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of the Indian masses so as to provide a basic standard of life, the primary aims of Gandhian
model is improving the economic situation of the 5.5 lakh villages of India and therefore, it
lays the greatest emphasis on the scientific development of agriculture and fast expansion of
cottage and village industries. Agriculture The Gandhian model aims at the reform of
agriculture as the most important sector in economic planning in India. The primary objective
independence in food and green. That is to be achieved not only by larger and better inputs
but also throughout land reforms—modify in the system of tenure, abolition of the
Money lending should be abolished, and there should be increased credit facilities for the
farmers. The Gandhian model lays special emphasis on dairy farming as an occupation and as
an auxiliary to agriculture.
f) Lagging Agriculture
In the wide world, India stands at a significant milestone in agriculture, as it is second for
arable land, population dependence, rice and wheat production and for other crops, and thus
has considerable share in the global agriculture. Despite this high-level picture for its role and
share in the world, the pathetic conditions of cultivators generate a number of unanswerable
questions. We find suicides of farmers, huge debt burden, low level of incomes, market
problems and thus a galaxy of problems exist in agriculture in rural India. As per the census
of 2011, cultivators are 37.74 per cent and agricultural labour 32.94 per cent and thus from
the main workers 71 per cent of the workforce is under agriculture. Though this shows a
major segment of the population depends on agriculture, its growth rate in the recent past (10
years) has been low—not more than 1.5 per cent (crop). It certainly affects the incomes of a
incomes of farmers. The additional facilities required, which are in demand, may be arranged
in the rural areas. As Gandhi reiterated, there should be a system which eradicates the chronic
problems of agriculture.
Earth, water, sky, air and fire; these are the five elements (panch mahabhut) which are
considered to be very important in the Indian philosophy regarding a way to lead life. It is
said that these five elements are essential for the entire creation, environment, consciousness
and development of the universe. Of these, the earth can be considered as being the main
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi believed that land, air,
water, sunlight and sky are God’s gifts and under no circumstances should these come under
the control of any person, business group, industrial group or any centralised form of power.
These belong to the masses and are public resources. In reality the State is only their trustee
and not their owner as they belong to the people at large. Therefore, in reality, these elements
should be made community based, localised and decentralised and not be brought under
Ownership of Land
Any conversation or discussion about land does not refer to land on the surface, rather it
refers to what lies above and also below it. We have to take land in its totality. Gandhi
believed that the land should not belong to an individual or to the State. Rather it should
belong to the primary face-to-face local people’s communities Although in the concept of
Gandhi used to believe that a farmer should have that much land which he and his family
members could cultivate. He should have an amount of land which was manageable for him
to grow crops, support cattle from its products as well as enough to retain bio-diversity and
capacity to rejuvenate itself. In other words, he wanted the farmer to consider the earth as his
mother. He believed that a farmer should have an amount of land with which he could subsist
his daily earnings honestly and live a life of dignity. The agriculture being practised should
be organic. Effort should be made to return at least as much as being taken from the soil. The
things being used in agriculture should be labour intensive, appropriate and environment
friendly. The tools and implements being used should be made locally. The source of energy
should be decentralised and local. The farmer should have that much of cultivable land which
gives him a complete and reliable means of livelihood. Those who are real farmers, if they
want, can join hands and form a cooperative or community to cultivate their lands. However,
there should be no use of force in these areas, all efforts should be spontaneous, arising from
within the community and completely voluntary in nature. Mahatma Gandhi had a similar
At the time the entire country was fighting against the British Empire, Mahatma Gandhi was
also concerned with ways to combat against the aftermath of a long period of subjugation. He
used to openly express his vision of new India post-political independence. He used to speak
about his thoughts in various programmes and campaigns that he used to attend. His main
focus was on how to end the colonial state system, because it proved to be a substantial
hurdle in building up a new society in independent India. He wanted to bridge the gulf
between various communities and castes that was prevalent in the country and therefore he
often used to launch satyagraha against the British Government. His intentions were to unite
the people and demonstrate their power. He believed that for satyagraha, a constructive
programme was necessary, and that during the long period of satyagraha there should not be
any diversion from the main task at hand. It is for this reason that during the fight for
independence he did not launch any movement for land reforms in favour of the farmers and
landless and against the landlords. However, post-independence, he wanted to launch a new
revolution in the field of agriculture. Under this revolution, he wanted to organise, enlighten
and energize the landless farmers. Even small farmers who tilled their own little plots were to
be included in this movement. He targeted big zamindars, rajas, maharajas, nawabs and other
rich land owners. He wanted that a satyagraha be started under the leadership of the landless.
If due to satyagraha there was a change of heart among the landowners then it was good,
otherwise the landless would continue to challenge the zamindari system through nonviolent
means. Mahatma Gandhi was of the view that such a satyagraha would be pure in its
intension and it would not end till zamindari system itself ended. He believed that this land
satyagraha would pave way for the government to legislate the banning of zamindari system
and redistribution of land among the landless. At the same time he was equally prepared to
launch a satyagraha against the government if it did not work in favour of the rich landowners
in any way.
Mahatma Gandhi used to believe that the zamindari system would not work and the real
owners of the land were those who tilled the lands. Also along with the other natural
resources, land should never be under individual ownership. The concept of trusteeship
would be implemented in all these spheres. He believed that people had the right to own
things that were the minimum necessity for leading a respectable life, and anything in excess
of that belonged to the entire society. You are the trustee of the wealth or things, not its
owner. What a person needs to consume and own for his daily needs would be decided on the
level of consumption of the general people at that point. This concept was also applicable in
case of land. Mahatma Gandhi wanted to root out the zamindari system and for this, he
thought that satyagraha was the best means. Even if there was no change of hearts among the
zamindars due to satyagraha, Gandhiji believed that the satyagraha would change the human
values, socio-economic paradigm in the country, build up the moral character of the people
and ultimately change the character of the state’s power and its attitude towards the people.
Even when Mahatma Gandhi’s influence was at its peak there were people who advocated
development. He wanted policies that would help build up agriculture and production of
goods essential for the people through a network of cottage industries that would generate
employment for the people. Mahatma Gandhi’s model was not centralised mass production,
but production by the masses. Surely, there would be no difficulty in finding land and other
resources for these small cottage industries. The local bodies and community at large would
provide the land. There would be no need for large scale land acquisition for various schemes
degradation that are inherent with large projects. At present, the model of development is
industry focussed, which calls for big machines, plants, townships, business complex, high
tech parks etc – all things that need large amounts of land. And in many of the cases, the land
that is taken over is fertile land and large communities of farmers, tribals, fishermen and
other marginalized sections of society are displaced. In many cases those displaced were the
original inhabitants of the area. This development which is being built on the grave of
agriculture and community is anti-thesis of Mahatma Gandhi’s concept of Swaraj. Now the
question arises: ‘how can projects be implemented as the land and other resources belong to
the community at large?’ For any plants or industry to be built the people of the area have to
come together and decide on whether they want that plant or unit to come up and if they
agree then they will donate land voluntarily for the industry. Thus, it would be their own
industry and they will run it themselves and it would again be ‘production by the masses’.
The projects will belong to the people and it would be run for the greater benefit of the
society and nation at large. The role of the state would be to help in the setting up of the
industry by giving finance, technical expertise and other needed support. However, the
project would belong to the people. There will be no multinationals or local industrial houses
and this concept is also much ahead of the ‘public sector’ ‘private sector’ debate. They would
be owned by the Peoples’ sector or the Communitarian sector. This can be the next step in
Mahatma Gandhi’s vision. The question of land is fundamental to everything and vested
interests are understanding their importance. It is for this reason that investors, corporate
groups and other rich people are trying to corner as much of land as possible and their land
result, farmers are being evicted from their land and non-farmer units are being set up there.
Instead of farmer tilling the land, it is now corporate farming or contract farming. Mahatma
Gandhi used to say, ‘The land belongs to the tiller’, but now in this age of globalisation the
The primary aim of the Gandhian plan is the attainment of maximum self-sufficiency in
village communities. Hence, the plan emphasizes the rehabilitation, development and
expansion of cottage industries side by side with agriculture. Spinning and weaving are given
the first place. The manufacturing of khadi is important and it is almost on the same level as
the production of rice and wheat. “Just as villagers cook their own roti (bread) and rice so
must they make their own khadi for personal use? The surplus, if any they may sell.”2 The
Gandhian plan outlines a scheme for making every village self-sufficient in cloth. At the
same time, the Gandhian plan wants the State to consider the revival and expansion of rural
cottage industries as the main plan of its industrial planning. Gandhi emphasized the conflict
The twin 9 compulsions of reconstructing the economy and achieving rapid economic
industrialization and urbanization. Over a time a distinct bias became apparent towards urban
settlements in general and big cities in particular”. Explaining the role of rural areas in the
Annasaheb Sahasrabudhe wrote: “The rural areas were encouraged to start such industries
which provide urban population with things like milk, vegetables, oil seeds, cotton and food
grains and purchase from the urban areas items such as cloth oil and other manufactures” 3
The villagers have thus been turned into second class citizens to supply cheap raw materials
and semi-finished products to the urban organized sector. The principal element in this
strategy is the transfer of all but most primitive jobs to the cites.
organisms for food or raw materials? A farmer might own the farmed land or might work as a
labourer on land owned by others, but in advanced economies, a farmer is usually a farm
owner. Mahatma Gandhi loved farmers very much. But he worried their problem. He wanted
to improve their economical condition. He wanted to pick out them from social evils.
Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “I for one am a farmer and I wish you all to become
farmers, or to continue as such if you have already become farmers. My way of life has
completely changed here. The whole day is spent in digging the land and other manual labour
instead of in writing and explaining things to people. I prefer this work and consider this
alone to be my duty.”1 Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “Of course the farmer is the
father of the world. But it is his greatness that he is not aware of the fact. Those who devote
themselves to good works of any worth are not aware of their own goodness. Just as we
breathe every moment but are not aware of the fact, so are good people by their very nature
impelled to give expression to their goodness. They are not conscious that they deserve any
Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “A farmer cannot work without applying his mind. He
must be able to test the nature of his soil, must watch changes of weather, must know how to
manipulate his plough skillfully and be generally familiar with the movements of the stars,
the sun and the moon. The farmer knows enough of astronomy, geography and geology to
serve his needs. He has to feed his children and has, therefore, some idea of the duties of
man, and, residing as he does in the vast open spaces of this earth, he naturally becomes
aware of the greatness of God. Physically, it goes without saying, he is always sturdy. He is
his own physician, when ill. Thus, we can see, he does have an educated mind.”3 Mahatma
Gandhi wrote about farmers; “A farmer should not go about from place to place. A farmer’s
son would be violating his dharma if he were to neglect sowings that he might go and see his
father. You have spread your fragrance there; it must be that some good deeds of yours and
Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “Agricultural work will be difficult till some land has
been obtained. Perhaps it will be best to drop it for the time being. The man who teaches us
should be one who has himself been a successful farmer.”5 The term farmer usually applies
to people who do some combination of raising field crops and related of plants. Their
products might be sold in market. In a subsistence economy, farm products might to some
extent be either consumed by the farmer's family. Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers;
“India lives in farmers’ huts. The weavers’ skill is a reminder of India’s glory, and so I feel
Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “An illiterate farmer can represent the difficulties of
the agricultural classes much better than an Indian learned but without experience in that
particular field. I wish; therefore, to see an ever-increasing number of delegates from among
farmers, weavers, carpenters, blacksmiths, shoe-makers and other such groups. I, for one,
think that no substantial progress in the country is possible so long as patriotic farmers do not
attend our political and social conferences in numbers proportionate to their numerical
acquired in few months in Champaran1 and Kheda cannot be had from any number of
books.”7 Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “Go and give the message from this farmer
Gandhi to other farmers that he has asked them not to steal and not to gamble. Their duty is to
grow corn and sell it at reasonable prices. They may not sell at a loss, but it is not right for a
cultivator to make unduly large profits like a miserly trader. They will find theirs a worth-
Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “The Indian farmer is responsible for his own ruin in
that he has indolently neglected cotton culture which was once so good.”9 Mahatma Gandhi
wrote about farmers; “When a farmer wants to sow, he removes the weeds and pebbles from
the field, ploughs it and makes the soil even. If, even after he has done all this, he goes on
turning things this way and that in the field, he will be simply wasting his time. Nor will it be
proper for him to make the same experiments in another field without first watching their
effects in the first one. Those of you who are farmers will understand the point. From among
the plants which grow from the seeds sown by him, a farmer will pluck out those which are
of indifferent quality, sallow, or lifeless. Even from the crop of wheat which he has
harvested, he will stock the best portion as seed and will reap a better harvest every year. We
have succeeded in enlarging the area; now we should address ourselves to improving the
Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “In India, no farmer can have enough to live on
without some small extra income and he can get it only through spinning. Weaving will not
serve the purpose, for it cannot be done only in spare time.”11 Mahatma Gandhi wrote about
farmers; “It is indeed true that agriculture involves the destruction of countless insects. But
another statement, equally true, is that the process of living, even respiration, involves
violence of the same kind. But just as by committing suicide one does not completely get rid
of the body, so also by refusing to take up agriculture one does not abolish it. A human being
is made of earth. His body springs from the earth and derives its sustenance from the various
forms which earth takes. Anyone who lives by begging his food in order to avoid the sin that
agriculture since the food which he begs was produced by the labour of some farmer. He who
fills his stomach by begging shares the sin of which that farmer is guilty by virtue of his
farming. Secondly, he is guilty of the sin of harbouring ignorance and the indolence which
Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “Those who see the poverty of India and feel grieved
should probe under the surface and find its real cause. It is not as if it were slowly decreasing.
It is growing, in spite of hospitals, schools, metalled roads and railways. In spite of all these
you find the people are being ground down as between two millstones. They live in enforced
idleness. A century ago every cottage was able to replenish its resources by means of the
spinning wheel. Now every farmer, scratching the earth only a few inches deep with the
wooden plough, works in the season of cultivation. But he cannot do much work in the other
seasons of the year.”13 Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “Self-help means the ability to
stand on one’s own feet without help from others. This does not mean that one should be
indifferent to such help, or decline it when offered or never desire it or ask for it. But a farmer
who, though wanting and seeking others’ help, can preserve his composure and self-respect
when it is refused, is a man of self-help. A farmer who, though he can get others’ help,
himself attends to all the operations of tilling the land, sowing and reaping, himself makes the
required implements, himself weaves cloth for his use from yarn spun by himself, stitches his
own clothes, cooks his own food and labours to build a house for himself such a farmer is
Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “The farmer sleeps in the field. Are you or the British
officer ever likely to sleep there? But who cares for the poor man’s feelings? What joy does
he get out of life? He has to work in the field from early morning. So he also spreads his bed
there. He may die of snakebite. But the farmer leads such a life by compulsion. If it is at all
called sacrifice on his part, it is sacrifice forced on him. It is not as though he refused to travel
by train; if someone provided him the opportunity, he would travel. But if he leads his
particular kind of life in full knowledge of it, his life would indeed be blessed. Some sages
lead a life like this farmer, or like Jada Bharat. But in their case they have taken to such life
purposely.”15 Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “I have nowhere described the
unavoidable destruction of life that a farmer has to commit in pursuit of his calling as ahimsa.
One may regard such destruction of life as unavoidable and condone it as such, but it cannot
be spelt otherwise than as himsa. The underlying motive with the farmer is to subserve his
own interest or, say, that of society. Ahimsa on the other hand rules out such interested
destruction. But the killing of the calf was undertaken for the sake of the dumb animal itself.
Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “Every farmer will utilize in his own fields the excreta
of his own family, so that no one will find anyone else being a burden to him and everyone
will go on enriching his own crop.”17 Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “We must clear
our field of weeds; but he who lets his field lie fallow after weeding it wastes his effort and
unwanted grass grows in it again. However, he who sows his field after weeding it is a wise
farmer and becomes prosperous. In exactly the same way, if we do not sow seeds in the form
of constructive activity, the weeding in the form of the past twelve months’ non-violent
movement will go waste.”18 Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “Ancient ploughs are
used as well as modern improved models; water is pumped from wells by methods which can
be followed in villages. We are rather partial to ancient implements which are suitable for the
poor farmer. They may be susceptible of some slight improvement, but nothing definite can
be said about it, as the Ashram has not the time to apply its mind to the subject.”19
Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “Every farmer ought to use his hands and feet fully,
especially the hands. In a country where the farmers have no subsidiary industry, they
become almost like animals. If the company of animals is necessary, the experience of using
tools is equally necessary. If all men cultivated manual skill, then even if the population went
on increasing, within limits, everybody would have enough food to eat, cloth to cover his or
her body with and protection against heat and cold in a home. Remember the meaning of
varnadharma which I have been explaining these days.”20 Mahatma Gandhi wrote about
farmers; “If you take a farmer to a field in the vicinity of Bochasan, he will show you a few
varieties of eatable leafy vegetables. Some of these grow like grass—they are in fact grass. It
will serve your purpose even if you get ten or twenty leaves. The people there are bound to
have seeds of leafy vegetables. Which house will not have fenugreek, mustard and coriander
seeds?”21
Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “Every farmer should have his own cow.”22
Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “The farmer needs to know that his first business is to
grow for his own needs. When he does that, he will reduce the chance of a low market
ruining him.”23
Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “It is quite impossible for an individual farmer to look
after the welfare of his cattle in his own home in a proper and scientific manner. Amongst
other causes lack of collective effort has been a principal cause of the deterioration of the cow
and hence of cattle in general. The world today is moving towards the ideal of collective or
cooperative effort in every department of life. Much in this line has been and is being
accomplished. It has come into our country also, but in such a distorted form that our poor
have not been able to reap its benefits. Pari passu with the increase in our population land-
holdings of the average farmer are daily decreasing. Moreover, what the individual possesses
is often fragmentary.2 For such farmers to keep cattle in their homes is a suicidal policy; and
yet this is their condition today. Those who give the first place to economics and pay scant
that the farmer is being devoured by his cattle due to the cost of their feed which is out of all
proporation to what they yield. They say it is folly not to slaughter wholesale all useless
animals.”24
Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; Under the collective system no farmer can keep cattle
in his house as he does today. They foul the air and dirty the surroundings. There is neither
intelligence nor humanitarianism in living with animals. Man was not meant to do so. The
space taken up by the cattle today would be spared to the farmer and his family if the
collective system were adopted. As the number of cattle increases, life becomes impossible
for the farmer in his home. Hence he is obliged to sell the calves and kill the male buffaloes
or else turn them out to starve and die. This inhumanity would be averted, if the care of cattle
were undertaken on a co-operative basis. Collective cattle-farming would ensure the supply
of veterinary treatment to animals when they are ill. No ordinary farmer can afford this on his
own. The sale of milk at good prices will be greatly facilitated, and there will be no need or
Mahatma Gandhi wrote about farmers; “I am sorry to read about the bullock. I think the
bullock is like a son to the farmer. Animal husbandry is a difficult science. Agriculture can be
fruitful only through co-operation. The larger part of it should involve manual labour. I have
advised them in Noakhali to clear the fields by manual labour. Bullocks are scarce there. A
large number of them were slaughtered. My advice will be that no new bullocks should be
bought. How long can they go on buying bullocks? This whole question needs
consideration.”25 India is an agriculture country. More than 60% of its population directly or
indirectly depends upon it. Maximum agriculture is depending on monsoon. There are great
References:
LETTER TO MAGANLAL GANDHI; August 21, 1910
Navajivan, 1-5-1921
Navajivan, 3-8-1924
Navajivan, 20-9-1925
Harijanbandhu, 2-5-1937
Harijan, 15-2-1942