There are many policies, not enough people participation
In the post-Independence period, constant efforts were required at the social level to achieve self-reliance. For centuries our country was under foreign rule. During this long period of servitude, the spirit and quest for self-reliance and a dignified life had almost vanished.
To regain this spirit after Independence, an all out effort was required. But unfortunately, we equated Independence with self-reliance.
This was merely a self-deceiving attitude. Unless we get rid of the fetid concept, it will be impossible to attain self-reliance in our social, economic and political life.
Unless the goal of self-reliance is achieved, the Independence we earned through hardship and sacrifice will be worthless.
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| Appointment of bureaucracy and distribution of monetary incentives alone cannot achieve economic and social development. (Credit: Reuters photo) |
The long period of servitude has made the people "government dependent" after attaining Independence, this reliant mentality of "government dependency" should have been removed from the minds of the people.
Appointment of bureaucracy and distribution of monetary incentives alone cannot achieve economic and social development, self-initiated efforts towards development are the need of the hour and the same has been observed in the past as well.
Be it the revolt of 1857 or the agitation against the atrocities of the Emergency in 1975, reforms have a history of being initiated by the masses on their own.
The same is being overlooked in the present times, and thus the challenge of poverty and unemployment has caught the country by its collar.
There is a growing sense of disappointment and unrest amongst the people. However, the potential of this power of the masses is being ignored and money is being poured into development schemes that has given rise to laziness and further dependence on government .
Thus, there is an urgent need for institutions like self-help groups and ideas like adoption of village to take the lead and be the bridge between the government schemes and the public.
Have we ever wondered what would be an integrated and holistic model of development of rural India, a model that is sustainable and benefits the society at large?
How do social reformers engage with the civil society? How do social entrepreneurs use innovation to transform the lives of the village folklore and what role does the government play in the improvement of day to day lives of its citizen? How to build society based on the propagation of human values with the initiative and active cooperation of the citizenry?
It was in this spirit that Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh, also known as Nanaji Deshmukh, in the late 1980s took the path of social reforms over the power and prestige of a political life.
With the vision and commitment towards promoting integral humanism and Antyodaya, Nanaji came to Chitrakoot, a remote district along the borders of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
And here, we are talking about times when sufferings were not only because of lack of resources, but a large chunk of the local population was also affected by criminal activities.
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| There is a need for policies that involve people's participation. (Credit: Reuters photo) |
It was to infuse hope and confidence into the lives of the people that Nanaji laid the foundations of the Deendayal Research Institute (DRI).
A centre committed in letter and spirit to the development of a holistic model of rural upliftment which includes health, education, agriculture as well as a prosperous and self-sufficient rural economy.
To achieve this goal, the DRI used social capital as its strength and stressed on the utilisation of the hidden and unexplored potential of the locally available natural resources.
They focused on the importance of processing these resources to provide employment to the unemployed youth, making them entrepreneurs through Udyamita Vikas.
Nanaji finally fine-tuned an integrated programme for the development of rural areas that covers health, hygiene, education, agriculture, income generation, conservation of resources and social conscience that is both sustainable and replicable.
The basis of the project is "total transformation through total development with people's initiative and participation".
The project, called the Chitrakoot Project or the Campaign for Self-Reliance, was launched on January 26, 2005, in 80 villages around Chitrakoot area.
The aim was to achieve self-reliance for these villages by 2005. When complete in 2010, the project hoped to make the 500 surrounding villages self-reliant and serve as a sustainable and replicable model for "Bharat" and the world.
"More than 5,000 people living around villages were undertaken in the DRI project from agriculture and entrepreneurship project. More than 2,000 women empowered through the ‘Udyamita Vikas’ project. More than 10,000 people benefited through the project at large," said Dr Nandita Pathak, who was among the 100 women achievers in 2016.
Innovative and selfless programmes made this project more viable like Samaj Silpi Dampati (SSD). The SSD project calls for young educated families to devote one year to any of the respective villages where the project is undertaken.
How will that define development? When we talk about development, we need to see the prospect of development.
In Indian philosophy, power means protection of those who are marginalised. There is a need for policies that involve people's participation because policies are already in place, but their implementation in the grassroots level remains a big problem.