In this Book
- I, the Citizen: Unraveling the Power of Citizen Engagement
- Book
- 2017
- Published by: Cornell University Press
I, the Citizen is an attempt to understand citizen development and engagement. R. Balasubramaniam takes the reader through interpretations of development initiatives at the grassroots and what good governance means to ordinary people. He unravels the power of citizen engagement through his experiences of leading civil society campaigns against corruption and towards strengthening democratic participation of people. I, the Citizen also deals with the philosophical underpinnings of public policies, drawing from his on-the-ground experience as well as engagement with those in the higher echelons of policymaking and implementation. The last section of the book provides glimpses into milestones of a development movement, which Balu founded and led, milestones that are responsible for a continued faith in citizen engagement despite the hindering forces.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xi-xii
- Understanding development
- pp. 23-24
- Defining development and its path
- pp. 25-28
- Who defines development?
- pp. 29-32
- Development with dignity
- pp. 38-41
- Measuring development
- pp. 42-46
- Innovation in the development sector
- pp. 47-54
- Voices from the grassroots level
- pp. 55-56
- An identity for Akkamma
- pp. 57-60
- Leadership lessons from Kempaiah
- pp. 61-63
- The spirit of partnership
- pp. 68-71
- Can you truly empower me?
- pp. 72-75
- A lesson in self-reliance
- pp. 76-79
- Women, leadership and democracy
- pp. 80-86
- Renegotiating citizenship
- pp. 102-106
- Where everyone is a victim
- pp. 107-110
- A walk for information, a walk for power
- pp. 121-123
- A revelation of contradictions and hope
- pp. 124-126
- Ningamani, the citizen
- pp. 132-134
- The cities and the villages
- pp. 135-137
- The culmination, the new beginning
- pp. 138-139
- Beyond the campaign
- pp. 140-144
- The reality of corruption
- pp. 147-151
- A nation rises against corruption
- pp. 158-162
- From the streets of Mysuru
- pp. 163-168
- The political dimensions of the campaign
- pp. 169-176
- What is the will of the people?
- pp. 179-182
- The onus is on the voter
- pp. 183-186
- Making Democracy Work – The premise
- pp. 187-190
- A people’s view of free and fair elections
- pp. 191-194
- Making the right choice
- pp. 195-198
- Shoring up the decaying political discourse
- pp. 199-203
- The role of the manifesto
- pp. 204-208
- Perspectives on policy
- pp. 209-210
- Valuing life
- pp. 211-214
- Malnutrition – a national shame
- pp. 215-218
- FDI in retail – a death knell for Rathnamma
- pp. 219-225
- Overcoming a poor understanding of poverty
- pp. 230-234
- What does financial inclusion include?
- pp. 235-240
- An unending movement
- pp. 241-242
- The inception within
- pp. 243-246
- The growth of a movement
- pp. 247-252
- A battle for human rights
- pp. 253-258
- Making advocacy a community movement
- pp. 264-269