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

Economy of Permanence

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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Economy of Permanence
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
the raw materials are purchased cheap, then we make one man who organises

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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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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The guru himself did not look upon teaching as a profession any more than a
father looks upon his perental duties as a profession. The guru led his own life
from which emanated his outlook on life and his disciple gleaned what he could
from his practice. Jesus, when he chose his disciples said "follow me" and he
did not give them a list of text books to read. They had to follow in their
master's footsteps. That is our system of education.
True Economic Value: The close contact of Western commerce has enshrined
gold amongst us. Our cultural values have yielded place to money values. We
have begun to think in terms of gold and not in terms of humanity. The
brahmanical cultural standards have gone and the Baniya civilization of the
West has crept in. The Brahmin was valued and respected not because of his
possession but because of the service he was to render to society without
regard to the return he gets. No educational system which does not place first
things first is worthy of our attention. Any attempt to educate the masses must
include inculcation of true standards of financial, social and economic value
above all things.
Varied aspects of life: Man is a complex being; we cannot divide him up into
water-tight compartments and develop him in stages. Education, which attends
only to the intellectual development leaving aside the physical, moral and
spiritual aspects, is directed towards the production of monstrocities. If our
aim is a true education we have to attend to all faculties at one and the same
time. We have to develop a person physically, socially, mentally and spiritually.
He has to learn an occupation, he has to learn how to live as a member of
community, he has to know how to evaluate man and matters. Unless all these
are attempted we can have no education worth the name.
There is not a single action of ours that does not leave its indelible mark on us.
Our work, our play, our pastime and our rest all have to be consciously planned
out if the reactions have to be healthy socially. Training for work takes care of
the major part of a worker's life. We spend most of our time in our economic
activity. If it is so arranged that it develops our faculties and enriches our life
in the process of producing goods, to that extent the nation will be the better
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for it. Proper work will not wear out a nation but build it. The function of work
should be to reduce to practice our ideal of life. Pure religion, which begins
and ends with ceremonial worship, is superficial. If religion does not affect
every act of ours, every moment of our life, it is futile. We have seen by our
analysis of work, in the chapter on Work, the highly important role that work
plays in developing the individual and the race. If work can be so potent a force
in developing the adult we can well harness it to develop the child.
We have to concentrate our efforts on the villages. University education can go
overboard for a time without damaging the nation. As it is we are top-heavy,
we have many more graduates than we need. These have also created a
problem of unemployment as they are not products of the type of education we
need. Otherwise, there would be no difficulty in absorbing them. Our end must
be to make our villagers more useful and efficient. It is not necessary to load
them with much outside information. Radio and talkies though they may be
helpful, cannot be the main source of rural education. The amount spent on
them is disproportionately high. The work must be an evolution from within the
village and not an imposition from outside the community. Anything from
outside will require to be propped up by artificial means, but that which comes
from within will develop true culture which will bind man to man, village to
village and ultimately the country itself as one whole.
We need not place too much emphasis on the organization to be brought into
existence. When we pin our faith on organization, however important they may
be in themselves, we often lose sight of the personal influence, and the
organization tends to become expensive and wooden. Centralization of
education, as in other spheres, leads to too much control from those at a
distance. Centralization of education will lead to hide-bound methods and
standardization which are fatal to true education. It is much better for the
village teacher to work under the eyes of his neighbours. Therefore, it would
seem better if each village can be made to finance its own education by the old
method of endowing lands to a Mandir dedicated to education. If such a system
can have the advantage of inspection and advice from the centre, It ought to
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answer our purpose well, as the management itself will be amenable to local
public opinion. As it is, the teacher has to satisfy the inspector once a year or
so and, after such inspection is over, he relaxes. This does not make for
progress, much less for steady work. Every village school should be the centre
of culture and the point of contact with the outside world. The only danger in
this conception is that the teacher may get into the habit of looking upon his
part in the village as one of promoting social spirit and may neglect his main
duty to the younger generation. This social aspect is only a by-product, it is not
the end of a school. Let us place our faith in human nature and in ourselves and
go ahead keeping our load-star in sight. We may differ in details, but we shall
reach our goal of developing true culture, reliable standards of value and attain
unity in spite of our apparent diversity.
The suggested Scheme: Of late there has been a good deal of discussion as to
the line which true education should take. Gandhiji suggests education should
be made self-supporting. He writes "By education I mean an all-round drawing
out of the best in child and man-body, mind and spirit. Literacy is not the end
of education nor even the beginning. It is only one of the means whereby man
and woman can be educated. Literacy in itself is no education. I would
therefore, begin with the child's education by teaching it a useful handicraft
enabling it to produce from the moment it begins its training. Thus every school
can be made self-supporting, the condition being that the State takes over the
manufactures of these schools.
"I hold that the highest development of the mind and the soul is possible under
such a system of education. Only every handicraft has to be taught not merely
mechanically, as is done today, but scientifically, i, e., the child should know
the why and the wherefore of every process. I am not writing this without some
confidence, because it has the backing of experience. This method is being
adopted more or less completely wherever spinning is being taught to workers.
I have myself taught sandal- making and even spinning on these lines with good
results. This method does not exclude a knowledge of history and geography.
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But I find that this is best taught by transmitting such general information by
word of mouth, one imparts ten times as much in this manner as by reading and
writing. The signs of the alphabet may be taught later when he has somewhat
developed his or her tastes. This is a revolutionary proposal but it saves
immense labour and enables a student to acquire in one year what he may take
longer to learn. This means all-round economy. Of course the pupil learns
mathematics whilst he is learning his handicraft.
"I attach the greatest importance to primary education which according to my
conception should be equal to the present matriculation less English. If ail the
collegians were all of a sudden to forget their knowledge, the loss sustained by
the sudden lapse of the memory of say a few lacs of collegians would be as
nothing compared to the loss that the nation has sustained and is sustaining
through the ocean of darkness that surrounds three hundred millions. The
measure of illiteracy is no adequate measure of the prevailing ignorance among
the millions of villagers".
The education of children in the early stages can never be self-supporting. The
articles they may produce will not command any exchange value. If the State is
to take them over that will only be another way of meeting the loss and we
shall be deceiving ourselves that education is self-supporting. What Gandhiji
means by self-supporting is not that each year of the child must be paid for by
the products that the child makes in that year. This is too narrow a financial
view point and it can never be true. What is meant is a much wider value, not
in terms of money only but in terms of future services rendered by the child as
a well-trained citizen. At present, frequently the drilling in the three R's that a
child gets in a village is so feeble that after a few years it lapses into illiteracy
gain and the time and money spent on the child become a sheer waste in
course of time. But if it had been properly spent, the production of the class,
though it may not pay for itself each year, in the course of the seven year's
schooling, the aggregate production of the class, ought to cover amount spent
on the salary of the teacher. In the first two years there will be losses, in the
next three years it may just balance and the last years, if the child had been
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properly trained, ought to show a profit sufficient to cover the losses of the
first two years. Apart from this, as has already been pointed out, the tranining
of a good citizen more than compensates any capital expense incurred by the
State. When the child is taught crafts which are in local demand such as
spinning, dyeing, weaving, tailoring, mat and basket- making pottery, shoe-
making, carpentry, smithy, brass and metal working, paper-making, gur
production, oil-pressing, bee-keeping, etc., the problem of marketing will not
be great. Even the apprentice of an artisan does not pay for himself from the
very start. His training is bound to result in a loss for something. After the
initial stages, he may produce something worthwhile. Thence onwards he may
pay his training through. To meet such early training the Government has to
find the funds or the people will I have to set aside certain assets like lands
earmarked for the purpose. This was done formerly until the British system of
taxation dis-established the village schools. But education of the young j must
remain a duty of the S.ate. As we are situated at present, our J problem is a
politically created financial problem and is not natural. The solution lies in
correcting it politically and not accepting it as inevitable. The teacher should
himself be a well- trained person who may have to be paid adequately say Rs.
25/- as a start. The school hours and terms should be related to the village
calendar. There may be no classes during harvest seasons or during periods
when a great deal of work has to be done on the fields.
General outline of the Plan: The Wardha or Basic scheme, as this new plan has
come to be known, recommends a course of seven years' compulsory basic
education for boys and girls from the age seven to fourteen. The medium of
instruction is to be a craft like spinning, around which all subjects are taught.
The everyday life of the child and the correlation of the craft, the physical and
social environment of the child afford points of coordination for all
departments of knowledge. The standard aimed at is the present matriculation
without English. There will be no effort to teach writing until the child has
learnt drawing. Reading will be taught first. After the age of twelve, the pupil
may be allowed to choose a craft as a vocation. It does not aim at turning out
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expert workmen at the age of fourteen but, the pupil will have acquired
sufficient training to enter a vocation in which he will do his talents justice.
The central idea of this scheme is that intellectual development must be
attained through vocational training. The present system emphasizes general
education and bases vocational training on it. Therefore, when intellectual
training come first, we, in a way, tie the hands and feet of the child and he
becomes impractical. No amount of the latter training will ever restore his
limbs paralysed in childhood. Instruction, without experience to base it on,
becomes a pure memoty training exercise. It does not develop any initiative or
personality.
Examination: The brunt of examinations will be borne by the teaching staff not
by the pupils under this scheme. As the pupil's life is to be controlled by the
teacher for 24 hours of the day, the teacher becomes knit together with the
home of every child and so with the village. The work of the teacher will be
reflected in the condition of the homes and of the village.
Women's Part: We have to follow the natural physical development of the child
and follow it mentally, morally and spiritually. The child takes interest in form,
colour and movement and then tries to understand the reason why things are
what they are. Then he will experiment to see if he cannot make things what
he wants them to be. Thus he advances from play to investigation and then to
creation. Our educational system has to cater for these three stages of growth
if we plan on eliciting the best in each child. To do this, the teacher ought to
be fully qualified to enter into the spirit of the child and share it with him. By
temperament and natural endowment, women, generally speaking, are better
able to understand children of the first stage. The system in India suffers in no
small measure by the lack of education among women. The mothers are not
qualified to train the child nor can we get properly educated young women to
enter the schools as teachers. It seems to me if we are to reform the schools,
the first step is the education of girls and young women, who are the natural
custodians of the generations to come. Unless we begin there, any amount of
planning and scheming by mere man will be in vain as he only comes in after
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the impressionable age of the child has been lost. Every village school, handling
children under eight, must be in the hands of women. One can almost say that
with rare exception no man teacher should be employed in such schools.
In the second stage of development of the child, we need persons who will
stimulate the thinking of the pupils and explain the why and wherefore of
phenomena. I had the opportunity of visiting a school in New York State run by
the Federation of Labour Unions. In that school the whole community lived to-
gether and the children took part in the supply of food products and all other
domestic matters. They had their own dairy; one of the teachers was in charge
and a few boys helped him. I attended an "economic class" of pupils of about
eleven years of age. The subject for the day was "Buying of a cow". The class
was taken charge of by a boy of about ten; the teacher sat in a back row with
me. The lad in charge (we shall call him Henry) described to the class what his
experience was when he went with the teacher (Bill) in charge of the Dairy to
an adjoining market to buy a cow. This is how the class went on: "Bill and I
went to an auction to buy a cow because we do not get enough milk from our
cows for us all". One of the pupils asked what an "Auction" was. The other
explained "An auction is a shop where they had no fixed prices. The shopman
brought out an article and the persons who wanted it told him what they would
pay for it and the shopman gave it to the one who 'bid¹ highest". Then followed
an explanation what a 'bid¹ was. Then another pupil asked why different
persons 'bid' different prices. Henry replied "the cow they bought started at 75
dollars and was 'knocked down¹ at 120 dollars for Bill". After the explanation of
"knocked down" he said that the first man suggested paying 75 dollars and
others went on increasing the price till Bill bid 120 dollars. After that nobody
came forward with a higher price, so it was sold to Bill. Another pupil asked
"why nobody wanted to give more than 120 dollars?" Henry described how
before the auction all the prospective buyers had gone through the records of
the cow and found how much milk per year it gave, what food it ate during the
year and other costs and found out what amount spent on its price would be
just covered by the price of milk. So the highest limit was calculated and those
who wanted an animal would stop bidding when it reached this limit. The whole
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