Abstract
This paper compares civil society’s role in the past two decades in India and Afghanistan. To give a more detailed examination of civil society organisations’ (CSOs) role, the authors examine and contrast civil society’s composition, interaction with the government, civic challenges and the latest changes. In addition to conceptual clarity, they use Michael Edwards’ work as a theoretical foundation, which is ideal because it pertains to both countries. Despite the similarities in their approaches, there are important differences in how both states frame the need for greater involvement of civil society actors. The authors also find significant differences in the following: (1) the treatment of civil society by state actors, (2) the composition of CSOs varies significantly between the two countries due to different national traditions and institutional relationships and (3) the status of CSOs/non-governmental organisations has also changed significantly in recent years in both settings. They use these and other findings to assess civil society’s ability to play economic, political and social roles, as proposed by Edwards in civil society. They discover significant differences in the political and social functions emerging. This comparison should help researchers structure subsequent scholarly studies of the role of CSO and guide practitioners working in the sector.
Introduction
Over the past two decades, socioeconomic and political contexts have undergone significant transformations in different parts of the world. Two countries in South Asia that are closest to each other in terms of not only historical ties but also the democratic character of civil society organisations (CSOs) are India and Afghanistan. India is the world’s largest democracy; it has a long history of involving and consulting social partners. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI, 2022) of India announced in 2022 that 3.1 million non-governmental organisations (NGOs) registered in India – one NGO for every 400 Indian citizens. Afghanistan, in contrast, is a young democracy intertwined with a history of internal conflict and foreign invasions. In the post-2001 context, changes in the political system and the introduction of laws like the Right to Information Act, NGO law, and social organisation law have provided space for Afghan civil society. However, in both countries, a significant percentage of the population lives under the poverty line and lacks primary education, health care, malnutrition, and social exclusion. People cannot exercise the fundamental civic rights enshrined in their constitutions. It is this gap that CSOs have to close through service delivery and advocacy. The legal framework is generally supportive of civil society. However, in practice, both states sometimes overstep their regulatory role and instead try to control the civic environment. In this regard, the period from 2001 to 2021 is particularly significant for understanding the context of contemporary civil society. To date, the literature on the role of civil society has focused primarily on specific countries and has not devoted significant attention to multi-countries. This is an important gap in the literature. Because without examining it, we cannot understand rhetoric into reality. I addressed these gaps through an examination and divided the paper into five sections: First introduction and second methodology in the third section, which examines several conceptualisations of civil society, Michael Edwards’ (2009) theoretical framework is introduced, different types of associations that CSOs use to carry out their duties, the government-CSO relations, the role, which is the main component, compares the recent developments of CSOs/NGOs funding and the final section of the paper provides a brief discussion and summing up.
Methodology
The central question the paper answers is: what role did civil society play in India and Afghanistan since 2001? Followed by secondary questions; what is civil society, and its role? How is the concept interpreted in both contexts? How are the interactions between government and civil society, and what are the main challenges as well as the similarities and differences? Finally, what are the recent developments in the NGO funding between the two states. The main question is within the comparative frame during 2001–2021.
In response, the study relied on both primary and secondary data sources. The primary sources used are reports from international agencies, media interviews and statements of public officials, press releases and reports of governments and civil society groups. The secondary sources involved exploring research journals, books, reports, online resources and legal documents related to civil society in India–Afghanistan. Comparatively speaking, scholars suggest the value of comparisons and emphasise that knowledge of the self is gained through understanding others. A well-known political scientist James Coleman remarked that you could not be scientific if you are not comparing. Most scholars note that it makes it possible to examine solutions adopted abroad that may be taken advantage of at home. In short, such a comparison helps identify the relative merits and defects of a democratic system. Therefore, the method helps to understand social questions and fill gaps in the literature.
Literature review
Conceptualisation of civil society
Civil society
There are various opinions on the origin and development of the term ‘civil society’. The concept regained prominence in the late 1980s. What civil society constitutes and its roles have been problematic. Because the concept varies from place to place and the state-civil society relations are complex and dynamic, they are shaped by time, content, the nature of the political regime and several other factors. To arrive at an acceptable and broader definition, many scholars contributed multiple explanations for understanding civil society. As Nezhina (2017) notes, ‘the term originates from Aristotle’s expression ‘koinōnía political, which means a network described by a mutual understanding and shared values based on civil law’. Research shows that it is one of the vital instruments of social life that is voluntary, self-generating, supporting, autonomous from the state and bound by a legal or shared set of rules (Mollah, 2020). Oxhorn (2016) and Sanchez (2017) defined that civil society can be considered neither an autonomous space nor a space for democratic education. At the same time, CSOs have been criticised by some scholars for lacking a political voice. Instead of assuming political functions such as advocacy, acting as watchdogs, or representing marginalised groups’ interests, many organisations focus on service delivery and implementing foreign-funded donor projects (Gutheil, 2022). According to, the London School of Economics, modern civil society is a space for ‘uncoerced collective action’ that lies at the nexus of the family, market and government. It comprises community-based activist groups, religious organisations, labour unions, business associations and ‘social movements’ that promote the rights of socioeconomically disadvantaged people (Clark, 2003; Das, 2008). Some authors point to CSOs’ frame, accumulate and prioritise citizens’ preferences and help their representatives take collective action to overcome their problems (Celis and Childs, 2018).
Beyond the universal needs for shelter, food and security that are the subject of humanitarian aid and not the focus of this paper, there are some primary areas where civil society around the world seems to share primary objectives: the rule of law, social justice, accountability, public participation, education, and different forms of self-expression (El Difraoui and Berges, 2022). From the European perspective, it includes NGOs, associations, foundations, and religious groups that engage in public life to advance democratic values appears to be applied to many other parts of the world. This can also apply to India and Afghanistan. The World Bank (2022) developed one definition that can be helpful for this study. A diverse range of organisations includes NGOs, community-based organisations (CBOs), coalitions, foundations, non-profits, labour unions, professional associations, charitable groups, and faith-based organisations. Furthermore, the World Bank has categorised CSO functions, which can be applied to different contexts (in this case, India and Afghanistan). It identifies the following: service delivery, representation, social functions, advocacy and capacity building (Pollard and Court, 2005).
Government-civil society relations
A clear understanding of civil society and government relations is a primary step when looking at different CSOs’ roles. There are many ways to structure and theorise civil society-government relations to examine the main functioning & characteristics in this context. Pauly et al. (2016) examine civil society-government interactions from a new perspective and analyse the transition from government to governance, especially participatory governance. Infiltration theory (Klein and Lee, 2019) draws on the main feature of CSO is interdependence rather than independence.
How is the concept interpreted in India and Afghanistan? First, in Afghanistan, civil society means ordinary people and the many ways in which to organise and protect them. CSOs structures and organisations are customary (shuras) and modern (NGOs and social organisations). According to most analysts, Afghanistan’s modern civil society is in its early phase, starting after the country’s first elections based on democratic values in 2004–2005. In the context of India, the term ‘civil society’ is generally used to refer to voluntary associations of various kinds and the rise in the number of NGOs, social movements and voluntary associations since the 1990s resulted in the term civil society entering public discourse on a broader level (Chandhoke, 2012). The initial attempts to define the concept were motivated by the fact that all national organisations had begun to view the term as a unifying theme (Dubochet, 2011). Consistent with this conceptualisation, CSO roles (Economic, Social and Political) by Edwards’ (2009) have been used as the theoretical framework for guiding the analysis of the role of CSOs. According to Schmitz (2021), Edward’s work is a critical introduction to civil society and its different roles across countries (Table 1).
Roles played by civil society.
Source: Developed by the Author.
The social role by Edwards is very close to the idea of civic organisations as ‘schools of democracy’ (Van der Meer and van Ingen, 2009). One does not have to follow Edwards down this normative path to recognise that CSOs indeed play a growing role in service provision across many cultures (Anheier, 2009). In this way, they often take on functions usually performed by the state, which can be revealed by examining service provision. Anheier (2009) links civil society’s economic and social role in highlighting voluntary organisations’ contribution to social service delivery. The literature discusses the changing roles of civil society, notably: promoting participatory government and democracy, implementing government flagship programmes, promoting informal spaces for dialogue, voluntarism and protesting against anti-people policies (Gupta, 2016). How does civil society play these roles in a given country context? We assume that the environment a state creates significantly shapes civil society’s role, both in its interactions with the state and beyond. In other words, CSO is to provide policy advice, monitor state actions or contribute to the welfare system. If it seeks to play its political, social and economic roles, there must be preconditions for self-organising.
Therefore, the background allows for a structured comparison of the similarities and differences between the two countries and sheds light on how the countries’ civil societies play the overall roles. We precede this exploration, however, with a brief account of the composition of civil society in both countries, revealing certain similarities and differences that interact in meaningful ways with the relationships we investigate.
Size and composition of civil society
For comparison, this section investigates the makeup of civil society. A review of key organisational features of civil society reveals both significant similarities and differences between the two settings. Most literature concentrates on the number, types, goals and funding sources.
India
Since 2001, the organisation of India’s associational life has changed significantly. A significant change is an increase in the number of associations engaged with development and empowerment. India has a diverse and richly populated civil society sector has 31 lacks NGOs, according to a report published by the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2022. One NGO covers 400 people as one policeman for 709 people. The Indian population was estimated at 1.36 billion in 2019 (Ministry of Statistics Programme Implementation (MSPI), 2020). Caste and religion are distinctive markers of Indian society. However, caste discrimination is a social and political reality (Kapur, 2020). About 80% of India’s population is Hindu, 15% is Muslim and the rest is a mixture of Christian, Sikh, and other religious groups (Lamba and Subramanian, 2020). Contemporary CSOs might be classified into five major categories. The three largest groups are NGOs and Hindu Fundamentalism associations; in particular, the RSS associations, caste associations and social movements are essential actors in India’s civil life. According to Basile (2017), CSOs encompass several sections of formal and informal voluntary associations: economic, cultural, informational, educational, and interest-based associations that support the material interests of their members, such as the workers and pensioners; developmental associations that aim at improving the quality of life; issue-oriented, such as the environmental, the women empowerment movements; and civic associations, that is, associations that aim at improving the political system in a non-partisan fashion. Another classification views Indian civil society as comprising many types of organisations that are as follows: (1) CBOs, (2) Mass, (3), Religious, (4) Voluntary Development Organisations, (5) Social Movements, (6) Corporate Philanthropy, (7) Consumer Groups, (8) Cultural, (9) Professional, (10) Economic Associations and (11) Others, including caste, sports clubs, media and academia (Goswami et al., 2011; Mawdsley and Roychoudhur, 2016).
Financially, India has been moving closer to middle-income status; hence, the western world’s attention has been shifted to other countries. Due to this resource shortage, funding for independent CSOs initiatives has decreased. Many NGOs have signed service contracts with the government. For instance, the ministries of culture, health, family welfare, social justice, empowerment, tribal affairs and women and child development have designated particular grants for NGOs. Overall, CSOs depend on funds from different sources: individuals, foundations, state-central governments and International institutions (Pulla et al., 2019; Sriram, 2020).
Afghanistan
After 2001 and the subsequent establishment of a democratic state, various CSOs were established, and the number of NGOs significantly increased. The emergence of diverse CSOs, such as NGOs, social organisations and Community Development Councils (CDC), is among the mentionable gains during the last two decades. As of March 2013, 2198 NGOs (1905 local, 298 international) and 3700 social organisations registered (Ayobzai, 2013). Recently, the International Centre for Non-for-Profit Law reported 1818 active domestic NGOs and 268 international non-governmental organisations as of January 2021. Thousands more CSOs are working, including 30,000 CDC and multiple shuras in each village.
Afghanistan is a multi-ethnic society. Pashtuns 42%, Tajiks 27% and Uzbeks 15% comprise three main ethnic groupings, while Hazaras, Aimaqs, Turkmens and Baluchis groups make up the remaining 16% (Dreikhausen, 2022). However, the ethnic makeup of the people is not a political institution. Some 30 million populations are intensely tribal and sectarian (Lapidus and Ira, 2014). The country has had numerous adverse effects due to poor diversity management, low educational attainment, and political strife among various people groups (Mujtaba, 2019). It is a sad fact that after 40 years of war, extortion and violence pervade all levels of Afghan society (Karimi, 2021).
Social organisations and NGOs regulated through Social Organizations’ Law and NGO Law. NGOs are an essential component that makes the backbone of CSOs, established and registered, providing relief, rehabilitation and development assistance. Second, customary groups have existed in the past. Civic councils (shuras/jirgas) exist at various levels to discuss problems or represent their respective communities’ or groups’ interests. These institutions can govern and mobilise the village resources (Noori, 2022). When choices on important national political agendas are made, these events may draw thousands of nationwide attendees. Civil society consists of community organisations, NGOs, academia, voluntary groups, women’s organisations, unions, social and cultural organisations and individuals (Nemat, 2021). Afghanistan’s CSOs focus mainly on humanitarian assistance and advocacy programmes (Najimi, 2018).
Afghanistan has been dependent on foreign aid for decades. The US invasion brought more international attention and foreign aid to Afghanistan. Many Afghan NGOs were created by this (Derlich, 2021). Since their installation in the post-2001 era, the Afghan CSOs, as the government itself, heavily depended on foreign aid until the US withdrawal. The aid departments of countries assisting Afghanistan, the UN, ADB, World Bank, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) agencies and the more prominent international NGOs have all been donors to the NGO segment of civil society (Nawabi, 2010). According to the World Bank, Afghanistan received US$77 billion in official development assistance during 2001–2019. A review of projects by NGOs revealed 24 sectors of activity, and Kabul is the centre of CSO, with 38% having their central offices showing centralisation of CSOs (Mitchell, 2017; Nasrat, 2015).
It follows, therefore, that such organisations vary significantly in their size, forms, goals and resources they draw on.
Government-civil society relations
To understand the place and role of civil societies, it becomes desirable to take the stands of CSO interactions with the government into account.
India
Legal framework and the official discourse
In India, the end of the BJP, and the election of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2004, marked a shift in the relationship. The UPA has established procedures for consultation and heavily relies on civil society to determine its social policies.
Indian public law system is standard. Article 19 of India’s constitution guarantees all citizens the right to form associations. Laws relevant to CSOs regulate their inflow of resources, particularly from foreign sources. The current rules, such as the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) for all CSOs, are defined as NGOs that intend to receive funding from foreign sources (Kiai, 2016). The RTI Act 2005 represents a landmark legislation which emerged from the domain of civil society, demanding transparency and accountability (Sing, 2014). In India, The regulatory regime is generally supportive. However, in practice, the Government oversteps its regulatory role and tries to control the civic sector. The non-profit sector has never witnessed as many regulatory changes as it did during 2020–2021 (Cuts, 2022). Laws on the RTI, Food Security, Right to Education, and Employment Guarantee, all came to be because of the groundwork by CSOs.
Civic space
The registration of CSOs is one area where restrictions are commonly made. Generally, the most often targeted CSOs are those providing legal support to excluded groups who experience human rights violations. The Government uses such tactics as restrictive legislation to deny CSOs their right to register, suspend, or withdraw permits to operate. Resourcing of CSOs is also being targeted: tightening laws controlling CSOs’ access to foreign funding has been an important policy tool- thousands of CSOs’ licences to receive foreign funding have been cancelled for non-compliance (Chakrabarti et al., 2018). A significant challenge is an uncertainty surrounding renewing foreign funding and licences (ICNL, 2022). There are also concerns over restrictions on civic and democratic space (Behar and Jayal, 2019). The authorities use laws to restrict freedom of expression. CSOs challenging the state are commonly delegitimised as ‘anti-national’ (Chacko, 2018). The Government of PM Modi has used restrictive provisions of the Indian Penal Code to curb the freedom of expression, severely limiting civil society’s social and economic contributions. In conflict-affected areas, notably Jammu and Kashmir, the authorities used excessive force against anti-government protests.
Stigmatisation too has been made policy. These tendencies can be seen in the well-known instance of India’s Intelligence Bureau accusing NGOs of ‘reducing India’s gross domestic product by 2%–3% per annum, by campaigning against projects that the Indian government argued to be integral to economic growth’ (Doane, 2016). CSOs have also been put under surveillance, and raids on CSO offices have been repeatedly reported in the media. The Indian Congress, BJP and National Democratic Alliance governments have taken different approaches to dealing with and acknowledging the role and contributions of CSOs to shaping and delivering social-economic programmes (Nilsen, 2020). In comparison, the Congress and BJP governments have imposed restrictions on civic space (Talukdar, 2018). The positions adopted by civil society towards the Government are equally diverse. Many CSOs are involved with the state in partnering and collaborations (Van Wessel et al., 2018). The number and influence of these groups have increased over the last decade. However, as different authors have noted, civic space remains vital for all civil society actors (Hossain et al., 2018). While the state counters specific CSOs, journalists, activists and academics, thousands of CSOs continue to operate in India, including those with views and interests that are not in line with government agendas.
Government support for civil society
The picture of the Indian government’s interaction with civil society is more complex. However, the depth of the interaction is often limited by divergences of views and interests. The registration procedure was simplified (ClearTax, 2021). Collaboration is increasingly facilitated through various consultative forums. Every state in India has a Registrar of Societies where a society can be registered. The application process for registration under the FCRA is now completely online (ICNL, 2022). Moreover, India provides tax incentives for charitable donations. A unique feature of India’s tax incentives for charitable donations is that it is the only country where donations to select government entities also attract incentives (Srinath et al., 2022). The involvement of the youth has been witnessed. For instance, the reservation policy implemented in 2006 and 2015 gave rise to student and youth demonstrations. Students and youths have always protested against societal injustice (Banerjee, 2013), importantly, the digitisation of CSOs. The COVID-19 crisis provided an opportunity to digitalise civic spaces much more extensively, resulting in new work methods (Kumari, 2021). Civil society and social actors are encouraged to take responsibility for the development and welfare functions that the states want to shed. During the past 20 years, government in India have been forming societies to implement their social programmes and strengthen their political connection to the people, adding to the composition of civil society.
Afghanistan
Legal framework and the official discourse
Since 2004, CSOs have had a place in Afghanistan’s new political structure as a crucial component of democracy. The country’s constitution introduced the formation of a democratic government and civil society. Article 35 provides that ‘the citizens shall have the right to form associations’, and article 36 guarantees that the people ‘shall have the right to gather and hold unarmed demonstrations’. Moreover, mechanisms for the peaceful demonstration were guaranteed by The Assembly Law, which endows all citizens with the right to freedom of assembly and association to express their demands and concerns peacefully. Later, in 2005, the Government passed a law on NGOs to promote and legalise NGOs’ activities (Yasa, 2021). The Mass Media Law in 2009, allowing citizens to advocate for their rights publicly and the 2013 Law on Association. Nevertheless, restrictive clauses and ambiguous terms in the law have increased concerns about squeezing the right to freedom of expression. In 2018, the Afghan parliament passed the Access to Information Law bill as a promising step forward to boosting transparency and accountability. This is not only Afghanistan, But, South Asia has had a poor record of sex discrimination and gender oppression (Ansari and Gould, 2019).
Previously, many Afghan journalists and CSOs were facing difficulties accessing information from officials, the enactment of Access to Information is a legal breakthrough in consolidating freedom of expression and the pres. Afghan NGO Law defines an NGO as a domestic or foreign non-governmental, non-political and not-for-profit organisation. Furthermore, Afghan Social Organizations’ Law states, ‘Social organizations are the voluntary union of real persons, organized for ensuring social, cultural, scientific, legal, and artistic purposes’.
Despite socio-economic contributions by NGOs, the Government gradually imposed limiting measures including legislation, taxation, and deregistration. A recent survey has shown that civil activists’ need for Government support is still a big challenge (DG-DEVCO, 2017). In 2017, however, the Government attempted to amend the enacted NGOs law by introducing several provisions draconian enough to restrict the beneficiaries. The bill was approved by the Cabinet Law Committee in 2019. Amnesty International (2020) calls on the Afghan authorities to amend the bill to align with international standards. The decision also faced criticism and opposition from CSOs and human rights activists, calling the new amendment highly restrictive (Sultani, 2020). Consequently, heavy taxation on NGOs, mainly on media with little government support at the time, crippled many private TV, radio stations and print media operating primarily in the countryside. As of August 2017, 200 media outlets terminated their services due to a financial crisis (VOA).
The regulation on the activities of domestic and foreign non-profit organisations governed NGOs did not adequately define NGO activity, leading to confusion about the nature and activities of NGOs in Afghanistan.
Civic space
In Afghanistan, civil society has faced similar challenges, because the environment created by restrictions and attacks on CSOs, human rights defenders and journalists has caused many to self-censor. The Government’s legal framework for CSOs is disproportionate and unacceptable (Kiai, 2016; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2016). These restrictions systematically attempted to undermine civic space (Buyse, 2018). In addition, civic space is affected by corruption, insecurity, non-professional employees, warlords within the government structure, political implications, legal restrictions, favouritism, nepotism and so on (Nemat and Werner, 2016). In the last two decades, the working condition for civil society in Afghanistan has proved more unfavourable than in India. Although freedom of expression has been a critical achievement in the last two decades, the growing threats against journalists and media workers jeopardise this gain. Given the political situation, social activists enjoyed little support from the state, which continues to be a significant problem affecting the enabling environment for civil society, and activists have been under constant threats from Afghan officials, power-holders and illegal armed and mafia groups. The E.U report reveals that lack of government support and financial constraints exacerbated by security deterioration have been the most pressing challenges civil society faced.
Government and donor support to civil society
The overall support of the government is open to interpretation by different actors. Examining the government and foreign support to Afghanistan, both view civil society as central actors in democracy and development. The international donors have also played a role in empowering civil society. Afghan government obligations towards CSOs support are based on Article 35, which recognises the right to form social organisations. Donors mainly supported formally established organisations. As well as, CSOs in the form of NGOs, CBOs and civic alliances have been backed by the constitution and the many international human rights treaties Afghanistan has signed (Muballegh, 2021). NGOs in received the bulk of their funding through contracts to deliver national programmes. There are many mechanisms of registration in terms of accountability and transparency. NGOs are often relied upon by the government and the people to deliver basic services (Jelinek, 2006). Since 2001, several donor-funded initiatives have emerged to promote civil society development and strengthen the capacities of CSOs. The two most comprehensive programmes are the European Commission-funded Programme and the USAID-funded Initiative to Promote Afghan Civil Society. Several civil society meetings and parallel civil society forums have taken place alongside the post-2001 political process. NGOs have been central in implementing government programmes (European Commission, 2007). Donors have worked with CSOs to improve the quality of health, education, livelihood services that are inclusive, and accountable to disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.
During the Karzai government in 2004, National Solidarity Programme (NSP) was designed as part of measures. The Programme created new civil society structures in rural areas called CDCs. Besides the growing number of NGOs, The Government initiated a nationwide rural rehabilitation with close consultation with the CDCs established in many villages and districts. The Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) delegated the formation of more than 30,000 CDCs to 30 international NGOs, which have their funds, staff and take ownership of the CDCs. One of the most efficient strategies that the Government has used to bridge the gap between rural villages and the central government is the biannual National CDC Conference (Li and MRRD, 2016).
Civil society role
This section is devoted to civil society’s role within the conceptual framework clarified in the second section. States frequently permit CSOs to play development roles, though not always all of them, especially when they cannot meet their obligations to provide essential services (Lewis, 2013).
India
Civil society in India plays the role of an intermediary that encourages citizens to participate in governance processes, facilitate their access to basic entitlements, and helps them connect with local government (Sing and Kumar, 2020).
Economic role
The work that civil society does for governments in the area of service delivery is often referred to as ‘partners’. Indian CSOs have played myriad roles in the country’s development. The contributions of CSOs in elementary education, primary health care, natural resource, environmental conservation, local governance and many other fields have received considerable government recognition (Bandyopadhyay, 2017). In India, among the social associations of various kinds that are considered to make up civil society groups, NGOs have taken a more active role in the development of the social sector, including education and health care (Baviskar, 2001). In this context, the partnership of CSOs with central and state governments in implementing various flagship programmes and the shift of many CSOs to service delivery and contract-based work is noteworthy. In service delivery, there are many examples. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is one of them. Programmes to eradicate leprosy, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, improve water and sanitation, infrastructure, prevention and care services to highly vulnerable groups, all implemented by NGOs and CSOs, have also been very successful (Kumar and Sharma, 2022; NACO, 2022). According to the Planning Commission of India (2007), the contributions of CSOs in elementary education, primary health care, natural resource, environmental conservation, local governance and many other fields have received considerable government recognition. The survey carried out by the PROBE team is another example of successful civil society initiatives in elementary education (Syal, 2011). In India, as in many other low-income countries, there was the role of CSOs in the health policy arena (Chattopadhyay, 2017). In a recent study by Nambiar and Mathew (2022), CSOs played an essential role in urban health governance.
Social role
Basic services demand community engagement. A related emerging trend is a social entrepreneurship, which encourages business models that simultaneously generate economic returns while supporting social causes and issues (Goswami and Tandon, 2013). Likewise, religious institutions in India have always played charitable welfare roles throughout history.
India’s Constitution and the Directive principles of state policies offer a basis for the fundamental civil rights of citizens. However, CSOs have taken up a series of actions to narrow the gap between these constitutional rights and the actual living conditions of most Indians. Their best-known achievement is shaping social legislation that frames access to essential services as an enforceable right. They have inspired and pushed reforms that changed India’s legislative landscape. One example of such legislation and policy include: the RTI Act (Sharma, 2020).
Moreover, the second decade of the 21 century witnessed rising action by the unorganised/non-institutionalised civil society. Arguably, the decade of protest culminated in large-scale nationwide protests, beginning in Dec 2019, against a new policy that retroactively revoked the citizenship status of millions of Muslims, most of who had lived in India for generations. Some large protests emerged across the country against this law. The CAA-NRC-NPR protests were marked by the fact that no identifiable political group or party was spearheading or managing them. Citizens, leveraging their citizenship rights, appeared to constitute themselves as a politically active. Arguably, a new, engaged civil society was witnessed, one that studiously avoids any resort to violence but equally stands for constitutionally guaranteed rights, especially that of equality. In addition, numerous reports attest to the inability of state agencies to swiftly provide food in all the significant areas of COVID-19 suffering. Many civil society components, including voluntary agencies, individual citizens, NGOs and socially engaged corporations, mobilised swiftly to try and provide cooked food to those who need it. Social movements are essential actors in India’s civil life (Basile, 2017). This is another prominent face of civil society; raise their voices against anti-people policies for better governance and a corruption-free society. These movements sometimes become so powerful that the government cannot ignore them. It involves many people in several campaigns. The aim of social moments is transforming society, which they pursue by creating mass mobilisation. A significant example is a campaign against corruption organised by the Gandhian activist Anna Hazare.
Political role
Spaces of engagement have evolved at various levels. At the union government level, the most visible and institutionalised consultation mechanism is the National Advisory Council. The body, composed of influential members of civil society, was set up to provide policy inputs to the UPA government. The nature and character of the role played by civil society during COVID in swiftly providing food to hundreds of thousands, perhaps, millions, of poor migrant workers is quite different from that witnessed during the CAA-NRC-NPR protests. In the latter case, we can see a more classical expression of civil society as a constitutive part of the state and, therefore, being able to leverage its right under the theory of popular sovereignty to hold the state accountable. In the former, we see a civil society that can quickly morph to assist fellow citizens in their hour of need (Andersen et al., 2021). The struggle in India for citizenship rights has taken a hard knock, with governments cracking down on human rights organisations. The study by found that in recent years the state has become rigid and overbearing.
In addition, the role of CSOs in making Indian democracy alive and participatory is noteworthy. CSOs are engaged in a broad spectrum of activities encompassing governance, advocacy, policy-making, and facilitating people’s participation. The policy advocacy role of CSOs needs special appreciation as some necessary acts like the RTI Act, or Domestic Violence Act has been passed with support from solid advocacy initiatives from civil society. The rights of the minority and depressed class, along with individual rights of freedom, and liberty, are protected duly by civil society. Furthermore, civil society has a significant role in stopping majoritarian tendencies and protecting the spirit of diversity in India (Parida, 2019). India also has a rich practice of budget analysis. Various organisations analyse budgets for the social sector, defence and marginalised communities. Social audits have become a new partnership between the government and the community. The first social audits were established under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Since 2005, it has been mandatory for local governments to organise social audits as part of their policy. From a social perspective, audits fit in the growing call for accountability in government service delivery (Michaels and Montfort, 2015).
Afghanistan
Civil society role
After 2001, Afghan civil society entered a new phase of operating in a more open environment, with its members receiving greater recognition from state institutions and the public. They have worked to promote civic education, as well as to advocate for legal reforms and policy issues. The importance of the media and women-led organisations, among other segments of civil society, has grown (Nemat, 2021).
Economic role
After 2001, Afghanistan experienced both significant state transformation and challenges. The Afghan context, as an arena of post-conflict reconstruction, presents an opportunity to analyse the role of civil society in humanitarian and development process. This process has assigned a role to civil society, that of service-delivery agents. The Government relied on NGOs, which have retained capacity and are the dominant service providers, particularly in Health, Education, community-development projects and Agriculture, using the government’s budget and procurement system (Ghani and Bizhan, 2009). A recent paper reveals that, Afghanistan’s economic development aid largely funded education, health, governance reforms and infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, roads and construction projects. NGOs and CSOs were at the fore of delivering essential services. One notable result in education was that many students were enrolled in school and the number jumped from 900,000 in 2001 to more than 9.5 million in 2020. Foreign aid helped build about 20,000 elementary schools, and the number of universities also grew sharply. Afghans enrolled in higher education programmes soared from 7000 in 2001 to about 200,000 in 2019. Likewise, aid increased access to health care for most of the population (Shah, 2021). According to The Asia Foundation (2010) survey, education is a high-priority area for the Afghan public and CSOs. NGOs have played critical roles as implementing partners for various government programmes, such as the NSP, National Emergency Employment Programme, the Rural Expansion of Afghan Community Health and alternative livelihood programmes, the National Rural Access Programme, health services delivery, education and other initiatives (Bryer, 2022). NGO support has been given to the Government in several forms. Charney and Danielian (2011) have discussed NGOs providing education (42%), promoting gender equality (33%), programmes for youth (23%), and promoting human rights (22%) are the principal functions of the organisations. 45% of the CSOs were engaged in education and 42% in health, sanitation and water projects followed by conflict resolution (34%), infrastructure (roads, electrification; 34%) and gender equality (31%). CSOs provide basic needs through development projects, such as bringing water and sanitation services to a community. Moreover, NGOs act as contractors to the government (Barjas, 2006).
Social role
In Afghanistan, social and ethnic networks frequently provide social roles. These include family, qaum, clan and tribe networks. Traditional forms of organisation and religious institutions have been critical. Importantly, Islam has a significant impact on society and politics. Through the collection and redistribution of zakat and usher, Islamic principles of charity, social security and resource redistribution are prescribed. Local mullahs and Ulemas are frequently involved in development programmes, mediation, and conflict resolution (Borchgrevink, 2007). Religious civil society’s ‘public communication and advocacy’ function exemplifies how these actors and institutions shape values and opinions and influence people’s actions. A mosque is a gathering place for people to share and spread information. Village organisations and shuras, in addition to formally registered NGOs and social organisations, are critical to providing social services. Following the post-2001 US-led military invasion, a vibrant environment for civil society and human rights defenders emerged. The rise of social activists advocating for the promotion of democratic values is a significant accomplishment of the last two decades. From 2014 to 2019, four nationwide mass protests took place across the country. The protests compelled the Afghan government to consider amending the Assembly Law. As a result, President Ashraf Ghani amended the Assembly Law in 2017, making it illegal for citizens to protest (European Union (EU), 2018). A new working group known as the civil society joint working group (CSJWG) was formed in recent years. There are over 1300 members spread across Afghanistan. The CSJWG is the most extensive platform for Afghan civil society groups to collaborate (Integrity Watch Afghanistan, 2021). The CSJWG’s primary mission is to mobilise Afghan civil society. Other national-level protests are being organised by various civil society groups and activists in various provinces. These demonstrations represent a greater level of unity among people from across the country who is expressing their demands for justice and peace.
Political role
Civil society is ignoring the work of mobilising people at the grassroots by providing them with tools to hold their representatives accountable and assert their rights. In this regard, some examples and good practices that various civil society groups have used to influence policy formulation and decision-making are provided. These include national CDC conferences, which allow local village and district leaders to connect with national senior government officials and other stakeholders; Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission interactions and collaborations with local civil society groups and actors, as well as provincial governance structures, in introducing human rights principles and broader democratic values; provincial planning and accountability meetings; and, finally, initiatives by women-led organisations to collaborate. Organisations use such strategies to interact with customers.
As a result of the Afghan social organisation intervention and advocacy campaign, CSOs proposed 33 positive amendments, 27 of which were accepted by the Parliament. It led to having a significant impact on state policies by advocating for change and engaging in lobyying. Furthermore, the low participation of CSOs in the national budget process is due to their limited capacity. Women’s rights organisations and CSOs are not powerful enough to influence government policies. However, progress is being made; in 2012, an agreement was signed between 30 CSOs and the National Assembly under which the Parliament agreed to allow CSO representatives to attend committee meetings. According to an independent evaluation of the DFID Programme, the ‘current role of Afghan NGOs/CSOs is more that of project implementer than defender of public accountability’ (Nawabi, 2010). Civil society’s role as a check on policy making must be addressed. Because it has no or minimal ability to hold bureaucrats and politicians accountable and demand transparency (Ali, 2009).
Afghan communities rely heavily on religious leaders, mosques and educational institutions. The religious sector of CSO serves as a ‘watchdog’ (Borchgrevink, 2007). Initiatives like social audits, citizen report cards, community scorecards and user committees have also assisted citizens in holding public administrations accountable. This is an area in which NGOs could help citizens improve their ability to demand better public services. Furthermore, youth and women’s groups are important components of Afghan civil society because they address issues that NGOs and CSOs cannot address, giving individuals fighting for better governance and a corrupt-free society a voice. At the local levels, the importance of open accountability sessions in policymaking is emphasised (Nemat and Werner, 2016). Importantly, the participation of village councils, religious leaders and the local population could aid the government in the successful implementation of projects, particularly in rural and insecure areas of the country.
Latest trends regarding CSOs/NGOs’ foreign funding
Foreign interests and influences are far greater than those that flow with the funds that support NGOs. It is well known that NGOs frequently serve as tools of foreign policy. They serve as agenda-setters and, in some cases, information providers.
India
India is fighting foreign interference with a mission. The focus is on Indian NGOs and the foreign funding they receive. The most current limitation is on foreign funds. For many NGOs, the FCRA registration or licence that allows the licensees to receive foreign contributions has either not been renewed or has been revoked. The government holds the opinion that many NGOs are not acting in the country’s best interests because foreign funding forces them to follow foreign agendas. According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, India revoked about 2000 FCRA registrations between 2018 and 2022, and in 2022, nearly 6000 NGOs lost their licences in India. Seized was their registration. According to the state has recently become rigid and oppressive. Either the NGOs did not submit renewal applications, or the home ministry declined to approve them. On that list were the organisations Oxfam and the Centre for Policy Research. Both businesses are under investigation. Foreign funding for NGOs was prohibited. According to India, Oxfam is breaking the law. This is from the home ministry of India. Where was this money going, according to the claim that Oxfam was shifting international donations to other organisations? Another instance was the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), which will be under investigation in March 2023. Due to alleged financial irregularities, its licence was once again suspended for 180 days in 2022, and it appears that these two instances are related. Here, the main argument is that NGOs must play a significant role. They can also be abused by foreign governments. Therefore, they require scrutiny.
Afghanistan
On 15 August 2021, there was a regime change in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban took control, outside help has virtually ceased. Sanctions on the Taliban leadership, a ban on bank transfers, and the freezing of billions in the nation’s foreign exchange reserves have made it difficult for Afghanistan to access international organisations and the external finances supporting its aid-dependent economy. The directive for the NGO came from the Economy Ministry on 24 December of last year. Any organisation disobeying the injunction would have its licence removed, it stated. In addition, the Taliban declared that female NGO employees operating in the nation were no longer permitted (United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHR), 2022). The action was swiftly met with harsh criticism from governments and aid agencies worldwide and put Afghanistan’s humanitarian relief mission in disarray According to official figures, about two-thirds of Afghanistan’s population – at least 28 million people – rely on humanitarian aid. NGOs, many of which employ thousands of people, provide the majority or even the majority of such support. More than half of the personnel of certain NGOs are female numerous organisations quickly stopped giving relief in the wake of the prohibition. For instance, in response to the Taliban government’s decision to forbid women from working at NGOs, Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and CARE ceased their operations in Afghanistan. During deteriorating humanitarian conditions, the three NGOs offer support and services in health, education, child protection, and nutrition (Associated Press, 2022).
However, a combination of decency and principle guided the choice. On the practical side, capacity plays a role. However, the moral side is concerned with the security and welfare of women. A little more than a month after the ban, a few NGOs have resumed a small amount of humanitarian activity, primarily in health and education, where the prohibition has been somewhat relaxed. In addition, some humanitarian efforts have been carried out by UN organisations, which have yet to be informed that they cannot hire female employees. But compared with NGOs, UN organisations provide significantly less aid in Afghanistan. Finally, authorities treat the prohibition quite differently, with some providing less help than others (David, 2023).
Discussion
Over the past 20 years, what role has civil society played in India and Afghanistan’s political, economic, and social realms? The primary focus of this study was that query. India began experimenting with integrating civil society in 1990; since then, civic groups have significantly transformed. In contrast, Afghanistan’s CSO experiment, a part of the country’s new political system, has been an essential aspect of democracy since 2004. Related issues are assessing civil society’s composition and how the government works with CSOs. The size of CSOs (NGOs, CDCs, and social organisations) registered in Afghanistan was 40,000, a far lesser number than in India. However, there are more than 3 million CSOs and social movements in India. Among the social associations of various kinds, NGOs and their dependence on foreign funds have become incredibly prominent in both states. India is no exception. The NGO part became accustomed to large funds from overseas. But, in Afghanistan’s post-conflict environment, most NGOs and CSOs depend on external funding. Another major issue was India is more skilled than Afghanistan at supporting a broad range of civil society groups.
The roles of civil society vary significantly between the two countries because of different national traditions and institutional relationships. The Indian framework for CSOs recognised a role for them in the process of service delivery, policy-making, research and implementation. Several engagement processes have been built into the governance system, such as advisory or consultative groups, policy forums and platforms. These arrangements give citizens and civil society actors a voice in the policy process. In contrast, the Afghanistan example speaks to the significance of engaging citizens and organisations in humanitarian and development schemes. Changes in political system and the introduction of several laws have provided space for civil society. This research shows that Afghanistan has policies for engagement with civil society. In practice, the rules are far from implementation due to foreigner’s interference, insecurity and internal conflict. An important inference can be drawn is that there is low political priority accorded to protecting human rights defenders in both countries. Furthermore, Social movements in India showed that the broad participation of people in mass actions expanded the space for democratic practice. Thus, People’s involvement became the core principle of the transition process, with CSOs playing a major role in creating the structures of democracy.
Table 2 gives a simplified idea of the nature and strength of civil societies.
Comparing civil society: nature, categories, factors, funding sources, relationship and challenges.
CSO: civil society organisation; NGO: non-governmental organisation.
Source: Author.
These similarities and differences suggest that both states can offer a comparative vantage point for drawing lessons on how best to engage civil society actors in multilevel governance. In Afghanistan, the state’s centralised authority has dominated the development of civil society. India also demonstrates the community’s strong influence of political parties, where citizens and civil society groups have become divided and acting for the political ends of parties. Importantly, India has continued to develop a system of engagement with CSOs, whereas in Afghanistan, civic spaces have recently been closed and have failed to achieve the desired outcomes as a result of COVID-19; subsequently, the withdrawal of foreign forces along with the political transition; and the current restrictions on women in NGOs.
Conclusion
The previous discussion of the role of civil society in India and Afghanistan may be summarised and listed as follows: first, the economic part. The study’s findings show that civil society has been dominant in delivering basic services in both situations. In India, challenges for CSOs are legitimacy, transparency and the Indianisation of NGOs. NGOs depend on government resources for their survival. In Afghanistan, the state needed to prepare to deal with both US invasion and humanitarian and development. Civil society was established to fill the gap, but is heavily dependent on foreign aid. Lack of funding, limited capacity and security concerns hamper the effectiveness of CSOs operating in Afghanistan. Moreover, in both states, NGOs have taken a more active role in development, education and health care. The legal framework is generally supportive of civil society. But, in practice, both states sometimes overstep their regulatory role and instead try to control the civic environment. Both suffer from financial conditions. Financial insecurity, insufficient capacity, and restricted civic space make the NGO segment weak service providers in both countries. Combined with the challenges mentioned above, organisations vary significantly in their size, forms, goals and resources they draw on. Civil society has relatively succeeded in playing Edwards’ economic role in the two states studied.
Second is the social role. The role of CSOs in making Indian democracy alive and participatory is noteworthy. CSOs are engaged in a broad spectrum of activities encompassing governance, advocacy, policy-making and facilitating people’s participation. The CAA-NRC-NPR protests are a particular expression of civil society in its classical role of upholding the social contract. Furthermore, civil society has a significant role in stopping majoritarian tendencies and protecting the spirit of diversity in India. However, there are important differences between the two countries. The rise of social activists in Afghanistan who support the promotion of democratic values is a significant development of the previous 20 years. During 2014–2019, four mass protests occurred across the country. In short, the working condition for civil society in Afghanistan has proved more unfavourable than in India. This severely limits civil society’s social contributions.
Third, the political role: civil society finally ensures the state’s accountability in various spheres. In India, the second decade of the 21 century witnessed rising political activity by the unorganised and non-institutionalised civil society. One illustration of how civil society can play a political role is shown in the numerous student protests that have taken place on a variety of issues. Importantly, social movements are essential actors in India’s civil life. It involves many people in several campaigns. The aim of social moments is transforming society, which they pursue by creating mass mobilisation. Likewise, CSOs have developed various tools to monitor the government’s records, for instance, audits of government projects or services. The first social audits were established under the NREGS. In Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development process, however, due to foreign involvement and internal conflict, the evidence found that the current role of Afghan NGOs/CSOs is more that of project implementer than a defender of public accountability.
Another result is detailed similarities and differences in the broad patterns of CSOs politics. More research into sectoral variations within each state will enhance our understanding of how CSOs influence state-society relations. Each has faced unique challenges as a result of their diverse experiences in civil society. In short, the lessons drawn from a study of both cases provide useful insights into social work practice for countries transitioning from authoritarianism.
Footnotes
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study is supported by Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University funding under project number (PSAU/2023/R/1444).
