Back to resources

CSOs: Mirrors, not just handmaidens

Civil Society | Jul 5, 2022

When a government limits the freedom of NGOs to criticize, as seems to be happening now, it prevents them from doing what it needs them to do. The world over, it is understood that civil society organizations (CSOs) provide checks and balances to counter the unbridled power of the state and any abuse of that power.

View PDF

More like this

Strategic Philanthropy  |  Civil Society

My Philanthropic Journey: How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Embrace Failure

This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani in conversation with Vidya Shah, Chairperson & CEO, EdelGive Foundation at EDGE 2020. They discuss Rohini’s insights from her philanthropic journey over the years. My work in philanthropy spans different spaces, from groundwater and sanitation, early learning, social justice and governance, to the arts. I have portfolios […]
Jul 5, 2022 |

Strategic Philanthropy  |  Civil Society  |  Societal Thinking

Closing Keynote | Strategic Non-Profit Management India | 2019

This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s closing keynote address delivered to the 2019 class of the Strategic Non-Profit Management – India offered developed in conjunction with the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative and offered in association with the Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy at Ashoka University. I think we are at a fairly […]
Jul 5, 2022 | Speech

Societal Thinking  |  Strategic Philanthropy  |  Civil Society

Trust is the Absolute Foundation of Any Partnership: Q&A with Rohini Nilekani

Rohini Nilekani is a fierce believer in the power of being an active, participatory citizen. She quips that her friends could get irritated with her Gandhigiri, as she went about picking up waste which people had thrown on the road or requested people to stand in line at bus stops right from her childhood days. Today, […]
Jul 5, 2022 |

Civil Society

A Quest to Balance State, Society, Market

In the memory of such social sector professionals and volunteers, we have to rededicate ourselves to the work of supporting and sustaining a resilient samaaj. What better time than this current moment? On April 24, one more life came to a premature end. Civil society lost yet another leader. Prem Kumar Varma died in Delhi […]
Jul 5, 2022 |