Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Role of NGOs in India
Role of NGOs in India
Personnel.
Finances.
Ideology.
Agenda.
Programme
management.
Each of these has distinct implicationsboth advantages and
disadvantagesthe most significant being rootedness and
legitimacy. When there is a deliberate sense of victimisation and
otherness being cultivated amongst the majority (about 80%
even according to conservative estimates), the importance of
rootedness and legitimacy cannot be overstated. The bogey of
being foreignforeigner, foreign funded or foreign agendais a
sure
recipe
for
failure.
Tangentially, Indigenising iNGOs also appeals to the growing
national pride which is an outcome of demographics as much as
economics (India as superpower). Nuclear powered India is no
longer willing to play second fiddle. It wants to set the agenda.
Moreover, India does have a mature civil society. Just as NGOs
should not articulate issues or set the agenda where the
community can, similarly expatriate do not have the legitimacy to
do so on behalf of Indian Civil Society.
4.1 Personnel
Most iNGOs do have most of their personnel from within India.
However, those that dont have non-Indians in their top most
positions with a vast gulf in salaries. Having Indian personnel
would (or should) erase this disparity (we are aware that it is not
so in some cases). Local personnel would also be able to hold the
Dont be complacent:
The Delhi High Court order was brilliant and it will certainly
have an impact on the brazenness of state impunity in so far as
restricting foreign funding of Greenpeace. But there is no room for
complacency and I do see a trend of growing intolerance towards
all sections of society who dissent and not just NGOs. The battle
in my view has just begun, and we have a very long way to go.
Work in political and public spheres: CSOs should also learn
to work more strategically with political parties. As CSOs operate
in the space between public and political arenas, government
responsiveness is improved by engaging both arenas.
13 ways to tackle inequality in India
Create a counter-culture:
It is important to recognise that we live in an age of political
capture where the power economic and wealth is more
concentrated than it has ever been, with this impacting how
policies function. We need to create a popular narrative with a
clear vision of what change looks like in terms of poverty,
gender and social inclusion. We have stopped working on creating
a counter-culture which is fundamental to allow people to ingrain
the
idea
of
democracy
and
equality.
and
projection
of
certain
kind
of
development.
Take
responsibility
for
accountability
and
transparency: Businesses have been accused of using NGOs for
money laundering. NGOs should account for the money they
spend while working within the parameters of national governing
frameworks and laws. The best NGOs strategise about how they
can be accountable to the communities for whom they work.
Convince the middle class that poverty affects them
too: Highlight to the middle class that in the long run