Gandhian Perspective on Development

🔹 8.1 Introduction

• Gandhian Development prioritizes:

  • Self-development over material prosperity.

  • Village-centric development over modern industrialization.

• Gandhi emphasized social and economic uplift of the downtrodden.

• Development includes machinery, education, economic uplift, but evaluated through moral and spiritual lenses.

🔹 8.2 Khadi and Village Industries

• Khadi symbolizes swadeshi, decentralization, economic independence, and moral regeneration.

  • Quote: “Khadi must be taken with all its implications...a determination to find all the necessaries of life in India” — Gandhi.

• Spinning Wheel (Charkha):

  • Economic tool: Generated income and employment.

  • Spiritual tool: Act of love and discipline.

  • Cultural bridge: Reconnected urban buyers and rural weavers.

  • Example: Villagers spinning daily to reduce dependence on mills.

• Village Industries:

  • E.g., hand-grinding, soap-making, tanning—run with minimal capital.

  • Must support self-sufficiency and employment.

• Critique of Machinery:

  • Displaced rural livelihoods.

  • Deteriorated worker conditions, especially for women in mills (e.g., Bombay).

  • Gandhi emphasized simple tools and willing hands over machines.

• Institutional Support:

  • All-India Village Industries Association trained rural workers.

  • Published Gram Udyog Patrika to spread village industry knowledge.

🔹 8.3 Education

• Basic Education (Nai Talim):

  • Harmonious growth of body, mind, and soul.

  • Craft-based learning: Weaving, pottery, metal-work, etc.

  • Bridged caste divides: Upper castes did manual work, lower castes gained literacy.

• Language:

  • Promoted vernacular languages.

  • Hindi as a common language; English as secondary.

• Critique of English Education:

  • Created elite disconnected from masses.

  • Moral instruction must happen in mother tongues.

• Adult Education:

  • Used to raise awareness about foreign rule and unite villages.

• Schools should be self-supporting and maintain home-like value systems.

🔹 8.4 Economic Progress vs Real Progress

• Economic Progress: Material accumulation, judged by wealth metrics.

• Real Progress: Based on morality, simplicity, contentment.

  • Quote: “You cannot serve God and Mammon.”

• Doctrine of Trusteeship:

  • The rich must act as trustees for the poor.

• Swadeshi goods:

  • Even if costlier, prefer village-made products to sustain rural economy.

  • E.g., Buying hand-made village soap instead of factory-made soap.

• Non-possession:

  • Retain only essentials.

  • Wealth hoarding leads to waste and discontent.

🔹 8.5 Swadeshi

• Swadeshi = Home economy, self-reliance, local production and consumption.

• Village as a unit of self-governance and cooperation.

  • Example: Gandhi’s ideal village—disease-free, cooperative, morally grounded.

• Swadeshi in Practice:

  • Use of indigenous goods, ancestral religion, native institutions.

  • Avoid unnecessary imports and learn to live without them.

• Not just spinning wheel—swadeshi is a philosophy of life.

• Moral + Economic discipline: Rejecting luxury for communal welfare.

🔹 8.6 Alternative Viewpoint

• Critique of Modernity:

  • Machinery meant for comfort often leads to destruction.

    • E.g., Trains used for both ambulance and war logistics.

  • Lawyers worsen quarrels, doctors promote over-indulgence in treatment.

• Problem of Modern Development:

  • Promotes fragmentation, competition, and consumerism.

• Gandhi vs Nehru:

  • Nehru: Believed in modern progress and planning.

  • Gandhi: Emphasized inner change over infrastructure.

• Modern civilization tries to absorb Gandhi's critique as a tactic, but misses his philosophical foundation.

🔹 8.7 Conclusion

• Gandhian model = Holistic development:

  • Social, moral, economic, and spiritual harmony.

• Emphasizes self-rule (Swaraj), self-reliance, village empowerment, and dignity in simplicity.

⏱ 1-Minute Revision Summary

• Gandhi’s development model emphasizes self-sufficiency, village-centric economy, and moral values.

• Khadi & Charkha symbolize resistance to industrialism and enable economic justice.

• Nai Talim advocates learning through work and equality in education.

• Real progress is moral and spiritual, not material accumulation.

• Swadeshi involves using and improving local goods.

• Gandhi critiques modern civilization as dehumanizing and disconnected from values.

• Empowerment of villages is central to meaningful national development.