Back To Swadeshi
BASICALLY the term sivadcshi covers
all aspects of national development
- social, political, cultural, economic, international, science and
technology and education.
Developmental models based on
indigenous cultural ethos and
national resources in terms of
humanpower and natural resources
which preserves national interests,
Could be defined as the "swadeshi
approach". It could be a refined version of Kautilya's Arthashastra or
Pandit Deendayal Upadhvaya's
Integral Humanism in detail. Here,
only one aspect of sivadeshi -
economic development based
on Indian cultural ethos - is
discussed.
Till the end of the '70s, many
believed that communism or regulatory mechanism would solve all
basic economic problems. India
also adopted the socialistic pattern
of society and incorporated the
notion into the Indian Constitution as if it was the permanent
strategy for economic development evolved by national consensus. But around one third of our population still live below
the poverty line according to official estimates. In the case of
90 per cent of them, poverty revolves around the same family
tree generation after generation. Socialism, which believes in
an egalitarian society, has ended tip creating "socioeconomic
dualism" instead.
After communism's collapse, it was replaced by market
mechanism, without realising the latter's limitations. If regulatorv mechanism believes in class conflict, market mechanism induces exploitation of one country by the other.
Hence, both regulatory mechanism and market
mechanism arc alien to our cultural ethos which believes in
class- cooperatio n and people's welfare. Unless and until we
succeed in national reconstruction, which includes all-round
economic progress, cultural renaissance remains hollow.
Currently, the country is plagued by two major economic
problems: internally - poverty, which can be tackled through
accelerating job opportunities; externally - we are in a debt-trap and a balance-of-payments crisis. To tackle the problem,
export earnings should be provided a boost, but not through
the limited organised sector alone.
Although industrial growth rate doubled from an annual
average rate of four to five per cent in the '70s, to eight to nine
per cent in the '80s, the eniplovinent generation rate got
halved from 3.1 per cent in the '70s to 1.3 per cent in the 80s.
This clearly indica,es limitations and failure of the organised
sector. This will worsen with policy liberalisation, and gradually replace labour-intensive techniques by capital -intensive
techniques of production. The best
dependable bet is the Linorganised
sector, in which job generating
potentiality is five times that of the
organised sector.
The organised sector's products
by and large imitate products of the
international market. To be competitive in terms of quality and
price, Indian industry has to get
upgraded technologically, which is
impossible in the near future, To
begin with, the handicrafts industry
should be encouraged and artisans
should get a fair share in the price
these products command in the
market.
Although agriculture's share in
the GDP has reduced from 66 per
cent to 33 per cent over the last four
decades, there has not been a proportionate fall in the percentage
share of population depending on
agriculture. Agro-related industries
should be promoted in villages. For
instance, scientific storage facilities in villages not only help
farmers to store fruits and vegetables, they also create additional job opportunities. Similarly, effort should be made to
provide health care, education, entertainment, and infrastructures in the villages, so that with all basic amenities, there is
no
migration to cities.
For a stable development of the country, proper care
should be taken to focus attention on the needs and amenities
of women and the tribal peoples. Balanced growth also
demands sustainable use of natural resources.
Today, vested interests try to distort the meaning of globalisation and suggest prescriptions to make developing countries subordinate to the industrialised countries. In fact, this is
the trap laid in the form of the us Omnibus Act, Dunkel
Proposals and the International Monetary Fund-World bank
prescriptions.
It is in the nation's interest to welcome foreign capital and
technology to strengthen the weaker sectors like energy conservation, pollution control, coal and washery, to name a few.
For financial assistance from international institutions, efforts
should be made to approach non-resident Indians to tap their
resources, as well as talents.
To sum up, the "swadeshi approach to economic developments" is dependence on age-old native craftsmanship and
the rural sector to tackle poverty and external debt,
protect national interests in the context of international
economic relations and above all, get inspiration from our
own cultural ethos to evolve developmental strategy.
Essentially, the two faces of swadeshi are swablimian
(self-respect) and swavalamban (self-reliance).
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