GANDHIAN MODEL OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Introduction:

Mahatma Gandhi as a visionary of India, had a very clear perception of its villages
and made an emphatic assertion that "India lives in her seven and half lakhs of villages'. He
further believed that India will have to live in villages, not in towns, in huts not in palaces. He
held this conviction by saying that "If village perishes, India will perish too. Gandhi, played
the leading role in securing for India political independence from the British Raj, through
organizing and mobilizing Indian people from all walks of life in a peaceful and non-violent
manner. He is therefore rightly called the ‘Father of the Nation’. Gandhiji’s approach to
India’s rural development was holistic and people-centred. It was rooted in his conviction in
the tenets of truth, non-violence and the goodness of human-beings. Influenced as he was by
Tolstoy, Ruskin and the teachings of the Gita, he placed more emphasis on moral and
spiritual values than economic motives as a means of overall development. He found that the
progress of the country lies in the development of majority of its rural villages, develop rural
economy, industry and rural skills. Gandhiji found the only way of bringing hope of good
living to the rural people is by making the village the central place in the economic
programme Rural development as outlined by Ganhji contained self-sufficiency, inter-
dependence for other wants and development of Village Industries. He wanted to bring about
rural reconstruction with sound scientific and spiritual values. Through his 18-point
Constructive Programme, Gandhiji successfully implemented his rural reconstruction
activities in Sevagram Centre near Wardha in 193 5.

Gandhian Dream of Indian Villages:

Gandhiji’s ideal village belongs to the pre-British period, when Indian villages were
the small republics undisturbed by the periodical visitations of barbarous hordes . This
republican character of the villages was destroyed by the British rule. Therefore, in Gandhian
plan of rural reconstruction, the ancient republican village without any kind of exploitation
served as a model unit3. Ganwi aimed at the attainment of Village Swaraj and said in 1942,

“My idea of Village Swaraj is that it is a complete republic, independent of its

neighbours for its own vital wants and get inter-dependent for many others in which
dependence is a necessity. Thus every villages' first concern will be to grow its own food crop
and cotton for its cloth. It could have a reserve for its cattle, recreation and playground for
adults and children. Then if there is more land available, ~t will grow useful money crops,
thus excluding ganga, tobacco, opium and the llke. The village will maintain a village
theatre, school and public hall. It will have its own water works ensuring clean water suppl”.

Gandhiji fully understood the consequence of western type of industrialization in

India. He was conscious of the fact that far industrialization would destroy the Indian society
by eliminating our decentralized rural industries and further leads to improvement. The once
self-sufficient and self-contained rural villages have been drained progressively. He wanted
to reverse this trend and bring about a rural reconstruction based on sound scientific and
spiritual values. He said,

“my deal village will contain intelligent human beings. They will not live in dirt and
darkness as animals. Men and women will be free and able to hold their own against anyone
in the world. There will be neither plague nor cholera nor small pox, none will be idle, no
one will wallow in luxury. Everyone will have to contribute his quota of manual lab0 W... . . .
It is possible to envisage railways, post and telegraphs and the like'

Gandhian strategy of rural reconstruction was based on village swaraj and swadeshi
movement. The basic principle of village swaraj as outlined by Gandhiji are trusteeship,
swadeshi, full employment, bread labour, self-sufficiency, decentralisation, equality, Nai
Talim etc. Thus the idea of ideal village of Gandhian dream was a comprehensive one,
encompassing the economic, social, political and educational dimensions. Gandhiji gave
emphasis on truth and non-violence in every aspect of human life and said, "the swaraj of my
opinion will come only when all us are firmly persuaded that our swaraj has got to be won,
worked and maintained through truth and ahirnsa alonen.

Values Underlying of this Model

The Gandhian Model of rural development is based on the following values and premises :

1. Rural India is found not in its cities, but in its villages.

2. The revival of villages is possible only when the villagers are exploited no more.
Exploitation of villagers by city dwellers was ‘violence’ in Gandhiji’s opinion.
3. Simple living and high thinking, implying voluntary reduction of materialistic wants,
and pursuit of moral and spiritual principles of life.
 4. Dignity of labour : everyone must earn his bread by physical labour , and one who
labours must necessarily get his subsistence.
5. Performance to the use of indigenous (swadeshi) products, services and institutions.
6. Balance between the ends and the means : Gandhiji believed that non-violence and
truth could not be sustained unless a balance between the ends and the means was
maintained.

Principal Components of the Model

The Principal components of the Gandhian Model are discussed in below in brief

Self-sufficient Village Economy

Gandhiji’s concept of self-sufficiency was not a narrow one, nor was it that of selfishness or
arrogance. He realized the need for villagers to get those things from outside the village,
which they could not produce in the village.

Gandhiji insisted on the self-sufficiency of Indian villages. Self-sufficiency was advocated by

him as a basic principle of life because dependence brings in exploitation which is the
essence of violence. The poor is exploited by the rich, the v illage by the city and the
undeveloped country by the developed ones due to lack of self-sufficiency”

He suggested that villages should be self-sufficient i.e. they should produce their own food,
clothing and other articles needed for meeting their basic needs. He insisted on the
promotion of village or cottage industries and handicrafts because they can provide
employment, necessary to meet the basic needs of the villagers and also facilitate village self -
sufficienc.

Gandhiji said that it was not the British rule but the modem civilization nourished by they
rule, which was the real cause of economic, distress i.e., poverty and unemployment. He
further said, "if the British rule were replaced tomorrow by the Indian rule based on modem
methods, India would be no better". "Against this, he envisaged India's salvation in the
revival of its ancient civilization which prescribes for man the path of duty and observance of
rnorality"

Gandhiji's self-sufficient and non-violent village society could only be built on the basis of co-
operation and not on conflict. According to him as far as possible, every activity in the
village will be conducted on co-operative basis. Even in the field of agriculture, Gandhiji
recommended co-operative farming which would save labour, capital, tools and provide
employment to all adult Villagers and increase production also. He said, "we must attempt to
prevent further fragmentation of land and encourage people to take to co-operative farming".
He noted that when dependence becomes necessary in order to help society to maintain good
order it is no longer dependence but it becomes co- operation.

Decentralisation

Gandhiji believed that human happiness with mental and moral development should be the
supreme goal of society, and that this goal should be achieved through decentralization of
political and economic powers.

Gandhi firmly believes that village republics can be built only through decentralisation of
social and political power. In such a system decision-making power will be vested in the
Village Panchayat rather than in the State and the national capital. The representatives would
be elected by all adults for a fixed period of five years. The elected representatives would
constitute a council, called the Panchayat.

The Panchayat exercises legislative, executive and judicial functions. It would look after
education, health and sanitation of the village. It would be the Panchayats responsibility to
protect and uplift ‘untouchables’ and other poor people. Resources for Gandhian Approach to
managing village affairs would be raised from the villages.

All the conflicts and disputes would be resolved within the village. And as far as possible not
a single case is to be referred to courts outside the village. The Panchayat would play its role
in propagating the importance of moral and spiritual values among the ruralites for bringing
about rural reconstruction.

Apart from managing its own affairs the village would also be capable of defending itself
against any invasion. A non-violent peace brigade of volunteers would be organised to defend
the village. This corps would be different from the usual military formation. They would
repose the utmost faith in non-violence and God.
Panchayati Raj

Gandhiji envisaged that each village in India would be a republic, where the village
panchayat would have the full power of managing its affairs, including defense. He expected
the panchayat to perform the legislative, executive and judicial functions necessary for
smooth functions of the village economy. Various developmental activities such as education,
health and sanitation would also be taken up by the village panchayat. The vehicle that was
most ideal to initiate both political and economic democracy at the grassroots level was the
Panchayat Raj system. Mahatma Gandhi's tours all across the country reinforced his
convictions that India would benefit if the villages were governed by Village Panchayats
based on the principal of "simple living and high thinking". These were village republics
which were self-contained and self-reliant and having all that people want. These were the
institutions where minimum standard of living could be accorded to all human beings. An
individual had maximum freedom and opportunity to develop his personality to the greatest
extent. In these republics there would be a diminution of the state and the roots of democracy
deepened. According to him centralization cannot be sustained as a system without adequate
force.2
The affairs are to be managed by Panchayats consisting of five persons elected annually.
Gandhi aimed at the individual the centre of the local administration. People are expected to
take personal interest and turn up in large numbers at the meeting to deliberate problems of
common interest such as village industries, agricultural production, obligation and planning.
It is good, and in conformity with Gandhiji’s views, that India now has made panchayati raj
institutions statutory bodies by passing the 73rd (Constitution) Amendment Act, 1992. It is
hope that Gandhiji’s dream of local self-governance through village panchayats would now
be fulfilled.

Khadi and Village Industries

For Gandhiji, khadi was an instrument of decentralization of production and distribution of

the basic necessities of life, and of ensuring ‘work to all’. He also favoured the promotion of
other village industries, such as hand grinding, hand pounding, sop making, paper making,
mental making, oilseed crushing, tanning, etc. He advocated the use of manual labour and
opposed the introduction of machined, fearing that they would displace human labour. But he
appreciated the role of new technologies if they were appropriate, indigenous, and did not
effect the level of employment and standard of living.
Khadi mentality means decentralization of production and distribution of the necessaries of
life. Khadi has to play an important role in the village economy of India. It can fulfil the
poor’s three basic necessities: cloth, work and self-confidence to articulate themselves.

Gandhiji considered Khadi as an inevitable means for the all-round development of the
Nation. He said in 1921, "Just as we cannot live without breathing and without eating, so it is
impossible for us to attain economic independence and banish pauperism from this ancient
land without reviving home-spinning. 1 holds the spinning wheel to be as much as a necessity
in every household as the hearth. No other scheme that can be devised will ever solve the
problem of the deepening poverty of the people.

In 1934 Gandhij wrote in Harijan, "Khadi is the sun of the village solar system. The planets
are the various industries which can support Khadi in return for the heat and substance they
derive from it. Without it, the other industries cannot grow . . . and also without the revival of
the other industries, khadi could not make further progress. For, villagers to be able to occupy
their spare time profitably, the village life must be touched at all points."

According to Gandhiji, Khadi alone can solve a number of economic and other problems of
India as shown below

i) Under Khadi economy, the capital is under the control of the labour and supremacy of
man over machinery can be established

ii) Each village can be self-sufficient through the welfare of these villages, India will
also prosper.

iii) The villagers can take up all the stages of Khadi production for earning wages which
can supplement their meagre resources.

iv) Spinning wheel give employment opportunities to village carpenters, Blacksmiths,

Weavers and can create self-sufficiency in all villages in India. Khadi alone can
give encouragement to other village industries.

v) Spinning is an honourable and leisurely occupation for the women of India. With the
popularization of spinning wheel, women need not go out of their houses for
earning their bread.
 vi) Khadi industry has great organizing potentialities in India. Millions of people are
involved in production, distribution and consumption of Khadi.

vii) Spinning is easy to learn and requires no outlay of capital. The farmers can easily
learn and operate the spinning wheel and can spin during their leisure hours to
supplement their meagre resources.

viii) Khadi is the only industry which can absorb largest number of people and can
provide employment to the unemployed at any time of the year without much
difficulty.

ix) Khadi industry provides work to the people during famine period. The state should be
purchase the products of Khadi during the famine. It is an Insurance against the
adversity of famine conditions.

x) The spinning wheel provides the people food, cloth and make them self-sufficient.

Cooperatives

Gandhiji saw a great virtue in cooperation as an instrument of rural development. He

assigned specific roles to cooperatives in the field of agriculture, commending the promotion
of cooperative farming and thereby preventing further fragmentation of landholdings. He also
advocated the establishment of other types of cooperatives, such as credit cooperatives,
weavers and spinner’s cooperatives and dairy cooperatives. In this matter also, we have
perhaps lived up to the expectations of Gandhiji. India now has the world’s largest network of
cooperatives, which occupy and important place in India’s rural economy. The Operation
Flood programme is a living example of what cooperatives can do to promote agricultural
and rural development in India. There is, therefore, need for us to adopt the cooperative part
to rural development, as advocated by Gandhiji.

Trusteeship

Gandhiji considered trusteeship an instrument of transforming the capitalist order of society

into an egalitarian one. In his opinion, all the land belonged to God, that is, the community,
and therefore he advocated that land and other natural resources should be collectively owned
by, and operated for, the welfare of the community. Landlords should merely be trestees of
land and other natural resources and capital assets. He saw in the principle of trusteeship a
non-violent method of persuading landowners to donate their land voluntarily for community
welfare purposes, and of avoiding class conflicts.

According to Gandhiji, trusteeship is a way of life rather than just a method to achieve a
particular end. According to his holistic approach, "everything on this earth belongs to God
and is from God. Therefore, it was for this people as a whole not for a particular individual.
Everybody on this earth has a natural right to at least the basic necessities of life, just like the
birds and the beasts have. If somehow, an individual had more than his proportionate share,
he was a trustee of that portion for God's people" As land belongs to God and thus belongs to
the community and therefore should be used for the welfare of the community. By peaceful
non-violent persuasion, the hearts of landowners should be changed to accept the trusteeship
idea. If this is not accepted by them, the poor should organise non-violent nonco-operation
and civil disobedience struggle against them. He believed that the rich cannot accumulate
wealth without the co-operation of the poor.

He said,

“The moment the cultivators of the soil realise their power, the Zamindari evil will be
sterilized. What can the poor Zamindar do when they say that they will not simply work the
land unless they are paid enough to feed and clothe and educate themselves and their
children. In reality the toiler is the owner of what he produces. If the toilers intelligently
combine, they will become an irresistible power”

Village Sanitation:

The deal village envisaged by Gandhiji could be constructed on the basis of the principles of
public hygiene and sanitation. The houses which are to be built with locally available
material will have sufficient light and ventilation. Each house or a cottage shall have a
courtyard to grow vegetables for domestic consumption and to house cattle. The village
streets and lanes will be kept clean. Each village shall have its own waterworks to ensure
clean water supply.

The constructive workers shall make the villages models of cleanliness by teaching the
villagers to maintain cleanliness in and around the village, including public wells, tanks and
rivers.
Gandhiji's Idea was not confined only to the removal of garbage from the lanes and streets of
the villages but also to put the same to the productive use. If the garbage is scientifically
converted into manure, the villages can not only make use of productive manure to grow
more food but also keep the villages clean from dust, dirt and bad smell.

Removal of Untouchabilty:

Untouchabilty is a social evil and should not be looked upon as a mere political
necessity The socio-economic evils associated with this system must be abolished. According
to Gandhiji, there should be perfect social equality among the people m the society No social
superiority should be entertained by any individual or by a section of the society on the
ground of birth or knowledge or religion or any other consideration. Gandhiji fought against
social superiority in any form and carried on his crusade against the doctrine of racial
superiority in South Africa and evil practices of untouchabilty in India.

He has the opinion that no one is born as untouchable and unequal. The practice of
untouchabilty is a sin against God as the Harijans and non-Harijans are the children of the
same God. He found untouchabilty as the worst evil effect of Hinduism and worked for their
temple entry for religious equality.

In 1932, Gandhiji introduced Harijan Sevak Sangh, a non-political association for

their self-improvement. He suggested their economic self-reliance through the adoption of
spinning and weaving. He advocated non-violent methods to be adopted by them for their
self-employment and for proper realisation of their rights.

Gandhiji was not in favour of representation to the Harijans in all administrative

bodies He recommended representation under two conditions

i) If the Harijans are purposely kept out by the Influential castes, they should be
given representation

ii) ii) It is the duty of the represented communities to provide representation to

those communities whlch are unrepresented or inadequately represented

Gandhiji wanted the caste Hindus to sacrifice and struggle for the all-round
development of the Harijans and wished that they should be assured of decent standard of
living as respectable equal citizens of the country.33 For this, cleanliness, good habits, thrift,
industry and moral courage are to be inculcated among them. 'She awakened Harijans should
make serious attempts for self-improvement in all walks of life. In Gandhian concept of
swaraj, none should be high or low but all are to be equal citizens and this Swaraj society is
free from any social exploitation and domination

Nai Taleem

Gndhiji had no faith in modern education, which emphasized only literacy and acquisition of
information. In his opinion, modern education was ‘debauchery of the mind’. Hence, he
developed a new system of appropriate education and training which he called Nai Taleem.
He believed that Nai Taleem would be help develop the full potential of children and adults,
through full development of their bodies, minds and spirits. He wanted to see Nai Taleem to
be self-supporting and practice-oriented. It is unfortunate that India has not yet geared its
education system to the needs of the country, and that is why its human resources remain
under-developed and less productive, as compared to other countries which have given the
highest priority to education and total literary programmes have received higher priority than
in the past, with a view to achieve the national objective of ‘Education for All’ by the year
2000. Similarly, vocational education at the post-high school (10th class) level is now being
considered as an alternative to the present traditional general education. This shows that we
have now realized the relevance of Gandhiji’s Nai Taleem.

Pros and Corns of this Model:

The Gandhian model, like any other development model, has both its proponents and
opponents. The proponents argue that under the prevailing sociocultural and economic
conditions in India, the Gandhian model is still relevant, and is the only alternative available
for bringing about equitable and sustainable rural development. They assert that panchayati
raj institutions and cooperatives are still as relevant as when they were in Gandhiji’s days,
and that the role of appropriate education cannot be overemphasized even in the present
Indian context. The critics argue that Gandhiji’s ideals of swadeshi, voluntary curtailment of
one’s wants, trusteeship, self-sufficient villages, and use of manual labour in preference to
machines sound obsolete these days, particularly in the weeks of India’s new economic
policy characterized by privatization, liberalization, and globalization. As a matter of fact, by
adopting an economic growth-oriented development part and by following the Western
model of industrialization, both under the influence of Jawaharlal Nehru, India had
abandoned the Gandhian model long ago, they assert further. To conclude it could have been
said that Gandhiji wanted India to travel east, but India decided to travel west, and it is
known that ‘the twain never meet’.
 Tagore’s Approach towards rural development
In the early nineties of the nineteenth century a new phase began in Tagore’s life. It
fell to his lot to manage the paternal estate on behalf of the Tagore family. For a good
many years he discharged all his duties and fulfilled all his responsibilities as a
Zamindar with a devotion and skill and, of course, with the impress of a practical
minded man. His life amply proves that he did not dwell exclusively in the realm of
ideas. He was a man of action as well. In the work which he started
[Link] Shelaidaha and Potisar and later at Sriniketan, there was a silent protest against
the indifference of his countrymen to the actual problems of the country.
2 As a Zamindar he had firsthand knowledge of the hardship and helplessness of the
country people. Politics found only a minor place in Tagore’s social philosophy. That
was the phase of political agitation the ultimate objective of which was to bring
political independence of India. Tagore, almost from the very beginning, was a critic
of agitation politics and he probably for the first time tried to divert the course of
agitation politics towards a constructive one. In his constructive programme the
greatest stress was laid on the work of rural uplift. His thoughts on rural problems
give us an integral concept of rural reconstruction as well as about the methods on
which he would rely for its realization.
3 Accordingly his plan was divided into two parts. The first part laid down certain
basic ideals, principles and postulates of rural reconstruction while the second part
was composed of actual schemes of social welfare and community development.
The Government of India while initiating its own plans of community development
in 1952 had acknowledged Rabindranath Tagore as the forerunner of almost all its
schemes.
4 The Indigenous Society (Swadeshi Samaj) Rural Reconstruction in India 18
Heritage Swadeshi Samaj is a well known essay by Tagore which was published in
1904. This paper was the first comprehensive statement of his social philosophy. He
analysed the causes of the disintegration of Indian village life and made concrete
suggestions for its reconstruction in this article. The leader, as the essay opined,
should function as the centre of unity under whose supervision a required number of
subordinates should operate. Tagore was very hopeful about bringing cooperation
among the people in this manner. He felt that the people should be made conscious
about their own power, which would make them confident. He was also very eager
to establish communal harmony among the Hindus and the Muslims. Politics or
political leaders could make no appeal to Tagore for a number of reasons. He felt
that politics was something like a wall between the political leaders and the masses.
Moreover, politics used to give undue emphasis upon preparation rather than on
actual necessities. So, Tagore tried to turn the political movement into an effective
mechanism of nation building activities. To him, this nation-building was the other
name of Swadeshi. That is why, to Tagore, a social leader was more effective to a
political leader. Tagore, very sincerely tried to define and find out that social leader.
6 Tagore had in mind, as can be anticipated, a fascination for charisma and
excellence, besides other qualities such as responsibility, kindness and honesty. As a
sequel to the essay on ‘Swadeshi Samaj’, Tagore prepared a complete scheme to give
practical effect to the ideas he had expressed in it. The whole scheme centered round
the concept of rural reconstruction through organized efforts which can be seen in
the form of a constitution.
7 Besides, agricultural development through cooperative efforts, the revival of
cottage industries to mitigate the poverty of the masses was emphasized. A very
intimate relationship between the villagers and the rural workers, an honest attempt
to bring harmonious relationship between the Hindus and the Muslims and the
appointment of a people’s representative as the leader of the society were the other
features of the ‘Swadeshi Samaj’ as proposed by Tagore.
8 A constitution on Pallisamaj needs special mention here. The main thoughts of
Tagore on rural reconstruction give specifically two dimensions. Primarily, ever
since the nineties of the nineteenth century up to the very end of his life, he remained
an ardent advocate of rural uplift work. To him, this was far more important than
active politics. Secondly, his ideas on rural reconstruction reveal, over a period of
some fifty years, a remarkable consistency.
First phase of Rural Reconstruction – East Bengal Experiment: Tagore came into
direct contact with the rural Bengal after he took the charge of their Zamindari estate
at East Bengal according to his father’s order. That incident can he described as a
landmark in his life for it was during that period the idea of rural reconstruction came
to his mind. Being disillusioned by the role of the political leaders, he made up his
mind to assume the responsibility by himself. He was then about thirty years of age.
His estate included mainly three districts. Birahimpur - headquarter Shelaidaha,
Kaligram - head quarter Potisar and Sahajadpur where the head quarter was named
after the district. That was the beginning of his rural reconstruction programme. But
even from that very moment, he had a holistic vision and he was very sincere, honest
and determined to achieve his goal even in the formative phase. His programme
included health, education, cottage industries, agriculture, fisheries, weaving etc. In
a word, an all-round development of a village was his ultimate objective which to
his mind was necessary for making a self-sufficient and self-confident society. He
introduced the experiment of tractor for cultivation, furnace for potteries and
ceramics, a husking machine for paddies which proves his scientific bent of mind.
The most remarkable innovation in this phase was the introduction of Mandali
System at Birahimpur which was basically a Hindu dominated area. Here, he had to
face resistance from all sides organized especially by the Hindus. He concentrated
on the Muslim dominated Kaligram. A short history of the general welfare society
of Kaligram can give us a hint about the nature of his programme. The tenants of the
estate used to make an extra contribution at the rate of 3 pies for every rupee of the
revenue paid. The funds thus realized, used to be spent on a fair and a religious
festival. In 1312 B. S. (approximately 1905) at a meeting held in the memory of late
Devendranath Tagore, the father of the poet, it was decided to establish an entrance
school and a charitable dispensary as Tagore memories and for that purpose to raise
a further contribution of 6 pies in addition to the original 3 pies per rupee. This was
the beginning of the Welfare fund at Kaligram. This name stood both for the fund
and the body which organized it. To remove this anomaly, the latter was renamed as
the General Welfare Society. The organization consisted of three branches at Potisar,
Ratwal and Kamta respectively. Instead of an entrance school, a minor one was
established for the time being. A few years later it was decided to do away with the
original subscription of 3 pies earmarked for the fair and the festival and to increase
the total “welfare levy” to 15 pies per rupee. Some 25 pathsalas distributed over the
pargana, a High English School and a charitable dispensary at Potisar were now
financed from the Fund in addition to some public works every year. 14 In 1913,
during a visit to the estate, Tagore advised that instead of spending most of the fund
on the Potisar High Rural Reconstruction in India 19 Heritage School, it would be
better to have a middle school and a charitable dispensary at each of the three
branches and a pathshala in each village while public works should be continued as
before. This reorganization was carried out.15 This decision of Tagore once more
proves his holistic vision even in the Pre-Sriniketan era. Apart from the pathsalas,
schools and charitable dispensaries, the Society had to its credit substantial
achievements in rural development work. Mention may be made in particular of the
dam at Talimpur, the embankments at Kamta and Paroil, Debnagar – Saria road and
Maskipur tank. Besides, wells were sunk in many places.16 Difficulties arose when
peasant movements and other political forces began to gather momentum. The
raiyats of the Kamta division started agitation against the welfare levy. Accordingly
in Paus, 1346 B. S. (approximately 1940) this branch was closed down and all
connections were cut off which had been started there.17 A critical analysis of the
Mandali System highlights some political concepts of Tagore which are very
relevant in the modern studies of Political Science such as decentralization of state
power, popular participation in administration, administrative training , democracy
and so on. Rural Bank The concept of rural bank occupies a very significant place
in Tagore’s Rural Reconstruction Programme. While acting as a Zamindar in East
Bengal, he observed that one of the main reasons of rural poverty was the ruthless
exploitation by the Zamindars, the middlemen and the money lenders. The only way,
as he thought, to rescue the villagers was to lend money at a rate of lower interest.
With this objective, Tagore established Patisar Bank in 1905 although it was not
registered yet. The main capital was accumulated by borrowing from some of his
friends and some rich persons of the locality. This was possible for when Tagore won
the Nobel Prize in 1913 he deposited the money which was more than the lakh, in
this bank. The poor peasants could take loan from this fund and the Santiniketan
school later Visva-Bharati received the interest money as long as the bank was there.
Thus, the money lenders were forced to wipe up their business from that area. This
bank existed for nearly a period of thirty years. The borrowers failed to pay back the
loans. So, the prize money got dissolved in that bank after the Law of Rural
Indebtedness was passed. Visva Bharati could never get back the money. 18
Sriniketan Experiment The institution of Sriniketan was not an isolated experiment,
but an integral part of Tagore’s total educational and reconstruction work. At the
same time, Sriniketan was certainly a product of his restlessness to do something for
poverty stricken rural India. He purchased the Surul Kuthibari at the cost of Rs.
10,000 in 1912 to implement his plan. But it still took one decade to start his
programme due to two reasons: lack of fund and absence of a leader. In 1921 Tagore
met in America Leonard K. Elmhirst, a young agriculture graduate who was very
impressed by Tagore’s rural reconstruction idea and expressed his willingness to join
the programme. Tagore decided to entrust the task to Elmhirst who had been
acquainted with the conditions of Indian villages on some earlier occasions. Towards
the end of 1921, Elmhirst came to Santiniketan and started work from Surul
Kuthibari as a citadel of rural regeneration on February 6, 1922, after one year of
Visva Bharati being formally established as a university of unique type in 1921.19
The strategy of Sriniketan Experiment proves the sincerity and thoughtfulness of
Tagore about the total scheme. He could very correctly realize that the first step was
not to abruptly jump in the villages but to go slow in order to fully realize the nature
and extent of the major problems of the village people and to gain their confidence
through some very urgent welfare works for them. Unless and until the social
workers would acquire the faith of the villagers, no amount of endeavor to improve
their condition and quality of life through their own efforts would bear any fruit.20
Tagore and Elmhirst started giving shape to a complete scheme of rural
reconstruction. From the very beginning the Institute of Sriniketan was organized
under a democratic Karma Samity (working committee), on which the
representatives of total workers and many eminent men of the time came to serve.
The most dedicated one in this venture was Kalimohan Ghosh. That was the
beginning of Sriniketan. 21 In this process health received the first priority in the
social welfare action which intended to carry out the antimalaria schemes from
preventive and curative angles. The village people were trained for cleaning the
bushes and jungles, and feeling the pools of stagnant water with earth to prevent
mosquitoes from breeding and as a curative measure, distribution of medicine for
malarial fever among the villagers through door to door supply and dispensary at
Sriniketan and in some villages organized by the Sriniketan team of functionaries.
The next set of work undertaken by the village people with the active assistance of
the team included road repairing, building of culverts and opening and repairing of
drains for easy flow of water within the villages and crop fields. How the Sriniketan
team earned the confidence of the villagers was illustrated by Tagore himself by
mentioning one incident. One night fire broke out in the village of Mahidapur – one
mile away from Sriniketan and on getting this news the Sriniketan team immediately
rushed to the spot of fire and extinguished it with the help of the villagers. When
these social workers could win the trust and Rural Reconstruction in India 20
Heritage confidence of the villagers, the next step was to undertake various
development works. Since most of the rural population was farmers, various
measures were adopted to augment the rate of agricultural production, through
introducing improved technology like application of good seeds and manures,
arrangement of proper irrigation, offering cheap credit facility from cooperative
credit societies and remunerative marketing of their produce. Elmhirst established a
small laboratory to carry out experiments for the improvement of the rate of
production in the particular soil types and climatic conditions of the villages.
Improved variety of seeds of various crops and vegetables and horticulture plants
were procured and distributed after imparting the application of improved methods
of cultivation to the villages. The lessons of new farm technology were imparted not
only to the farmers around Santiniketan – Sriniketan Campus of Visva-Bharati, but
also to the farmers from different districts of Bengal and even other nearby
provinces.22 A complete plan of rural reconstruction experiments with seeds,
manures, rotation of crops, cattle and poultry farming was drawn up by 1928.
Appraisal of the village needs was estimated by methods of rural survey in 1923. A
well developed cooperative society was charged with the responsibilities of
promoting programmes of health, education, agriculture and rural industries. The
society maintained a grain bank, played as an arbitrator in local disputes and carried
on educational propaganda through many attractive methods.23 Tagore was very
conscious about environmental protection and his rural reconstruction programme
was ecofriendly. He loved nature and could feel the worth of it. So, he was keen to
frame up the programme of development in consonance with nature. Tagore’s idea
of rural reconstruction inspired Pannalal Dasgupta (1908 – 1999) who, in association
with Jayprakash Narayan founded the Tagore Society for Rural Development, whose
activities are now spread over states like West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Madhya
Pradesh.24 It is interesting to look at that site of rural reconstruction today. Palli
Bhavna, a Quarterly News Bulletin of Rural Extension Centre, Visva-Bharati,
Sriniketan, gives us an account of the present activities of the Rural Extension
Centre, an organ operating under the Institute of Rural Development, which are now
being carried on the rural reconstruction programme of Tagore. Tagore tried to make
his Sriniketan experiment a complete one. So he was conscious about including
every aspect of ‘reconstruction’ in his programme. The organizations of Siksha
Satra, Lok Siksha Samsad, Siksha Charcha and Brati Balaka prove his holistic
concept in this context. He sought to unite the ideals of the old with the western
scientific genius. Rural Industries Tagore felt it necessary to revitalize the decadent
cottage industries and to train the local artisans and village youth so that they could
make use of the new innovations. With this idea he set up Shilpa Bhavana at
Santiniketan. He did not only concentrate on making the villages self sufficient but
also tried to encourage the villagers to make objects of beauty and utility for the
luxury demands of the distant markets so that wealth could flow into the village
treasury. So, a cottage industries training programme was undertaken by his
initiative. He was also not against the application of power and introduction of
machine for increasing efficiency of production. It was his endeavor to build up a
balanced industrial economy. 25 Institute of Rural Reconstruction The Institute of
Rural Reconstruction started operating through two broad divisions of work. Its head
quarter was situated at Sriniketan. It maintained a number of demonstration and
service units concerning agriculture, animal husbandry, cottage industries, health,
education and village organization. Each of these sections also organized a replica
of its service units at the village level through the initiative of the people of the area
and led by the village workers of the institute. The centre thus maintained a
demonstration farm, a diary and poultry unit, an outdoor clinic, a department of
cottage industries, a village school, and a number of other institutions at Sriniketan.
The organization manifested itself in three different types of activities namely
research, extension and education. The Institute also defined, in its turn, new
education by its first hand knowledge about the village problems. This was possible
by a well defined administrative network by which distant villages were connected
with the headquarters in the matter of needs and services to and from the village
community. 26 Various wings operating under the Institute of Rural Development
are Rural Extension Center (REC), Pallicharcha Kendra, Department of
Anthropology, Department of Social Work and Shilpa Sadan. Among these, REC is
directly related with rural development. Rural Library Rural library was an essential
part of the rural reconstruction programme of Tagore. The utility of library has Rural
Reconstruction in India 21 Heritage been always recognized by Tagore. So, from the
very beginning there was a central library for learning and research and another one
local library to serve the local people and to grow interest for reading and learning
among them. The most unique feature of this library system was the introduction of
circulating library in 1925. It was actually a mobile library where one village worker
used to give door to door service by carrying books in a bag. Initially, it was done
by walking although later cycle was being used for this purpose.27 Rural Library
Services are one of the important services of Rural Extension Center through which
literacy movement are carried out in the villages. Apart from literacy activities
another objective of this programme is to develop the rural libraries as information
and cultural centers in villages. This programme is to develop the rural libraries as
information and cultural centers in the villages. This programme in rural areas has
been carried out through network of a number of rural libraries with an active and
financial support from Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation (RRRLF), Kolkata.
Librarians and Assistant Librarians have been working voluntarily since inception
of the programme.28 Tagore’s idea of Rural Reconstruction Programme was, no
doubt, a path-breaking one, although it created much debate and criticism from every
corner of the contemporary society. But, Tagore was firm, for he had a very strong
logic behind his concept and fortunately he could find out his proper associates in
his unique venture. He was sincere, honest and thoughtful but a bit utopian. Yet,
Tagore’s model may be accepted as a micro model to be followed all over the society
of India, but the difficulty is to find out a proper leader upon whom the success of
such a project depends exclusively. Such a programme, if implemented even
partially, would benefit the society. Any person, going to activate this type of
programme should consult the scheme of Tagore as the pioneering one which throws
light in the field of Alternative / Other Development with the emphasis on Human
Development. Actually, Tagore tried to perceive and analyse the problem from a
holistic perspective. Here, the renowned poet proves himself to be a successful social
thinker as well as an activist in this sphere. Here, he is unique, original and relevant.