Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITENGOs and Indian PoliticsRob JenkinsAnalysing the relationship between Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Indian politis is a !ra"ght task#$onsiderable terminologial on!"sion a!!lits the sizable literat"re on India%s NGOs#&here is also a long history to be onsidered' India%s (modern% vol"ntary setor) broadly oneived) goes bak to at least the late *+th ent"ry#,isagreements over its relationship to politial ativity were present !rom the start#J"st to ompliate matters) dis"ssions o! NGOs are o!ten s"bs"med within the larger diso"rse o! (ivil soiety%# -ea"se the idea o! ivil soiety is so "bi."ito"s) it is as good a plae as any to begin the dis"ssion o! the role o! NGOs in Indian politis#/hat ivil soiety is and is not) whether it is "lt"re-bo"nd) how it arises) whether it an be promoted) what p"rposes it serves) whether a transnational variety is emerging 0 none o! these ."estions has generated anything remotely resembling onsens"s#&he oneptions o! 1oke) 2ar3) Gramsi) and others 4ostle !or preeminene#5olitial theorists ."estion the liberal ass"mptions o!ten sm"ggled into ontemporary de!initions o! ivil soiety#,evelopment agenies debate the pratial "tility o! the idea o! ivil soiety#2embers o! ivil soiety themselves annot agree on where its bo"ndaries lie) and there!ore who is inl"ded within itsranks# Amidst the onept"al ambig"ity) 6avira4 has traed a ommon thread r"nning thro"gh almost all ao"nts o! ivil soiety' their de!initions are (based on dihotomies or ontrasts%#$ivil soiety is vario"sly (de!ined thro"gh its oppositionto 7nat"ral soiety8 or 7state o! nat"re8 in early modern ontrat theory9: against the state in the entire liberal tradition) and ontrasted to omm"nity (Gemeinchaft) in a theoretial tradition o! modern soiology%#$ivil soiety th"s (appears to be an idea strangely inapable o! standing !reely on its own%#*NGOs 0 like ivil soiety generally 0 are !re."ently loated onept"ally within more than 4"st this one dihotomy#In the "sage that predominates in India%s ontemporary politial diso"rse) an NGO is not 4"st a non-state ator: depending on who is doing the de!ining) there are any n"mber o! things that 1 ;"dipta 6avira4) (In ;earh o! $ivil ;oiety%) in ;"dipta 6avira4 and ;"nil 6hilnani (eds)) Ci!i" #$ciet%: &it$r% an' ($i)i"itie ($ambridge >*)) pp# =?@-A=A) p# =??# 5age * o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITENGOs are not#&hey are not politial parties: they are not soial movements: they are not labo"r "nions: they are not even) aording to their ritis) agents o! pop"lar str"ggle at all#Indeed) apart !rom its stat"s as an entity distint !rom government) e3isting within a realm o! assoiational !reedom) the Indian NGO%s de!ining harateristi is its c$ntit*ti$na" ina)i"it% t$ en+a+e in ,$"itic 0 e3ept) itwo"ld seem) as an "nwitting tool o! larger !ores#=Or so the NGOs% myriad detrators wo"ld have "s believe#&his essay e3plores two parado3ial impliations o! this widespread) tho"gh o! o"rse not "niversal) haraterization#&he !irst is that despite their ostensible loation in o! the non-politial domain o! ivil soiety) NGOs have over the past thirty-!ive years ended "p playing a entral) i! indiret) role in India%s politis#NGOs have inreasingly served as a r"ial re!erene point) a kind o! photographi negative against whih other ators 0 party leaders) movement !ig"res) "nion representatives 0 have so"ght) by ontrast) to de!ine themselves and imagine their own distintiveness#&his has invested NGOs and their ationswith !ar more politial signi!iane than might otherwise have been the ase#&he seond parado3 is that the more vigoro"sly these other politial ators have so"ght to di!!erentiate themselves !rom the NGO setor) the less tangible have beome the bo"ndaries separating them !rom their NGO olleag"es#-y arti"lating their riti."e o! India%s NGOs thro"gh a series o! stark) val"e-laden dihotomies) their detrators have provided a power!"l inentive !or NGOs to reinvent themselves#&he res"lt has been e3perimental ross-breeds with other speies o! ivi assoiation) reating new organizational hybrids#&his) ombinedwith pro!o"nd instit"tional hange in the str"t"re o! the Indian politial system) has over the past deade and a hal! led to a more diret role !or NGOs in India%s politis# Terminological Confusion/hat is an NGOB&his ."estion has been answered in a variety o! ways in India#Internationally reognized de!initions are o!ten a starting point) b"t rarely a !inal destination#2ost international instit"tions reognize that the term NGO enompasses a wide variety o! organizational !orms#A key /orld -ank operational do"ment 0 *++C%s -$r.in+ /ith NGO 0 de!ined NGOs as (private organizations that p"rs"e ativities to relieve s"!!ering) promote the interests o! the poor) protet the environment) provide basi soial servies or "ndertake 2 /hether NGOs an be politial is a prominent theme in the st"dy o! A!rian ivil soiety and demoratization#;ee ;tephen N# Ndegwa) The T/$ 0ace $f Ci!i" #$ciet%: NGO an' ($"itic in1frica (/est Dart!ord) $onn#' 6"marian 5ress) *++E)#5age = o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITEomm"nity development%#A&his is broadly onsistent with pop"lar "sage#NGOs are generally assoiated with haritable ativities that promote the p"bli good rather than) as with b"siness assoiations or labo"r "nions) advaning private interests# 2ost de!initions !or NGO inl"de a list o! the organizational !orms they an take) based on the terms "sed by assoiations to desribe themselves#&hese inl"de (omm"nity-based organizations%) (grassroots organizations%) (sel!-help gro"ps%) (redit soieties%) and so !orth#&here is m"h disagreement as to whether eah s"bategory ."ali!ies as an NGO 0 are redit soieties abo"t the p"bli interestB:maybe 0 or whether a gro"p%s sel!-desription is s"!!iient to determine its lassi!iation#;ome gro"ps that all themselves grassroots organizations may in!at have very little demonstrable !ollowing among ordinary people) raising the ."estion o! whether it is !easible to set ob4etive riteria !or de!ining any organization that desribes itsel! with as vag"e pre!i3 a (mass-based%) (grassroots%) or (people%s%#F!!orts to stip"late meaning!"l riteria to disting"ish NGOs !rom other !orms o! ivil soiety) or to disting"ish one type o! NGO !rom another) ."ikly r"n into tro"ble#In one o! the most systemati (and in many ways admirable) ao"nts o!India%s NGO setor) ;en disting"ishes NGOs !rom $-Os ($omm"nity -ased Organizations) and what he alls GROs (Grassroots Organizations)) stating that $-Os and GROs are membership-based) whereas NGOs are not#GDe then ."ali!ies this statement in reognition o! the !at that reg"lations governing vario"s NGOs as legal entities (soieties) haritable tr"sts) non-pro!it orporations) o!ten re."ire o!!iials o! s"h organizations to be members# ;en draws on the international literat"reC to arrive at a de!inition !le3ible eno"gh to aommodate the Indian onte3t' (In India) NGOs an be de!ined as organizations that are generally !ormed by pro!essionals or ."asi pro!essionals !rom the middle or lower middle lass) either to serve or work with the poor) or to hannel !inanial s"pport to omm"nity-based or grassroots organizations%#E

$-Os) on the other hand) are omposed o! (the poor% or (the low-inome 3 /orld -ank (Operations 5oliy ,epartment)) -$r.in+ /ith NGO 1 (ractica" G*i'e t$ O,erati$na" C$""a)$rati$n )et/een the -$r"' 2an. an' N$n3G$!ernmenta" Or+an4iati$n (/ashington) ,$' /orld -ank) *++C)) p# @# 4 ;iddhartha ;en) (;ome Aspets o! ;tate-NGO Relationships in India in the 5ost-Independene Fra%) De!e"$,ment an' Chan+e) vol# A> (*+++)) pp# AA=-AA# HA=@-CCI#5 2ost notably) J# Jarrington et al (eds)) Re"*ctant (artner5 N$n3G$!ernmenta" Or+ani4ati$n6 the #tate an' #*taina)"e 1+ric*"t*ra" De!e"$,ment (1ondon' Ro"tledge) *++A): and ,avid 6orten) Gettin+ t$ the T/ent%30irt Cent*r%: 7$"*ntar% 1cti$n an' the G"$)a" 1+en'a (/est Dart!ord) $&' 6"marian 5ress) *++>)#6 ;en) (;ome Aspets o! ;tate-NGO Relationships9%) p# AA=#5age A o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITEomm"nity% 0 a valiant attempt at onveying the general "sage in the development !ield) b"t one that inevitably sidesteps "nom!ortable ."estions) s"h as what middle-lass neighbo"rhood assoiations sho"ld be alled#2oreover) many NGOs ontest the idea that they were (!ormed by% middle-lass people# In the end) despite di!!erentiating NGOs !rom $-Os and GROs) ;en annot avoid) !or pratial reasons) inl"ding the latter two within (the "niverse% o!NGOs either#5artly bea"se de!ining an NGO is so triky) data on the size o! the NGO setor is similarly variable#One longstanding NGO network) the ;oiety !or 5artiipatory Researh in Asia (5RIA)) estimated the n"mber o! NGOs in India in =>>* at *#C million#One 5RIA s"rvey !o"nd that almost three-."arters o! NGOs have one or !ewer paid sta!!) and that nearly +>K o! NGOs have !ewer than !ive members o! sta!!#@Raina) however) ites a !ig"re o! =>>)>>> Indian NGOs#?

;tatistis ompiled by the Dome 2inistry indiate that in =>>>->* nearly =>)>>> organizations were registered "nder the Joreign $ontrib"tion Reg"lation At *+@E) tho"gh only *A)?>> s"bmitted their ao"nts to the government as re."ired#&otal !oreign !"nds reeived by these gro"ps inreased by more than =C perent between *++?-++ and =>>>->*) !rom Rs AG billion to Rs GC billion#+ /hile it is di!!i"lt to arrive at a onsistent and theoretially satis!ying set o! riteria that wo"ld allow "s to impose preise bo"ndaries aro"nd the NGO setor o! ivil soiety) a ro"gh-and-ready pratial de!inition e3ists and is in widespread "se#In ommon parlane thro"gho"t India%s (ativist% omm"nity (whih I take to inl"de all people working !or soial hange) regardless o! the types o! organizations with whih they are a!!iliated) so long as they are not state employees)) ,*)"ic3interet +r$*, that are n$t 8,e$,"e9 m$!ement9 are re+ar'e' a NGO#&he distintion is o!ten ontested) not least by avowedly (movement% gro"ps eager to avoid the (NGO% label) whih on!ers an establishment stat"s with whih many ativists do not wish to be assoiated#s#-"t be!ore o"tlining the basis !or these riti."es o! India%s NGOs) we m"st ret"rn to the age o! NGO innoene#Given the e3tent o! their reent demonization) it is not s"rprising that NGOs one en4oyed a golden era) be!ore their !all !rom grae#NGOs and Narratives of Indian DemocracyNGOs have !ig"red prominently in many well-rehearsed narratives abo"t the tra4etory o! India%s demoray#&hese !re."ently involve a !all-!rom-grae element#;heth and ;ethi%s ao"nt o! the (historial onte3t% o! the (NGO setor% niely enaps"lates the dominant themes'the onversion o! vol"ntarism into primarily a !avo"red instr"mentality !or developmental intervention has hanged what was one an organi part o!ivil soiety into merely a setor 0 an appendage o! the developmental apparat"s o! the state#J"rther) this proess o! instr"mental appropriation has res"lted in these agenies o! sel!-ativity losing both their a"tonomy and politial-trans!ormative edge#*>Dow India%s progressive intelligentsia has viewed the o"ntry%s NGOs 0 parti"larly their potential ontrib"tion to an alternative !orm o! politis 0 has varied onsiderably over the past thirty-!ive years#-ea"se there is s"h variety among NGOs) and onsiderable diversity even among the broadly 1e!t-leaning intelligentsia) there are no "nambig"o"s patterns#-"t broadly speaking) d"ring m"h o! the *+@>s) intellet"als invested great hope in the o"ntry%s NGOs as a !ore !or the reinvigoration o! demoray#&he prevailing tendeny at the time was not to disting"ish too min"tely between organizational !orms or to split hairs over the desriptive terms applied to individ"al gro"ps) both o! whih were later to beome standard pratie#Analysts seeking to "nderstand the signi!iane o! 10 ,#1# ;heth and Darsh ;ethi) (&he NGO setor in India' Distorial $onte3t and $"rrent ,iso"rse%) 7$"*nta) Mol"me =) No# = (November *++*)#5age C o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITEthese new (soial ation gro"ps% !or Indian demoray ."ikly embraed the term devised to enompass s"h diversity' (non-party politial !ormations%#** &he emergene in the early *+@>s o! a tangible sense o! optimism abo"t the potential !or NGOs to play a ma4or role in demoray%s reinvigoration oinided with other important politial trends#&he most notable was the reeping a"thoritarianism o! 5rime 2inister Indira Gandhi#2rs Gandhi had abolished $ongress%s intra-party eletions) !ollowing her tri"mphs against) !irst) the $ongress old g"ard that had so"ght to tame her) and seond) the 5akistani army d"ring the *+@* war that reated an independent -angladesh#&he movement that opposed 2rs Gandhi%s inreasingly personalised !orm o! r"le) her anti-"nion poliies) and her attaks on 4"diial independene 0 among other things 0 inl"ded within its ranks a large n"mber o! NGOs#;everal o! these traed their lineages bak to 2ahatma Gandhi) and adopted a Gandhian voab"lary and repertoire o! tatis#2any people who wo"ld later !orm the mainstay o! India%s soial ativist omm"nity entered this poro"s !ield in response to a ma4or dro"ghtin eastern Indian in the mid *+E>s) at whih time they emerged as arti"late spokespersons !or an alternative !orm o! politial engagement# &he ivi !lowering that ens"ed was elebrated as a demorati rebirth#It was also widely e3plained as a response to the !ail"re o! India%s !ormal politial proess) still dominated by elite gro"ps) to address the pressing onerns o! poorand marginalized people#&he m"shrooming o! India%s NGOs was seen as s"bstit"ting !or the !ail"re o! India%s other demorati instit"tions 0 parti"larly its parties 0 to provide aven"es o! politial engagement#(Fnvironmental ation gro"ps% s"h as the ,asholi Gram ;wara4 ;angh) whih kikstarted the $hipko Andolan in the early *+@>s) were s"pposed to help pik "p some o! the instit"tional slak#Ra4ni 6othari was among the earliest and most elo."ent spokespersons !or this view) b"t an entire generation o! intellet"als and ativistsinvested enormo"s hope in the apaity o! non-party politial !ormations to trans!orm the nat"re o! politis and to e3tend demoray to onstit"enies that had not been ative partiipants#*=&his was a theme that ontin"ed long a!ter the love a!!air with the vol"ntary setor !izzled#11 Ra4ni 6othari) (Non-party 5olitial 5roess%) Ec$n$mic an' ($"itica" -ee."%) vol# *+) no# C (*+?G)) pp# =*E-=G# 12 Darsh ;ethi) (Gro"ps in a New 5olitis o! &rans!ormation%) Ec$n$mic an' ($"itica" -ee."%) *? Jebr"ary *+?G) pp# A>C-*E: ,#1# ;heth) (Grassroots Initiatives in India%) Ec$n$mic an' ($"itica" -ee."%) vol# *+) no# E (*+?G)#5age E o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITE-"t it was not 4"st the (weakness% o! party organizations against whih ;ethi*A andother writers were reating) b"t their (strength% as well#Jor m"h o! the post-Independene period) party-a!!iliated ivi gro"ps have dominated the politial spae that sho"ld have served as the nat"ral home !or alternative politis#&he !ront organizations onneted to every politial party 0 women%s wings) st"dent !ederations) trade "nions) !armers% assoiations 0 "s"ally laked a"tonomy#*G As India%s vol"ntary setor ame o! age in the early *+@>s) it !aed the task o! transending partisan divisions that ran thro"gho"t ivil soiety# &he high point o! the NGOs% politial role) the moment that appeared most strongly to redeem their promise) was the internal Fmergeny imposed by 2rs Gandhi !rom *+@C-@@#NGOs were a r"ial part o! the nationwide protest agitations that led 2rs Gandhi to delare the Fmergeny#*C,"ring the Fmergeny itsel!) NGO leaders were imprisoned) along with more traditional (ie partisan) politial !ig"res#&he Joreign $ontrib"tion Reg"lation At (J$RA) *+@E)enated at the height o! 2rs Gandhi%s paranoia abo"t e3ternal s"bversion 0 the (!oreign hand% 0 allowed her government to deny aess to !oreign !"nding to NGOs onsidered likely to threaten (the sovereignty and integrity o! India) the p"bli interest) !reedom or !airness o! eletion to any legislat"re) !riendly relationswith any !oreign state) harmony between religio"s) raial) ling"isti or regional gro"ps) astes or omm"nities%#&his wide) tho"gh by now restated) remit ontin"es to provide ample opport"nity !or government intimidation o! NGOs) ando! o"rse sope !or onsiderable rent-seeking#NGOs also ontrib"ted to the politial mobilization that helped to bring the Fmergeny to an end) and many were o"tright s"pporters o!) or even inorporated within) opposition parties that bro"ght abo"t 2rs Gandhi%s de!eat in the *+@@ general eletion that !ollowed#As the rikety Janata oalition government ass"med power in *+@@) there was more than a hint o! Gandhian cha'enfre*'e in the air' dispersed vol"ntary gro"ps were ast as having res"ed demoray !rom the havo wro"ght by Nehr"%s legay 0 not 4"st his da"ghter%s personalisti r"le) b"t the entire top-down) state-entri approah to soial and eonomi hange#It was d"ring the Janata government that a range o! r"ral development programmes and partiipatory tehni."es pioneered by NGOs beame inorporated into state 13 Darsh ;ethi) (Ation Gro"ps in the New 5olitis%) in 5# /ignara4a (ed)) Ne/ #$cia" M$!ement in the #$*th (1ondon' Oed -ooks) *++A)#14 &he R"dolphs arg"e that some o! these organizations nevertheless !"ntioned as e!!etive (demand gro"ps%#;ee 1loyd I# and ;"sanne Doeber R"dolph) In (*r*it $f :a.hmi: The ($"itica" Ec$n$m% $f the In'ian #tate ($hiago' s progressed) omplaints abo"t the NGO setor began to a"m"late) the voies o! dissent oming inreasing !rom within the broadly de!ined !ield o! ivi ativism#NGOs were seen to have lost their radial edge#16 2ar"s Jranda) 7$"*ntar% 1$ciati$n an' :$ca" De!e"$,ment: The ;anata (hae (New ,elhi'Po"ng Asia 5"blishers) *+?A)#17 At"l 6ohli) Dem$crac% an' Dic$ntent: In'ia9 Gr$/in+ Crii $f G$!erna)i"it% (5rineton' 5rineton )#18 Jor a ontrary view on re!orm%s tra4etory) see ,ani Rodrik and Arvind ;"bramanian) (Jrom NDind" GrowthN to 5rod"tivity ;"rge' &he 2ystery o! the Indian Growth &ransition%) G# 5age ? o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITE/hen e3atly the rot set in) what the nat"re o! the ills were) and why it all went wrong varies aording to whih ritis one reads#*+-"t a ommon theme is that the NGO !ield ossi!ied#F3isting organizations beame b"rea"ratized) either diretly s"bverted by establishment interests or "ndermined by the loss o! vigor among ativists grown older and more risk-averse#In addition) both new and e3isting organizations beame magnets !or yo"th!"l new arrivals !or whom ativism was) in the words o! their ritis) 4"st a areer path#;lowly b"t s"rely) aording to this widely repeated view) NGOs were stripped o! their ability to mobilize people to take politial stands on ontroversial iss"es#&here is "ndo"bted tr"th in this general plot line) and its basi ingredients do not vary h"gely !rom the narratives o! organizational deline reo"nted by *+E>s radials in F"rope or North Ameria#Organizations s"h as AMAR,) and the myriad gro"ps o! whih it is omposed) are sometimes ited in this onnetion#In later versions o! this story) so too are organizations s"h as the ;oial /ork and Researh $entre (;/R$) in &ilonia) Ra4asthan#Ironially) it was the ;/R$%s -"nker Roy who was among those who had so"ght in the mid *+?>s to do something abo"t the delining rep"tation o! the NGO !ield) whih had s"!!ered!rom the entry o! less altr"isti operators#=>Jor his pains) Roy was rewarded withthe harge o! ozying "p to power!"l politial patrons and seeking to ontrol the NGO setor#=*

Arg"ably) what a"sed the dispersed gr"mbling abo"t the role o! NGOs to solidi!y into a lasting riti."e) whih ontin"es to resonate with many people more than twenty years later) was a *+?G broadside iss"ed by 5rakash 6arat o! the $omm"nist 5arty o! India-2ar3ist ($5I-2)#6arat%s artile) entitled NAtion Gro"psLMol"ntary Organizations' A Jator in Imperialist ;trategy%) was p"blished in the $5I-2 4o"rnal The Mar>it) and s"bse."ently appeared in book !orm#==

6arat laimed the e3istene o! (a sophistiated and omprehensive strategy worked o"t in imperialist ."arters to harness the !ores o! vol"ntary ageniesLation gro"ps to their strategi design to penetrate Indian soiety and in!l"ene its o"rse o! development%#&he (le!t !ores% were advised (to take serio"s note o! this arm o! imperialist penetration%#&his wo"ld re."ire) among other things) (an ideologial o!!ensive to reb"t the philosophy propagated by 19 ,i!!erent emphases an be !o"nd in) !or e3ample' 1#$# Jain) (,ebates in the Mol"ntary ;etor' ;ome Re!letions%) #$cia" 1cti$n) vol# AE) no# G) pp# G>G-*E: Darsh ;ethi) (&rends /ithin%) #eminar no# AG? (*>??)) pp# =*-=G: and Ra4esh &andon) The #tate an' 7$"*ntar% 1+encie in In'ia (New ,elhi' 5RIA) *+?@)# 20 -"nker Roy) (Mol"ntary Agenies' &wenty Pears !rom Now%) Maintream) No# =E (*+??)) pp# *@-*+# 21 Ra4esh &andon) (Reg"lating NGOs' New 2oves%) :$.a%an 2*""etin) vol# G) no# A) pp# A@-G=#22 5rakash 6arat) NAtion Gro"psLMol"ntary Organizations' A Jator in Imperialist ;trategy%) The Mar>it) vol# =) no# =) (April-J"ne *+?G)) pp# C*-EA# 5age + o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITEthese gro"ps%) not least bea"se (it tends to attrat petty bo"rgeois yo"th imb"ed with idealism%#=A -ea"se 6arat%s seminal ontrib"tion is o!ten ited) tho"gh witho"t m"h attention to its detailed ontent) it is worth noting a !ew salient !eat"res o! his analysis#Jirst) while 6arat%s !o"s was on !oreign !"nding o! NGOs) his sights were 4"st as !irmly trained on those whose ideologial s"pport !or the vol"ntary setor lent it what he onsidered sp"rio"s legitimay#;eond) bea"se he stressed this ideologial dimension) 6arat%s targets were not 4"st development agenies) b"t aademis as well) and bea"se aademis were represented as an intrinsi omponent o! (imperialism%) a notion he invested with a de!inite ageny o! its own) 6arat ondemned not 4"st !oreign sholars) b"t by e3tension Indian aademis too#&hird) "nlike s"bse."ent ritis o! the NGO phenomenon)6arat did not disting"ish m"h between di!!erent types o! NGOs) e3ept inso!ar as their so"res o! !"nding were onerned#In !at) his distaste !or the entire (soial ation% phenomenon) whih he blamed !or widespread politial ination) was never !ar !rom the s"r!ae# In 6arat%s blak-and-white world) (the whole vol"ntary ageniesLation gro"ps network is maintained and n"rt"red%=G by e3ternal !"nds# s#6arat%s dit"m 0 that (those organisations reeiving !oreign !"nds are a"tomatially s"spet% and (m"st be sreened to lear their bona!ides%=@ 0 was inorporated not only into the o!!iial state oversight proess (the Dome 2inistry%s implementation o! the amended J$RA): it inreasingly mani!ested itsel! thro"gh the in!ormal ideologiallitm"s-test applied by soial ativists themselves#In s"h a onte3t it is not s"rprising that ivi gro"ps wo"ld take elaborate meas"res to avoid 'irect ontat with !oreign !"nders) giving rise to an intermediary reso"re-hanneling s"bsetor) whih 0 in a sel!-!"l!illing prophesy 0 wo"ld ome to be widely seen assynonymo"s with the entire NGO setor#&his marks the origin o! the ontemporary meaning o! NGO) both in ;en%s val"e-ne"tral de!inition) whih stresses the (hanneling o! !"nding% to grassroots and omm"nity gro"ps) and in its pe4orative sense 0 the NGO label deployed as a term o! ab"se by one ivi gro"p against another#6arat%s all to mo"nt (a s"stained ideologial ampaign against the eleti and pse"do-radial post"res o! ation gro"ps%=? was taken "p with g"sto) resolving itsel! along the now-!amiliar movement-NGO dihotomy#&h"s) movements worked at the grassroots) while NGOs were o!!ie-based#2ovements were radial) NGOs re!ormist#2ovements so"ght people%s empowerment: NGOs made the poor dependent on harity#=+2ovements were politial) NGOs depolitiizing#In an artile p"blished in =>>=) environmental ativist ,"n" Roy) too) ites *+?G as a watershed in the evol"tion o! India%s environmental movement) reminding his readers that it was in that year that 6arat p"blished his in!l"ential trat#Roy 26 6arat) p# EG#27 6arat) p# EG#28 6arat) p# EC#29 Joreigners o!ten agree#One Jrenh aademi who !o"nded an NGO in India observed' (Mery o!ten) NGOs think that they are doing good work b"t they at"ally are reating new !orms o! dependene#I have seen some poor people totally dependent on NGOs%#;ee (Interview with ,r G"y ;orman%) &FRI ;ilver J"bilee Interview ;eries) http'LLwww#teriin#orgL=CyearsLintervwLsorman#htm# 5age ** o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITErealls that environmental NGOs were among those ritiized by 6arat and other le!t-party-a!!iliated intellet"als#&heir rime) as Roy s"mmarized the harges leveled against him and his olleag"es) was (being part o! an imperialist design o! pitting environmental onerns against working lass interests%#A>Roy arg"es that this provoked (a shism between politial and apolitial environmentalists%#Dere the divide was not between those a!!iliated with parties and those in the (non-party% arena) b"t between (ation gro"ps% that hallenged the state%s orthodo3y and (NGOs% inapable o! transending the onept"al bo"ndaries o! the e3isting paradigm#&his pattern o! ativist one-"pmanship has persisted) the "se o! the NGO sobri."et serving as a marker o! the riti%s distintive politial position# &he NGOs% ritis o!ten plead that they are voies in the wilderness) waging a lonely str"ggle against an orthodo3y that la"ds the bene!iial e!!ets o! NGOs#As ;angeeta 6amat p"ts it in her book) De!e"$,ment &e+em$n%: NGO an' the #tate in In'ia) (what is lear is that the s"pporters o! vol"ntary organizations !ar o"tstrip their detrators and ritis%#A*$onvined that NGOs remain an ob4et o! pop"lar and o!!iial veneration) 'e,ite m$re than t/ent% %ear $f c$ntant !i"ificati$n at the han' $f the tate an' $f $ther n$n3,art% +r$*,) a wide range o! observers ontin"es to !"lminate against a position that no one 0 or at least noone worth arg"ing with 0 really propo"nds#Fven $handhoke) one o! the most level-headed analysts in this rowded !ield whose book on ivil soiety is !illed with l"id observations) warns o! tro"ble ahead (i! we begin to think that ivil soiety is mainly inhabited and represented by non-governmental organizations HNGOsI) or indeed that NGOs are synonymo"s with ivil soiety%#A=It is not lear who '$e think in these terms) b"t we are ass"red that (it is this very notion that !orms the st"!! o! "rrent orthodo3y%#AA5erhaps in the *+@>s or early *+?>s s"h warnings o!!ered a "se!"l orretive to lazy ivi "topianism#-"t by the early-*++>s) and ertainly by the twenty-!irst ent"ry) when 6amat%s and $handhoke%s books were p"blished) the orthodo3y had moved very m"h in the opposite diretion#6amat%s athphrase) (the NGO-ization o! politis%) whih asts NGOs as agents o! depolitiization) apt"res the "rrent onventional wisdom 0 that NGOs are thenon-politial !ae o! ivil soiety) and that their e3pansion threatens to depolitiizethe movement setor#&he movement-vers"s-NGO d"ality) ast in e3pliitly zero-30 ,"n" Roy) (Fnvironmentalism and 5olitial Fonomy%) #eminar No# C*E) ;eptember =>>=#31 ;angeeta 6amat) De!e"$,ment &e+em$n%: NGO an' the #tate in In'ia (,elhi' O3!ord >=)) p# =*#32 Neera $handhoke) The C$nceit $f Ci!i" #$ciet% (O3!ord' O3!ord >A)) pp# @>-@*# 33 $handhoke) p# @*#5age *= o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITEs"m terms) is now a mainstay o! the international development diso"rse#AGOne o! the ob4etives o! the /orld -ank%s $omprehensive ,evelopment Jramework o!the late *++>s 0 a key element in what has beome the Aid F!!etiveness AgendaAC 0 was to !"nnel less aid thro"gh NGOs) !o"sing on b"ilding viable state instit"tions rather than bypassing those that do not work#&he misgivings abo"t the NGO setor in the international development omm"nity were a ma4or !eat"re o! the literat"re even in the early *++>s#AE-y =>>>) what one -ritish magazine alled the (-aklash Against NGOs%A@ was already an established talking point among western p"blis#NGOs operating transnationally have beome a parti"lar target o! ritiism#A?,esribed as (interest gro"ps ao"ntable only to themselves%) NGOs have been on!ronted with the ."estion' are (the hampions o! the oppressed 9 in danger o! mirroring the sins o! the oppressorB%A+Struggle Politics Constructive !ork and the !rong "ind of #ights6amat has) however) arti"lated the NGO-movement dihotomy slightly di!!erently 0 as a ontrast between gro"ps p"rs"ing (str"ggle-based politis% and those engaged in (onstr"tive development%# In!l"ened by postmodernism) 6amat portrayed the latter gro"p as having bo"ght into the modernist myth o! progress) while st"mbling headlong into liberalism%s politial trap o! e3peting onstr"tive work amidst the poor to give way over time to more radialized !orms o! mobilization#&his riti."e is onsistent with a long radial tradition whih sees r"nning health linis) shools) livelihood programmes) and so !orth as politially disempowering#2"mbai Resistane) a gro"p !ormed to protest the hi4aking by (NGO elebrities% o! the =>>G /orld ;oial Jor"m held in 2"mbai) arg"ed that by working to ameliorate s"!!ering (NGOs ome to the res"e% o! the state 0 delaring it) in e!!et) (absolved o! all responsibilities#%G> 2oreover) (the 34 Jor instane) James 5etras and Denry Meltmeyer) G"$)a"i4ati$n Unma.e': Im,eria"im in the 21t Cent*r% (1ondon' Oed -ooks) =>>*)#35 Jor a delineation o! the onto"rs o! the new aid agenda) see ,avid -ooth (ed)) 0i+htin+ ($!ert%in 1frica: 1re (R#( Ma.in+ a Difference5 (1ondon' Overseas ,evelopment Instit"te) =>>A)#36 Jor instane) ,avid D"lme and 2ihael Fdwards (eds)) N$n3G$!ernmenta" Or+aniati$n: (erf$rmance an' 1cc$*nta)i"it% 3 2e%$n' the Ma+ic 2*""et (1ondon' Farthsan) *++C): and Ian ;millie) The 1"m 2a4aar: 1"tr*im Un'er 0ire ? N$n3(r$fit Or+aniati$n an' Internati$na" De!e"$,ment (1ondon' Intermediate &ehnology 5"bliations) *++C)#37 2ihael -ond) (&he -aklash Against NGOs%) (r$,ect (1ondon)) April =>>>#38 &he onservative /ashington-based Amerian Fnterprise Instit"te has established NGOwath) whih !o"sing on gro"ps that (have strayed beyond their original mandates and have ass"med ."asi-governmental roles%# ;ee http'LLwww#ngowath#orgLin!o#htm#39 -ond) (&he -aklash Against NGOs%# 40 (Fonomis and 5olitis o! the /orld ;oial Jor"m%) 1,ect $f In'ian Ec$n$m%) No# AC (2"mbai) ;eptember =>>A)) http'LLwww#r"pe-india#orgLACLws!m"mbai#html#5age *A o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITENGOs give employment9to ertain loal persons% who (might be voal and restive persons) potential opponents o! the a"thorities%#G* $handhoke agrees that NGOs "ndermine radial movements by drawing away !rom the path o! militant resistane that segment o! the non-on!ormist yo"th that might have been e3peted to embrae it# And by (bailing o"t% government agenies thro"gh servie-delivery work) NGOs have (res"ed and perhaps legitimized the non-per!orming state9HandI ne"tralized politial dissent9#%#G= 6amat%s stark str"ggle-politis-vers"s-onstr"tive-development dihotomy has two shortomings#Jirst) it violates one o! the key methodologial tenets o! the post-str"t"ralist shool in whih she roots her analysis' she !rames her analysis in terms o! a strit binary opposition) th"s ommitting the mortal sins o! (rei!ying% soial relations and (essentializing% politial identities#;eond) 6amat gives shortshri!t to the tradition in India o! ombining radial soial ation with hands-on development#As 2aha4an reminds "s'(Gandhi4iNs !irst QsatyagrahaQ in s"pport o! the indigo labo"rers in $hamaparan) while primarily a politial str"ggle) also had elements o! vol"ntary ation or Qonstr"tive workQ (as Gandhi4i alled vol"ntary ation)) s"h as training villagers in hygiene) ed"ating hildren) b"ilding roads and digging wells#A!ter this) Gandhi4i made onstr"tive work an integral part o! his politial strategy) where periods o! intense str"ggle !or Independene were interspersed with long periods o! vol"ntary ation !or the alleviation o! s"!!ering and soial and eonomi "pli!tment o! the poor%#GANot only do many organizations engage in both str"ggle-oriented and onstr"tive work) the tendeny to see development ativities as inherently stat"s-."oist ignores the !at that gro"ps o!ten engage in onstr"tive work preisely in order to hallenge the hegemoni (tr"ths% propagated by o!!iial state ideologies#Jor instane) !or some years beginning in the *++>s the Ra4asthan-based 2azdoor 6isan ;hakti ;angathan (26;;)GG operated a small n"mber o! (!air prie% (or (ration%) shops) whih sell s"bsidized ommodities s"h as 41 Ibid#42 $handhoke) p# @E#43 Mi4ay 2aha4an) (Mol"ntary Ation in India' A Retrospetive Overview and ;pe"lations !or the =*st $ent"ry%) mimeo) New ,elhi) *++@#44 26;; onsiders itsel! a (non-party politial !ormation%) tho"gh $handhoke re!ers to it as an NGO ($handhoke) p# @*)#5age *G o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITE!oodgrains and kerosene#1a"nhing any kind o! b"siness initiative was a so"reo! m"h debate within the 26;;#;ome saw it as a ostly diversion o! sare energies: others pereived a risk that the gro"p%s opponents wo"ld portray the 26;; as ommitted pro!iting !rom) rather than !ighting !or) the r"ral poor#&he main motivation !or r"nning the ration shops was to o"nter the neoliberal orthodo3y that !ood s"bsidy b"rea"raies 0 in India%s ase the 5"bli ,istrib"tion ;ystem (5,;) 0 inevitably prod"e "naeptable levelso! orr"ption) inl"ding diversion o! !oodgrains to the non-needy#&he idea that the 5,; was inherently perniio"s) that no amo"nt o! re!orm o"ld improve poor people%s aess to !ood) was onsidered a dangero"s myth) propagated by hie!ly by the /orld -ank#-y operating shops in a transparent !ashion) the 26;; hoped to demonstrate that it was possible to treat "stomers !airly and provide a livelihood!or the shop%s proprietors witho"t resorting to orr"ption#GC

$learly) NGOs are in a no-win position when it omes to arving o"t a more politial role#As we have seen) !or 2rs Gandhi and the 1e!t parties) NGOs were destabilising the state: whereas !or non-partisan intellet"als 0 whether liberal or post-modern 0 they were propping it "p#/hile NGOs have long been branded apolitial) adopting a more on!rontational post"re has done little to enhane their stat"s among movement pop"lists#One riti omplained that whereas (NGOs earlier restrited themselves to 7developmental8 ativities) they have e3panded sine the *+?>s to 7ativism8 or 7advoay8 0 !"nded ,$"itica" ativity%#GE&he !ear is that thro"gh (plat!orms s"h as the /orld ;oial Jor"m9 NGOs are being provided an opport"nity to legitimise themselves as a politial !ore and e3pand their in!l"ene among setions to whih they earlier had little aess%#G@

/here politis is onerned) NGOs are damned i! they do and damned i! they don%t#NGOs that attempt to grad"ate !rom a (wel!arist% approah to one based on (empowerment% are dismissed as dabbling in matters !or whih they are "n."ali!ied#G?D"man rights NGOs are a parti"lar sore spot#NGOs (may even have per!ormed a disservie to the idea o! h"man rights%) arg"es $handhoke) (bea"se rights have not emerged thro"gh the str"ggles o! people) b"t !rom the baskets o! !"nding agenies%#G+&he rights diso"rse has been arti"lated by 45 Rob Jenkins and Anne 2arie Goetz) N$ivil ;oiety Fngagement and IndiaNs 5"bli ,istrib"tion ;ystem' 1essons !rom the Rationing 6r"ti ;amiti in 2"mbaiN) $ons"ltation 5aper !or the /orld -ank) -$r"' De!e"$,ment Re,$rt 2004' Ma.in+ #er!ice -$r. f$r ($$r (e$,"e (/ashington) ,$) =>>G)#46 (Fonomis and 5olitis o! the /orld ;oial Jor"m%) infra (emphasis in original)# 47 Ibid#48 &hese terms are drawn !rom ;en) (;ome Aspets o! ;tate-NGO Relationships9%) p# AAA49 $handhoke) p# ?@#5age *C o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITEelites thro"gh (layers o! mediation9provided by NGOs who are onversant with modes o! in!ormation gathering% 0 whih is to say) molded into glori!ied b"rea"rats rather than !ighters !or the poor#C> Fven when seeking to organize people to demand rights) as opposed to so"nding o!! abo"t rights in international meetings) NGOs are !re."ently dismissed as driven by a neoliberal pro4et to reate individ"al eonomi ators rather than politially mobilized olletivities#6amat laims that when NGOs p"rs"e a rights agenda (their onern is o!ten limited to oppression a"sed by !e"dal soial relations) and does not re!er to apitalist soial relations%#C*

Dowever) almost no evidene is provided to s"pport this laim#Indeed) even !oreign-!"nded NGOs have lent their s"pport to ampaigns to "rb ab"ses perpetrated by western m"ltinationals operating in India and other developing o"ntries#C= &he no-win sit"ation !aed by NGOs is also apparent when they seek to link rights laims to iss"es o! identity#One line o! attak laims that (HtIhe !oreign-!"nded NGO setor has) with remarkable "ni!ormity) propagated ertain politial onepts%) most notably (the primay o! NidentityN R gender) ethniity) aste) nationality R over lass%#CAAnother) however) arg"es the opposite 0 that their disembedded approahes to rights (ens"re that NGOs will ignore iss"es o!9aste) gender and environmental 4"stie in their own work%#CG/orst o! all) the rights-based work o! (movements% is "ndermined by (7advoay NGOs8) whih9rediret str"ggles o! the people !or basi hange !rom the path o! on!rontation tothat o! negotiation) preserving the e3isting politial !rame%#&he problem) p"t baldly) is that (NGOs b"rea"ratise peopleNs movements%#CC&ho"gh desperately seeking to shed their mainstream essene) NGOs appear doomed to remain intellet"ally and politially o"t o! their depth#50 $handhoke) p# ??#51 $handhoke) p# ==#52 &he ampaign against a $oa $ola bottling plant in 6erala that was taken "p by the +-E=I) and !ootnote A@) p# GC@#58 /agle) (&he 5olitial ,ynamis9%) p# GA?# 59 In 2arh =>>= and Jebr"ary =>>A) the a"thor dis"ssed with members o! the oordination ommittee the -yzantine arrangements !or ens"ring that all ma4or gro"ps wo"ld be aommodated 60 Raina) N;oial 2ovements in IndiaN) p# *=#Raina notes parti"larly the (divisions even among the movements sharing the same ideology%) not to mention (the historial di!!erenes between the le!t) the Gandhians) the dalits) the ;oialists) the environmentalists) as well as the new and the traditional among the women) worker and peasant movementsN (p# *A)#5age *@ o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITE&hat even the previo"sly highly dotrinaire $5I-2 has been inreasingly willing to4oin hands with NGOs is one indiation o! a new spirit o! oalition-b"ilding#$ritis harge the $5I-2 with ompromising its earlier prinipled stand#One report omplained that (HiIn a n"mber o! !or"ms) $5I-2 members and NGOs now ooperate and share osts R !or e3ample) at the 5eopleNs Dealth $on!erene held in 6olkata in =>>=) the Asian ;oial Jor"m held in Dyderabad in Jan"ary =>>A) or the /orld ;oial Jor"m9in 2"mbai in Jan"ary =>>G%#E*Another gro"p) the a!orementioned 2"mbai Resistane olletive) was inensed by the (revisionist% position adopted by &homas Isaa) a member o! 6erala%s 5lanning -oard d"ring a previo"s $5I-2-led government#Isaa%s ideologial transgression had been to disting"ish between t%,e o! NGOs#Granting the entral tenet o! 6arat%s riti."e 0 that (there is a larger imperialist strategy to "tilize the so-alled vol"ntary setor to in!l"ene ivil soiety in &hird /orld o"ntries% 0 Isaa arg"ed that (there are also NGOs and a large n"mber o! similarivil soiety organisations and !ormations that are essential ingredients o! any soial str"t"re# &here!ore) while being vigilant abo"t the imperialist designs) we have to disting"ish between ivil soiety organisations that are pro-imperialist and pro-globalisation and those that are not####%#E=&his was o"tright heresy !or many movement leaders weaned on anti-NGO rhetori#$ritis saw the $5I-2 ompromise on NGOs as onsistent with the party%s ompromises on privatization) !oreign investment) and other iss"es) demonstrated by the ations over the years by eonomially liberalizing $5I-2 state governments in /est -engal and 6erala#NGOs are) in !at) o!ten eager to s"pport movements#&his o"rs in!ormally 0 the provision o! meeting spae) o!!ie help) vehiles 0 and sometimes in more systemati ways#1oal people o!ten !ail to disting"ish in pratie between ertain NGOs and their assoiated movement gro"ps#&hese an be seen as d"al-p"rpose assoiations#In Ra4asthan) the movement-oriented 26;; is losely linked to the ;oial /ork and Researh $entre) learly an NGO#&he movement-like ativities o! soial ativist Anna Dazare in 2aharahstra are di!!i"lt to disentangle !rom the Dind ;wara4 &r"st) an NGO that he also helps to r"n#EAIn 2"mbai) the Rationing 6r"ti ;amiti) a !ormidable movement !or ao"ntability in the 5,; d"ring the *++>s) was losely interwoven with the ativities o! an NGO alled Apnalaya) b"t remained organizationally separate#In the northern distrits o! 6arnataka) a similar division o! labo"r haraterized the relationship between the India ,evelopment ;ervie) whih p"rs"es !airly onventional NGO ativities) and the ;ama4 5arivarthan ;am"dhay) whih ass"med a militant ampaigning role against government and orporate ab"ses# 61 N/orld ;oial Jor"m $ontrolled by F"ro-Amerian -o"rgeoisieN) Report o! the Independent 2edia $entre (>A# 63 &he phenomenon o! d"al-p"rpose gro"ps is dis"ssed in Rob Jenkins) (In Marying ;tates o! ,eay' Anti-$orr"ption 5olitis in 2aharashtra and Ra4asthan%) in Rob Jenkins (ed)) Re+i$na" Ref"ecti$n: C$m,arin+ ($"itic acr$ In'ia9 #tate (,elhi' O3!ord >G)) pp# 5age *? o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITEAnother well-known e3ample is the ;hrama4eevi ;anghatana) an ativist gro"p that spawned an NGO !ront organization) Midhayak ;ansad#&hese two gro"ps provided the empirial material !or 6amat%s analysis o! (NGO-ization%#&ho"gh she anonymizes the organizations in her te3t) it is evident that these are the gro"ps dis"ssed#EGIn 6amat%s ao"nt) it was the establishment o! the Midhayak ;ansad that de-radialized the ;hrama4eevi ;anghatana#;he !rames her story as a a"tionary tale o! inadvertent NGO ontagion# It was ;anghatana%sengagement with the entral government ageny reated to assist and reg"late NGOs) $A5AR&) that bro"ght abo"t the movement%s tragi demise#&o ontin"e working with $A5AR&) the ;anghatana had to !loat a onventional NGO 0 Midhayak ;ansad 0 to oversee the health) ed"ation) and livelihood programmes that were essential to rehabilitating people !reed !rom bonded labo"r) the ;anghatan%s main !ield o! work# 0 members o! non-elite astes who have emerged as important (politial !i3ers%#@*6rishna !o"nd that people inreasingly t"rn to naya netas) rather than established !ig"res !rom dominant land-owning astes) to 70 Anir"dh 6rishna) 1cti!e #$cia" Ca,ita": Tracin+ the R$$t $f De!e"$,ment an' Dem$crac% (NewPork' $ol"mbia >=)#5age =* o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITEassist in brokering transations with o!!iials at the blok or distrit head."arters# -"t naya netas have also been instr"mental as (politial entreprene"rs% who) on behal! o! a village or hamlet) negotiate with party leaders at eletion time !or the prie to be paid !or the loalityNs votes#&his works best in plaes where there arehigh stoks o! soial apital !or naya netas to th"s NativateN) in the !orm o! en blo voting#Interestingly) it is in some ases thro"gh NGO-led pro4ets that naya netas obtainthe skills and ontats neessary to ply both their retail trade (assisting people with their work at government o!!ies) and their wholesale trade (the bargains with parties !or loal s"pport)#NGOs draw on many more loal people !or their operations than is re!leted in data on the n"mber they !ormally employ#Jor many r"ral development NGOs) 4"st to take one ategory) o"treah to remote loations (where dialets may be spoken) re."ires a large n"mber o! !ield operatives who are not employees) b"t are paid on a as"alised basis as and when pro4ets arise# &he biggest NGOs involve tho"sands o! yo"ng people as o"treah workers) s"rvey en"merators) health ed"ation assistants) and so !orth#&his provides e3pos"re to the world o! o!!iialdom and o!ten involves training in tehnial skills) s"h as the management o! minor irrigation works#NGO-implemented government programmes are a training gro"nd !or naya netas) o!ten bringing them into ontat with party leaders#It is not s"rprising to !ind that among the NGOs to have beome inreasingly lose to politial parties as a res"lt o! the new inentives thrown "p by demorati deentralization are those that have e!!etively straddled the NGO-movement divide#One e3ample is the 6;;5 (6erala ;astra ;ahithya 5arishad)# /hile many o! its leading lights have en4oyed a long assoiation with the $5I-2) the 6;;5 has also managed to maintain a rep"tation !or de!ending its organizational a"tonomy#&his independent streak was demonstrated most visibly in the late *+@>s d"ring the ampaign spearheaded by the 6;;5 against the planned ;ilent Malley power plant) a pro4et baked by the state%s $5I-2-led oalition government#/hen in the *++>s another $5I-2-led government in 6erala initiated India%s most!ar-reahing demorati deentralization programme) the 6;;5 was losely involved in designing the mehanisms thro"gh whih pop"lar partiipation o"ld be engendered) all the way down to the neighbo"rhood level) and played a ma4orrole in the massive training programmes to assist loal omm"nities in !orm"lating omprehensive development plans#@=In the deade prior to the la"nhing o! the new deentralization initiative in *++E) m"h dis"ssion within 71 &his is the term "sed in James 2anor) (;mall-time 5olitial Ji3ers in IndiaNs ;tates' 7&owel overArmpitQ%) 1ian #*r!e%) vol# G>) no# C (=>>A)) pp# ?*E-AC#5age == o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITEthe $5I-2 had entred on the loss o! enth"siasm among loal adres#-y "sing deentralization as a means o! re-establishing links with the 6;;5) the $5I-2 hoped not only to bene!it !rom the e3pertise o! the 6;;5) b"t also to rekindle interest among people disill"sioned by the easeless !ationalization o! the state $5I-2) whih seemed to some like a arbon opy o! the $ongress#@A6erala%s $5I-2 embraed the movement mode o! politial organizing naming its radial deentralization initiative (&he 5eople%s 5lan $ampaign%#Another gro"p that at one time edged lose to party politis was Fkta 5arishad (F5)) or (>A that (tho"gh the 6;;5 had been born as a pop"lar demorati organisation in the ;i3ties) it had lost its demorati harater in the ;eventies and had Hby the end o! the ent"ryI degenerated to the level o! being yet another o! the @>)>>>-odd non-Governmental organisations (NGOs) 9 whose main 4ob is to ampaign !or the development strategy o! the G-? nations%#;ee (6;;5 ,raws Jlak in ,PJI Organ%) The &in'*) =C November =>>A# 73 A"thor%s interview with a member o! the 6;;5%s e3e"tive ommittee) &rih"r) ** Jan"ary *+++#74 All ."otes ome !rom www#ektaparishad#org) b"t !"rther bakgro"nd material is drawn !rom Rah"l Ramag"ndam) Defeate' Inn$cence: 1'i!ai 1erti$n6 :an' Ri+ht an' the E.ta (ariha' M$!ement (New ,elhi' GrassrootsIndia 5"blishers) =>>*)#5age =A o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITEpeople# It laims a membership o! *C>)>>> d"es-paying members) b"t says its wider !ollowing onstit"tes a (!ormation% o! more than C>>)>>>#F5 sees str"ggle (sangharsh) as peae!"lly oe3isting alongside (the promotion o! onstr"tive work%#F5 has assisted organizations to establish (grain banks% designed to assist adivasis to evade the grasp o! moneylenders#&his kind o! onstr"tive work) bea"se it attaks !e"dal relations rather than apitalist modeso! prod"tion) wo"ld likely not ."ali!y "nder 6amat%s demanding de!inition o! what onstit"tes radial politial engagement# F5 has nevertheless !o"nd itsel! !"rther enmeshed within the eletoral sphere#,"ring the deade (*++A-=>>A) in whih $ongress $hie! 2inister ,igvi4ay ;ingh was in power) F5 beame assoiated with the $ongress) and with ;ingh in parti"lar# ;ingh was also said to have drawn on the loal pop"larity o! NGO workers a!!iliated with the F5) assisting them to win seats on village o"nils in e3hange !or their s"pport with $ongress andidates# 1ike many other movement gro"ps and NGOs) F5 ativists were not above bolstering their laims o! in!l"ene by reo"nting the interest taken in their work by some politial !ig"re or other) or in!lating their laims to legitimay by re!erring to the gro"p%s strength in a given loality or among a parti"lar onstit"eny#(Fkta 5arishad is a !ore to be rekoned with% in the $hambal region) aording toFkta 5arishad anyway 0 (so m"h so that d"ring the general eletions9 $hie! 2inister himsel! omes down to 2ahatma Gandhi ;ewa Ashram at Jo"ra to negotiate and anvas s"pport with Fkta 5arishad members%#@C

&he F5%s strategy o! hithing its !ort"nes to ,igvi4ay ;ingh%s $ongress 5arty was onsidered a mistake by many o! 25%s ativists#-y siding openly with $ongress d"ring the =>>A assembly eletions) appearing on p"bli plat!orms with the $hie! 2inister) the F5 sari!ied m"h o! its redibility among ativists) and earned the hostility o! the -haratiya Janata 5arty (-J5) that s"eeded ;ingh%s#@E

2ovements have wrestled) individ"ally and in !ederations s"h as the National Alliane o! 5eople%s 2ovements) with the ."estion o! how best to approah the eletoral sphere#;ho"ld they endorse individ"al andidatesBOr sho"ld leading members o! the organizations onerned e3tend s"pport to spei!i andidates) witho"t invoking the movement%s name or membershipB&he N-A%s 2edha 75 Ramag"ndam) p# =+#76 5ersonal omm"niations !rom two -hopal-based ativists) A Jebr"ary and =E Jeb"rary =>>C# 5age =G o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITE5atkar has at times taken the latter option#-"t when 5atkar voied her individ"als"pport !or a $ongress andidate (!ormer state home minister RR 5atil) in the 2aharahstra state assembly eletions in =>>G) it was inevitable that this wo"ld be portrayed as N-A baking !or the $ongress 5arty as a whole#@@/hether s"hs"pport is in e3hange !or promises o! ation on the movement%s demands is impossible to say) b"t as Raina has arg"ed) Nthe degree o! mobilisation "nder theN-A banner has been di!!i"lt to ignore !or most o! the mainstream parties) and individ"als !rom these parties have overtly and overtly s"pported the movement !rom time to time9N#@?&he 26;;) whih as we have seen is part o! a movement-NGO d"o) has inreasingly entered the eletoral arena#A !ew 26;; workers ontested the ina"g"ral panhayat eletions in *++C) b"t with only the hal!-hearted blessing o! the organization#One who got eleted was s"bse."ently !o"nd to have engagedin orr"ption) a ma4or embarrassment !or an organization dediated to rooting o"t!ra"d#&he gro"p%s response in the ne3t ro"nd o! panhayat eletions in =>>> was not to bak away !rom eletoral politis) b"t to insist that anyone assoiated with the 26;; who so"ght to ontest panhayat eletions sho"ld s"bsribe to a list o! priniples) inl"ding most notably a ommitment to thoro"ghly implement the soial a"dit provisions ontained within Ra4asthan%s newly amended loal government legislation 0 provisions whih the 26;; had been instr"mental in having passed#Among the 26;;%s winning andidates was a sarpanh who proeeded both to strengthen the 26;; in the area and demonstrate the possibility o! implementing development programmes witho"t rampant orr"ption#In the =>>C panhayat polls) 26;; s"pported *= andidates ontesting !or the post o! sarpanh#Only two were eleted) b"t the 26;; had not seleted andidates on the basis o! their (apaity to win%#Rather the overriding riteria was their (ommitment to !ollow the norms evolved olletively by the 26;; in dis"ssions held over the last year%#&he ob4etive was (to in!l"ene the mainstream politial proess in the area so that iss"es o! importane to the 26;; beame part o! the debate%#@+

&he ability o! NGOs to engage in eletoral politis is limited by their legal stat"s as haritable entities#;ome NGOs) s"h as 1ok ;hikshan ;ansthan) a $hittorgarh-based (a"tonomo"s organization% that promotes adivasi rights) e3pliitly b"ild into their !o"nding do"ments provisions that ,r$hi)it members !rom ontesting eletions#?>/hether this is driven by legal re."irements or 77 ;ee (T"ietly F!!iient%) 0r$nt"ine) E-*+ November =>>G# 78 Raina) N;oial 2ovements in IndiaN) pp# *C-*E#79 26;; email ir"lar) *G Jebr"ary =>>C#Jor !"rther details) see' Fri 6erbart and ;owmya ;ivak"mar) (5anhayat Fletions in Ra4asthan' A Miew !rom the Jield%) Ec$n$mic an' ($"itica" -ee."%) *+ Jebr"ary =>>C# 80 http'LLst"dentorgs#"te3as#ed"Laida"stinLOJI=>>GLo!iSlssLpresentationsL1;;Sanswers#pd!#5age =C o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITEstrategi al"lations is di!!i"lt to know#Other ases are less lear "t#At least one women%s ;el! Delp Gro"p (;DG) established thro"gh a r"ral redit programme in 2aharashtra voied an intention to "se the ;DG as a plat!orm !or ontesting the ne3t panhayat eletions#&his was despite a resol"tion by the oordinating body !or the ;DGs that !orbade their "se !or politial p"rposes#Dowpreisely it o"ld prevent leading ;DG members !rom e3ploiting their prestige to !"rther their politial areers remained "nlear#?*2any NGOs) s"h as the 6arnataka-based ;FAR$D) train some o! the h"ndredso! tho"sands o! people eleted to panhayati ra4 instit"tions# -ea"se one-third o! panhayat seats are reserved !or women) some NGOs speialize in training women representatives or women%s gro"ps seeking to engage with the partiipatory str"t"res 0 bene!iiary gro"ps) vigilane ommittees 0 established "nder loal government reg"lations#Not s"rprisingly) NGOs engaged in providing in!ormation) g"idane) and s"pport to eleted representatives or aspirants !or loal-government o!!ie an begin to resemble politial parties in ertain respets#NGOs implementing watershed development and other s"h grassroots pro4ets beome intimately involved in the workings o! village panhayats# One NGO that has openly delared its ambition to !ailitate the entry o! its members into eleted o!!ie is the Po"ng India 5ro4et (PI5)# &he PI5 has helped to organize many "nions o! agri"lt"ral labo"rers and other marginalized gro"ps in r"ral Andhra 5radesh#&he membership o! these "nions) whih oordinate their ativities with the PI5) was reported in =>>> as *@A)>>>#&he "nions work to obtain bene!its !rom anti-poverty shemes)and to insist on the distrib"tion o! s"rpl"s lands#&he "nions also s"pport the eletion o! their own members to panhayati ra4 instit"tions) with the s"pport o! PI5#In the *++C panhayati ra4 eletions in the state) members o! these "nions were said to have ontested !or appro3imately @)>>> villagepanhayat seats) allegedly winning E*>>#&'India is not the only o"ntry where demorati deentralization has provided an opport"nity !or NGOs and movement gro"ps to enter into the eletoral domain#81 International J"nd !or Agri"lt"ral ,evelopment) Asia and the 5ai!i ,ivision) (5artners in Fmpowerment' NGOs and Government in the 2aharashtra R"ral $redit 5rogramme%) p AC#82 6avitha 2ediratta and $lay ;mith) (Advaning $omm"nity Organizing 5ratie' 1essons !rom Grassroots Organizations in India%) $O22-ORG /orking 5aper) >*#G# ;"varhala) (Fmpowerment o! Gram 5anhayat 2embers' F3perienes o! Po"ng India 5ro4et%) 5en"konda) Andhra 5radesh: and Narinder -edi (,evelopment o! 5ower%) in ,# Ra4ashekhar (ed)) Decentra"ie' G$!ernment an' NGO: I*e6 #trate+ie an' -a% 0$r/ar' (New ,elhi' $onept 5"blishing $ompany) *+++)# 5age =E o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITEAs in India) this has been espeially evident among gro"ps that straddle the NGO-movement divide#$larke tells "s that $hilean NGOs (played an important role in helping 5op"lar Fonomi Organisations (Or+ani4aci$ne Ec$nimica ($,*"are) and ;el!-Delp Organisations (Or+ani4aci$ne 'e 1*t$31%*'a) to ontest the *++= loal eletions and to s"bse."ently partiipate in loal government str"t"res%# NGOs in the 5hilippines (sit alongside politial parties in loal government str"t"res reated "nder the *++* 1oal Government $ode andhave atively partiipated in eletion ampaigns) inl"ding the *++= 5residential and the *++C loal and $ongressional eletions%#?A

Conclusion$larke%s review o! the relationship between NGOs and politis in the developing world observes that that the NGO setor is o!ten a politial miroosm) re!leting larger ideologial str"ggles#&he !ield o! NNGO ation###in parts o! Asia and 1atin Ameria) and to a lesser e3tent in A!ria)N he arg"es) is Nan arena within whih battles !rom soiety at large are internalisedN#?GIndia%s e3periene e3empli!ies this trend#&he organizational !orms ass"med by India%s ivi gro"ps are !ar too varied and omple3 to be red"ed to simple dihotomies) and yet the ompetition !or legitimay) and the pro!o"nd desire o! ativists to demonstrate their loseness to ordinary people) their a"tonomy !rom the state) their !inanial independene) theirideologial p"rity 0 in short) their distintiveness 0 has rein!ored a !"ndamental divide between politial movements and apolitial (or depolitiizing) NGOs#&his is in one sense a re!letion o! how rowded the market !or soial and politial entreprene"rs is in India#-"t it is also a hangover !rom the myth (as opposed to the more omple3 reality) o! Gandhi%s mode o! politial ation 0 an "nattainable ideal in whih personal sari!ie gives rise to an organi !lowering o!mass olletive ation#&his is what 2orris-Jones alled the (saintly idiom% in Indian politis#It provides a onstant (re!erene point%) (an ideal o! disinterested sel!lessness by ontrast with whih almost all normal ond"t an seem very shabby%#?C

83 $larke) NNon-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and 5olitis9%# 84 Ibid85 /#D# 2orris-Jones) (India%s 5olitial Idioms%) in $#D# 5hilips (ed)) ($"itic an' #$ciet% in In'ia (1ondon' George Allen and s o! parties based on lower-aste identity#Other shi!ts in the politial terrain have disr"pted established !a"lt lines as well#In the development diso"rse) the ,$t-/ashington $onsens"s on eonomi poliy has s"pplanted the earlier ertainties o! neoliberal presription#One easily adopted positions against neoliberalism m"st now yield to more di!!i"lt 4"dgments on the role o! the state#/hether to engage with) or remain aloo! !rom) the domain o! parties and eletoral politis is among these hard hoies#Arg"ably) ativists in India are inreasingly in t"ne with the sentiments e3pressedby one observer o! the 5hilippines ase' (NGOs annot simply avoid politis or leave it in the hands o! traditional politiians%#?@&he stakes are too high#&he idea o! ivi gro"ps trans!orming themselves into party-like organizations is not 86 $hallenges to NGOs as agents o! ao"ntability-seeking is treated in greater detail in Anne 2arie Goetz and Rob Jenkins) Rein!entin+ 1cc$*nta)i"it%: Ma.in+ Dem$crac% -$r. f$r &*man De!e"$,ment (1ondon' 5algraveL2amillan) =>>C)# 5age =? o! =+Draft [13 March 2004]: DO NOT QUOTE OR CITEwitho"t preedent in India#&he -ah"4an ;ama4 5arty (-;5)) a!ter all) the most s"ess!"l o! India%s dalit-assertion parties) originated as a ivil soiety !ormation 0 a trade "nion one dismissed as an NGO# 87 Jlorenio Abad) (5eopleNs 5artiipation in Governane' 1imits and 5ossibilities 0 &he 5hilippine $ase%) in F# Garia) J# 2a"4a and -# &olosa (eds)) (artici,ati$n in G$!ernment: The (e$,"e@ Ri+ht (T"ezon' Ateneo de 2anila