Gandhi, Ambedkar, Deendayal, & Lohia

“Common man in the economic ideas of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Ambedkar & Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya”: that was the theme of a Seminar organized by India Development Foundation on September 25, 2010 at the Constitution club. None of the speakers, unfortunately, could do justice to such a wide-ranging subject and Dr. Mahesh Chandra Sharma observed that the three great men were rather philosophers and not economists.

DU is hosting a three-day Conference on “Social philosophy & Socialist politics after Lohia : Chasms & Bridges” during March 28-30, 2011. Major political parties in India today are indebted to these four leaders. But it is often forgotten that they were products of their times and their socio-economic thinking, therefore, should not be treated as frozen. It is easy to rouse popular passion by criticizing the rich and their enterprises. But earning such political dividends corrodes the economic well being of the nation and its people.

The nuclear quagmire in Japan has sent shock waves over the future of the present model of development that leans so heavily on science and technology. But to propose that there is an alternative route is sheer chicanery. Risks of technology will have to be combated with more technology and not by hurtling back to the dark ages. There is nothing wrong in paying homage to these great patriots our country produced, but following the economic policies they espoused would be a mistake. [TNM]