Understanding the labor and politics of NGOs through the lives of seven Indian women.

Seven voices contribute to this rare glimpse of the work being done on the front lines of the fight for social change in India. Playing with Fire is written in the collective voice of women employed by a large NGO as activists in their communities and is based on diaries, interviews, and conversations among them. Together their personal stories reveal larger themes and questions of sexism, casteism, and communalism, and a startling picture emerges of how NGOs both nourish and stifle local struggles for solidarity.

The Hindi edition of the book, Sangtin Yatra, published in 2004, created controversy that resulted in backlash against the authors by their employer. The publication also drew support for the women and instigated a public conversation about the issues exposed in the book. Here, Richa Nagar addresses the dispute in the context of the politics of NGOs and feminist theory, articulating how development ideology employed by aid organizations serves to reinforce the domination of those it claims to help.

1. The Beginnings of a Collective Journey
2. A Very Short Childhood
3. From the Streets of Babul to the Wetness of Aanchal
4. Prisons Within Prisons: Battles Stretching from the Courtyard to the Mind
5. Cracking Cages, New Skies
6. Challenges of NGOization and Dreams of Sangtin