ABSTRACT
Civil society is an important player in strengthening the democratic structure of the society. Civil society, often termed the third sector, is identified in coexistence with the state and the market, where all three are progressively becoming autonomous, thereby demanding more social space for maintaining equality and delivering justice for all. Within the social structure there are multiple systemic defaults, like gender discrimination, caste hierarchy, unequal access to resources, and life chances. In such complex social situations, civil society becomes the moral and ethical voice of humanity. The NGO as the face of civil society emerged through a number of social and political reform movements in India and now is an important developmental partner for the government. The Indian government recognized the important roles and potentials of NGOs to bring changes at the grassroots level and further supported their development in multiple sectors. The NGOs work through a community participatory model by adopting various right-based empowerment, advocacy and, sustainability approaches in different critical human circumstances and for development. This includes interventions to deal with poverty, unemployment, women empowerment, child care, protection, rural development, disaster intervention, refugee situations and so on. NGOs often focus on the various emerging concerns, like environment protection, promoting rural technology, strengthening affordable quality health services, financial inclusion through microfinance programs, etc. There are different specialized areas of interventions, like rights of the disabled, mentally ill, aged, trafficked women and LGBT communities where NGOs emerged as the strong voice to influence government policies and programs. The blackspots on NGOs are also a worrying factor that needs strong monitoring and firm goodwill to stop the corruption and misuse of the voluntary organizations. The chapter, with a number of examples, explains the role of NGOs in upholding justice for the masses and particularly for marginalized, disadvantaged people and communities.
