Pinching the INGO Phenomenon: Putting Perspectives into Practice

Abstract

Voluntary agencies in general and International NGOs (INGOs) in particular have a history of involvement in a wide range of social welfare and development work which dates back to early twentieth century. In this respect the organizations originating from the developed countries have firmer foundations than their counterparts in most developing countries. The aim of the paper is to take a stab at the existing literature that relates to INGOs in developing nations and to offer important insights into their roles. In the process the paper also derives a four-role framework for the INGOs by combining some of the handpicked theories and putting them into practice with the help of case studies from India, representing the developing world which has, for decades, remained the focus for most of the INGOs’ activities. India is of interest for this purpose because of its intractable problems of rural poverty and the apparent limitations of government programmes on poverty alleviation.