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02 Apr 2025
GS Paper 4
Theoretical Questions
Day 23: “The good of the individual is contained in the welfare of all.” – Gandhi. Highlight the relevance of the statement in the inclusive development approach of the modern governments. (Answer in 200 words)
Approach
- Explain Gandhi’s philosophy behind this.
- Describe the theory in detail.
- Conclude highlighting its relevance in present scenario.
Introduction
The socio-political philosophy of Gandhi which is evident in the quote is inspired from the idea of Sarvodaya. Gandhi summed up the teachings of Ruskin’s Unto This Last, which he called Sarvodaya, in the following three fundamental principles:
- That the good of the individual is contained in the good of all.
- That a lawyer’s work has the same value as the barber’s since all have the same right to earn their livelihood from their work.
- That a life of labour, i.e., the life of the tiller of the soil and the handicraftsman is a life worth living.
Body
The concept of the ‘welfare of all’ has been the fundamental fact in the Indian religious consciousness from time immemorial and he only embodied it more fully and more clearly than before in the light of his life experience in the West. Thousands of years ago the Rishis in India preached the welfare of all beings as God, human beings and nature constitute one organic whole. Hindu dharma or morality teaches that the individual has certain social and moral duties towards the other members of the community depending on his or her caste and the stage of life.
In the world threatened by poverty, unemployment, racial discrimination, exploitation, ecological destruction, war, and dehumanization, it was Gandhi’s ardent desire to establish a new just society free from all social evils and which would ensure the good of all.
Gandhian philosophy vs. inclusive development:
According to Oxfam's 2023 report titled "Survival of the Richest: The India Story," India's wealth distribution has become increasingly unequal. Trusteeship model of Gandhi transform the present capitalist order of society into an egalitarian one. Trusteeship aims to formation of social capital and reduction in concentration of economic power in few hands.
The fundamental goal of Sarvodaya is the greatest good of all living beings. Gandhi aims at the transformation of society in which everybody contributes his or her own maximum share for the peace and harmony of the world. It also aims at the all-round development of all, without distinction of caste, creed, sex or religion. Gandhi wanted to establish a welfare state in India, which he called Ram Rajya.
Gandhi was not a supporter of utilitarianism which aims at the greatest happiness to the greatest number. Sarvodaya aims at the integral liberation of every individual. It also stands for the well-being of the whole individual, body and soul. The goal of Sarvodaya is not the suppression or liquidation of an individual or a group but the triumph of truth which means the victory of the oppressor and the oppressed, the exploiter and the exploited. It is not the victory of an individual over another individual or even a group over another.
Sarvodaya is an intellectual attempt to build a plan of political and social construction on the basis of metaphysical idealism. It is based on the insights of Gandhi in the framework of independent India. The synthesis of partyless democracy and village self-government is a notable contribution from the standpoint of Indian political thought and practice. The villagism of Sarvodaya may appear as a reaction against the modern industrial trends of civilization, but it has added the new radical gospels of the ownership of all land of the village by the village community itself and the formation of a decentralized village commonwealth.
Conclusion
Thus, the Gandhian ideologies shaped the creation of institutions where the voice and perspective of everyone can be articulated, tested and transformed. It will eventually help the modern government to achieve the inclusive development.
