Speaking Truth to Power? Civil Society and Policy Advocacy in India

2013

Can civil society speak truth to power in Indian democracy? In times when civil society is making headlines every day, this working paper considers some questions regarding the process through which civil society does policy advocacy. Defining civil society as medium and large NGOs, this paper raises some serious questions: When does civil society matter? Can civil society influence public policy? If so, how does it do it? When does it fail? What are the areas in which it can influence policy? What are the areas in which it fails to make any impact? This paper suggests that in attempting to advocate policies to the state i.e., in attempting to speak truth to power, civil society—even when defined as NGOs—does a quintessential political act of engaging the state.

Chintan Research Journal (ISSN : 2229-7227), 2024

Civil society organizations (CSOs) are essential agents in shaping public policies and ensuring their successful implementation across diverse societies. This research paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the multifaceted role that CSOs play in both policy formulation and implementation processes. By drawing upon theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence, the paper scrutinizes the mechanisms through which CSOs exert influence on policy development, engage with government institutions, mobilize public support, and oversee policy implementation. Furthermore, it delves into the challenges encountered by CSOs in their advocacy endeavors and proposes strategies to bolster their effectiveness in promoting inclusive and responsive governance. Through the examination of case studies and comparative analyses, this paper offers valuable insights into the dynamic interplay between CSOs, government agencies, and other stakeholders within the policy arena. By shedding light on these dynamics, the findings contribute to a deeper comprehension of the significance of civil society engagement in shaping public policies and advancing democratic governance. Ultimately, the research underscores the critical role that CSOs play as intermediaries between citizens and policymakers, advocating for the interests of marginalized groups and fostering a more participatory and accountable governance framework.

"The concept of civil society in India, (even as an attempt to establish civility) which gained public attention in the 1980s, was essentially seen as the opposite of despotism. Since then, it seems that it is not the ‘State’ but the ‘Society’ that has emerged as the driving wheel of the political history of India. Why has this shift occurred in the late 1980s in Indian political scenario? The particular line of thinking that the author intends to pursue in this paper is shared by some other social scientists who have tried to define what is new in the new social movements: they are “the main route to shifting political action in civil society from the current condition of mainly isolated, local initiatives, easily ignored by the power structure and vulnerable to manipulation and co-option. The document explores the various socio-economic factors, which were mainly the contributing factors for the civil societal intervention in the mid 1970s in India. The author also presents a case study, which makes a modest attempt to critically appraise the role of civil society in contemporary governance debate in India, in general, by studying the Mazdoor Kiasn Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), Rajasthan, in particular."

Non-Governmental Organisations, by conviction and nature, are expected to take up development programmes, uninhibited by factors which normally plague governmental organisations - bureaucracy, conservative attitudes and procedures. However, NGOs have not fared well in many situations. In Andhra Pradesh, in the context of more than a decade of NGO-led development work, and subsequent usurpation of the terminology and methodology of NGOs by the State government, in the early years of 2000, there is now a need to look afresh at the institution of NGOs and their positioning in AP, with a view to understand the necessity of this institution. But this is not to blackwash of the NGO sector in general. NGO sector in India has done yeoman service of the cause of people, in different places and in different contexts. Today, NGO sector is in a position to strengthen democratic structure of India, and can be considered as one of the important pillars of democracy in India. The attempt here is to demystify the NGO sector, in order to enable broader public discussion on the work of this sector.

Studies in Indian Politics, 2014

It is often assumed that civil society’s influence on governance can only be complementary to the state and that it must be exercised through conciliatory approaches. But contrary to that assumption, a study of civil society organizations in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh shows that the civil society may attempt to influence governance process through multiple strategies. These include conciliatory approaches, adversarial approaches and a combination of both, depending on the issue or policy on which the influence is sought to be exercised. This article illustrates this by taking the examples of two intermediary NGOs: one from Karnataka and the other from Andhra Pradesh. The question this article raises is: in the context of globalization and the supposedly prominent role of civil society, how effective are they? This article argues that they still happen to be subsidiary partners in the paradigm of ‘governance-through-networks’. By and large, public policy still happens to be influen...

The concept of civil society in India, even as an attempt to establish civility which gained public attention in the 1980s, was essentially seen as the opposite of despotism. Since then, it seems that it is not the ‘State’ but the ‘Society’ that has emerged as the driving wheel of the political history of India. Why has this shift occurred in the late 1980s in Indian political scenario? As M. P. Singh has put it “the tragedy of the Indian state is that it has become over-loaded even before it has started to provide welfare to its citizens and it has lapsed into ungoverned ability even before it ever started to govern properly. This was further deteriorated by the then political elites; those who were the victims of their own misunderstanding, not only of the Indian tradition but also of independent India’s model of development.”1 These scenarios will be unpacked in a section to follow. Let us for the time being note that for over two decades now, there has been a deluge of writings on various civil society initiatives in India. My general contention is that we can identify the growth of civil society in the Indian context, by looking at the various modes of social movements/non-party political formations, processes/grassroots - movements/mass based organizations as social-action groups. Let me at this point provide two definitions of civil society, which will help us mainly to substantiate the wider arguments of this paper.