As we are witnessing the worst economic crisis since 1991, let us try to understand Gandhism
As the rupee tumbles and the economy crumbles, economists, the so-called soothsayers who claim to have the magic wand but have hardly been reassuring, have started blowing their trumpets. However, the solutions they offer for most of our economic woes just don’t seem to work. Two noted economists, one of them a Nobel laureate, are advocating their straightjacket solutions which, ironically, are contradictory to each other. The tragedy is that even the international economy is in bad shape.
Under such a grim situation it would seem odd to talk of Gandhism. More so, when Mahatma Gandhi himself had proclaimed that there is no such thing as Gandhism. In fact, he was candid enough to confess that he did not originate any new principle or doctrine and had nothing new to teach the world. He was honest in proclaiming that truth and non-violence are as old as the hills. In fact, the ancient Indian thought has unequivocally emphasised this: “Saanch barober tap nahin, jhuth barober paap; jaake hridaye saanch hai, taake hridaye aap (that is, there is no worship equal to truth and no sin equal to lie; and the person who has truth in his heart, God lives there).”
As calculations of IMF and World Bank economists on poverty reduction and growth rate go haywire, popular misconceptions need to give way to pragmatic reappraisal. There needs to be an Indian model to solve India’s economic woes. And it is here that we need to take a look at Gandhism. The so-called market-determined theories propounded by ‘Men in Black’ from the luxurious offices of Washington have faltered on the ground. It is not a question of reforms versus non-reforms. It is a matter of redefining reforms, particularly in Gandhi’s own country. Economists have been ridiculing the Gandhian model of economic development as an unworkable proposition. But the fact is that the model that these so-called economists have offered is not working either. Isn’t it funny that on one hand we are dismissing a model as utopian without trying to implement, while on the other favouring the one that is not working despite being implemented.
It is time the advocates of the Washington school of economics revisited Gandhi’s forgotten injunction: "Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man (woman) whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him (her). Will he (she) gain anything by itIJ Will it restore him (her) to a control over his (her) own life and destinyIJ In other words, will it lead to swaraj (freedom) for the hungry and spiritually starving millionsIJ Then, you will find your doubts and yourself melt away.” As we are witnessing the worst economic crisis since 1991, let us try to understand and revisit Gandhism.
The writer is professor, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad (Jharkhand). He can be reached at ppathak.ism@gmail.com