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Development & Sustainability: Shaping of the Concepts in India

R S Deshpande
Institute for Social and Economic Change
Bangalore
[email protected]

Introduction

Development as a concept in western economic thinking emerged not quite long

before. Initially it was in the milieu of a classificatory analytical tool advocated by Friedrich
List, Bucher, Hilderbrand and Marx. Their pursuits were more classificatory in nature by
observing different patterns across countries and ascribing status to the countries according
to the level of progress (on a priori defined indicators). The underlying theme was also to get
at the explanation of differentials across the groups. The tools and indicators of stratification
/ classification differed according to the core of the theoretical platform of classification. The
‘Stage’ theorists came a little later who were concerned about looking into time series patterns
of progress across countries. Analytically the authors then described ‘stages’ as Savage,
Pastoral, Agricultural, Manufacturing and finally with an aggregation of all sectors. Here the
famous stages of growth by Rostow, analysing the path of growth over time of progress from
traditional, take-off and drive to maturity; also get included. All these were more focused on
analysing the historical patterns of changes across western countries and therefore did not
touch the core of development of other countries as a concept. It was bluntly taken as
synonymous to growth. The debate on concept of development matured only after the II
World War as one of the fall-outs of growth economics. In the process of debate in later years,
distribution became an important accompaniment of growth. That gave some clarity about
development. The entire discussion on economics of growth was slowly turned towards
economics of development and emergence of new theories and new models of development.
Most of these were based on the assumptions and structures either of the western economies
or developing economies as seen from the western view. The available analyses were largely
rooted in the thinking process of western economists and looked at developing and under-
developed nations through the lens of western models of development (See Handbook of
Development Economics, by Chenery and Srinivasan, (1988) and D Seers, Meaning of
Development, (1979) See Ray, 1998).

The theories of development which became prominent in the following years in development
economics include Alexander Gerchenkron’s backwardness-Industrialisation, the great spurt
theory, Rodan and Nurksey’s big push theories, vicious circles of poverty and Lebestein’s

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theory of growth; balanced versus unbalanced growth, dual sector models, growth models
with different assumptions about savings and investment elasticity and the relationship
between growth and other economic parameters. The emphasis was more on measurement
of an elusive concept which had multiple dimensions. Social scientists across disciplines got
involved not only in understanding the concept of ‘development’ but to quantify it with the
help to develop some tools or scales to capture it. The entire debate came up to Human
Development Theory and measurement of Human Development Index as the flagship concept
coming from UNDP. It simplified development as indicated by a few indicators such as literacy;
life expectancy and per capita income (PPP), with some more modifications entering over
years. Critics are still to come to terms to accept this as a good description of ‘development’.

After scanning through all these debates on development it comes out clearly that no
significant attempts were made to understand ‘development’ from the core Indian perspective.
Possibly the only exception being Prof Nadkarni’s paper on “Can there be an Indian Way to
Development?”. His paper provides an understanding of Indian way of thinking on
development on the background of the crisis of capitalism. He argues tat universal moral
values as reflected through Gandhian perspective for understanding all facets of development
that include truth, non-violence, dignity of labor and peoples role. The first question that crops
up is why it needs to be done? Let us try to deal with that. India has a long history of
developing the art of the ‘state craft’ and these treatises have been well recognized. It comes
out clearly that the understanding of development was far in-depth even though the concept
of development was directly not visible in the literature. The meaning of Vedas is "knowledge,
wisdom" and it is derived from the root vid- meaning "to know". It is well known that the Vedas
were not written at a point of time but developed over time with contributions by many and
therefore

King, Kingdom and Development

The emergence of the Kings, Kingdom and the Duties of the Kings find its origin somewhere
around the Mahabharata period. The king was bestowed upon the ownership of all the natural
and manmade resources. The King was the owner (at times also referred to as Custodian) of
this wealth. Before that there was neither the king nor the kingdom. There was neither the
law-breaker nor the punishment. It was stated that “Naiva Rajyam Na Rajasinna; Dando na
cha Dandika”. But that does not mean there was anarchy all over instead people were tied by
some well accepted universal ethical rules, mostly unwritten but well-practiced. These slowly
came to be known as Dharma. In Karnaparva of Mahabharata in Ch 58, Dharma is elaborated

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as the ethical rules that sustains the Society, social order, ensures wellbeing of the humanity.
Initially, these were not in rigid form and remained undocumented for long but soon assumed
ritualistic rigidity benefitting some sections only. It became the sole representation and
entered into documentation. The rules were incorporated in Shrutis and Smritis. Niti meaning
the ethical behavior was also well documented under NitiShastra or Shukra Niti but all these
were continuous “online” texts and subjected to various versions and interpretations.

कालो वा कारणं राजन्यो राजा वा काल कारणं I

इति िे संशोयो मभद्र
ु ाजा कालस्य कारणं II
(Kalo wa Karanam Rajnyo Raja wa Kal Karanam I
Iti Te Sanshoyo Mabhudraja Kalasya Karanam II)

(Mahabharata, Shantiparva, Ch 69-79)

Is it that the King, who shapes the present (of praja) or the present shapes the King’s
behaviour, but we need not have a doubt, it is the King who shapes the present. Does that
mean that the King was an autocratic individual and the answers we get in plenty both in
Mahabharata as well as in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. Even Metta Sutta a sacred text of Biddhism
also reiterated that the Kings duty is to protect Niti or basic ethics and karuna. The aim was
to reach a stage of Nirvana, or “Bôdhisattvas who are the candidates for the Buddhaship, or
those men who, by assiduity in the practice of virtues and meditation, have finally arrived at
the intelligence, or Bôdhi, of the supreme Buddha. Whoever strives to attain this sublime rank
has to pass through countless phases of existence, during which the person gradually
accumulates a degree of merit.” Mahabharata is an important source to get elaboration on
science of governance and what are the duties of King. The importance of the politics
(management of people and the duties), comes out in Chapters 56, 66 and 67 of Shatiparva.
While discussing Raja dharma in Mahabharata the issues of crimes, punishment,
administrative organization, taxation, land grant and distribution of resources comes in. Many
of these references have undergone several versions and it is difficult to fix time for some.
But throughout the literature the concept of Sukha and Shanti come closure to what we may
term as development. The duty of the King and Governance was to achieve these two and
that goal could be termed as equilibrium achieved by activating internal forces with ethical
tools.

Development as such was not a direct pursuit but an indirect achievement through series of
steps taken in the process of ethical behaviour of all individuals. It was an incidental outcome
and not an artificially set goal. Abhivrudhi included not only the material well being but also a

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spiritual achievement of every individual. Interestingly the ancient Hindu, Jain and Buddhist
texts are exactly in the same direction. The role of the state and the King was rather limited
to provide the required infrastructure and maintain law and order. Therefore, we find a lot
description about the role and functions of the king and state rather than the material
requirements of the people. Therefore the state craft and governance became the important
subject and there were no texts on growth and/or development. That however, did not
necessarily gave away the welfare approach but it got sidelined or taken care inherently.

Art of State, Governance and Development

One can look for some representation of development in the state craft. There are no two
opinions that the art of the state and governance received more attention in ancient Indian
literature. Obviously the reasons were to provide the ruler some basic guidelines in organizing
public administration. Mahabharata (Shantipparva), ShukraNiti, Manu Smriti or many of the
treatise speak only on the state craft. This was followed later on in Kautilya’s Arthashastra.
Development or any similar concept does not peep out in clear terms but it is subsumed in
the concept of Sukha. Therefore Kautilya wrote:

प्रजा सख
ू े सख
ु ं राजन्यः प्रजानाम च हििे हििम I
नात्मा प्रप्रयं हििम राजन्यः प्रजानाम िू प्रप्रयं हििम II
(Praja Sukhe Sukham Rajnyaha Prajanam Cha Hite Hitam I
Naatma Priyam Hitam Rajnyaha Prajanam Tu Priyam Hitam II)

Arthashastra

This means when people are happy so also the king and whatever is beneficial to the people
at large is also to the benefit of the king. Therefore, in the ancient Indian context, development
(Abhivruddhi) had no specific place and always the ancient Indian thinking focused on Sukha,
Samadhana, Jnana and Pravarthana. Another often quoted and important shloka that finds
place in the Indian thinking about development is:

" Sarve Bhavantu sukhinah"- Let all be happy"

" Sarve Santu Niraamayaaha " - let all be cured of diseases
" Sarve Bhadraani pashyantu" - let us see everyone in well off
" Ma Kaschid Dukh Bhagbhavet - let there be no sorrow any time "

सर्वे भर्वन्तु सखु िनः सर्वे सन्तु ननरामयःI

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सर्वे भद्राणी पश्यन्तु मा कश्श्िद दःु िमाद्भर्वेत ् II

The shloka clearly states that, “let us be happy and free of diseases” (disease is not an exact
translation of Niramayaha). In fact, Niramayaha would mean without any irregularities
(disease is only one irregularity in health) of the aggregate body and that can also be
interpreted as inadequacies or imperfections (diequlibrium) in the society. While the third line
argues setting everyone to be well-off or ‘Bhadrani Pashyantu’, that would mean experience
the good along with no sorrow. The central theme here is again the definition of development
that leads to “Sukha”. Ancient Indian traditions emphasize on Dharma and that was considered
as one of the primary duties of the citizen. It is interesting to note that the rights and duties
were combined to form the aggregate of Dharma and that led to Sukha. In the Budhist
literature Sukhavatî, the abode of the blessed or a phase of complete deliverance from
existence, or from the world in its most general meaning, is comprised under the name of
Nirvâna (Tibetan - Nyangan las daspa, by contraction Nyangdas). The essence of Nirvâna is
not clearly pointed out in the sacred books of Budhism; and this, indeed, is not possible in a
philosophical system in which negation of reality is the fundamental principle; and the sacred
Buddhist books also declare at every occasion that it is impossible positively to define the
attributes and properties of Nirvâna

Kautilya’s art of state provided in the Arthashastra elaborates on the self as also discipline in
public behaviour. The duties of the King and that of the individuals are explained from the
point of view of a just society. Arthashastra goes in details of the art of the State and that
includes: functions of Government, Institutions, Legal disputes and Jurisprudence, Revenue
sources and rules for managing the State treasury; dealing with other kings and enemies. The
four components emphasized are Vedas, Varta, Danda and Niti. Kautilya’s treatise focused
more on duties almost continually and in most of its texts probably the undermining principle
of duty incorporates rights also. Ones entire embodiment was regulated in a systematic
manner through the four stages of life namely Ashramas and stages specified the behaviour
as well as responsibilities of human beings.

The needs of the society being in terms of food, shelter, locomotion, assembly property
reputation and peace were defined for spiritual attainment of the ultimate and that was called
Moksha. Patanjali in his Yogasutra also provided a path of development of the human being

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and all that leads to moksha. One has to clearly understand the meaning of Moksha or
analytical interpretation of the term in today's context. Moksha is the destination set for the
human being and that can be interpreted about our spiritual as well as material goals.
Therefore, materialistic growth or development was never an ultimate goal to reach but it was
rather mystical and spiritual goal that was set before. Kautilya traded very carefully between
the spiritual achievements emphasized by most of the texts then and the material wealth of
the State. In the book on ‘State and Government in Ancient India” by Altekar indulges in an
elaborate discussion on the emergence of administration kingship, art of the state and a
historical survey of administration.

Chandrasekaran Praveen writes “Kautilya believed that for the prosperity of a state, the state
must be devoid of internal conflict and the King should be in control of the state. To maintain
this internal peace he believed in a just and realistic rule of law. His definition of a state was
one which had power and wealth and hence he put property rights and protection of wealth
as one of the important themes in his jurisprudence. In fact he advocated that one could get
rid of corporeal punishment by paying off fines” (Chandrasekaran, 2008).

The State Craft elaborated by Kautilya has one core idea running through all the chapters and
that was rarely emphasized by the interpreters. Arthashastra aimed at the stability and
continuance of the State by avoiding all destabilisers and creating interlocked institutions
which will keep the State with a monolithic power. Dharma or inherent ethics will take care of
the well being of individuals. The institutions governing human behaviour in terms of rights
and duties there are specified in the different law books available at different points of time.
These included Naradasmriti, Brahaspatismriti and Manusmriti. The law books defined
institutional control on the society of those times and probably have been written rewritten as
also modified over generations. This must have been done by many authors as we find ample
evidence of contradictions in these Scriptures and therefore some of the content of these
Smritis should not be taken as applicable to the contemporary society.

The Statecraft elaborated by many authors aim at maintaining peace and tranquility in the
land through various institutions and hence a kind of equilibrium. As material inequity was not
an issue to be dealt with, the king or the State was happy at this equilibrium (tranquility –
Shanti – Shanti –Shantihi). Therefore, under the statecraft, it was this maintenance of
tranquility (equilibrium) and incremental welfare could be considered as an indirect
manifestation of development.

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Development as/and Welfare

Development or Abhivrudhi as a separate concept did not appear in any of the ancient
Indian texts. Welfare of all was the theme around which every spiritual text was woven. Vedas
(Rigveda, Atharvaveda, Yajurveda and Samveda) are essentially spiritual texts with distinct
pursuits. Each of these has four parts namely Samhitas (Hymns), Brahmanas (Rituals),
Aranyakas (Theologies) and the Upanishdas (Philosophies). Therefore, each one deals with
a specific aspect but welfare as a concept and Shanti or Moksha as the goal features in many
of the hymns. It is well known that many of the scriptures were written over time and it is
hard to decide about the exact time of some of these writing and therefore one can find some
contradictions across different themes. Samhitas are compilations by various authors that
include prayers, methodologies of religious functions, and other rituals. The philosophies and
theological Shlokas of course give advice on the state craft. These are addressed to rituals
and incidentally the State craft also enters into the shlokas. Among the four Vedas the Rigveda
contains prayers as well as contours of what can be called “dharma’ or societal ethics. The
theme that runs throughout these texts, apart from the methodologies of the rituals and praises
of Indra, Agni, Varun, Brihaspati and Pruthvi; also contain the path to ultimate happiness
through ethical behaviour. These also refer to welfare of the people and that emanates from
every hymn of the praise that the invoked god should enhance the welfare and an ethical
tranquility. Therefore, welfare augmentation seems to be equivalent to development as we
understand today. Sabha and Samitis were organised to govern and help the broader system
of Governance. Whereas, Upanishdas, Smritis and Dharmashastras were largely the
supporting philosophical texts in order to create institutions that will maintain the ethical levels
in the society. It is well accepted that ethical behaviour changes along with the time and has
a dynamic existence like culture. Many institutions interact with the society and the norms
change along with these changes. Emergence of market and unlimited private property as
concepts entered into the society and that evolved the new ethical norms. Ethical fall in the
distribution of work and fixing of graded remuneration was dictated under these changes and
the inequality as a fallout of limitless private property was inserted in this system with an
intention to control larger resources. All these brought in disequilibrium and accentuated the
inequalities. Largely livelihood focused understanding of human development of earlier years
changed to a disequilibrium based striving for new optimality.

Shaping of the Concept of Development

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The concept of development as understood today was probably not even in the process of
thinking in the ancient times. The main pursuit of life was to have a spiritual satisfaction or
sukha than achieve material wealth. The famous quotation from Ishavasyopanishad says

Isavaasyamidam Sarvam Yathkincha Jagathyaam Jagath I

Thena Thyakthena Bhunjethaah, Maa Gridhah Kasya Swid Dhanam II

All the material wealth we see in the World is meant for all. Therefore, use it to satisfy your
need and as less as possible. There are three lessons given here and these have to be
understood carefully. First, there are ample of resources available both renewable and
exhaustible type. Second, these are meant for all and that connotes equity and the third the
most important message is to satisfy only the need and not to exhaust these beyond that. All
these indicate sustained use of the resources and also non existence of market for profit.
Finally, such principle was to ensure sustainability and the resources were to be used for self
improvement. That also entails an inherently generated equilibrium (state of tranquility).

Livelihood and organization of livelihood system through various stages was the main pursuit
of life and not accumulation or profit optimisation. That started with the savage, pastoral and
agricultural stages. As the exchange of goods and services entered into the life and livelihood,
exchange value assumed importance. Market as an institution entered to replace the barter
system and the transactions took place. Kautilya gives a vivid description of markets
functioning then. The process of exchange with price emerged strongly and three types of
trade was practiced namely:Gift Trade; Administered Trade and Market trade (Gupta, 1992,
Ch 4). The words describing Price or Value were VASNA or SULKA Rigveda, Ch 4). As these
concepts developed over time (Sukraniti gives a detailed description how markets functioned
and should function ethically) and specifically the development of the market and marketing
practices emerged significantly so also the concepts of Wealth and accumulation.

The organization of production came in as the concept of private ownership (more precisely
control) emerged. The agricultural or cultivation phase involved operational control on land,
Rigveda makes a mention of land control of the King and taken on tenure by the cultivator
(Kazanas, 2010 Ch-2). The king or the state had the full control of resources and the State
also collected taxes for the use of resources. Livelihood was essentially through the collective
process of production and distribution and hence Collectives or institutional development was

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the key concept in development. Development at this point of time was an aggregated concept
of change and accumulation of wealth and resources entered the computations later.
Therefore, maintaining the equilibrium through control on use and distribution of resources
was a single most pursuit of mankind. That could be called almost near sustainability and
development as such.

Process of Shaping Sustainable Development

King and the State Machinery were responsible to maintain the tranquility or equilibrium.
There are number of treatises that provide the behaviour of king and description of the State
machinery to be used to the purpose. These include Vedas, Upanishdas, Smritis and up to
Mahabharata. It is exceptional that ancient literature has not discussed the duties of the king
or the rituals that are followed and all these involved the inherent ethics or behavioural rules.
Many of the texts were probably ‘On line’ texts (modified by various authors at different times)
and hence written by many at many times and hence pose some contradictions also. The
theme pursued all through these texts is to maintain an ethically derived equilibrium with the
help of the state and state participation. Such equilibrium also leads to the steady society in
long run.

King and the duties of the king are described in the Shantiparva of Mahabharata as also the
other texts. Happiness of the Praja is the most sacred and important duty of the king
stressed in all the texts. Happiness here includes ensuring sufficient food; shelter books and
freedom to move around without fear.

आयक्
ु ि केभ्य स्चौरे भ्यः परे भ्यो राज वल्ल भाि I
पथृ िवी पति लोभाच्च प्रजानां पंचिा भयम I
पञ्च प्रकार मप्येि पोह्यम नप
ृ िेभय
भ म II

That means the Praja needs protection by the king of all wicked persons including officers of
the State as also relatives and favourites of the king. (Kamandaka, V). The king and the
kingdom was to ensure livelihood and happiness as described in the text of Kautilya. In order
to achieve this various texts provide institutional processes and the system of graded
authority. The Provincial, Divisional, Town and Village Administration has been elaborated and
also a system to have a clear vertical authority and horizontal democracy is elaborated at
length. The administration is largely decentralised with the king having a good control on all
the functions of the state though indirectly.

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Decentralised administration was an instrument and institution developed very effectively in

order to have control on resources as well as distribution. We have ample references in the
ancient Indian texts about the administrative organization in a decentralised manner. That
also gives clues about development thinking at that time. First, the institution signifies clear
democratic organization of administration besides delegation of some powers to the ground
level functionaries. Second, it indicates local management of resources through generation
and controlled use. Third, the system also ensures division of labour and distribution of surplus
generated as well generation of resources for the State. Local organization of generating and
regulating the use of resources ensured sustainable use of resources as also supply of taxes
to the state. The system inherently ensured equity in opportunity and skill improvements.

Livelihood led Development

Development even though not explicitly used as a concept in ancient India, it was inherently
reflected in many facets. Enhancement of knowledge, augmented expertise and emphasis on
training of various types and trades signified primacy of human development. Naturally,
livelihood insurance was the initial focus and as the exchange systems took the place of the
existing barter system the markets developed in various forms. At this point in history a good
number of writings on basic ethics as also the duties of king and the State came up. All these
were written at various points and modified by more than one person. But all the texts (Vedas,
Upanishdas, Shrutis, Smritis and Puranas) pleaded for ethical behavior on the part of the King
and state on one side as also by the people on the other. The transformation from ‘Institutional
Development’ Paradigm to ‘Market Development’ Paradigm also gave rise to the concept of
wealth and accumulation. This ushered in significant changes in the livelihood system,
accumulation of wealth, use rates of resources and transformation of power from local to the
Kings. As the livelihood systems differed and so also the division of work. The King became
super power and the role of administrative machinery, religious rituals as also the Judiciary
increased as the livelihood opportunity increased and were focusing on accumulation rather
than sustenance. This was the time when the rest of the world was in the process of writing
about wealth, markets, growth and income accretion.

References

Altekar, A S (1949), State and Government in Ancient India, Motilal Banarasidas, Delhi.

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Annonymous (2006), Mahabharat -Shantiparva, Gita Press, Gorakhpur.

Jois, Rama M (2012). Raja Dharma with lessons on Raja Neeti, Universal, New Delhi.

Kazanas, Nicholas (2010), Economic Principles in the Vedic Traditions, Aditya, New Delhi.

Nadkarni, M V (2012). “Can there be an Indian way to Development?”, Development

Foundation, Working Paper No1, Bangalore

Ray, Debraj (1998), Development Economics, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

Schlagintweit, Emil (1863), Buddhism in Tibet, Literary documents and objects of religious
worship with an account of the Buddhist systems preceding it in India (www.book.foyin.org)

Various other texts.

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