Comment

Of Gandhi and McDonalds

Gandhians discarded Gandhi even before his assassination. But they still need Gandhi more than anybody else to deceive themselves and people as well. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, otherwise a hawk in India’s ‘reformers’ club’, never gets tired of singing praises of M K Gandhi, possibly for reasons other than Gandhi. Strange it may seem that he quite often says that Gandhi’s model of development was the right one. But what he does in practice under the baton of neo-liberalism is quite opposite of what is known as Gandhi’s vision.
Gandhi ever stressed the need to reduce consumption of goods. His simple dress is an ample statement of this. But the policies being implemented by Manmohan Singh and his faithful 'reformers' just un-Gandhian. He is promoting Western consumerism. Harmful goods like Pan Masala and bottled soft drinks are being served to the people on TV. Prime Minister actively solicits the entry of harmful fast food giants like McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken. He is expanding the production of cars in the country not recognising the limited availability of land for making roads and highways; and the load on pollution that these are creating. The government is more interested in taxes obtained from these harmful products than the impact on the people's health or culture. Just as cigarette companies write "Smoking is injurious to health" yet make every effort to sell more, so Mr Singh is saying lifestyles of the rich are harmful yet making every effort to promote the same.

Prime Minister has characterised Gandhi's thinking to be same as that of sustainable development. For one thing the sustainable development movement builds on the idea that ever increasing consumption of goods like air-conditioned buildings and cars is the final objective of life. It only wants to limit this consumption at the present so that it can sustain in the long run. Sustainable development seeks the use of clean gasses in air-conditioning so that consumption can ever increase. Gandhi, on the other hand, challenged the need for ever more increase in consumption. He believed that every human being has an 'inner self' and it is necessary to consume only as much wanted by these inner needs. Gandhi would take a vow of silence to listen to his inner self.

There is a fundamental difference between sustainable development and Gandhian economics. Sustainable Development accepts that final objective of life is increased consumption. There is no recognition that happiness is a state of mind that comes form the harmony between the inner self and the mind. Consumption that helps a person lead to such harmony is good. Consumption that leads a person away from his inner self is harmful. But Manmohan Singh does not make such a distinction. The result : he is in reality promoting consumption of pan masala and liquor as well.

Gandhiji's thinking is not honoured by the use of clean technologies alone as propagated by the Sustainable Development lobby. Clean technologies help one produce more goods from the same resources. For one thing use of clean technologies which the Western countries are pushing is too inadequate to save the environment. The solution necessarily requires that people reduce consumption. This is what Gandhi taught. But Prime Minister actually wants to ever increase the level of consumption while paying lip service to Gandhi ideals.

True, Mr Singh has objected to the high level of consumption by the developed countries. And at the same time he wants that consumption of the global natural resources by India should increase. He has no problem with the Western countries maintaining their present high levels of consumption. He recognises that the present model of globalisation is stacked against the developing countries. But instead of challenging this unholy world economic order, he is more interested in obtaining small reliefs like opening of agricultural markets of the developed countries for Indian exports. He is not willing to lead a war of economic independence that would lead to the consumption of 80 percent of the world's natural resources by 80 percent of the people in the developing countries. He is happy if the 80 percent people of the developing countries can increase their share from present 20 percent to say 22 percent. He is sending away India's hard earned income to augment unnecessary forex reserves. The money sent is used by that country to import basmati rice from India. Prime Minister is himself promoting high level of consumption by the developed countries and only criticising wasteful consumption for the sake of criticism.

Frontier
Vol. 45, No. 31, February 10-16, 2013

Your Comment if any