Seminar : Civil Society and Democracy in North East India
Last Date : 24th July 2014

National Seminar
Civil Society and Democracy in North East India
Department of Political Science,
Indira Gandhi National Tribal University,
Regional Campus, Manipur
Adimjati Complex, Chingmeirong, Imphal

CALL FOR PAPERS

Concept Note:

Civil society in North East India is a contested space deeply embedded in ethnic identity. This is largely because the state had maintained firm control over politics, economy and society, leaving little space for democracy and market economy. Indeed the idea of democracy is also limited in the sense that it is often relegated to electoral politics. Democracy must be based on autonomous and voluntary institutions and associations so that it would bring individuals into social and political participation who would act as social fortifications for guarding human rights and the rule of law. In the Western world, the emergence of market economy had considerably depoliticized bureaucratic structures and its institutions. The neo-liberal economic policies further added a congenial atmosphere for the smooth functioning of civil society. North East India, being a state controlled economy leaves little space for public participation in social, political and economic activities. Besides, the multiple existence of various ethnic groups aggravated a situation where the concern of civil society is formulated in the interest of the ethnic community.

The classical usage of the term ‘civil society’ is often identified with the state. The modern idea of civil society emerged in the Scottish and Continental Enlightenment of the 18th century. In the wake of the Industrial Revolution, thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment, such as David Hume, Adam Ferguson and Adam Smith developed the influential theory of political economy in which the processes of economy are governed by laws of their own and must be kept free from the control of the state. This new thinking reflected changing economic realities: the rise of private property, market competition, and the bourgeoisie.

Modern society, for Hegel, consists of three separate domains: family, civil society and state. Hegel was the first thinker to clearly define the term civil society. Civil society in the Hegelian sense is the sphere of pursuit of private or sectional interests in an open market. It is based on the principle of unrestrained individual egoism. In the Marxist literature, state is neither independent of nor neutral towards civil society but deeply embedded in civil society. In the 20th century, Gramsci enriched the concept of civil society retaining Marx’s idea of class war. In Gramsci’s formulation, the dominance of the ruling classes is not maintained solely on the basis of their control of the coercive apparatus of the state, but also by acquiring dominant intellectual and moral leadership in civil society.

In the current debate, civil society is based in the broad sense that includes organizations and associations that exist outside of the state. It refers to a set of institutions and associations which are public, voluntary, and independent from authority. The traditional forms of association such as tribes, ethnic groups and kinship are also accommodated as they have come to occupy a central position in the use of the term ‘civil society’. In some sense, ethnic based civil society organizations are not voluntaristic but constraining and compulsory social associations which imposed hierarchical and binding authority on individuals.

The individuals in this case have no freedom in the association or organization. Therefore, civil society organizations are considered as hot-blooded association of social groupings, which are based on ethnic interest or on religious mobilization by conceiving the idea that they are assimilated coercively. However, the ethnic based civil society organizations maintained a condition of civility, the acceptance of differences and commitment to peaceful procedures for managing conflict.

The ability of civil society to prevent the state from exercising absolute control is an essential condition. In North East India, the state does not favour the expansion of civil societies because the interaction between state and civil society often results in a compromise at the cost of the ruling elite. The interaction of the state with civil society in fact is necessary for the smooth functioning of the democratic system. However, the state often tries to charge the leaders of civil societies identifying and branding them as anti-social. This results violent activities of civil societies in response to the authoritarian nature of the state.

The subordination of the individual to the ethnic group is also a common feature in North East India. This is hindering in the democratic experiment and particularly in evolving a genuine civil society. In the Western liberal democracy, individual identity forms the citizens of the state. Therefore, associational life based on common interest is formed and in fact it reinforced the smooth working of democracy. The issue at stake is that in North East India, the ethnic based civil society organizations are not entirely free from their group loyalties and identities. Therefore, the idea of individuals as citizens and members of a political community, and partners in governance with the state became a distant reality. The proposed seminar will broadly discuss civil society and democracy in North East India with the following sub-themes:
o Civil and political society
o Contestation in civil society
o Civil society and state
o Civil society and democracy
o Civil society and ethnic conflict
o Civil society and governance
o Civil society and armed conflict
o Civil society and separatist movement
o Civil society and citizens
o Civil society and market
o NB: Specific case studies of different ethnic groups relating to the issues of civil society-like civil society as mediator in conflict, intervention in the programmes and policies of government are welcome.

Important Dates:

Date and Venue of the Seminar:
5th & 6th August, 2014 -Conference Hall,
Indira Gandhi National Tribal University,
Regional Campus, Manipur
Adimjati Complex, Chingmeirong, Imphal

Submission deadline for abstract of 300-500 words: 24th July 2014

Submission deadline for full papers: 2nd August, 2014

For more information, and submission of abstract and full papers, please write to: [email protected]

[Seminar Coordinator]
Dr. Soihiamlung Dangmei
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
&
Coordinator,
Department of Tribal Studies
Indira Gandhi National Tribal University
Regional Campus, Manipur