Role of Pressure Groups

Role of NGOs

• Citizen Participation: NGOs provide a platform for ordinary citizens to be effective participants in a democratic society by raising a collective voice. Hence civil society organisations are vital to India being not merely an elective democracy but a participative one, where voters are able to engage and question its representatives.
• Check mechanism: Keeps a check on the government’s activities and ensures it remains accountable, answerable, responsive and pro-active.
  • Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sankethan’s pressure on government to bring about RTI act
• Socio-Economic Emancipation: Assists the state in implementation of its welfare schemes and projects in various fields including poverty, hunger, environment, women empowerment etc.
  • Mid-day meal scheme: ‘Akshayapatra’ NGO assisting in the implementation

Need for State Regulation of NGOs

• Inappropriate usage of funds: Donations appropriated have not been put to judicious and productive usage. Large proportion of funds have been diverted for institutional and salary needs whereas actual contribution to socio-economic emancipation has been below par
  • NGOs asked to file income tax returns without overdue to regulate spending. They cannot spend more than 50% on administration
• Channel for Money laundering: NGOs have been used as a garb to launder money for terrorist, extremist and religious conversion activities.
  • Foreign Contribution Regulation Act imposed legal restrictions on foreign donations to NGOs. Many terrorist and extremist agencies have been using such money channels for money laundering for anti-national activities
  • NGOs need to submit an annual report on financial contributions and donors
• Anti-Developmental Activities: NGOs have also been found to mobilise public opposition and hatred towards government development projects without genuine reasons that have caused substantial economic losses to the country.
  • Kudankulam Nuclear power project faced huge protests that received financial support from U.S based NGOs

Formal associations

Political Party

                A political party refers to a group of people who come together driven by a common political ideology with an objective of attaining political power. They aspire to directly take part in elections and gain control of administration and governance in the country.

Role of Political Parties

• Political Consciousness: Political parties provide an avenue for citizen to be recruited into political activities and provide political orientation to them
• Mobilize the electorate: At the time of elections, parties activate, promote and propagate their ideology of governance and administration among the electorate
• Interest Articulation: Political parties may be built on the very foundation of representing interest of certain sections of society which they campaign for and initiate a healthy debate in the public domain.
  • Bahujan Samajwadi party founded mainly to represent the interest of Dalit section of society in U.P
• Mediator between Groups: Political parties aim to bring about harmony between various groups in society by resolving differences between them and aiming to be accommodative and inclusive in their actions and ideology
• Social Welfare: Political parties perform social welfare functions like alleviation of sufferings during famine, drought, assistance during disaster management etc.
• The functioning of Democracy: The presence of multiple parties and contrasting ideologies ensure that diverse opinions and interests are represented. It also ensures accountability and responsiveness of incumbent governments in Union and states.

Read Also Urban Naxalism

Demerits of Parties

• Polarization: Political parties have at times contributed to polarization of society on ethnic, linguistic and cultural lines. There have been instances of hate speeches causing communal rifts which may have adverse impacts on unity of a society as culturally and religiously diverse as India
  • Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha – Promoting demand of Gorkhaland due to imposition of Bengali on Nepali speaking Gorkha community
• Lack of internal Democracy: Democracy within political parties in India have waned in the recent past with handful leaders at the helm augmenting all the decision making and policymaking powers
• Selfish Interest: Rather than serving interests of the public, political parties have become a tool for self-emancipation. Members of parties often abuse their position for their own socio-economic and political gains
• Nexus with Corporates: Political parties depend on corporates for funding and this paves the way for the formation of a nexus between these entities with the interest of the general public compensated as a result
• Criminalization of Politics: Indian political system has witnessed the presence of several convicted politicians who participate and win in elections.
• Destroys individuality: Political parties exert great control over its members which does not allow an individual to shape or articulate his own opinion forcing her to be in conformity with opinion of the party.

Criticisms of CSR

• Regional Disparity: High earning companies are highly concentrated near industrial parks in cities in productive states. Hence there is a regional disparity in social sector emancipation that is carried out through CSR.
• Confined to Locality: Most companies engage in activities to promote education, health and environment near their own institutions. However, there is little concern to develop scalable models of CSR that can be extended to the whole country
• Righting their Own Wrongs: Certain companies which have been responsible for social and environmental repercussions have been engaged in CSR activities to compromise for the same. For example, mining companies given their sinning effect on the environment have been big spenders to clean environment
• Attention to Expenditure: Although companies oblige to the prescribed proportion of expenditure, productivity in its shadow has gone amiss
• Sectoral Disparity: Most companies have adopted the same sectors mostly education or health in their CSR activities while other sectors including environment, skill development lie ignored