Development
Introduction
Development means progress, achievement and well being for a better society. but the question which comes up is development for whom? Building dams for generating electricity is development for you and for rich people because they will get continuous supply of electricity by which they can do their household chores. but building dams is not development for tribals because their land gets seized and they have to move to other place. also building dams causes environmental damage which kill fish and damage soil fertility. so the question is what is development? and development is meant for whom?
what is development?
development conveys the ideas of improvement, progress, well being and aspiration for a better society.
development is defined in narrower terms also like increasing growth rate or modernising the society. Modernising the society means having dams, opening industries , having many brands etc.
but development has a broader meaning as well. there needs to be improvement in the lives of people. Poverty needs to be reduced, health of people needs to be improved and employment oppurtunities need to be given.
Concept of Development
development concept emerged after the second half of twentieth century(post 1950s). it emerged then because countries in asia and africa got independence. These countries were under colonial rule so the rulers used their resources for their own self interest rather than interest of people.
asian and african people at the time of independence did not even have a basic necessities of life. there was poverty, malnourishment, unemployment, illiteracy, and lack of sanitation etc.
the concept of development has been changed over the years. in the initial years, focus was on economic growth and modernisation of societies. so developing countries adopted development model like faster economic growth through industrialisation, modernisation of agriculture by bringing latest technology, and extending modern education. also initially development goals were limited because countries recently got independence and they were not having enough resources to develop.
India adopted five years plans for development. they build mega projects like bhakra nangal dam, steel plants, mining , fertiliser production, and improving agricultural techniques. they hoped that this model of development will have 'trickle down' effect. and reduce the inequalities. investment was made in science and technology. new educational institutes were build up like IIT. but this did not provide much development to lower sections of society. this created a larger gap between rich and poor. this model of development has been criticised. next we will read criticisms about this model of development. before that let's attempt questions.
Q&A
Q1. what is development?
A1. development is defined as the ideas of improvement, progress, well being and aspiration for a better society.
Q2. Is development defined in terms of economic growth?
A2. development defined in terms of economic growth is a narrow definition. broad definition of development includes needs to be improvement in the lives of people. Poverty needs to be reduced, health of people needs to be improved and employment oppurtunities need to be given.
Q3. what model of development was adopted in india?
A3. india adopted five years plans for development. they build mega projects like bhakra nangal dam, steel plants, mining , fertiliser production, and improving agricultural techniques. they hoped that this model of development will have 'trickle down' effect. and reduce the inequalities. investment was made in science and technology. new educational institutes were build up like IIT.
Q4. why were asian and african countries underdeveloped?
The concept of development gained importance after the second half of the 20th century. This was the time when a large number of countries in Asia and Africa gained political independence. The term development can be understood better in both the broader and narrower sense.
(a) In a broader sense, development conveys the idea of improvement, progress, well being and aspiration for better life to constitute the vision for society as a whole and how to achieve it.
(b) In a narrower sense, it refers to more limited goals as increasing the rate of economic growth, etc. Benefits to different sections of society
(a) Development has been identified with completing projects like factories, dams, hospitals, national highways rather than to uphold the broader vision of development.
(b) Some sections like industrialists have been benefited while others like up-rooted families and landless people, etc. have lost their homes or lands without any compensatory gain.
(c) Though, issues regarding the benefits and burdens of development either have been justly distributed or not, have been a main concern for development priorities in a
democratic set-up. The issue has invited lot of debate as to which model should be adopted to serve as a standard by which the development of a country can be examined.
Q2. Discuss some of the social and ecological costs of the kind of development which has been pursued in most countries.
Answer:
1. Social cost of Development:
(a) Displacement resulted in the loss of livelihood and increased impoverishment.
(b) Many have been displaced from their homes and localities due to urbanization and industrialization, etc.
(c) If rural agricultural communities are displaced to end up at the margins of society.
(d) It results in a loss of culture due to loss of community life because traditional skills acquired over a long period are also lost.
(e) Displacement has led to struggles in many countries like Narmada Bachao Andolan against Sardar Sarovar Dam on the river Narmada.
(f) The supporters of this dam claimed to generate electricity, irrigate large areas of land and to provide drinking water to the desert areas of Kutch and Saurashtra whereas the opponents of the dam claim to lose the land through construction by almost one million people.
Ecological costs of development:
(a) Environmental degradation took place, i.e. Tsunami created damage to a greater extent on South and South East Asia coasts in 2005.
(b) Global warming is also taking place due to emissions of greenhouse gases into the environment, i.e. ice melting in Arctic and Antarctic regions has the potential to cause
floods and submerge low lying areas like Bangladesh and Maldives.
(c) The ecological crisis will adversely affect us, like air pollution.
(d) Deforestations also affect the forest resources, i.e. medical herbs, firewood or timber, etc.
Q3. What are some of the new claims for rights which the process of development has generated?
Answer:
(a) In reality, the benefits of development have been concerned by powerful and costs of development have been borne by the poorest and vulnerable section due to ecological
degradation, displacement and loss of livelihood.
(b) Another claim is to have a right to be consulted in decision directly which affects lives of people.
(c) The people can claim if an activity or law sanctioned by the government threatens the lives of the people.
(d) Another issue is regarding rights to natural resources. Can communities claim traditional rights to the use of natural resources? This is related to tribal and aboriginal communities who have a specific way of community life and relationship to the environment.
(e) Democracies focus to achieve a balance between the claims of present and future.
Q4. What would be the advantages of democracy over other forms of government for ensuring that decisions regarding development are made to promote the
common good?
Answer:
(a) Democracy is the best form of government because the conflicts are resolved through debates with the involvement of formulating the goals of development and in devising way of implementing it.
(b) Democracy makes a clear distinction between a plan made by others and sharing in the formulation of the plans because the others may plan with the best intentions but may be less aware of specific needs and the sharing shows the empowerment in decision making process.
(c) Democracy and development are interrelated to ensure participation and allow local decision making bodies to take decisions about development projects in the local area.
(d) The project may be consulted on the issues to affect the people most and to reject them if it affects adversely to the community.
(e) Direct involvement of people in planning and formulating policies allow people to direct resources towards their needs.
(f) A decentralized approach to development makes it possible to use different types of technologies traditional and modern in a creative manner.
Q5. In your view how successful have popular struggles like been in making the state responsive to the social and environmental costs of development? Discuss with examples.
Answer:
People affected by the government policies have not always accepted their fate passively. They have raised their concerns. This has led to some of the popular struggles we have heard. Popular struggles have got a great success in making state responsible to the social and environmental cost of development.
(a) The concept of ‘development’ gained importance after the second half of 20th century when a large number of countries in Asia and Africa got political freedom from colonialism.
(b) In the beginning years, the focus was on catching up with west in terms of economic growth and modernization of societies.
(c) Earlier the state was the only agency capable of initiating that type of social and economic change and several nations embarked upon ambitious projects of development, generally with the assistance of loans and aid from the developed countries, i.e. five years plans in India since 1950s.
(d) The model of development adopted by India and other countries has come under a great deal of criticism over the years.
(e) This led to some re-thinking about the objectives and processes of development today.
(f) Construction of Sardar Sarovar project was challenged on the ground that it will displace the tribal people and local inhabitants living near the areas of this dam and initiatives were taken by by Medha Patekar under the banner of Narmada Bachao Andolan.
(g) Some well-known environmental groups include Green Peace and World Wildlife Fund, etc.
(h) In India, Chipko Movement was initiated under the leadership of Sunder Lal Bahuguna to protect the Himalayan forests to pressurize the government to modify industrial and
development policies of government.
Introduction
Development means progress, achievement and well being for a better society. but the question which comes up is development for whom? Building dams for generating electricity is development for you and for rich people because they will get continuous supply of electricity by which they can do their household chores. but building dams is not development for tribals because their land gets seized and they have to move to other place. also building dams causes environmental damage which kill fish and damage soil fertility. so the question is what is development? and development is meant for whom?
what is development?
development conveys the ideas of improvement, progress, well being and aspiration for a better society.
development is defined in narrower terms also like increasing growth rate or modernising the society. Modernising the society means having dams, opening industries , having many brands etc.
but development has a broader meaning as well. there needs to be improvement in the lives of people. Poverty needs to be reduced, health of people needs to be improved and employment oppurtunities need to be given.
Concept of Development
development concept emerged after the second half of twentieth century(post 1950s). it emerged then because countries in asia and africa got independence. These countries were under colonial rule so the rulers used their resources for their own self interest rather than interest of people.
asian and african people at the time of independence did not even have a basic necessities of life. there was poverty, malnourishment, unemployment, illiteracy, and lack of sanitation etc.
the concept of development has been changed over the years. in the initial years, focus was on economic growth and modernisation of societies. so developing countries adopted development model like faster economic growth through industrialisation, modernisation of agriculture by bringing latest technology, and extending modern education. also initially development goals were limited because countries recently got independence and they were not having enough resources to develop.
India adopted five years plans for development. they build mega projects like bhakra nangal dam, steel plants, mining , fertiliser production, and improving agricultural techniques. they hoped that this model of development will have 'trickle down' effect. and reduce the inequalities. investment was made in science and technology. new educational institutes were build up like IIT. but this did not provide much development to lower sections of society. this created a larger gap between rich and poor. this model of development has been criticised. next we will read criticisms about this model of development. before that let's attempt questions.
Q&A
Q1. what is development?
A1. development is defined as the ideas of improvement, progress, well being and aspiration for a better society.
Q2. Is development defined in terms of economic growth?
A2. development defined in terms of economic growth is a narrow definition. broad definition of development includes needs to be improvement in the lives of people. Poverty needs to be reduced, health of people needs to be improved and employment oppurtunities need to be given.
Q3. what model of development was adopted in india?
A3. india adopted five years plans for development. they build mega projects like bhakra nangal dam, steel plants, mining , fertiliser production, and improving agricultural techniques. they hoped that this model of development will have 'trickle down' effect. and reduce the inequalities. investment was made in science and technology. new educational institutes were build up like IIT.
Q4. why were asian and african countries underdeveloped?
A4. asian and african countries were under colonial rule so the rulers
used their resources for their own self interest rather than interest of
people. So, at the time of independence didnot even have a basic
necessities of life. there was poverty, malnourishment, unemployment,
illiteracy, and lack of sanitation etc.
Q5. Which development model India adopted?
A5. Five year plans
Criticisms of development model
Development model has been criticised. Financial costs have been
enormous and this has put many countries into debt. African and asian
countries have borrowed enormously and this has led to large loans on
them.
Social costs of development
Development such as building dams, steel plants and industrial
activities has led to large scale displacement. This has resulted in
loss of livelihood, and increase in impoverishment. Since they have been
displaced from their traditional land so they migrate to urban areas
where they donot have any employment because they are not educated and
skilled enough and they then lead their lives in poverty. Their culture
is also lost as their community life gets destroyed and people move to
different areas.
But poor people have not accepted their fate. You may have heard of
narmada bachao andolan where medha patkar is leading a movement against
sardar sarovar dam on narmada river. The movement says that development
of big dams has caused submergence of their land and over 1 million
lives have been displaced. It has also disturbed the ecological balance
as the soil has lost its fertility and land has become more prone to
earthquakes.
Environmental costs
Development has caused huge environmental damage. Pollution has
increased due to building of factories. Global warming has taken place.
This has also caused hole in ozone layer. Melting of glaciers is also
taking place. Rivers have dried up and forests have been lost.
When we talk about environmental costs, it becomes important to talk
about a brave fighter who laid his life to save his environment. His
name is Ken Saro Wiwa.
Ken saro wiwa is a nigerian and belonged to ogoni caste. Nigeria is rich
in oil resources. Many multi national companies set up their
exploration shops there and started exploring oil. Exploration of oil
polluted water and air. And this caused great disturbance to local
people living there. People got polluted water to drink and polluted air
to breathe. So ken saro wiwa led a non violent struggle for its right
to clean drinking water and right to breathe unpolluted air. The
movement was called movement for the survival of ogoni people (MOSOP).
The movement was effective to such an extent that all the companies have
to pull out. Military rulers of Nigeria framed him in murder case and
sentenced him to death.
Besides, the social and environmental costs of development, there have
been some success rate for example it has led to increasing rate of
economic growth. Income of people has been increased and consumption of
goods has gone up. But, it has also caused huge gap between rich and
poor. There is no fair distribution of goods. Rich have become richer
and poor have become poorer. Quality of life of people has not improved.
They do not have basic minimum necessities of life. Like food,
education, health and shelter. This is called basic needs approach.
These are necessary for leading a dignified life.
UNDP united nations of development programme has come out with human
development index(HDI). This is the human development report that ranks
countries on the basis of performance in social indicators like literacy
and education levels, life expectancy and maternal mortality rates.
This measure is called human development index.
Q&A
Q1. What are the environmental costs of development?
A1. Development has caused huge environmental damage. Pollution has
increased due to building of factories. Global warming has taken place.
This has also caused hole in ozone layer. Melting of glaciers is also
taking place. Rivers have dried up and forests have been lost.
Q2. What are the social costs of development?
A2. Development such as building dams, steel plants and industrial
activities has led to huge social costs. It has caused large scale
displacement. This has resulted in loss of livelihood, and increase in
impoverishment. Since they have been displaced from their traditional
land so they migrate to urban areas where they donot have any employment
because they are not educated and skilled enough and they then lead
their lives in poverty. Their culture is also lost as their community
life gets destroyed and people move to different areas.
Q3. Write about ken saro wiwa's struggle.
A3. Ken saro wiwa is a nigerian and belonged to ogoni caste. Nigeria is
rich in oil resources. Many multi national companies set up their
exploration shops there and started exploring oil. Exploration of oil
polluted water and air. And this caused great disturbance to local
people living there. People got polluted water to drink and polluted air
to breathe. So ken saro wiwa led a non violent struggle for its right
to clean drinking water and right to breathe unpolluted air. The
movement was called movement for the survival of ogoni people (MOSOP).
The movement was effective to such an extent that all the companies have
to pull out. Military rulers of Nigeria framed him in murder case and
sentenced him to death.
Q4. What are the criticisms of development?
A4. Social costs of development
Development such as building dams, steel plants and industrial
activities has led to large scale displacement. This has resulted in
loss of livelihood, and increase in impoverishment. Since they have been
displaced from their traditional land so they migrate to urban areas
where they do not have any employment because they are not educated and
skilled enough and they then lead their lives in poverty. Their culture
is also lost as their community life gets destroyed and people move to
different areas.
Environmental costs
Development has caused huge environmental damage. Pollution has
increased due to building of factories. Global warming has taken place.
This has also caused hole in ozone layer. Melting of glaciers is also
taking place. Rivers have dried up and forests have been lost.
Besides, the social and environmental costs of development, there have
been some success rate for example it has led to increasing rate of
economic growth. Income of people has been increased and consumption of
goods has gone up. But, it has also caused huge gap between rich and
poor. There is no fair distribution of goods. Rich have become richer
and poor have become poorer. Quality of life of people has not improved.
They do not have basic minimum necessities of life. Like food,
education, health and shelter. This is called basic needs approach. This
is necessary for leading a dignified life.
Q5. What is human development index?
A5. It is the human development report that ranks countries on the basis
of performance in social indicators like literacy and education levels,
life expectancy and maternal mortality rates. This measure is called
human development index.
Alternative conceptions of development
Till now the development model adopted in most countries have been top
down. It means that development policy was decided by higher levels of
political leadership and bureaucracy. Local people were not consulted.
Bureaucrats sitting in AC rooms drafted policy for the benefit of
people. But these bureaucrats donot have any knowledge about local
areas. So without any consultation they drafted the policy. This led to
unequitable development. Need is for equitable and sustainable level of
development.
Right claims
We have seen that how model of development led to development for some
and underdevlopment of another. Remember dam example at the starting of
chapter. So the question which arises is development for whom? To whom
do natural resources? Does only rich have right for development? So we
need fair and equitable development and this is possible in a democracy
where different groups compete with each other, negotiate and compromise
to come to an equal and fair solution.
Democratic participation
It is only through discussion and debate that we can formulate policy
for the welfare of all. A democracy allows room for negotiation and
discussion which is not possible in a dictatorship. A sustainable and
equitable development can happen only when local people are consulted
and knowledge is shared with them.otherwise, it will be a top down
approach where higher level people like bureaucrats and politicians
impose on local people.
Development and lifestyle
There is also need to change our lifestyle. Development should not be
measured in terms of cellphones, cars or plots a person possesses. But
it should also be measured in terms of happiness, harmony and
satisfaction of essential needs. We can do rainwater harvesting, build
solar and biogas plants . micro hydel projects rather than building huge
dams. We also need to reduce our dependence on non renewable resources
and build more of trees for a cleaner air.
Q&A
Q1. What are the alternatives of development model?
A1. Right claims
When a dam is built, it helps in generation of electricity which is then
supplied to households. but building of dam leads to displacement of
tribals and loss of livelihood for them. so the question which arises is
development for whom? To whom do natural resources? Does only rich have
right for development? So we need fair and equitable development and
this is possible in a democracy where different groups compete with each
other, negotiate and compromise to come to an equal and fair solution.
Democratic participation
It is only through discussion and debate that we can formulate policy
for the welfare of all. A democracy allows room for negotiation and
discussion which is not possible in a dictatorship. A sustainable and
equitable development can happen only when local people are consulted
and knowledge is shared with them.otherwise, it will be a top down
approach where higher level people like bureaucrats and politicians
impose on local people.
Development and lifestyle
There is also need to change our lifestyle. Development should not be
measured in terms of cellphones, cars or plots a person possesses. But
it should also be measured in terms of happiness, harmony and
satisfaction of essential needs. We can do rainwater harvesting, build
solar and biogas plants . micro hydel projects rather than building huge
dams. We also need to reduce our dependence on non renewable resources
and build more of trees for a cleaner air.
Q2. Why do we need an alternative source of development?
A2. the development model adopted in most countries have been top down.
It means that development policy was decided by higher levels of
political leadership and bureaucracy. Local people are not consulted.
Bureaucrats sitting in AC rooms draft the policy for the benefit of
people. But these bureaucrats do not have any knowledge about local
areas. So without any consultation they draft the policy and this leads
to unequitable development. The need is for an equitable and sustainable
level of development.
Q3. How should we change our lifestyles to protect our environment?
A3. Development should not be measured in terms of cellphones, cars or
plots a person possesses. But it should also be measured in terms of
happiness, harmony and satisfaction of essential needs. We can do
rainwater harvesting, build solar and biogas plants . micro hydel
projects rather than building huge dams. We also need to reduce our
dependence on non renewable resources and build more of trees for a
cleaner air.
NCERT SOLUTION
Q1. What do you understand by the term development? Would all sections of society benefit from such a definition of development?
Answer:The concept of development gained importance after the second half of the 20th century. This was the time when a large number of countries in Asia and Africa gained political independence. The term development can be understood better in both the broader and narrower sense.
(a) In a broader sense, development conveys the idea of improvement, progress, well being and aspiration for better life to constitute the vision for society as a whole and how to achieve it.
(b) In a narrower sense, it refers to more limited goals as increasing the rate of economic growth, etc. Benefits to different sections of society
(a) Development has been identified with completing projects like factories, dams, hospitals, national highways rather than to uphold the broader vision of development.
(b) Some sections like industrialists have been benefited while others like up-rooted families and landless people, etc. have lost their homes or lands without any compensatory gain.
(c) Though, issues regarding the benefits and burdens of development either have been justly distributed or not, have been a main concern for development priorities in a
democratic set-up. The issue has invited lot of debate as to which model should be adopted to serve as a standard by which the development of a country can be examined.
Q2. Discuss some of the social and ecological costs of the kind of development which has been pursued in most countries.
Answer:
1. Social cost of Development:
(a) Displacement resulted in the loss of livelihood and increased impoverishment.
(b) Many have been displaced from their homes and localities due to urbanization and industrialization, etc.
(c) If rural agricultural communities are displaced to end up at the margins of society.
(d) It results in a loss of culture due to loss of community life because traditional skills acquired over a long period are also lost.
(e) Displacement has led to struggles in many countries like Narmada Bachao Andolan against Sardar Sarovar Dam on the river Narmada.
(f) The supporters of this dam claimed to generate electricity, irrigate large areas of land and to provide drinking water to the desert areas of Kutch and Saurashtra whereas the opponents of the dam claim to lose the land through construction by almost one million people.
Ecological costs of development:
(a) Environmental degradation took place, i.e. Tsunami created damage to a greater extent on South and South East Asia coasts in 2005.
(b) Global warming is also taking place due to emissions of greenhouse gases into the environment, i.e. ice melting in Arctic and Antarctic regions has the potential to cause
floods and submerge low lying areas like Bangladesh and Maldives.
(c) The ecological crisis will adversely affect us, like air pollution.
(d) Deforestations also affect the forest resources, i.e. medical herbs, firewood or timber, etc.
Q3. What are some of the new claims for rights which the process of development has generated?
Answer:
(a) In reality, the benefits of development have been concerned by powerful and costs of development have been borne by the poorest and vulnerable section due to ecological
degradation, displacement and loss of livelihood.
(b) Another claim is to have a right to be consulted in decision directly which affects lives of people.
(c) The people can claim if an activity or law sanctioned by the government threatens the lives of the people.
(d) Another issue is regarding rights to natural resources. Can communities claim traditional rights to the use of natural resources? This is related to tribal and aboriginal communities who have a specific way of community life and relationship to the environment.
(e) Democracies focus to achieve a balance between the claims of present and future.
Q4. What would be the advantages of democracy over other forms of government for ensuring that decisions regarding development are made to promote the
common good?
Answer:
(a) Democracy is the best form of government because the conflicts are resolved through debates with the involvement of formulating the goals of development and in devising way of implementing it.
(b) Democracy makes a clear distinction between a plan made by others and sharing in the formulation of the plans because the others may plan with the best intentions but may be less aware of specific needs and the sharing shows the empowerment in decision making process.
(c) Democracy and development are interrelated to ensure participation and allow local decision making bodies to take decisions about development projects in the local area.
(d) The project may be consulted on the issues to affect the people most and to reject them if it affects adversely to the community.
(e) Direct involvement of people in planning and formulating policies allow people to direct resources towards their needs.
(f) A decentralized approach to development makes it possible to use different types of technologies traditional and modern in a creative manner.
Q5. In your view how successful have popular struggles like been in making the state responsive to the social and environmental costs of development? Discuss with examples.
Answer:
People affected by the government policies have not always accepted their fate passively. They have raised their concerns. This has led to some of the popular struggles we have heard. Popular struggles have got a great success in making state responsible to the social and environmental cost of development.
(a) The concept of ‘development’ gained importance after the second half of 20th century when a large number of countries in Asia and Africa got political freedom from colonialism.
(b) In the beginning years, the focus was on catching up with west in terms of economic growth and modernization of societies.
(c) Earlier the state was the only agency capable of initiating that type of social and economic change and several nations embarked upon ambitious projects of development, generally with the assistance of loans and aid from the developed countries, i.e. five years plans in India since 1950s.
(d) The model of development adopted by India and other countries has come under a great deal of criticism over the years.
(e) This led to some re-thinking about the objectives and processes of development today.
(f) Construction of Sardar Sarovar project was challenged on the ground that it will displace the tribal people and local inhabitants living near the areas of this dam and initiatives were taken by by Medha Patekar under the banner of Narmada Bachao Andolan.
(g) Some well-known environmental groups include Green Peace and World Wildlife Fund, etc.
(h) In India, Chipko Movement was initiated under the leadership of Sunder Lal Bahuguna to protect the Himalayan forests to pressurize the government to modify industrial and
development policies of government.
No comments:
Post a Comment