The history of the non-government organisation (NGO), as a non-state institutional initiative, might logically go back to the origin of government itself. All the same, its role as a grouping complementary to the ruling structure probably does not reach earlier than the 19th century. Broadly speaking, the first NGOs were charity organisations comprised mainly of Christian institutions, and characterised the period of direct colonial rule. The second wave of NGOs can be termed developmental organisations, and dominated during the Cold War decades. Finally, the third and current wave comprises of participatory and globalist organisations that have been active since the start of the economic liberalisation and neoliberal globalisation that began during the 1990s. In the Subcontinent, meanwhile, though there has always been an interface between NGOs and Dalits, the former's special interest in the latter has proliferated largely during the third phase of globalisation.
During each of these three periods, the functions of NGOs have been in accordance with the changing needs of their donors or funding sources. In India as elsewhere, the colonial regimes first realised the importance of NGOs as a part of civil society, and therefore as possible agents for effectively communicating with local populations on their behalf. It was exorbitant, if not impossible, to hold large, alien populations in subjugation solely through force. Indeed, it was far more economical to work among them as philanthropists, and the missionary organisations carried out these functions through their humanitarian work for the local communities. With the knowledge gathered through the NGOs, colonial regimes were able to take timely corrective actions to keep the populations' discontent in check.
The world over, it is fairly established that these missionary organisations were complementing colonial rule, as they carried out certain tasks that challenged many traditional relations. In India's caste-divided society, for instance, where the 'untouchable' Shudras and Dalits were forbidden access to education by religious statutes, the missionaries provided modern education, proving to be catalysts in galvanising the 'untouchables' to launch a liberation movement during the late 19th century. Indeed, during the early part of that century, Christian missionaries were responsible for the entire range of educated people from these caste groups. In addition, these missionaries helped to spread 'Western values' among the masses, including ideas of equality.
Those involved in the Dalit movement today acknowledge the role that Christian missionaries played at the beginning of their struggle. Indeed, while NGOs are often denigrated as appendages of a colonial or imperialist system, many Dalits are sceptical of this point of view. As understood today, the Dalit movement itself can even be seen as the unintended by-product of British colonial rule. The institutional ethos of Western liberalism – opportunities to work in the British Army, wield weapons, get an education, migrate to urban settings and set up small-scale businesses – was at the root of Dalit mobilisation. Consider the urban background of the pioneers of the movement in the late 19th century in Maharashtra: Gopal Baba Walangkar, the military pensioner in Konkan; Kisan Fagoji Bansode, the worker in the Empress Mills in Nagpur; or Shivram Janaba Kamble, the butler in Pune's military cantonment. Even B R Ambedkar came from a family in which the men had served in the British Army for two generations. The Maharashtrian phenomenon of Dalit leaders rising due to opportunities thrown up by the colonial regime could, in those days, be observed in the incipient Dalit movements that were taking place throughout the country.