Self Sufficient Villages in Today's Global Village :

The relevance of Gandhian economics :

Introduction-

The relevance of Gandhian economics in today's world seems to be paradoxical. 

Gandhi believed that India lives in villages and that development of the villages will mean development of India as a whole. 

If we are to increase the scope on a bigger scale and look at the world as a unified country and countries as villages, the relevance is clear. 

Today, we live in a global village and, as they say, it has indeed become a small place to live in. 

With recession affecting the world like never before, it is time to go back to the drawing board. 

Gandhi saw the problems associated with industrialisation and modernisation. 

He believed that unless villages are developed and made self sufficient, it will lead to mass migration, overcrowded cities and the vicious circle of poverty and under-development cannot be extinguished. 

Gandhi's economic ideas were closely linked to the upliftment of weaker and underprivileged sections of the society and overall development of the village economy as a whole. 

Along with the freedom struggle, vigorous efforts were made by Gandhi for the development of villages by making them financially independent through establishment of small and cottage industries. 

He believed that political independence without economic independence was hollow. 

He was sure that the progress of the country lies in the development of majority of its rural villages. 

Gandhi said that the only way of bringing hope of good living to the rural people was by making the village the central place in the economic programme.

By Dr. Moushumi Datta
Nagindas Khandwala College, Mumbai.