The Game Between Central and Local Governments: A Study on the Policy Advocacy of Indian Women and Children’s NGOs

Under the framework of Indian federalism, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the field of women and children have long faced the double constraints of central system repression and local cultural resistance. Taking Karnataka’s anti-“Devadasi system” and other cases as the starting point, this paper analyzes how NGOs can achieve a breakthrough in policy advocacy through multiple strategies in the power game between the central and local governments, between the rigidity of the system and the flexibility of implementation. It is found that through the dual-track strategy of direct intervention and indirect mediation, NGOs not only rely on the central constitutional authority to promote local policy compliance but also use local cultural symbols to reduce the resistance to reform and promote their policy advocacy. China and India learn from each other’s experiences in the dimension of “top-level design-grassroots innovation”, or provide a new paradigm for countries in the South of the world to explore coordinated governance between the state and society.