Rebuilding India 21




Self-Reliance Through Swadeshi – Need of the Hour



The COVID -19 pandemics has created an unprecedented situation in the World. It is not just the lives and the economies, but also the ideas and approaches that are at stake.  The ideas that have been put forth and the approaches that have been advocated by the West over the previous centuries, have once and for all failed miserably.   


Even after the 2008 global economic crisis, the West –particularly the US - was hoping that they would be able to hold on to a higher position through their ‘advancements’ in science and technology and the status they enjoyed. But the corona virus has proved them wrong. As a result, the US President has now been reiterating openly the need for manufacturing within their country. This only reveals the ultimate collapse of the very concept that they have been so painfully propagating over many decades, globalization. 


So there is a definite U-turn towards a new paradigm with nation-centric approaches even in the West, that benefited a lot from their own versions of policies during the previous centuries. Even though nationalism and nation based manufacturing were being advocated in countries such as the US during the recent years, the intent seems to be definite now.  


The economic approaches of the West beginning the middle of the second millennium have always been with the objective of benefiting the ruling and the dominant classes by exploiting the larger population in their territories and outside. The dominant economic system that prevailed from the sixteenth to eighteenth century called mercantilism, paved the way for colonialism leading to exploitation of different countries in the World. 


Later during the late eighteenth century, their initial version of capitalism was put forth, which went through different processes over the years ultimately leading to market fundamentalism. Communism which came up in the second half of the nineteenth century failed in about hundred years. Each of their approaches was based on exploitation of one kind or the other and focused only on narrow aspects, at the cost of progress and development of all the sections of the society. 


Hence history had to fail them. Besides, beginning from the end of the fifteenth century and even earlier, the native systems in different parts of the World were subjected to disturbances and destructions by the invaders and colonizers.  


But a look at our history would reveal that Indian tradition has always believed in the well-being and betterment of all in the society. In fact, it went many steps further and emphasized the welfare of all the different creations of nature. The overall objective of our approaches remained the protection and progress of all. 


Swadeshi and Self-reliance remained the pillars of our approaches since the ancient periods. Accordingly, India society developed its own systems and devised suitable methodologies in different fields of life.  The Indian life always aimed higher and sought to achieve perfection in diverse fields.  Hence even while it was the most dominant economy in the World, it was also the incomparable intellectual power touching the highest limits. 


India remained a powerful nation, besides being peaceful at the same time. As a result, she remained as a model to the rest of the World since the ancient periods. We never wanted to dominate others through power, but assimilate all through acceptance and understanding. Since our civilization believed in the larger welfare of the humanity as a whole, we have been giving and sharing with others throughout history. 


Field studies in different parts of the country show that the developments over the last seven decades after Independence was largely through the native approaches of the local societies. Our larger society, by nature, is energetic, vibrant, entrepreneurial and has enormous economic wisdom.   


This is the reason why we were able to emerge as the nation with a very high potential in the World now, even after being decimated by the Europeans in two hundred years and savaged by the invaders for nearly eight centuries earlier. All these developments happening in a period of about seventy years is a great achievement in the modern economic history of the World.  This is in spite of the policy making circles advocating and implementing the alien approaches most of the time in free India.  


The Indian society, used to deadly assaults and severe onslaughts for about a millennium, withstood all the non-Indian, and many times even the anti-Indian, steps that were thrust on it. It charted out a path of its own as soon as it realized that it was politically free, without worrying about the course of action that the policy makers would take. It continued its journey, based on its inherent beliefs and innate strengths, nurtured by the age-old culture of this great nation. 


Crisis is not new to the Indian society. It must have faced several hundreds of crises – of different types such as political and economic and of different sizes – during its long and arduous journey. But it has the inherent tenacity to fight hard and get back to normalcy.  There are several examples for this in history and during the contemporary times, besides the steady progress of the macro- economy. There are hundreds of cases at the local levels. 


Morvi (also Morbi) is a town near Rajkot in Gujarat, brimming with diverse industrial and business activities. Called as the ‘ceramic city of India’, it manufactures more than 80 per cent of ceramics in the country and is the second largest tiles manufacturing zone in the World. The town is equally popular for its wall clocks, contributing the highest number in India, with the popular brands such as Ajanta and Samay having their base. 


The town is also involved in the manufacture of the sanitary wares and diamond cutting. As a result, Morvi is known throughout the country and abroad for its products. Earlier in 1979 this town was devastated by floods when the dam on the Macchu river got burst.  It resulted in serious damage to the local economy running into several crores, besides taking away the lives of an estimated 1500 persons.  But it was re-built by the society with the help of the state within a short period, emerging today as one of the well-known business clusters in the country.


Even during the lock down period of two months between the late March and May, 2020, the Indian society proved its ability to fight back and contribute in the required fields. When the corona virus started attacking us, we did not have the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that is required to protect the doctors, medical personnel and others involved in the treatment of and assistance to the affected persons. We had to depend on imports for them. But within a very short period, India realized the need for them and started making it within the country. As a result, we now make more than three lakh units per day and in the process have emerged as the second largest manufacturer of PPEs in the World.  


This is how our societies turn adversities into opportunities. There are many other activities in which we have been able to scale up in a quick time, when the deadly was spreading everywhere. Even while lakhs of people were voluntarily helping the affected segments of population, many others were involved in finding out the solutions to the problems and striving to solve them.  It is this native spirit, called Swadeshi, that is required in full force for Self-Reliance at all levels now. 


Centuries of alien rules and the dominance of the Western ideas after independence have killed the native spirit, among the educated, the intellectual and policy making circles. Hence even when the larger societies at the local levels are functioning with the spirit of Swadeshi, the opinion making and the influential circles largely believe in the approaches from outside, particularly the West. 


As a result, the academia, the administration and the educated circles ignore and even have serious contempt for the performing sections. Hence there remains a wide gap in the system, between the groups that debate and decide, and the sections that perform. So our society with all its strengths could not reach higher levels, as there are serious misconceptions and lack of coordination. 


But the corona lock- down has taught many lessons to all in the World, including us in India. This is time for us to revive the Swadeshi spirit in the minds of all the different sections of the population and make it as a mass movement in all walks of life. Here the educated sections have a huge role to play in understanding and disseminating the realities and contributing with suitable suggestions for improvement. 


Nature has given an opportunity to take stock of the situation, realise our potential and reorient our approaches based on our foundations. Fortunately, the top leadership of the nation is taking this initiative forward. Hence it our duty to work towards creating a nation that will emerge stronger with all prosperity, so that the entire humanity would be able to benefit. 


( Yuva Bharati, Chennai, June 2020)


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