Civil Society in Changing India:

Emerging Roles, Relationships and Strategies

42 Tughlakabad Institutional Area

New Delhi 110062
www.pria.org

Debika Goswami
Rajesh Tandon
0
Kaustuv
K Bandyopadhyay

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 abovementioned 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.

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?

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 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 collection
continued 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:

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 abovementioned trends prompted PRIA to undertake the
current study on civil society. The study specifically
looked at the following research questions:

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;

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

In the contemporary Indian context, different terms like

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.2 The Indian
economy, with a GDP worth US$ 1.4 trillion, is expected
to double in this decade. India will be the worlds third
largest economy (in terms of purchasing power parity)
after China and the US by 2025.3 India 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.

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 along
with its rising stature in various international forums has
set a very optimistic future. India has secured nonpermanent 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.

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.

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. On
the 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, slow
implementation of various governance reforms, a
sluggish bureaucratic administration have been
impeding factors in rapid reduction of poverty.

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

CHANGING CIVIL SOCIETY

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

New Delhi: Oxford.
3
Internet Source: http://www.defence.pk/forums/indiadefence/88007-visits-big-five-leaders-six-months-indicate-india-sgrowing-global-stature.html, Accessed in June, 2012.

The changing socio-economic and political tableau in

India has impacted the Indian CSOs and their focuses
2

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.

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 projectbased activities: A significant trend noticed since the
decade of 1990s is the mushrooming of voluntary
organisations (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 for
development/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.5 Indeed, the mushrooming
growth of CSOs/ NGOs in India with the increasing
entry of opportunist people into the sector is
becoming an appalling phenomenon.

According to Tandon (2002a), the phrase civil society in

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 here
that, 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 initiatives
which 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 nonprofit 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.

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

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

Mentioned by a Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh based CSO leader

Mentioned by a Chennai based CSO worker and also by a
professor of Public Administration from the University of Madras
5

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

like extended hands of the state.6

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).

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.7 It 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 turn
enhancing the scope of HIV/AIDS prevention, care
and support.

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 decisionmaking 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 antiPOSCO9 movement 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 of
Odisha obliging their mainstream association with
them. This category unfortunately has a negative
trend.

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

registered or unregistered groups of microentrepreneurs 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 of
India (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

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
9

The $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 cent
belong 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.

Mentioned by an Andhra Pradesh based CSO leader

Internet Source:
http://www.hivpolicy.org/biogs/HPE0016b.htm, Accessed in
June, 2012.
8
Internet Source: www.apmas.org/pdfper cent5CSHGsper
cent20inper cent20India.doc, , Accessed in June, 2012.
7

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. Examples
of 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.

unto death and demanded enactment of the longpending 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 anticorruption law, the Jan Lokpal Bill. Interestingly, the
upsurge has also successfully galvanised mass support
and enticed the media so much so that corruption today
is 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 highlevel 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 punishment
of 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.

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.

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 has
enough potential to make Indian democracy more
inclusive and participatory.

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, they
experimented 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

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
5

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.

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:

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 promoting
more 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 socioeconomically 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 and
changing. 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

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 few
of 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 at
the 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,
6

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 such
circumstances, 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.

even donor agencies are geared towards service

provision and administer through tender based
approaches inviting bids and therefore there is a cutthroat 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. In
fact, 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

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, emerged
into 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 strategise
its 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.

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 global
economic chain by developing their incomegenerating 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

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

10

Internet Source:
http://www.nacoonline.org/Mainstreaming_and_Partnerships/Ci
vil_Society/, Accessed in June, 2012..
11
The Indian division of Unilever, a multinational corporation

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 their
grass-root networks thereby linking their
beneficiaries with the wider economic chain.

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 not
defined 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).

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.

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.

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 the
government 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.

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 Stone Quarry 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.

Promoting organisations and mobilisation of the

marginalised: Civil society in the form of
organisations are reflecting the political assertion of
8

situation of the country and the government

policies/schemes into consideration.

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 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.

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

roles of the CSOs are concerned. And such
diversity/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 at
the 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 the
government activities in their own way.12 This 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
12

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 of
information 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 with
other 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

Mentioned by a Kolkata-based CSO leader

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 at
multiple spheres (local, provincial, national and transnational), 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 legal
mechanisms 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.

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 National
Advisory 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, the
government 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

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 implementing
various programmes and collaborating in various forms.
A partnership between civil society and local selfgovernance 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 underprivileged
groups 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

14

Internet Source:
http://i.unu.edu/unu/u/publication/000/000/783/pb07-08governance-through-civil-society-engagement-in-asia.pdf,
Accessed in June, 2012.
15
The 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 household
16
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,
[2]
provision of Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP) and wide-

13

Internet Source:
http://i.unu.edu/unu/u/publication/000/000/783/pb07-08governance-through-civil-society-engagement-in-asia.pdf,
Accessed in June, 2012.

10

Further to this, in 2007, the cabinet approved the firstever 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 stimulates
their 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

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 NGOs
reinforces 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 stategovernment affiliated forum for the CSOs.19

One of the outstanding recommendations of this policy

is 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 willingness
of the government at all levels to engage more with the
CSOs and their work.

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 their
registration (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).

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. Under
such circumstances, strategic partnership with the
government seems difficult. There is only room for

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 the
institutionalised 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

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

19

Internet Source: http://www.centralchronicle.com/statesshould-follow-suit-for-vision-to-ngos-like-mp-gadkari.html,

Accessed in June, 2012.

11

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, the
democratic 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.

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, being
largely 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 anticorruption agitation led by Anna Hazare.

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 might
be 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.

Of course, there exist some factors that motivate the

government 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 also
depends 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 be
engaged 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

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 the
local 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 Prime
Minister 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
20

21

Mentioned by Chhattisgarh and Gujarat-based NGO leaders

12

Mentioned by the Founder-member and Secretary of MSKPP

the CSOs through membership in the advisory bodies,

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

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

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 political
society 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 the
civil society has become antagonistic in nature.

Again, institutionalised CSOs 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 legislatures
by the CSOs to uphold human rights and enhance living
standards.24

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 anticorruption 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 are
essential 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 Awareness
Campaigns (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).

22

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 new
political 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.

23

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

2012.
24
Internet Source: http://www.saglobalaffairs.com/backissues/1137-power-of-ngos.html, Accessed in June, 2012.

Mentioned by a Kolkata, West Bengal based CSO Director

13

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 (see
Changing 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.

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 the
apex 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 the
government 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

Relationship among the CSOs

Since the 1990s, CSOs in India have witnessed the
formation of partnership and collaboration based on
ideological 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.

There is an urgent need to make proper interfaces with the

government; hence, a state-level CSO network should be
formed 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 CSOs
although 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

Besides, coalitions of CSOs can also be traced when it

comes 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

28

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

2012.
29
Internet Source: http://www.vaniindia.org/content.php?id=10,
Accessed in June, 2012.

25

Mentioned in the Roundtable Discussions

26
Mentioned by a Bhopal-based CSO leader
27
Mentioned by a Chennai-based CSO representative

14

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.

passed in Parliament, may not be binding for all

companies across the board. Also, the government may
not suggest penalties for failing to spend the required
percentage of the companys profits on CSR.30
Most of the corporate companies, in the current
backdrop of the Companies Bill 2009, are forming their
own foundations in order to carry out their CSR
activities, leading to an alarming rate of staff attrition in
the institutionalised CSOs. However, another
simultaneous trend on the part of the corporates is to
engage with the CSOs to provide a shape to their CSR
programmes; though in the present context, the
corporate sector through its CSR initiatives is engaging
only a meagre section from among the vast pool of
existing CSOs in India. Again, most of the CSOs also feel
sceptical about the corporate sector which, in turn, has
hindered a healthy relationship between the two. But
irrespective of the existing dilemmas, there are on-going
incidences of CSO engagement with CSR initiatives as a
part of the formers fund-raising strategy especially in a
scenario where international funding sources are
dwindling.

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 reshaping as opposed to reinforcing existing
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 joint
combating of the present day challenges that the CSOs
are experiencing happens very rarely.

Tie-ups between the corporates and the CSOs are

generally envisaged on the basis of sharing of groundlevel expertise and operational knowledge of the CSOs.
Further ways of involvement with the CSR initiatives can
be engagement in need assessment studies, planning
and implementation of the programmes etc. Again, the
corporate houses are always impacted by the heady
market forces as well as the government and would
likely not to develop a conflicting relationship with the
latter; hence, the possibility of the corporates to engage
with the CSOs in right-based advocacy (mostly antigovernment) hardly exists. Thus, the CSR programmes
are mostly hitched to service delivery mode of work and
that too in very restricted terms and geographies.
Mostly, it is seen that the CSR initiatives are planned in
the catchment areas of the corporate houses
wherefrom most of their workers belong. This is
because it helps them to generate good will as well as to
mitigate the problems of their workers. But the CSR
programmes, being mostly devoid of holistic
development approach, are not interested in
empowering the communities as a whole.

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 CSOs
in the process of implementation of their CSR
programmes. This became a prominent feature
especially in the context of the recent Companies Bill,
2009 (of the Government of India) which suggests that,
the companies are expected to earmark two per cent of
their net profits towards CSR activities every year.
However, reports suggest that there might be some
exemptions or riders in the rules which will follow the
new Act. Mandatory CSR, even if mentioned in the Bill

On the other hand, in many instances, it is also viewed

that the so-called CSR is just the external face of the
corporate houses followed by a concealed internal
30

Internet Source: http://www.businessstandard.com/india/news/companies-bill-firms-keep-fingerscrossedcsr/425774/, Accessed in June, 2012.

15

agenda to facilitate promotion of their market interest

and not the development interest. In the name of CSR
they legitimise their presence and business and often
satisfy their parochial interests. One famous corporate
group has tried to siphon money to the naxals in
Chhattisgarh through a local NGO, the motive was to
promote naxalism-free industrialisation in the region.
This has immensely impacted on the public image of the
NGOs and increased the feeling of mistrust and
suspicion towards them. The incident also reflects the
fact that small NGOs, being motivated by money, are
compromising their values and morals.31 Thus, the
major challenge for the local CSOs in Chhattisgarh is this
negative image in the eyes of the government as well as
the common people.

pre-requisite needed for collaboration between the two

sectors.33

Relationship with Media

India in the 21st century has witnessed dramatic boom
so far as both electronic and print media are concerned,
quite contrary to the 80s and 90s of the last century
when the only available form of media was the print
media. Now with the flourishing of satellite technology
and increase in the number of 24X7 news channels in
the national as well as the regional languages,
information dissemination to the public has been
simple, trouble-free and fast. In addition to this, the
growth of social media (which include e-Newsletter,
Twitter, Facebook, etc.) has also opened up newer
avenues of information spreading and reaching out to a
wider public within fractions of seconds. Hence, it is
very important on the part of the CSOs to engage with
media for the purpose of showcasing their works and
generate public awareness. Media, and especially social
media, if used fruitfully, can act as a silver bullet for
fundraising as well because it provides opportunities to
tell the world about the work done by the CSOs at a
pretty low cost and connect with the outside world
swiftly.34

Many a times the corporate houses also lack the

required vision to be engaged in development activities.
Hence, before joining hands with the corporate or the
private sector, it is important for the CSOs not only to
review the history, rules/regulations and the ethics of
the particular corporate house involved, but also analyse
whether the proposed project is designed for the best
interests of the community and their needs. Probably it
is also important on the part of the CSOs to examine the
transparency of the proposed partnership with the
corporates as well as to review the CSR policies of the
latter in detail.32

Post the Anna Hazare movement since April 2011, the

term civil society has been quite frequently used in the
public discourse and even by the media; it is now a part
of the public lexicon, thanks to electronic media which
has played an important role in highlighting the
atrocities on marginalised, corruption in the system and
opinions of social leaders. This media has played a
considerable role in bringing the world of CSOs into
public currency. Mass media has always been the
partner of voluntary organisations to achieve social and
economic changes. It is not only a tool for public
education but also influencing the policy makers. The
advocacy groups use it to share their concerns whereas
grass roots groups highlight their field experiences
through mass media. But since the last few years, the
change in the structure of media has made it very
challenging for the voluntary organisations to get social
issues highlighted.35 The rising cost and take-over by
the corporates, huge impact of the heady market forces
all have resulted in the commercialisation of media. At
the same time, greater focus of the media on portraying

Need for a detailed research by the CSOs in order to explore

newer ways of engaging with the corporates social
initiative and to analyse whether the CSR initiatives are
complementing the efforts of the voluntary sector
Mentioned in discussions at the Madurai (Tamil Nadu)
Roundtable February 2012.

In spite of all these existing issues and concerns, it

cannot be denied that engagement with the private
sector can be one of the prime in-country fundraising
strategies for the CSOs in India, especially in the present
era of privatisation and liberalisation. However, how to
effectively engage with them without losing the
independent identity and effectiveness is something
which needs greater exploration on the part of the
CSOs. However, at the moment there is a serious lacuna
on the part of the corporates so far as understanding of
development perspectives is concerned. On the whole,
formation of a conducive environment and
simultaneous fostering of mutual respect is a primary

33

Ibid
Internet Source:
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/ngo/docs/2010/Farra.pdf
35
Internet Source: http://www.vaniindia.org/blog/?p=52,
Accessed in June, 2012.
34

31
32

Mentioned by a Chhattisgarh-based CSO leader

Mentioned by a Bhopal-based CSO leader

16

the protest activities and not the constructive and

innovative work that the CSOs have been involved with
(examples of innovative model building, showcasing
new ideas, etc., by the CSOs hardly gain visibility in the
media) have created a public psyche which revolves
around ideas that CSOs are meant only for protests and
struggles; the constructive aspects of institutionalised
CSOs beyond the radius of protest movements remain
shrouded in darkness.36 However, attempts of
monitoring the media can also be noticed through
formation of media-watch organisations like The Hoot
(not for profit organisation run by the Media
Foundation, New Delhi; its mission is to critique the
media in India, to revive the concern for media ethics,
restore focus on development in the subcontinent as
well as preserve press freedom).37

development funding for institutionalised CSOs in India

was roughly divided between the foreign donors and
the Indian government, apart from private donations
and volunteering. However, the decision of the Indian
government to amputate relationships with most of the
bilateral donors in 2003 suddenly dropped down the
foreign contribution and ignited the beginning of
funding crisis for the institutionalised CSOs.
Interestingly, that was a time when India sparked signs
of economic boom, declining poverty rates and
improved government service delivery compared to the
decades of 80s and 90s. The enforced withdrawal of
many bilateral donors coupled with a robust economy
signalled the INGOs that India is no more in need of
development funds and the Indian government
seriously can take charge and address the countrys
social problems. Contributions towards religious NGOs
(Christians and followers of other minority religions)
from foreign donors also amounted considerably (Kilby,
2011).

Probably the time has come when both the CSOs and
the media must attempt to redefine their relationships
and identify new ways of working with each other.
Rather than going through sinking feeling many
voluntary organisations have adopted changes in their
approach towards media. The programme staffs of
voluntary originations are being trained to write press
briefs, new features and mechanism of feeding
information regularly. Charkha is one such successful
initiative by the voluntary sector. Rather than having
one time event, the organisations are trying to have ongoing relationship of information sharing. We need to
search for journalists who are committed to the cause of
social change and ready to write. Such friends in media
must be nurtured. In order to get space in the news slot
whether in electronic media or in print, even journalists
has to negotiate with content editors.38 Organisations
like VANI efforts to reach out to media and the public to
sensitise them on concerns related to the sector. On the
whole, greater and more positive engagement of both
the CSOs and the media can help foster a better
relationship between the two, which in turn can help
the former to bring themselves and their
achievements/challenges more under the limelight.

On the other hand, the restrictive regulatory laws

recently enforced by the Indian government are also
predominantly impacting the institutionalised CSOs. The
newly amended FCRA law (which came into force in
2011) forces the CSOs to renew their registration after
every five years. Also, an organisation receiving more
than one crore as foreign money is expected to share
information through its website. Under the newly
amended act, this kind of negligence can lead to
complications and even cancellation of the registration.
Besides, under the law, an organisation can be declared
of political nature if it has objectives of political nature
or comments upon or participates in any political
activity. Actions like bandh or hartal, etc., are
considered to be of political nature. The law also strictly
mentions that the administrative expenditure of an
organisation must not exceed 50 per cent of the total
utilisation. Thus, the registration of the CSOs can be
cancelled due to non-compliance with the FCRA law or
doing something which is against so called national
interest. Similarly, more stringent DTC regulations are
forcing the CSOs to come under tax obligations. The
provision of saving has been taken away along with
facility to account on accrual basis. The definition of
charitable activities is as confused as it was earlier, the
business like activities unilaterally defined by assessing
officer can take away the tax exemptions. The visa
regime has also been tightened. Now to invite
international experts or organising international
workshop requires clearance from three Ministries, like
Home, External Affairs, and Nodal Ministry. Thus, this
restrictive regulatory environment is hindering the CSOs

CHANGING RESOURCES
From the 1990s till the beginning of the 21st century,
India experienced a remarkable upswing in international
development funding. In early years of the 21st century
36

Emerged from the Roundtable Discussion conducted in Surat,

Gujarat in March 2012
37
Internet Source:
http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/index.php
38
Internet Source: http://www.vaniindia.org/blog/?p=52,
Accessed in June, 2012.

17

greatly to access not only foreign funds but also

maintain international connections.

CSOs in India. This had helped in setting up a number of

CSOs in the country, but also paved effective paths of
organisational capacity development and training
programmes. But nowadays, the foreign funding is also
becoming project oriented and therefore, the scope of
using that resource for organisational development or
institution building is becoming narrower'.40

Under such circumstances, the government funding for

the CSOs in rural India has considerably increased.
Welfare and development oriented schemes by various
government departments have been introduced.
However, the funding sources for CSOs from the central
and provincial governmental departments, as
mentioned earlier, are primarily geared towards service
provisions and administered through tender based
approaches leading to fierce competition among the
CSOs participating in the bidding. Besides, the process
of getting funds from the government is also lengthy
and complicated, not to forget about the issues of
corruption and arbitrariness often linked to the various
government departments and agencies. Additionally,
the reporting requirements and the institutional
dynamics of the government departments providing
development funds are stringent when compared to the
foreign donor agencies.

Fundamentally, the funding climate for the CSOs in India

is going through rapid changes. The Overseas
Development Aid (ODA) has declined enormously,
domestic and global philanthropy has decreased
considerably for secular CSOs when compared to that of
the religious ones, CSR activities of the corporates are
expanding with greater focus on branding and markets
and government funds for development are restricted
towards basic service delivery. Most importantly, all
these developments are occurring in the context of a
stringent and restrictive legal environment for the CSOs.
Beyond doubts, under such circumstances, the local
CSOs are forced to reduce their volume of work and
number of staff, in order to reduce their operational
cost. Reduced funding has affected the moral of the
staff as well. As a result, the CSOs, in general, are left
with three broad options, which are as follows:
Downsize and revert to the smaller more voluntary
structures they had before international donor
funding, and take on more modest activities at local
level;
Strengthen their capacity, particularly financial and
management, to be able to take on larger
government contracts and to be discerning with
those they take;
To have independent sources of income through
commercial or semi-commercial enterprises, such as
undertaking consultancies or being microfinance
brokers. (Kilby, 2011).

Again, multilateral donors (like World Bank) also fund

programmes partnering with the central and state
governments, where-under the CSOs are used only as
conduit for implementation at local levels. Moreover,
these programmes mostly known as loan projects
(whereby funds are loaned to the central government,
which are then further loaned to the state
governments) tend to affect the CSOs adversely mostly
due to the institutional politics involved in them. In
most cases, it is seen that under such initiatives the
CSOs are forced to unrealistic expenditure and output
targets having limited and unsustainable outcomes.
These poorly planned donor requirements created
conflict for the NGOs concerned, particularly with their
values and the aid recipients, and ultimately it soured
the relationships NGOs had, both with the World Bank
and the partner governments (Kilby, 2011). A classic
example of using the CSOs as conduit for implementing
government-World Bank programme is the Karnataka
Watershed Development Project (KWDP).39

Additionally, following the resource crunch, many CSOs

are adopting to the donors agenda/ issues in order to
access funds without any hassle. In fact, their roles and
priorities are revolving around the availability of funds.
Hence, it is often seen that their activities, being donordriven, have not emerged out of local requirements, but
are imposed from above and simultaneously lacking in
innovation. For example, the gender focused CSOs have
lost their ways, network and focus of work after
HIV/AIDS projects started gaining emphasis and
attracted funds both from the bilateral donors and the
government as well. Projects on HIV have been imposed
even in areas which generally have no such

Apart from these, another aspect of government

funding is that generally they are project based and
cover only the cost of the project activities. On the
other hand, international donor funding till the
beginning of the 21st century too some extent invested
in institutional development and strengthening of the
39

KWDP, locally known as Sujala, from 2001-09 was implemented

in seven districts of Karnataka in order to improve the productive
potential of selected watersheds and their associated natural
resource base.

40

18

Mentioned by an Ahmedabad-based CSO leader

requirements, ignoring the other vulnerable areas of

gender development.41 As a result, the sector is facing a
crisis of vision and identity as well; thus, need for a
sectoral review in order to plan future course of action is
required, especially in the present context where the
CSOs are either in the loop of the government/ donor
compulsions or of the market forces, thereby losing their
independent identity.42 As Edwards & Hulme (1992) cite,
the greatest challenge for the CSOs/NGOs is to find
ways of achieving deeper impact while maintaining their
traditional strengths such as flexibility, innovation and
attachment to values and principles.

self-sufficiency of the CSOs and lesser dependence

on both the government as well as foreign funds.
Social business model can be an alternate strategy to
combat financial crisis. CSOs can create for-profit
arms of NGOs and work in consortiums doing
consultancy projects. The surplus funds can be
transferred to the non-profit arm.
Greater emphasis on membership-based
organisations and creation of corpus-fund can be
other alternate strategies to deal with the financial
crisis. Mobilising endowment funds and individual
donations also have come up as suggestions from
some of the CSO leaders.

Again, many CSOs are adopting a business model, (shift

from a grant-model to a revenue-model) where they
can raise their own resources. Besides, the growing
Indian middle class is also increasingly willing to
contribute for social cause; hence, some CSOs are trying
to tap this resource as a part of their national fundraising strategy. Another strategy that the CSOs are
adopting is mobilisation of local resources in the form
of community contribution. This in the long run, can
lead to self-sufficiency of the organisations and lesser
dependence on the government as well as foreign
funds.43

Funding from religious organisations can be another

option, but the limitation of these organisations
which are comfortable mostly in charitable or
service delivery mode of action and not right based
approach must be taken into consideration.
Another possible way of raising resources is a kind of
consortium funding where the government,
community, private sector and the CSOs can all come
together and finance for social sector.
On the whole, the time has come for the sector to go to
the public to raise funding for their work. Fundraising
which involves going to the market for funds, calls for
knowledge, skills, attitudes and resources, which are not
identical with those required for running a successful
social project Fundraising has not only a financial
objective, but also a communication objective. Talking
to the various publics is going to become a critical
activity One of the clear implications of going to the
publics is the accountability and the possible closer
scrutiny, even by donors of relatively small amounts of
money. (Singh, 2011) Hence, engaging in quality and
effective work in order to increase their visibility and
recognition and also to improve the image of the sector
by bringing in greater accountability and transparency
should be the primary focus of the CSOs in India today,
along with developing newer skills and competencies
like social networking. In fact, the civil society cannot
talk of democracy, transparency and accountability,
unless they themselves are democratic, transparent and
accountable respectively. Since the CSOs need to
mobilise human and other resources through
commitments to social values and missions, which in
the end result into public good, their image as
legitimate and accountable stewards is crucial to their
ability to recruit staff and allies to their causes (Brown &
Jagadananda, 2007). Without embracing such values
around which the civil society is espousing/

To summarise, the CSOs in India probably have to create

a diversified funding base in order to survive
effectively.44 The possible options that have been
articulated by a variety of civil society leaders in various
discussions are the followings:
The CSOs should look for opportunities in effectively
utilising the private philanthropic funds as well as the
CSR funds in innovative ways, thereby overcoming
the challenges posed by the government rigidity in
fund disbursement. Side by side, positive
negotiations and constant dialoguing with the
external/ foreign donor agencies should also be
conducted.
In order to achieve sustainability, the CSOs should
strengthen themselves and generate their own
resources; emphasis on embracing the culture of
contribution from the community, whereby the
latter should gradually develop the habit of paying
for the services that they are offered, can be another
alternate option. This in the long run, can lead to
41

Mentioned by a Pune- based CSO leader

Mentioned in the Roundtable Discussions
43
Mentioned by a CBO leader in Chhattisgarh
44
The summary is written on the basis of the discussions at the
Roundtable Conferences held in Kolkata, Pune, Madurai,
Bangalore, Bhopal and Surat
42

19

championing, there will not be validity in being only

prescriptive. Thus, improving the legitimacy and
accountability of the CSOs in India is of pivotal
importance in present context.

has increased manifold. New legally incorporated

entities at the grass-roots level have grown enormously
(there must be nearly 2 million Self Help Groups in the
country already). Community Based Organisations of
the excluded sections of population have multiplied
several folds amongst the dalit and muslim
communities. Even middle-class neighbourhoods have
many more associations. According to an estimate as of
March 2012 by Central Statistical Organisation,
Government of India, the registered Non-Profit
Institutions have grown almost three times the figure
last estimated at 1.2 million in 2001 by PRIA.
Intermediate NGOs have grown to reach about five
times the figure last estimated at 1.2 million in 2001.
Corporate foundations and CSR agencies have come
into being. A large number of private schools, colleges
and universities have also been established, all as nonprofit organisations. Even government agencies have
been setting up NGOs and institutional mechanisms for
efficient delivery of services.

EMERGING CONCLUSIONS
The foregoing analysis suggests that civil society in India
is facing several crossroads. Historically, Indian civil
society has been known for its innovative experiments
which then scaled-up as national government policies
and programmes, and even taken to other countries by
the donors and the UN agencies. For decades after the
painful Bihar famines in late 1960s, Indian voluntary
sector continued to evolve in diverse ways, specially
focusing on conscientisation and mobilisation of the
poor and the marginalised. It brought into public sphere
issues related to tribals and dalits, women and children,
workers and the disabled. Its grassroots work
highlighted such concerns which had been hidden from
public discourse violence against women,
environmental degradation, occupational health and
pollution, child and bonded labour, displacement and
urban poverty.

In this morass, diversity is both strength and

problematique. Variety of experiences, formations and
actors bring richness to the task of governing todays
India. However, at the same time, it tends to confuse
the identity of the sector. Is this all one sector? Does it
really have a shared vision of society? Are some
common values shared by all actors of civil society? The
confusion around identity is experienced within, as well
as perceived from outside.

The new trajectory of economic growth has placed India

into a new global league. Its public revenues have
quadrupled, its government programmes have
increased social sector spending by threefold, and new
rights to education, information, forest, employment
etc. have been guaranteed. The world is treating India
as a key economic and political player already.

b) Demands for Service Provision and Citizens Protests

The huge resources made available through
government programmes are still not reaching out to
the poor and the excluded. The senior officials and
many political leaders have accepted the large scale
weaknesses in the delivery of services to the last mile.
Resources remain unutilised, not just mis-utilised. On a
regular basis, national and provincial governments are
seeking out established NGOs and their networks to
take responsibility for service provision. Even local SHG
federations have been outsourced such functions as
mid-day meals for primary schools.

The previous sections of this document have attempted

to go deep into these changes in India, and its
development trajectory; consequent changing
influences on its voluntary sector which by now is
generally called civil society have also been changing.
In some ways, the changes within the larger context,
and resultant pressures, have also created new
dilemmas and challenges for civil society. In this
concluding section, based on the foregoing analysis, the
five key types of crossroads are being posed; the
choices made on these crossroads will be decisive in
shaping the trajectory of Indias civil society in the next
decade.

Yet, the larger question of reforming the governments

system of service delivery requires consistent external
pressures. It is in this respect that large numbers of
protests are occurring throughout the country. Media
has expanded its outreach and mandates. Hundreds of
news channels, FM radio stations and
newspapers/magazines are constantly reporting on
these protests. The system of governance is facing the

a) Diversifying Composition, Confusing Identity

The overwhelming diversity in the forms, purposes,
sizes and activities of actors in civil society is amazing.
The rate and frequency at which citizens in all locations
of society are organising themselves to both demand
and construct solutions to their daily problems of life
20

twin crises inadequate service provision and unending

citizen protests.

methods are invented (Official Secrecy Act and Right to

Information co-exist, just as written precedent and egovernance co-exist).

Interlinked as the two are, many civil society actors

want to find ways to make basic services available to
the hitherto unreached sections of the population. Yet,
the passage to service provision is fraught with
numerous risks, as short-term protests do not
necessarily reform a bureaucracy in an old democracy
like India. What is the choice then? Will working to
make resources and services reach the excluded
absorb the actors of civil society inside the system
itself? Will external pressure to reform take decades by
when numerous generations will continue to suffer?
The choices are not simple, or easy?

More than twenty-five years ago, PRIA had convened an

international dialogue on Government-NGO
relationships. Its report was then entitled GovernmentNGO Relations: A Source of Life or A Kiss of Death? That
dilemma has further accentuated in India today. The
choices for civil society are not simple engage it must,
but what are the risks? What capacities are needed to
engage? Where not to engage when is not obvious?
d) Rich India, Poor India: Who will Fund?
In the past decade, international agencies have rapidly
closed their offices and operations in India. Even
international NGOs have reduced their operations
dramatically. India has developed. Parliaments and
citizens of OECD countries do not want to send any aid
to India since its private sector is buying up companies
in their homelands, and its IT companies have captured
the global market. India has been multiplying its
millionaires at a faster pace than anywhere else.

c) Need to Engage, Difficult to Do So

The need to engage the government at all levels has
never been greater in India. There is growing space and
opportunity for engagement with local governance
institutions (panchayats and municipalities), line
departments and ministries. Spaces and mechanisms for
engagement with government in project design,
planning, monitoring and evaluation has expanded
enormously. Several civil society actors are also
vigorously engaging with statutory institutions like
commissions, parliaments and legislatures, governors
and the president. Engagements with police, tax
authorities, public media, infrastructure agencies,
judiciary, and public sector undertakings have grown
considerably in the recent past. The National Policy on
Voluntary Sector further encourages widespread
engagement throughout the government system.

The dilemma of resourcing its operations is most acutely

experienced by the intermediate civil society, or
development NGOs or Voluntary Development
Organisations. For most CBOs, internal membership
support is adequate. Many access government funds
too. Those who are focused on providing services or
delivering government schemes seem to have enough
resources. The ones who are able to generate marketlinked solutions (like micro-finance), the premium takes
care of staff costs and administrative overheads. For
some fortunate ones, large endowments, corpus or
immovable assets generate a regular income stream to
allow them to pursue their mission. Pay-by-services (like
schools and clinics) have also found cross-subsidisation
models to enable them to work with the poor.

Yet, it is not easy to engage. The political space for

questioning and criticising government, its officials and
political leaders is shrinking. There is a big aspect of
corruption at all levels which colours any serious
engagements, as illegitimate and illicit interests are
exposed and denounced. In the context of economic
growth, conflicts around natural resources and
displacement are labelled as incitements against
national interests. Freedoms of association and speech,
enshrined in Indias constitution, are frequently
restricted (recent pronouncements by some ministers
against social media are dangerous in this regard). The
difficulties in ensuring meaningful and sustained
engagement that results in concrete benefits to the
poor and the excluded are closely related to lack of
administrative and governance reforms in the country.
Even when officials show interest in working together,
frequent transfers derail the process regularly. Old rules
and procedures continue to co-exist as new laws and

However, flexible funding that allows certain degree of

autonomy from the government and the political
system has particularly dried-up for those actors
(intermediate NGOs or VDOs) whose actions mobilise
communities to claim their rights and whose efforts
question the absence of democratic accountability of
the state and its institutions.
Increased philanthropy is not quite filling in this gap,
yet. Increased middle-class donations are focused on
basic services to the poor (education, health care and
water); more domestic and international (diaspora)
giving is also going to religious and semi-religious parts
of civil society. So, what are the choices to resource
21

such streams of work in India today? What are the

critical implications of exercising any of those choices?
How will the independent space for autonomous civil
society be sustained and nurtured over the coming
decades?

civil society has found itself marketing the brand,

products and services of the corporates they partner
with. Going beyond the funding aspect, partnership
between civil society and the private business can
contribute significantly to enhancing more inclusive
governance and development in the country. After all,
the 17th century crusade for rule of law in Europe was
mounted by privet capital to protect itself from
idiosyncrasies of the ruling elites

e) Engaging the Private Sector Conflict, Cooperation,

Merger, Joint Venture
One of the biggest challenges facing different segments
of Indian civil society is its relationships with the private
sector. The for-profit private businesses are now a
major part of Indian economy, society and polity.
Business leaders have been incorporated in many
committees of the government to advise, plan and
monitor public investments and programmes, including
those in the social sectors. Therefore, the option of
apathy towards or ignorance of the business sector by
the civil society is not really a choice today.

References
Brown, L. David and Jagadananda (2007), Civil Society
Legitimacy and Accountability: Issues and
Challenges, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen
Participation
Edwards, M. (Ed.) (2011), The Oxford Handbook of Civil
Society, NY: Oxford University Press.
Edwards, M. and Hulme, D. (Ed.) (1992), Making a
difference: NGOs and development in a changing
world, London: Earthscan Publications.
Gaventa, J. and Tandon R. (Ed.) (2010), Globalizing
Citizens: New Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion,
London, pp. 79-85.
Joseph, Sarah, (2002), Society vs. State? Civil Society,
Political Society and Non-party Political Process in
India, Economic and Political Weekly, 26 Jan 1
Feb, Vol. 37, No. 4. pp. 299-305.
Kilby, P. (2011), NGOs in India: The challenges of
womens empowerment and accountability, New
York: Routledge.
La May, Craig L. (2004), Civil Society and Media
Freedom: Problems of Purpose and Sustainability
in Democratic Transition, The International
Journal of Not-for-Profit Law, Volume 7, Issue 1,
November. Also see in
http://www.icnl.org/knowledge/ijnl/vol7iss1/speci
al_2.htm
Rai Manoj, Nambiar, M, Paul, S., Singh, S., Sahni, S. S.
(Ed.) (2001), The State of Panchayats: A
Participatory Perspective, New Delhi: PRIA, pp. 11.
Reddy, C.S. et.al (2007), SHG Federations in India,
APMAS.
Salmon and Anheier (1996), The Emerging Nonprofit
Sector: An Overview, ND: Manchester University
Press.
Sharma, Kumud, (2011), Small Loans, Big Dreams:
Women and Microcredit in a Globalizing Economy,

Yet, the choices for engagement vary considerably,

depending on the nature of the private business, and
the perspectives and programmes of the civil society
actors. In respect to land acquisition, displacement from
access to natural resources and destruction of life and
livelihood of the tribals and other rural people, many
civil society organisations have been in conflict with the
private business. This conflict is rooted in the basic
choices for policy of development, where natural
resources are harnessed for rapid economic growth.
For private business in education and health services,
there have been many models of cooperation, where
complementarities are used to advance joint interests
of civil society and private sector. Likewise, in microfinance and livelihood activities (like agro-business),
there are several examples of long-term partnerships,
and even joint ventures. Here the nature of business
and its profit-making activities do not come into direct
conflict with the activities of civil society; instead there
is potential for synergy.
The growing buzz around CSR has many variations, and
civil society is to make considered choices. As the new
Companies Bill (in parliament) mandates that 2 per cent
of annual profit has to be invested in CSR by all publicly
listed companies, it is likely that the volume of funds
available per annum may reach $5 billion from the next
year. There are lots of potential opportunities for
synergy in CSR, but the general experiences of civil
society with CSR have been somewhat disappointing.
Most efforts by corporates have been to spend more
resources in advertising their work in CSR than actually
benefitting the community. Appreciation of CSR as an
investment in the future of India is rather limited, and
22

Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XLVI, No. 43,

October 22. pp. 58-63.
Singh, J.M. (2011), Future of Voluntary Sector- An
Indian Perspective, Civil Society Voices, March. pp.
14-18.
Tandon, Rajesh, (1986), Regulating NGOs in India: New
Moves, Lokayan Bulletin, Vol. 4, No. pp. 3-4.
Tandon, R. (2002a), Voluntary Action, Civil Society and
the State, New Delhi: Mosaic Books.
Tandon, R. (2002b), Voluntary Sector and National
Development, speech at the All India Conference
on The Role of Voluntary Sector in National
Development, 20 April, at Vigyan Bhawan, New
Delhi.
Tandon, R. and Mohanty, R. (2002), Civil Society and
Governance, New Delhi: Samskriti Publication.
Tandon, R. and Mohanty, R. (Ed) (2003), Does Civil
Society Matter? Governance in Contemporary
India, New Delhi: Sage.
Tandon, R. and Srivastava, S.S (2002), Invisible, Yet
Widespread: The Non-Profit Sector in India, New
Delhi: PRIA.
Tandon, R. (2011), Reforming Governance in India
Today, Yojana, November, pp. 33-34.

23