Gandhi: An all-round visionary

To the majority of us, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a politician, mass leader and, above all, a freedom fighter who surprisingly and in an exemplary manner chose non-violence as a means of struggle. But Gandhi's views pronounce his multi-dimensional nature as a social philosopher. He expressed his ideas on education, on village development, on social injustices and economic disparity. He, in the capacity of an editor of as many as six newspapers in various languages, demonstrated his understanding of public communication. However, few would actually know about Gandhi's approach to development in the light of environment awareness and sustainable development. In his socio-economic conception, Gandhiji, throughout his life, relied on the principle of growth with distributive justice. During his lifetime, the terms ecology and sustainable development were not so much a part of vocabulary. When we read Gandhiji's writings, quite expectedly, we do not come across such terms. Only a careful reading, perhaps between the lines, makes it evident that while dealing with many socio-economic issues, Gandhiji did focus his thoughts on the subject of the environment, trying to reach out to the solutions of related problems. Gandhji's interest in the environment can be noticed in his writings on subjects like industrialisation, urbanisation, village life and so many others. These points are mentioned in his 'Hind Swaraj'. Gandhi was not an arm-chair intellect; rather he was practical enough to realise that development must suit local needs and follow the idiom of changing circumstances. As a thinker, Gandhi was ahead of his generation. He could readily foresee the dangers inherent in the model of development based on rapid industrialisation. Today we are talking about the Kyoto Protocol or about Earth Summit; Gandhiji alerted us way back in 1927 when he stated that contemporary Western civilisation was dehumanising the individual by putting premium on hedonism of the body, only emphasising on material luxuries. With such observations, Gandhiji was actually warning everyone about consumerism, the rapid spread of which and related consequences we are facing today. His indictment of the modern civilisation in 'Hind Swaraj' was intended to caution mankind against this calamity. In modern times, particularly in an era of cultural impact of globalisation of economy, when materialism is no more an economic content but a psychological determinant, we are bound to taste the bitterness of disparity and economic discrimination. Gandhiji anticipated this long back and hence made a historic comment that seems to grow in relevance every day — "The world has enough for everyone's need but not everyone's greed''.

Gandhiji advocated the concept of simple living and high thinking. He could distinguish between happiness and material comfort. He firmly believed that consumerism is not the only essential key to development. The Gandhian model of village development, which met criticism even from thinkers like Ambedkar, still holds pertinence. The present economic crisis in Sri Lanka is another eye-opener of how a country's economy can have a downturn because of mismanagement and corruption. Gandhiji's ideas about economic sustenance rested on planning, where the governance can unite itself with the masses and create a transparent model of economic development.

Scientific progress directing the path of rapid industrialisation and urbanisation has certainly deteriorated the environment in which we live. While exploiting the natural resources for our comforts, we have actually eroded the fabric of nature. The result is bound to be detrimental. We are all shouting over terminologies like global warming. Gandhiji was apprehensive about such an outcome. He, thus, had faith on revival of our traditional cottage industries, for to him unchecked exploitation of natural resources would lead to environmental problems. Gandhiji's analysis of the psyche of modern man convinced him that modern civilisation would grow at the cost of ecological imbalance where nature would be put to stake. Time has proved him proverbially correct.

Amartya Sen in his economic vision has stated the link between environment and sustainable development. He provided examples like Kalahandi in Orissa where rapid and arbitrary industrialisation endangered the livelihood of the native tribals. Modern economics explains how sustainable development speaks of human attitude to nature. Sustainable development is an integrated form of human development, participatory in nature. It relates to reconciliation with nature where equity and justice are the major premises. Gandhiji's views on development and environment embrace all the major value premises and components of sustainable development. The Gandhian model of social development highlights the importance of value-system in our lives where the key words are 'truth', 'non-violence' and 'sarvodaya'. Gandhiji coined the term 'sarvodaya' with the mission of well-being to all, which represents an ideal social order. Gandhiji believed in emancipation of the mind; to him decentralisation of economics and politics was of paramount importance to ensure all-round development of the society where the 'Last Man' would also enjoy the fruits of development. In recent times we have toiled hard to find a parity between growth and distributive justice. It is clear that without permeating the effects of development to all sections of the community, no nation can thrive. There is no scope for continuing economic sustainability by creating islands of excellence. According to Gandhi, for attaining smooth development of the economy, it is imperative to develop all the regions of the country, simultaneously. The overall progress of the entire economy depends on the balanced development of all the regions. In India, even today, there exists regional disparity. In relative terms, some states are advanced economically and others are not so. Within a state, some districts need greater development than the rest. In this context, Gandhian economics is relevant, for it supports the attainment of self-sufficiency level in industrialisation and uniform economic pattern for each region. Gandhian economics justifies that every man should increase his personal income and standard of living by exploiting the existing natural and human resources fully in an eco-friendly manner.

One point of criticism that is often resounded on Gandhi is that he opposed scientific and technological progress. Some critics even extend themselves to suggest that he glorified poverty. He was also criticised for redirecting the outlook of the people towards the past. However, a finer look into Gandhiji's economics reveals that he was not opposed to industrialisation or to science and technology. In 'Harijan', he clearly wrote, "There would be no objection to villagers using even the modern machines and tools that they can make and afford to use.'' Nowadays, environmentalists vindicate that the future of humanity rests on factors like man's behaviour with himself, his behaviour with fellow beings and his relationship with nature. These are also taken to be vital parameters for sustainable development and economic growth in holistic terms. Gandhian philosophy dealt with all these, and that too almost a century back. It is time to interpret and reappraise the ideas of Gandhiji in the context of modern time and space. The emphasis on encompassing every available resource without denting their basic texture is what Gandhi spoke about. This is exactly what modern economists opine about sustainable development. Re-interpreting Gandhi in the light of modern thought can be a yardstick in measuring the effects of development with ecological balance.

The writer is an educator from Kolkata. Views expressed are personal