The absolute relevance of an issue and its implications to the poor and marginalized should be the matters of concern for all of us. The persistent debates, in relation to the legitimacy of institutions to raise them, however authentic they are, can only sideline and weaken the core issue that we are intending to address. Here, Mr. Jayant Kumar, the chairperson of VANI shares his perspectives with Binu Sebastian on some of the ideological debates going round at the moment.

The India against Corruption Campaign has been instrumental in bringing into fore the age-old tussle between the ‘government’ and the ‘civil society’. What do you think are some of the overarching ideological highlights of the ongoing impasse?
As we all know the citizens of the country form the government. In this sense, it is an extension of the people themselves bestowed with constitutional powers and prerogatives. The civil society too has been formed by the people in the country. Hence, ultimately both the government and the civil society are the formations of the society. I agree that the process of these two formations is entirely different in nature. However, I believe this basic understanding should nullify the perception of having a ‘tussle’ between the government and civil society.