The Indian economic and political systems have recently opened up for increased foreign investments, which has resulted also in new forms of popular resistance. This article analyzes the campaign launched against the Coca-Cola-Company in Plachimada, Kerala, India, which in 2004 resulted in the closure of its bottling factory after accusations of water depletion and pollution. The analysis in the article is based on the theoretical concept “political opportunity” and concludes that the decision to close the plant was the result of an efficiently run popular campaign based on a tightly knit group of local activists, held together by a tribal identity. Vital for the success was also the help the group attracted by national and international civil society support groups and media, as well as the link between both media and civil society towards the political parties and the state.

This is a output of a two-day international conference held in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi from March 13-14, 2014. The conference was organised under the aegis of the Centre for Inner Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University in its collaboration with Forum for Asian Studies, Stockholm University, Sweden.

Corporations are increasingly forced to widen their agendas to include social and environmental concerns, or corporate social responsibility (CSR). This development has been recorded in the current academic debate, and the views regarding its implications for business, the state, and civil society diverge. However, there is agreement within the CSR and corporate governance literatures that there is a lack of thorough empirical studies of these effects. Based on a case study of the multinational wind energy company Suzlon Energy's CSR projects in rural India, this article contends that CSR projects implemented through cross-sector partnerships can help to build the capacities of civil society organizations (CSOs). Although the risk of corporate steering of the civil society agenda is reduced when CSR prioritizes community needs over business imperatives, CSOs tend to bear the highest costs in partnerships, through credibility losses and insecurity concerning project terms and funding, reinforcing the importance of critical cooperation and complementary core competencies in cross-sector partnerships. The results have implications for the strategies of corporations, CSOs, and governments as well as for the planning of national and international development aid.

This article is a case study of the campaign against the Coca-Cola Company in Plachimada, Kerala, India, which was a reaction against alleged environmental damages and water depletion caused by the company's production of soft drinks. It addresses the following questions: How was civil society used as a platform for this struggle and what was the outcome? Did this campaign affect the political participation of its members? The study is based on interviews and surveys of the villagers in Plachimada and connects to theories on social movements and political participation, as well as to the debate on Indian civil society. The findings presented show the importance of having a local, core group in charge of the campaign, while simultaneously making use of existing support groups at the regional, national, and international levels. It also reveals that after reaching its goal, the campaign has resulted in a general increase of political participation amongst its members.

The Indian women's movement has for the last two decades been engaged in a struggle against an aggressive Hindu nationalism. Based on the idea of Hindu supremacy and a revival of traditional Hindu culture, the Hindu nationalist movement has grown as a political force in an era of rapid modernization and globalization. Met with strong resistance from secular forces, this Hindu nationalist challenge has tried to turn civil society into a battlefield challenging feminist liberal and socialist ideas on gender relations, advocating a definition of gender roles based on a traditional Hindu culture. The theoretical starting point of the article is a form of modified civil society theory in which civil society is analysed as an arena where various social and political forces battle against the State, but also against each other. It is argued in the article that despite their significant political success the Hindu nationalist forces have largely failed to gain any ground within the Indian women's movement and remain relatively isolated.