Abstract
Can civil society speak truth to power in Indian democracy? This article considers some questions regarding the process through which civil society conducts policy advocacy in the Indian context. Taking civil society basically to mean medium and large NGOs, the article raises some pertinent questions such as when does civil society matter. Can civil society influence public policy? If so how does it do it? When does it fail? What are the areas in which it can influence policy? What are the areas in which it fails to make any impact? We suggest that in attempting to advocate policies to the state, that is, in attempting to speak truth to power, civil society – even when defined as NGOs – does a quintessential political act of engaging the state.
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