Citizen Participation in Development: Issues in Identity, Inclusion and Voice

Mohanty R¹*

1. Society for Participatory Research In Asia, New Delhi, India

Participation, both as a discourse and practice of social change, has come a long way. It has transcended the narrowly defined boundaries of development projects to be an integral part of wider processes and institutions of development. Along the way the meaning of participation has changed from successful project implementation to being seen as a means of empowerment and lately claiming and actualizing citizenship. Participation, not as beneficiaries of a patronizing state, but as right bearing active citizen is the emphasis in recent times. However, participation as citizens is often not possible for people who bear the excluded and vulnerable identifies. In the Indian context, where entrenched inequalities of caste, class and gender make a large number of people powerless and vulnerable , inclusion remains a challenge and often fraught with complexities and conflicts.

The paper will provide a conceptual and analytical framework to view participation of the excluded in development. The paper will stress the tension between universal citizenship rights and particular vulnerable identities of low castes, poor, tribal, women and indicate how this tension can be resolved within the framework of “‘rights” and “participation”. It will also argue that expansion of public space and public good is essential for citizens to participate effectively in a democratic setup. Finally, the paper will provide a typology of citizen participation in development. In this context it will discuss three types of participation – participation promoted by the state, by the mass based social movements and by civil society mediation.