Editorial: Invest in Social Capital

Social Capital is counted in one’s relationship with others in a community in which citizens have a tendency to engage in civic affairs, band together in voluntary groups, come together for collective action. This Social Capital, once it has matured into an instinctive collectif of concerned citizens becomes what we know as a Civil Society. All are aware that in the present times of multiple sources of information, it becomes difficult to sift the rumour from the news and it is expected of a Civil Society to become the conduit that filters this barrage of information and then mould public opinion. This is definitely a tall ask and the responsibility is tremendous. What makes the task even more daunting is that one is never sure whether a society has fully ‘awakened’ or is still in the process of ‘waking up’. A Civil Society after all evolves from the same faculties that make the people, and has no one above them to judge their maturity. This conundrum apart, it is still a state worth aspiring to.
Now, let us see where Sikkim stands in this regard. Community participation is the first investment into building a healthy reserve of Social Capital. Sikkim has seen active community participation, but it is unfortunate that this participation has not cut across caste and community divides. Let’s accept it, the Sikkimese society has yet to find its collective voice. Looking at some recent displays of public partnerships, one realises that they have been too sectional. The protest against hydel projects on the Rathong Chu and the movement in support of the same present themselves as stands appropriated by isolated groups. What the rest of Sikkim feel about the issue? There has been no comment from unattached [to the place or emotionally] section of the people. Much the same was witnessed when ACT launched its extraordinary protest against hydel projects in Dzongu. Even then, the movement failed to excite the engagement of the people at large. The vacuum created due a hesitant civil society is filled up by prepossessed voices which lay claim to a moral high ground from where they seek to out-shout all dissent. This has been a regular feature whenever a contentious issue has arisen in Sikkim and applies as much to how the government engages an issue to how protests are managed. An involved civil society would have tempered the debates with logical reasoning and building consensus across a larger cross-section of people. When it decides to remain a mute spectator, partisan voices claim the debate and amicable resolutions remain denied. A civil society also leverages in a moral pressure into confrontations, a pressure, which because it has the sanction of the people, forces all sides to work towards a resolution instead of show-boating for their respective constituencies.
So why has Sikkim denied itself a Civil Society?
Recent history reveals that the people did unite for change in the seventies, and then again in the nineties, and won it. It is from upheavals like this that a Civil Society shakes out. They don’t happen by accident, they have to be nurtured and groomed until they become spontaneous. The American democracy, despite all reservations one might have about the government there, is vibrant not because it is a super power or even because of economics or literacy. It is so because the Americans, through centuries of grooming, come together in groups and share opinion as a reflex action. The Alcoholics Anonymous, by far the most effective forum for recovering alcoholics to remain clean has its genesis in America, as do the more socially active organisations like Rotary and Lion’s Club. While few might agree that Woodstock is representative of a Civil Society, it does stand out as an example of a sea of humanity coming together to find its high-water mark. Sikkim will need to replicate these experiences here if it wants a Civil Society without having to go through the strain of suffering radical voices before better sense prevails. This can be achieved by inculcating a sense of community participation among the students. The first step would be to get them comfortable in a group. Just the classroom will not do. Something more focussed like book clubs, art groups, even a more effective Scouts and NCC culture is needed. Once their comfort level increases, they should be inducted into more serious issues like those relating to children and environment, issues that are more immediate to them. One gets a sense of this already happening in Sikkim with the Green School initiative, the Red Ribbon Clubs and even the Panchayat Yuva Krida aur Khel Abhiyan. But even these initiatives, while they are an investment toward building a social capital, are not as networked across schools as will be required to build a wider sense of belonging. But if Sikkim was to pace the grooming more effectively, a Civil Society will be at hand within a generation. Or, it can continue with the trial & error method and live with a society which speaks only in whispers.