Need an ombudsman for civil society

The last nine months have seen scam after scam come to the fore. There was the CWG scam, the 2G scam, the Adarsh Scam in Maharashtra, the Karnataka land scam, and, these are just the scams at the national level. None of us would be terribly surprised if equally outrageous scams come tumbling out of the states’ closets. Along with the scams, the period has been also been rife with personal attacks, charges, counter-charges, allegations, rumours, innuendos, planted news, leaked tapes, and reports. And that is just what is visible to the public eye. Just when you think it can’t get worse — it does.

The confidence of the people in politicians and the system is taking punch after punch, with no respite. And for punch drunk citizens, there is no one left in the public sphere — the government, the opposition, elected representatives, judiciary, armed forces, media, —who isn’t compromised in terms of integrity. The BJP, the Congress, the SP, the BSP, the DMK, the AIDMK, the NCP, the MNS — kya choice hai, sirjee? And these are the do-you-prefer-typhoid-to-cholera kind of choices.

If you look at the political sphere, what we see are politicians at various levels. None of them got there by being pushovers or being nice. They got to where ever they are through focus, drive and ruthlessness.  In effect, they are the first amongst the equally ruthless. Most of us are fairly sure that the politician at the top has got there by climbing over others less able or ruthless than them. It is this ruthlessness for which parties select them.

In contrast, there is civil society - that is made up of ‘people like us’. They are middle-class, honest, committed, articulate, passionate, care deeply about India and her problems. They have done something that we are unable to; they have put aside their lives and their ambitions for India. They have given up on their imported cars and their seven-digit salaries to fight for truth, justice and a better India.

But what is civil society? While the term suggests a homogenous group of people with similar interests, the reality is different. Civil society is a number of individuals and groups with their own varied agenda, often in competition with each other, at other times at odds with each other. It tends to mean one of two things - the first is high-profile celebrities who take a stand on a variety of issues, if not all of them. The second is NGOs, or non-governmental agencies.

The former allow for the ‘glam’ factor for a drab event but often end up contradicting themselves. As an exercise, you may want to look at all the celebrities who supported Anna Hazare and map them against those who opposed government action on Lavasa (catalysed by Anna Hazare’s protest against the construction). The latter are organisations that undertake work in various areas — from poverty alleviation to illiteracy, from gender issues to environmental concerns. They have different views on the causes and solutions of the socio-economic problems that face a region or even the country. This diverse group of people, with differing ideologies, are collectively called civil society.

In the last five years or so, these organisations are making greater inroads into policy and the workings of the government. It began with the National Advisory Council (NAC) — headed by Sonia Gandhi — recommending policies and legislation to the government. These include NREGA, RTI and RTE.  It continues with India Against Corruption (IAC) nominating ‘civil society’ representatives to frame the Jan Lokpal bill in conjunction with the government, much to the ire of the rest of ‘civil society’.

All the people in the NAC and the IAC are exceedingly well meaning, well intentioned and incredibly capable. But, despite their qualifications, they are not accountable to the electorate of India. They are accountable to the organisations or interests that they represent. We cannot penalise them for an error in judgement the way we can our elected representatives.
So, with civil society organisations of all hues and shades — from religious and cultural organisations to policy think tanks, from social activists to system watchdogs becoming greater contributors in running of the state, is it time they were brought under an ombudsman? Who funds them, what are their goals? How do they plan to achieve these goals? After all, if they claim to represent us, that is the least we should know.