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Paper short abstract

This paper employs Critical Discourse Analysis to understand how texts produced by elite philanthropy help in its legitimacy construction and maintenance, and to analyze how the use of a particular language by elite philanthropy is legitimized within the development space.

Paper long abstract

From pre-independence to contemporary times, elite philanthropy has been a prominent presence in India's development landscape, particularly in the areas of education and healthcare. The intensity of this involvement is increasing as elite philanthropy is now embedded in the country's social policies. Policies such as the National Education Policy 2020, propose involving elite non-state actors in achieving the country's development goals, thus legitimizing elite philanthropic involvement in the development space. This paper examines how such legitimacy is constructed and reinforced through the discourse propagated by elite philanthropy. A part of this discourse is produced through the use of texts, such as policy briefs and annual reports, which advocate solutions for complex and politically charged social problems in an apolitical way.

Specifically, this paper employs Critical Discourse Analysis to examine the India Philanthropy Reports produced by Bain & Company and Dasra, aiming to understand how texts produced by elite philanthropy help in legitimacy construction and maintenance, and to analyze how the use of a particular language by elite philanthropy is legitimized within the development space. The use of CDA is an apt methodological tool for uncovering the hidden relations of power embedded in the texts. The India Philanthropy Reports are chosen because they provide an overview of the Indian philanthropic landscape, featuring a variety of philanthropic organizations and offering a self-portrayal of elite philanthropists. The focus on these reports also helps in mitigating the issue of elite access, which is ever-present in philanthropic studies.