Thursday, January 21, 2016

Gandhi is not just a photo

Thought for the day
"For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and provide for it."
— Patrick Henry (American, 1736-1799)
Word for the day
Salubrious (adj)
Favorable to or promoting health; healthful. E.g., salubrious air.
(Source: Dictionary.com)
Malice towards none
Raising of 15k strong Dharma Sena in UP reflects what?
(a) Growing intolerance
(b) Total lack of faith in law & order machinery
(c) Shape of coming state assembly elections.
(d) All of the above
(e) Others (pl specify)
If social media is any indicator of popular mood, Ranjit Katyal has emerged as the latest super hero in the country.
While there is no authentic record of this person and this could very well be a fictional character, his story is certainly inspiring lot of social media users to watch the movie Airlift.
I wonder whether the emergence of this new hero has anything to do with falling popularity of most politicians and male sportspersons.
Gandhi is not just a photo
To conclude the my point on the desirable socio-economic development model for India, I would like to reiterate what I have said earlier also.
In my view, the sustainable solution for India’s economic problems could be found only by looking within. Borrowing from the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi, economics needs to follow ethics and not the vice versa. The primary consideration needs to be “man” and not “money”.
To achieve this means Gandhi advocated trusteeship, decentralization of economic activities, labor intensive technology and priority to weaker sections. Many criticize Gandhian economic ideas based on altruism, self reliance, and non-violence, as an impractical alternative to free market economics. I believe this criticism is unfair and suffers from parochialism.
I believe borrowing blindly from the western economic models would not work in Indian context. The Indian model will have to be quintessentially Indian. It has to effectively tackle the problems of class conflict, unemployment and poverty while attempting to preserve the lifestyle and values of rural Indians, which are eroding fast with unmindful urbanization, industrialisation and modernisation.
A self-reliant, free, just and progressive society is integral to the traditional idea of India. Self-reliance in no way violates the need for technological advancement in the areas like healthcare, communication, etc. It just wants the scale to tilt in favor of ethics and ecology conservation if a conflict arises. Self-reliance also does not infringe upon the idea of free market. It just promotes non-violent and non-exploitive trade and commerce.
For those who find Gandhi completely irrelevant in the current context, it is pertinent to note that “the literature survey of Gandhian economic ideas gives similar conclusions. 258 thinkers, who have reviewed his economic ideas, have been taken into consideration. Among them, London group of Professionals and The Club of Rome are considered as individual thinkers. Even the opinion of 53 noble prize winners is also considered in this literature survey. 96% of these thinkers admire his economic thoughts. They consider his ideas practical, useful and relevant in the present world.
A growth model for economic development is shown on the basis of Gandhi economic thoughts. This model is applicable to developing economies and India. His ideas are helpful for backward and developing economies in the world. His ideas are also useful for solving problems in capitalist economies. This proves Gandhi as a unique and practical economist of the world”. (see here for more details)
In short, the economic model of India, in my opinion, should be based on the following three principles:
(a)   Develop an environment of equality and mutual trust through decentralization.
(b)   Focus on the intrinsic strengths of Indian economy rather than overemphasizing the weaknesses.
(c)    Focus on enablement of population rather than merely providing for them.
 

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