Back to resources

Charge of the compassionate brigade

Civil Society | Jan 26, 2012

Modern society is classified into different segments. First you have the state, as represented by elected officials and lawmakers, politicians, ministers, bureaucrats and other organs of the state. Then there are the commercial bodies — companies, chambers of commerce and other market players.
The third segment (there is a fourth, the underworld and the mafia, but let’s not talk about it) is civil society, comprising “the arena, outside of the family, the state, and the market where people associate to advance common interests,” a definition coined by Civicus, the World Alliance for Citizen Participation.

View PDF

More like this

Civil Society

IIMB Round Table: Business and Development

Businesses now contribute to development through avenues other than the generation of employment and economic growth, such as corporate social responsibility initiatives, corporate accountability movements and alternative business models, using several partnership formats to deliver. A panel with representatives from leading corporations, NGOs, and a public sector bank discussed the changing nature of corporate power, […]
Aug 7, 2010 |

Societal Thinking  |  Civil Society

Rohini's address at "Building India's Digital Highways: The Potential of Open Digital Ecosystems"

This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s talk on Open Digital Ecosystems. Globally, as well as in India, we are seeing more people realising that we need to create enabling infrastructure if we really want to address some of society’s most critical and complex problems. We need to reduce the friction to collaborate between […]
Aug 27, 2020 |

Climate & Biodiversity  |  Civil Society  |  Others

The World This Week - Children's Magazine

Rohini Nilekani is the Founder-Chairperson of Arghyam, a foundation she set up for sustainable water and sanitation, which funds initiatives all across India. From 2004 to 2014, she was Founder-Chairperson and chief funder of Pratham Books, a non-profit children’s publisher that reached millions of children during her tenure. She has written several books for young children, published […]
Jul 6, 2021 |

Strategic Philanthropy  |  Civil Society  |  Others

During the pandemic, we learned how Samaaj, Sarkaar and Bazaar work together in a crisis: Rohini Nilekani

This year marks 30 years since philanthropist-author Rohini Nilekani started her journey in civic engagement. She started with Nagarik, a public charitable trust, in 1992 and is now the Chairperson of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and Director of EkStep, a non-profit education platform. She is the Co-founder and Former Chairperson of Arghyam, a foundation she set […]
Aug 23, 2022 |