The Politics of Collective Advocacy in India: Tools and Traps
Nandini Deo and Duncan McDuie-Ra
Kumarian Press
$24.95
Pp 220
Any attempt at detailing the recent civilian coup d??tat by Anna Hazare and his fellow social activists will entail a multitude of antagonistic images: an elderly and diminutive figure?s Gandhian fervour and single-handed ability to bring the ruling coalition to its knees; the presence of a disparate and bewildering audience of religious leaders, lynch mobs and idealistic young. Anna Hazare?s anti-corruption campaign has brought together civil society and mobilised public opinion against corruption in a way that no one has, in the last two decades. But the nuances have gone missing in the story; civil society campaigners are either all black or white, manufactured heroes or freedom fighters leading a struggle of historic proportions.
Fortunately, it is precisely these complexities in India?s vibrant civil society movements that a new book, The Politics of Collective Advocacy in India, seeks to chronicle. The project grew from a discussion in an aptly named End of the World Pub in Edinburgh in 2005. The authors, Nandini Deo and Duncan McDuie-Ra, were both attending a conference on civil society theorising. But as the event progressed, they felt strongly opposed to the way civil society ?was being lauded with an almost missionary zeal as a Western liberal project spreading enlightenment values to alleviate violence, poverty and authoritarianism the world over.?Civil society, Deo and McDuie-Ra both knew, possessed different intricacies on the ground, especially in countries like India. Their goal was simple; to define characteristics that truly matter in activism and collective advocacy, and in doing so, to establish both the tools and the traps that emerge in such processes.
What has transpired as a result is an astounding scholarly work drawing on a variety of civil society movements in India, from human rights advocacy with regard to repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), to religious movements like the Gujarat riots of 2003, pro and anti-dam advocacy, and even feminist movements. Their research is a compelling amalgamation of India?s experiences with collective activism and not only makes a significant contribution to our understanding of civil society functioning within India, but there are lessons to be drawn for the world as well.
Team Hazare would do well to take a leaf out of this book.
The writer is a freelance journalist