Family, community and civil society: the base of collective action

Detail

1. The family: the first unit of collective life

• The family is the oldest unit of society. It is the first place where people learn to act together.
• Two types:
• Joint family: grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts and cousins live together and share one kitchen and common resources.

• Nuclear family: parents and their children only.

• Indian languages have many kinship terms. They name each relative exactly (for example, separate words for a father's brother and a mother's brother). This shows how much the wider family matters.

• Family roles rest on three things:
• love
• cooperation (working together)

• interdependence (each member depends on the others)

• Values learnt at home:

• dāna means giving.
• sevā means service to others without expecting anything back.

• tyāga means sacrifice: giving up your own comfort for others.

• The Shalini and Tenzing stories (NCERT Class 6) show children taking on duties at home, such as caring for elders and helping with chores. They show that roles and responsibilities begin in the family.

• Why it matters for polity: habits of give-and-take learnt at home later grow into trust in neighbours, clubs and associations. This trust is the raw material of civil society.

2. Community: families joined together

• A community is a group of connected families. Members:
• celebrate festivals together
• share farm work, such as sowing and harvesting

• help each other in times of need

• Unwritten rules for the commons: in tribal and village India, communities agree rules for shared resources:

• water (ponds, wells, tanks)
• grazing land

• forest produce

• These rules come with duties. Every family must contribute, for example by cleaning the village tank or not over-grazing. This is self-government without the State.

Examples of voluntary community action

Example	Place	What happened
Halma tradition of the Bhils	Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh	Villagers come together to plant trees and dig trenches and water-harvesting structures without pay. The organisation Shivganga, led by Mahesh Sharma, revived the practice. He received the Padma Shri in 2019 for "Social Work – Tribal Welfare", Madhya Pradesh [6]
Spiritual and religious groups	2015 Chennai floods	Fed and sheltered flood victims
Kamal Parmar	Ahmedabad	Free evening classes for about 150 street children

• The lesson: collective action often starts before the State steps in, and it can fill gaps the State leaves.

3. Civil society: the space between family, State and market

• Definition (NCERT Class 9): civil society means "voluntary groups, NGOs and community associations that function interdependently within society".
• Simple meaning: it is the space where citizens organise themselves. It lies:
• outside the family (private life)
• outside the State (government, which can use force and make laws)

• outside the market (business, which seeks profit)

• Who belongs to it:

• NGOs (non-governmental organisations: private, non-profit bodies working for a public cause)
• community-based organisations (CBOs)
• trade unions
• cooperatives
• professional bodies (for example, bar associations)
• faith-based bodies
• the media
• social movements

Four roles of civil society

Role	Meaning	Example
Voice and advocacy	Speaks up for groups that are not heard	Campaigns for the rights of the disabled or of tribal people
Watchdog	Watches the government and exposes wrongdoing	Social audits, RTI campaigns
Service delivery	Provides services where the State is weak	Kamal Parmar's classes; flood relief
Deliberation	Debate and discussion	NCERT's table pairs media and civil society with "debate and discussion, freedom of expression"

• A bridge between citizens and the State. Civil society carries citizens' demands to the government through:
• PIL (Public Interest Litigation: a case filed in court by any person or group on behalf of people who cannot go to court themselves)
• campaigns

• community organisations

• Many civil-society groups practise internal democracy, with elected office-bearers and member meetings. This trains citizens for democracy at a larger scale.

Constitutional and policy anchors

• Article 19(1)(c): every citizen has the right to form associations or unions. This is the legal base of civil society. The right to form co-operative societies is also protected under this article [2].
• 97th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011:
• It created Part IXB of the Constitution, "The Co-operative Societies", which gives cooperatives constitutional status [2].
• It added Article 43B (a Directive Principle). It says: "The State shall endeavour to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional management of co-operative societies" [3].

• Key rules in Part IXB [2]:

  • a board may have at most 21 directors
  • elected board members serve a fixed 5-year term
  • an independent authority conducts the elections
  • a board can be superseded or suspended for at most 6 months
  • accounts get an independent professional audit
  • members have a right to information
  • penalties apply for offences

• National Policy on the Voluntary Sector, 2007: approved by the Union Cabinet in 2007. It has six parts, from the Preamble to Strengthening the Voluntary Sector. Its aim is an enabling environment for Voluntary Organisations (VOs) that keeps their identity and autonomy safe [7].

• NGO-DARPAN (now NPO Darpan): a portal launched by NITI Aayog in April 2017 and run by its Voluntary Action Cell. A non-profit gets a unique Darpan ID there. The ID is mandatory for any non-profit seeking grants from Union ministries [8].

4. Social capital: why trust makes democracy work

• Social capital means networks, trust and give-and-take between people. These make it easier for people to work together. It is "capital" because, like money, it can be built up and used.
• Alexis de Tocqueville (Democracy in America):
• Tocqueville saw that Americans kept forming associations.

• He argued that civil associations build the "habits of the heart" that stable democratic institutions need [5].

• Robert Putnam, Making Democracy Work (1993):

• Italy created new regional governments in 1970. Putnam compared how well these governments worked [5].
• Regions with many civic groups (choirs, football clubs, cooperatives), mostly in the North, had better governments. Putnam called this a strong "civic community" [5].

• People active in local groups, even non-political ones, take more interest in public affairs [4].

• Putnam, Bowling Alone (2000):

• Americans were joining groups and taking part in politics less often [4].

• This meant a loss of social capital, which could weaken democracy [4].

• Ashutosh Varshney (2002), on India:

• In some cities, Hindus and Muslims were linked through civic networks: business associations, trade unions, clubs and parties.
• These cities stayed free of riots, while similar cities without such links burned.

• The lesson: links that cross communities keep peace. Links only inside one community do not. (See also the topic on gender, religion and caste.)

• Partha Chatterjee, "political society":

• Most of India's poor, such as slum dwellers and street vendors, often live outside the formal rules of civil society.
• They do not deal with the State through registered NGOs or court petitions. Instead they negotiate directly with officials and politicians, often through votes and group pressure.
• Chatterjee calls this space political society. It shows that "civil society" in India is often a middle-class space.

5. Newer urban communities: RWAs

• A Residents' Welfare Association (RWA) is a voluntary body of residents of a colony or housing society.
• What it does (NCERT Class 6): it makes rules on:
• waste collection and segregation
• use of common areas (parks, parking)

• pets

• Interdependence: an RWA depends on traders, domestic workers and municipal workers, such as sanitation staff, to function.

• Partnership with the State: Delhi's Bhagidari scheme (2000) made RWAs partners of the government in local problem-solving, for example on water, electricity and garbage.
• Formal urban bodies: ward committees and area sabhas are covered in the topic on urban local government.

6. The limits of civil society

Limit	What it means
Gated exclusion	RWAs may close roads, bar vendors or restrict domestic workers, so the public loses access
Middle-class bias	Educated, urban groups find it easiest to file PILs and run campaigns, so the poor are under-represented (Chatterjee's "political society")
"Uncivil" society	Some associations are caste or communal groups that spread hatred or exclude others. Not every association helps democracy

Prelims Hooks

• Article 19(1)(c) gives the right to form associations or unions. The right to form co-operative societies is also protected under it [2].
• 97th Amendment Act, 2011 → inserted Part IXB (Co-operative Societies) and Article 43B (a DPSP on promoting cooperatives) [2][3].
• Part IXB: maximum 21 directors, 5-year term, supersession limited to 6 months [2].
• Trap: Article 43B is a Directive Principle (Part IV), not a Fundamental Right.
• National Policy on the Voluntary Sector was approved in 2007 [7]. The NGO Darpan portal was launched by NITI Aayog in April 2017, and a Darpan ID is mandatory for Union grants [8].
• Halma is a Bhil tradition of unpaid community work in Jhabua (MP). Mahesh Sharma of Shivganga received the Padma Shri in 2019 [6].
• Match the books: Making Democracy Work (1993, Italy) and Bowling Alone (2000, USA) are by Putnam. Democracy in America is by Tocqueville. "Political society" is Partha Chatterjee's idea.
• NCERT Class 9 defines civil society as "voluntary groups, NGOs and community associations that function interdependently within society".
• The Bhagidari scheme (2000) was a Delhi government partnership with RWAs.

Mains Points

• Civil society strengthens democracy. It gives people a voice, acts as a watchdog, delivers services and creates space for debate. Putnam's Italy study [5] and Varshney's study of Indian cities show that social capital improves governance and keeps communal peace. India should therefore support it through laws such as Article 19(1)(c) and Part IXB [2].
• Autonomy vs regulation.
• The 2007 policy promises to protect the autonomy of voluntary organisations [7].
• But mandatory Darpan registration for grants [8] and other State controls can make NGOs dependent on the government.

• The balance has to be accountability without control.

• Not all associations are "civil". Gated RWAs, middle-class bias and caste or communal bodies show that civil society can exclude people. Chatterjee's "political society" reminds us that the poor often reach the State through bargaining, not formal channels. Inclusive bodies such as ward committees, SHGs and cooperatives with democratic boards can help close this gap.

• Traditional community practices, such as halma and village rules for commons, are an Indian base for participatory development. They can feed into schemes like watershed and water-conservation missions, but only if the community keeps ownership.