Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Dr. Ram Kumar Dahal, T.U, Nepal

Civil Society, according to Bongartz and Dahal (1996: 61-63) has also been conceived, "as an alternative path of developmental design, a design to respond to the demands of society's groups, to form a base for the practical vindication of their shared interests, values, commitments and practices. It is a way to tie them to a common mission and to a critical consciousness for social action (Bongartz and Dahal, 1996: 61-63)." The CSOs in today's globalized world perform different of functions and serve the society in different ways. The civil society “is directly involved in the determination of power, not in isolation but in a network of alliances functioning as a countervailing force. “The phrase 'civil society' name the space of un-coerced human association and also the set of relational networks, formed for the sake of family, faith, interest and ideology that fill this space (Walzer 1995: 7, Bongartz and Dahal 1996: 61-63)." “The term civil society,” as Walzer (1995: 7 )quoted from Bongartz and Dahal 1996: 61-63).view, “name the space of un-coerced human association and also the set of relational networks-- formed for the sake of family, faith, interest and ideology--that fill this space “ .The CSOs, for Susanne Hoeber, ( quoted from Peter, 2004:82)." includes the idea of a non-state autonomous sphere, empowerment of citizens; trust building as social life; interaction with rather than subordination to the state. The CSOs, as George Peter (2004:82) views, “comprise organizations which engage in public advocacy, serve as a watch dog of the government performance; analyze policy issues; mobilize constituencies in support of policy dialogue and act as agents of reform in strengthening democratic governance. It can also be called as a site where society enters into a relationship with the state and civil society cannot ask for a democratic state if it is undemocratic. A democratic state requires a democratic civil society. Civil society is a galvanizer of social and cultural energy, democratic and transparent institution and equity seekers for the people. It is therefore, more than just society which connects individuals with the public realm and the state; civil society can influence the government by enhancing political responsiveness by aggregating and expressing the desires of public associations.” A civil society, according to Dahal and Bongartz (1996:64) “commonly strives for autonomy from political and economic societies to redress inequality, injustice and multiple forms of domination in society .It also upholds a model of social movements against distributional, legitimation and devolutional crises induced by ‘new hegemonic formation’, that has initiated new forms of oppression, transmission of a dominant culture and subordination of citizens into contemporary capitalist societies (Gladwin 1994:62)The emerging ecological ,peace ,indigenous ,poor ,women and civil society movements are the result of historical and spiritual manifestation against the organizational control of the material world .The growing convergence between n the civil society of the North and the South ,despite some resolute differences ,points toward civilization confluence ,rather than a ‘clash of civilizations’ ,to stimulate the citizens for democratic action”.

The civil society, as George Peter (2004:82) further defines, “is a mass of people having civic culture, who are well fitted for running a true democratic political system, constitutes and association for social benefit.” Civil society, according to Robertson (1993:68-69) is “the framework within which those without political authority live their lives –economic relationships ,family and kinship structures ,religious institutions ad so on. It is a purely analytic concept because civil society does not exist independently of political authority, or vice versa, and, it is generally believed, neither could long continue without the other; therefore, no very clear boundary can be drawn between the two.” Civil society, according to(Marx 1972:179 quoted from Dahal and Bongartz (1996:67)) “embraces the whole material intercourse of individuals within a definite sage of the development of productive forces .It embraces the whole commercial and industrial life of a given stage and ,insofar ,transcends the state and the nation, though ,on the other hand again ,it must assert itself in its foreign relations as nationality ,and inwardly must organize itself as state…..Civil society as such only develops with the bourgeoisie; the social organization evolving directly out of production and commerce ,which in all ages forms the basis of the state and the rest of the realistic superstructure ,has ,however ,always been designated by the same name…”

Civil Society, as Iain Mclean (1996:74) views, is “a set of intermediate associations which are neither the state nor the (extended) family; civil society therefore includes voluntary associations and firms and other corporate bodies”.

Types and Functions of Civil Societies

The CSOs have to play several roles including social, political, economic (peter, 2004:82-86) religious, cultural, informational and educational, interest based, developmental, issues oriented, civic; educational and mobilization (Diamond 1994: 6 quoted from Bongartz and Dahal, 1996:64-65). CSOs, as their experts view, have been classified in many categories according the functions they perform. The pluralistic groups of civil society and its types and functions have been beautifully elaborated by Diamond, one of the experts of CSOs and accordingly the types and functions of CSOs are [Diamond 1994: 6, quoted from Bongartz and Dahal, 1996: 64-65]:

economic (productive and commercial associations and networks); cultural (religious, ethnic, communal, and other institutions and associations that defend collective rights, values, faiths, beliefs, and symbols); informational and educational (devoted to the production and dissemination--whether for profit or not-- of public knowledge, ideas, news, and information) ;interest-based (designed to advance or defend the common functional or material interests of their members, whether workers, veterans, pensioners, professionals or the like) ;developmental (organizations that combine individual resources to improve the infrastructure, institutions, and quality of life of the community) ;issue-oriented (movements for environmental protection, women's rights, land reform or consumer protection) ;civic (seeking in a non-partisan fashion to improve the political system and make it more democratic through human rights monitoring, voter education and Mobilization, poll-watching, anti-corruption efforts and so on”

In this connection, Larry Diamond views, “The realm of organized social life that is voluntary, self-generating (largely), 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 to express their interests, passions, and ideas, exchange information, achieve mutual goals, make demands on the state and hold state officials accountable [Diamond, 1994:5]." The study of civil society would be incomplete without the study of I/NGOs; voluntary organizations; community based organizations, CBOs self Help Organizations, SHOs; consumers' forums/groups, local organizations etc. The Consumer or Users' groups (e.g. forest users' group, canal users' group, water supply, sanitation and health education users' group, drinking water users' group, public sector users' groups, management groups, income generation groups etc). Like in other developing countries of the world, rural development is closely linked with community development in rural Nepal . In Nepal 's particular context, rural development can be considered as a means to promote better living for whole community participation and if possible with their own initiatives. The basic objectives of the rural development are to promote right attitude among the villagers, maximize the agricultural products, promote rural industrialization, provide basic infrastructural facilities, control population growth etc. The drinking water, irrigation facilities, maximum encouragement to popular participation in several areas including the improvement of agriculture, improving schooling, rural communication, rural transportation, rural electrification, rural urbanization (now known as urbanization), rural health, rural sanitation, rural forest, rural donation etc. A UG is an organization or institution established for certain purposes formed by the community members in their own community either formal or informal (but in most cases form responsibilities and functions the common values and interests). The Consumer or Users' Groups have been playing very significant role in the development activities in Nepal . In Nepal , these groups try to fulfill certain objectives and interests common to all community members and have played significant role in encouraging rural development in Nepal in one way or the other.

RELEVANCY OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN NEPAL

Civil society experts including Dahal (2001:10-16) have pointed out a number of reasons regarding the relevancy of civil society organizations in the contemporary world.

“First, the trinity of freedom, social justice and solidarity forms the core values of civil society’s .Second, a civil society comprises small bottom –up associations, which are accessible to citizen’s participation thus making it attractive for more and more citizens to public life. Third civil society tries to mediate between the general and particular interests, between the base and superstructure and between the political and economic societies for the welfare of the majority of citizens who are poor, powerless. Fourth ,the civil society captures a vision of conscious opposition to authoritarians , domination and exploitation of citizens and provides an opportunity to mobilize “counter knowledge” and draw on “the pertinent forms of expertise to make its own translations “(Habermas,1997:372)Fifth a civil society seeks to influence state policymaking ,helps in shaping public opinion an collective will formation .These are essential elements for the moderation of public policies as well as to trigger the dialectics of social transformation. Sixth, civil society builds a commitment to the protection of the social sphere and public by removing plenty of constraints from the realization of the constitutional rights, economic and political entitlement san opportunities and opportunities for civic empowerment. “The public sphere is not conceived simply as the back room of the parliamentary complex, but as the impulse –generating periphery that surrounds the political centre: in cultivating normative reasons ,it affects all parts of the political system without intending to conquer it”(Habermas,1997:442).Finally a civil society gives impetus to a community building project within and across the national borders to both universalize individual and national life and motives the citizens ,governments and the states towards regional and international cooperation”.

Functions of civil society In Nepal

The CSOs have to play significant role in the development process of the nation. iDahal and Bongartz (1996:88-89) have beautifully presented the list of the current debate on development policy initiated by NGOs and civil society in the particular country. They are, according to Dahal and Bongartz (1996:88-89) designed to: 1)remove the networks of violence ,injustice ,indiscrimination and alienation by enthusing poor people to understand the context of societal ,state and market institutions and the social ,economic ,political and ecological values they serve for their development purpose; 2)break the barriers to poor people ‘s participation by alternative institution-building based on vision and mission and in relation to the area, population ,management ,human needs ,resource sharing ,mobilization and bottom-up institutional design coverage; (3) improve the backwardness of the poor by their grassroots engagement ,participatory learning and planning ,execution and evaluation of the individual and collective enterprise and a decentralized decision-making process; 4)make the people subject in the process of development and change by unleashing their confidence and capacity in leadership growth into people who are forward looking and have the patience to listen, and encourage the contribution of the poor people; 5) Mobilize the poor people in membership drive and serve to become effective networking, fund raising, developing a culture of management and administrative accountability in receiving cooperation from the government and NGOs to deliver basic services that the poor require. 6)Nurture reflection from the culture of people’s participatory experience and supply constructive response on behalf of the society .Civil society can contribute to the promotion of poor people’s self-help, cooperation initiatives and action .This will empower them to control their own destiny through a process of social transformation ; 7)Create basic conditions for the realization of human rights –liberty ,equality and solidarity .Autonomy of the individual is important in unleashing creative entrepreneurial design and in implementation and maintenance of development projects In the context of culture ,society and essential needs of the people; 8) Channel external aid for : People –centered development; Social justice and equality between the male and female; Respect for social values and cultural identities ; Inclusion of ecology and sustainable development ; Economic growth with human face ;and Self-reliance, self-governance and self-direction of the society.”

The CSOs and the constitutional and legal provisions in Nepal

The current 1990 constitution (particularly in its preamble and part 4 dealing with principles and policies of the state )has also set vision for the roles and responsibilities of different actors the state /government sector , market /private sector and CSOs /Public sector .Besides these constitutional provisions, a number of laws (including the Social Welfare Act (1992)the 9 th plan (1997-2002)and the tenth plan documents ,and the Local Self Government Act 1998 and the current Local Self Governance Act 1999and other legal provisions ,in one way or the other have recognized the role of CSOs in Nepal.

The CSOs in Nepal

The CSOs in Nepal developed from the earliest period of history. But the concept, as is perceived in the West, developed only in post 1990 periods. The Nepalese CSOs in the current changed national, regional and global context has to face number of challenges regarding the functions due to the rising expectations of the people particularly in post 1990 periods. Due to the high and growing expectations of the people, the CSOs have to involve in a number of areas including the empowerment of the state .In the words of Panday (1999:131) “we find that the civil society has to contribute even in empowering the state in the interest of social transformation,if by empowerment we can mean building the capacity and legitimacy of the state to adjust the issues of social concern.”