State and civil society

The state has the job of managing diversity. But a state can also become insulated from the people, out of touch, and even authoritarian.

An authoritarian state is one where people have no voice and the rulers are not accountable. It limits civil liberties:

• freedom of speech and of the press;
• freedom of political activity (forming parties, protesting);
• due process: protection from arbitrary arrest, the right to a fair trial.

(India experienced this during the Emergency of 1975–77.)

Civil society is the check on this. It is the public sphere of voluntary groups that lies outside the family, the state and the market. It includes:

• political parties and trade unions;
• the media;
• NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and citizens' groups;
• religious and cultural organisations, and social movements.

Civil society groups take up issues such as land rights, violence against women, displacement by development projects, housing and education.

The Right to Information campaign is a powerful example. It began in rural Rajasthan, where the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) demanded that villagers be allowed to see official records of spending on local works and wages. Public hearings exposed money stolen by officials. The campaign spread across India and led to the Right to Information Act, 2005, which lets any citizen ask for information from a public authority.

The lesson: active citizens can hold the state to account.