Sustainable Development came into vogue after the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted ‘The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ on September 25 2015, to transform the world by 2030. This resolution was followed by a global development framework of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals comprising 169 targets and 231 indicators for SDG interventions and tracking progress.
However, decades before this idea of sustainable Development was introduced, a 63-year-old Indian social thinker announced giving up his highly promising political career in quest of an alternative development model to the Eurocentric developmental narrative. Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh, who later became popular as Nanaji Deshmukh, give up active politics on October 09 1978, in an event organised to launch a Hindi journal, Jai Matrubhumi.
Born in a poor family at Kadoli in Maharashtra on October 11 1916, Nanaji rose to become a Member of Lok Sabha from Balarampur constituency in 1978. He was a prominent figure in the political fight against the imposition of an internal emergency by Indira Gandhi and actively involved in fostering political alliance against the ruling party to revive democracy. Recognising his contributions, Prime Minister Morarji Desai offered him the post of cabinet minister for Industry in his government. However, Nanaji denied the offer. The reason is that he had already decided to provide an alternative idea of community development for future generations to feel proud.
Development Landscape in 1970s
This was the age when the world was divided into two poles—the USA and the USSR—and the developmental landscape was dominated by the Modern Paradigm, wherein the third-world countries were expected to imitate the West in various dimensions of Development —economic, technological, education, social and cultural. Without any original idea of Development, India was blindly implementing various projects designed by the World Bank, IMF, Ford Foundation, etc. The ‘Top-Down Approach’ was a norm for policy formulation, while “the Bottom-Up Approach’ or getting feedback from people on development programs, was not even at the thought level. Although Latin American scholars started raising voices against this Eurocentric model of Development in the 1960s by labelling it neo-colonialism, Indian intellectuals were busy copying and pasting Western philosophies, values, and ideas of Development.
In this backdrop, eminent Indian philosopher and political thinker Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya propounded Integral Humanistic Philosophy under which he put forward two crucial concepts – Yuganukulan and Deshanukulan. Yuganukulan provides a technical framework to revisit Indian Knowledge System (IKS) and Indigenous practices to develop approaches for contemporary needs while Deshanukulanguides for contextualisation of foreign intellectual imports before implementing in India. Nanaji’s quest for a suitable model of rural Development in India is based on Deen Dayal’s Integral Humanistic Philosophy and his concepts of Antyodaya (the welfare of the last person in the queue), Gramodaya(rise of villages), Yuganukulan and Deshanukulan.
Nana ji’s Philosophy of Development Vs. Central Idea of SDGs
Nanaji firmly believed that this nation (India) cannot be self-sufficient unless the active participation of every citizen is ensured. Soon after giving up active politics, Nanaji launched the Gonda Gramodaya Project through Deendayal Research Institute (DRI), which he had founded in 1969. This was followed up with projects in Beed, Nagpur, and Chitrakoot.
Nanaji’s projects were scientific experiments of academic and professional importance as they had well-defined objectives, research design for program implementation and a technical framework for evaluation. Some experiments and programs were carried out solely by DRI, while others collaborated with national and internationally acclaimed institutions. This makes Nanaji’s projects different from the social reformers whose works were based on intuition and arbitrary.
The Gonda Project was aimed to achieve “total transformation through holistic development with people’s initiative and participation”. In his inaugural address of this project on November 25 1978, the then President of India, Dr Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, said, “The whole country will look at Gramodaya Project of Gonda with keen interest. I shall watch this experiment with keen interest and am hopeful of its success”.
When international agencies emphasised deep borewells, Nanaji used bamboo instead of iron pipes, thereby innovating an eco-friendly irrigation technology, reducing the cost by one-third. In that age, neither the Western scholars nor UN agencies had any thought on water conservation, affordable and clean energy, sustainable technologies etc. On May 22 1982, London’s prestigious weekly newspaper, The Economist, reported, “the initial successes of Gonda Gramodaya project in the field of irrigation have attracted the worldwide attention,”. The lessons of the Gonda project were enriched and applied to DRI’s successive projects.
According to UNDP, for sustainable Development to be achieved, it is crucial to harmonise three core elements – economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. These are core ideas around which Nanaji had worked on ground decades before the formal launch of Global Goals in 2015.
SDGs in Chitrakoot Project
The Chitrakoot Project is one of Nanaji’s most advanced experiments. It was a challenging summation of the experiments and the experiences gained through DRI’s earlier projects. After its launch in 1991, Nanaji supervised this project till his last breath on February 27 2010. The community which was considered the most backwards before the launch of Chitrakoot Project got a university, Ayurvedic Hospital, Ayurvedic Pharmacy, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, schools and hostels for tribal boys and girls, residential schools for scheduled caste children, skill training institute, Gurukuls, a research centre for conservation of Indigenous cow breeds, etc., within a couple of years. Under its ‘SDG Interventions Program’, DRI has identified a direct correlation between the Chitrakoot Project and various targets of global goals from SDG 1 to SDG 8. These SDGs are enshrined in various objectives Nanaji had framed in his research design. However, the overall impact of Chitrakoot Project in the community also covers targets of several other Global Goals. For instance, dedicated schools for tribal and scheduled caste children, universities for village students, public bathing ghats (facility on riverbank), etc. have helped achieve SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities within and among countries). Likewise, research centres for conserving Indigenous cow breeds, animal fairs and sustainable agriculture contribute significantly to realising SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 15 (Life on Land). Nanaji’s vision of sustainable Development and lifestyle in harmony with nature is reflected in SDG 12, mainly target 8. His successful experiment of replacing iron pipes with bamboo for borewells shows his commitment to Responsible Consumption and Production, which has become the adage of Global Goal 15.
However, the most important aspect of Nanaji’s developmental philosophy is respect for local culture and products. As people of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes suffer from extreme poverty, they have a soft target for religious conversion by Christian missionaries and Islamic functionaries. These agents of conversion lure them either on the pretext of household commodities or service or other fraudulent means. However, Nanaji, through his projects, ensured the best schools, skill training facilities, health faculties, clean water, agriculture, etc., to tribals but never lured anybody for conversion. Instead, he promoted local products in the nearby markets. These ideas of Nanaji have a clear imprint on Declaration No. 36 of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which reads, “we acknowledge the natural and cultural diversity of the world and recognise that all cultures and civilisations can contribute to and are crucial enables of sustainable development”. Samaj Shilpi Dampati, the ‘graduate’ couples that live in the village and serve as the catalyst of change in the self-reliance campaign, act as unique development agents for DRI’s programs. Chitrakoot Model of Community Development also includes inculcating social values and ethics for civil and cultural harmony through a unique museum – Ram Darshan, based on socially relevant instances from the life of India’s socio-cultural and national icon – Shri Ram.
Indian Social Work Day
On June 30 2018, the second day of a two days workshop on Bharatiyakaran of social work curriculum at Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University (MGAHU), Wardha over 40 social work academicians across universities including Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai etc., were brainstorming to identify an icon of social work in India. Finally, they unanimously agreed on Nanaji Deshmukh because he provided a theoretical framework for his ideas of Development and realised it on the ground in conformity to scientific research protocols. In the same meeting the resolution of observing Nanaji’s Birthday on October 11 as Indian Social Work Day (Bhartiya Samaj Karya Diwas) was also adopted. Thus, Bhartiya Samaj Karya Parishad (BSKP) came into existence with the objectives of the country’s de-colonisation and indigenisation of social work curriculum. Thereafter, BSKP has been observing Indian Social Work Day by organising a seminar related to Bhartiyakaran of social work education and practice in India. Continuing this intellectual movement, several webinars and panel discussions are scheduled on 7th Indian Social Work Day on October 11. Besides, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar College, Delhi University, is organising a national seminar on “National Consultation on the Bhartiya Model of Community Development” on October 15 2024.
While denying the cabinet minister post and giving up active politics, Nanaji may not have considered being conferred Bharat Ratna, which he was awarded posthumously in 2019. However, his community development model greatly contributes to India’s global developmental landscape and sustainability. Chitrakoot Model of Development is quite relevant for the global community development to realise the targets of Global Goals of the United Nations.
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