International Journal of Economics,

Commerce and Research (IJECR)

ISSN(P): 2250-0006; ISSN(E): 2319-4472
Vol. 4, Issue 4, Dec 2014, 25-30
TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

RELEVANCE OF GANDHIAN ECONOMICS OF MODERN TIMES

INDIRA MOHAN NAIR
Professor, Shiv Shrishti Complwa, May Flower, Sai Section Maharashtra, Maharashtra, India

ABSTRACT
Due to increasing income inequalities which widens the gap between the rich and the poor, growing incidence of
poverty associated with liberalization, privatization and globalization, Gandhijis economic philosophy appears to be
relevant for ever in this materialistic, agnostic and consumerist culture. His thoughts and economic ideas can be adopted in
this 21st.
The Gandhian Economics continues to be relevant in the context of sustainable development. If we closely
examine his economic philosophy it is found that sustainability is the core of his economic thought which appears to be a
best, alternative and viable model of development in the recent years. In the 21st indispensable to the development of
human civilization due to limited resources. This concept of bread labour advocates the people to be self sufficient and it
strengthens the notion of sustainable development. If all people do labour for their bread, there will be no rich and poor and
inequality will be reduced. Therefore, the need of the hour is to follow the Gandhijis concept of bread labour to achieve
self sufficiency and social justice.
His concept of Gram Swaraj clearly implied that each village should be self-reliant by making provisions of all
necessities of life such as food, clothing, clean water, housing, sanitation, education etc. Gandhiji was in favour of
empowerment of women. He encouraged women to join politics with man and also wanted women to be independent of
their thinking. Gandhian Economics stressed on development of cottage and rural industries for better use of labour and
decentralization of small units of production. He was not in favour of large scale industralisation which is responsible for
many socio-economic evils. After almost 64 years of martyrdom, Gandhiji is now more relevant on global level than
before. The need of the hour is to implement his deeds, actions unquestionable and unchallengeable. Century to solve the
current puzzle of development syndrome of the country.

KEYWORDS: Sustainable Development, Self Sufficiency and Bread Labour, Gram Swaraj and Rural Development,
Empowerment of Women and Economic Development, Cottage Industry and Labour Welfare

INTRODUCTION
The need of the hour is to strive hard to adopt Gandhijis methods to meet the challenges of present day with
earnestness and perseverance. M.K.Gandhi, an epitome of truth, sacrifice and spirituality taught us not only truth and non
violence but also economics principle for sustainable development, food problem, labour welfare, exchange economy. Due
to increasing income inequalities which widens the gap between the rich and the poor, growing incidence of poverty
associated with liberalization, privatization and globalization, Gandhijis economic philosophy appears to be relevant for
ever in this materialistic, agnostic and consumerist culture. His thoughts and economic ideas can be adopted in this 21st
century to solve the current puzzle of development syndrome of the country. The United nations resolution to
commemorate Gandhijis birthday as the International Day for Non-violence is a big tribute and recognition of the
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Indira Mohan Nair

relevance of Gandhian Economic Philosophy throughout the world.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To highlight the economic ideas developed by Gandhiji in three phases.

Gandhijis view on sustainable development and its relevance in present time.

Gandhijis opinion on bread labour and self sufficiency.

The role of Gram Swaraj and rural development.

To probe the relationship between empowerment of women and economic development.

To analyse the importance of cottage industry in promoting labour welfare.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study is purely based on secondary sources. The information for this study is collected from books, journals
and magazines.
Phases and Principles of Gandhian Economic Thought
Economic ideas developed by Gandhiji can be looked in three phases.

Negative phase up to 1919: Gandhiji criticized western pattern of development which was more materialistic in
nature and adopted a non-materialistic approach.

Positive Phase from 1919 to 1934: Gandhiji echoed an alternative to the western pattern of development and laid
stress to the ideal of Swadeshi.

The Constructive phase from 1934 to 1948: Gandhiji developed a constructive programme for village
regeneration through the ideal of Sarvodaya.
Gandhiji considered human beings as wealth and considered a country to be rich if it has the greatest number of

happy individuals. In his economic thought man occupied a prominent position than wealth. He was of the opinion that
economics should aim at material and progress of the society by producing and increasing wealth along with social justice.
Gandhiji considered economics as a practical science which should aim at maximizing human welfare.
Sustainable Development
The Gandhian Economics continues to be relevant in the context of sustainable development. If we closely
examine his economic philosophy it is found that sustainability is the core of his economic thought which appears to be a
best, alternative and viable model of development in the recent years. In the 21st century sustainable development is
indispensable to the development of human civilization due to limited resources. Gandhiji warned the society not to exploit
the natural resources beyond its capacity. This can be justified from his concept of Khadi and Cottage industry and limited
use of clothes and natural resources. He talked about environmental conservation which is reflected in entire economic
philosophy similar to sustainable development. He was of the opinion that there is enough on earth for the need of every
body but not enough for the greed of every body. Gandhiji advised the people of India to contain their greed and allow
future generation to taste the fruit of real development. His economic philosophy was against the consumerist culture to
Impact Factor (JCC): 4.2234

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

Relevance of Gandhian Economics of Modern Times

27

save the mother earth from dangerous phenomenon which can be termed as sustainable development. Dr. E.F. Schumacher
author of the classic critique on modern economics, Small is Beautiful, who called Gandhi the greatest peoples economist
say Gandhi abhorred the industrial civilization because it was based on callous exploitation of non-renewable resources. It
made bodily welfare the sole object of life, which reduced man to nothing but a clever animal.
Self Sufficiency and Bread Labour
The Law of Bread Labour states that man must earn his bread by his own labour. Gandhi not only preached but
also practiced this concept of bread labour in his South African day. He was inspired by Leo Tolstoy and even Peter
Kropotkin the Russian anarchist.
The economic philosophy of Gandhiji stated that the Law of Bread Labour is related to agriculture only. If all
people do labour for their bread, there will be enough food and clothing for all. This will keep them healthier and happier
and there will be no problem of food shortage and any disease and misery. So, he stressed on physical labour and he
advised the rich people to do bodily labour for their bread.
This concept of bread labour advocates the people to be self sufficient and it strengthens the notion of sustainable
development. If all people do labour for their bread, there will be no rich and poor and inequality will be reduced.
Therefore, the need of the hour is to follow the Gandhijis concept of bread labour to achieve self sufficiency and social
justice. The development programmes of India have seriously failed in terms of regional disparity, population explosion
and unsustainable environment. The lopsided development models of India has resulted mass unemployment and poor
quality of rural life leading to large scale migration. Gandhiji advocated a decentralized model of development and
sustainable agriculture which has lot of relevance for economic development of India.
Gram Swaraj and Rural Development
The concept of Gram Swaraj developed by Gandhiji was actually realized when decentralization of power was
made to empower Gram Panchayat after the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act. Gandhian economics clearly stated that
every village should be its own republic which is independent of its neighbours for own vital wants and interdependent for
many others. This concept came out in the writings of Gandhiji in 1942. His concept of Gram Swaraj clearly implied that
each village should be self-reliant by making provisions of all necessities of life such as food, clothing, clean water,
housing, sanitation, education etc.
If we closely look at Indian Planning it can be observed that all plans have tried to realize Gandhiji;s concept of
Gram Swaraj particularly after 1970 through various development programmes. The Bharat Nirman Yojana to deal with
rural India is sincere effort made to follow the principle of Gandhiji. It ends up building a strong rural India by
strengthening the infrastructure in six areas such as irrigation, rural water supply, rural housing, rural roads, rural telephone
and rural electrification. The economic ideas of Gandhiji were also reflected in the historic Rural Employment Guarantee
Act of September 2005. The Governemnt programme of strengthening the capacity of Gram Sabha for better rural
governance was the original idea reflected in Gandhian Economics. This reaffirms the relevance of Gandhian Economics
because India is still looking ahead to achieve the target set by Gandhiji in his model of Gram Swaraj.
Empowerment of Women and Economic Development
Gandhiji was of the view that economic development can be achieved only if women are empowered which is

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Indira Mohan Nair

evident form his writings, of all evils for which man has made himself responsible, none is degrading, so shocking or so
brutal as his abuse of the better half of humanity to me, the female sex, but not the weaker sex. He was strongly in favour
of women education and giving them all freedom which men enjoy. He stated that a country in which women are not
honoured cannot be considered as civilized. Gandhiji encouraged women to join politics with man and also wanted women
to be independent of their thinking. Gandhiji had many plans to rescue the women folk from the clutches of patriarchal
caste ridden thinking of Indian male bastion. He had a very progressive thinking which is relevant to the contemporary
problems of Indian women.
Cottage Industry and Labour Welfare
Gandhian Economics stressed on development of cottage and rural industries for better use of labour and
decentralization of small units of production. Since every Indian needed cloth of at least 13 yards per year he emphasized
in development of Khadi Industry which refers to decentralization of production and distribution for the necessaries of
human life. He believed that Khadi industry will save millions of people from starvation and would supplement the earning
of the poor people. He advocated the use of Charakha which is simple in operation with small amount of capital. He was
not in favour of large scale industralisation which is responsible for many socio-economic evils. Gandhiji wanted to
promote labour intensive techniques of production for generating employment for rural people. This economic philosophy
of Gandhiji has lot of relevance to present day economic problems of India.

CONCLUSIONS
Gandhiji was a perpetual moral rebel who called for organized movement against imperialistic, virulence, social
exploitation, economic oppression and slavery to immoral propensities. At a time when thinkers in the realm of
philosophies and social sciences are trying to take stock of the Eastern Heritage and Western Thought, Gandhiji stands as a
sybbol of the conjunction of the East ahd the West. The service of Gandhiji is awakening the soul of Asia and Africa is of
immense importance. Ho-Chi-Minh and Nelson Mandela have testified to the inspirations of the leaders and activists of the
two continents Asia and Africa, receiving in their work from trials, sufferings and teachings of Mahatma. Even the Negro
liberationists in North America under the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King II received inspiration from him.
In the twenty first century, Gandhiji is a world phenomenon. The world knows that Dr. Martin Luther King II,
Lekh Walesa, Nelson Mandela, Ho-Chi-Minh, Yung-Su-Ky and a host of geniuses of the world have followed the
footprints of the great Mahatma. In 1981, 83 Noble Prize Winners men and women of both the hemisphere warned us of
an unprecedented holocaust, encompassing all the horrors of exterminations and extending the frontiers of barbarism and
death. Strange enough, they all unanimously look to one man Gandhiji and his non-violent action to fight fundamental
battle of human rights-the right to life.
After almost 64 years of martyrdom, Gandhiji is now more relevant on global level than before. Specially, after 9
/11 of 2001, the terrorist attacks on Twin Tower World Trade Centre and Pentagon buildings of the USA, Gandhiji is
remembered more with reverence than mere casually. He is being recognized as a great leader of action, a Liberator and a
Prophet Martyr all over the Universe. The need of the hour is to implement his deeds, actions and thoughts into practice
and thus, his relevance in different fields is Unquestionable and unchallengeable. For the survival of human being, it is
imperative on out part to act upon his advice because only on his relevance, we shall survive together or if we fail in our
venture, we are bound to perish together.

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.2234

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

29

Relevance of Gandhian Economics of Modern Times

REFERENCES
1.

Brecht. A. (1999), Political Theory- The Foundation of Twentieth Century Political Thought, Princeton University
Press.

2.

Gour. P. P. (2008), The Path of Mahatma, Yojana, January.

3.

Jhingan M. L. (2006), History of Economic Thought, Vrinda Publications, Delhi.

4.

Maharana D. K and Mahalik. D., (2007) Relevance of Gandhiji is 21st Century, Kurukshetra, Vol, 55, No.12.

5.

Pathak. R. (2007). Is Gandhi Dead, Yojana, March.

6.

Paul. R. R. (1996), History of Economic Thought, Kalyani Publisher, New Delhi.

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