Question

Illustrate the crucial importance of civil society in ensuring that the state is accountable to the nation and its people.

Answer 1

1. Civil society is the name given to the broad arena which lies beyond the private domain of the family but outside the domain of both state and market.
2. Civil society is the non-state and non-market part of the public domain in which individuals get together voluntarily to create institutions and organisations. It is the sphere of active citizenship where individuals take up social issues, try to influence the state or make demands on it, pursue their collective interests or seek support for a variety of causes.
3. Today the activities of civil society organisations have an even wider range, including advocacy and lobbying activity with national and international agencies as well as active participation in various movements.
4. The issues taken up are diverse, ranging from tribal struggles for land rights, devolution in urban governance, campaigns against rape and violence against women, rehabilitation of those displaced by dams and other developmental projects, and so on.