The Economy of Permanence: A Quest for a Social Order Based on Non-violence (स्थायी अर्थतन्त्र)

Economy of Permanence
etc. and if the processes, which are unhygienic, be carried out by simple
machinery. If this involves a transformation of the scattered chamar
families into a central tannery for a tahsil or district, the change may be for
the better. Such tanneries may be owned and managed by Co-operative
Societies only of the chamars.
5. At present, there are a few selected places where leather manufactured
goods are produced on a very big scale and distributed over the whole
country. This system must be discouraged and local manufacture of
practically all the leather goods, such as foot-wear, money purses, suitcases
etc. should be encouraged, either the local manufacture may be subsidised
or the imports taxed.
Subsidies should be given to individual contractors or Cooperative Societies
for the preparation of manure from blood, flesh and bones from the
carcasses.. The subsidy should be in proportion to the output of manure.
6. Glue, guts, brushes, and other byeproducts can also be prepared by these
societies. The horn industry can be profitably introduced among chamar
families. It should be encouraged by subsidy for some time and by the
purchase of the finished products by the government for its use. The
necessary equipment should, of course, be supplied on hire.
8. Soap-Making
A survey of deposits of sajji matti should be carried out. And wherever such
deposits of sajji matti are found, soap makers should be allowed to collect
them without any tax or royalty being demanded of them. Incidentally, it may
be observed that the removal of this deposit improves the quality of the land.
Caustic lye prepared from Sajji matti and non-edible oils should be utilized for
soap manufacture in villages.
9. Lighting
The non-edible oils as neem, karanji, candle nut, pardi, mahua, rayan, etc.,
which are very little used at present, should be utilized also for lighting
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purposes. Every effort should be directed towards making the villages self-
sufficient in lighting.
Vegetable oil lamps like, the 'Magandipa' devised by the A. I. V. I. A., can be
distributed from the demonstration centres along with other equipments, and
the local artisans should also be encouraged to produce them.
10. Paper Making

1. The provincial Government may start handmade paper industry in the jails
   where the required raw materials are available in the vicinity. For this
   purpose a survey of the local raw materials needed for paper making should
   be carried out by an expert.
2. All the chemicals required for paper making should be made available by Co-
   operative Societies to the handmade paper production centres at controlled
   rates.
3. One central workshop should be maintained, in common with other
   industries for making the required machinery such as beater, callender,
   moulds, screw press, envelopes making machine, etc.
   Paper makers should be supplied with the latest type of equipments such as
   hollander beater, callender machine, screw, press, etc., either on hire or on
   the hire-purchase system through the Co-operative Societies. These
   societies may also supply pulp where such pulp calls for power-driven
   machinery for its making.
4. Such raw materials as office records, waste paper and grasses available in
   the government forests useful for paper making, which are auctioned at
   present to the highest bidder, should be reserved for hand-made paper
   producing centres and should be supplied to them through their co-operative
   societies at moderate rates. Similarly, the finished products prepared by the
   centres should be purchased by the Government for their stationery and
   office record purposes, through the Co-operative societies at such prices as
   will leave the paper makers in a position to maintain a reasonable standard
   of life.
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5. Training: The required expert staff for hand-made peper producing centres
can be trained at the Provincial Training Centres.
6. Priority should be obtained from the railways for the transport of hand-
made paper and its equipments. Hand-made paper should be exempted from
terminal and octroi duties.
11. Pottery

1. The first requisite of the pottery industry is the analysis of the available clay
   in the province. This should be undertaken by the Government.
2. Clay mixing is an art requiring considerable knowledge of chemistry. Hence
   it should be done in a central place like a Co-operative Society, or a jail,
   and the mixed clay should be distributed to individual potters. Alternatively,
   the existing potters should be taught the art of clay mixing if possible, by
   giving them a set of formulas for particular types of clay.
3. As in the case of other industries, the Co-operative Society can be the
   agency for the distribution of clay as well as the improved potters' wheel on
   hire.
4. The glazing and firing of particular types of pots will have to be done again
   co-operatively. Both the processes of clay mixing and firing and glazing
   should be done on a service basis co-operatively by the potters themselves.
   Pots, which do not require very high temperature firing, and which are
   ordinarily done at present in the villages by groups of potters, can be fired
   better by introducing improved furnaces in place of temporary ones.
   Properly constructed furnaces will reduce the consumption of fuel.
   The big furnaces required for brick-tiles-firing should be co-operatively
   organized. The shape and strength of bricks and tiles should be improved.
5. Facilities should be provided for potters to receive short- term training in all
   processes, such as clay-mixing and improved modelling, firing and glazing,
   at some convenient place.
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12. Sanitation and Manure

1. What forms should the latrines take in the villages should be found out after
   alternative methods have been tried out. It may be more than one type may
   be found suitable and necessary. Experiments must be made in regard to
   types of latrines, etc., to keep the villages in a sanitary condition. Bore-hole
   urinals should be installed in suitable places in the villages.
2. Subsidies should be given to individual contractors for converting human
   excreta and all the dirt of the village into compost manure. The subsidy
   being proportionate to the amount of manure produced should be such as to
   attract individuals to this job. Unless it is made a profitable business
   proposition, it is not likely to be attractive. The grant or subsidy, at least
   for some years, is essential to make it attractive.
3. The custom of housing cattle inside the village and often in the dwelling
   places themselves, requires attention from the point of view of village
   sanitation. Though this is a long-term problem, the sanitation of the village
   is difficult to maintain without proper provision for stables and mangers.
   Wherever new extension of a town or village has to be made, the cattle housing
   should be provided for in a place a little away from the dwellings, sanitation of
   the village is one of the main considerations that weigh with some who
   advocate common dairies of the villages, instead of individually owned and
   kept cattle.
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VI. DEMOCRACY
India was originally a republic of villages, and each village was a self-governing
unit. It has developed certain ideas of state, based on the types of personalities
commonly found in society.
All activities in human society present two points of view, the long range view
and the short range view. Many of us are not capable of taking a long term view
because it means working for years before the fruit of one's labours can be seen
or obtained and men do not like to wait. We are all inclined to take a short
term view, we want to eat, drink and be merry. Ninety-nine out of hundred
people take this short term view. But these are certain matters which have got
to be done for the benefit of the whole society and which call for a long range
view. This is what a democracy arranges for. We require men with long range
view to be at the head of Government if Government is to succeed and the well
being of the majority is to be achieved. People who take a short range view are
a danger to society, if they be at the head of Government. They will promote
wars by their short sighted policy.
Judged from this view point, England and America are anything but
democracies. Those countries are under absolute dictatorships. When these
countries were faced with the grave danger of war, what the form of
Government that prevailed, democracy or dictatorship? Bare faced dictatorship
came into being in those countries. That was not merely a coincidence; it was
bound to happen. These countries have been using centralised methods of
production which means central control and regimentation, which ultimately
leads to dictatorship. We cannot have dictatorship in economics and at the
same time, democracy in politics. Such claims to democracy are merely smoke-
screens. Democracy in economics must be based on decentralized production in
villages on individual basis.
Of course, irrigation, roads and such large projects will have to be undertaken
and for that purpose you must select from society people who have a long
range view. Therefore all ministers and all government officials should be
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persons with long range view. If they talk in terms of money, 'will it pay'?, then
they are not people of the right sort to hold the present responsible posts. In
the long view 'will it pay?' will not be the criterion. 'Does it answer the purpose
of the people¹ is the question that should be asked. Government is not a
commercial institution; it is not on institution for making money or producing
bureaucrats. Government is there to serve the people. If it serves the needs of
the people it does not matter what such service costs. It has got to be
rendered. That is the fundamental principles that we have got to remember.
Here is a big difference between private economy and public finance in this
that public finance takes a long range view. While planning for democracy,
every citizen is to be made conscious of the part he has to play in the whole
scheme.
The Personnel: One of the primary necessities for doing this is that there should
be no 'self in those in charge. If 'self be there, they will exploit the labour of
the millions. That is the danger, and Congress Ministries we want to cut down
very many things. The last ministry went down to a salary of Rs. 500/- a month.
Now their standards have increased, and accordingly the salaries have been
increased. That means that 'self has come in. There is danger here. We have to
accept village standards. We are not to live in palaces. There are many palaces
in cities, where wealthy people are living but the villages have no palaces.
I had an occasion to meet a missionary in a village about five or six miles from a
town. He was living in a big palatial house, like the houses of some of our
ministers, beautifully furnished. In that jungle of a place he had electricity,
pumps for the well, flush out lavatories and so many other modern facilities.
He had a farm of about three hundred acres of land.
About half a mile from the house he had built small mud huts for model
families to establish themselves, with a poultry run and a little land attached
to each hut to cultivate. The missionary said to me, "We are spending a lot of
money here, but we feel that we are not very effective in the villages. We are
unable to get at them. Can you give me a mantra for it?", I said, "The mantra is
very simple. You set fire to this palatial house. That is the mantra. You are
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coming from Western countries and you do not know the conditions that obtain
in India. You always think in terms of money, and prestige it brings. The
villagers respect us in this clothing. If we have two more patches in our clothes,
they respect us all the more. If we do away with the shirt, they follow us, and
if we have a dhoti high up as a loin cloth, they prostrate before us! That is the
standard of values in our country. You missionaries, who come here, do not
understand this position. Therefore, if you want to serve our people, you have
to get rid of this big palace which is associated with exploitation. It creates
suspicion and instels fear in the villagers. If you have built these mud huts for
the villager at a cost of Rs. 250/- each you must build huts for yourself at a cost
of Rs. 125/-, if you want to serve the villagers. If you do that they will come
and listen to you as ] they would realise you have no 'self in you. That is the
secret of it. Ours is not a barbarian country. We have got a culture of values
not based on money. We have got our 'Brahminical standards'. It is not the
sacred thread that is the symbol of Brahminic culture. There may be I. C. S.
officers earning thousands of rupees as¹ salary, with their sacred threads on but
they are all mlechhas. We have got a standard of Brahminical values. That is
the secret of the Mahatma's greatness. If Mahatma Gandhi goes to America,
crowds will go to see him; but they will not go in the same spirit as the crowds
gather in India. Our people have faith in Gandhiji because he is a man without
property without any 'self in him. That is what will bring popular ministries real
power. That is what will restore the confidence of the people. If you put this
plan before them, they will readily take it. You do not require much money for
it.
All that is required is to transform ourselves and get into this way of life. That
alone will bring us swaraj, economic swaraj, In that swaraj everyone will have
enough to eat.
First of all, in a poverty stricken land, everyone must have food and clothing.
That is why we should approach the problem from an agricultural point of view.
It is not a question of harnessing the patriotism of the people. It is a question

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of harnessing every man. Ultimately we have to solve the problem of food and clothing to everyone.

World Reactions: That is the only way of ensuring peace in the world. We have a tremendous hold over China, not because we are manufacturers of atom bombs, but because there are ties between this country and China created by Lord Buddha. That is the sort of culture that we want. We want to be a world power. If so we must start with this cultural value, and we must plan from the villages upwards. That is the only way of solving not only our own problems but those of the whole world. Those at the helm of affairs should forsake their 'self, and forsake their all. They must then put this plan into action for the people. That is the real contribution they can make to our country.

Government Opposition: Democratic government based on representatives requires an opposition to direct its working. The water in a river is kept to its course by the banks. If the banks are of rock it is best. If not the banks get eroded and the river silts and shifts its course. Hence there can be no competition between the banks and the water for the bed of the river.

Similarly the director and the directed cannot be competitors. There should be co-operation and not competition.

As the waters of a river are kept in their course best by its rocky banks, so also the Government of a country has to be directed by forces which lie outside the official sector of the Gov- ; ernment. Great Britain prides itself on possessing the 'Mother of Parliament'. The method prevailing there is to maintain, at Government cost, 'His Majesty's Opposition' to keep the ministers within bounds by directing the flood light of public criticism, on the steps taken or proposed to be taken by the Government. British Parliament is a veritable arena where many a mortal combat between political knights take place. The discomfited knight yields place to the victor. The occupants of the opposition benches today may be the proud occupants of the Treasury Benches tomorrow according to the fortunes of Parliamentary Debate. This is the function of the opposition in the British Parliamentary System. It is an outcome of the competitive economy projected into the political sphere.

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The composition of the cabinet itself reflects the structure of imperialism in
the economic field. Centralised industries need to gather the raw materials
from the four corners of the world and send back their finished products to
markets in the uttermost parts of the globe. This necessitates wide-spread use
of money and transport and control of political power. To achieve these Foreign
Affairs, Finance and Army, Navy and Air Force become essentials. Hence these
have secured coveted status in the British Cabinet.
Both competition and imperialism have their roots in violence.
Our country has taken up the reins of Government. If we desire to pursue non-
violence, what shall be the form of our Government? Our Government also will
need a corrective force to perform the functions of an Opposition'. But we want
an economy based on co-operation and not one on competition. The 'Opposition
members in our economy will not be looking forward to occupying the Treasury
Benches one day, should the fortunes of debate go against those in the saddle
at the time. Personal ambition can have no place in an economy of non-
violence and co-operation. What we should aim at is not to replace the
ministers, but to hold up models that they should follow. The constructive
workers should direct them into proper channels by the beacon light of their
example. This is a great responsibility that would devolve upon the constructive
workers in a non-violent economy.
A well organised body of constructive workers will be needed to provide this
directive force. Their service to the people will be their sanction and the merit
of their work will be their charter. The ministers will draw their inspiration
from such a body which will advise and guide the secular Government. To be
able to discharge this function the constructive workers forming such a body
will have to be drawn from men of renunciation, whose one aim and ambition is
the service of the people.
In such a political make-up the cabinet will handle portfolios that will be
essential to an economy of self-sufficiency. The major portfolios will be
Agriculture, Land, Development-Antierosion, reclamation, fertilisation,
Irrigation, River Controls, Forests, Village and Cottage Industries, Minerals and
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Heavy Industries, Health, Education and Home Affairs. It is not imperative in
such a set-up to give Foreign Affairs, Finance and Defence cabinet rank,
however important these departments may be.
In a political structure of this nature the body of constructive workers will form
the bulwark of safety for the people against exploitation. A Government run on
this basis will give the needed emphasis to the affairs of the people and ensure
their welfare bringing in Swaraj to the masses.
'Nationalisation' presupposes that real power rests with the people, i. e., with
the masses. There should be in the first place, a wide foundation of experience
in the management of our affairs. This has to be obtained by the villagers
looking after their common needs through well organized panchayats. From
such experienced men the districts will draw their administrators and these will
also supply the requirements of the province in regard to public men and
legislation. Such well-based and properly conducted provincial administration
will be able to keep under control the Central Government and make it
function in the interests of the villagers.
When the Government of the land is in the hands of the millions as their first
care, then alone can we claim to have a National Government and
'Nationalisation' will then ensure that the interests of the masses will be taken
care of.
In the absence of such a village based and controlled by Central Government,
'Nationalisation' may lead to the greater exploitation of the 'have nots' by the
'haves'.
For instance, there has been a lot of talk recently about 'Nationalising' the
Airways. These airways, at present, are not within the reach of the villagers.
They do not need them nor are they likely to use them. As it is, at the present
time, the 'haves' own them and use them. So Government control now will
mean the Government will spend its money and though in making 'the Airways'
easily available to the 'haves' while other 'haves' will provide the service.
Aerodromes may have to be constructed and various roads, etc., provided. For
this these private bodies would like to exploit the Government to exploit the
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Government resources and obtain their assistance under the plea of
Government control or 'Nationalisation'. The funds available to the Government
should be earmarked for the provision of facilities for the masses and hence we
cannot divert them for the betterment of airways. Let private enterprises go on
as they have done. Some 'haves' will exploit other 'haves' and later on when
village based National Government comes into existence we shall have time
enough to consider 'Nationalisation' of such services.
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VII. NATIONAL INDUSTRIES
We come to the question of organisation and method to be followed by
industries. We have to bear in mind two main principles in economics. These
are, concentration of wealth and distribution of wealth.
Centralised industries generally act like centrifugal machines. These
concentrate wealth in a few hands. Concentration may be eighter of wealth or
of power. The decentralised industries have the natural tendency of
distributing wealth. Therefore, if we do not want, in our society, concentration
of wealth, then we must take out the centralised industries. Since what we
want is distribution of wealth especially in a poor country like India, we must
decentralise the industries.
There is another way of doing it. Russia has done it. They say that they will
produce wealth in a concentrated form and then distribute it through
government. The danger there lies in the concentration of power, and not in
the concentration of wealth, as in our country. When wealth has been produced
the people who have to redistribute it have the power in their hands. Therefore
it is concentration of power or concentration of wealth, both are evils. In
Russia there is concentration of power, as against concentration of wealth in
America and England. India is a poor country where we have got to produce
wealth, and in the process of production of wealth we have to distribute it. So,
where we want to produce consumpt on goods, we should put centralised
method of production out of court completely.
Place of Centralised Industries: There should be centralised industries only
where they can be in the hands of people who will not have any profit motives
or who will not concentrate the wealth. We shall have to sterilise the
centralised industries of their power of concentrating wealth. How shall we do
that? It must be on a service basis. Electricity, transport, communications, post
and telegraphs, roads all these must be on a service basis and must be run by
government composed of selfless workers. If we want motor cars or aeroplanes,
they must be produced by government. It may be said that such industries, as
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are run by government, are very often wasteful. We must condone a certain
amount of waste. Concentration of wealth is much more wasteful. All these
wars are the result of concentration of wealth and power consequent on
centralisation of industries. Look at the huge amount of wealth that has been
wasted during the last few years.
If we must have centralised industry, we can have it only where we cannot help
it. It is just like a poison. Even poison is sometimes good. For example, you
take quinine. It is a good thing when you take in limited quantities and as
prescribed by a doctor. You put a red label to the effect that it is a poison, and
you take it in small doses. If you want to have a centralised industry that is a
poison for the nation you may have it with a red label, and take it in small
doses as prescribed by the doctor! Otherwise there is danger. Centralised
industries are in their very nature anti-social. Therefore, we have got to limit
their sphere. How do we limit it? Limit it to cases where society requires their
function and the industry itself is of the nature of a monopoly. Take for
example, water-supply. We should let government arrange for water-supply.
We have to allocate to government things which require a long-range view.
Costs and Profits: There are people who talk in terms of cost. They say
centralised industries are good because things can be produced cheap. It is not
always so. Centralised industries can be used with advantage in the case of
public utility concerns, such as Railways, Posts and Telegraphs, Electricity
supply, Irrigation, which are by nature monopolistic; there must not be any
profit motive, but they should be run on a service basis. When the State
undertakes these enterprises the profit motive is eliminated, which an
individual has uppermost in his mind.
Private individuals are actuated by profit motive. Higher the cost, lower the
profit, and lower the cost, higher the profit. This means we cut down cost in
centralised industry. The easiest way to do so is to cut down wages, purchase
raw materials at a cheaper price and effect other economic savings in overhead
charges. Profit is the main motive power. When we are cutting down wages and
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Economy of Permanence
the industry rich and the other people poor. Thus unequal distribution of
wealth sets in.
This is not so with village industries. There is no question of profit although
prices may be higher. There is a fair return for everybody. This is why we need
not worry even though prices under village industries are high and prices under
centralised industries are low. All we want to do is to prevent unequal dis-
tribution of wealth.
Price Control: It is wrong to treat the large-scale and small-scale industries in
the same way in regard to price control. We must understand the nature of the
industry before we being to place controls. Controls are not desirable in every
sphere. Where an industry is anti-social it should not be a centralised industry.
Thus, the element of being anti-social determines whether the industry should
or should not be a large-scale industry.
As observed earlier, industries are good where there are natural monopolies
and where much capital is required. For instance coal mines, railways and
ventures of that type require large capital, big labour force-every thing on a
vast scale and such industries should not be left to private individuals but
should be managed by the State.
Democracy in industries: Textile-mills are antidemocratic because there are
thousands of people working under a boss who is an autocrat within his little
sphete-the Mill. His word is law, he is the Czar whose word must be obeyed.
There should not be a place in democracy for such anti-social elements.
Democracy must be pure everywhere. From this political aspect also centralised
industries are an evil.
We want a society based on co-operation. Competition means ungle law. We do
not want it in our country. Our aim is to bring co-operation, ban competition
and we cannot ban competition merely by saying that we shall regulate prices.
Just as a doctor prescribes poison in small doses to cure his patients after
careful examination, so also we have got to carefully examine each industry
and see whether centralisation is good or bad.
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When we reject centralisation we do not object to the use of machinery. What
we desire is that man should not become the slave of the machine. When man
loses control over the machine, we have violence manifesting itself.
Violence and Peace : In text-books on Economics we read so much about the
laws of supply and demand, but in the actual world we do not find anything like
that especially in a competitive regime. A machine must be worked to its
economic productive capacity. To take a concrete example, suppose there is a
shoe- making factory. There is a demand for 300 pairs of shoes but the
economic productivity of the factory is 500 pairs of shoes. This means that the
cost of production to be the lowest, 500 pairs of shoes must be produced
whether there is a demand for them or not. Because the factory owner is
concerned with profits, he will not care for anything else but to see that the
cost of production is the lowest per pair of shoes. He will ignore the demand
side and produce 500 pairs because the cost of production would be reduced to
the minimum and then he will try to find a market outside. Thus man is
governed by the speed of the machine and not by the demand. Wars are thus
started for capturing markets, creating customers for the surplus products.
Production takes place first and demand is then created at the point of the
bayonet. It is, therefore, evident that centralised industry is the root cause of
wars. It is necessary, therefore, to put a rational limit on the use of centralised
industries.
In certain industries like tanning there are some processes which require large-
scale methods to be employed. In such cases by all means we may use them,
but not under private management. If chrome tanning is necessary it must be
done under multipurpose co-operative societies on the basis of supplying
leather at cost price to the shoemaker.
In the same way there may be so many functions which can be undertaken on
individualistic or small-scale basis. For instance, kiln with 16,000 heat cannot
be had without much capital and electric power-a centralised process. We may
use electric power and all other methods functionally, but not for profit. Let it
not be a handle to exploit society.
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VIII. GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS
As has been observed all activities in human society present two view-points-
the long range view and the short range view. 'The individual is generally
obsessed with the immediate benefit he gets. He is not much interested in a
programme of work what will bear fruit after his time. He would be prepared to
be satisfied with lower return in the near future than to work for an end that
will fructify much later. Therefore it becomes necessary, in the interests of the
whole social group, to detail out certain individuals to attend to the dictates of
the long range interests. This is the function of a National Government.
Again, certain necessary functions cannot be performed within the limits of the
resources available to the common citizen. Such functions also fall to the
government whose resources of men and material are immense. Research,
experimentation and dissemination of information are such functions which an
individual farmer or artisan cannot undertake.
All the zeal, talent and resources of the State and the public that have up to
the present been directed towards pushing ahead factory products, should now
be rechannelled into a drive for village sufficiency based on village industries.
With determined effort all the handicaps from which villagers suffer at present
should be removed as possible.
Irrigation : The need for providing irrigation facilities to all the villages cannot
be emphasised too greatly. This is the foundation upon which agriculture
depends for its progress, in the absence of which farming becomes a pure
gamble. A drive for sinking wells, enlarging and dredging tanks, building canals,
has to be launched. The power engines used in rice and flour mills now can be
acquired by the governments to pump up water from tube wells. No proper
manuring can be done without water facilities as manure in the absence of
water is harmful.
Land Management: We have to increase the extent and quality of soil under
cultivation. The quality of the soil should be maintained by checking erosion
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and water-logging by means of proper drainage, embankments, contour bunding
etc. In the final analysis the soil is the fountain bead from which springs all
nourishment for men and cattle in the form of corn and fodder. If the quality of
the soil is reduced the food produced upon it will be of poor quality and
consequently the health of the people will suffer. This is why nutrition experts
connect up health with agriculture.
In Bihar and other places former food crops like rice have been made to yield
place to commercial crops-sugarcane, tobacco and long staple cotton-by using
the price mechanism. Similarly, in Malabar large tracts of rich lands have been
converted into coconut groves. These coconuts are sold to oil-mills and the oil
is used in preparing soap. The old occupants of rice fields no longer get their
own rice hand-pounded but depend on polished rice from Brazil and suffer from
malnutrition consequently. It is the duty of the Government to see that proper
use is made of the land to produce primary necessities first. If there be any
surplus land available after providing food and clothing, such lands may be used
for commercial purposes. The above cited instances show criminal dereliction
of duty of Government in that in effect rice lands have been converted into
soap lands while people are facing starvation.
The use of lands should be subject to a license which will be given after
considering the products to be raised according to a well-laid-out plan.
Research: All research in agriculture should be directed towards improving
food crops as well as raw materials for village industries rather than encourage
the growth of money crops, like tobacco, and raw materials for factories like
thick rind sugarcane and long staple cotton.
Freights and Priorities: At present priority and discriminative freight rates are
granted to factory materials. Village industries articles such as hand-made
paper, equipment for village industries, vegetable oil lamps, etc., are not given
a look in on the railways. This causes bottle-necks in the industries concerned.
This policy of the railways had played no small part in checking the progress
and spread of village industries, which promised to flourish under the
conditions prevailing during the war. As in all other matters, the policy in this
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too should be changed in favour of village producers. Railway priority for the
transport of goods and equipment of village industries should be granted.
Village-made articles must be exempted from impositions such as terminal
taxes, municipal duties, etc.
Cattle-breeding: The government should undertake cattle- breeding farms on
much wider scale. In every province where there are special breeds suited to
the place, these should be preserved and improved. Where necessary the
maintenance of stud bulls may be subsidised. Generally the work may be done
on lines followed by the Go-seva Sangh, Wardha, Central Provinces.
Communications, Roads etc.: All roads meant for motor traffic in villages
should be tarred and the cost must be borne by the motor owners. The licence
and taxes on motor vehicles and on petrol should be so regulated as to make
motor owners bear the entire cost to Government for the construction and the
maintenance of such roads. Motor vehicles should not be allowed, except with
special permit, on untarred roads and then only with a speed limit of 5 miles
per hour.
The government will have to radically revise their policy of maintaining forests.
Forest management should be guided, not by considerations of revenue but by
the needs of the people. Forest produces such as timber, lac etc., should be
supplied in useable form. The wood should be seasoned in the forests. Forest
planning must be based on the requirements of the villagers around. Forest
should be divided into two main classes: (1) Those supplying timber to be
planned from the long range point of view, and (2) Those supplying fuel and
grasses, to be made available to the public either free of cost or at nominal
rates. There are village industries such as palm gur, paper making, pottery,
etc., which can flourish only if fuel or grass be supplied to them at cheap rates.
Training Centres: There should be Training Centres, preferably on linguistic
basis, to carry on the following functions:
(1) To carry on research in conjunction with the district demonstration centres
in the technique and process of village industries of the province. (2) To
prepare literature on village industries in the local languages. (3) To hold
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village industries exhibitions. (4) To run a workshop for the supply of such tools
and implements as bullock-driven flour chakkis, paddy separators, sugar
centrifugal machines, beater, digester, calender, screw press, etc., which
cannot be manufactured in the district centres. (5) To train Gram Sevaks' staff
for the district demonstration centres as well as for co-operative societies.
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Economy of Permanence
IX. EDUCATION FOR LIFE
In the last analysis we are led to the conclusion that all problems radiate from
education. We can solve our difficulties only by educating the people to view
life from a common standpoint. Education is a master key that gives admission
into all departments that make up life.
Meaning of Education: If education is to fit us for life- to make us better
citizens, better husbands and better fathers-it has to be a continuous process
from the cradle to the grave. Through all the changing scenes of life we ought
to be able to pass with the least shock. If, on the other hand, education taught
us only certain tricks which we could perform we should be completely at sea
when a different set of circumstances confronted us. Education need not cramp
our minds with facts and figures but it should give us an attitude towards life.
An educational system has to have a philosophy behind it and its purpose should
be to elicit the best in an individual. Therefore, the undertaking of education is
a grave responsibility fraught with many dangers and we cannot launch out
lightly upon any scheme without proper preparation and thought.
Unfortunately the system of spreading the art of reading and writing has been
often identified with education. Nothing can be more grotesque. Reading and
writing are means of acquiring culture but they are not the only means nor are
they the most important means.
Education with a Purpose: In most countries, at present, education has a
definite purpose or goal. In capitalistic countries, the captains of industry look
upon it as a nursery for their future executives and administrators. In socialist
countries, they harness-it to increase material production. In militaristic
nations, education means a creation of a narrow patriotism.
The Oriental Method: In our own country, the system of education followed in
the past was a training ground for life. A student chose his master and lived his
everyday life under his master's watchful eye and imbibed the spirit of his guru.
This was the case, not merely with spiritual training, but, in every walk of life.
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