Rural Development: Administration and Planning

KHU-801

UNIT-2
Syllabus
Rural Development Programmes: Sriniketan experiment, Gurgaon experiment,
marthandam experiment, Baroda experiment, Firkha development scheme, Etawa pilot
project, Nilokheri experiment, approaches to rural community development: Tagore, Gandhi
etc.

Objectives of Rural Development Programs:

1. Economic Enhancement: Boost local economies by increasing productivity and

creating job opportunities.
2. Infrastructure Improvement: Develop essential facilities like roads, schools, and
healthcare centers.
3. Agricultural Advancement: Modernize farming techniques and improve agricultural
output.
4. Social Upliftment: Enhance access to education, healthcare, and social services.
5. Poverty Reduction: Improve living standards and reduce poverty levels in rural
areas.
6. Sustainable Development: Promote environmentally friendly practices and resource
conservation.

Importance of Rural Development Programs:

1. Economic Growth: Drives economic development and reduces rural poverty.

2. Quality of Life: Improves living conditions through better infrastructure and services.
3. Food Security: Enhances agricultural productivity, ensuring stable food supplies.
4. Equitable Development: Reduces urban-rural disparities and promotes balanced
regional growth.
5. Social Stability: Fosters social cohesion and improves access to essential services.
6. Environmental Protection: Encourages sustainable practices and protects natural
resources.

Relevance of Rural Development Programs:

1. Economic Stability: Strengthens rural economies by promoting agricultural

productivity and creating diverse job opportunities.
2. Poverty Alleviation: Directly addresses rural poverty through infrastructure
improvements and economic empowerment.
3. Social Equity: Reduces disparities between rural and urban areas by improving
access to education, healthcare, and other essential services.
4. Food Security: Enhances agricultural efficiency and food production, contributing to
national food security.
5. Environmental Sustainability: Promotes sustainable practices that help preserve
natural resources and manage environmental impacts.

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 6. Community Development: Empowers rural communities by involving them in the
planning and execution of development projects, fostering local ownership and
participation.

Application of Rural Development Programs:

1. Infrastructure Development: Building and upgrading roads, schools, and healthcare

facilities to improve connectivity and access to services.
2. Agricultural Support: Introducing modern farming techniques, providing training,
and facilitating access to technology and markets to boost agricultural output.
3. Economic Diversification: Supporting local businesses, promoting entrepreneurship,
and providing financial assistance to reduce reliance on traditional agriculture.
4. Education and Skills Training: Establishing schools, vocational training centers,
and literacy programs to enhance education and skill levels.
5. Healthcare Services: Setting up clinics and providing health education to improve
overall health outcomes and access to medical care.
6. Community Engagement: Involving local residents in decision-making processes to
ensure that development projects meet their needs and encourage active participation.

By addressing these areas, rural development programs aim to create sustainable and resilient
rural communities that contribute to broader national and global development goals.

Advantages of Rural Development Programs:

1. Economic Growth: Stimulates local economies by improving productivity and

creating job opportunities, which helps reduce poverty.
2. Improved Infrastructure: Enhances essential services such as roads, schools, and
healthcare facilities, leading to a better quality of life.
3. Increased Agricultural Productivity: Introduces modern techniques and technology,
leading to higher crop yields and food security.
4. Social Benefits: Expands access to education and healthcare, improving overall well-
being and literacy rates.
5. Balanced Regional Development: Helps reduce disparities between rural and urban
areas, promoting more equitable growth.
6. Environmental Sustainability: Encourages sustainable practices that protect natural
resources and promote environmental conservation.

Disadvantages of Rural Development Programs:

1. High Costs: Significant financial investment is required for infrastructure and

program implementation, which can strain budgets.
2. Displacement: Development projects may lead to displacement of local communities
and disruption of traditional lifestyles.
3. Social Disruption: Rapid changes can disrupt traditional social structures and cultural
practices, leading to resistance or social unrest.
4. Environmental Impact: If not managed properly, development activities can lead to
environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity.
5. Uneven Benefits: Benefits may not be equally distributed, potentially exacerbating
inequalities within rural areas.

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 6. Dependence on External Aid: Programs may create dependency on government or
donor funding, potentially limiting local initiative and sustainability.

Balancing these advantages and disadvantages is crucial for ensuring that rural development
programs achieve their goals effectively while minimizing negative impacts.

Notes
Sriniketan experiment
Overview:
● Year: 1920
● Location: Sriniketan, West Bengal
● Initiator: Rabindranath Tagore
● Goal: Socio-economic and moral rehabilitation of rural communities through self-reliance
and cooperative efforts.
Objectives:
● Promote self-sufficiency and dignity among villagers.
● Combine traditional practices with modern scientific knowledge.
● Encourage community participation and cooperative spirit.
Key Activities:
● Demonstration farms for new farming techniques.
● Craft training such as carpentry, weaving, and pottery.
● Animal husbandry including dairy, poultry, and beekeeping.
● Women's empowerment through Mahila Samities and community engagement.
Challenges:
● Limited government support and lack of skilled personnel.
● Dependency on Tagore's leadership and vision.
Impact:
● Introduced new farming techniques and skills.
● Promoted self-reliance and cooperation among villagers.
● Empowered women through education and economic opportunities.

Shri Rabindra Nath Tagore wanted to develop a centre to extend his ideas on education in a rural
setting. During 1914 he established a rural reconstruction institute at Sriniketan involving youth
from a group of 8 villages. It maintained a demonstration farm, a dairy and poultry unit, an
outdoor clinic, a department of cottage industries and a village school. These agencies were to
treat the villages as their laboratory to identify problems and test their ideas. The villages were
expected to approach these agencies through the village workers to obtain solution of their more
pressing problems. These social workers lived in the villages and worked with the people. At
Sriniketan centre, agriculture, dairy and poultry were the foremost activities. Scheme of land
development and tree plantation were given due importance. Experiment on paddy, sugarcane
and cotton were undertaken. Improved seeds, vegetable seedlings, fruit grafts and saplings were
distributed. New breeds of cattle were introduced. Local artisans were trained in cottage

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 industries. Other activities were village scout movement, village developmental council, health,
cooperatives, circulating library and village fairs.
Drawbacks;
(i) This institute could not get Government help and support.

(ii) It could not do research work and hence the programmes remained limited to those8 villages only.

Gurgaon experiment:
Overview:
● Year: 1920
● Location: Gurgaon, Haryana
● Initiator: F.L. Brayne
● Goal: Improve living conditions through community engagement and modernization of
agriculture.
Objectives:
● Develop agricultural practices and village health facilities.
● Empower women and reduce social evils like child marriage.
Key Activities:
● Model farms with improved seeds and equipment.
● Health centers for villagers.
● Village guides to spread knowledge and practical skills.
Challenges:
● Limited Expertise: Village guides lacked technical knowledge, limiting the effectiveness of the
program.
● Lack of Ownership: Villagers weren't involved in planning, so the project struggled to
continue after Brayne's departure.
● Imposed Solutions: People weren't encouraged to participate actively, hindering long-term
success.
Impact:
● Demonstrated potential for agricultural improvement and health awareness.

Towards the end of 1920 F.L.Brayne, an Englishman, was posted as Deputy Commissioner of Gurgaon
district. After his assumption of the charge he studied the area by touring and observed that the
people were extremely poor, dirty and unhealthy, with nonconscious desire for any better because
they had no idea that anything better was possible. After seven years of study he developed a scheme
called "The Gurgaon scheme" with the following objectives:

To jerk the villagers out of their old groove and convince them that improvement is possible;

To change economic and unhealthy customs and taught better ways of living and farming.

He took the whole district as the field of operation and approached the area with every form of
propaganda and publicity. Under his programme village guides were posted in each village, who acted
as the channel to pass on the information to villagers. The programme introduced improved seeds,
implements, methods of cultivation, etc.

The activities introduced by Brayne were:

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(i) A school of rural economy to train the village guides in 1925.

(ii) A domestic school of economy to train groups of women under women and children welfare work
in 1926.

(iii) Health association, which ran five health centres in the district.

(iv) A women's Institute at Gurgaon to manage the ladies' garden in Gurgaon.

Drawback
As the village guides were not technical men, only very little could be achieved.

Marthandam experiment
Overview:
● Year: 1921
● Location: Marthandam, Kerala
● Initiator: Dr. Spencer Hatch
● Goal: Holistic rural development with focus on economy, health, and education.
Objectives:
● Spiritual upliftment and economic self-reliance.
● Improve health, education, and community strength.
Key Activities:
● Beekeeping, poultry farming, and craft training.
● Community self-help groups for economic activities.
Challenges:
● Limited Money: The project didn't have enough funding to continue long-term.
● No Government Support: The government didn't provide much help.
● Reliance on one person: The project depended heavily on Dr. Hatch's leadership.
● Volunteer Issue: Volunteers weren't financially
● Limited funding and lack of government support.
Impact:
● Boosted local economy through cottage industries and self-reliance.

During 1921 under the auspices of YMCA, Marthandam project was started at Travancore in Kerala by
Dr. Spencer Hatch, an American agricultural expert specialized in sociology. Fundamental aim of this
programme was fivefold development of physical, spiritual, mental, economic and social. Dr.Hatch
implemented an all-round development in agriculture, public health and education.

In this centre prize bulls and goats, model bee-hives, demonstration plots for improving grain and
vegetable seeds, poultry with prize laying hens, a weaving shed, etc. were maintained. It also worked
for improving literacy. On weekly market day it set up a portable tent with teaching equipment’s, and
exhibits with better poultry and livestock. The centre also promoted the cooperative. The society
developed the improved breeds of egg layers and goodbees. It assisted the people for marketing their
produces through cooperative organisations. In1939, the egg selling cooperative society become a
self-governing body. Another society 'honey club' was also formed. This society cured the honey
brought by villagers and marketed cooperatively. There were bull clubs, weavers' clubs, etc. These
cooperative organisations are still continued by YMCA and the rural development is taken up
intensively.

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Baroda experiment: -
Overview:
● Year: 1932
● Location: Baroda State (Present-day Gujarat)
● Initiator: V.T. Krishnachari
● Goal: Rural reconstruction and development with focus on self-reliance and local
governance.
Objectives:
● Improve living standards and employment through cottage industries.
● Strengthen local governance through Panchayats.
Key Activities:
● Comprehensive Approach: Aimed to improve various aspects of rural life, not just agriculture
(education, infrastructure, etc.).
● Improved Living Standards: Uplifting the quality of life for villagers.
● Self-Reliance: Encouraging villagers to be self-sufficient.Challenges:
● Managing coordination between various village committees.
Impact:
● Enhanced rural economy and self-governance capabilities.

V.T. Krishnachari, initiated the rural reconstruction programme in the year 1932with the objective of
development of rural areas. The programme tried to promote development in different fields of rural
life in order to sustain the livelihood security and an economic protection of the rural masses.

The main aim of the programme was the improvement in the standard of living of the rural people
and to develop the sense of self-help and self-reliance among the rural masses. The movement of the
Baroda experiment was initiated in the villages of Kosamba. The programme was comprehensive and
therefore it stressed the development of rural people in every aspect. He even tried to promote
agricultural production so that agricultural economy could be strengthened and the rural
infrastructure could be improved.

Firka Development Project: -

Overview:
● Year: 1946
● Location: Madras state (present-day Tamil Nadu)
● Initiator: T. Prakasam
● Goal: Make villages self-sufficient in basic needs. (food, clothing, shelter)

On the eve of the attainment of independence, the former Madras state launched a new scheme of
village development known as Firka development scheme. It was in-spired by the ideology of Gandhiji.
The scheme emphasised a perfect coordination of different state departments that were engaged in
rural development. Such departments included agriculture, industries, irri-gation and veterinary.
“Under the Firka development plan the five main centres of activity were agriculture, village
industries, sanitation, health and housing, education and village social and cultural activi­ties.” Rural
water supply and health facilities were given priority over other aspects of village development. The

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scheme was evaluated in 1952. It was found that with some drawbacks it was a successful story.
However, when the community development projects were started in 1952 the Firka scheme was
merged in it. The experience of Firka was much useful for running the community development
projects.

This project was government sponsored and aided at the attainment of the Gandhian ideal of Gram
Swaraj by bringing about not only educational, economic, sanitary and other improvements in villages,
but also by making the people self-confident. The scheme was launched in 1946 in 34 Firkas (group
of 5 villages) throughout the state, and on April 1, 1950, it was extended to another 50 additional
Firkas at the rate of two Firkas for each state. The selection of the Firkas was based on general
backwardness of area and the possibilities for initiating the production of handloom cloth and other
cottage industries to give a encouragement to Rural Reconstruction. This scheme was aimed at
attacking the problem of rural people as well as short term plans for the development of rural
communication, water supply, formation of panchayats, organization of co-operatives and sanitation
programme. In long term plans, to make the area self-sufficient through agricultural, irrigational and
livestock improvements and the development of Khadi and other Cottage Industries.

The Collector was primarily responsible to see the working of the scheme in the district. Then he was
assisted by rural welfare officer of the rank of Naib Tahsildar. He was put in charge of 2-3 selected
Firkas. Each Firkas was divided into 5 to 10 group of villages which were put in the charge of Gram
Sevaks who were of the rank of Revenue Inspectors. Each Firka or group of Firka was provided with
special staff like agricultural field men, administrative officers, Mistries, P. W. D. supervisors and minor
irrigation overseers. To associate the people with the implementation of the programme,
development committees, consisting of officials and non-officials, were constituted in each Firka. At
the state level, there was a State Rural Welfare Board comprising the heads of the Departments and
influential and constructive social workers.

For stimulating healthy competition between the official and non-official agencies, the Government
of Madras decided to entrust the development schemes to non-official agencies were selected and
paid grants for doing Firka development of :

(i) Rural Reconstruction

(ii) Drinking water facilities

(iii) Sanitation

(iv) Agriculture and Khadi and other village industries.

At the end it was realized that these efforts were restricted in scope and lacked co-ordination. There
was lack of direction, support and encouragement from the central authority. However, it was
identified that no extension programme which is implemented without the help and co-operation of
local people could continue for long and have a desired impact on the Rural Reconstruction.

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Etawah-Pilot Project: -
Overview:
● Year: 1948
● Location: Etawah district, Uttar Pradesh, India
● Initiator: Albert Mayer (American engineer)
● Goal: Promote self-reliance through cooperatives and community participation.
Key Features:
● Focus on local resources: Utilized existing resources and knowledge for development.
● Multi-purpose village workers (VLWs): Introduced village-level workers to provide on-
ground guidance and support.
● Practical solutions: Prioritized solutions that villagers could readily implement and
maintain.
Activities:
● Improved agricultural practices: Introduced better seeds, fertilizers, and implements.
● Animal husbandry projects: Promoted livestock health and productivity.
● Infrastructure development: Improved roads, water supply, and drainage.
● Social development initiatives: Adult literacy programs, farmer training, and community
engagement activities.
Impact:
● Increased agricultural production, particularly in wheat.
● Improved living standards and infrastructure in participating villages.
● Served as a model for India's Community development programme.
Challenges:
● Sustainability: Maintaining success after the project's initial phase and Mayer's departure in
1957 proved difficult.

The project was conceived by Albert Mayer who was an American town planner and remained in India
during the Second World War. The project started at Mahewa in the district of Etawah of Uttar
Pradesh in 1948 with the aim to develop villages in the fields of agriculture, cooperation and public
health. The Etawah district was divided into a number of blocks, each block having 64 villages with a
population of 70,000. The village development programmes included improvement of land,
agricultural practices, educational facilities and sanitation in villages; local cooperatives and
panchayats were to propagate the message of development. The Etawah project was the forerunner
to the Community Development Project (CDP) which later on started in 1952. It should also be
observed that the project was supervised by experts in different walks of village life. The project
personnel were expected to provide expert guidance but the people were required to make the
project self-running. No financial assistance, however, was given to the people. The project belonged
to them and, therefore, they had to run it. Another speciality of the project was that it emphasised on
agriculture, cooperatives, health and sanitation, and education. Such an approach to village
development makes two things clear: the development of villages occupies a top most priority and
agriculture, cooperatives and education are the prime areas that no development effort could afford
to neglect.

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Nilokheri Project: -
Overview:
● Year: 1948
● Location: Karnal district of Punjab (now in Haryana)
● Initiator: S.K. Dey
● Goal: Promote self-reliance through New Homes & Jobs, Be Self-Sufficient Learn and New
Skills

Nilokheri is located in Karnal district of Punjab (now in Haryana). The Nilokheri project was launched
for the settlement of refugees who migrated to Punjab during the riots which took place soon after
independence. The project was initiated by S. K. Dey who was then, the Minister of Community
Development. The original plan of Nilokheri was to have a township of 5,000 people and to link it with
villages having a population of about 25,000. It was contemplated that the Nilokheri town would have
centre of medical relief, public health and sanitation. There was also a provision for high school
education, technical and vocational training, horticulture, poultry, piggery, fishery, sheep breeding
and other farms of animal husbandry. It was within the scope of the project to change the villages
according to the scheme of development. It was planned to accommodate the refugees who were
then living in the camps. However, the complete scheme for urban and rural area could not materialise
as the Ministry of Rehabilitation was concentrated only with the displaced persons who could be
settled in the new town, and in the villages around there were already old inhabitants.

Alongside technical and vocational training, work centres were started in all the crafts which were
taught in the former institutions. Weaving, calico printing, soap making, laundry, bakery, tinsmith,
blacksmithy, general mechanics, leather and a multitude of other crafts and trades came in as
production nucleus.

The Nilokheri project was unlike any other village development project. Its objective was to
rehabilitate the refugees in a planned settlement where they could get everything which is required
for a town or a village. The clusters of neighbouring villages were also planned to be attached with the
Nilokheri town. But, this could not be done as the villages were already settled and had their felt needs
fulfilled. The project did not have a formal role of non-officials. S.K. Dey who was basically an engineer
did not pay much heed to social and cultural aspects of village. Despite this weakness Nilokheri was
an excellent exercise in the planning of a town. It would be worthwhile to say here that Indian villages
are never found in planned settlements.

Gandhian Approach to rural development: -

Core Principles:
● Moral Values: Gandhian approach prioritizes moral values like truth, non-violence, and
justice as the foundation for rural development.
● Religion and Spirituality: It draws inspiration from religious texts like Upanishads and Gita,
aiming for a society based on spiritual well-being.
● Ideal Village: The village is the cornerstone. Gandhi envisioned self-governing villages
cooperating in a federation.
Key Features:

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 ● Decentralization: Power is vested in elected village Panchayats handling legislation,
execution, and justice.
● Self-Sufficiency: Villages aim to produce what they need - food, clothing, shelter - reducing
dependence on external sources.
● Village and Cottage Industries: Reviving traditional industries provides employment and
supports self-sufficiency. Gandhi wasn't against appropriate technology.
● Trusteeship: Private property is acceptable, but excess wealth should be held in trust for the
benefit of the community.
Impact:
● Promoted self-governance and economic independence.
● Strengthened moral and ethical foundations in rural communities.

In the Indian context rural development may be defined as maximising production in agriculture and
allied activities in the rural areas including development of rural industries with emphasis on village
and cottage industries. It attaches importance to the generation of maximum possible employment
opportunities in rural areas, especially for the weaker sections of the community so as to enable them
to improve their standard of living. Provision of certain basic amenities like drinking water, electricity,
especially for the productive purpose, link roads connecting villages to market centres and facilities
for health and education etc. figure prominently in the scheme of rural development. Theoretically,
Gandhian approach to rural development may be labelled as ‘idealist’. It attaches supreme importance
to moral values and gives primacy to moral values over material conditions. The Gandhians believe
that the source of moral values in general lies in religion and Hindu scriptures like the Upanishads and
the Gita, in particular. The concept of ‘Rama Rajya’ is the basis of Gandhiji’s idea of an ideal social
order. Gandhi defined Rama Rajya as “sovereignty of the people based on moral authority”. He did
not view Rama as a king, and people as his subjects. In the Gandhian scheme, ‘Rama’ stood for God or
one’s own ‘inner voice’ Gandhi believed in a democratic social order in which people are supreme.
Their supremacy is, however, not absolute. It is subject to moral values.

(a) Ideal Village:

The village is the basic unit of the Gandhian ideal social order. Gandhi succinctly pointed out, “If the
village perishes India will perish too…. We have to make a choice between India of the villages that is
as ancient as herself and India of the cities which are a creation of foreign domination”. Gandhi’s ideal
village belongs to the Pre-British period, when Indian villages were supposed to constitute the
federation of self-governing autonomous republics. According to Gandhiji, this federation will be
brought about not by coercion or compulsion but by the voluntary offer of every village republic to
join such a federation. The work of the central authority will only be to coordinate the work of
different village republics and to supervise and manage things of common interest, as education, basic
industries, health, currency, banking etc. The central authority will have no power to enforce its
decisions on village republics except the moral pressure or power of persuasion. The economic system
and transport system introduced by the British have destroyed the “republican’ character of the
villages. Gandhi, however, admitted that in olden times tyranny and oppression were in fact practised
by feudal chiefs. But, “odds were even”. Today the odds are heavy. It is most demoralising.” In this
way in the Gandhian scheme of things the ancient ‘republic’, an Indian village without tyranny and
exploitation serves as a model unit.

(b) Decentralisation

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Gandhi firmly believes that village republics can be built only through decentralisation of social and
political power. In such a system decision-making power will be vested in the Village Panchayat rather
than in the State and the national capital. The representatives would be elected by all adults for a fixed
period of five years. The elected representatives would constitute a council, called the Panchayat. The
Panchayat exercises legislative, executive and judicial functions. It would look after education, health
and sanitation of the village. It would be the Panchayats responsibility to protect and uplift
‘untouchables and other poor people. Resources for Gandhian Approach to managing village affairs
would be raised from the villages. All the conflicts and disputes would be resolved within the village.
And as far as possible not a single case is to be referred to courts outside the village. The Panchayat
would play its role in propagating the importance of moral and spiritual values among the ruralites for
bringing about rural reconstruction. Apart from managing its own affairs the village would also be
capable of defending itself against any invasion. A non-violent peace brigade of volunteers would be
organised to defend the village. This corps would be different from the usual military formation. They
would repose the utmost faith in non-violence and God.

(c) Self-sufficiency

Such a decentralised polity implies a decentralised economy. It can be attained only through self-
sufficiency at the village level. The village should be self-sufficient as far as its basic needs – food,
clothing, and other necessities – are concerned. The village has to import certain things which it cannot
produce in the village. “We shall have to produce more of what we can, in order thereby to obtain in
exchange, what we are unable to produce”. The village should produce food-crops and cotton in order
to meet its requirements. Some lands should also be earmarked for cattle and for a playground for
adults and children. If some land is still available, it should be used for growing useful cash crops like
tobacco, opium, etc. to enable the village to get in exchange things which it does not produce. Village
economy should be planned with a view to providing full employment to all the adults of the village.
Each man should be guaranteed employment to enable him to meet his basic needs in the village itself
so that he is not forced to migrate to towns. In the ultimate analysis full employment should be linked
with equality. Physical labour occupies a central place in the Gandhian concept of the self-sufficient
village. In this respect he was highly influenced by Rus-kin and Tolstoy. According to Gandhi, each man
must do physical labour to earn his bread. Physical labour is necessary for moral discipline and for the
sound development of the mind. Intellectual labour is only for one’s own satisfaction and one should
not demand payment for it. The needs of the body must be supplied by the body. Gandhi said, “If all
laboured for their bread then there would be enough food and enough leisure for all.” Shriman
Narayan rightly observes, “Gandhiji recognised toil to be not a curse but the joyful business of life as
it has the power to make man healthier, merrier, fitter and kindlier”.

(d) Industrialization

Gandhiji maintained that industrialization would help only a few and will lead to concentration of
economic power. Industrialization leads to passive or active exploitation of the villages. It encourages
competition. Large scale production requires marketing. Marketing means profit-seeking through an
exploitative mechanism. Moreover, industrialization replaces manpower and hence it adds to
unemployment. In a country like India, where millions of labourers in the villages do not get work for
even six months in a year, industrialization will not only increase unemployment but force labourers
to migrate to urban areas. This will ruin villages. In order to avoid such a catastrophe, village and
cottage industries should be revived. They provide employment to meet the needs of the villagers and
facilitate village self-sufficiency. Gandhians are not against machine per se if it meets two aims: self-
sufficiency and full employment. According to Gandhi, there would be no objection to villagers using

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even the modern machines and tools that they could make and could afford to use. Only they should
not be used as a means of exploitation of others.

(e) Trusteeship

Gandhiji was not against the institution of private property. But he wanted to restrict the right of
private property to what was necessary to yield an honourable livelihood. For the excess he prescribed
the principle of trusteeship. Gandhiji emphasized the principle of trusteeship in social and economic
affairs. He firmly believed that all social property should be held in trust. The capitalists would take
care not only of themselves but also of others. Some of their surplus wealth would be used for the
rest of the society. The poor workers, under trusteeship, would consider the capitalists as their
benefactors; and would repose faith in their noble intentions. Gandhiji felt that if such a trusteeship
were established, the welfare of the workers would increase and the clash between the workers and
employers would be avoided. Trusteeship would help considerably “in realising a state of equality on
earth. “Gandhiji firmly believed that land should not be owned by any individual. Land belongs to God.
Hence, individual ownership of land should be shunned. For that a landowner should be persuaded to
become a trustee of his land. He should be convinced that the land he owns does not belong to him.
Land belongs to the community and must be used for the welfare of the community. They are merely
trustees. By persuasion the heart of landowners should be changed and they should be induced to
donate their land voluntarily. If the land owners do not oblige and continue to exploit the poor
workers, the latter should organise non-violent, non- cooperation, civil disobedience struggles against
them. Gandhiji rightly held the view that “no person can amass wealth without the cooperation,
willing or forced, of the people concerned”. If this knowledge were to penetrate and spread amongst
the poor, they would become strong and learn how to free themselves from the crushing inequalities
which have pushed them to the verge of starvation. But the oppressed should not take recourse to
violent methods. In the Gandhian scheme of things, the principle of cooperation, love and service is
most important and violence has no place in it. Violence is against “moral values’ and civilized society
is inconceivable in the absence of moral values. Gandhiji’s concept of development is oriented to the
uplift of the common man. He preferred village habitats to megalopolises and Swadeshi craft to
imported technology for the economic well-being of the common man. He stressed the need for
cottage industries in place of gigantic industries and advocated for a decentralised economy instead
of a centralised one. He realised the need for integrated rural development and believed that
education, health and vocation should be properly integrated. He emphasised the need for education
and training which he called ‘Naitalim’ (New training) for rural reconstruction. In fine, Gandhian
approach to rural development strives to reconstruct village republics which would be non-violent,
self- governed and self-sufficient so far as the basic necessities of ruralities are concerned. Apart from
creating a new socio-economic order, it Endeavour’s to transform man; otherwise the changes in the
socio-economic order will be short-lived.

Tagore's Approach to Rural Community Development:

Core Idea:
● Combine traditional knowledge with modern techniques for holistic development.
● Focus on cooperative spirit and self-reliance.
Key Features:
● Emphasis on community participation and collective growth.
● Promotion of rural crafts and practical education.
● Setting up Rural Libraries for knowledge dissemination.
Impact:
● Enhanced self-confidence and social harmony.

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 ● Created models of cooperative and sustainable rural development.

Tagore's Big Idea:

Rabindranath Tagore, a famous poet and thinker, believed in solving problems in rural
communities using logic, science, and practical solutions. Here's what he thought was
important:
● Villagers Working Together: He encouraged villagers to form cooperatives, where they
could help each other and become more independent.
● Using Local Knowledge: Tagore felt it was important to use the skills and knowledge that
villagers already had. This would make solutions more effective and relevant to their
culture.

Tagore's Rural Development Program:

A. Seeing the Problems Firsthand (East Bengal Experiment):
● Life in Rural Bengal: Managing his estate in East Bengal exposed Tagore to the difficulties
faced by villagers. This inspired him to work on rural development.
● A Comprehensive Plan: His program included improvements in health, education, crafts,
farming, fishing, and weaving.
● Modernization Efforts: He introduced tractors for farming, furnaces for pottery making, and
machines for husking rice. His goal was to create well-developed villages that were self-
sufficient and confident.

B. Fighting Exploitation (Rural Bank):

● The Cause of Poverty: Tagore saw unfair treatment by landlords, middlemen, and money
lenders as a major reason for poverty in villages.
● The Solution: He established Patisar Bank in 1905, offering loans with lower interest rates.
This helped villagers escape debt.

C. The Goals of Sriniketan Experiment:

● Building Trust: Gaining the trust and friendship of villagers by showing an interest in their
lives and helping them solve problems.
● Learning by Doing: Bringing village issues into classrooms and using the institute's farm to
find solutions.
● Practical Skills: Teaching students practical skills like farming, raising animals, keeping
chickens, various crafts, keeping villages clean, working together, and more.
● Science for Everyday Life: Providing students with basic scientific knowledge that could be
applied to their practical skills.
● A Spirit of Service: Encouraging students to dedicate themselves to helping the villages
around them.
● Self-Reliance and Dignity: Helping students feel good about themselves and teaching them
skills they needed to live well in their villages.

D. Reviving Local Crafts (Rural Industries):

● Bringing Back Old Skills: Tagore believed it was important to revive traditional crafts and
train young people and artisans in using new techniques.
● Shilpa Bhavana: He established Shilpa Bhavana at Santiniketan to achieve this goal.

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E. The Institute of Rural Reconstruction:
● Helping in Many Ways: The institute had different units that focused on farming, raising
animals, crafts, health, education, and village organization.
● A Multifaceted Approach: Their work included research, teaching villagers new methods,
and providing education.

F. Making Knowledge Accessible (Rural Library System):

● The Importance of Reading: Tagore knew that libraries were important for learning, so he
established a central library for research.
● Local Libraries: There were also smaller libraries in villages to serve the community and
encourage reading and learning.
● Unique Feature: Mobile Library (1925): A special library with a village worker who
delivered books door-to-door, making knowledge accessible to everyone.

Concept of Rabindranath Tagore for the rural reconstruction and community

development:-
Tagore saw rural reconstruction as his ‘life’s work’. There were three main phases to his endeavours.
The first was while he was managing the family estates in the 1890s, the second was the national
programme of ‘constructive swadeshi’ he put forward in 1903-8, the third was Sriniketan, a
department of his Visva-Bharati university, in the 1920s.His active work brought to Tagore a unique
understanding of humanity. His inspired and also practical principles of ‘unity in diversity’ and ‘life in
its completeness’ is highly relevant to the challenges facing us in the world today.

Rural Reconstruction in the 1890s

In 1890 Devendranath Tagore sent his youngest son aged 29 to live on and manage the family
properties in East Bengal. On his tours of the estates Rabindranath was deeply moved by the natural
beauty of the region, and by the ‘simple and unenthusiastic life of the common people’, and he
determined to improve their conditions with programmes of rural development. Years later Tagore
recollected his experiences, his motives, the measures he tried, and their mixed success. Tagore wrote
in a letter about the ‘deep despair pervades rural life all over the country’. He was well aware that the
root cause of this despair was British imperialism. The Tagore’s were exceptional as landlords for
taking direct interest in their tenants’ welfare. Most landlords were absentees, residing in the city. The
British had introduced private land ownership into Bengal by the 1793 Permanent Settlement Act,
creating the zemindari landowners ‘from among the Mogul tax collectors. This took place at a time
which in Britain was ‘the great age of parliamentary enclosure, between 1760 and 1820’, driven by
‘the rage for improvement’ in agriculture. Tagore too sought to improve and modernise agriculture
during all the years of his work on rural reconstruction, but strictly where the ‘motive force is not the
greed of profit’. The British were instrumental in creating cities and urban life in India, with a complex
array of new roles and classes with no tradition of responsibility and cooperation, probably
necessitating the strict law and order imposed by the government which Tagore complains of in his
essays. Perhaps most damagingly, big cities such as Calcutta drew the best and brightest of young men
from rural areas in Bengal and beyond. This draining process is confirmed and quantified by Arthur
Geddes in his population study of Bengal, and, of course, economic migration, and sending
remittances home, continues in the world today.

From the 1890s Onwards: An Evaluation

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Tagore’s emotional engagement with rural people and their plight changed him as a creative artist
and thinker, to such an extent that his son reported that his literary output was ‘at its maximum during
the years at Shelidah’. The fifty-nine short stories Tagore wrote in the 1890s reveal his understanding
of the complex effects of ‘society in transition’ on urban as well as rural people. The practical work
which Tagore began in the 1890s did not end when others took over the main responsibility for the
family estates. Through this work he acquired a lifelong mission. He maintained his interest and
involvement in the estates over subsequent years, and when he moved his base to Santiniketan, and
established his school there in 1901, he continued rural reconstruction work in the neighbouring
villages.

Some admirers of Tagore like to think that he achieved a great deal of practical value in rural
reconstruction, that he was an innovator, for example of microfinance, and that his model was built
on after India achieved independence. Others argue that his aims and ideals were misunderstood, that
he was let down by those who worked for him, but that Tagore is still relevant today and ‘we shall
have to go a long way to realize his ideal of a creative society’. Tagore’s work ranged from emergency
relief, through infrastructure building, to advice and encouragement towards cooperative self-help
and participative democracy. Looking back, with the challenges of the twenty-first century in mind,
one can see that what Tagore attempted, with some success, was admirable and ahead of his time,
but there is little that is not currently incorporated into efforts to help the disadvantaged around the
world, by aid agencies and philanthropic organisations now. The component which is special to
Tagore’s approach is his emphasis on joy and celebration and creativity.

Constructive Swadeshi: 1903 to 1908

During the first decade of the new century, two crises, one personal, the other political, took Tagore’s
thinking on rural reconstruction in a radical new direction. Tagore suffered a terrible series of
bereavements over this period, and subsequently neglected his health. It is hard to reconcile the grief-
stricken and ailing poet with the statesman-like image of Tagore leading protests against the Partition
of Bengal. Tagore gave rousing speeches, composed patriotic songs and promoted the swadeshi
(home produced) boycott of foreign goods. On Partition Day itself, 16 October 1905, Tagore led the
Rakhi Bandhan procession, the symbolic tying of friendship bracelets to demonstrate unity across
classes, castes and religions. If we focus on Tagore’s work on rural reconstruction, we can move
beyond the colourful demonstrations to see how Tagore built on his understanding of how Indian
village society had been disrupted by British rule, in order to put forward ‘Constructive Swadeshi’ as
an economic, educational and political programme for the nation.

He endeavoured to persuade the Calcutta middle class activists, many of whom had Zamindari
landholdings, to reconnect with the villages by encouraging Swadeshi enterprise and reviving
traditional fairs, and he attracted some support for such a cause. The majority of activists were not
prepared for the long, hard task Tagore spoke of. The moderates agitated for a greater role in
government and the extremists engaged in petty reprisals and plots. Tagore was called ‘disloyal,
unpatriotic and a traitor’ when he objected to violent attacks on officials, ‘retired from political
activities and went back to his work at Santiniketan’. What Tagore and other anti-partition activists
failed to do was engage the village people themselves in the campaign. The Swadeshi Movement in
Bengal in effect served as a dress rehearsal for the concerted national movement from 1919 onwards,
led by Gandhi.

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Question:---
Write a short note on Etawah Pilot Project.
Write a note on Gurgaon Experiment.
Write a note on Gandhian Approach of Rural Development.
What is Srineketan Project? Elaborate its effect.
Explain the purpose of Firkha development scheme.
Explain the purpose of Nilokheri Experiment by Dr. S.K. Dey.
Explain the concept of Rural Reconstruction Programme by Mahatma Gandhi.

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