Peddlers of Information: Unintended Consequences of Information-Centred Development for North Indian Non-Government Organizations

Information and knowledge have re-emerged as essential resources in the fight against poverty, with new opportunities for
their dissemination seen to empower the poor and the agencies that work with them. While optimism is high, little empirical
evidence exists as to the actual effect of these changes within localized development contexts. This article contributes to
overcoming this lacuna by exploring the role of local non-government organizations (NGOs) in Uttarakhand, North India. It
examines how the promotion of information and knowledge as development goods have changed the way NGOs understand poverty
and their own roles within the sector. I propose the metaphor of NGOs as ‘peddlers of information’ to draw attention to the
current emphasis on awareness, sensitisation and assemblage of information about the grassroots as the primary—and in many
cases only—development work NGOs undertake. This metaphor provides an analytical device through which to assess the roles
of NGOs in immanent and intentional development.