Relevance: Mains: G.S paper II: Governance: Pressure groups: Role of Civil Society
Context:
- We the people of India, will not tolerate the fusion of religious identity and citizenship, will not sanction dilution of secularism and equality, will not accept irresponsible amendments to the Constitution, and will not endure vicious attempts to divide us.
Civil society:
- The concept of civil society is normative, insofar as it specifies that associational life in a metaphorical space between the market based on profit, and the state that embodies power, is a distinct good.
• Associational life neutralises the individualism, the atomism, and the anomie of modern life. Social associations enable the pursuit of multiple projects and engender solidarity.
• The projects can range from developing awareness about climate change, to discussing and dissecting popular culture, supporting needy children, organising neighbourhood activities, and safeguarding human rights.
• Above all, the concept recognises that even democratic states are imperfect. Democracy has to be realised through sustained engagement with the holders of power.
• Citizen activism, public vigilance, informed public opinion, a free media, and a multiplicity of social associations are indispensable for this task.
Objective of civil society:
- The minimal avatar of civil society — that of mobilisation against authoritarian regimes — that has proved politically effective since the last decades of the 20th century.
• This concept has motivated thousands of people across the globe to stand up and speak back to a history, not of their making.
• The objective of civil society is not to takeover the state. That is left to political parties.
• Vibrant civil societies are born out of complete disenchantment with the party system. They are, and remain, the public conscience of society.
• The powerful states have collapsed like the proverbial house of cards before street assemblies and demonstrations.
Way ahead:
- We do not need to worry about who should lead civil society mobilisation in India. Nor should we worry about where it is heading.
• It is enough that citizens have gathered in public spaces to fight a government increasingly seen as authoritarian and divisive. Moreover, civil societies eschew organisation, leadership and goals.
• Organisation leads to bureaucratisation, leaders rapidly become tyrants, and no one agent is capable of defining what the goals of a complex society should be.
• The task of civil society is not to wage a revolutionary war. Its task is to awaken people to the fact that they have a right to hold governments responsible for acts of omission and commission.
• When it takes on authoritarian states, the strength of civil society is its spontaneity and collective mobilisation. Its weapon is the Constitution; its demand is respect for constitutional morality.
Conclusion:
- Civil society is not an institution; it is a space, the site for many projects that restore democracy. This is India’s civil society moment. It needs to be celebrated.