Source: Dawn
When in 1951 Justice William O. Douglas of the US supreme court pronounced this test of free citizens, he was defining the concept of civil society. It comprises citizens who are not dependant on the favours of the state or its administrators. It is the state and the government which derive their powers from the citizen; not the other way around.
Civil society functions even when the state and its instruments fail to perform their duties. Kashmir has provided a vivid example of this. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s government has ceased to perform its role.
Kashmir has been paralysed not only by a curfew but also by crippling curbs on the internet and mobile phones for well over a month. However, civil society has asserted itself. Taking advantage of small, if unauthorised, breaks in the curfew, citizens rush to help one another in the provision of the necessities of life, medical aid and even education for their children.
We have a graphic description of this in a recent report by Ashiq Hussain of Hindustan Times: “The lanes and bylanes of Kaw Mohalla in the old areas of Srinagar, which have been under curfew for the past 34 days, are witnessing the joy and laughter of school-going children for the past three days. Although schools have not opened, residents have started an informal school in a community centre to help compensate children for the loss in education.”