Indifference in our public spaces
Photo Credit: Manjeet Bawa
When it comes to a key sign of our interest in community - the amount we give in charity - we Indians are among the most tightfisted in the world. The US has long been the most generous in terms of per capita donations and charity work; our giving on the other hand, pales next to Indonesia, Thailand, and most other Asian countries.
Its not just our poverty that constrains us - its also our attitudes towards giving. “We don’t see as much concern among Indians for their broader community,” Rama Bijapurkar, my friend, colleague and market researcher told me, “What people say when we survey them is, ‘I’ll give money to my family if they need it, maybe my maid, but why should I give my money to someone I don’t even know?’” The exception is when calamity strikes - like the tsunami.
Its probably no surprise that we lack a sense of responsibility beyond our circles of family and acquaintances. We only have to look at the lack of outrage in our collapsing public infrastructure, schools and cities - rather than confront these problems, we have retreated into gated communities, private schools and even private security.
But people also respond to their environment, and much of our apathy comes because the state is itself apathetic. When governments are indifferent about the poor and about public welfare, citizens feel that there is little difference they can make on a personal level. Corrupt and indifferent bureaucracies and governments are difficult for citizens to change - its easier to retreat.
Are there signs that this is changing? One hope I see is in the rise of NGOs and civil activists who have in the past decade and a half, actually managed to jolt public policy awake in areas such as transparency of government, education and infrastructure. Madhav Chavan, the founder of Pratham comes to mind, as does Trilochan Sastry, who has helped make disclosures by legislators on their criminal records and finances much more transparent, and Shailesh Gandhi, the RTI activist who has recently been appointed the Central Information Commissioner.
Another trigger ( I hope) for growing community and social interest is the Indian government’s rising dependence on direct taxes for its revenues - income taxes paid by individuals. India’s revenues became more than 50% direct taxes (rather than indirect collections) for the first time ever in 2007-08. With the amount each of us contributes to the government kitty growing, we may become more conscious about where and how this money is being spent, and demand more accountability from the state. And we might start having a greater voice, and also concern, for public programs and the public sphere.
Tags: charity, social activism
March 6th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Quote:
But people also respond to their environment, and much of our apathy comes because the state is itself apathetic. When governments are indifferent about the poor and about public welfare, citizens feel that there is little difference they can make on a personal level. Corrupt and indifferent bureaucracies and governments are difficult for citizens to change - its easier to retreat.
Could not agree more. Not a single state in India seem to be people oriented and drive home the point. I mean though we call Gujurat, Tamilnadu, Delhi etc. states to be ahead in terms of goverance - while comparing them with the developed world, we are so far behind.
March 17th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
[...] Imagining Bharat » Blog Archive » Indifference in our open spaces [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
I strongly oppose this statement of projecting india negatively in terms of charity.. i have commented in other blogs regarding this issue, and now sharing the same..
1. There is sea of difference in the way charity is perceived in west and east.. we refer it as seva, where helping should be without any expectation and only to eligible persons..
2. Most of the service works are done in unorganised way, in india.. whereas in US, due to rampant corporatisation, each donations had been documented..
Because there is no documentation of charity works doesnt mean, there is no charity ( i mean seva) in india..
3. Charity in western nations are motivated by the zeal to convert and mostly carried over by missionaries.. whereas in india, there is no such zeal, and hence charity is done only to those who are in need..
4. India was sucked out for more than 200 years, and brought down from richest nation to utter poverty.. after independance, due to socialism by the congress, we did not progress till 1990’s.. so, its only the past 18 years, that we are actually developing..
How can we expect a poor country to match the amount of charity of western nations?
Also, does all western charity really meant for genuine cause? as i said earlier, a majority of such donations were meant for religious conversion, which undermines the very purpose of charity..
NGO’s and CSR’s of corporates are not the only entities doing charity in india.. each and every family is itself has imbibed a sense of service hood, probably in a different way..
While we can advocate for increased participation of social work from present generation, its really unfortunate that for each and every thing, we are comparing ourselves with the west..