictate to an extent the rate

and sectoral location of CSO formation, both through

permissive or harsh standards for formal recognition,

associated direct financial support, tax benefits and

other costs.13

Thus, the CSOs in India remain

inextricably linked to the State.

Since the early 1990s in the period after

commencement of the 73rd

and 74th

Constitutional

Amendment Acts, many CSOs have started working

closely with local governance institutions and other

local level government agencies in implementingvarious programmes and collaborating in various forms.

A partnership between civil society and local self-

governance has brought about the results worth

sharing. For instance, the issue of the panchayat having

jurisdiction for management of all resources, (natural,

physical and human) within their ambit, would imply

accountability of line department ministries at the

provincial and national levels to the local level.

Wherever this was achieved, the strong participation of

civil society organisations existed(Rai et. al, 2001). On

the other hand, at times, the failure of the government

agencies to protect the interests of the underprivilegedgroups has created circumstances under which the

disappointment of the marginalised groups and their

consequent estrangement from the process of

governance has become quite visible. Such situations

13Internet Source:

http://i.unu.edu/unu/u/publication/000/000/783/pb07-08-

governance-through-civil-society-engagement-in-asia.pdf,

Accessed in June, 2012.

thus create an opportunity for the CSOs to raise their

voices. The perceived unresponsiveness of the civil

service has encouraged the Indian public to mobilise

through NGOs and social movements14

As also mentioned earlier, the Indian government, both

at the federal and the state level, has emerged as one of

the primary sources of funding for the CSOs, supporting

programmes to assist rural communities. Since the wake

of the 21st

century, the government support of CSOs (as

evidenced by the rise in the number of government

supported NGO schemes) and the marked increase in

the State funding to them from all levels of

governments have become quite prevalent; and the

significance of the government as a funder is swelling

especially in the context of the rapid withdrawal of the

foreign donor funding for the CSOs (Kilby, 2011).

In addition to these, the Indian State has also opened up

space for increasing interactions with the CSOs so far as

policy-making is concerned. For instance, the NationalAdvisory Council (NAC) has been set up by the United

Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2004 as an

interface with civil society. The NAC, in general,

provides policy and legislative inputs to the government

with special focus on social policy and the rights of the

disadvantaged groups. In addition, it reviews the

flagship programmes of the government and suggests

measures to address any constraints in their

implementation and delivery. Landmark programmes

like MGNREGA15

have been significantly influenced by

the NAC. The NAC comprises distinguished professionals

drawn from the civil society. Through the NAC, thegovernment has access not only to their expertise and

experience but also to a larger network of research

organisations, NGOs and social action and advocacy

groups. Likewise, the National Technical Advisory Group

(NTAG) constituted by the government has opened up

civil society engagement in JNNURM.16

14Internet Source:

http://i.unu.edu/unu/u/publication/000/000/783/pb07-08-

governance-through-civil-society-engagement-in-asia.pdf,

Accessed in June, 2012.15The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee

Act (MGNREGA) was enacted on August 25, 2005. The Act

provides legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in

every financial year to adult members of any rural household16

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission

(JNNURM) is a city-modernisation programme launched by the

Government of India under the Ministry of Urban Development

and Ministry of Housing and Poverty Alleviation aiming to create

economically productive, efficient, equitable and responsive cities

by upgrading the socio-economic infrastructure in cities,

provision of Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP)[2]

and wide-
http://i.unu.edu/unu/u/publication/000/000/783/pb07-08-governance-through-civil-society-engagement-in-asia.pdfhttp://i.unu.edu/unu/u/publication/000/000/783/pb07-08-governance-through-civil-society-engagement-in-asia.pdfhttp://i.unu.edu/unu/u/publication/000/000/783/pb07-08-governance-through-civil-society-engagement-in-asia.pdfhttp://i.unu.edu/unu/u/publication/000/000/783/pb07-08-governance-through-civil-society-engagement-in-asia.pdfhttp://i.unu.edu/unu/u/publication/000/000/783/pb07-08-governance-through-civil-society-engagement-in-asia.pdfhttp://i.unu.edu/unu/u/publication/000/000/783/pb07-08-governance-through-civil-society-engagement-in-asia.pdfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawaharlal_Nehru_National_Urban_Renewal_Mission#cite_note-JNNURM_Sub-missions-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawaharlal_Nehru_National_Urban_Renewal_Mission#cite_note-JNNURM_Sub-missions-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawaharlal_Nehru_National_Urban_Renewal_Mission#cite_note-JNNURM_Sub-missions-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawaharlal_Nehru_National_Urban_Renewal_Mission#cite_note-JNNURM_Sub-missions-1http://i.unu.edu/unu/u/publication/000/000/783/pb07-08-governance-through-civil-society-engagement-in-asia.pdfhttp://i.unu.edu/unu/u/publication/000/000/783/pb07-08-governance-through-civil-society-engagement-in-asia.pdfhttp://i.unu.edu/unu/u/publication/000/000/783/pb07-08-governance-through-civil-society-engagement-in-asia.pdfhttp://i.unu.edu/unu/u/publication/000/000/783/pb07-08-governance-through-civil-society-engagement-in-asia.pdf


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Further to this, in 2007, the cabinet approved the first-

ever national policy on voluntary sector in India. The

policy is an effort to redefine the relationship and

evolve a long-term, sustainable and institutionalised

collaboration between the government and the

voluntary sector in India. Broadly speaking, the policy

sets out four specific objectives: (i) to create an enabling

environment for voluntary organisations that stimulatestheir enterprise and effectiveness, and safeguard their

autonomy; (ii) to enable voluntary organisations to

legitimately mobilise necessary financial resources from

India and abroad; (iii) to identify operating systems by

which the government may work together with

voluntary organisations, on the basis of the principles of

mutual trust and respect, and with the shared

responsibility; and, (d) to encourage voluntary

organisations to adopt transparent and accountable

systems of governance and management.17

One of the outstanding recommendations of this policyis to work towards building permanent mechanism of

regular consultative mechanism between various

national ministries and voluntary organisations.

Consequently, the finance ministry has started

organising pre-budget meetings with the selected

voluntary organisations. Organisation like Voluntary

Action Network of India (VANI)18

has also been invited

by the finance ministry along with CII, FICCI and other

industrial associations for consultations on Direct Taxes

Code (DTC). Though there is a lack of systematic and

structured attempts to materialise this consultative

mechanism with the CSOs, yet it signals the willingnessof the government at all levels to engage more with the

CSOs and their work.

The above mentioned trends represent only one side of

the coin; the other side, however, reveals a kind of

shrinking space for the CSOs. As a result of the shift in

funding from international sources, the CSOs are

increasingly becoming dependent upon the government

for funds and projects; consequently, it is also

increasingly becoming difficult for institutionalised CSOs

to remain independent and autonomous. Hardly do

they enjoy the freedom of criticising the government

and raising their voices for pro-people demands. Undersuch circumstances, strategic partnership with the

government seems difficult. There is only room for

ranging urban sector reforms to strengthen municipal

governance in accordance with the 74th Constitutional

Amendment Act, 1992.17

Internet Source:http://www.vaniindia.org/blog/?p=76,

Accessed in June, 2012.18

A national network of voluntary organisations in India

contractual kind of agreement between the CSOs and

the government. Again, the nature of the State funding

for the institutionalised CSOs has also undergone

changes. In fact, availing government funds have

become time-consuming, complicated and competitive

as well mostly due to the tender-based bidding

approach. Simultaneously, the government policy of

providing funds only through its approved list of NGOsreinforces the problem of limited access of government

funds for the non-approved NGOs outside its list. This

also buttresses the idea that the government looks at

the NGOs as just low-cost sub-contractors/

implementers of the programmes therefore hindering

the possibility of a proper partnership between them.

Also, there is a tendency to ignore the more critical

CSOs/ NGOs and only the approved ones are taken

into account. Interestingly, in the state of Madhya

Pradesh, the government is trying to co-opt the CSOs/

NGOs through Jan Abhiyan Parishad, a state-

government affiliated forum for the CSOs.19

Besides, the government bureaucracy provides a hostile

environment when compared to other donors and many

CSOs have been unable to cope up with their new set of

reporting requirements and institutional dynamics

(Kilby, 2011). Simultaneously, the government is also

coming out heavily in the form of various norms to

regulate the voluntary sector like the recent Financial

Bill. Most of the grass-roots organisations are unaware

of such changes and despite doing good work they

become the victims of harassment by the local

administration and in many cases end up losing theirregistration (Singh, 2011). As a result of such changes,

there has been a winding back of many NGO activities

and many of the medium-sized district or sub-district

based NGOs were unable to fully replace their

international donor funding with government resources

due to more restrictive requirements(Kilby, 2011).

Due to the changing source of funding and much

dependence on government, relationship between the

CSOs and the government has been severely influenced.

In this respect, few trends have been identified:

The relationship between the government and theinstitutionalised CSOs can be characterised by

continuous vicissitudes. At times when their interests

converge, the relationship remains smooth; but in

case, the interests diverge, the discord comes to the

forefront. For example, if any particular CSO is

19Internet Source:http://www.centralchronicle.com/states-

should-follow-suit-for-vision-to-ngos-like-mp-gadkari.html,

http://www.vaniindia.org/blog/?p=76http://www.vaniindia.org/blog/?p=76http://www.vaniindia.org/blog/?p=76http://www.centralchronicle.com/states-should-follow-suit-for-vision-to-ngos-like-mp-gadkari.htmlhttp://www.centralchronicle.com/states-should-follow-suit-for-vision-to-ngos-like-mp-gadkari.htmlhttp://www.centralchronicle.com/states-should-follow-suit-for-vision-to-ngos-like-mp-gadkari.htmlhttp://www.centralchronicle.com/states-should-follow-suit-for-vision-to-ngos-like-mp-gadkari.htmlhttp://www.centralchronicle.com/states-should-follow-suit-for-vision-to-ngos-like-mp-gadkari.htmlhttp://www.centralchronicle.com/states-should-follow-suit-for-vision-to-ngos-like-mp-gadkari.htmlhttp://www.vaniindia.org/blog/?p=76


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12

collaborating with any government agency on the

drinking water programme in a village, there will

hardly be any clash. But when the organisations raise

questions on the policies or actions of the

government or against corruption, then trouble and

confrontation head up between them. Albeit there

some maturity on the part of the state, still it has

failed to embrace the questioning culture, thedemocratic space that the CSOs advocate and aspire

for. However, in spite of increasing dependence on

the government which considerably reduces the

autonomy of the CSOs, still individual organisations

with their high-level of transparency, accountability

and credibility probably can maintain considerable

level of independence.

The relationship between the CSOs and the

government actually depends upon particular

region/ place or even in the same region varies from

people to people. Some government officials mightbe very active and supportive to the cause that civil

society is advocating for, on the other hand, some

other officials might behave non-cooperatively,

indifferently or even antagonistically. So, there are

individual differences rather than any systemic

differences.

Also, the relationship can vary from state to state as

well; for example, in the context of Chhattisgarh and

recent Naxalite threats reigning over the state, the

relationship between the government and the CSOs

can be marked by a deep sense of suspicion. The

government suspects the CSOs working with thelocal communities have active connections with the

Naxals; as a result, it carries out frequent

investigation processes thereby hampering the CSOs

regular flow of work. Again, in Gujarat, the state

government in the post-2002 riots period, has

adopted the silhouette of a welfare state and in the

process tends to curb the civil society space.20

The CSOs that follow a right-based approach often

pointing out the gaps on the part of the government

are likely not to enjoy the support of the latter. In

fact, in 2012, the UPA government and the PrimeMinister ended up in accusing the civil society sector

for waging war on the Indian State with the help of

foreign money in the context of the protest against a

nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu.

Similarly, the relationship between the newly

emerged grassroots movements (also the new

20Mentioned by Chhattisgarh and Gujarat-based NGO leaders

formations/ associations) and the government often

tends to be strained. It is mainly because these kinds

of citizen actions call for citizenship rights and mostly

end up in criticising the government for its

unresponsive nature of civil service. Further, there is

also no formal mechanism where the peoples voice

raised by these movements can be put before the

political system. However, such new elements, beinglargely voluntary and spontaneous in nature, are

able to raise their voices against the polity because

they are not dependent upon the government for

resources. These movements often successfully

mobilise huge public support and have placed the

government not only under tremendous pressure,

but also have forced to take some decisions that it

was otherwise never willing to take; the most recent

example of such citizen eruption is the anti-

corruption agitation led by Anna Hazare.

Of course, there exist some factors that motivate thegovernment to maintain an amicable functional

relationship with the CSOs. The former needs the latter

not only to maintain vote banks, but also to secure the

community support using the CSO networks at the

grassroots level. At times, the government even lacks

the capacity to implement programmes at the

grassroots level for which they depend upon CSOs. On

the part of the CSOs, though working in collaboration

with the government is not always hassle-free, but

some of the obstacles can be overcome if there is a

combination of quality work and good reputation. The

relation between the government and the CSOs alsodepends on the organisations credibility, transparency

and the ability to prove their effective presence by dint

of continuous good work bringing in visible changes at

the community level. Besides, if CSOs develop their

specific areas of expertise effectively, then their work

can create a model which in turn can be replicated by

the government as well. For example, the provincial

government representatives in Chhattisgarh are willing

to replicate the credit cooperative federation model of

Mahila Siksha Kalyan Prashikshan Parishad (MSKPP), a

Chhattisgarh-based CSO in fifteen districts of the state.21

It is also important on part of the CSOs to learn to beengaged with the government without falling into the

traps of corruption. On the other hand, the

government-CSO relationship could be improved by

creating an environment of trust and collaboration; just

as the CSOs are expected to partner with the

government in its various programmes, similarly, the

government representatives should also be involved in

21Mentioned by the Founder-member and Secretary of MSKPP


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the CSOs through membership in the advisory bodies,

etc. This will increase mutual trust between the two.22

Relationship with the Political Society

Political society in this study refers to the political

leadership, political parties and/or any other

organisations following the ideology of any political

establishment. The difference between the politicalsociety and civil society is much to do with the

increasing disconnection of the politics of social

transformation from the politics of governing the Indian

State. Political society is focused on capturing or

running the state, while civil society is concerned with

bringing about changes in the society itself (Tandon,

2011). The chief motto of political parties these days is

to garner vote, to stay in power. No more there is any

statesmanship among the politicians and as a result

there is growing distrust among people towards the

politicians and the party system in India. Consequently,

the relationship between the political society and thecivil society has become antagonistic in nature.

With the recent media exposure of several high-profile

scams involving State and national level political leaders

and billions of public money being hijacked by such

political establishment, and in the context of the anti-

corruption movement in India, there is a vociferous and

visible public anger towards the political society in India.

When the political leadership and political parties are

involved in vote-bank politics, corruption and nepotism,

a healthy civil society-political society relationship will

hardly be a reality. However, both these sectors areessential for inclusive social transformation in India.

Whenever, they appreciate each others distinctive

roles, complementary and synergistic outcomes follow.

Where that is not the case, adversarial interactions have

to be contended with. For example, PRIA had initiated a

programme called Panchayati Raj Jagrukta Abhiyan

(PRJA) in the past in twelve Indian states focusing on

building the capacities of elected representatives of

local governance institutions to be able to perform their

new public roles effectively and accountably and also

mobilised community groups and local community

leaders to participate in Pre-Election Voters AwarenessCampaigns (PEVAC) in sixteen states. This needed direct

interactions with senior state and district level political

party leaders before the campaigns began. At the end,

these programmes were found very successful with the

cooperation of political parties /leaders, other CSOs and

government machinery (ibid).

22Mentioned by a Kolkata, West Bengal based CSO Director

On the other hand, there are also instances of CSOs

working as think-tanks and advisors to the government.

For example, the Centre for Policy Research, which is a

non-profit and non-partisan autonomous research

institution acts as the apex advisory body of the

government of India for the promotion of research in

social sciences. Its objectives are to develop substantive

policy options on matters relevant to the Indian polity,economy and society and provide advisory services on

the same to the governments, public bodies and other

institutions.23

Again, institutionalisedCSOs in India have also served to

provide a platform to the most vulnerable and

underprivileged sections of society. Naturally, there are

various instances of CSO attempts to influence the

legislature for protection of the rights of the

marginalised sections of the society. The MGNREGA and

the draft Right to Food Act are clear indicators of

successful attempts of engagement with the legislaturesby the CSOs to uphold human rights and enhance living

standards.24

Yet another kind of example is the transformation of a

voluntary organisation into a political party; for

instance, the Lok Satta organisation, which started as an

NGO in 1996 devoted to bring out administrative and

political reforms including constitutional amendments

to eliminate defections, reduce the size of the cabinet,

RTI Act, etc., converted itself into the Lok Satta Party in

2006 with the idea that engagement with active politics

probably is the only proper option to bring about

fundamental changes in the system and develop a newpolitical culture. On the whole, it seems that the march

of civil society in isolation with the political society is

hardly feasible; rather, the prudent method for the

CSOs is to involve with the political society and if

required, even to create a common stand so far as the

larger welfare of the society is considered.

The roles of civil society and political society can be

overlapping and/ or complementary to each other at time;

but they should not represent two separate water tight

compartments. Hence, there is a need to delineate the role

of the CSOs. For this purpose, it is important to have a

common understanding on the roles of the CSOs based on

which there can be discourse with the political society. A

Kolkata-based CSO leader.

23Internet Source:http://www.cprindia.org/,Accessed in June,

2012.24

Internet Source:http://www.saglobalaffairs.com/back-

issues/1137-power-of-ngos.html,Accessed in June, 2012.
http://www.cprindia.org/http://www.cprindia.org/http://www.cprindia.org/http://www.saglobalaffairs.com/back-issues/1137-power-of-ngos.htmlhttp://www.saglobalaffairs.com/back-issues/1137-power-of-ngos.htmlhttp://www.saglobalaffairs.com/back-issues/1137-power-of-ngos.htmlhttp://www.saglobalaffairs.com/back-issues/1137-power-of-ngos.htmlhttp://www.saglobalaffairs.com/back-issues/1137-power-of-ngos.htmlhttp://www.saglobalaffairs.com/back-issues/1137-power-of-ngos.htmlhttp://www.cprindia.org/


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However, the relationship between the CSOs and the

political society cannot be depicted completely without

a mention of the rising trend of politicisation of CSOs in

India. This phenomenon is mostly popular amongst the

regional or state-based CSOs, which under the strong

influence of the local/ regional political parties are

losing their non-partisan and non-political approach.25

On the other hand, as already mentioned above (seeChanging Composition section), many political parties

or sometimes even well-known political leaders are

opening up organisations for engagement in social and

development activities. This, sometimes, tend to affect

the CSOs adversely.26

Beyond doubt, the political parties

and their leaders having greater affiliations within the

government, end up accessing the government funded

projects quite easily surpassing the other CSOs.

Relationship among the CSOs

Since the 1990s, CSOs in India have witnessed the

formation of partnership and collaboration based onideological similarities. But even more important is the

creation of collaboration among the CSOs in lines of

thematic resemblances. Some important themes

around which CSOs in India have tended to collaborate

include HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation, education,

health to name a few. In addition to this, there are also

existence of state based networks of CSOs for example

Madhyavan in Madhya Pradesh, Sajjta Sangh in

Gujarat; these are all common platforms for the CSOs in

the respective states to share their experiences with

each other and even to discuss and fight concerns

unitedly. However, in spite of their existence, these

networks in India often tend to be irregular and weak in

nature. Also, in most cases it is found that there is a

hidden and invisible competition among the CSOs at the

regional levels. Like in Tamil Nadu, after the Tsunami,

because of siphoning of aid and relief related funds as

per political inclinations, the CSO share quite a

conflicting relationship.27

In addition, fragmentation and

multiplicity of these networks are also prominent

thereby jeopardising the idea of forming a unified CSO

networks in India.

Besides, coalitions of CSOs can also be traced when itcomes to influencing governance in India. These CSO

coalitions actually involve complementing each other in

terms of approach, strategies and resources. At the

same time, such coalitions also sometimes tend to bring

forth internal disagreements and conflicts, thereby

25Mentioned in the Roundtable Discussions

26Mentioned by a Bhopal-based CSO leader

27Mentioned by a Chennai-based CSO representative

posing challenge to their own sustainability. In the

Indian context, the role of intermediary associations

playing the role of anchor to such coalitions by

providing institutional resources, linkages with different

tiers of government, partnerships with academia and

media as well as access to international fora (Tandon &

Mohanty, 2002). Simultaneously, organisations like

Voluntary Action Network India (VANI), which is theapex body of voluntary organisations in India, attempts

to create a national level platform for the CSOs across

states in India for advocacy on issues and policies

confronting the CSOs; coordination and action to

support and promote voluntary action in India.

Currently, VANI is represented by direct membership of

372 organisations and an indirect membership of over

4000 organisations.28

It works as a catalyst between the

Indian voluntary sector and other actors like central and

state governments, bilateral and multilateral donors as

well. It represents the concerns and issues of the CSOs

through policy advocacy, networking and sensitising thegovernment and other stakeholders.It attempts to

bring about a convergence of common sectoral issues

and concerns for building a truly national agenda of

voluntary action in the country. It also facilitates

linkages of various efforts and initiatives of the

voluntary sector in the country for a multiplier effect, to

create and sustain the process of change in an organic

manner, thereby fostering value-based voluntary action

and long-term sustainability among its members.29

There is an urgent need to make proper interfaces with the

government; hence, a state-level CSO network should beformed for mutual cooperation amongst the various CSOs.

The network can help develop a common understanding of

the sector as a whole within the government, which at the

moment is lacking. A Chhattisgarh-based CSO leader.

On the whole, two specific trends can be noticed

regarding the weak formation of CSO networks in India.

These are as follows: (i) vastness of the country,

geographical differences and lack of funds have

considerably minimised the frequency of local, national

and international level meetings/ face-to-face

interactions and partnerships; as a result, field-level

collaborations are not happening among the CSOsalthough there are exchanges of views and ideas in

virtual form/ internet...; (ii) it is generally noticed that

there are divisions among institutionalised CSOs and the

new citizens eruptions, though the more formally

28Internet source:http://www.vaniindia.org/,Accessed in June,

2012.29

Internet Source:http://www.vaniindia.org/content.php?id=10,

http://www.vaniindia.org/http://www.vaniindia.org/http://www.vaniindia.org/http://www.vaniindia.org/content.php?id=10http://www.vaniindia.org/content.php?id=10http://www.vaniindia.org/content.php?id=10http://www.vaniindia.org/content.php?id=10http://www.vaniindia.org/


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organised CSOs came forward with their information,

resources and expertise in order to help the movements

like POSCO or the Anna upsurge, yet on the whole,

institutionalised civil society is quite oblivious about

these movements. The survival/ existence of the

organised CSOs and their supremacy become so

important that they do not want to associate

themselves with these sporadic movements.

As Edwards (2011) has mentioned, there are

opportunities for greater engagement in the public

sphere as a result of new information technologies,

community media, public journalism and the new

forms of civil society organised around these

innovations. Attitudes towards these innovations vary

from wild optimism to undue pessimism, with the truth

lying somewhere in between, but even the most

successful find it difficult to reverse the structural

inequalities of the public sphere, especially because so

much new communication is virtual rather face-to-face,and may therefore be less effective as a tool for

confronting the raw realities of politics and power and

for reshapingas opposed to reinforcingexisting

norms and values among communities of interest the

balance sheet of the public sphere in most countries

leans more heavily towards the losses than the gains,

imperilling the ability of public spaces to promote

democratic engagement and consensus-building and

placing a question mark over civil societys ultimate

achievements. India is also not an exception. The CSOs

in India today are mostly connected through virtual

platforms. Face-to-face direct interactions and jointcombating of the present day challenges that the CSOs

are experiencing happens very rarely.

Relationship with Private Corporate Sector

With the proliferation of private sector and

accumulation of enormous fortunes by taking

advantage of the governmental deregulation, economic

liberalisation and globalisation, many such private

companies have started promoting Corporate Social

Responsibilities (CSR) and private philanthropic

activities. Though at a nascent stage, yet in recent

times, several corporate bodies are involving the CSOsin the process of implementa

Documents

Civil Society in Changing India