Civil Society - January 2020

In this issue

Widespread opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and plans for a proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) is reason enough not to implement them. The government would do well to withdraw the CAA and drop the idea of an NRC.
Neither can work without popular support and to thrust them on states would not work and would weaken the very spirit of federalism on which the country’s governance is based.
As we go to press with this issue of the magazine, there have been five days of protests of the kind that we haven’t witnessed for some years since the India Against Corruption movement. The people coming out range from ordinary folk to film stars — all of whom are clearly distressed over the possibility of India losing its secular identity. The CAA is an example of how laws don’t necessarily reflect what people want even when passed by majorities in both houses of parliament. The tendency to clamp down on students is counterproductive. The brutal assault on Jamia Millia Islamia’s students in their library and toilets has shocked the nation.
Apar Gupta of the Internet Freedom Foundation tells us what is wrong with the draft Data Protection Bill that has been presented by the government. How our personal data is accessed and used should be a matter of concern to us all. Gupta is a lawyer and an activist in the digital space.
Cities interest this magazine hugely. In Kolkata we learn how its traffic problem was sorted out and in Chandigarh the mayor tells us about his determination to get rid of a garbage hill.
Our Business section features a company making biodegradable plates and cutlery, an enormously useful business given the urban problem of dealing with waste. New-age businesses make our lives better and we take a keen interest in them wherever we find them. So it is in Goa we have come across a young company which has turned walks into an enterprise thereby offering visitors and locals alike new insights into Goa's heritage and way of life.

Civil Society Magazine Description:

Civil Society is an independent magazine published from New Delhi.

It was launched in September 2003 to tell stories of change from across the chaotic landscape of post-reforms India.

A newly growing economy has winners and losers — as journalists we wanted to tell the stories of those who were making it and as well as those who were getting left behind.

In the past 15 years, Civil Society has come to be known for its refreshing style of covering people, events and trends. We are credited with redefining mainstream concerns in the Indian media.

Civil Society's reportage has brought to national attention individuals and groups who play leadership roles and drive change but get overlooked. We have shown that there is an India that exists beyond prime time.

This has been possible because we moved out of big media jobs to create a small and efficient enterprise through which journalists could look for stories where it may not be fashionable to look for them.

A democracy thrives on credible information. Small media entities, freed up from the demands of big capital, allow journalists to innovate and explore new frontiers. A large and complex country like India needs more alternative voices.

Started with just Rs 4 lakhs (about $6,000) of personal savings, one small car and a single computer, Civil Society has shown that it is possible for professional journalists with skills and clear values to build influential enterprises in the media.