Chapter 10: Development
1. Development conveys the ideas of improvement, progress, well-being and an aspiration for a better life.
2. In India a series of Five Year Plans for development were made starting from the 1950s, and these included a number of mega projects such as the Bhakra Nangal Dam, setting up steel plants in different parts of the country, mining, fertilizer production and improving agricultural techniques.
3. It was hoped that a multipronged strategy would have an impact on the economy and significantly increase the wealth of the country
- It was also hoped that the emerging prosperity would gradually ‘trickle down’ to the poorest sections of society and help to reduce inequality
4. New educational institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology were set up and collaboration with advanced countries in order to have access to their knowledge became a top priority
5. It was believed that the process of development would make the society more modern and forward looking and set it on the path of growth.
Criticisms: Cost of Development
6. Development models which have been adopted in many countries has proved very costly
7. Financial costs have been enormous, putting many countries into long-term debt
8. Development has also had high social costs. A large number of people have been displaced from their homes and localities due to the construction of big dams, industrial activities and mining activities, or other projects.
- There is also a loss of culture because when people are relocated they lose a whole way of community life.
9. ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ which has been s movement against the Sardar Sarovar Dam on Narmada river
10. Development has indeed caused a high degree of environmental degradation
11. In the long term, the ecological crisis will adversely affect all of us. Air pollution is already a problem which affects all of us badly.
12. Loss of forests affects the poor who use forest resources for a variety of subsistence needs from forests
13. Increased deforestation to cater human needs
14. It could not of course be said that development has had only negative effects for the world.
15. Some countries have had some success in increasing their rate of economic growth and even in reducing poverty.
16. But overall, inequalities have not been seriously reduced and poverty continues to be a problem in the developing world
17. A country may have high rates of growth but that doesn’t necessarily translate into a fair distribution of its benefits.
18. When economic growth and redistribution do not go together, the benefits are likely to be cornered by those who are already privileged.
19. World over, the gap between the rich and the poor has been widening
20. Development is now being viewed in broader terms as a process which should improve the quality of life of all the people.
21. The idea of development refers to the desire for a better life. This is a very powerful desire and the hope of improvement is a driving force of human action
