• SALMA KHAN
• ALTAF HUSSAIN WANI

Abstract: The issue of the potential of civil society in influencing governance is at the core of development thinking and practice today. It has gained currency in academic and policy debates in the recent times. This becomes particularly relevant in an old democracy like India where the state has not been able to meet the basic needs for water, shelter, education and even the food requirements of a large section of society. But a democratic framework of India provide space and freedom for people to engage in collective action to question the state, to demand a revision in policy, to implement the laws which are so elaborately codified in the Constitution and to improve the functioning of its institutions. This makes the interface between civil society & governance in India somewhat different from countries which share a different political, economic and social context. This research paper addresses how a dynamic, strong and progressive civil society, by enhancing the capabilities of citizen collectives, by the process of social mobilization and by democratizing governance, can ensure inclusion of interests of the excluded and marginalized sections in public policy and their participation in governance.

Civil society, Women, Dalits, Tribals, Minorities, Governance, Citizens Collectives

" CIVIL SOCIETY INCLUSIVENESS OF EXCLUDED SECTIONS IN DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no.297-301, June 2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1906R83.pdf

" CIVIL SOCIETY INCLUSIVENESS OF EXCLUDED SECTIONS IN DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no. pp297-301, June 2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1906R83.pdf