Four years of Implementing ‘Integral Humanism’
For the first time, India is experimenting with its own socio-economic development model called Integral Humanism. For years, the country was running on the borrowed development models. The largest ruling party of India, Congress has neither implemented Gandhiji’s ‘Hind Swaraj’ nor taken notes from Lokmanya Tilak’s philosophy about the rejuvenation of Bharat mentioned in his book ‘Gita Rahasya.’ And unfortunately, the visionary Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya who has crafted the philosophy of India’s own socio-economic development model called ‘Integral Humanism’, his party took so many years to come in a full majority.
In 2014, after being elected as a Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has got the opportunity to implement ‘Integral Humanism’ and he made this philosophy a base for all his government initiatives. After four years of experimenting with this philosophy; now its results are becoming visible in every sector of the economy. The last four years of Modi government have sustained one of the key elements of Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya’s philosophy which says “the development, upliftment, and progress need not be a case of one against the other, but it can include everyone.”
From the very first year of Modi government, the global projections about India started improving. Today, all international rating agencies consider India as the world’s fastest-growing major economy with the highest GDP growth rates. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has earned a global reorganization of being a leader who has the capacity to change India’s prospects. India’s transformation from one of the “fragile five” to the only “bright spot” on the global economic landscape is a matter of discussion around the world.
The ‘Integral Humanism’ is given by a profound philosopher and ideological guide of BJP, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. In his ‘Integral Humanism’ philosophy Pt. Deendayal has emphasized on the integrated approach of Bhartiya culture for the progress of Man, Society, and Nation. In the four years of government, PM Modi has tried well to cover the concerns and development needs of almost everyone, be it small or large businesses, professionals, workers, farmers, women, youths and rural and remote India. The way small aspects of all government initiatives are linked to each other and yet forming a part of the larger picture and vision of a New India, it has amazed the global community too.
The government has decided to run Digital India and National Digital Literacy Mission in parallel as without digital literacy, Digital India cannot succeed. With the launch of Make in India, an initiative called Skill India or Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana to train youths in different skilled jobs was also launched. With Startup India, there is Standup India, the concept of Village Level Entrepreneurs and Mudra Loans. The government has provided an easy access to different government benefits/subsidies through a seamless linking between Jan-Dhan accounts, Aadhaar and mobile phones (the JAM trinity) which has enabled direct benefit transfers.
For the first time, there is an emphasis on doubling farmer’s income and transforming agriculture sector into a profitable enterprise. Government initiatives like National Rurban Mission, Innovative Crop Insurance Scheme, Soil Health Card scheme, Soil Testing Laboratories, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (To promote bio-farming), ‘India emergence through village emergence’ campaign, ‘My Village My Pride’ scheme (to provide the methodology of scientific farming and a new technology to every village) etc. are very encouraging.
The government has initiated a comprehensive development programme for tribal areas, called Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana, which has an outcome-based approach to ensure that all the intended benefits of various central/state government programmes reach to the tribal people. For improving the standard of the education of tribal youths, the government has decided to upgrade Eklavya Schools, at par with Navodaya Vidyalayas along with providing special facilities for preserving local art and culture, training in sports and skill development. And for women and girls, there are Ujjwala yojana, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana kind of initiatives.
A number of Modi government schemes are named after Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya i.e. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Sanchar Kaushal Vikas Pratisthan Yojana, Deendayal Upadhyay Swaniyojan Yojana, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Unnat Krishi Shiksha Scheme, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Antyodaya Krishi Puruskar etc. to reflect that the approach of the government is aligned with the vision of Integral Humanism.
One of the key objectives of the economic model mentioned in Integral Humanism philosophy is: “an assurance of minimum standard of living to every individual.” It is quite visible that Modi government is determined to achieve this goal. In his first Independence Day speech, PM Modi has raised the issue of open defecation and set up an ambitious target of achieving an Open-Defecation Free (ODF) India by 2nd October 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, by constructing 90 million toilets in rural India. As of January 2018, over 3 lakh villages and 300 districts have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF), across ten States and Union Territories, namely, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh and Daman & Diu. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), Saubhagya scheme, Housing for All, UDAAN, AMRIT, Gram Sadak Yojana, Sansad Adarsh Gram, the programme for Transformation of Aspirational Districts etc. are aligned with the goal of providing ‘minimum standard’ of living to every individual.
Another objective mentioned in Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya’s philosophy is “Further increase above this minimum standard of living whereby the individual and the nation acquires the means to contribute to the world progress.” To achieve this objective PM Modi has taken a number of policy and institution level initiatives i.e. Digital India, Make in India, Design in India, incentives, and schemes for MSMEs, Startup India, EODB reforms and initiatives to promote Research & Development in the different sector of the economy. And as Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya has emphasized that these two objectives should provide “meanings employment to every able-bodied citizen.” We can see employment surge is the natural outcome of all these initiatives. In the integral humanism philosophy, it is also mentioned that “the system must help and not disregard the human being, the individual” and Modi government has attained this objective successfully, the dignity and self-respect of the common man are at the core of all government initiatives.
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya had said “Every country has its own peculiar historical, social and economic situations and its leaders decide the remedies to the ills that beset the country from time to time, taking into consideration its background. It is illogical to believe that remedies which the leaders of one country decided to try for their problems are likely to be applicable as such to all other peoples.” This message is a perfect answer to those questions which always compare India’s growth strategy with other nations. PM Modi has crafted a vision for New India based on his own experiences and wisdom; he has taken some of the most courageous decisions for economic reforms. PM Modi has presented ‘Integral Humanism’, the philosophy of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya as a development model before the world.
