REHABILITATION ridin has camploted 60 years ofits freedom from British rule. This 60- year journey is marked by many developments across several spheres of public life — industri- alisation, infrastructure and urbani- sation, besides the changes in the society, leading to a lifestyle that is more driven by consumerism. When we talk about development worldwide, it is related more to growth of individual productivity and income. The economic empower- ment of the individual enables bhim /hor to gpond as por chaire, male ing facilities accessible and affordable to the individual. But, when one talks of development in India, the defini- tion goes beyond the basic economic parameters India is a nation of multiple cul- tures, languages and regional identi- ties, India is unique in terms of many diversities being clubbed into one country, one nation. The common features across the rural India are poverty, illiteracy and the struggle for survival. Tiehan India is 9 bit different in this regard, where poverty is not that prominent and literacy is higher, in comparison to rural India while a group struggles day and night for survival, another group is affluent enough to lead a flourishing lifestyle at par with the Western urban lifestyle. Half the children in cities get comparatively good cducation and a part of the other half goes to Government-run schools as per their convenience. The rest are seen on the streets and garbage points as rag- pickers. This is the picture of India that looks ugly as well as beautiful from different points of view. However, one has to admit that Indian society has never been stag- nant through these years. The country that is still undergoing the process of change is in a transition from old age society to a Westernised. urban soci- ety. Even rural India is experiencing the impact of transition and taking part in the change process, Movements in India Apart from the four pillars of democracy, NGOs, form the fifth. Their work of social transformation will continue until the inequalities are totally removed. 96 ALIVE @ OCTOBER 2007Tt has seen lots of economic growth and is exploring opportuni- ties to grow further. The lifestyle the rural areas has also changed con- siderably. ‘The level of socio-political awareness has gone up and illiteracy gone down — though not upto expectation. ‘Whatever development has taken place su fay is the result of Government planning and execution and the role taken by the non- Government organisations (NGOs) in terms of monitoring them and bringing the shortcomings to the notice of the planners and beneficia- ries as well. The term NGO became popular in India only in the 1980s but the tradi- tion of voluntary organisations and services is quite old in India Charitable and voluntary organisa tions were working before Independence though most of them were Christian missionary and Hindu religious organisations, Both the groups were warking far the development of target communi- lies, although there was a religious bias, The Christian missionaries, work- ing inthe remote and backward places, ‘were working for a change in the social life of the tribals and the unprivileged people by starting echools and hespi- Making impact: Prime Minister with the volunteers of Pratham. tals. Then there were the Brahmo Samaj, DAV Society and many other Hindu associations also, _ which worked for social change in India. The voluntary sector drew uuw1e energy during the freedom movement in India, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhiji’s propa- gation of wearing Kindi inspired many to staxt voluntary organisations. ‘Their mission was to spread Bapu’s message of stwadeshi and nationalism in the society at lange. This spirit influenced the activities of NGOs even after Independence. ‘As most of India was backward at that tim, the need of voluntary organisations was truly felt in Indian society and volunteers were respect- ed by all. Pervasive system Gradually, the voluntary service organisations diversified their inter- esis from simply helping people and development in terms of basic infra- structure to economic development and political empowerment of com ‘munities and individuals. So, volun- tary organisations worked to fill in the gaps left by the Government in the development process. They organised mural people and cammsi- nities to form cooperatives and mar- ket dhe pruducls Uuough a communi ty forum, apart from other activities like running classes for adult mem- bers of the village or community at night, to promote literacy. ‘Jjaiprakach Narayan's Antyodaya movement ofthe 1970slifted voluntary action to new heights, with NGOs find- ing a political perspective of social activism and being roped in to carry ‘out Government prngrammes. This ‘was initially taken as a negative devel- opment but later its necessity was realised with the Goverment initia- tion for Panchayati Raj. The movement ‘was towards delegation of power to the grassroot political entities ‘However, the Gandhian legacy of volunteer work ruled for quite a long ALIVE @ OCTOBER 2007 oTReady to swallow: Ongoing Rengali Dam project is all set to innundate ‘millions of acres of feruie land in Orissa. period and even today it has a strong presence among many NGOs operat- ing in rural India. Many profession als from cities have migrated to rural areas to work directly with people in areas like education, health, rural development, water and sanitation, through these voluntary agencies. In the beginning, little funds were available to these agencies, and they worked truly in the spirit of volun- tensm, close to the communities. fut during. the early 1980s, the Central Government recognised their impor- tance as delivery agencies far riral development and began to set aside funds for them. Combined with funding available from agencies abroad, the voluntary Outcome of Government apathy: Gift of dead turtle to the Orissa CM. orton grickly mushroomed into the more familiar NGO sector, particular- ly in numbers. As per the estimates made by various organisations, including World Bank, there are about 2 million NGO workers, work- ing in India. The beginning The 1980s marked an era of transi- tion im the social service sector by changing the voluntary culture into a more professional NGO culture. Vohinterism timed into develop- ment monitoring and management. In the process of transition, the NGOs became more specialised, and the voluntary movement took shape of a social change and development movement with a professional touch. Most of the NGOs still work for poverty eradication, as_ poverty remains the major problem of India. Rural India, which is the home to more than 80% of its total population, has been the hub of poverty, misery and starvation in many parts. Among the urban population. those who work as daily-wage labourers are again the victims of poverty. Aspera survey, India has a labour force of about 340 million people and only 30 million are organised. That leaves over 300 million in the unor genised sector, the bulk of which is agricultural labour, and is composed of Dalits, women and achvasis. Consequently, most of them find their expression through the social movements they are allied to; which may be of the environmental, adivasi, peasant or Dalit kind. And increase ingly, these movements have had to deal with issues related to globalisa- tion in the last 15 years. The NGOs have played a great role in changing Tadian society, Indian people and the nation as a whole. Their area of activism has gone much beyond the traditional dumits. When newer issues came up with the change process, new NGOs, with specialised objectives, came up tn coal with them Lots of foundations, trusts and societies sprouted up across the country to take India ahead in their focus aspect. They advocated for ‘change in the society, change in the traditional mindset of people, aggres- sive reformation in India. The NGOs went for extensive research and brought many of the problems to the notice of the Government which had never been considered as problems. As India is basically an agrarian country, development of agriculture thas heen given utmost importance for the development of rural India. This has led to a movement across the country to motivate the Government for extending effective irrigation facilities to the farmers. Soon after Independence, electri- cal power generation was also one of the thrust areas for the Government. So, combining both the issues, the Government of India pursued many minor and major dam projects which «gave birth to the serious problem of displacement. This had been a neglected area till a local movement against the Rengali Dam project in Oricea and the power- ful Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save ‘Narmada Movement) started against the dam projects pursued in central 98 ALIVE = OCTOBER 2007India. Beginning with the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA, Save the Narmada Movement), the anti-dam movements converted themselves into ‘movements against displacement. ‘The success of the NBA lies in its contribution to the setting up of the World Commission on Dams, that gave its persuasive report in 2000, Largely due to the efforts of the NBA, hundreds of movements in the area of natural resources and environ- ‘ment, are allied today under the ban- ner of National Alliance of People’s ‘Movements (NAPM). Industrialisation of India m the name of economic development gave birth to many problems and again Drought the issue of displacement to the force, Due to the strong interven- tion of NGOs like the NBA and some activist NGOs of eastern India, that the Government of India is now cot pelled to declare a comprehes rehabilitation policy before pursui an industrial project in any part India. Apart from development activ ties, most of the NGOs now identify ‘with some kind of issues related to the life and livelihood of the public. ‘They took up the role of social watch dogs int the late 1980s. ; Don’t cook ¢, the planet w The issue of co-habitaion with nature and wildlife got a place in the NGOs’ agenda and lots of NGOs came up to save the forests, water streams and nature with its varied wildlife. Now WWE and Greenpeace ‘are working actively in India. for the protection of nature and wildlife. Ala lime, when most of the NCOs ‘were working for the rural poor and unprivileged people of the sociery, NGOs like Child Relief and You came up in India to work for the children. They work to ensuse a hatter firture the children and the country, by empowering ils eat-gen citizens swith good education and exposure. Reaching far and wide CRY is now named as Child Rights and You and is working worldwide for the development of Indian children. SOS Children's Village, Pratham, Smile Foundation, CySD ete, are also engaged in educa- tional empowerment of children from slums and the unprivileged children of India, The NGUs in India are also deal- with education and healthcare. It a fact that there are not enough Covernmentsrun schools in the riral /WF activists voicing people's anguish over global warming. ALIVE m OCTOBER 2007 Tee euics “46% of children in india cre underweight, 38% stunted and 19% wasted. Their fate is decided even boul ihey tun 3. [Meational Family Health Survey, 2007] 53% children in India are reported to have faced one or more forms of sexual abuse. [Ministry of Women and Child Development, 2007] 17 milion child labourers in India [Government uf hie Census, 2007} 180 out of 581 districts in Inia have seen primary school enrolments fall, [DISE, compiled by NUEPA] 88,000 schools (nearly 8%) in India etl do not have ¢ blo-Hbsard in their classes, (2007 Survey by HRD ‘Ministry, UNICEF ond NEUPA] areas and, even if there is a school, it ‘would be running without required teachers or required halls ot even without students. ‘Again, the education of girls in rural India is a problem due to a con- servative outlook. Then there are many cases where the Government runs an almust euply school, because most of the boys and girls are out working during school hours, Tn such places, NGOs have plaved an important role by running special classes at night for children whose parents need them to work during the day-time and earn some money for the family. Many NGOs run spe- cial classes for girls and adult mem- bers, The mammoth NGO called Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad is largely credited for the 100% literacy in Kerala It is almost the same in case of healthcare. NGOs play a pivotal role in supplementing the Government's efforts for making health care accessi- ble to people living in rural places and remote forests. NGOs also play an important role in raising awareness in the society about health-related issues like malnutrition, child and maternal death and endemic diseases. ‘They are also instrumental in 99Rising against power: Greenpeace activists protest against damaging policies. battling out social evils like neglecting the girl child, that has led to rampant female foeticide and infanticide. It is largely due to their strong interven- tion and lobbying that Government of India has passed laws banning prena- tal sex-determination tests and enfore- ing the PNDT Act. Proactive approach NGOs have also played a great role in AIDS control campaigns, They are working hand-in-hand with NACO and State AIDS Cells in creat- ing awareness among the general people and the industrial labour communities. NGOs like Savera in Delhi are working for the rehabilita- tion of sex-workers to check the spread of AIDS. Even international agencies like ActionAid India have taken a major role in this regard. Not only in controlling AIDS, ActionAid is an international anti- poverty agency working in over 40 countries, taking sides with the poor people, to end poverty and injustice together. In India, it works with more than 300 civil society organisations and over 5 million poor and excluded people in 24 States and 2 Union Territories. Its special attention is on issues like chronic HIV/AIDS or disability: send crimination; migrant and workers: children whe ar school; city-dwellers withow and people whose land or is under threat; women si boys who have been tracks: people who are displaced. or natural and human-made disast ‘ActionAid also supper Joint Forest Managem grammes in the backward India. As a concemed NGO, Cycling message: ‘Spread love, not-AlDS. ActionAid took an active role in relief sd rehabilitation works in Orissa ring the super cyclone and the ‘thquake in Gujarat. Its approach is always towards sustainable develop- men In the last 20 years, NGOs in India have been active in the areas of envi- ronmental protection and safeguard- ing fundamental rights of people. They have been in the forefront of reforestation campaigns and have lobbied against deforestation, over use of pesticides in agriculture, industrial pollution ete. NGOs’ role NGOs have played the responsi- ble role in ensuring civil rights of the people through frequent awareness campaigns and community involve- ments. The struggle by NGOs to make the Government more account. able ta citizens is an ongoing struggle in India. For years, NGOs lobbied for the right to information, which has now become a legal right with the RITBill passed by the Parliament. ‘The modernisation or transition of Indian society brought many new and good things to the Indians in terms of mechanisation, education, lifestyle, ‘employmentete. However, in its wave it brought lots of problems too, The greatest curse of modemisation is the advent of materialism, Motivated by the concept of eco: nomic development, empowerment and individual growth, the Indian joint-family system has almost van- ished and the concept of nuclear fam- ilies has become deep-rooted. This trend poses the greatest threat to the survival of old people, who were ‘once considered to be monuments of wisdom. 7 Here, the role of Helpage India is praiseworthy. Started in late 1970s, Helpage India has been working on old-age homes, and advocating for an old-age policy to be declared by the Indian Government. Development and urbanisation 100 ALIVE = OCTOBER 2007brought a new lifestyle for the Indians. On the other hand, italsoled to unemployment, inaterial frustra- tion among youth leading to crimi- nality and a tendency for drug-abuse. Looking at this threat of growing cynicism among the youth, the Navjyoti Delhi Police Foundation ‘was founded by Dr Kiran Bedi and 17 other like minded officials of Delhi Police, to check inextricable link that existed between crime and drugs. The objectives were to work for cor rection, de-addiction and rehabilita- tion of the drug-addicts as a crime- prevention measure. ‘The boom in media and commu- nication technology again saw a bout in advocacy and lobby-move- ment raised by NGOs and many organisations with similar aims and objectives grew up in India. The pres- ence of hazardous pesticide in soft drinks and availability of contami- nated water in the form of drinking water was expused by the Delhi- based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Many other NGOs, like Green Peace, have also taken well advan- tage of technology. However, Green Peace is advocating for safety of olive ridley sea tuutles visiting Wie Orissant coasts for mating and nesting, with- out considering the basic livelihood patterns and problems of people who depend on fishing. While the NCOs play an impor- tant tole in the social change and development in India, there is alot to be done. The socio-economic statis- tics of India are still shocking in view of the industrial revolution and the GDP growth we are presenting before the world, According to a study by Charities Aid Foundation (India) and Voluntary Action Network of India, Rs 2,571 crore of foreign funding entered India in 1997-98, for distribution to 6700 organisations. In 2000, this went up to Rs 4000 crore, besides Rs 200 crore from Government agencies and anoth- er Rs 200 crore from corporate sources. freee ne ‘© 40% of India's population is, below the age of 18 years, which at 400 milion i the world’s largest child population ‘Less thon 50% of Indio’ children between the age 6 and 14 goo school A litle over 33% of al children ‘who enroll in grade 1 reach arade 8. @One in every 10 children is dis- bled in inca ©70 in every 1,000 children born in India, do not see their first birthday. © Only 38% of indio’s children below the age of 2 years are immu- nised. €74% of India's children below the nga of 3 manthe ie enarie ‘Nore than 1 in 3 women in India cand over 60% of chikren in India ore cnemic ‘@ Acute respiralory infections are a leading cause of child morally (30%) followed by diarthoea (20%) in India, {@ One in avery 100 childran in In 2000-2001, NGOs in India received a foreign grant of Rs 4535.23 crore, most of which was given for rural development, health care and family welfare and disaster mitiga- tig and relief. But if you look for & proportionate visibility, itis not there. Breaking social harmony There are many reasons for this. Many of the well-funded, profession- ally-staffed NGOs now lack the social commitment and emotional involve- ment of its workers with people and the target community. Flow of funds has made the NGOs more of a career platform than a social development organisation. ‘The other major factor is invisibil- ity of development planning. Indian NGOs are following the Western model of social development when the social system in India is com- pletely different. When we are talk- ing about development, we are talk- ing about individual development. ren India between age group of 0-14 years suffers om acute respiratory infection. ‘@ Almost | in every 5 children in India, below the age of 14, suffers from diarrhoea '¢ 30-40% ofthe India’s population, which is largely economicallydeprived, sponcls over 70% of their total expendi ture on food. fe Aiucaigal tic teel yecrnat ohn ele today, 75% were underage at he fime of their marioge. ‘@ While one in every 5 adolescent boys is malnourished, one in every 2 agiels in India ie unclernnuiishert 10.23% of indi's childcen are under- weight at bin. 1€ 58% of India's childeen below the ‘age of 2 years are not fully vaccinated. ‘And 24% ofthese children do not reczive any form of vaccination, ‘@ More than 50% af India’s children ‘re malnourished. [sewren: CRN) Sustainable community develop- ment models are yet to be devised and followed in India, Micro-financing activities are more pursued in rural India whereas agriculture — the back- bone of rural exonuiny anid overall Indian economy —is sill neglected. The interlinked rural economic system is broken into individual eco- nomic practices, which leads to more economic disparity than collective economic growth. A rural artisan now does not think the village farmer isa part of his economic activities. Lots of political factors, like caste and communal politics, that work towards breaking the social harmony, are some aspects yet to be dealt by the NGOs. $o, the major task of the Indian. NGOs, at this point of time, is to derive some development models that gel ‘well with the Indian social system and be a part of the target communities to understand their true problems and implement programmes their way, to get the best result in terms of collective development. 2 ALIVE = OCTOBER 2007 101