Most of us are still recovering from the shocking attack on the chief minister’s convoy. Fortunately the chief minister escaped with minor injuries, while some of his colleagues are seriously injured.  This is the latest episode in the ongoing violent struggle with the extremist naxal groups, which saw some brutal and gruesome attacks over the past few years during which both sides stand accused of grave excesses.

This weekend LOK SATTA will be celebrating the successful completion of “One Crore Signature Campaign.” Often, we were asked why is it we want to empower the local governments. Our answer has always been that it is not merely about empowering local governments. Rather, it is also about empowering people. There are many well-intentioned people, who are appalled at the existing state of affairs and want to contribute to the well being of the society.

What is and what should be the nature of relationship between the civil society and state? This gnawing question has been troubling the students of political science for quite some time. It is only in the last decade, after the liberalization process was initiated, that the debate on the relationship between the state and civil society has come to occupy considerable space in the public discourse.

There is a famous story, which goes something like this: An international exhibition of crabs was held in Japan. All countries sent their best and the most exotic variety of crabs. The representatives of each country were exhibiting crabs in sealed glass containers. However, in the Indian stall the crabs were on display in open containers, and the worried organizers asked the Indian representative whether the crabs would not climb out of the containers. Pat came the answer from the Indian: “Ha! Nothing to worry; these are Indian crabs.

We are surrounded by myriad problems - minor irritations to crises of great magnitude. We are often upset about the way things work or don’t work. Many of these could easily be set right – like the traffic problems at intersections. All these problems bother us a great deal everyday; we talk about them at length and maybe hope that someone else will take care of them. But then their sheer number and complexity is enough to deter many well-meaning people from trying to do anything. And there are always the ‘cynics’ who dismiss the small individual efforts to make a difference.