How compliance becomes culture: civic governmentality and its discontents in India

In recent years, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in India, particularly international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), have encountered increasingly stringent regulatory frameworks that have reshaped their operational landscape. Policies such as the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) have curtailed their ability to dissent and advocate for transformative political and social change. These constraints limit INGOs’ autonomy, compelling organisations to recalibrate their practices in order to survive, often in ways that compromise their original missions. This article examines how such recalibrations unfold through the lens of civic governmentality, a conceptual framework that illuminates how governance is enacted not only through coercive state power, but also through the internalisation of regulatory rationalities by civil society actors themselves. Drawing on qualitative data from interviews with key figures in Indian INGOs, the article explores how organisations navigate legal, financial, and political pressures by adopting discursive, organisational, and strategic forms of self-regulation. It argues that civic governmentality produces a regime of indirect rule in which INGOs are incentivised to perform compliance, align with state logics, and depoliticise their agendas. These adaptive strategies ensure institutional continuity but raise critical questions about the transformative potential of civil society in contexts where survival depends on self-regulation and alignment with governance frameworks.