Irmel V. Marla and Kamal Taori
Q. 4. What are the lessons of development efforts or initiatives in history?
The failure of practically all movements which were influenced by great thinkers and social activists have finally led to stagnation and frustrations.
Despite the good intentions, knowledge, and promises, the people, except a few all over the world, are suffering from various serious disadvantages: heavy debts, unhealthy conditions, starving, injustice and inequality, warfare and other threats, all finally leading to discontent, desperation and violence.
No wonder, the “weak” must die, must disappear, irrespective of their respective living conditions, because of cut-throat capitalist dominance and stark capitalism. The so-called socialist world is no better because they exploit humans and nature the same way, only less efficient. The overall living conditions have surely improved, but mainly on the surface to keep the masses mum: be it lifestyle, availability of goods, medical care, education, information and communication technologies, global connectivity, etc., but at the cost of over-exploitation of our natural resources.
This means: the present global systems have brought more and more destruction, more insecurity, more distrust, and an overall dependency on state, religion, power-greedy profiteers and politicians who are blind to the warnings already written on the wall.
The latest warning by Swedish climate fighter Greta Thunberg at one of the many “Climate Conferences” (Madrid 2019) implied that despite all the clear warnings by scientists, conditions have hardly improved.
Q. 5. Why is holistic nursing, nurturing, understanding, planning, implementing and monitoring of utmost necessity?
The compartmentalized research/planning, funding, monitoring, staffing, and lack of accountability have brought us to the brink of disaster. Hence, like any sick person/organism, the organisms of nature need holistic therapy. Compartmentalized, un-coordinated nursing, serving, funding, etc., will again and again lead to the same catastrophic results.
Q. 5A. Why should the danger of further compartmentalization be threatening at all, and why are all known systems prone to fall back into this abyss?
Compartmentalization for all involved means lots of conveniences:
a) keeping all the important information and knowledge to oneself enhances the individual power position (information advantage), accompanied by enhanced prestige, in-transparency in decision-making, and thus, an overall avoidance of accountability.
b) not having to compromise or adjust to other’s rightful demands
c) having a free-for-all power to use and divert funds to whatever seems appropriate for one’s own agenda. This is aggravated as the general tax-payer is not yet in a position nor prepared to question and seek action on misuse of public funds.
d) Apart from financial mismanagement, the silent destruction of nature and unvalued or undervalued natural biodiversity calls for unified, localized, inclusive protest and planning.
e) It is a fact that isolated efforts for reforms are bound to fail. They must be part and parcel of a systemic change, and this can be done promptly if an area-wise approach (localized) for positive development is adopted.
Q. 6. What are the advantages of learning from successful local Doers?
The examples of hitherto unpublished (un-marketed) successful local doers must force everyone into questioning the national and international policies, finally leading to genuine, overall interest for alternative models for positive development.
The term “Local Doers” is widely unknown and underestimated because it just does not fit into the stereotyped, established behavioural patterns. But the moment exemplary success along this self-initiative becomes public, widespread attention awakes.
Since these local models or exceptions (Apawad) evoke inspiration in others towards positive change, we must make use of them. Learning from successful models which realize the independence from grants, funds, subsidies and the like, would mean understanding the systems, take up the valiant features and spread the implementation methods via training on the job or via practice-oriented trainings. Local institutions and organisations could be very helpful in these ventures.
Practice-oriented training means essentially:
actively propagating and showing the respective success story and create a thorough understanding,
explicitly showing why the stereotyped practices should be changed, for example to abolish dependencies, to avoid harming the environment, to fight exploitation (by middlemen), etc.,
explicitly showing how and why things should be done in the future.
The imperative of climate friendly, decentralized development requires the use of local resources including local positive but hitherto neglected practices, unearth and try “ancient wisdom also.
6
Marketing the Unmarketed India
The following document shows how valuable concepts are usually killed by sheer neglect and by bureaucratic procedures disadvantageous to sustainable change:
In 2004, one of the authors (Taori), as advisor to the then Planning Commission, had submitted suggestions for building up entrepreneurial “Office Memorandum, signed by the then Director (Adm.), T.R. spirit and self-initiatives in rural India. Finally, these led to the following Meena.
“Sub: Changing the name of Village & Small Industries Division to Village & Small Enterprises Division:
Village & Small Industries (VSI) Division in the Planning Commission has been looking after the work of planning and providing inputs for growth and development of VSI sector. The VSI sector comprises of sub-sectors, like: (i) Small Scale Industries, (ii) Khadi & Village Industries, (iii) Coir Industries, (iv) Handlooms, (v) Power-looms, (vi) Handicrafts, (vii) Sericulture, (viii) Wool Development Unorganised, and (ix) Food processing Industries.
Due to process of globalization, liberalization of our economy, etc., small enterprises have also been included under the definition of industries. Most of the small enterprises functioning in organized as well as in un-organised areas have substantial contribution in production, employment, exports and in gross domestic products of the country.
To reflect this change and properly represent the growth and contribution of the village & small enterprises, it has been considered in the Planning Commission that the VSI Division would now be called as Village & Small Enterprises (VSE) Division and corresponding posts/designations in the division would now be denoted as Adviser (VSE), Joint Adviser (VSE) and Deputy Adviser (VSE)”, etc.