More
the issues of society the higher the number and scope of Non Government
Organisations (NGOs) remain a reality in India today. Comparatively the state
like Kerala has fewer NGOs compared northern states of India as the nature of
issues are more compact with the nature and scope NGO functioning in north Indian states. As northern states undergo multiple issues/deprivations states like
Kerala experience complex issues that are more challenging for the intervention
of NGOs in its present paradigm.
The
origin of NGOs in India in its present form could be traced back to the spirit
of Volunteer Organizations that emerged during the independent movement and
post independent era until the declaration of emergency. Volunteer Organizations
gradually transformed to NGOs as the world moved towards the dominance of
global capital for economic growth and development. Thus they are known as
development organizations working on various issues with diverse mission and
objectives. Global capitalism brought foreign money to ‘developing’ countries
like India and ‘under developed countries’ like Somalia. It was time the State recognized the role and
potential of NGOs that could fill the gaps that the government machinery could
not do. Thus they could get wide spread endorsement and appreciation from
various quarters of development sector. After emergency NGOs became popular in
rural areas as they could bring lots of investments in infrastructure
development as well as in Health and Education sector. In the initial stage
many of the organizations worked with the spirit of charity that promoted the
exchange of material benefits in the form of money and other material wants and
needs of life. It was the time when Christianity too focused on improvement in
health, education and various issues of poverty. With its religious belief in
charity Christianity supported many NGOs to emerge in poor areas of India that
created the masses of dependents on its charity. Gradually NGOs turned to right
based development objectives that was envisioned to challenge the limitations
of charity mode of functioning.
A
lot could be written about the historical evolution of NGOs and its impact on
life. One thing should be recognized that changes in its method and objectives
should be analysed in connection with the changing nature of global capitalism,
its strategies to ensure economic growth through market economy. It is also
important to understand the emergence of micro credit as part of micro finance
and its role in ‘empowerment’ of vulnerable communities.
Why
don’t NGOs bring social change is a topic that can’t be dealt it a single
article to examine the subject with its magnitude and extent that influenced
the culture and scope of social change. Every organization enter into the arena
of social work with its declared vision, mission and objectives that are either
diluted or relegated into oblivion in the midst of organizational management,
maintaining the fund flow and tackling the community issues during the
intervention in the area. The expression ‘social work’ itself reveals its
alienation from Nature or its failure to consider mankind as one of the species
in the eco system. In other words with the promulgation of ‘scientific temper’
and faith in the man’s supremacy over Nature prompted individuals and
organizations not to recognize the importance of treating man as part of
Nature. The rational thinking, evidence based scientific approach and
unquestioned faith in the separate existence of man from Nature with its
reliance on rationality endowed with western theoretical support led social
work in India towards its doom.
The
fact remains that NGOs normally function in the domain of existing paradigm of
nation state with its supremacy over communities through centralized system.
Legally bound to the ethos of modern nation state NGOs are functioning as the
extension of power mechanism endorsed by its authority. Thus organizations that
seem to be radical in its stated objectives are destined to be a ‘refined’
version of the State apparatus that is obviously a tool for capitalism to
expand its clutches of authority overtly and covertly over its people.
In
addition to that Non Government Organizations are working with the paradigm of
development envisioned by global capitalism based on GDP as an indication of
positive change. Thus it is part of monetary economy that commercializes all
the community resources and people’s willingness to extend their support with
the spirit of community sharing. In other words the situation does not allow an
organization to perpetuate a value of life beyond the existing frame work of
socio-economic management. Besides that the whole operation of a Non Government
Organization is built on the fund flow from a donor organization that prevents
them to move away from the existing economic system based on growth for the
sake of their survival.
Based
on the perception of global agencies on development and backwardness, most of the
communities including tribal groups are considered to be vulnerable groups that
need to be mainstreamed. Mainstreaming of such ‘vulnerable’ communities is a declared
agenda of NGOs with the observation that the indigenous culture, tradition and way
of living are primitive and it is essential to modernize them. Thus standard means
of social and cultural homogenization is implemented in various forms in the name
of development. Traditional practices that have ecological significance and principles
of sustainability are termed as unscientific and obsolete. On the contrary if the values of such indigenous
communities are asserted by somebody, for instance the symbiotic relationship of
tribal communities with nature, it will be described religiousness or part of anti-development
agenda.
Another
interesting fact is the organizations that are formed with an objective of
community development, a popular social work intervention strategy, work with
people living in a particular location selected by the feasibility tools of a
project plan where the actual Community is absent or invalid. Thus a
development project is designed to fail with its formulation to work with
community resources, its members and issues. The reasons for the absence of
communities could be traced to multiple reasons such as caste discrimination,
gender inequalities, other various forms of inequalities and the dominance of
monetary economy over gift economy that strengthened and sustained the spirit
of community living. The situation became worse with the absence of common
assets with the growing privatization of land and other resources.
NGOs
in India have valuable lessons from its past experience to move towards a new
paradigm, yet they continue lingering in the field of ‘development’ for its
capability to sustain a parallel economic system and attractive employment
opportunity for some people in the sector along with the support of the state
for its gap filling role. (the state act against them when they challenge its
policy). It is a shock absorber for the existing gravity of inequality and
oppression. Thus it becomes inevitable for the state as well as the oppressor
to have a safety valve for resisting the rising people’s movements against the
present system. In their struggle for survival most of the organizations do not
recognize the absurdity of working for development as the global capitalism has
reached its peak of natural resource extraction and thus heading towards
economic crisis. They don’t even appreciate Ecology as the Science of 21st
century. Any way man cannot go on with
their dream for their unlimited growth with limited natural resource even with
the support of technology.
There
are many people with their commitment towards a more just and fair society
working as part of NGOs working on various critical issues. It’s time for them
to decide whether to go on with a perished dream or choose a way of better
understanding, contemplation and find a way forward. One thing is sure, the
present paradigm of material well-being cannot be achieved with the designed
system without letting a new system to emerge that is based on principles of Ecology,
the Science of present times. Being part
of the present economic system and growth based on GDP social work in its
effort fails to find the real cause of issues lurking in the space away from
its domain. Otherwise with the dedication and commitment of some people working
in the field, some of the NGOs may be able to cure the wound temporarily
without healing real diseases permanently.
