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Panchayts15. It would result in democratic involvement of masses in the process of development and in the struggle against compradore class. This alone is capable of raising the mass connciouness in the country and pull it out of the dependence paradigm, unemployment and concomitant poverty. Because it will be ruthlessly opposed by the Indian ruling class, it is bound to aid the ongoing revolutionary movement in India. References : 1. V.I. Lenin in his Lecture (cited in his Selected Works,
Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1970, Volume 2, p.261) on the 1905 Revolution,
written before January 9 (22), 1917, has said, ‘‘The real education of the
masses can never be separated from their independent political and specially
revolutionary struggle. Only struggle educates the exploited class.’’
Therefore, all those who were involved in the national liberation struggle in
India against the mighty British empire, whether they were Marxists or not,
did make valid perceptions in the context of scientific socialism. It is
altogether a different matter that many of them failed to realise the full
implication of their own scientific perceptions. Gandhi has said as early as
in 1926, ‘‘To make India like England and America is to find some races and
places on the earth for exploitation.’’ This thesis was scientifically
validated by Ram Manohar Lohia in 1943 in his book, Economics After Marx, where
he maintained, ‘‘In history so far there has been no capitalism without
imperialism.’’ The full implication of these perceptions has been that any
compromise with imperialism on the issue of India’s independence would result
in India’s transformation from a colonial status to a neo-colonial status.
This was hardly realised by Gandhi, Lohia and their comrades in the struggle. 2. Gopal, S, (edited), Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru,
Orient Longman, New Delhi, 1979, Vol 3, p. 378; see also Vol. 2,p.156. 3. Gandhi, M.K., (1947), India of My Dreams, Navajivan
Publishing House, Ahemdabad, pp47-55 and 102-108. 4. Gandhi, M.K., Harijan, May 12, 1946. 5. Prasad Pradhan H, ''Gandhi's Approach to Science and
Technology,'' Gandhi Marg, April-June 1999. |
6. Gandhi, M.K. India of My Dreams, op. cit., pp.96-101. 7. Erikson, Erik H., (1970), Gandhi's Truth, Faber &
Faber, p.280. 8. Gopal, S., (edited), Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru,
op. cit., Vol. 10, p.258. 9. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol LVIII, p.461. 10. Das, Durga, (1974), India From Curzon to Nehru & After,
op.cit. vol 10, P.258. 11. Collins, Larry and Lapierre, Dominique, (1983), Mount- batten
and Partition of India, Third Edition 1992, pp. 21-30, 48-51, 74, 91-91 and
1992-5. 12. The Indian administration which has emerged very powerful in
the centralised state of independent India, had hardly any experience in
framing and implementing policies for development. It had acquired a culture
where voicing of even the genuine grievances of the people were tackled on
the basis of it being a law and order question. Therefore, its entire
approach to development was gullible and irrational. Changing of coal-based
technology to oil-based technology was in essence opposed to the motto of
self-reliance. India had enough coal reserve but oil had to be imported.
Similarly instead of promoting scientific knowledge to improve upon the
existing technology-mix in India with which Indians were familiar, it went
ahead with preposterous policies of import of capital intensive technology
including import of machinery, equipments etc. 13 Prasad Pradhan H, ‘‘Liberalisation : In Theory and in
Practice’’, Economic and Political Weekly, March 29, 1997. 14. The first decade of independence, 1947-48 to 1957-58, had
witnessed India having an annual average foreign trade deficit of Rs 1100
million and during the decade prior to this British India had an annual average foreign trade
surplus of about Rs 500 million. 15. Prasad Pradhan H, ‘‘Empowring the People’’, Economic and Political Weekly, December 25, 1999 . |