Venkatesh Kumar Singh & Dr. Anjani Devi*
When debating ideology and its relevance, the idea of Gandhi and his values always appear as a topic of serious debate and discussion. However, the legacy of Gandhi has admirably been taken over by various global personalities which including Martin Luther King, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, and Aung San Suu Kyi. The universality of his ideas continues to provoke interest even after more than half a century after his assassination in 1948. Once Gandhi himself has said, “You can kill Gandhi but not Gandhism”. He was a social worker in a true sense in terms of fighting against the existing evils in society and advocating for creating a just society. Though he was not a professional economist and did not formulate any formal model to be adopted by India as a developmental strategy, we can still develop Gandhian perspective towards planning and growth strategy on the basis of his speeches, works, and views presented on various occasions.
Gandhi was a firm believer in non-violence. Hence, he was against the exploitation of environments or humans. As a result, his basic economic thought was based on the ‘plain living’ which helps in cutting down wants and makes him self-reliant. By considering these factors, he opposed large-scale industrialization and favored mass productivity and production of the masses.
Therefore, it becomes a prior concern for the government that the western model of development should not be implemented irrationally which is discriminatory in nature. Gandhi’s concept of development is based on inclusivity, development, and empowerment of the common people. According to him, the ultimate goal of the developmental strategy is to the attainment of Swaraj. His definition of ‘Swaraj’ is a situation when even a person belonging to a poor class will have such life opportunities which are normally available to a prince. This is the main reason for emphasizing rural development. Gandhi believed that Swaraj didn’t mean simply a change of rulers, rather moral regeneration of India and the developmental strategy should be comprehensive of economic growth, social justice, and morality. It should also be based on the specific needs of the country.
Gandhi has always demanded reform in Agriculture and it was the core of his growth strategy. The primary objective was to gain sufficiency in foodstuff for the country. To serve this purpose, he emphasized land reforms and the organization of agriculture. He strongly criticized the money lending practices which were a source of exploitation to the poorer farmers and suggested abolition. Unfortunately, such practice still prevails in society. As Gandhi’s vision was to create self-sufficient and self-governing village communities, he suggested for development, expansion, and rehabilitation of village industries. He also recommended the idea of developing cottage industries and expanding them side by side with the revival of agriculture. By emphasizing the manufacture of khadi and the production of wheat and rice, he wanted to make every Indian possess basic necessities like clothes and food, etc.
Despite this, there exists a major misperception about Gandhi that he was against the large-scale industries as he was often promoting the small-scale industries and cottage industries. But simultaneously he had recognized the large industries in key areas such as defense, thermal power, mining, etc. Yet, the basic argument remains large industries should not hamper the growth of small-scale cottage industries. Though, he was against the mad craze for machines but not against the machines. He was against the displacement of human labour by machines in a country like India where a huge workforce is available. The dead machines should not be fitted against millions of livings being scattered around seven lakh villages of India. Gandhi believed that well-used machines can lead to human comfort but they can also become the source of exploitation because the use of machinery results in the concentration of wealth in the hands of capitalists.
By considering the above factors it becomes obvious that the idea of Gandhi still has its relevance in various aspects and particularly in economic development. His ideas are also reflected in the current governmental policies such as Make in India, Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiayn (Make India Self-Reliant) etc. It shows that irrespective of time and period, Gandhism still exists.
*Venkatesh Kumar Singh is an independent researcher from Port Blair. Dr. Anjani Devi is an Assistant Professor teaches in the Department of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Studies, Savitribai Phule University, Pune.