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Sudershan quotes liberally from Gandhi on economy

M Chenna Nagaraj

The power- and capital-intensive Western model of development is no solution to India's problems and the country needs to take the path of self-reliance and village-centric growth, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief K S Sudershan said on Sunday.

Addressing the concluding session of the national camp on national security of the RSS, Sudershan, in his hour-long address, said India could not pursue a path that was 'detrimental' to the interests of its society, people and economy.

"We have to chart out our own model that is decentralised, job-oriented, environment-friendly and consumes low power and capital," he said. The government could play its role, but each village could develop on its own too. Neither communism nor capitalism was an answer to the country's problems, he said.

Quoting Mahatma Gandhi on the issue liberally, Sudershan said there was no need for money from outside and the country was quite capable of generating its own resources. These funds should be diligently deployed, he said.

He referred to the import of Rs 20 billion worth of fertilisers in this regard. Cattle are still vital for Indian agriculture and each animal could take care of the needs of about 25 to 30 acres of land, he said. Scientists should develop newer technology using traditional knowledge -- a gift of the ancestors of the land.

Taking a dig at the euphoria about information technology in the country, Sudershan said the sector could not provide food for all. "We have to take a comprehensive view," he said, reminding his audience that 70 per cent of India's population is dependent on agriculture, compared to 1 per cent in the United States.

Later, talking to reporters, he said the Western model of development was based on the principles of struggle for existence, survival of the fittest, exploitation of nature and individual rights. But Hindu culture does not believe in any of these. Instead, it believes in the strong protecting the weak and using natural resources without harming nature. Besides, there are no individual rights because the individual is a part of the family, society, nation and ultimately the human race and the universe.

"We have to have the social and economic policy that suits the country," he added.

Asked why he quoted from Gandhi liberally, the sarsanghachalak said his organisation was never against Gandhiji though it did have some political differences with him. "It was Mr Jawaharlal Nehru, the proclaimed inheritor of the Gandhian legacy, who did not follow any Gandhian principles," he retorted.

Stressing the need for efforts to generate employment, Sudershan said the slogan 'Har haath ko kaam and har khet ko pani' (employment for all and irrigation for all land), given by the late Deendayal Upadhyay, former Bharatiya Jan Sangh president, was still relevant.

In his brief remarks, former RSS chief Rajendra Singh cautioned the rank and file against panicking "when the ship is sighting the coast".

"Having weathered the cyclonic storm, the ship should not get damaged on hitting the coast because of this panic," he said.

Speaking as a special guest, R A Mashelkar, director general of the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research, said the country had developed its scientific and industrial base to take on any challenge posed by the developed countries.

He cited the example of India developing its own supercomputer Param when the West denied the critical technology. India might be poor in terms of wealth, but its inherited traditional knowledge is very rich and invaluable, he said.

Mashelkar also detailed the steps taken to protect the patent rights on neem, tamarind and turmeric.

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