SUBJECT:ECO–JUSTI

CETHEOLOGIES
SEMINARTOPIC:ECOLOGYANDGANDHI
ANPERSPECTIVES
SUBMI
TTEDTO:DR.M.STEPHEN SUBMITTEDBY:BI
BINBI
JI(
BDI
II
)

I
NTRODUCTI
ON

Gandhiwasanunpar alleledmanoft hel astmi l

lennium whowashav ingahumanandgl obal
per spect iv
eusef ulfort hewel far eofthewor l
dcommuni t
y,whot houghtofbot h,thehuman
existence,humancont inuityandsur v i
valofhumani tyinsenseandessence.He,who,
withoutev erusinganyoft hemoder nj argons,wasper hapst hegr eatest'envir
onment alists'
ofourt imes.Gandhiknew t hatunl essmanl i
vedi nhar monywi thnatur eandunl esshe
stopped expl oi
tingnat urehewoul d cer tai
nlyt r
ead t hepat hofdest ructi
on.Hi sv iews
concer ningtheenv ir
onmentof ferapr act
icalwayt oi mprov et hequal i
tyofl if
e.Whathe
preachedwasnotonl yf ort heI ndianmassesbutf ortheent irehumanki nd.Hismessagei s
relevantnotf orapar ticulart imebutf ort hefutureofmanki ndf oralltime.Especi al
lyhi s
theor iesofnon- violence,peacef ulco- existenceanduni versalwel fareoft hemanki ndhav e
i
nf luencedandat tr
actedt hegl obe.Gandhiwasoft hev i
ewt hatconsumer i
sti
cl i
fe-styl
eand
global izati
onv erilyimpact edhugel yont heenv ironmentwi thmaj orconsequencesl i
ke
globalwar mi
ng,f amine, soi lerosi onandasawhol eexpl oitationofnat ure.Gandhibel i
ev ed
thati nt heglobalaget her eisst illahopet ot r
ansformt heconsumer ist
iclife-
styl
ei ntogood
l
ivingwi thful
lcooper at i
on, coor dinat
ionandhar monywi t
ht henat ure.I
tcoul dbeal teredf or
thebet termentoft hewhol epl anet .Gandhibel i
evest hatther ei sagoodsoulev eni ndev il
s
andweshoul dwor kf orget ti
ngt hegoodnesst hatcomesoutf rom ev ent hedev i
l.Atsome
pointoft ime,theper spect i
v eofgoodnessi nconsumer i
sticat t
it
udeneedst obecul t
ivated.
Asst atedbyGandhi -hat et hesi nnott hesi nner.

MAHATMAGANDHI

MohandasKar amchandGandhiwasbor non2Oct ober1869atPor bandar,thecapitalofa

smallpr
incel
ystateinGuj ar
at.Hisfat
herKaramchandGandhiwast heChiefMi ni
sterofthe
Stat
eofPor bandar.Putli
bai
,Gandhiji
’
smot herwaspiousanddeeplyreli
giousperson.The
famil
ywasVai shnavit
e,whichi sasectofHinduswhowor shi
pLor dVishnu( TheCr eat
or)
.
Gandhij
iwasast ri
ctv eget
arian.Hewasal soabel i
everinfast
ingasameansofsel f
-
puri
fi
cati
onandr el
igi
oust ol
erance.

Inhisl
ifetimeGandhi j
iwasr egardedasaMahat ma( aGreatSoul)byt hepeopleofI ndia.He
becamet heprinci
palar chit
ectofI ndi
a’sI
ndependenceandnat ionali
sm andsethi shead
andhear ttostopthebl atantexploit
ati
onofIndi
a’speopl
eandlootofnat uralresources.He
advocatedt heuseoft hesamef orthegood,thebenefitandwel l-beingoft het eeming
mill
i
onsofI ndi
a.AfterGaut am Buddha,hehasbeent heProphetofNon- vi
olence( ahimsa)
,
Trut
h( satya)andsticki
ngt ot hetruth(
saty
agraha)evenunderthegr eatestprovocation.He
wastheunquestionedapostl
eofappliedhumanecology.Usi
ngnon-vi
olentmeans, hesetin
moti
onapr ocessthatledtotheIndependenceofI
ndiaandmanynat i
onsi nAsiaandAf r
ica
andelsewhere.Thesecountr
ies,l
ikeIndi
a,wereunderanali
enrulebefore.Thereaft
erthey
wereincontr
oloft hei
rowndest i
nyandf r
eetocomeoutoft hequagmireofabj ectpov
erty
andpenury.

Very earl
yi nl i
fe he setforhimselft wo object
ives:near-
ter
m obj ecti
ve ofpolit
ical
Independence ofIndiaf ol
l
owing the path ofahimsa and sat yagraha,and long-
term
objecti
veofeconomi cI
ndependenceforIndi
a’steemingmill
ionsbasedonsoci al
,economic,
envir
onment alequi
tyandet hi
calconsider
ations.Whileheachievedthef or
meri nhislif
e
time,thel
atteri
sstil
ladream evenaft
er50y earsofI
ndependenceoft hecountry
.

Asisborneoutbyhi sl
ifeandwor k,Gandhij
iwasmuchaheadofhi st i
me.Fewcoul dhav e
madesuchf uturi
sti
cstatementsonenv i
ronmentanddev el
opment ,par t
icul
arl
ywhen,at
thatti
met heenv i
ronmentalpr
oblemswer eeit
hernottooobvious,oratbestwer eonlyin
thei
rinci
pientstages.I
tneededtheMahat ma’smi ndandeyetodiscernt hese,andtalkand
writ
eaboutt hesame.Thi sonl
yshowshi sf or
ethoughtandvi
sionoft heshapeoft hingsto
come.

VI
SIONOFGANDHI

Gandhiwassoci ali
zedint heIndiancul tur
altradit
ionandhehadt akenqui teadv anced
educati
oni nEngland.He,theref
ore,couldclaimt ohavecomparat
iveviewsoft heliv
inglife-
sty
leandpr ogressofbot hI ndiaandt heWest .Asearlyasin1909,i nhissmal lbut
percept
ivepubl i
cati
on,HindSwar aj,Gandhist ated,thatt
hecivi
l
izat
ionoft heWestt hen
bei
ngwel comei nIndiainthenameofmoder nityisa‘Bhasmasur
’(Destruct
ivemonst er
).It
i
saci v
il
izati
onwhi chequat esconsumer i
stli
festyl
eandabundancewi thdev elopment .It
cannotbeci v
il
izati
oninrealsenseoft heterm.

Therei
snoendt othedesi r
eoft heman,indiscri
minatesati
sfacti
onofwhichhasl edthe
Westtohavemast eryov ernature.(Hedist
inguishedbetweent heneedsandthewant sof
thehumanbeings).
InHi ndSwar aj,hehadgivenhi scri
ti
queofmoder ncivi
li
zat
ion.Hehad
showntheli
mitsoftheWest er
nWor ldandcri
tici
sedtheextentoftechnol
ogyuseandev il
s
ofhi
gherandhigherstandardofliving.

Gandhisai dthat,i
fimitat
ingt heWest ,I
ndia( wi
thitsv astpopulation)tr
iedt oreacht he
l
ivi
ngst andardofEnglandther esour
cesoft heearthwillnotbeenough.Heal socautioned
againstwhatwasl at
eront obeknownast he‘consumer i
stculture’anda‘ waste-centr i
c
society’
.Hiscelebrat
edandof tenquot edstatementthat,‘t
heEar thhasenought osat isfy
the need ofal lthe people,butnotf orsat i
sfyi
ng t
he gr eed ofsome, ’has become
astonishi
nglyrel
evantin1990’ s.Hedi sti
nguishedbetween‘ need’and‘ want’ofthehuman
bei
ng.Gandhial soemphasi zedt okeepi nv iew,theFut ur
eGener at i
onsbeforeusi ngup
nat
uralresourcesbythepresentgener
ati
on.Kamal
aChowdhar yhasf oundtheref
lect
ionof
Gandhi’
si deasrel
atedtoenv i
ronmentinthe"Agenda21"f ashionedbyt helar
gestever
numberoft henati
onsofthewor l
dattheEart
hSummi tatRi
o-de-Janei
roin1992.

Gandhiwhohadl iv
edi nEnglandandSout hAfricarul
edbyt hewhi tecol
onial
i
stswasa
maveri
ckwhenhest atedthatGodmaysav eI
ndiafrom t hewayt hewesthasadopt ed
i
ndustr
ial
ism.Economi cimperial
i
sm ofasi ngl
esmal lisl
and( England)keepsthewhole
worl
dinchains.I
fawhol enationof30crorepopulat
ion( I
ndia)wi l
lproceedonthepat
hof
sucheconomicexpl
oitati
onsitwil
leatupt
hewhol eworldli
kel ocusts.

Comment ingonmoder ncivil

ization,hesai dthatitseekst oi ncr
easephy sicalcomf ortsof
thepeopl e.Weshoul dkeeppat iencet oseet hatsuchaci vi
li
zationwi llinv i
tei t
sown
destructi
on.I nt hewi l
df i
reoft hisci v
il
izati
onthemat eri
alwil
lbedev ouredupas‘ Bali
’,t
here
i
snol i
mitt oit.Thosewhobel ievei ttobegoodwi llbecaughtbyi tsbur ningf l
ames.Sucha
devastati
ng ef f ect,thi
smoder n Bhasmasurhas. Gandhihad notonl yt hev ision about
envir
onment ,henotonl yexhor ted hiscount rymen to becr i
ti
callyawar eofuncr i
tical
acceptanceoft echnology&eat ingupwi ththewesti nt er
msofi t
sl i
vingstandar d.Notonl y
didheexhor tt hepeopl etoseet headv er
selinkbet weent heWest erncivil
izat i
onandt he
thr
eatt onat uralresour cesleadingt owhati sknownt odayas‘ ecologicalcri
sis’ andwhathe
call
edt heexhaust ionofear t
h’sr esour cesifallthecount ri
eswentt hewayt hewestwas
going,buthehi msel fputintopr act i
cewhatheexhor ted.

PRACTI
CEOFGANDHI

Forexampl e,heputemphasi sonkeepi ngone’ shomeandsur roundi ngscl ean.Oneofhi s

testst ochooseani nti
mat einhi sAshr am t estinchoosi nghisi nmat einAshr am he/she
cleansedhi sownt oil
et.Ev erydaywhenGandhiwast akingbat hi nt he( 1920’s–1930)
freelyf l
owi ngandunpol lutedwat eroft heSabar matineart heAshr am, heconsciouslyused
onlyt hemi nimum r equisitewat erneededf ortakingbat h.Onbei ngaskedwhyhewasusi ng
ther iverwat ersospar inglywheni twasav ail
ableinabundance,her emarkedt hatallthat
wasf lowi ngi nther iv
erwasnothi s.At ell
i
ngi ll
ustr
at i
onofApar igraha( non-possession)
andat ell
i
ngexampl eofanexempl aryact ionrelatedtoconser vationofNat ur
e’sresources.
Likehi m, manyofhi sfollowersusedscr apesofpaper sf orwri
ti
ngbr iefnot esandr ever
sed
env elopf orreuset osendl ett
ers.Gandhi alsoemphasi zednon-violence, asintheotherfield,
i
nr elationt onat ureaswel l.Nat ur
ewast obeappr oachedwi t hasenseofr everence.I t
shoul dnotbehur t.Theman,t hemostpower f
ullivi
ngbei ngont heear thshouldnotcause
violencet osent ientbei ngsi ncludingt hepl antsandani mal
s.Thi swashi smeani ngof
1
ecol ogical balanceandpeace.

1
ht
tps:
//www.gandhi
ashr
amsev
agr
am.
org/
gandhi
-ar
ti
cles/
eco-
gandhi
-and-
ecol
ogi
cal
-
movements.
php
GANDHI
ANVI
EW ONENVI
RONMENT

Manygr andi
osev i
sionshav ebeendev el opedt odepi cthowhumanshav eshapeddest i
nyin
thenew centuryt hati sfastappr oaching.Thesev i
sionsarebasedonscenar i
oi nvolvi
ng
highl
ysophisti
cat edbr eakt
hr oughwi thv astpot ent
ials–coloniesinspace,robotoper ated
plant
s,comput erst hatmat chhumani ntel
ligenceandsoon.Maj orquestioni swhet her
suchscienti
ficandt echnologicaladv ancement sarebasedonaposi ti
onwher emanand
machineco-oper atewi theachot herorhasmachi neov er
poweredman?Theunpr ecedented
growthinwor ldconsumpt ionandpr oduct ioni sleadingtoenv i
ronmentalstresst hrough
i
mpact sthatarebot hgl obalandl ocal.Someki ndsofenv i
ronmentaldegradationar etrul
y
ofglobalconcern, suchasgl obal warmi nganddepl etionoft
heozonel ayer.

Other
sareinter
nati
onal–acidrai
d,thestateofocean,i
nsev er
alcountr
ies.Ot
her
saremor
e
2
l
ocali
zed,
-airpol
lut
ion,
waterpoll
uti
on,soil
degradati
on,desert
if
icat
ionandsoon.

Theemer genceofenv ir
onment alconcernsdur ingthepastt wodecadeshasl edsev eral
peopleto questi
on whethergr owthoft hecosti mposed on t heenv i
ronmentt hrough
depl
etionofnon-renewablenaturalresources.Aquest ional soariseswhet herpovert
yand
envi
ronmentaldegradat
ionareinterrelat
ed?Whati sther elati
onbet weenenv i
ronmentand
economicgrowth.Thei nterrel
ationshipbet weenpov ert
y ,envir
onmentanddev el
opment
hasalsobeenr ecognized.Thei nterrelati
onshipbet weenpov ertyandenv i
ronmenthas
beenrecognizedbyt heWor l
dCommi ssiononEnv i
ronmentandDev el
opmentRepor tas
“pover
tyisamajorcauseandef fectofglobal envir
onment al pr
oblem.”

Thei nt err
elat
ionshi pbetweent heexpl oitati
onanddegr adati
onofenv ironmentandnat ur al
resour ces,ont heonehand,anddev el
opmentandpov er
ty,ont heot her,ispar ti
cul arly
3
rel
ev anti nt her ur alareasofdev elopingcount ri
es. Thel inkagebet weenpov ertyand
env i
ronmentdef i
nesapar t
icul
archar acteri
sti
cofenv ironment aldisruption.Inruralar eas,
thesel i
nkagemat eri
ali
zet hrought heov erexploi
tati
onofr esour ces.Att heinternational
andnat i
onallevels,1992wasav ibranty earasenv i
ronment alconcer n,theconser vation
strategy and pol icy statementon env ir
onmentand dev elopmentwer e present ed t o
parli
amentdur inghi speri
od.Oneoft hemor eposit
iveappr oacheswast her adi
calconcept
ofeconomi cdev elopment .“..
.sustainabledev el
opmentasanappr oacht oenv i
ronment
i
mpl iesmeet i
ng t heneedsoft hepr esentwi t
houtcompr omising theabi l
it
yoff uture
4
gener ationt omeett heirneeds. ” Poorpeopl ear epushedt owar dst heexpl oit
ationof

2
Karshenas,M;Envir
onmentDev elopmentandEmployment
:Someconceptuali
ssuesp-
22,
i
nBhal l
a,A.S.(Edi
.)Envi
ronment,EmploymentandDevel
opment
3
Bi
fani,P;
Envir
onmentalDegradat
ioninr
uralar
easp-99-
106inBhal
l
a,A.S.(
Edi.
),
Envi
ronment,EmploymentandDevelopment.
4
Nay
yar
,K.R.
;Pol
i
ticsofsust
ainabl
eDev
elopment
,Economi
candpol
i
tical
weekl
y,28t
hMay
,
mar gi
nalar easofl owpr oduct
ivity;t endt oov erexploitthenat ur alresourcesr esultingi na
consequentdecl i
nei npr oductivi
ty .Cy cli
calrelati
onshipbet weenpov ertyandenv i
ronment al
degradationt akespl ace.Aspov er tyincreases, naturalenvironmentdegr adest hepr ospect s
forfurt
herl i
v el
ihooddecl i
ne.Env ironment aldegradationgener atesmor epov erty.Atl east
500mi ll
ionoft hewor ld'spoorestpeopl eliveinecologicallymar gi nalareas.Anot herr eason
forenvironment alpol l
ut i
onanddegr adationi soverut i
li
zationofr enewabl er esour ces.The
useoff irewood–t heuseofmostr enewabl eresourcei sdr i
venbyexpandi ngpopul at i
on.
Within40y ear stheamountofcr opl andav ai
lableperper soni sproj ectedtof allbyhal ffrom
today’sal r
eadymeager0. 27 hect are.Soi ldegr adati
on hasr educed t heav ail
abi l
ityof
agri
culturall andpercapi ta.By2050mor et han2bi l
li
onpeopl ewi llli
veinr egi onsf acing
l
and scar city,wi th ext ensiv
e and i ncreasing deser ti
ficati
on and l and degr adat i
on,
parti
cularlyi npar tsofSout hAsi aandsub- SaharanAf r
ica,aboutat hir
doft heear t
h’s
ori
ginalf oresthav e di sappeared.Two- fi
fths oft he wor l
d’s peopl e depend on wat er
absorbedbyt hemount ainranges.Butwhent hetreeshav ebeenf ell
ed, r
ainwat ersheetof f
theland,causi ngf l
oodsanddr ought s.Tensofmi l
li
onsofhect ar esinIndiahav ebecome
mor evulner abletof loodi ngasar esul tofdef orestat
ion.

Theov eruseoffert
il
izercausesgr eatwaterpoll
uti
onprobl
ems.Heav yusesofphosphat i
c
ferti
li
serhav eappearedingr oundwat eri
nsixdi
stri
ctsi
nWestBengal ,ki
l
lingsomeoft hose
drinki
ng wat er.Ifthist rend conti
nues,wor l
d may see a fi
v ef
oldi ncrease in waste
generat i
onozonel ayerhast hi
nnedby10% ov ertemperat
eregion.Theul travi
oletl
ightis
alsoamaj orcauseofcat aracts,whi
chcausemor ethanhalft
hebl i
ndnessint hewor l
dand
claim sightof17mi ll
ionpeopl eev eryyear
.Itpenetr
atessurf
aceoft hesea,ki l
li
ngt he
planktonwhi chisvi
talinthef oodchain.

Rapidindustri
ali
zationinmanycount rieshasgr eatlyincr easedpollution.Vehi cleexhaust ,
coalburningandsmokef rom factori
esf orm smal lpar t
iclesi ntheairt hatcauseser i
ous
healt
hdamage.Ai rpollutionf rom i
ndust r
ialemi ssion, carexhaustandbur ningoff uelskil
ls
mor ethan2. 7milli
onpeopl eeveryy earfrom r espiratorydamage,hear tandl ungdamage
andcancer .Besideshar mi nghumanheal th,airpol l
ut i
oncausesdi recteconomi closses.
Germanyl osesanest i
mat ed$4.7bi ll
ioninagr icult
ur alproduct i
onev eryy earasar esultof
ai
rpolluti
on;Poland$2bi l
lion,It
aly$1. 8bil
lionandSweden$41. 5bill
ion.Pol lutedai rdrif
ts
acrossnat i
onalfronti
er s,wi themi ssionofsul phurdi oxidei nonecount ryr ainingaci don
another.Aciddeposi ti
oni spar t
icularl
yhighi nindust ri
alar eassuchassout h-eastchina,
North-
EastIndia,andThai land.Theef fectsar efeltinagr i
cul t
ural.I
nIndi awheaty i
eldshav e
beencutinhal fi
nar eascl oset olargesour cesofsul phurdi oxideemissi on.

Gl
obalwar
mingi
soneoft
hemostser
iousofal
ltheenv
ironment
alchal
l
enges.I
tthr
eat
ens

1994p-
1327and1928
todi sr
upttheremar kablyst ableclimatethewor ldhasenjoyedsincelast10,000years.And
i
ni sl i
kel
yt ocausewi despr eadeconomi c,socialandenvir
onment aldestr
ucti
onov ert he
nextcentury.Bytheest i
mat es,thewor ld'
shar v
estwi l
lbesl
ight
lyreducedinnextcent ury.A
recentstudypr edictst hathar vestwi l
ldeclinebymor ethan30% i nIndiaandPaki st
an.
Risingseasmayt hreatent helivesofmi ll
i
onsi ndev el
opi
ngcountri
es.Withaonemet errise
i
nseal ev
el,dueinpar ttogl obal warming,Bangladeshcouldseeitslandareashri
nkby17%,
throughi tproducesonl y0. 3% ofgl obalemi ssion.Egyptcouldsee12% ofi t
st errit
ory
disappearunderthewav es.

Aconser v
ativ
eest i
mateofenv i
ronment
aldamagei nI
ndiaputsthefi
gureatmor ethan$10
bil
li
onay earor4.5%ofGDPi n1992.Thati s,ur
banai
rpollut
ioncostsIndi
a$1. 3bil
l
iona
year.Waterdegradati
onleadstohealthcostsamounti
ngt o$5.7beveryyear,near
lythree
fi
fthsofthetotalenvi
ronmentalcost
s.Soilerosi
onaf
fects83-163mil
li
onhect ar
esofl and
everyyear.

Defor
estati
on,
whichpr
oceededatt
her
ateof0.
6%ay
earbet
ween1981and1990,
leadst
o
annualcost
sof$214mil
li
on.

Itshouldbenot edthatr enewablesour cesofener gy,evi

lsofl argescal eindustriali
zati
on
anddanger sofenv i
ronment alpoll
utionwer erecognizedbyGandhi jieightdecadesago,as
heputmor eemphasi sonnon- v
iolentupl i
ft
mentofv il
l
ageeconomyandt heut i
l
izationof
l
abour -
intensivetechniqueofpr oduct i
on.I nmoder nt erminology,Gandhi j
i
’sst rategyis
modifiedi ntermsofpat t
ernofgr owt h,whichpreli
minaryusesr enewabl eresourcesanda
minimum ut il
isat
ionofnon- renewabler esources.Thoughconcer nfort heenv i
ronmentwas
notthef ocusofsuchpr escr
ipti
ons, yetsuchstrategyhelpedtomi ni
mi zethedegr adat i
onof
envir
onment .Theenv ir
onment -fr
iendlynat ureofGandhi aneconomi ci sfurtherr eveal
ed
whenonenot estheemphasi sont he‘ l
astman’Insuchpol i
cy ,povertyhasbeendescr i
bed
asthemostsev erepolluter
.TheGandhi anprescript
ionof‘simpl elivi
ng’alsoat tempt sto
putacheckonunl i
mitedconsumpt i
onandunendi ngexploit
ationofnat uralresources.

Theemi nentGandhi ant hinkerandeconomi st

,J. C.Kumar appadr ew at tentiont owar ds
thesecr i
ticalmat t
ersofenv ir
onment alpol l
uti
onandpr eservati
onofnat uralr esour ces
abouthal facent uryagoandexhor t
edthatmanki ndshoul dstriveforest ablishing‘ Economy
ofper manence, ’r atherthan r eckl
essdest r
uction ofnat uralresour ces.Thi scoul d be
achiev edbyaj udiciousmi nimum useoft henon-r enewabler esource,t herebysav ingt hem
forfut uregener ati
onandadopt ingapr oduct i
vesy st em inwhichwhat ev erisdr ainedoutof
naturei sr estor
edbackt hrought henaturalprocess.“ Workinnatureconsi stsint heef fortto
putf orthbyt hev ari
ousf actors–i nsentientandsent i
ent–whi chco- operat et ocompl ete
thi
s cy cl
e ofl i
fe.I fthis cyclei s broken,atanyst age,atanyt ime,consci ousl yor
unconsci ousl y,violence result
s as a consequence ofsuch a br eak.When v iol
ence
i
nterv enesi nthisway ,growthorpr ogressi sst opped,endi ngf i
nallyi ndest ructionand
wast e.
..Self
-int erestandsel fpreservati
ondemandcompl etenon- v
iolence,co- oper at
ion
and submi ssion,t ot he ways ofnat urei fwe ar et o mai ntain permanency by non-
5
i
nterferencewi thandbynotshor t-ci
rcuit
ingt hecy cleofl i
fe. What ev erisdr awnoutof
naturei sto be r ecycled thr
ough t he nat uralpr ocess.Localr aw mat eri
alshoul d be
processed local l
y.Whatcoul d notbe pr oduct ed i n a decent rali
zed sy stem coul d be
productedbycent rali
sedorcapi t
al-i
ntensivemet hodofpr oduct i
on.Whi leclarif
yinghi s
vi
ews,hehadpr ev i
ousl yassert
edt hat“..
..
.Idov isualiseelectri
city,shi
p- buil
ding,machi ne-
maki ngandt hel i
keexi sti
ngsidebysi dev i
llagecr aft..
...Theyshoul dnotbeusedasa
meansofexpl oi tati
onofot her
s.”Heal sonot edt hat“ ..
..
.Theheav ymachi neryforthewor k
ofapubl icuti
litywhi chcannotbeunder takenbyhumanl abourhasi tsinev i
tableplace.But
6
al
lthatshoul dbeownedbyt hestateandusedent irelyforthebenef i
toft hepeopl e.” Equal
di
stributi
onofi ncomeandweal thgohand- in-handwi thpr operbal ancebet weencent rali
sed
anddecent ralizedmet hodsofpr oduct i
oni nur banandr uralaar easr espectivelyfort he
welfareofthemasses.

Gandhi ji
’semphasi son l abouri ntensi
v eofpr oduct ion doesnoti ndi catet hathewas
advocat ingobsol etemachi nerywi t
hlesspr oducti
v it
y .Hewasi nf av ourofsi mplet ools,
7
whichsav eindiv i
duall abourandl ight
ent hebur denofmi ll
ionsofcot tages.Whi l
ecl ari
fy i
ng
therol eofmachi nery ,hement i
onedt hat“ mechani sationi sgoodwhent hehandsar ef ew
forthewor kintendedt obeaccompl i
shed.I tisanev ilwhent herear emor ehandst han
requiredf orthewor ks, asi st hecasei nI ndia.Thepr obl em i showt out ili
zet heiridlehour s,
8
whichar eequalt ot hewor kingday sofsi xmont hsi nt hey ear.” Hewasagai nstthecr aze
formachi neryinal abour -sur pluseconomyl ikeIndiaandaccept edt heut i
li
zat i
onofmoder n
toolsandi mplement spr ov idedt heyhelpi nreduci ngunnecessar yhumanl abour .Hewant ed
product ionbyt hemassesandnotmasspr oduct i
on. Here,i tshoul dbenot edt hatt he
adopt i
on ofl abour -int ensi vet echnique ofpr oduction t o cr eatej ob oppor tuniti
es was
suggest edbyWor l
dDev elopmentRepor t–1990, especi al
lyt odev elopingcount ri
es.I twas
pointedoutt hat“ .
..Agai nstt hebackgr oundofachi ev ement ,isal lthemor est agger ing,
shamef ulthatmor et hanonebi l
li
onpeopl ei nthedev elopingwor l
dar elivingi npov erty.
Progressi nraisingav eragei ncomes,howev erwelcome,mustnotdi stractat tentionf r
om
thi
smassi veandcont inui ngbur denofpov er t
y.Forr emov alofpov ert
yandunempl oy ment ,
i
twassuggest edt hat ”. .
...rapidandpol i
ticallysust ainabl epr ogressonpov er tyhasbeen
achiev edbypur suingast rategyt hathast woequal lyimpor t
antel ement s.Thef ir
stel ement
5
Kumar
appa,
J.C.
,EconomyofPer
manence,
p-2
6
Gandhi
,M.
K,Har
ij
an,
22-
6-27-
8-1936

7
Gandhi
,M.
K.YoungI
ndi
a,16-
6-1926

8
Gandhi
,M.
K,Har
ij
an,
16-
5-1936
i
st opr omot et hepr oduct i
veuseoft hepoor ’smostabundantasset ,l abour.I tcallsf or
poli
ciest hathar nessmar ketincent i
v es,soci alandpol i
ti
cali nsti
tuti
ons,i nfrastructureand
technologyt ot hatend. ...
.swit
chingt oanef fi
cient ,l
abourintensivepat ternofdev elopment
andinv estingmor einthehumancapi taloft hepoorar enotonl yconsi stentwi thf asterlong
term gr owt h,t heycont ributedtoi t”.I twasf urthernot ed“ sincel abouri sanabundant
9
resource, encour agi
ngi t
susei sgener al l
yconsi stentwi t
hr apidandef f
icientgrowt h. I
ndian
Plannersar enotunf ami l
iarwitht hesev i
ewsandsuggest i
ons.Theywer edi scussedby
Gandhi j
iov erei ghtdecadesago, i
nitiallyinHi ndSwar ajandt heni nYoungI ndiaandHar ij
an
withspeci alf ocusonKhadiandv i
llagei ndust ries.Hest at
ed“ Ihavenotcont empl ated,
muchl essadv isedtheabandonmentofasi ngle, healthy
,lif
e-givi
ngi ndust ri
alactivityforthe
sakeofhand- spinni
ng.Theent iref oundat ionoft hespinning-wheelr est sont hef actthat
therear ecor esofsemi -unemploy mentpeopl ei nI ndi
a..
..
.thespi nningwheeli sdest ructive
ofnoent erprisewhat ever.Iti
slif
e-givingact i
vit
y ”

Theessenceoft heGandhi anappr oachtot echnologicalpr ogressliesintreati

ngNat ureas
af r
iendandbenef actor.Thisappr oachisopposi t
et owhatwehav epractici
ngsof arinthe
nameoft echnol ogy.Alldecent r
ali
zedtechnologicalsy stemswhi chmakesuseofnat ures-
i
n-builtprocessesdemandaset tl
ementpat t
erndifferentf r
om t heheav i
lyonethatf or
m our
preferencenow.Buti fwet akeabr oaderv i
ew,t heycanbecomet hehar bingersofa
advancement ,leadingdev el
opmentwi t
ht hehelpofeco- f
riendlytechnology.Whent hebasi c
problemsofI ndianeconomyar eanaly
zed,t hepat ter
nofi ncomedi stri
buti
on,inequalit
y,
poverty,unempl oymentar est i
llexi
sti
ngast heywer ewhenGandhi j
iadvocatedthespi nni
ng
-wheel asapanaceaf orallil
l
s.Thus, hi
semphasi sonKhadi andv i
ll
ageindustri
eswasnota
tempor arymeasur e,butaper manentsol ut
iontoov ercomet her ootproblemsofpov erty
andunempl oymentf rom India.

CONCLUSI
ON

Gandhi '
senv i
ronment ali
sm fitt
edi nwi thhisov eral
lv isionf orI ndi aandt hewor ldt hat
soughtt oext ractfrom naturewhati sabsol utel
ynecessar yf orhumansust enance.Hi s
i
deasonenv i
ronmentar eintimatelyl inkedwithhi sideasr elatingt ot hepol i
ty,economy ,
health,anddev elopment.Hisasceticism andsi mpleliving, arural -
centredci vi
li
zati
onbased
onv i
llageautonomyandsel f-
rel
iance, handicr
aftsandcr aft-
cent rededucat i
on,emphasi son
manuall abourandabsenceofexpl oitati
v er
elati
onshipsar ei nfusedwi thelement sofan
ecologicalvi
sion.Evenhisappr oacht ogenderdi dnotat temptt obr eakt heconnect i
onwi th
nature,buttomaneuv erwit
hinitandpr ovidesomespacef orwoment oupl i
ftthemselves.I t
i
s,t herefor
e,no wondert hatGandhii s a maj ori nspi r
ati
on f ormany env ir
onment al
mov ement swor ldwi
de,parti
cularl
yf ort hosewhol inkthei rmov ementwi t
hlargerconcer ns

9
Wor
ldDev
elopmentRepor
t,1990,
p-3,
10and56.
forhuman sust enance and development .He would notbe an i nspirati
on forr adical
env ir
onment ali
stswho al l
ow lit
tl
espacef orhuman sust enanceand l i
veli
hood issues.
Althoughhewasnotant hropocentri
ci nhisapproach,hewasnotpr eparedt oallow the
quest ionofhumansur vi
valtobesi deli
nedindiscussionsonenv i
r onment .Finall
y,non-
violentmet hodsofGandhial sorepresentanev olut
ionaryapproacht oresolvi
ngdi sputes
within an ov erallecol
ogicalframe.Ther eis now a r et
hinking on t he desirabil
it
yof
dev elopment.Ani deali
ke'happiness'doesnotsuggestt hathighlevelofmat er
ialprogress
i
snecessar ytor eal
izei
t.Gandhi'
senv ironmental
i
sm, itmustbeadmi tted,isl
argelybuilton
ecol ogical
practicesofpeasantsandt ri
balcommuni t
ies.

BI
BLI
OGRAPHY

Bhall
aA.S.( Edi)TechnologyAppropri
atef oraB.N.St rat
egyin'
Towar
dsGl obalActionforAT'
Technol
ogyandEmpl oymentBranch,I.L.O.Pr ogramme: Pr
ess,
1977
HumanDev el opmentRepor t1997,1998, UNDP
KumarappaJ. C.;'
EconomyofPer f
ormances' ,Varanasi
,Serv
aSevaSanghPr akashanSeptember,
1984,Fi
fthEdi t
ion
Nayyar,
K.R.; Poli
ti
csofsust ai
nableDev elopment,Economicandpol
it
ical
weekl y,28thMay,
1994
Vari
ousIssuesofYoungI ndiaandHar i
jan.
WorldDevelopmentRepor t
,1990
WorldBankr esearchprogramme-1993