Conceptualizing NGO-State Relations in Karnataka:Conflict and Collaboration amidst Organizational Diversity

This paper maps the organizational diversity of the NGO sector in Karnataka, a “middle order state” (Vyasulu, 1995), and demonstrates that conceptualizing NGO actions vis-à-vis the state dichotomously—either as a close collaboration or as a conflictual, oppositional force—is problematic. The second section of the paper maps the NGO sector in Karnataka, which closely follows all-India patterns with some significant differences. One important difference being the active involvement of the state in the initiation of a range of NGOs along with the support of external donors and corporate entities. This section also describes NGO-state contact in some cases to illustrate the coexistence of collaborative and conflictual relations. The paper concludes by making the point that capturing the organizational diversity of the NGO sector, and understanding the uneasy, complicated nature of NGO-state relations are key to understanding the possibilities that exist for a pragmatic, progressive NGO politics.