by Harinder Boparai

If our readers will like to get involved with Nishkam they can either contact the organization directly or contact Mr. Gangadharan (Canada) and Ms. Boparai. Harinder Boparai wrote the paper toward partial fulfillment of the requirements of PIA 2526, Micropolitics: NGOs, Development and Civil Society.-- Editor

Preface

This paper will examine and assess the performance of Nishkam, which is a non-government, non-profit organization. Located in New Delhi, Niskam was formed to provide relief and rehabilitation to widows and orphaned children, who became victims of a wave of political and communal frenzy after the assassination of Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, in November 1984.

Why Nishkam came into being? After the reprisals, Sikhs felt that there was no prompt and effective action taken by the Indian government for the welfare of the victims. This generated a feeling of mistrust and an urgent need was felt to provide relief and rehabilitation to the victims of violence.

During India’s struggle for independence, Sikhs had traditionally aligned with Hindus (Gupta 1996:49). However, the assassination of Mrs. Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards, ‘Operation Blue Star’ (see end notes), and militant activities of the secessionist movement had brought bad repute to the Sikh community. Many well-intentioned moderate Sikhs came to believe that there was a need to repair the tarnished image of the community as a whole. Thus, Nishkam was conceived after June 1984 to serve the needy irrespective of ethnicity, class or religious affiliation. But it could not become operational due to logistical problems.

The political violence of November 1984 triggered its inception in an informal way. Initially, Nishkam started as a small relief-providing community organization formed by six dedicated individuals targeting a very specific population with a very specific objective. It depended on internal resources for its very simple operations. Over time it developed into a more complex operation, filling the gap created by the Indian government’s inaction in providing services, and empowering women and children. Whether it has contributed towards development, or has improved the plight of the beneficiaries, and thus, has become a part of the civil society will be seen later in the paper.

Socio-political background

India is a vast and an extraordinarily unique country with a cultural mosaic of people embracing a prodigious diversity of ethnic groups, religions, languages, customs, and traditions. There exist 15 distinct languages, more than 300 minor languages, and 3000 dialects. All the major religions are represented. Hindus constitute 82% of India’s population, while Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Jews, and Parsis are some of the religious minorities, some not even representing 2% of the total population. Politically, India has professed to be a secular state since its independence in 1947, and remained constitutionally committed to respect and uphold religious convictions of all those who reside within its territorial limits. In the light of this very unique background, it will be interesting to see Nishkam’s philosophy in action.

Nishkam and its Philosophy

It is pertinent to understand some of the principles of Sikhism, which are the driving force behind Nishkam. Sikhism came as the third reformatory movement of Hinduism some five hundred years ago. Some of the very basic tenets of Sikhism mandate the sharing of ones income (wand ke chhakna), selfless service (Nishkam), welfare of everyone (sarbat da bhla), above all, working for one’s living (hath di kirt khao implies, “Do not beg”). Every Sikh is directed to give one tenth of his/her income for the benefit of others or charity. Community service is considered equivalent to Dharma. This is a way of life prescribed for a Sikh and these values are inculcated from the very childhood as part of religious teachings. The tenth Guru also directed the Sikhs to be democratic (Ape guru ape chela) in all decision-making. Against this backdrop the performance of Nishkam as a non-government organization will be evaluated.

Formalizing Nishkam as an NGO

An idea of a welfare organization for the service of all, irrespective of any ethnicity or religious affiliation, had already been conceived by a group of six devout and dedicated Sikhs. It had a two-fold purpose: to serve the needy; and to repair the tarnished image of the Sikh in the community. The modalities were still being worked out when November 1984 incidents occurred. Thousands of Sikhs were killed in the streets of Delhi. As a result of these happenings, the six met and decided to formalize the organization in order to receive donations, which were pouring in, and to start the relief work immediately.

Introduction

An NGO, narrowly defined in the words of Nogueira (1997:169), is an organization “whose role it is to foster grassroots groups so that they may acquire mastery over their situation, greater autonomy in their behavior, and greater control over their initiatives, projects and institutions, thus serving as a vehicle for the transfer of knowledge, technologies and resources”.

There have been no systematic and major studies which might have recorded uniform developmental methodologies for the evolution of NGOs or which might have found an acceptable standard for a successful NGO, or might have written a prescription for an ideal size at which a non-government organization might perform with optimum results. Jeffrey Avina (1993: 453) maintains that the implementation methodologies applied by NGOs is varied and range of approaches extends from the very traditional relief models to more social-movement oriented strategies.

In Nogueira’s words it would be “rash to venture a general characterization of non-governmental organizations. Their diversity in nature, objectives, fields of action and methodologies means that, if they are treated as a homogeneous group, the risk is run of making a few trivial, superficial statements.” (1993:170). In the absence of any standards to go by, a model has to be created based on various recommendations, in principle, of development writers and experiences of other NGOs against which to measure the performance of Nishkam, the NGO under study. The approach followed will be to evolve a set of criteria against which Nishkam will be critically analyzed and assessed. However, due to the logistics problems of distance from, and diversity of the country, and dearth of independent information about the organization, and keeping in mind the socio-political uniqueness of the place, a very simple and basic model will be considered for the purpose.

Emergence or Creation of an NGO?

Generally, there are two ways of an NGO coming into existence. An NGO may emerge through self-generation and may be internally financed in the initial stages; or an NGO may be created with external financial, conceptual or technical support (Avina 1993: 456). The former is likely to be small in size with well-defined specific objectives pertaining to immediate needs of the community and may depend on the resource capacity of the surrounding community.

The latter, an externally created NGO, is likely to be large with financial capacity to expand rapidly. It may import a well-developed organizational model and may come with notions to serve locally conceived needs. It may be absolutely alien in its conceptual and/or organizational modus operandi or it may choose to build on the already existing NGO in the community it plans to target. These two categories reflect two opposing decision-making and operational methodologies: bottom up and top down. From the evolutionary and planning perspectives, the self-generating NGO may be considered to have evolved through the learning process and the externally-created NGO as a consequence of the blue print approach (Korten 1980:496-500 generally).

Nature and Scope of an NGO

What goals an NGO sets out to achieve will determine its character and scope. A relief providing organization reaches a scene of disaster to alleviate the sufferings of famine stricken or flood or cyclone hit people, in which case, the NGO is there for a short time with a specific target of distributing food and supplies. Its mission and scope is limited to immediate relief. It may wind up after achieving its objective. Alternatively, it may put its experience and knowledge to use and expand its objectives and operations to keep serving the community. That would change its character and scope. On the basis of mission and scope, NGO may be classified as:

A single NGO may have all the goals put together in its agenda right from the beginning giving it a wider scope. Such an NGO will, most likely, be an externally created NGO. However, a self-generating or a community-based NGO may evolve to be a social change initiator going through all the other stages over a passage of time. This it will achieve through the learning process based on its accumulative experience.

Generally, self-generating NGOs may stop short of making any social-change as it may bring them into conflict with governments, unless their objectives include bringing about policy change through advocacy or more subtle ways of influencing government policies and societal attitudes (BRAC). Initially, on the organizational front, the community based NGO may operate successfully with less sophisticated administrative methods by just following basic concepts of responsibility and dedication to its cause (Nishkam, to be seen). Accountability may not be a serious issue while the organization is still young as the community members participate in its management at the horizontal /“flat” level with the organizers. However, it will not be possible for a top down externally created and funded large NGO to function without accountability. So there are some basic differences between these two types of NGOs.

Both categories may not fit one single model, as there can be no universality of design. In order to critically examine Nishkam, it is imperative that a model with parameters ideally suited to a locally emerged “organic” NGO be created.

It will be appropriate to briefly mention here that the self-generating NGOs may have a religious or secular basis, which may touch upon the issue of having legitimacy. The question is having legitimacy with whom? Will legitimacy depend upon the relations with the government, the stake holders, the beneficiaries or the general population?

In a secular state, the government may not have any problems with any of the religious groups legitimately setting up any kind of operations for the benefit of a particularly targeted population or for the service of general public (see end notes). However, the credibility of such an organization becomes suspect and may come under attack from public or other organizations, religious or non-religious, damaging the credibility of the NGO. Such an association with a particular religious group may not serve to remove mistrust and suspicion and “may be seen as a means of partisan recruitment or be accused of taking an instrumental character that is of no benefit to the grassroots organization” (Nogueira 1987: 171). However, such a religious basis is not per se a disqualification for a successful NGO.

Recommended Model for a Successful Self-emerging NGO

Narrowing down the recommendations for a tentatively ideal model for self-generating non-government organization, certain salient features can be commonly attributed to them. These are:

As to form:

A Catalytic Agent -The basic criteria for a community-based self generating NGO is the leadership of the outfit. There must be a single dynamic and charismatic leader with a vision who is capable of mobilizing individual potential into social capital; or there must be a group of dedicated individuals committed to a shared common cause; or there must be an ideal - religious or nationalistic. Any of these can act as a catalytic agent to energize the social potential of the community. The vision of F.H. Abed (BRAC Project, Bangladesh), and dynamism of Verghese Kurein (NDDB, India) translated indigenous efforts into success stories. Equally legendary successful efforts of the Christian missionaries are well recognized the world over for their zeal and dedication to a cause or an ideal.

Small Is Beautiful -(Schumacher 1976, 1997: generally) Small is not only beautiful but functional, pragmatic and manageable, too. Smaller the size of the NGO better it is to focus on the real objective of the project, which can be as broad as the community needs. It will have more of centripetal force to keep the project together. It will give more opportunity to the organization to build on its accumulative experience and even make mistakes without fear of earth-shattering consequences. Small size of the organization does not preclude expansion but gives the NGO confidence and much needed time to acquire expertise for exploring new vistas in the future.

In 1946, Tribhuvandas Patel formed the Anand Milk Producers’ Union Limited in Gujrat, India, with a membership of only 432 farmers. They worked under the cooperative scheme which was responsive to their own needs. Later, this provided an incentive and a blue print for Kurein to set up and expand the operations of the National Dairy Development Board of India in 1965 (Korten, 1980: 486). Small size at inception can be a precursor of any category of a successful NGO.

Flexibility -Rigidity, which usually is the feature of a large pre-planned NGO, may not auger well with the needs of a community. A local NGO will be better off starting with the immediate need of the community and targeting that need. However, the NGO must have the perception and foresight that once original need is satisfied it may have to move on to the next phase or the next demand. Society is dynamic, so is the community as a component of the society.

A community keeps developing and its needs change with time and circumstances. To have a perfect fit with the beneficiaries’ needs, and to achieve optimum results at all times the NGO must be flexible. Too structured a format will not give the NGO serving a small community any place to maneuver. Consequently, the NGO will become stagnant and redundant. Example of BRAC proves the point. BRAC started as a modest relief organization and kept changing and adjusting to the needs of the people, which have kept them in business long after they accomplished their initial task, and utilizing what it had learnt from its experience as a relief provider. (Lovell 1992: generally)

As to strategies:

For a small-sized community-rooted NGO, its attitude and management style are the most important aspects for its success. It must adopt certain strategies relating to its various actions and functions.

Targeting Clients - In a given community, an NGO must be able to define its target; which means it must be able to lay down a criteria as to who will be its beneficiaries. Following this strategy, the NGO will be able to conserve its resources and efforts to put them where they are most needed. Bogus claims to help will, thus, be weeded out and the most deserving of help will get attention. How the NGO should target its clients is a matter of modality, which can be modified according to circumstances. BRAC’s informal way of gathering information about “the poorest of the poor” has proved to be very effective method of targeting its clients. The targeting strategy will also give the NGO an opportunity to review its focus, target new constituencies, find new needs to address, and diversify into new directions.

Strategic Planning --Strategic planning is a route map for an NGO to its destination. The organization must know where it is coming from and where it is going. Invariably, an “organic” NGO starts up with the potential of its community, which might be varied, but may not be of sufficient standard to sustain it for its expansion. To meet all the ever-changing needs of its targeted community, the NGO has to keep building its institutional capacity, and keep learning from its accumulative experience. This can only be achieved by periodically training its staff and pool of volunteers. It may be imparted as in-house training by seasoned workers and organizers of the NGO. It may also send out its new as well as the old staff for refresher courses or as resident-interns with other successful NGOs.

How much money budgeted is to be for such activities and how much time is to be devoted will depend upon the nature and need of a particular NGO. Yet another part of the strategic planning must be self-assessment. No matter how many various projects an NGO takes up, the institutional ideology essentially remains the same. Each project is a small part of the bigger picture. Evaluating each component will be periodic self-examination of the NGO. As Nogueira observes that “project assessment can provide a fundamental contribution in the stages in which the institution’s ideology is being consolidated and those capacities for analysis, reflection and learning are being built up” (Nogueira 1987: 175) with this approach.

Resource Generation Strategy - It is quite likely that a community-based NGO has a well defined set of donors, may it be congregation, community, businesses or charities. Their support may be continuous, yet to maintain the constant flow of funds and increase the donor domain, resource generation strategy must be devised. NGO must follow two-prong strategy - outreach and income generation. Outreach may involve demonstrations of their work and marketing (BRAC); and income generation may involve various kinds of income-generating activities depending upon the nature and scope of the NGO (BRAC). It may sell its services or goods, but at the same time, it must not loose its financial base in the community. Dependency on large external donors may cost the grassroots NGO its autonomy and freedom. Careful dealing with the external donors may be an option provided NGO is able to retain its individuality and purpose (BRAC).

Consolidation of Activities - Once an NGO has accomplished its initial objective effectively it may expand beyond that goal. Korten’s (1980: 499-501) ‘golden 3-e’s rule is an excellent guide for any NGO to follow. If self-assessment and consolidation show that the NGO has been effective and efficient, it will be an indication to expand. A relief-provider NGO may turn into a service-provider, income generating community venture, an agent of empowerment or social change initiator provided it has effectively and efficiently implemented its earlier projects. But before expansion, the NGO must take stock of its human, physical, and financial resources. Scaling out without consolidation for a small community-based organization of limited resources may lead to inefficiency, financial crisis, and ultimate failure.

The above are some of the very basic characteristics, which a self generating community NGO must have for functioning successfully.

Nishkam, non-Profit non-Government Organization - How it all started?

Nishkam emerged as a small community-based organization for the sole objective of providing relief to more than two thousand five hundred destitute women and children after the political and communal frenzy in 1984 in and around Delhi. It was conceived by a handful of like-minded people of the Sikh community who believed in the basic principle of selfless service of the needy. The first relief efforts started by helping the families of Sultanpuri, Mangolpuri and Tilak Vihar, Delhi (1984/85), the areas heavily hit by violence. Initially, activities were based in Delhi and Ismailpur (Haryana), just outside Delhi. Later, various projects were extended to Amritsar, and Kharar near Chandigarh (Punjab).

After relief activities were over, Nishkam realized that the beneficiaries must be made self-reliant. Sewing and knitting training-cum-production centers were set up to impart skills to the widows. The purpose of these centers was three-fold: to impart skills, to bring the grieving women together to share their grief, and to sell finished goods in order to generate income.

Majority of the women and parents were from low-income, lower middle-class, and those who had lost most of their belongings due to disturbances. Their children were not enrolled in schools for fear of reprisals. Adult Education Program at Ismailpur was initiated. Among those enrolled were adults especially women who had some formal education but no skills and no school leaving diplomas or certificates. Free tutorial classes were started in two rented rooms in March 1985 to cater to their needs and these were held in low-income heavily populated area of Delhi and around. People other than the victims of 1984 started availing the opportunity by attending these classes. Eventually, attendance grew to over five hundred with about thirty part-time teachers, who helped assist students prepare for various examinations.

Most of these teachers were either volunteers or were paid honorarium only. By now Nishkam started realizing that its clientele base was broadening and they could no longer confine activities to a particular group. Moreover the initial objective of providing relief to widows was achieved. There was need to expand and utilize the accumulative experience for the changing needs of the community. Henceforth the focus changed from selfless service of the Sikh community to selfless service for all, in line with the Sikh principle of Sarbat da bhala (welfare of mankind).

Nishkam - Activities and Projects

A brief overview of the activities in a simplified form can be instructive.

Relief

i. Provisions for doors and windows of destroyed Jhuggies in Mangolpuri and Sultanpuri, Delhi, (1985);

ii. Fans for flats allotted to widows of Tilak Vihar, Sangam Park, Raghubir Nagar etc., Delhi, (1985). About 900 flats were provided with amenities by Nishkam;

iii. Clothes, beddings, utensils, rations, seeds, fertilizers, and stationary to flood victims in Punjab (1988);

iv. Relief provided for earthquake victims in Autarchies;

v. Uniforms, books and stationary for needy children (an on-going exercise).

Service

i. Medical aid for widows, children, and the old affected by the 1984 violence (1984-85);

ii. Tutorial classes for Afghan refugee children. Nishkam placed 300 such children in schools collaborating with other NGOs. Currently there are 550 students under the tutelage of 26 part time teachers;

iii. Placement of Nishkam trained skilled women with garment factories, other businesses, and private employers;

iv. Tutorial classes for homework and after-school activities (music, sports, moral teachings) for all needy children;

v. Charitable X-Ray and Polyclinic-cum-Diagnostic center (1988-93);

vi. Mata Gujari Old Age Home cum Orphanage at Khanpur, district Kharar (Punjab). Mutual living for the old and the orphan - an experimental project (1991-93);

vii. Two charitable homeopathic dispensaries at Sarojini Nagar and Tagore Garden in New Delhi (1994);

Income Generation

i. Sewing and Knitting training-cum- production centers. Whatever women produce is sold through the stalls owned and run by Sikh Gurudwaras (temples) in Delhi;

ii. Medical treatment is free or subsidized according to income but charged from those who can pay;

iii. X-Ray and Diagnostic services are provided on the same principle;

iv. Mata Gujari Old Age Home/Orphanage is run on the same basis. Old people who come from affluent background but need care and company pay Rs.1150 each, the rest are either subsidized or free as the case may be. However, orphans live and board free of charge but share the responsibility of running the facility.

Empowerment

i. Sewing and knitting training cum Production Center (1985). Things made here are sold to generate income in addition to empowering women;

ii. Music Coaching Center (1985): First batch of trainees appeared for examinations in 1987-88. A total of 276 candidates have appeared so far at different levels. Two hundred received basic knowledge of music, seventy-six passed a 2-year Diploma, thirty-eight a 4-year Senior Diploma and nine students passed a 6-year Degree. Six graduates have been gainfully employed as music teachers in other schools;

iii. Typing and Shorthand (1988): Currently 225 students are being trained;

iv. A computer training center with eight computers is currently (1992) training fifty students;

v. Adult Education for women and children, who could not attend school otherwise, at various locations in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. Hundred widows have already graduated and ninety are currently enrolled;

vi. Typing and Shorthand (1988): Currently 225 students are being trained;

Social Change

From the overview of activities and projects it looks like Nishkam has not directly worked with or complimented government projects. A Nishkam Sewadar (volunteer worker) in an e-mail interview (Kulvinder Singh: 9 April 1999) admits that “ so far there has been no chance for collaboration with State or Central government”, and he felt that Nishkam may have to work with the Punjab Government on its pilot project, “Value And Vocation Based Education In Punjab”. Neither has there been heavy involvement with other NGOs.

However, Nishkam has indirectly helped place Afghan refugee children in scholls with the assistance of other NGOs. In addition, Nishkam also provides certain services to NGOs on educational matters. Some of the social activities involving Nishkam is moral teaching, awareness of drug and alcohol abuse, and after-school extra-curricular activities. One of the organization’s objectives is to impart well-rounded education, which is based on the belief that “education is not merely a means of material acquisition, but primarily a medium of self-improvement - culturally, morally and intellectually.” (ref. Nishkam web site: http://www.rpi.edu/~anandh/NISHKAM).

Nishkam also grants scholarships on merit to children who lead exemplary life, that is, who do not smoke, are alcohol and drug free, and are not promiscuous. Some of the ways Nishkam is contributing toward social change is by interacting with the society directly. Nishkam is leery of interacting with governments because of cumbersome procedures involved in trying to influence government policies. It is also providing an “arena”, accessible and naturally available to people to learn the basic democratic principles by getting involved with the running of the organization.

Some Insight Into Nishkam’s Inner Working

From the informational letter received from Dr. J.S Nanra, President of Nishkam, and other available accounts, a few deductions can be made about Nishkam’s working. Firstly, that there is a well-established strategy that Nishkam follows to target “the neediest of the needy” (my emphasis). The essential corollary of this process is finding the erstwhile beneficiaries who are now capable of paying the subsidized rates for services by reimbursing the cost of services according to their ability to pay. Nishkam claims that this practice builds self-confidence and dignity by weaning the beneficiary away from total support. It is based on the Sikh principle of Kirat kar ke khao (earn your living through honest labor). It also generates income for the organization. At this stage the beneficiary becomes a stake- holder and participates in the NGO projects.

Secondly, specific trust funds or special accounts are set up by the individual donors and/or by Nishkam, for separate projects. These accounts are not intermingled. Generally, specifically donated funds are not diverted from one project to the other, but if temporary diversion become necessary it is done later.

Thirdly, the field workers survey grassroots needs and submit their recommendations to appropriate committees for action. A number of committees have been constituted for planning and execution of need based projects.

Fourthly, a pool of dedicated volunteers, administrators, accountants and other support staff is available for old and new projects. Incredibly, most of the staff, known as sewadars (volunteers) participates in the running and management of Nishkam. However, some teachers are paid nominally and others get honorarium just to off set their expenses of commuting. Sometimes experts, such as doctors, lawyers or economists are invited to serve on various managing boards in order to get the benefit of their advice. All these are honorary positions.

Fifthly, Nishkam extends interest-free loans to help the needy in setting up small self-sustaining businesses. Giving of lump some money for setting up of repair shops for scooters or bicycles, or for sewing machines for home enterprise, or for fertilizers and seeds for farmers hit by natural calamities are some of the examples.

From these deductions it is quite evident that Nishkam has all the basic features of a successful self-generating grassroots NGO in the making. It is equally clear that there are some loose ends yet to be tied together. The write up from the web site does not mention anything about its organizational capacity. Either Nishkam does not feel it important to share its organizational experience with others, or it does not have a well-developed systematic organizational blue print or it does not have the ability to lay out its operations. Whatever be the case, this seems to be Nishkam’s weakness. This weakness may be attributed to the fact that most of the sewadars are voluntary workers, holding full time jobs and engaging in businesses elsewhere, and to regulate such pool has its own logistics problems.

No doubt Nishkam has come a long way utilizing the learning process approach and drawing its strength from the participatory approach. It has built on its accumulative experiences, consequently, scaling out and expanding its scope and objectives, too. It is already halfway through with its newest pilot project of “Value and Vocation Based Education In Punjab”.

Moreover, Nishkam is also looking far ahead into the future when the widows, who were the main reason why Nishkam started, are old and retired. They will be accommodated in the Mata Gujari Old Age Home being completed near Chandigarh, Punjab. In the initial stages, Nishkam only served the widows of the Sikh community and their families in Delhi and its environs. Subsequently, it opened up its services for the needy irrespective of caste, creed, color, or sex. Finally, in addition to Delhi, Nishkam has extended its operations to Punjab and Haryana.

Nishkam has had no relationship with the Central and State governments. Admittedly, Nishkam has stayed away due to difficulties of bureaucratic time consuming processes of dealing with governments. However, it has collaborated with other religious and charitable non-government organizations on relief projects. It also provides services of tutorial classes in some orphanages.

Assessing Nishkam - Has It Passed The Test?

There is paucity of information on Nishkam. The information has been collected from different web sites, and most of it are claims made by Nishkam. In spite of the best efforts to put pieces of the puzzle together, no independent confirmation could be made. Although attempts made to interview Nishkam organizers and staff via e-mail have borne fruit in shedding some light on the organization’s working, yet it is not enough for a thorough analysis of its inner organization. At best we can go on the assumption that the claims made by Nishkam are true. Whatever assessment we make will be by reconstructing its nature, scope, organizational approach and capacity, and the future course on the basis of accounts gathered from the internet and the e-mail interviews.

The performance of an NGO can be measured in two ways: i by the traditional way of measuring its performance based on two principles - legitimacy, and accountability; ii. the more recent qualitative approach of measuring the impact of the NGO’s activities on its beneficiaries. In the present case, the new paradigm is more appropriate.

Briefly, let us review Nishkam’s attributes according to the criteria set earlier for a tentatively successful grassroots NGO. Nishkam emerged as a very small organization due to religious and selfless zeal of dedicated cadre of sewadars (volunteers). Limited funds for only specific and immediate needs for relief were available. Relief activities were carried out from a temporary, makeshift site set up in a verandah among the poor and needy of the community. Limited human resources were utilized to its optimal capacity.

Nishkam claims that it gave relief materials to 900 widows and their families, which accounts for almost one third of the total displaced in the communal violence. Overview of Nishkam activities suggests flexibility. Wherever a new need was felt in the community, Nishkam moved into that area. After achieving the initial-goal, Nishkam felt that the needs of the displaced people were not limited to food, clothes or just a few amenities for overcoming the short-term discomfort. Children needed education and placement in schools and, women needed skills and sustenance. Medium and long term projects were started for children’s education, and training of the widows in skills like sewing, typing and shorthand as well as tutorial classes for the semi-literate adults to make them financially viable and independent.

Looking at the chronological sequence of projects of Nishkam in the overview given above, at times, responsiveness to the community needs seems rather quick. One would have liked to see the projects implementation process in place, but the complete understanding can be fully had by observing the organization in action in the field. However the successful placement of children in government and community schools and widows and women in various jobs shows Nishkam’s impact. It is evident of successfully launching and running of each of its subsequent projects.

Due to its flexibility, Nishkam soon developed from being only a relief-provider to a service-provider and an empowering agent. The latest information received as a result of an e-mail interview with the President of Nishkam reveals that a new project, “Value and Vocation Based Education in Punjab” is being designed. The need was felt due to a slide down of the educational standards in Punjab because of cut-backs in educational government funding, incompetence of school teachers, political interference in administrative functions of schools, general corruption, and indifference on the part of certain segments of the society in maintaining the standards (Dr. J.S. Nanra, President Nishkam: 7th April, 1999 ). Nishkam’s achievements were due to its small size and a pool of dedicated people who were flexible enough to quickly adapt to the ever changing needs of the community.

Nishkam’s strategies vis-a-viz targeting, planning, resource generation and consolidation seem to be working fairly well. Needless to say that there is a handicap to fully evaluate these strategies due to its young age and distance from the organization, and lack of other independent studies on Nishkam. However, reading between the lines, Nishkam seems to have very effectively grasped the importance of targeting its clients and their needs. From President Dr. Nanra’s report on The “Value and Vocation” project the process of targeting is very clear and well established. Applications from the needy were invited, which was followed by a team of Sewadars who did detailed field studies to verify these claims. Reports with recommendations to set up a pilot project were submitted to Nishkam. These reports were placed before its branch committee at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab. This university works in coordination with a citizens’ group, Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle, Ludhiana, Punjab.

Nishkam’s greatest strength is its permanent resource base of devout Sikhs who believe in the principle of daswan dasaund (meaning, one-tenth) of their income to be shared with the needy or given to charities. This is a constant flow of funds. In addition, Nishkam lobbies businesses and private individual donors - local and foreign - as resource generation targets. This strategy seems to be working as can be seen from the existence of various trust funds created for different projects later in the End Notes of this paper. However, Nishkam has never approached any international organization for donations as it claims that it does not have the knowledge, contacts and the expertise.

Since its inception Nishkam has consolidated some field locations to a more central place in Delhi. Some facilities, which were scattered in various locations operating from rented flats, have been relocated to the five-storied complex in Tilak Vihar, Delhi. This shows institutional development only of infrastructure and facilities. Not much can be said about human resource development without actual interaction with and independent study of Nishkam. Sewadar Kulvinder Singh confirms that “there is no big hierarchy of organizers, administrators and staff”. All the categories put together may be classified into “part time honorary sewadars and full time sewadars, who are paid some honorarium” (Kulvinder Singh: 9th April 1999). From the foregoing it appears like that Nishkam has the feel of the basic strategies of successfully running a small community-based NGO but all these strategies are not yet well-polished and fully developed.

Nishkam and Civil Society

The overall contribution of Nishkam can be judged from how far Nishkam has successfully filled the gap left by the government in discharging its duties towards its citizens. Doing so, has Nishkam become a part of the civil society? If so, in what dimension - spacial, functional or/and normative?

First, what is civil society of which we think Nishkam is a part? The concept of civil society is an abstract one. It is better understood in terms of its existence in space, its purpose and its functions. Civil society occupies a certain space between the state and the individual or the household where its activities are concentrated. “Civil society is a multifaceted phenomenon, for it includes activities - and social networks associated therewith - of a highly varied sort. Whenever people combine in one fashion or another, to pursue common objectives, civil society manifests itself” ( Hadenius and Uggla 1996: 1621).

Spacially, civil society can take up the void left by a government’s dereliction or neglect of its people. Functionally, it can extend its dimensions to bring about social change by directly or indirectly affecting government policies, consequently impacting the society. Here an NGO can be changing the moral values of the society for the better. From the aim and the scope of its activities, the study of Nishkam has shown us that, undoubtedly, it has and is accomplishing the tasks normally would be performed by governments.

The relief and rehabilitation of victims of the 1984 violence, and those who generally needed help due to their vulnerable economic and social status relate to the welfare function of the state. After having rehabilitated beneficiaries, Nishkam decided to shift some of the responsibility of running the organization to its beneficiaries, thus putting financial burden - to the extent of their ability - teaching them the moral fortitude to face hardships and responsibility, and finally giving them education in basic principles of democracy and work ethics.

Nishkam's contribution on the normative dimension of a civil society lies in its giving incentives to the youth to live a moral personal life. Nishkam sets examples through the integrity and honesty of its sewadars, and their work ethics. This aspect is also manifested in Nishkam practicing the basic Sikh principles rationally and pragmatically rather than preaching them emotionally and dogmatically. The popular rather than the sectional appeal of some of the basic principles of Sikhism through its practices have given Nishkam credibility with the general public. This is what the organization had aimed.

Conclusion

Nishkam’s appropriate choice of ‘secular’ directions of the Sikh gurus galvanized the community together. The commitment of the founding members and the sewadars attracted more of the participatory support from people. Starting as a small organization with a specific objective of and commitment to relief work for the “neediest of needy” reminds us of BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee). Like BRAC, Nishkam did not have a blue print but emerged as the need arose in the community. Community gravitated towards the organization; and Nishkam exploited the social capital to the community’s advantage. It progressed through different stages building on its accumulative experience based on the learning process approach. Most importantly, in the words of one sewadar, realizing that they “do make mistakes and own them”; and learning from them.

The founding members are still with the organization giving it guidance and continuity of purpose. There are no top-down mandates to hinder the working. Obviously, Nishkam is performing very well on the principle of perfect fit of society’s needs with the organization’s capacity or vice versa. No doubt, the organization does not have sophisticated and well thought out organizational and administrative system. Nor does it follow any professional marketing techniques to win financial support from big donors at home and abroad. However, all this might be working to Nishkam’s advantage. Credit goes to Nishkam for not letting the donors dictate terms for their donations. At best, the organization gives several options to the donors (see end notes). Alternatively, Nishkam may strengthen its weaker aspect of capacity building. It is still a young organization, well rooted in the community, and going through the pains of growing up. If the commitment remains and its work ethics are maintained, Nishkam has a surer way to success in achieving its goals as a community-based NGO.

END NOTES

¹ Operation Bluestar: In June 1984 Operation Bluestar was launched by the Indian Army to flush out separatist who were functioning from the Golden Temple. Their leader was killed along with estimated 400 pilgrims who had gathered to celebrate the martyrdom of their fifth guru. The temple was extensively damaged. Sikhs were enraged and October 1984 Mrs. Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards. This led to reprisals in countless killings of Sikhs in Delhi and elsewhere throughout India.

² Hundreds of organizations belonging to various religious denominations exist in India. They run schools, colleges, hospitals and Ashrams, (care-taking facilities/shelters). Christian Missions have a long history of charitable and developmental work along with their missionary objective in the country. However, Nishkam’s focus seems to be somewhat different. From its activities it does not seem to belong to a typical religious category of organizations as there is no evidence of missionary aspect in its activities. All of Nishkam’s activities relate to social issues rather than religious teachings.

³ A donor wanted to buy an equipment worth Rs. 50,000 in his father’s memory. Nishkam gave him a few options. After visiting some facilities, he realized that a Semi-Auto Analyser in the Medical Center was not working well. He finally donated Rs. 135,000 for the same.

⁴ Some Relief Funds that Nishkam operates:

i. Ajit Relief Fund: created by a Punjabi newspaper;

ii. Indian Express Relief Fund: created by an English newspaper;

iii. Talent Search and Support Program: a corpus created by several individuals. The donations are continuously added sometimes perpetual scholarships are created to be awarded from this corpus; Rs. 300,000

iv.Greater New York Committee created a corpus fund, in the memory of one sewadar killed in a car accident, with six perpetual scholarships coming out of it. Rs 90,000. These are just a few to name for some insight in Nishkam’s financial status and viability.

⁵ NDDB: India’s Dairy National Development Board. Started in 1947 with eight village cooperatives formed by 432 members of the farmers’ union. Kurien Verghese turned it into a national venture. It is often cited as an example of the potentials of cooperative organization in the Third World.

⁶ BRAC: Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee formed by Mr. F.H Abed in early 1972. It started as a modest relief effort to resettle refugees after the war of partition with Pakistan. Now it is considered to be the ideal grassroots model in the development field.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

¹ Dipanker Gupta (1996), The Context of Ethnicity: Sikh Identity in a Comparative Setting. Oxford University Press, Walton Street, Oxford OX2 6DP.

² Roberto Martinez Nogueira (1987), “Life Cycle and Learning in Grassroots Development Organizations," World Development (Supplement), Vol. 15, pp 169-77

³ Jeffery Avina (1993), “The evolutionary life cycle of non-governmental development organization”, Public Administration and Development, Vol. 13, 453-477.

⁴ Dr. Ernst Friedrich Schumacher, Small is beautiful: affordable space missions for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific, U.N. [ Bankok: ESCAP Regional Space Applications Programme (RESAP) ], c. 1997

⁵ Catherine H. Lovell (1992), Breaking the Cycle of Poverty: The BRAC Strategy, Kumarian Press, Inc., Oakwood Avenue, West Hartford,Connecticut, USA. (Custom Course Materials Prepared by Michele Garrity for PIA 2526 Micropolitics: NGOs, Development & Civil Society being the course offered by her at the Graduate School of Private and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.).

⁶ David C. Korten (September/October 1980), “Community Organization and Rural Development: A Learning Process Approach”, Public Administration Review, pp.480-511.

⁷ David C. Korten (1984), “Rural Development Programming: The Learning Process Approach”, People Centerd Development: Contributions Toward Theory And Planning Frameworks, pp. 169-188 Korten and Klause (ed). Kumarian Press, 29 Bishop Road, West Hartford, Connecticut, USA.