This book is an ethnographic exploration of slum children’s participation in NGO programs that centres children’s narratives as key to understanding the lived experience of development in India where 50% of the population is under the age of 25. Weaving theoretical and methodological interventions from anthropology, childhood studies and development studies with children’s own narratives and images, the author foregrounds children’s lifeworlds whilst documenting the extent to which these lifeworlds are shaped by the twin forces of marginalisation and aspiration. The book documents NGO campaigns targeting child marriage, sanitation and hygiene, gendered violence and bullying, and depicts and examines children’s sometimes enthusiastic, sometimes reluctant, and sometimes indifferent approach to narrating and performing development. It assesses the way in which children from four slum communities in New Delhi navigate the multiplicities and contradictions of development by analysing the stories, posters and performances children produce for NGOs. Moreover, the book argues that engagement with children’s narratives and performances provide valuable insights into how development attains meaning, garners consensus, fails, succeeds and circulates in a myriad of unexpected ways which consistently defy any assumptions about ‘underdeveloped’ subjectivities. The first book to interrogate the substance and subjectivities produced in the development of NGO organisations offering extra-curricular programs directed towards more intangible and experiential ends, it will be of interest to researchers working in anthropology, development studies, childhood studies and South Asian studies. The book also speaks to scholars working on issues of poverty, rural-urban migration, gender justice, slums and youth.

Focusing on NGOs that work in the areas of rural development, women, and children, the authors' goal is to shed light on the contributions of the sector in the spheres of social welfare, empowerment, service, and rural development. In addition, the problems and difficulties experienced by NGOs are analyzed and explained. This important new book traces the rise of NGOs in India and their transformation over the years, revealing the importance of NGOs in India's development after Independence. Beginning with a detailed history of voluntarism in India and examination of NGOs around the world, the authors provide the framework for examining NGOs in India as a force contributing to development. They then focus on partnerships and cooperation between NGOs and the government, advocacy and policy implications of NGO activity, accountability within organizations, approaches to problems and delivery of services, NGO life cycles, and the need for a code of ethics within NGOs. Case studies on NGOs designed to assist women, children, and rural development are presented and discussed in the context of development in general and improving the quality of life for all Indian citizens. This careful and comprehensive examination is a unique addition to a growing field of literature on India.

India has the largest number of child labourers in the world, and has been the subject of intense media and political campaigns in the North aimed at addressing the abuse of childrenâs rights. This book explores childrenâs rights as a site of power and reveals how the rights discourse has been used by international actors, national elites, and local NGOs in the child labour debate in India. While discussing the childrenâs rights in the contemporary world, the author analyses human rights and power along with insights from postcolonial theorists. He provides empirical accounts of how three Indian NGOs-Bonded Labour Liberation Front, Butterflies, and South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude-are using the discourse of childrenâs rights to challenge child labour practices. Combining global and local perspectives to arrive at a comprehensive picture, the book locates the struggle for child rights on two fronts: critiquing neo-liberal globalization and challenging rights violations in India.

Contributed articles.

On the legal aspects of forming an NGO.

The book is a comprehensive compendium on child rights in India from a child development perspective. It discusses the challenges that Indian children face for survival, development and education, especially if they are marginalized through disability, lack of care, and poverty. The major issues expounded by the author in relation to rights are infant and child survival, early child development, street and working children, children in conflict with law, children with disabilities, child trafficking and child sexual abuse. The author goes further to delve into the causes, among which are high population, poverty, migration, illiteracy, poor legislation and deep-rooted social norms and behaviour. The book presents the existing policy and legal framework in India for each of these issues. The broad purpose of the book is to comprehensively discuss the roadblocks that the marginalized child in India faces, to understand the causes of these roadblocks and to evaluate government and civil society action for children in India.