Dr. Parveen Kumar
As the nation celebrates 155th birth anniversary of Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi, it is high time to remember and acknowledge the right path shown by Mahatma in various aspects of life and agriculture being one of them. His philosophy is much relevant for realizing the goals of sustainable agriculture. It is here pertinent to mention that the Indian national movement was instigated on the account of farmers plight stirred due to discrimination on various grounds which made Mahatma Gandhi closely associated with the farming community through the two famous non violent struggles written in the history as Champaran Satyagraha (1917) & Kheda Satyagraha (1918). Mahatma Gandhi strongly believed that India lives in its villages and without the holistic development of its villages, the development of country is not possible. Real India resides in villages where agriculture primarily backs rural economy.
Today when the whole world is focused on sustainable agriculture, the words of Mahatma are an eye opener. He had had once remarked that, ‘The world has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed.' The statement holds true even today. Agriculture is an ancient, essential and the foremost important occupation in the world. In due course of time various methods and different practices were developed to meet the dietary requirements of growing population. Unfortunately after less than a decade of what father of Nation had said, the planet earth seems to be engulfed with men's greed. The agricultural sector has gone in to the exorbitant state of wrongs witnessing horrified scenes that include land degradation, air and water pollution, farmer suicides, crop holidays, desiccated crops, and dried lands with no water. Deaths due to starvation and lack of nourished food are another tragic affair going on in the country.
In the present scenario, the relevance of Gandhian philosophy regarding agriculture sector still holds good and can be put into practice to rectify the wrongs. Gandhiji perception regarding agriculture was:
Earth has enough for everyone's need but not for greed. The Green revolution of the 1960s no doubt made the country self sufficient in agriculture, But it made the farmer greedier. In order to get more returns, farmers still go for certain type of crops of higher yields, use chemical fertilizers indiscriminately and finally the results are now seen worldwide. The poisonous chemicals have now entered the food chain and those foods are consumed by human beings. Deaths due to various water borne diseases are now very common. Agriculture was once popularly hailed as ‘God's profession'. Today's farming is not that divine. It exerts pressure, greediness, economic rivalry, and even slavery.
Farmer: ‘Father of the World': Gandhiji regarded farmer as the ‘Father of the World'. Mahatma Gandhi loved farmers very much. He wrote that I for one am a farmers and I wish you all to become farmers or to continue as such if you have already become farmers. He called the farmer as ‘Father of the World' and at the same time talked of his greatness that farmer is not aware of this fact just as the way we breathe every moment but are not aware of the fact.
To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves: The late father of Nation had said the day we forget to dig the earth and tend to soil will be the day we will ultimately forget ourselves. This is because agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for majority of the population and also majority of the population lives in villages. It also involves bodily labour. If the villagers forgot this, it will be a ruin for the whole country.
Deep reservoir of Spirituality: The Peasants according to him are a deep reservoir of Spirituality: The moment one talks to them and they begin to speak, one will find wisdom drops from their lips. Behind the crude exterior one will find a deep reservoir of spirituality. In the case of the Indian villager, an age-old culture is hidden under an entrustment of crudeness. Infact the whole concept of regenerative agriculture is based on the Gandhian philosophy. Central to his vision was complete self-reliance at the village level in all the basics needed for a healthy life. He had confidence in the strength of organic farming in this country.
Villages as Mini republics: Gandhiji considered villages as mini republics. His first republic was a village republic. Gandhiji believed in decentralization. He aspired of Gram Swaraj i. e village self-rule, which he emphasized through his social experiments. Gandhiji thought that the life of a farmer and a labourer is the best. The farmer, for him, was the central point, and the only sustainable social order was a rural society. In the context of Gram Swaraj, a farmer's life is necessarily one of cooperation, not competition. But there is no such thing in this sector even after seven decades of country attaining independence. The blood vein of the nations' entire system has been centralized and corporatized throwing the poorer farmers' out of the system. The trend shows that agriculture is no more a village economy these days.
Modernization as rural evacuation: Regarding modernization Gandhiji was opposed to Pt. Nehru which according to Gandhiji had triggered a migration to urban areas with the general perception that the rural life doesn't compare with the urban life. This vision of Gandhiji was also not realized and that is the reason the problem of rural evacuation was diagnosed by Gandhiji much earlier.
Local Production; Local distribution: Gandhiji believed in Local production and distribution system. But after independence PDS was introduced which imposed wheat and rice consumption on traditionally millet-consuming people. If millet had been included in the PDS, it would have provided sustenance to the local ecosystems, but for PDS, food grains were transported from distant regions which disturbed the local ecosystem. Unless there is local procurement and local distribution, PDS at the centralized level is a disaster. It led to corruption, diversion and nutritionally rich foods got the tag of orphan crops.
Agriculture and Industry have different backgrounds: Gandhiji also believed that the backgrounds of industry and of agriculture are different. Agriculture will prosper only when farming communities are able to feed themselves and their neighbors and are able to supply decent surplus to urban areas when villagers don't feel the need to leave villages and go to cities. When de-urbanization starts happening that will be the decade for agriculture. When we have good agriculture, agro-industry, non-farm cottage industry in rural areas and in totality, as a holistic approach to agriculture, that's when Indian agriculture will prosper. He suggested cultivation of cash crops such as cotton and castor, as they could be processed in the villages, and could foster an agro-based processing industry there. This would take care of the food, shelter and employment needs of the rural community. There could be self-reliance and inter-dependence between the villages, not complete dependence. Gandhi insisted on making the village ecosystem self-sufficient on food. Gandhi didn't deny the importance of a market mechanism; he was not a statist. He wanted the markets to be in the control of the communities, not the other way. Gandhiji also asked the farmers not to steal and gamble. He also advised the farmers not to sell the produce at loss and neither it is right for a cultivator to make unduly large profits.
In today's era too, the Gandhian philosophy is very much relevant. We have to identify ourselves with the villagers who toil under the hot sun beating on their bent backs. We have to teach them how to economize time, health and money. Lionel Curtis had described our villages as dung-heaps. Our village-folk do not get fresh air though they are surrounded by fresh air; they don't get fresh food though they are surrounded by the freshest foods. We have to turn them into model villages. We have to take this on a mission mode to make our villages a thing of beauty. Our efforts should be on regenerative agriculture, making villages as small independent self sufficient units with processing units; farmer should have the right to decide for his produce. To sum up, the Gandhian philosophy and his vision can become a beacon of hope to the world striving for a sustainable future.
The author writes on agriculture
and social issues; can be reached at pkumar6674@gmail.com
