Abstract
Abstract As COVID-19 spread through India, Civil Society Organizations (CSO)s mobilized resources to support the efforts of the Government by playing the role of an active partner in providing social and economic welfare to the affected population. This paper aims to provide a concise overview of the response of civil society to the pandemic situation at the grassroots and policy level. Further, the authors discuss the paradox in demonstrated efficiency and commitment of civil society, which follows a crackdown on civil society organizations by the state through silencing voices of dissent and regulating the shrinking civic space. The strained relationship between the government and civil society organizations in India is also examined against the backdrop of draconian legislation and policies framed during the time of COVID-19, proscribing debate, review or consultations. In the context of the pandemic and the subsequent phase of recovery, such actions of the Government will have deleterious effects on the relationship of trust between civil society and the state. Through this paper, the authors argue for a more tolerant and co-operative approach to the functions of civil society organizations by the Government, thus effectively reducing mistrust and suspicion in the intentions of the state.
Highlights
In the last week of December 2019, the first case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 was detected in Wuhan province of China
As COVID-19 spread through India, Civil Society Organizations (CSO)s mobilized resources to support the efforts of the Government by playing the role of an active partner in providing social and economic welfare to the affected population
Operating within the purview of two authorities during times of emergency, it is imperative that the analyses of civil society response to the pandemic not be viewed in isolation with regard to COVID-19 firefighting alone, but as a broad spectrum of mitigation measures aimed at tackling the disparaging effects of multiple calamities
Summary
In the last week of December 2019, the first case of SARS-CoV-2 (re-named as COVID-19) was detected in Wuhan province of China. The first case of COVID-19 infection was reported from India in late January 2020 after an Indian student, who had travelled from Wuhan tested positive. Given the recent history of ‘love-hate’, cooperation and contestation between the state and civil society, new aspects of the dynamic became manifest during the past six months. The paper analyses this complex relationship between civil society and Indian state during the period of the pandemic since March 2020
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