Anthropologist and NGO: Roles and Engagement

 Role and Engagements of Anthropologists in NGOs

 

NGO is described as a non-profit organization that operates independently of any government, typically one whose purpose is to address social or political issues. this is a subgroup of organizations founded by citizens, which includes clubs and associations which provide services to its members and others. Confusingly, “non-governmental organization” is often used interchangeably with related overlapping terms such as “voluntary organization,” “non-profit organization,” “third- sector organization,” and “community-based organization.” Each term possesses a distinctive origin and history, often embedded within different geographical and cultural contexts. 

The abbreviation “NGO” is a by-product of the creation of the United Nations system as a club of governments in 1945, and was originally intended to designate non-governmental observers of UN processes. However, the term NGO was not commonly used until the 1980s when NGOs, as well as the idea of the NGO, suddenly rose to prominence. This ascendancy took place within the broad reshaping of Western economic and social policies along lines that were informed by neoliberal ideology, and more narrowly within the formalized world of the international development industry. It was here that the so-called “good governance” agenda emerged, generated by agencies such as the World Bank, within which NGOs were elevated as flexible agents of both democratization and service delivery. A dominant strand within neoliberalism’s privatization agenda came to emphasize an ideology of “non-govern mentalism” that increasingly favoured secular, professionalized NGOs as private market-based actors in development and wider public policy implementation in both “developing” and “developed” country contexts (Lewis 2005).

ROLE OF ANTHROPOLOGISTS  IN  NGOs:

Generally there are three types of anthropological interaction with NGOs:

(1)    Direct  anthropological interest in NGOs as increasingly important social and political actors;

(2)    The  utility of studying NGOs as useful “portals” to other issues; and

(3)    The methodological issues generated by the ways in which anthropologists become involved with “their” NGOs in the field.

Applied anthropology was a third area of early engagement between anthropologists and NGOs. The work of “applied” anthropologists engaged in community development brought contact with NGOs, as the latter became more prominent actors in the development field from the 1960s onward. Some applied anthropologists recognized that “private voluntary organizations” were important players in local development processes. NGOs, community organizations, and local associations could serve as useful connectors for anthropologists pursuing applied agendas. As Ward Goodenough (1963) put it, anthropologists could help activists and practitioners engaged in community development to build on local organizational practices and structures through provision of a solid anthropological understanding of “cultural, social and psychological processes” (378). This was certainly the forerunner to the NGOs’ mantra of “obtaining local knowledge” before starting a project. Activist forms of applied anthropology also aimed to influence outcomes, with anthropologists campaigning in favour of marginalized communities and groups (such as the engaged anthropology of Sol Tax [Stapp 2012]).

There are certain anthropological skills with is required within an anthropologists to survive in a NGO setting like,

1.      Participatory approach in methodology

2.      Cultural relativism views

3.      Anthropologists multicultural stands

4.      Anthropologists’ neutral position of observing and analysing data

5.      Humanistic perspectives; and

6.      The adaptive nature of anthropologists and many more

Specific points to be noted regarding the significance of anthropologists in a NGO set up:

1.      Anthropologists works as the bridge makers whenever a society issue has to transferred from local level into a national level in NGOs.

2.     Anthropologists are found to be the best ones to build networks in different funding agencies and others.

3.     NGOs play important roles as navigational tools during fieldwork

4.     The field of NGOs offers anthropologists a terrain upon which the boundaries between applied and pure work can continue to be questioned. Feminist scholarship has long explored such tensions, as some of the arguments within Grewal and Bernal’s (2014) Theorizing NGOs collection suggests.

Initially  NGOs does not need any anthropologist specifically but when they come across to the work pattern of an anthropologists they become surprised and keep motivating themselves.

Engagement of anthropologists with NGOs:

There are many critique, collaboration, and conflict that have characterized the encounter between anthropologists and NGOs. The idea of the NGO (along with the idea of civil society, the third-sector idea, and all the rest) as progressive, or as an authentic voice, remains contentious. Some scholars view the NGO as a policy instrument for undesirable forms of neo-liberal restructuring, while others see it as a potential or actual site of resistance. Within first-generation studies by anthropologists, NGOs were primarily seen as but an instrument of development policy and practice, and there was a pronounced tendency for anthropologists to engage more readily with social movements as representatives of subaltern groups.

Anthropologists have continued to engage and shift emphases across at least three inter-related parts of a complex landscape: NGOs approached as a subject in their own right, as portals into wider social processes, or as analogues that reflect back to the anthropologist a set of theoretical, practical, and methodological issues that have the potential both to discomfort and illuminate. Each has shifted as NGOs have grown increasingly important as social and political actors, replacing earlier functionalist approaches with a period of sustained distanced critique, to the contemporary focus on “NGO-ing” as a category of practice that serves as the foundation for the second- generation studies that we have identified. Regardless of which perspective one takes, it is clear that NGOs constitute to be a rich area for continuing anthropological work. The engagements between anthropologists and NGOs that have taken place in the field, with all their entanglements, may offer potentially useful space and opportunity not only for methodological reflection but also for the reframing of the anthropology as an engaged, relevant discipline.

So, the NGOs can be seen as a wing or extension unit for anthropological knowledge. NGOs are the vehicle to plan globalization power in local setting. It provides the mindset to understand the importance of landscape in change. And most importantly the second generation of NGOs which begins by 2000s, which are technically known as the generation of Aid-ethnography, includes the organizational practices and the life goals of the people who work in the NGO as well as the neoliberal architecture of Aid system. In this regard, 5 NGOs have been identified and a comparative chart has been prepared to document their  functioning in social welfare activity.

COMPARATIVE LIST OF 5 NGOs AND THEIR ROLE IN SOCIAL WELFARE:

SL No.	Name of the NGO	BIKASH	CMIG	IBRAD	ASPIRE	MUKTI
1	Full NAME	Bikash	Calcutta Metropolitan Institute Of Gerontology	Indian Institute of Bio-social Research and Development	Anthropological Society of Participation in Intensive & Indigenous Research for Empowerment	MUKTI
2	MOTO	Help Them Hope, Help Them Cope	Our Strength is our Commitment	Human Understanding for Sustainable Development	Connecting and Empowering  the variegated-us	Let Us Serve the Needy
3	LOGO
4	FOUNDER NAME	SASTHI GORAI	Dr. Indrani chakravarty	Professor S. B. Roy (Chairman)	V. Amuthavalluvan	Sankar Halder,  President,
5	WEB-SITE	www.bikashngo.org	www.cmig.in	www.ibradindia.org	www.asppireanthro.com	www.muktiweb.org
6	CONTACT	+91 3242 243 199 / 243 891	+91(033) 2370 1437, +91 94321 22222	66210320/310, 2711-6330, 9903873762, 9836363701	+919443659762	33 24625544
7	Email	kbs.bankura.2009@gmail.com	cmig@rediffmail.com	info@ibradindia.org	aspire.pdy@gmail.com	info@muktiweb.org
8	ADDRESS OF HEADQUARTER	P.O. Kenduadihi, District: Bankura - 722102,West Bengal, India	E-1, Sopan  Kutir,53B, Dr. S.C. Banerjee Road,Kolkata – 700 010	Prafulla Kanan, Kestopur (JL-17),VIP Road, Kolkata – 700 101	#48, 4th Cross, Ashokan Street, Nethaji Nagar – 1, Ouppalam, Pondicherry – 605001, India.	22 Canal Side Road Garia, Kolkata - 700084
9	MISSION AND VISION	Empower women and children and bring about holistic development in the community. The long term aim of BIKASH is to establish the rights of women and children within their communities and to enable them to gain access to a better quality of life.	Our mission is to transform the ageing experience in the society, amongst the aged and the policy makers.	Understanding the Socio- Ecological Process of A Landscape and Demonstrate Models of Participatory Biodiversity Management for Sustainable Development In The Context of Climate Change through Action Research, Training and Impact Assessment.	It has been registered for the purpose of  (1)popularizing the discipline; Anthropology,  (2)creating a network among Anthropologists at national & international level,  (3)laying pavement for unemployed anthropologists to get opportunities, (4) enhancing additional training for young anthropologists and etc.	To work as HEALER for our society in the area of health, education, agriculture, livelihood, environment and rights. To engage largest number of volunteers to create grassroots level socio-economic development organization that contributes in sustainable development of people in need.
10	NETWORK
11	BENIFICIARIS	Women and Children	Old Aged People	Tribal Communities	Young Anthropologists	General public
12	FUNDING AGANCIES	National agencies	National Agencies	National Agencies	NO FUNDING YET	National Agencies
13	Awards and Recognitions	1. Received “Jugal Sreemal” Excellence Award for Child Welfare in 1998 conferred by Nehru Children’s Museum, Kolkata. 2.  Received State Award for Best Women SHG of Girls with Disabilities in 2010, Government of West Bengal. 3.  Received State Award for Empowerment of PWD’s in 2013 from Government of West Bengal. 4.  Received Swami Nityananda Memorial Award for Nara Narayan Seva in 2016 from Ramakrishna Mission, Barrakpore. 5.  Received Special Award from NABARD for Women SHG of Girls with Disabilities in 2014.	Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment Government of India conferred the Vayoshreshtha Samman, 2006 for Institute of Knowledge to Dr. Indrani Chakravarty Founder Director, Calcutta Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology (CMIG) at New Delhi, 2006 for generating and spreading knowledge  in the Field of Ageing.	It had signed with MoU It had organised Winter School 2016-Interculture Education for the Students of University of Milan Bicocca Collaborated Workshop with Nicholas Clifford Workshop on "Challenges in Developing Methodology for Understanding Environment issue in the context of Climate Change" And also organised Workshop on Women Empowerment and Logical Framework  for a project was conducted by Dr. Patrick Kilby of Australian National University at IBRAD Office Kolkata on 6th February, 2016 for the project staff of IBRAD.	It has  have made representation to various governments departments and elected representatives regarding recruit anthropologists in governmental departments and created opportunities to anthropologists to serve anthropological knowledge. •In Pondicherry ASPIRE  has served as a government consultant for the department of SC, ST and OBC. •In Goal programme recently initiated by ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India,  ASPIRE supported them and tried to include more anthropologists as mentor. And last but not the least, •It has given representation to central government regarding commence the study about the DNT, DNC and NT.	1.Mukti President Mr. Sankar Halder awarded True Legends 2018 by The Telegraph in association with National Insurance Company 2.  IBC Star of Asia Award 3. Vivek Sanman Award 2015 4. MUKTI Farmer Pintu Purkait Received Krishi Ratna Award
14	ROLE OF ANTHROPOLOGISTS	Anthropologists can engage with the holistic perspective of the development and empowerment of the women and children with this organization. All the perspectives that an anthropologists carry with them will enhance the ability and supremacy of the developmental works.	This NGO need a special knowledge on Gerontology which is the special part of applied anthropological branch. With the mixture of anthropological and gerontological knowledge anthropologists can imply developmental activities with respect to the perspectives of old age members of our society.	As the name itself suggesting bio-social research, anthropologists can engage with this NGO for the development activities for the tribal or caste societies with respect to the bio-social and relativistic approach used by the anthropologists. This kind of development is all that is needed to imply through this NGO.	This NGO is specially for the young  anthropologists  to give them employment  opportunities in different government or non-government sector, even within this NGO itself need students of anthropology the fulfilment of their aims to develop the subject matter in our  nation and also to engage with collaborative projects  internationally.	For the sustainable developmental anthropological knowledge is always needed.  The aims of the Mukti is spread from human health to human right which all can be dealt by the anthropological knowledge. The subject itself is so wider that any student can manage any project related works in the NGO for the development of people.
15	ROLE AS AN INTERMEDIATORY, AS A 3RD SECTOR	Bikash engaged from many dimensions to woman and children. They take voluntarily help from students and scholar, take funding from various national or local agencies and help public to solve various social issues  with special emphasis on child health, labour related issues, educational issues and also do work for development and empowerment of women by providing them various training opportunities and also protests for women violence.	This organisation work as the support system of the old age people by providing them residential, health check-up, food, training for small industrial works and other enjoyment facilities. The organisation is funded by government or non-governmental sectors along with various projects on gerontology related issues.  They work for those projects and the funding are used for the above mentioned facilities to provide to the old aged people.	It works among the rural and especially  tribal population of India in bio-social perspective. The organisation works under various projects implemented by the government or non-government or sectors  for rural villages. Volunteers of IBRAD works with Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) method of data collection and analysis before implementing any project work in the concerned are. Thus their role is in between the rural people and the funding or project organizing agency.	Initially ASPIRE was specifically founded for the students and scholars of Anthropology, later on many other social scientific field were added at volunteer level. This organisation seeks funds from national and international sectors for the development of the subject matter of anthropology itself and then it aims to provide the employment  opportunity to those unemployed anthropologists in various government and non-government departments of India.For the NGO it aims to organise different developmental project works for the tribal people in India from the funding received.	Mukti seeks funding for the carry out of its tasks. For the office expenses and to bear the renumeration to the volunteers it asks for donation from people and fund from various national agencies.  They work for the people in respect to the health, education of the child, agriculture and human right related issues and try to collaborate with the main sector or department of the project to accomplish the developmental activity on the particular area. Community focused works also done by Mukti in special reference to women and children of tribal communities.