While acknowledging the fact that many of the larger NGOs have done phenomenal work in public welfare, a social activist in Chennai has said the motives behind the initiatives of some of them in the country have become questionable.
A Chennai-based social activist, Mr. N S Venkataraman, while acknowledging the fact that many of the larger NGOs have done phenomenal work in public welfare, the motives behind the initiatives of some of them in the country have become questionable.
Mr Venkatraman was initiating a discussion on rights, responsibilities and accountability of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) at the Chennai Chapter of Observer Research Foundation on June 13.
Mr Venkatraman referred to the NGOs like Greenpeace and Ford Foundation, whose activities and accountability have come under the Government of India’s scanner recently.
He broadly classified the NGOs into two categories, on the basis of ’size’ and portfolio(s). He appreciated the unassuming welfare services carried out by the small NGOs, and cited instances where such contributions go seldom recgonised. These NGOs also include several individuals who genuinely carry out philanthropic activities like aiding differently-abled people for their education and employment with purely service motive and without seeking any publicity or having some hidden agenda.
On the other hand, some big NGOs/international NGOs function like corporate entities, with state of the art offices and are adequately funded from foreign sources. Many of these big NGOs may have other hidden agendas behind their philanthropic services such as promoting political motives, foreign interest, anti-national activities, religious conversions and at times money-laundering.
Promising platforms
Lately, some NGOs have become promising platforms for many political aspirants who use NGO activism to gain entry into the public spotlight. Some of these big multinational NGOs like Greenpeace and Ford foundation have resorted to activism hindering projects and development initiatives of national importance, rather than carrying out actual philanthropic work, Mr. Venkatraman said.
He cited the anti-nuclear activism at the Russian-aided Kudamkulam power project in Tamil Nadu, where politically-inspired methods for attracting crowds were said to have been adopted. Some corporate, he said, also used NGOs as a means of effective and economic way of publicizing their product and corporate brands. He quoted the example of a corporate which had organized an award ceremony for differently-abled youth to facilitate and support their achievements and career. The event got adequate media coverage, but the corporate did not live up to the promise of providing the promised job to an award-winner, as that was not on their original scheme at all.
The role of media was also briefly discussed as they have crucial role to play in the promotion of many of these fake NGOs. The irony is that these NGOs are not transparent, regarding their funds, operations and expenses, even while demanding transparency from the government and other entities.
Mr Venkatraman concluded the talk by stating that the NGOs themselves should be subjected to the ’Right to Information Act (RTI), a tool that these organisations use against governmental bodies to extract information.
(This report is prepared by Vignesh, R)
The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.
PREV
