``NGOs need to decide whether they seriously want to be in this field, andif so, necessarily specialise in the livelihood, employment and incomegeneration (LEIG) field,'' according to Sangeetha Kamat, assistantprofessor, Center for International Education, University of Massachusetts,Amherst.

The two authors express these views in their study papers that have havebecome part of Actionaid India's 27th issue. The studies have been conductedover a period spanning several years.

Market forces and voluntary services

Talking of an agenda for the 21st century, Iyengar says, liberalisation andthe opening of the economy have brought a major change in the policy thrustof the country. There has been a conscious decision to reduce the role ofthe state to remove unnecessary controls and regulations and toprofessionalise the public sector. While market forces, consequently, havebecome ``the alternative power centres'', market imperfections have lead todistortions and manipulations, he says.

Iyengar says, ``The poorest of the poor in India and in Gujarat who surviveon subsistence activities have a very low level of interaction with themarket as consumers and, with negligible transactions for production, theyare practically out of the market....There are certain non-economic factorsthat have significant and substantial influence on the performance ofservices in education and health services.

The market is not likely to allocate resources for those who are extremelybackward in terms of the levels of their human resources development.''As a result, the state will have to continue to provide support to thesocial infrastructure. However, the allocation and delivery system of thestate has proved inadequate for the disadvantaged sections over the pastseveral decades.

The gulf so created is being bridged by various NGOs. As such the role ofNGOs in this regard will have to be strengthened further, he says.Gujarat, like Rajasthan is a drought-prone state. However, in Gujarat, theGandhian influence of the decades of the twenties to forties is stillvisible. ``Even now there are a substantial number of active NGOs that hadbegun their activities under the influence of Gandhian thought,'' accordingto Iyengar.

He says though the need for networking among NGOs was not felt in theinitial stages, by 1982 two types of networking evolved in Gujarat: Thefirst type attracted development organisations and the second type attractedthe NGOs engaged in mobilisation and social transformation. For instance, asa result of a national consultation in the matter, a project called Lokayan(towards the people) came into being which eventually converted itself intoSetu (bridge).

The NGOs that have made an impact on Gujarat, according to Iyengar, includeGujarat Rajya Gram Vikas Sangh, Setu, Janpath, Gujarat Voluntary HealthAssociation, Saksham, Pravah, Working Group for Women's Initiatives,Janvikas, etc, each offering a wide range of services.

Adds Kamath, the authors of the LEIG field say that ``in LEIG activities, itis necessary that NGOs surrender their dependence on Indian and foreigngrants, and instead, raise capital, from mainstream sources such asdevelopment financial institutions and banks.'' There is also a need forNGOs to adopt the models and attitudes of business enterprises and learn tomanage employment generation schemes on a `for profit' basis.

Kamath says that ``in the not too distant future, we may see many smallerNGOs folding up and even declaring bankruptcy, replaced by what are beingtermed network NGOs-large corporate-like structures with a highlyprofessional staff and low-paid grass-roots workers who co-ordinate selecteconomic enterprises over several different regions....''

``In the context of economic liberalisation this emergent shift on the partof NGOs is extremely disturbing,'' says Kamath. She adds but it wasnevertheless ``quite predictable''.

``The contemporary situation in India presents a certain urgency to the taskof theorising the role and historical character of non-party leftformations....Given the dismal condition of political parties in thecountry, it is the activity of non-party left formations that gives many ofus hope. But this hope is mixed with despair. The voices of despair point tothe extreme fragmentation within these formations,'' says Kamath.

Referring to ideological leanings in the business of voluntary services,Kamath says, ``There are some instances of political organisations ...whichhave engaged in development activity but have ensured that notions ofsolidarity and collective identity remain central to that activity, and inthe process have challenged the forms of development, and hence the veryidea of development.''

Elaborating on the theme, she says, ``Both the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) and the Rashtriya Seva Dal (RSD) have emphasised leadership trainingfor youth with an eye toward providing leadership at the community levelrather than at the level of the state. RSD documents in fact explicitlyclaim the RSS to be their role model for organising at the community level,albeit rejecting the goals of the RSS...''

Kamath quotes experts who say, ``It is possible for the state to function asa night watchman, that is, a state whose functions are limited to thesafeguarding of public order and respect for the laws, but only whenhegemony over its historical development belongs to private forces, to civilsociety-which is state, too, indeed is the state itself.''