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Politics of Planned Development
It is not necessary that all planning always has to be centralised; nor is it that planning is only about big industries and large projects. The ‘Kerala model’ is the name given to the path of planning and development charted by the State of Kerala. There has been a focus in this model on education, health, land reform, effective food distribution, and poverty alleviation. Despite low per capita incomes, and a relatively weak industrial base, Kerala achieved nearly total literacy, long life expectancy, low infant and female mortality, low birth rates and high access to medical care. Between 1987 and 1991, the government launched the New Democratic Initiative which involved campaigns for development (including total literacy especially in science and environment) designed to involve people directly in development activities through voluntary citizens’ organisations. The State has also taken initiative to involve people in making plans at the Panchayat, block and district level.
(i)What is the ‘Kerala model’ of planning ?
(ii)On what did it focus?
(iii) What are the implications of this model?
(i) The ‘Kerala model’ is the name given to the path of planning and development charted by the State of Kerala.
(ii)The focus in this model of planning has been on education, health, land reform, effective food distribution and poverty alleviation.
(iii) Despite low per capita incomes, and a relatively weak industrial base, Kerala achieved nearly total literacy, long life expectancy, low infant and female mortality, low birth rates and high access to medical care.
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(a) the Bombay plan (c) experiences of the Soviet bloc countries
(b) Gandhian vision of society (d) Demand by peasant organisations
“In the early years of Independence, two contradictory tendencies were already well advanced inside the Congress party. On the one hand, the national party executive endorsed socialist principles of state ownership, regulat ion and control over key sectors of the economy in order to improve productivity and at the same time curb economic concentration. On the other hand, the national Congress government pursued liberal economic policies and incentives to private investment that was justified in terms of the sole criterion of achieving maximum increase in production. ” — Francine Frankel
(a) What is the contradiction that the author is talking about ? What would be the political implications of a contradiction like this ?
(b) If the author is correct, why is it that the Congress was pursuing this policy ? Was it related to the nature of the opposition parties ?
(c) Was there also a contradiction between the central leadership of the Congress party and its State level leaders ?
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