Political Science · Ch 10 — Politics of Planned Development
Ideas of development
Ideas of development
The very idea of development is not a settled, universal goal. The textbook makes this point by looking at a single example: Orissa. A steel plant means something entirely different to the industrialist planning to build it, to the urban consumer who will use the steel, and to the Adivasi whose land and forest will be affected. Because development means different things to different people, any serious discussion about it is bound to generate contradictions, conflicts, and debates. This was true in the first decade after independence, and it remains true today.
In the years after 1947, the dominant way of thinking about development was to look at the ‘West’ as the standard. To be ‘developed’ was to be ‘modern’, and to be modern was to become more like the industrialised countries of Europe and North America. This was the view of both common people and experts. It was believed that every country would go through the same process of modernisation: the breakdown of traditional social structures, the rise of capitalism and liberalism, and a commitment to growth, material progress, and scientific rationality. This way of thinking allowed people to classify countries as developed, developing, or underdeveloped.
Left and Right in the 1960s
In political language, ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ describe a party’s position on social change and the role of the state in economic redistribution. The Left generally favours state control of the economy and prefers regulation over free competition. The Right believes that free competition and a market economy alone ensure progress, and that the government should not unnecessarily intervene. In the 1960s, the Congress party under Nehru leaned Left, while parties like the Swatantra Party were on the Right.
On the eve of independence, India had two major models of modern development before it: the liberal-capitalist model of Europe and the US, and the socialist model of the USSR. Many Indian leaders were deeply impressed by the Soviet model. This included not just the leaders of the Communist Party of India, but also those of the Socialist Party and key Congress leaders like Nehru. There were very few supporters of the American-style capitalist path. This reflected a broad consensus that had developed during the national movement. …