Gandhian Ideas: His Days and Ours
| Published date | 01 December 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00195561241248302 |
| Author | Priya Bhalla |
| Date | 01 December 2024 |
Gandhian Ideas: His
Days and Ours
Priya Bhalla1
Abstract
A large section of the world population continues to live in hunger, starvation,
malnutrition, deplorable living conditions with unsafe drinking water, inadequate
health amenities and lack of proper education. The fear and uncertainty associ-
ated with the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in the loss of lives and liveli-
hoods for a large number of poor and vulnerable persons, pushing them deeper
into the confines of poverty. It is in times such as these that Gandhian thoughts
are popularly invoked by Gandhi’s followers. The present study is an attempt to
revisit the Gandhian perspective on the development of the Indian economy. It
intends to capture and crystallise his socio-economic ideas on the wide expanse
of issues in a comprehensive manner. These are systematically encapsulated in
six Ends: employment, emancipation, equality and egalitarianism, environment,
ethics and education. Further, the study goes on to discuss Gandhi’s economic
prescriptions to achieve these six ends. Furthermore, it attempts to categorise
the Gandhian methods into one of three states—alive, ailing or abandoned—
based on their current usefulness. Additionally, if the status turns out to be failing
or abandoned, it aims to provide a nearby current approach that can appropri-
ately fit in Gandhi’s vision without being dismissed as being too far-fetched.
Keywords
Gandhian Economics, rural economy, khadi, trusteeship, employment
Introduction
The emerging economies continue to live with their endemic socio-economic prob-
lems, inter alia, poverty manifested in hunger, starvation, malnutrition, deplorable
living conditions with unsafe drinking water, inadequate health amenities as well as
Article
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
70(4) 672–687, 2024
© 2024 IIPA
Article reuse guidelines:
in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india
DOI: 10.1177/00195561241248302
journals.sagepub.com/home/ipa
1 Department of Economics, Motilal Nehru College (Evening), University of Delhi, New Delhi, Delhi,
India
Corresponding author:
Priya Bhalla, Department of Economics, Motilal Nehru College (Evening), University of Delhi, New
Delhi, Delhi 110021, India.
E-mail: priyabhalla01@gmail.com
Bhalla 673
inadequate housing, sanitation, health and education. All these have heightened
since the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world. Close to 150 million people were
pushed further into the realms of poverty as a result of the pandemic.2 In addition to
this, climate change is adversely aecting the lives of the people, particularly the
poor. Accordingly, environmentalists, scientists, economists and policymakers are
once again pointing to the ill eects of growth and raising concerns about its dire
and alarmist consequences.
Should we still continue on this mindless and heedless incessant pursuit of growth?
Agreeably, such questions have not been raised for the rst time. In fact, such con-
cerns have been raised time and again with not much done towards them. These have
also generated a vast literature (Bardi, 2014; Dietz & Neill, 2013; Kallis et al., 2020)
on ‘Limits to Growth’, beginning with the publishing of the book of the same name by
Meadows et al. (1972). Today, half a century later, these concerns still remain valid.
As a reaction to this increasing dissatisfaction with the current path of growth
and redistribution, alternative theories have once again come to prominence. With
this context in mind, it may be valuable to revisit Gandhian ideology, deeply
suited for our economy, but not given much place in mainstream economics, pro-
viding ample scope to conduct this study. The study rst neatly classies the
massive literature on Gandhian Economics into six relevant strands, referred to
here as ends. It then goes further to explore the present status of the Gandhian
prescriptions and assesses their status and needs today with a view to recommend-
ing reforms and policies best suited towards the respective Ends.
The remainder of this article is structured as follows. Part two outlines the need
for the study. Part three attempts to bring forth the conceptual framework adopted
in the study. Part four briey introduces Gandhi’s economic ideology. Part ve
describes socio-economic problems present in the Indian economy, then and now,
and puts forward Gandhi’s solutions and assesses their contemporary relevance.
Part six summarises the arguments, thereby providing valuable policy recommen-
dations and conclusions.
Need for the Study
Undoubtedly, there is an expansive literature existing on Gandhian ideology,
probably more so than for any other thinker. What causes this? Are not other phi-
losophers and visionaries advocating socioeconomic reforms? Yes, they are, but
Gandhi has had greater publicity than the majority of these and has long been
regarded as a champion of nonviolence, environment, village and rural economy,
decentralisation, simplicity and austerity.
Gandhi’s original writings are reproduced in Collected Works of Mahatma
Gandhi (CWMG). The original works of Gandhi are published in CWMG. His
ideas are distributed across ninety books, totalling 43,000 pages. Subsequently,
the natural question that would arise is what makes it necessary to bring out
another study on Gandhi? What is it that the present study may contribute to the
already existing voluminous literature? In simple words, what is the need and
relevance of the study?
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeUnlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations
Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations
Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations
Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations
Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations