i
India
remains a developing country, even after sixty-seven years of Independence. About
a quarter or more of the population is living below the poverty line, based on
different estimates. Agriculture, the sector on which the largest number of our
fellow-citizens are dependent for livelihood, has been facing serious crisis,
with thousands of farmers committing suicides.
The
family based non-corporate sector comprising of the micro, small and medium
enterprises, the largest contributor to the national wealth, remains largely unattended.
NSSO figures show that the share of people depending on self-employment is declining
1. Employment generation
is grossly inadequate, with the situation worsening during the last few years. Critical
issues such as inequalities and environmental aspects loom large over our
heads.
Fundamentals favour faster development
India
as a nation has many positive features that could help the economy to progress
faster. She is endowed with enough natural and physical resources. Besides,
there is the ‘demographic dividend’, with the largest number of younger
population in the world. The following are the important features that
influence the economy to move forward:
1. Higher rates of saving
India
has always been generating higher rates of saving. Even during 1950-51, the
rate of saving was around 9.5 per cent
2. Since then it has been continuously on the
rise, with the household sector contributing the dominant share. The rates
remain more than 30 per cent of GDP since 2004-05 3.
2. Capital formation through domestic
and local finance
Capital formation has been continuously
increasing over the decades. It is significant to note that much of the funds
are mobilised locally through close networks and personal relationships. It is
estimated that 95 per cent of the total capital is being raised domestically. As
a result the dependence of foreign funds is very less.
3. Self-employment remains way of
life
Indian
traditions accord a higher place for self-employment. It is a unique aspect of
the Indian economy, as it is an alternative to both capitalism and communism. National
Statistical Organization figures show that 51.9 percent of the rural and 40.6
percent of the urban households were engaged in self-employment activities
during 2009-10 4. Its
share is higher in bigger states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan.
4.
Higher
levels of entrepreneurship
India
has enormous entrepreneurial talents. Field studies show that there exists a
very high level of entrepreneurship in different parts of the country5.
India Brand Equity Foundation noted earlier that “with more than 85 million
entrepreneurs, India is one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world 6.” All our successful business and industrial
clusters are due to the initiatives of the entrepreneurs.
5.
Non-corporate
sector as the core
The
family based non-corporate sector is the core of the Indian economy
contributing nearly two third to the GDP. Besides it provides about 93 per cent
of the employment in the country. This sector is self-made, comprising millions
of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) promoted and run by the
ordinary sections of the society.
6.
Clusters
contributing at the national and global levels
Industrial
and business clusters occupy a critical role in the Indian economy. Many of
them are playing a significant role at the national and international markets,
generating higher incomes and earning foreign currencies through exports. The Fourth All India Census
of MSMEs notes there were 2443 clusters covering 321 products in the registered MSME sector
during 2006-07 7.
Western approaches have failed to deliver
results
But in spite of several advantages, India
is not able to utilize her potential. With the result the country has not
succeeded to the extent desired. What is the major reason for this?
After
Independence, the Indian establishment adopted the socialist ideology as the
guiding principle for framing policies.
It was adopted without discussions at a wider level. Earlier when
leaders like Mahatma Gandhi wanted debates to decide the right kind of policies
in free India, the leadership of the Congress party refused. So when the nation
got the chance to frame policies for the first time after several centuries of alien
domination, our rulers failed to make use of it.
Subsequently
for more than thirty years the country had to follow an ideology that was alien
to this land. As a result we were not able to solve even the basic problems,
after several rounds of planning. Ultimately the country landed in serious
financial difficulties during the turn of the 1990s. Almost around the time, communism
was accepted to be a failure across the world with the breaking up of the USSR
into pieces.
So
for the second time after Independence, there was another chance to adopt a
suitable policy framework for the country. But again the establishment did not
undertake wider discussions and instead went in for another western approach.
The globalisation model, with markets and mega corporations at the centre, was
adopted to guide the policy making process.
As
a result, the country has been witnessing difficulties over the years. Though
there are improvements in certain areas, they are not adequate for the
all-round development of the country. Besides, the ideology suffers from
serious limitations leading to multiple complications.
Thus
the approaches followed since Independence are not suited to us, as they are
they are the creations in the western environments with their limited
experience and narrow outlook. Hence we are not able to make use of our
strengths and get the desired results.
Western concepts are not sound
A study of the western economic history tells
us that all their economic systems during the past five centuries have failed miserably
without fulfilling the needs of people. Feudalism and mercantilism failed
during the early centuries. Subsequently it was communism and capitalism. Why
is it that all their concepts and approaches have been failing continuously? It
is because they are not sound and lack the fundamentals.
The
noted Gandhian economist Kumarappa in his seminal work Economy of Permanence notes: “The old civilizations of Egypt,
Babylon, Greece and Rome are no more to tell their tale. They have vanished
after a few centuries of brief, glamorous splendour because the standards on
which they were built were predominantly self-centred and transient… 8”
The
“modern economic development” beginning from the eighteenth century is attributed
to the European capitalism.
But economic historians note that this is far from true. Frank notes: “In
reality, during the period 1400-1800, sometimes regarded as one of “European
expansion” and “primitive accumulation” leading to full capitalism, the world
economy was still very predominantly under Asian influences 9.” He mentions further that “the two
major regions that were most “central” to the world economy were India and
China 10.”
Experts point out that capitalism and
communism are two sides of the same coin. The adherents of both the schools even
follow the same methodologies to study them. Bhole notes: “Both of them have
been engendered and nursed by the same mechanistic Western world-view, Western
value system, Western life-view (life style) which lacks the holistic and
ecological perspective. This world view has been developed by Newton,
Descartes, Calvin, Darwin, Freud, Smith, Marx and other scholars of the same
ilk. Both the philosophies are the product of the same age namely, the age of
“enlightenment”, “renaissance”, “rationality”, and industrial revolution….. The
mainstream economic theories of utility, margin, utilitarianism, division of
labour, labour theory of value, falling rate of profit, disutility of labour,
and so on constitute the basis for both of them. … They use the same mode of
analysis involving binary, either/or, mutually exclusive, dualistic,
reductionist, positivistic, and fragmentary thinking, concepts and methods.
Both of them emphasize the necessity of the quantitative measurement or
operational verification of the values 11.”
Experience shows that over the years both the
ideologies have produced negative results. American author and
former Harvard University Professor David Korten notes: “Both advanced social
experiments on a massive scale that embodied a partial vision of society, with
disastrous consequences 12.”
Macaulay education made Indians lose their
originality
Centuries
of domination by the Mughal invaders and the descendants of the alien
interests resulted in destructions and disturbances. Later the Europeans brought
India under their control, bleeding her to the maximum extent. Durant wrote in
1930: “ The British conquest of India was the destruction of a high
civilization by a trading company utterly without scruple or principle,
careless of art and greedy of gain, overrunning with fire and sword a country
temporarily disordered and helpless, bribing and murdering, annexing and
stealing, and beginning that career of illegal and ‘legal’ plunder…….. 13”
The
systematic assault on the social, economic and cultural lives of the natives
decreased the morale of the population, leading to undermining of the Indian
systems. Aurobindo wrote: “ English rule
… undermined and deprived of living strength all the pre-existing centres and
instruments of Indian social life and by a sort of unperceived rodent process
left it only a rotten shell without expansive power or any better defensive
force than the force of inertia 14.”
The
British interference extended to different fields of Indian society. Education
was an important area for them, as they realized the significance of the
time-tested native education system in shaping the lives of people. So they
replaced it with the Macaulay system in the 1830s.
Swami
Vivekananda mentioned the impact of the system after a few decades: “The child is taken to school… By the time he is sixteen he is a mass of
negation, lifeless and boneless. And the result is that fifty years of such
education has not produced one original man in the three presidencies …. We
have learnt only weaknesses 15.” With such as system implemented
across the country, the educated sections began to lose their originality and confidence.
Education system has no sense of ‘Indian
economics’
The
main purpose of the British education system was to teach the natives that the
western history, systems and ways of life were superior. Besides, it emphasized
that the native population had no history respectable history or functioning
systems worthy to follow. As a result, the true economic history of India did
not find a place in text books. Unfortunately the same position continues even
today.
Similarly
the functioning economic systems in practice are not taken up for discussions in
educational institutions, as our education system refuse to look at them. But
all that is western is accepted immediately, whether it is their history or
contemporary theories.
India is an ancient civilization
with strong economic base
India
is an ancient civilization with thousands of years of backgrounds and
experience. She remained a pioneer in diverse fields of human activity with
exemplary performance. India, with all her superiority and world class
achievements, could not have continued for so long without a strong economic
base. Kumarappa mentions that the Indian and Chinese civilizations survived for
a long time as the values of permanence remained as the base16.
Indian economy during ancient
periods
India
has a very long economic history. Writing about the history of business,
Agarwala notes: “Commercial cities like
Harappa and Mohenjodaro were founded in the fourth and third millennium BC.
Trade centres had also come up in Western India in the fourth and third
millennium BC…… India thus became a great exporting country 17.”
India
is the nation where economics as a science developed. Kautilya quotes several
authorities earlier to his times in his treatise. Rangarajan notes: “The study
of economics, the art of government and foreign policy is thus very old; the
developments of the science in India, according some scholars, may have started
around 650 BC 18.” Arthashastra
reveals the advanced nature of economic thinking and practices more than
2300 years ago.
India as a global economic power
during 0 CE
Maddison’s
study of economic history for the past two thousand years reveal the status of
India as the top most economic power during the beginning of the Common Era. Table
1 provides the shares of India, China and Western Europe in World GDP during 0
CE 19.
Table
1
Year
|
0 CE
|
Total Western
Europe
|
10.8
|
China
|
26.2
|
India
|
32.9
|
The
table reveals the predominant position of the Indian economy during 0 CE, with
a global share of 32.9 percent. China was following us with 26.2 share. The
contribution of the total Western Europe was less than one third of India’s
share. India could not have contributed almost one third of global GDP, without
strong fundamentals and superior performance of the different sectors of the
economy.
India maintained
her economic supremacy for the longest period
Another
important point to be noted is that India had kept her dominant status for about
three fourth of the time during the previous two millennia. It is the most
sustainable performance by any country in the recorded history of the world.
Table 2 presents the shares of GDP between 1000 and 1700 CE 20. In between, the share of India went below China during 1600.
Table
2
Year/
Country
|
1000
|
1500
|
1700
|
India
|
28.9
|
24.5
|
24.4
|
China
|
22.7
|
25.0
|
22.3
|
Total
Western Europe
|
8.7
|
17.9
|
22.5
|
Destruction by Colonialists and
loss of Indian supremacy
Indian
economy started declining fast beginning from the eighteenth century, due to
the destructive approaches of the colonial powers. As a result India lost her
long held status as the premier economic power. Simultaneously the UK and
Western Europe emerged stronger. Later beginning from the nineteenth century, the
US began to rise ultimately emerging as the dominant economy during the
subsequent periods.
Free India witnessed economy moving,
despite wrong state policies
Closer
analysis of the performance of post-independent economy reveal that India has
been emerging on her own, in spite of the wrong approaches of the policy
makers. We have to remember that India is now the third largest economy in the World
in terms of Purchasing Power Parity; second fastest growing nation after China;
and the country with perhaps the largest number of entrepreneurs.
There
has been a substantial improvement in the lives of people over the decades. Our
businesses have grown beyond the borders, with many of the corporations and the
local clusters becoming popular at the global level. Besides, experts predict that
India has the potential to emerge as a very powerful economy in the coming
years.
India’s resilience lies in her
native functioning systems
The
reason for India’s progress is her strong fundamentals and native functioning
systems. Special features of the Indian economy such as the high saving rates,
mobilisation of larger domestic funds, more self-employment, higher levels of
entrepreneurship and the dominance of non-corporate sector are due to the inherent
strengths our nation, namely the family
orientation, social capital, lesser dependence on the state and higher value systems. It is these strengths
that are responsible for the unique functioning models in place.
Family orientation and Social
capital
Family
orientation is a major factor playing a positive role in all our economic
activities ranging from higher savings to entrepreneurship. Society plays a
vital role in the economic development. Social capital is a critical asset that
helps our businesses to grow fast based on mutual relationships.
Lesser dependence on the state and its
mechanisms
A
unique feature of our economic system is the self-dependent approach and lesser
dependence on the state at all levels. This factor helps the country to move
forward and grow, with the local societies taking the lead without waiting for
the state.
Higher value systems, trust and
goodwill
Higher
qualities such as trust, faith and goodwill form an important part of our
economic transactions throughout the country. This is a unique feature of our
system, which helps the nation to move forward based on mutual trust and
goodwill.
Culture plays the critical role in
economic development
The failure of the globalisation model has
forced some of the western scholars to think seriously about their positions.
They now realize that culture plays the critical role in economic development.
David S.Landes notes: “If we learn anything from history of economic
development, it is that culture makes all the difference 21.” Hence it is accepted that there could be many
ways of economic modernization and different models, based on the cultural
backgrounds of countries. Hayami writes:
“Indeed, the traditional culture or value system is an important basis
of economic modernization. However, it does not appear that the value system
consistent with modernization is limited to specific culture (such as
Protestant ethic) 22.”
Unique Indian culture is taking the
economy forward
The
age-old Indian culture drives economic activities through its unique
fundamentals and inherent strengths. It propels the economy to move continuously
forward, despite all disturbances and difficulties. More than a decade ago, the
American economist Galbraith noted: “We have seen many years of Indian
progress, and that is attributable to the energy and genius of the Indian
people and Indian culture 23.” Different studies during the recent
periods acknowledge the role of the cultural and civilizational backgrounds in
the onward march of the Indian economy.
Education system has failed to
understand the economic realities
The
post-independent Indian education system with all its power and strength has unfortunately
failed to attempt and understand the true economic history of the nation. Hence there is no idea about the Indian thought
process in economics, in spite of her superior performance over several
centuries. As a result, Dasgupta notes:
“Indian economic thought is relatively little known either in India or
elsewhere 24.” But we are
producing graduates and scholars who look at India as the colonial historians,
negating India’s past despite concrete evidences. There is a complete failure
on the part of Indian scholarship regarding economic history.
It
is even more unfortunate that the Indian experts continue to look at the
contemporary economic systems through the western glasses. There remain two
schools of scholars, namely those who subscribe to the leftist approach and
those who support the market ideology. There are hundreds of them in each
group, in spite of their approaches failing everywhere. But there are not even
a handful who could think of an ‘Indian model’ in spite of the superior performance
over several centuries and contemporary successes.
Western
experts acknowledge the failure of their theories
It is significant to note that several western
academics and experts have begun to understand the limitations of their
approaches and acknowledge the failure of their models. Analyzing the impact of
the western economics over people and the societies, Harvard Professor Marglin
notes: “But over the
past four hundred years, the ideology of economics has fostered both the
self-interested individual and the market system, and has undermined, and continues
to undermine the community 25.” After witnessing the global economic
crisis, Nobel economist Krugman admits: “Much of the past 30 years of
macroeconomics was spectacularly useless at best, and positively harmful at
worst 26.”
Financial models of US academics
not used there
One
of the most researched areas in the fields of economics and finance in Indian
universities and business schools during the past three decades is financial markets
and specifically the ‘efficient market theories.’ Because this was the area in
which many top academicians in the US concentrated, producing several research
works and earning multiple recognitions including Nobel prizes. Hence several
academics and research scholars in India also attempted similar studies leading to thousands of projects, papers and
theses in this area.
But
the top professionals in US openly admit that such studies are not beneficial
to them. Munger, the Vice-Chairman of the Berkshire Hathaway, the most
successful investment company in the world, says: “Well, Berkshire’s whole
record has been achieved without paying one ounce of attention to the efficient
market theory in its hard form. And not one ounce of attention to the
descendants of that idea, which came out of academic economics and went into
corporate finance and morphed into such obscenities as the capital asset
pricing model, which we also paid no attention to 27.” In spite of
the evidences, our education system is obsessed with the western theories
without understanding their relevance to our economy.
Irrational development concepts due
to wrong education
Irrational
development concepts and alien ideologies continue to dominate the national
discourse and policy making, in spite of the continuous failure of the western
models. There are no serious attempts to understand the Indian economy from the
national perspectives and develop India- centric approaches at different
levels. The reason for this situation is the wrong system of education.
It
may be useful here to look at the response of the educated elite in China
during economic reforms and later when the western technology and culture entered
the country. Mohanty notes: “Even
in the height of economic reforms in China and spread of western technology as
well as cultural forms in recent years the Chinese elite has emphasized
“Chinese characteristics” on every front. On the other hand, the Indian elite
has shortly assimilated itself with the various waves of Westernization in the
spheres of culture, economy and politics 28.”
Need for Bharatheeya Model of development
We are in a crucial period in the history of
the world. The western models have failed. India is a repository of economic
wisdom as a traditional super power. Moreover, she has successful working
models functioning at different levels even today, despite all confusions and
contradictions at the policy making level. Field level studies conducted in
different parts of the country indicate that unique models are in operation.
Kanagasabapathi notes: “Fortunately for India there are performing models. It
is these models that are responsible for taking the country to higher levels 29.”
India
has enormous strengths backed by her native wisdom and immense potential to
perform. There remains many aspirations to fulfil. The nation is capable of
achieving all of them, sharing the fruits with all the sections of society.
National education and
Nation-centric economic model
What
we need urgently is to course correct the path of our economic trajectory, for
the all-round development of the nation. We need to frame policies based on our
experiences and the realities at the ground level. Early introduction of
national education will pave the way for a faster and smoother nation-centric
policy making. The main objective of both the national education and nation-centric
economics is to help people progress and make our nation, the Vishwa Guru.
References
1. National
Statistical Organisation, Govt. of India, 2011
2. Economic
Survey 2013-14, Table 1.6, Govt. of India
3. Ibid.,
4. National
Sample Survey Organisation, Govt. of India
5. Kanagasabapathi,
P., Indian Models of Economy, Business
and Management, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2012
6. India
Brand Equity Foundation, ‘ Hinterland India: The Real Source of India’s
Entrepreneurship’ in www.ibef.org
7.
Final Report: Fourth All
India Census of MSMEs 2006-07- Registered Sector, Ministry of Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises, Govt. of India, New Delhi, 2011
8. Kumarappa,
J.C., Economy of Permanence, 6th
ed., Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan, Varanasi, 1997, p.40
9. Frank,
Andre Gunder, ReOrient: Global Economy in
Asian Age, Vistaar Publications, New Delhi, 1998, p.166
10.
Frank, op.cit., p.127
11.
Bhole, L.M., Essays on Gandhian Socio- Economic Thought, Shipra Publications,
Delhi, 2000, pp.47-48
12.
Korten, David C., Agenda for a New Economy, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company, New
Delhi, 2009, p.80
13.
Durant, Will., The Case for India, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1930, p.6
14.
Aurobindo, Sri., The Renaissance
in India and Other Essays on Indian Culture, Vol. 20, p.58 in The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo, Sri
Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, 1997
15.
Swami Vivekananda on India and her
Problems, Advaita Ashram, Calcutta, 1985, pp.38-39
16.
Kumarappa, op.cit., p.40
17.
Agarwala, P.N., A Comprehensive History of Business in India, Tata McGraw Hill Ltd,
New Delhi, 2001, p.266
18.
Rangarajan, L.N., Kautilya: The Arthashastra, Penguin Books, New Delhi, 1992, p.4
19.
Maddison,
Angus, The World Economy – A Millennial Perspective,
Overseas Press India Limited, New Delhi, 2003, p.263
20.
Ibid.,
21.
Landes David S., quoted in Meirer,
Gerald M. and Stiglitz, Joseph E. ( Eds.),
Frontiers of Development Economics
– The Future in Perspective, World Bank and Oxford University Press, New
York, 2002, p.30
22.
Hayami, Yujiro, Development Economics – From the Poverty to the Wealth of Nations,
Oxford University Press, New York, 1998, p.280
23.
Galbraith John K., Interview, Outlook, August 20, 2001
24.
Dasgupta, Ajit K., A History of Indian Economic Thought, Routledge, London, 2003,
p.3
25.
Marglin, Stephen A., The Dismal Science: How Thinking Like An
Economist Undermines Community, Oxford University Press, New Delhi,
2009, p.1
26.
Krugman, Paul., ‘What Went Wrong With
Economics’, quoted in The Economist,
July 16,2009
27.
Munger, Charles ., “Academic Economics:
Strengths and Faults After Considering Interdisciplinary Needs”, Herb Kay
Undergraduate Lecture, University of California, Oct 3, 2003
28.
Mohanty, Manoranjan, “Colonialism and the
Discourse in India and China” in Tan Chung, ‘In the Footsteps of Xuan
Zang: Tan Yun-Shan and India’, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New
Delhi, 1999
29.
Kanagasabapathi. P., op.cit., pp.300-301
( Chidhi- Punarutthan Vidyapeeth Patrika, Punarutthan Vidyapeeth, Ahmedabad, Oct.2014)
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