Procedure for Establishing and Running Social Service Organisation
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9 Procedure for Establishing and Running Social Service Organisation * Uma
Introduction Voluntarism and social service has a long history in India. It was the main source of welfare and development since Vedic times except for the Maurya and Gupta periods, which had substantial public welfare systems. The colonial period witnessed the significant influence of Mahatma Gandhi on the growth of voluntarism. He was convinced that voluntary action was the only instrument for development of the country. Besides the political independence, the objective of Gandhian voluntary organisation was rural reconstruction. After independence, Gandhian voluntary organisations dominated the national scene. They aimed at agriculture and livestock programmes, khadi and village industries, cooperatives and education. However, this consensus on development strategy started disintegrating in 1960s and 1970s, and it influenced the growth of voluntary activism. The later half of 1980s and early 1990s witnessed a large expansion of voluntary organisations both because people were losing faith in government and because there was a very rapid rise in the availability of funds from domestic and foreign sources. A major highlight of this period was the establishment of voluntary * Uma, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, New Delhi