Directive Principles of State Policy

       As the name suggests, Directive Principles of State Policy are directions to the State. Similar concept exists in the Constitution of Ireland where these are known are “Directive Principles of Social Policy”. Directive Principles of State Policy, as provided in Part IV of our Constitution, set certain goals, the achievement of which would help the citizens in living a good life. Although these are not enforceable by a Court of law but it is expected that the Government will formulate its policies so as to achieve these goals.  A gist of these principles is as under:

1. State to strive for providing justice, social, economic and political, and to strive to eliminate or minimise the inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities, not only among individuals but also among groups of people.
2. The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing-Adequate means of livelihood to citizens;Distribution of  the material resources of the community so as to best subserve the common good;Operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production;Equal pay for equal work for both men and women;Citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength;Opportunities and facilities to children to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity protection of childhood and youth against exploitation.
3. Promoting justice, on a basis of equal opportunity and providing free legal aid, in case of need.
4. Organising and empowering village panchayats.
5. Subject to economic capacity of the state, to make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases.
6. Providing for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.
7. Subscribing a living wage to and conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and to promote cottage industries on individual or co-operative basis in rural areas.
8. Taking steps for securing the participation of workers in the management of industries.
9. Uniform civil code for the citizens.
10. Providing early childhood care and education to children below the age of six years.
11. Promotion of educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections.
12. To raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health and to prevent the consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs except for medicinal purposes.
13. Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines; preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows, milch and draught cattle.
14. Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wild life.
15. Protection of monuments and places and objects of national importance.
16. Separation of judiciary from executive.
17. Promotion of international peace and security; maintaining just and honourable relations between nations; foster respect for international law and treaty obligations and encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration.

Fundamental Duties

         In 1976 the Congress President appointed a Committee headed by Sardar Swaran Singh to examine the Constitution and to suggest changes “so that it may continue as a living document”. The report and recommendations of the Committee resulted in 42^nd Amendment of the Constitution in 1976. Apart from other things this amendment included the insertion of Part IVA and Article 51A in our Constitution. These contain fundamental duties of citizens. Presently there are eleven fundamental duties. Out of these ten were inserted in the Constitution by the 42^nd Amendment while one more fundamental duty referring to the duty of a parent to provide education to his children was incorporated by the 86^th amendment in 2002. The fundamental duties are:

1. to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem;
2. to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;
3. to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
4. to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
5. to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
6. to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
7. to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures;
8. to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
9. to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
10. to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement;
11. who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years.

Fundamental Rights

             Almost all the liberal democracies of the world grant some basic rights to their citizens and foreign citizens residing in their territory. In India these are provided in the form of Fundamental Rights which included in Part three of the Constitution. These are broadly categorized as Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right against Exploitation, Right to Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Educational Rights and Right to Constitutional Remedies. These rights are legally enforceable. Details of these rights as provided in the Constitution are as under:

Right to Equality	Article 14	Equality before law- Provides for equality before law and equal protection of law to any person within the territory of India.
	Article 15	Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth- Prohibits the state from making any discrimination on these grounds. No citizen can be discriminated on any of these grounds with respect to access to shops, restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment as well as the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of state funds or dedicated to the use of general public. State can make special provision for women and children; socially or educationally backward classes or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
	Article 16	Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment- Provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of public employment. However Parliament is empowered to make laws about a requirement for the public post to be a resident of that particular state or Union territory. Parliament is also empowered for making reservation of appointment or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes which are not adequately represented. Allows the operation of a law which provides that person holding an office in a religious and denominational institution should belong to a particular religion or denomination.
	Article 17	Abolition of Untouchability- Abolishes “Untouchability” and makes its practicing a punishable offence.
	Article 18	Abolition of Titles- Provides that State shall not confer any titles except military and academic distinctions. Also provides that no citizen of India shall accept any title from any foreign state. Any foreign citizen while he holds an office of profit or trust under the State shall not accept any title from any foreign state except with the permission of the President. Further no person holding any office of profit shall accept any present, emolument or office of any kind from or under any foreign state.
Right to Freedom	Article 19	Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech etc- This provides to all citizens the right  to freedom of Speech and Expression to assemble peacefully and without arms to form associations and unions to move freely throughout the territory of India to reside or settle in any part of the territory of India to practice any profession, occupation or trade.           However these rights are not absolute. This article empowers the State to make laws for placing reasonable restrictions on any of these rights.
	Article 20	Protection in respect of conviction for offences-  Provides that no person can be convicted of an offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of commission of the offence nor can be subjected to a penalty greater than which might have been inflicted under the law in force at that time. Further no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once. No person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.
	Article 21	Protection of life and personal liberty- Provides that no person shall be deprived of his life and liberty except according to a procedure established by law.
	Article 21A	Right to education- Provides for free and compulsory education to all children from age of six to fourteen years.
	Article 22	Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases- Provides that no person arrested should be detained in custody without being informed as soon as possible about the grounds of his arrest. Any person arrested and detained should not be denied the right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice. Provides that every person arrested and detained in custody must be produced before the nearest magistrate within 48 hours excluding the time required for such journey and further detention should only be with the permission of the magistrate. Also provides that these rights are not available to an enemy alien or to a person who is arrested or detained under law providing for preventive detention. Provides that in normal circumstances preventive detention should not be more than three months unless authorized by an Advisory Board comprising of persons who are, or have been or are qualified to be High Court Judges. Parliament is empowered to make laws for prescribing the circumstances under which preventive detention can be made for more than three months and for prescribing the procedure to be followed by the Advisory Board.
Right against Exploitation	Article 23	Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour- Prohibits traffic in human beings as well as  ‘begaar’ and other similar forms of forced labour. However the State is empowered to impose compulsory service for public purposes.
	Article 24	Prohibition of employment of children in factories etc.- Prohibits employment of children below the age of fourteen years in a factory, mine or any other hazardous employment.
Right to freedom of religion	Article 25	Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion- Provides that all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and right to practice any religion. This is subject to public order, morality, health and other provisions related to fundamental rights.
	Article 26	Freedom to manage religious affairs- Provides for the right to every religious denomination to  establish and maintain religious institutions for religious and charitable purposes; to manage its own affairs in the matters of religion; to own and acquire movable and immovable property; to administer such property in accordance with law; These rights are also subject to public order, morality and health.
	Article 27	Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion- Prohibits compelling a person to pay a tax the proceeds of which would go for promotion of a particular religion.
	Article 28	Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain education institutions- Prohibits imparting of religious instructions in educational institution wholly maintained out of state funds. However this will not apply to an institution administered by the state but established under an endowment or trust which requires imparting of religious instructions. No person attending any educational institution recognized or funded by the State shall be required to take part in any religious instruction or worship being conducted in that institution.
Cultural and Educational Rights	Article 29	Protection of interests of minorities- Provides that any section of citizen having a distinct language, script or culture have a right to conserve the same. No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution only on the grounds of religion, race, caste language or any of them.
	Article 30	Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions- Provides that all minorities, whether linguistic or religious, shall have the right to establish and administer educations institutions of their choice. While granting aid to educational institutions, the State shall not discriminate against any educational institution under the management of a minority.
Right to Constitutional Remedies	Article 32	Remedies for enforcement of Rights conferred- Provides the right to move to Supreme Court for enforcement of these rights. Empowers Supreme Court to issues directions for the enforcement of these rights.

Governance

            Literally, governance means the processes by which administration of a country is run. It includes the processes by which the rulers are selected and also the manner in which they take and enforce decisions. In dictatorial and totalitarian/autocratic regimes the Government carries out the function of ruling the state through some institutions and unilaterally defines the relationship of the citizens with these institutions. However, in democratic countries, the situation is different as rulers are elected by the people and hence people are able to affect the policies followed by the Government. In many of the these countries, the situation has undergone a change due to involvement of  non state actors like civil society, public institutions, market forces and international agencies who play a vital role in decision making and implementation processes. This brings in the concept of “governance” which broadly implies the involvement of non state actors mentioned above as well as a shift from state centric administration to citizen centric administration.

        As per the Plan Document of the 10^th Five year plan, “Governance relates to the management of all such processes that, in any society, define the environment which permits and enables individuals to raise their capability levels, on one hand and provide opportunities to realise their potential and enlarge the set of available choices, on the other.” United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) defines governance as “The exercise of economic, political, and administrative authority to manage a country’s affairs at all levels.  It comprises mechanisms, processes, and institutions, through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations, and mediate their differences.”

This brings up an important question, what is good governance? Good governance can be understood in terms of some characteristics it should possess. As per UNDP, good governance  is “-----among other things, participatory, transparent and accountable. It is also effective and equitable. And it promotes the rule of law. Good governance ensures that political, social and economic priorities are based on broad consensus in society and that the voices of the poorest and the most vulnerable are heard in decision-making over the allocation of development resources.” Hence, good governance should be accountable, transparent, responsive, equitable and inclusive, effective and efficient, follows the rule of the law, participatory and consensus oriented.

Relevance of Governance

         Governance is closely related to the well being and quality of life of the people of a country. Most poverty stricken countries are also poorly governed. India has its own share of poor governance. Its implications were discussed in the tenth five year plan document, some of which are as under:

• Poor management of economies, persisting fiscal imbalance and disparities in development.
• Denial of basic needs of food, water and shelter to a substantial proportion of the population.
• Threat to life and personal security due to inadequate control on law and order.
• Marginalisation, exclusion and even persecution of people on account of social, religious, caste or gender affiliations.
• Lack of sensitivity, transparency and accountability in many facets of working of state machinery.
• Lack of credibility of some institutions.
• Lack of incentives/disincentives for people (particularly for a civil servant), subversion of rules, evasion of taxes and failure in getting timely justice.
• Existence of significant number of poor with little opportunities for participation.
• Deterioration of physical environment, particularly in urban areas. 

As per Human Development Report of UNDP for the year 2013 Human Development Index for the country is .546 and the country is at 136^th rank in a total of 186 countries. Poor governance is one of the important reasons for this lackluster performance. On its part the Government has tried to make improvements in the administration. Two Administrative Reforms Commissions were constituted to suggest reforms in administration.  First Commission was constituted in 1966 and the second in 2005. Since its constitution, the Second Commission has submitted reports on various aspects of governance some of which like Right to Information, Ethics in governance and Citizen Centric Administration specifically pertain to subject of Good Governance.

      As mentioned earlier accountability, transparency, responsiveness, equity and inclusiveness, being effective and efficient, following the rule of the law, being participatory and being consensus oriented are important characteristics of good governance. Some important points regarding these features of good governance are as under:

• Accountability means that someone who is responsible for doing a particular task can also be held accountable for any lapse or wrongdoing. Presently this aspect is looked after by various agencies like CAG, CVC, CBI and Vigilance sections of concerned departments.
• However, despite these provisions,  fixing of accountability for a lapse is rare, mainly due to the fact that our administrative system involves lengthy procedure involving multiple stages and employees. This makes it difficult to fix specific accountability of concerned officials. The procedure to fix accountability is itself burdened with elaborate procedures, making any logical conclusion within a reasonable time frame, a remote possibility.
• As regards transparency, some progress has been made with the implementation of RTI Act, 2005. Citizen charters are another source of information, though these rarely reflect the actual situation. Most of the Government departments have their websites but again in most of the cases the information provided is quite sketchy and in some cases outdated. Official attitude is still to conceal things rather than to disclose.
• As regards participation, India follows a democratic system of governance. Hence the political system is participative to that extent. However, efficacy of this participation is diluted to a certain extent by the tendency of the voters to vote on basis of caste, religion or region, thereby relegating the issue of governance to the background.
• Panchayati Raj institutions have helped in increasing the participation of previously excluded social groups particularly women. In some urban areas, Resident Welfare Associations have been involved to a certain extent in some of the day to day activities. Views of trade organizations are also sometimes solicited in matters relating to a particular profession. National Policy on Voluntary Sector, 2007 formulated by the Planning Commission also provides for consultation with the Voluntary Sector by constituting Joint Consultative Groups.
• As regards the rule of law, the country has an elaborate judicial system which is fairly independent. However, its effectiveness is restricted by the lengthy and costly procedures and delays in getting the cases finalized. Mostly, the dominant and the powerful are able to exploit the legal lacunae to their advantage.
• Effectiveness and efficiency of the administrative machinery are extremely important for effective implementation of the various laws and welfare schemes. This is the worst aspect of our administration. One of the reasons is the lack of accountability in the system. Another reason is due to inherent problems in the system as a whole. Our administrative system is highly procedure centric and result/targets acquire a secondary position. As a result employees are more concerned about following procedure than in actual delivery of services. This restricts the efficiency of the system in delivering services.
• Historically, Indian society had comprised of social groups which were excluded from the mainstream. These included the lower castes and the women. During the time of freedom struggle and after independence, it was apprehended that the minorities would also face discrimination. This social structure was not conducive for equitable and inclusive growth. Hence the concept of inclusive and equitable growth has been a challenge before the Government. Despite efforts of the Government through various welfare schemes like the MGNREGA, equitable and inclusive growth remains a distant dream. As per latest poverty data, 21.9% of the population lives below the poverty line. This clearly indicates that the growth story of India is still quite far from inclusive.
• In the recent years, corruption has emerged as one of the biggest challenges to good governance. It is visible in all walks of life and at all levels, from a modest amount of a few rupees to scams amounting to thousands of crores.  Corruption cases are mainly dealt under the Prevention of Corruption Act. CVC, CBI and departmental vigilance sections have been formed to prevent corruption. Despite this, it has not shown any signs of diminishing mainly because of lack of deterrent as well as the acceptability of corruption by a section of the society. As per Corruption Perception Index maintained by Transparency International, in the year 2012 India is at 94^th rank among a total of 182 countries.
• Civil Society is a wide ranging term which includes NGOs, social activists, academicians, business groups, media and similar other people/groups. In the last few years, there has been an increase in activism from the civil society. This has been spearheaded by NGOs, who apart from assisting the Government in carrying out a number of programmes have also took up the issue of a transparent, accountable and corruption free Government. This activism was instrumental in persuading the Government to enact the RTI Act. Recently, some of these activists took up the issue of setting up of Lokpal, and although the movement could not achieve that goal, it was successful in bringing the issue of corruption at the centre stage.

Future Road Map

       The issue of governance has also been dealt by the 12^th five year plan which has devoted one chapter in the plan document to the subject. The document refers to three specific issues; one is systematic improvements to increase efficiency of plan expenditure, second is the customer satisfaction on the services delivered by the Government agencies and third is the perception about corruption.  The Plan document proposes to combat these problems by a number of measures which include strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions by allocating a sum of Rs.6437 crores for Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyaan meant for increasing human resource and capabilities of these institutions; making specific provisions in each flagship scheme for social mobilization, generating awareness and social audit; increasing the role of civil society and voluntary sector and institutionalizing Joint Consultative Groups in all forms of planning as proposed in the National Policy on Voluntary Sector, 2007; improving service delivery by making appropriate legal provisions for making the specified service deliveries time bound; combating corruption and reforms in civil services.  

e-Governance

       In the last few years, e-Governance has come up as an important tool in government administration. It is particularly useful in service delivery to citizens in a number of ways. It is faster and cheaper. It also reduces the requirement of physical presence of the citizen thereby reducing the scope for corruption. Due to these reasons, the Government approved the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) on May 18, 2006, comprising of 27 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) and 8 components. The objective as mentioned in the vision statement was to "Make all Government services accessible to the common man in his locality, through common service delivery outlets, and ensure efficiency, transparency, and reliability of such services at affordable costs to realise the basic needs of the common man”. Presently NeGP comprises of 31 Mission Mode Projects. A Mission Mode Project is an individual project focusing on one aspect of electronic governance like banking or land records or commercial taxes etc.

Constitutional Provisions about Indian Federalism and Centre-State Relations

        India is a diverse country and when we talk of diversity we need to understand that the diversity is in many areas, in terms of topography, climate, language, culture, religion, economic development etc. Each region has its own history with its own moments of glory and hence has got some sort of regional nationalism. However, despite this diversity, India is one country. Making adequate provisions for maintaining this unity in diversity was an important task before the founding fathers of the Constitution. India could neither be a centralized government like the United Kingdom nor could it be a federation of states like USA. Therefore, India was envisaged as a Union of States wherein both the Union and the States would have their own rights and responsibilities. However, as maintaining the unity of the country was the foremost consideration, the power arrangement was tilted in favour of the Union.  Some of the important constitutional provisions in this regard are as under:

Important Constitutional provisions

• Article I defines India as a Union of states.
• Article 2 & 3 empower the Parliament to admit new states or establish new states by uniting territories of two states or changing the boundaries or names of states. However, the bill to alter name, boundary and territory of any state shall not be introduced in the Parliament unless the same has been sent to the concerned state legislature for expressing its views.
• Article 153-155 provide that there shall be a Governor in each state who shall be appointed by the President. The executive power of the Government shall vest in the Governor.
• Article 169 empowers the Parliament to create or abolish Legislative Councils in a State if the Legislative Assembly of the State passes a resolution to that effect by a majority of the total membership of the Assembly and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the Assembly present and voting.
• Article 200 provides that any bill, which in the opinion of the Governor would endanger the constitutional position of High Court, shall be sent to the President for his assent.
• Article 246 provides that Parliament can make laws on the subjects under the Union List and Concurrent List. Similarly, state legislature can legislate on the subjects in the State list and Concurrent List.
• Article 249-250 empower the Parliament to legislate on the subjects enumerated in the State list in certain specific circumstances and during the period of national emergency.
• Article 252 also provides that if legislatures of two or more states ask the Parliament to make a law on such matters over which it does not have any power to legislate, the Parliament can legislate on such subject.
• Under Article 253, the Parliament can pass laws for implementation of an international treaty or agreement.
• Under Article 254, if there is an inconsistency between the law passed by the Parliament and that by a State legislature on a subject enumerated in the Concurrent list, law passed by the Parliament will prevail.
• Article 256 and 257 provide that the States shall exercise their executive powers in accordance with the laws made by the Parliament and the Union shall have the power to give necessary directions to the States on subject it may consider necessary including those for the construction and maintenance of means of communication and railways. However, any sum incurred in this regard will have to be paid by the Union.
• As per Article 258 and 258A, the Union can confer certain powers on states while states can transfer some of its functions to Union by mutual consent.
• Article 262 provides that Parliament can make laws for adjudication of disputes relating to use, control and distribution of waters in interstate rivers or river valleys.
• Article 263 empowers the President to set up an Inter State Council.
• Article 268 provides for certain duties to be levied by the Union but collected and appropriated by the States, while Article 269 provides for certain taxes levied and collected by the Union but assigned to the states. Article 270 provides for certain taxes levied and to be distributed between the Union and the States.
• Article 275 provides for such grant-in-aids to the states as the Parliament may determine.
• Article 280 provides for setting up a Finance Commission every five years to decide the modalities of revenue sharing between the Union and the States.
• Article 312 provides for establishment of All India services while Article 315 provides for establishment of Union and State Public Service Commissions.
• Article 352-355 empower the Government to proclaim emergency in times of threat to the country by war, external aggression or armed rebellion. During this period, the Union will have powers to give directions to the State or make appropriate legislation.
• Article 356 empowers the President to take up the functions of the State Government and authorize the Parliament to take up the functions of state legislature if the Governor of the State submits a report regarding failure of constitutional machinery in the state.

Inter State Council

As per Article 263 of the Constitution, the President is empowered to form an Inter State Council. The Council was formed on 28 May 1990. The Council is a recommendatory body for discussing and investigating matters of common interest of some or all states or states and the Union. The Council is chaired by the Prime Minister and includes Chief Ministers or Heads of Government of State and Union Territories and six Cabinet Ministers nominated by the Chairman as members. Standing Committee of the Council was constituted in the year 1996 for continuous consultation and processing of matters for the consideration of the Council. Standing Council is chaired by the Union Home Minister and presently has six  Union Ministers and nine Chief Ministers as members.

Finance Commission

        Article 280 of the Constitution provides for setting up of a Finance Commission every five years which shall comprise of a Chairman and four members. 14^th Finance Commission was set up on 2^nd January, 2013 for making recommendations for distribution of tax proceeds between the Union and the States, the principles which should govern grant-in-aid and the measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of the State for next five years commencing from 1^st April, 2015. The 13^th Finance Commission submitted had submitted its report in December, 2009. Among other things the Commission recommended that State share in the net proceeds of shareable central taxes shall be 32%. Apart from this the Commission also recommended grant-in-aid to various states amounting to Rs.3,18,581 crores.

All India Services

       In our constitutional arrangement, where the Union and the States have their own rights and authority, it is important that there is uniformity in the administrative procedures being followed in the country. This was sought to be achieved through the All India Services. As mentioned above, Article 312 of the Constitution of India provides for establishment of these Services. All India Services are different from the Central Civil Services. While members of the Central Civil Services are recruited by and work under the Government of India, members of All India Services are appointed by the Government of India through Union Public Service Commission. Ministry of Home Affairs is the cadre controlling authority for IAS and IPS while for IFS, cadre controlling authority is the Ministry of Environment & Forests. After appointment, members of these services are allocated to various states or groups of states and are borne on these state cadres. Union territories are also included in these cadres. Although members of these services also work on various posts of Central Government, they are still a part of the state cadre and work under Central Government through a policy called Central Staffing Scheme as per which officers from different state cadres work on posts in Central Government for certain period of their service. Presently there are three All India Services. Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS).

Civil Society; Concept, Emergence and Impact

            Civil society refers to a wide array of individuals and organisations. As per the World Bank, “the term civil society to refer to the wide array of non-governmental and not-for-profit organizations that have a presence in public life, expressing the interests and values of their members or others, based on ethical, cultural, political, scientific, religious or philanthropic considerations. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) therefore refer to a wide of array of organizations: community groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), labor unions, indigenous groups, charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, and foundations”.

           

            Civil society is different from both the state and the community. It can in fact be said to occupy the space which exists between the community and the state. It is represented by those associations, the NGO’s, the individuals, academicians and intellectuals who strive for betterment of the lives of people in the areas of their operation. Since the civil society institutions exist between the state and the community they are generally seen as distant from the state and are therefore immune from the loss of credibility of the state and its related institutions. The civil society is considered complimentary and sometimes as a substitute for the state institutions. The basis of the formation of civil society is secular. Caste and kinship linkages, religion or tribal mobilization etc. are not the basis of the formation of civil society.

            Democracy and Civil Society are inseparably related to each other. A healthy liberal democracy needs the support of a vibrant civil society as a check on the centralized power of the state. The perspective developed particularly in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe where the civil society emerged in contrast to the totalitarian state. The rights of the individuals, which were violated during the totalitarian regimes, were seen to be protected in the realm of the civil society. Civil society is important for those who question the state’s imposition on them. Through the civil society people make the state respond to their voices. The civil society allows every participant group to maintain its specificity, culture. It is based on the principles of freedom and equality and strives to create an egalitarian and democratic order.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF CIVIL SOCIETY

            Concept of civil society has been widely debated and deeply analysed. Despite the diversity of its composition it has some characteristic features which are as under:  

·         Civil society is the realm of organised social life that is open, voluntary, self-generating, at least partially self-supporting, autonomous from the state and bound by a legal order or set of shared rules. It is distinct from “society” in general in that it involves citizens acting collectively in a public sphere.

·         It is concerned with public causes rather than with personal or private causes. It excludes parochial society: individual and family life and inward-looking group activity; and it excludes economic society: the profit-making enterprise of individual business firms.

·         Civil society is related to the state in some way. It tries to influence the state but does not seek to control the state; it does not seek to “govern the polity as a whole”.

·         Civil society encompasses pluralism and diversity. It encompasses a vast range of organizations, formal and informal, including economic, cultural, informational and educational, interest groups, developmental, issue-oriented and civic groups.

·         Civil society does not seek to represent the complete set of interests of a person or a community. Rather different groups represent or encompass different aspects of interest.

·         Civil society should be distinguished from the more clearly democracy-enhancing phenomenon of civic community. Civic community is both a broader and narrower concept than civil society: broader in the sense that it encompasses all manner of associations (parochial included); narrower in the sense that it includes only associations structured horizontally around ties that are more or less mutual, cooperative, symmetrical and trusting.

                                   

Community and Civil Society

           

            As mentioned above civil society is different from the community. Community is a group of people knit into relationships on the basis of primordial factors, i.e., religion, kin, family ties, caste, etc. These set rules for the individuals, which constitute the community. The nature of the rules of the community about the rights of the individuals and citizens show the nature of polity and society. The rules of the community are particularistic and those of the state are universalistic. If there are conflicts between the two sets of rules, the democratic edifice of the polity gets eroded but if on the other hand, the rights of the individuals in a society are in consonance with those of the state, the polity represents democratic traits.  The status of the democratic rights of individuals within the society – of women, of disadvantaged groups, of minorities, etc.–depends on the nature of all the three institutions i.e state, civil society and community.

                                   

Civil society in India

            The social reform movements of the colonial period and those during the national movement could very well be said to taken up by the elements which in present terms could be categorized under the term ‘civil society’. The activity remained subdued in the first two decades of the independence because people hoped that the newly born state would be able to bring widespread changes on the economic and social front. However, soon a section realized that the things were not progressing as expected. This resulted in increase in the levels of the activism in the country. The activism increased in the late 1970s. Subject of movements ranged from civil liberty, ecology & environment and discrimination and oppression of women and dalits. The movements brought to fore the new concerns and reflected the consciousness on a number of issues like the control over the resources, the right of indigenous people to preserve their culture, the transformation of the feminine concerns from the exclusive concern of the women to the concern of the larger society, and the assertion by the lower caste.  

            Since the last few decades, the civil society has increased its activities and has played in major role in the development of the country both in support of the state as well as in opposition to it. While supporting the state, the civil society through various NGOs has played an important role in implementing various development and welfare schemes. The civil society has also taken a stand on various issues of governance in which it has opposed the state and acted as a watchdog and a pressure group in framing and implementation of policies.

            .