Resource person with the members of Naga Scholars Association and others during the New Year Special Talk on ‘The Troubled Biography of Civil Society’ held at School of International Studies (SIS), JNU, New Delhi on February 8. (Photo Courtesy: NSA)
Naga Scholars Association organizes New Year Special Talk
Dimapur, February 11 (MExN): The Naga Scholars Association (NSA) organized a New Year Special Talk on ‘The Troubled Biography of Civil Society’ at School of International Studies (SIS), JNU, New Delhi on February 8.
The session started with a welcome address by Dr. Zuchamo Yanthan, president of NSA who also highlighted the different activities of NSA and what the association stands for. The session was chaired by Prof. Gulshan Sachdeva, Jean Monnet Chair and Director, Europe Area Studies Programme, School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Eminent Political Scientist Prof. Neera Chandhoke was the resource person. She is also the National Fellow at the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and was Professor of Political Science at the University of Delhi.
Prof Chandhoke gave an in-depth analysis on the origin and the importance of civil society in contemporary times. She traced the history of civil society way back to history of Eastern Europe. She said civil society first developed in Scotland in the 18th century when Scotland became a commercial power. Scottish people are very proud of their culture and civilization. The Scottish has developed a culture of debate and discussion which later on gave birth to civil society. Scottish philosopher Adam Smith said ‘civil society means quality of civility’. Civil society also means sense of polite, civilized something that is aesthetically developed.
Prof. Chandhoke stated that civil society does mean engagement with the political but it is away from the state. The objective of civil society associations is not to overtake the state power or to compete with the ruling power but to safeguard the constitution for larger good of the society. When a society develops a culture of debate, the outcome will be always fruitful as debates can also be on good citizenship and how citizens can live a good life ethically, culturally and aesthetically.
She further elaborated how civil society developed in India in the 19th century and early 20th century as function of freedom struggle and more importantly from the social reform movements on issue relating to caste discrimination and other social issues.
She stated that “Civil society is important not only for democracy but also for good life”. She argued that it is civil society which monitors government activities which lead to restraints on the abuses of the state. In this context, she highlighted how the Indian civil society today is under stress due to public space is being reduced since it highlights human rights issues in Northeast, Kashmir, etc. Despite this constraint, she pointed out that civil society played a great role in Northeast because it mediated political situations and highlighted broader social security concerns.
She further opined that civil society not only provide space for dialogue and debate but also promote the good life as talked by Socrates. She argued that for a good civil society, it should have two faces-one face toward government and one toward itself. She concluded by stating that we can have a good state when we have an active civil society that guards and pressurizes government/state for functioning effectively. She also stated that the most important challenge today in India is finding a way on how people who speaks different languages, believe in different religions and belonged to different communities can live together in harmony enhancing our diversity.
The session was very well summarised and coordinated by the chair Prof. Gulshan Sachdeva. The special talk was followed by discussions and a questions and answers session. It ended with a vote of thanks by Dr. Lungthuiyang Riamei, General Secretary, NSA.
This was stated in a press release issued by Dr. Caroline Maninee, Joint Secretary, NSA.
