Voluntary action in a developing society

In India, as in other developing countries, there has always been wide spread criticism of the Government on the ground
that it has not done enough for the welfare of the people. There may be reasons for this. Much less often do the people
realise their role in the country's development and having realised, examine it and try to find out if they have played it
well. It is not adequately appreciated that people can achieve much for themselves through organised voluntary action for
public purposes in the context of a developing society like ours.

Organised voluntary action helps unite groups and individuals with diverse political and other interests, contributes to strengthening of feeling of national solidarity and promotes participative character of democracy. Sharing of power by voluntary groups restrains government from developing monopolistic approach to organisation of services. Good voluntary organisations adjust programmes and policies to reflect changing local needs and so are more satisfying. They also relieve government of excessive responsibility in relation to services dealing with more intimate areas of citizen's personal life.