Theories of Development in the Post-Colonial Period - Dissertation Example

Topic:  Concepts and theories of development in the post-colonial period for a (specific country or countries). Introduction Among all the colonies of the erstwhile British Empire, India holds an important position not only because it is the largest democracy in the world but its post-colonial development has brought it to the forefront of the global economy. This study has aimed to demonstrate, through various case studies, how that development had started on a chartered path and has now taken a direction that is focussed at the grass root level. India has slowly grown out of ‘dependency,’ to build its future on its vast base of youth power. The Concept of Development Development cuts across all levels of issues in a society whether it is at the macro, meso or micro level. Such is the interdependency of issues that economic, cultural, religious and gender is affected and affects development. Development theories attempt to explain the changes in societies and to provide the tools that can be applied to societies to move them to a better situation or one that is thought to be a better situation. Development has always had an economic connotation, as the Gross National Product (GNP) of the country has been historically used as a measure for growth and development. During the 1950s and 1960s, development initiatives assumed that the "successful methods, techniques, and ways of solving problems and delivering services in the U.S. or other economically advanced countries would prove equally successful in the developing nations." [Rondinelli, Dennis A. et al] So, from the very beginning the developed world and theoreticians progressed on the basis of ‘direct transferability’ of a successful process. During the 1970s, the European and American multinational companies made a foray into the developing world. With extending their own markets, these MNCs also threatened the indigenous industries in these countries. These events gave rise to two theories – the Dependency Theory and the Center Periphery or Metropolis-Satellite Theory. According to dependency theorists such as Paul Baran, Andre Gunther Frank and Fernando Henrique Cardoso, developing countries were trapped in a cycle of dependence on international capital in which there was little room to manoeuvre. The center-periphery (or metropolis-satellite) theory developed by Immanuel Wallerstein, argued that movement within and between the centre and the periphery was possible. [Wallerstein, I.M. (1979)] The History of Colonial Rule in India Today, looking back it is not easy to believe that even 60 years ago, the major portion of the world was dominated by European empires. By mid-sixties the colonies started becoming independent; however, the effects of colonization lasted through the influences of western culture and language. Let us now go back a little in time to look at the history of colonization, decolonization and post colonization of one of the largest British colonies – India. The British came to India as traders, with the British East India Company being established in 1756. However, this soon became a political agenda and the traders turned rulers. Non-violent agitation was India’s weapon, which finally brought independence in 1947. The British colonial rule in India created infrastructure and brought English-language education to the country. The Indian parliamentary system, the Indian Railways, the Indian education system, and much more hold its legacy to the British colonial rule. What has also remained behind is the integration of the western culture in the Indian population and culture. But even with the post-colonial economic progress, India continues to be plagued by all its old problems such as poverty, over population, environmental pollution, and its ethnic and communal rivalries. According to Partha Chatterjee and Ramachandra Guha, mentality is shaped by much more than just the language used; and as they have noted ‘the people of the developing politics in developing countries are influenced by their pre-colonial heritage and colonial and post-colonial experiences. (Chatterjee 1986; Guha 1989.) Effects of Colonisation in India Colonisation of India was transformative rather than transitory, as it reshaped the economic and political forms and changed how the way the educated people came to view the world. To understand why the British colonisers were coercive and extractive and why they collaborated with the local rulers, we have to consider the fact that in 1921, British India, the European population was only 156,500 out of a 250 million native population, which is a bare 0.06 percent. (Brown 1985: 95.) Britain was not making her colonies with development issues of the colony in mind. The British investment in her colonies was so low that there was no rise in the per capita income of the people in the 190 years of British rule. (Chibber 2005.) (Davis (2001: 311.) The widespread consequence of cheap colonialism was uneven development and wide disparities between small, more or less westernised elites and the rest. (Dirks 2004: 15.). Another very important fall out of the colonial rule that affected the post colonial period was the transfer of Indian labour to the plantation areas in countries such as Ceylon, Malaya, Fiji, South Africa, Kenya, and Mauritius. Social and economic divisions were created and this contributed to ethnic political tensions in all these territories after they became independent. In India one of the main nationalist criticisms of British rule was that, having brought the gift of science, they were stunting India’s growth and arresting her progress (Nehru 1942: 433–49; and 1961: 508). A developmental ideology thus became central to the self-definition of the post-colonial state (Chatterjee 1993: 203)—in 1945. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Indian Prime Minister, felt that ‘planned development under a free national government would completely change the face of India within a few years.’(1961: 504.) The Post Colonial Period and Advent of Dependency Theory In the post-colonial period the Dependency Theory of development gained credence. The developing world was not able to cope up with the free market policies of development theory. So the Dependency Theory, which is opposite to the free market theory, came to reveal the interaction between the developed and developing countries or the colonisers and the colonies. Formulated in the 1950s, the Dependency Theory was a direct challenge to the free market economic policies of the post-war era. According to dependency theory, a small number of established nations are extracting wealth from developing nations, which act as their colonies, even after gaining independence. The developing nations are kept in a subservient position through various measures such as sanctions and/or free trade policies attached to loans granted by the World Bank or International Monetary Fund. Development, however, was seen by many experts as a concept that went beyond the growth of GDP and which involved contextual approaches in addressing poverty, disempowerment, environmental degradation and consequently a need for ‘post-development’ theories. By the 1990s, there were some writers for whom development theory had reached an impasse. [Schuurman 1993] and some academics were imagining a post-development era. [Escobar (1995) and Fukuyama (1992)] Post Development Era The Millennium Development Goals, corporate social responsibility, public-private partnerships and human development approaches are some of the ‘post-development’ concepts that have resulted out of this impasse. [Utting (2003).] Post-development theorists reject development theories as meaningless concepts, as these theories do not address the local requirements and tries to fit all countries into one solution. The ‘post’ within post-development refers to the conviction that it is not a matter of identifying the most efficient way of delivering development, but questioning the very concept of development (McGregor, 2007:156). Countries and regions are not homogenous entities and hence customised solutions are necessary to address local and region-specific development issues. One of the best descriptions about post-development is given by Escobar. [1995: 215.] According to Escobar post-development involves 1) An interest not in development alternatives but in alternatives to development, 2 )An interest in local culture and knowledge, 3) A critical stance towards established scientific discourses and 4) the defence and promotion of localized , pluralistic grassroots movements. Post Development Activity in India – A Case Study Post-development activities have happened in India and we will here deal with one such project that was unique it is attempt to become a holistic endeavour of development but ended up being rejected by a quite a number of people. Here we will discuss the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), which basically involved the construction of a dam over the river Narmada. India, since independence, has considered building dams as one of the ways to modernization. It has always had both positive and negative fallouts, which goes to show that developmental projects are welcome by some and rejected by others. The SSP is part of the Narmada Valley Development Plan, which included building 3,200 dams, both large and small. The SSPs main aim was to create a canal that will carry the waters of the River Narmada to the drought-prone area of the state of Gujarat in India. The 455-foot high dam was expected to irrigate 1.8 million hectares of land, provide drinking water to 40 million people, and generate 1450 megawatts of energy for the riparian states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Rajasthan and Maharashtra [Bavsiskar 1995: 200.]However the project affected families (PAFs) were large in number. The official estimate for the PAFs under SSP in 1979 was about 6,000, and the figure surged to 27,000 in 1992 (Baviskar 1999: 200). Up until 1999, it reached around 42,000. But according to the Narmada Banchao Andolan (“Save the Narmada Movement,” NBA), a major opponent organization of the SSP, the actual number, as of the same year, was around 85,000, which is close to half a million people (Roy 1999). Though this was the scenario on one hand, the people estimated to benefit from the project was much greater in number, taking into count the number of jobs created. The project is estimated to provide drinking water to 135 urban centres and 8215 villages and an estimated 18-40 million people will get drinking water from the dam by 2021. Here was a unique study in post development process that was welcomed by one group of people and rejected by others. A Contemporary Concept of Development – A Case Study Let us now look at a case study from the experience of a development worker in India and try to find out if development projects achieve their goals? What is the future of development? Is their optimistic attitude among the people working in this field? Anuradha Harinarayan, has worked in development in India for four years and through her experience one can understand the concept of development in India. She has worked as a research assistant for the International Famine Center and as an intern in Sudan. While dealing with maternal and child health issues and during a consultancy period with USAID, Anuradha also used her expertise to push condoms to prevent aids. When Anuradha worked with the sex workers in a place in India, where political pressurisation and pushed the workers underground, she through her effort was able to bring the women together, so that they got to know one another and could come together to form solidarity groups. This spin-off was what ‘development’ meant to Anuradha in the true sense of the word and brought her satisfaction to work in a sector that was full of challenges. “When you are providing service, making decisions about who gets what, it does involve the potential for harm. For example the social marketing concept was great but it was still not addressing the poorest people who had even no money to buy these products,” said Anuradha while elaborating on the some of the problems that she faces in her course of work. However, the level of optimism is high, as she rightly points out, otherwise people would not be working in this sector. Development Ideas Shift Over Time – A Case Study The concept of development is changing and many projects in India are embodying that change. The Tata Jagriti (awakening) Yatra (journey) is journey on rails for 400 young Indians who will go to the four corners of the country and meet people who have brought in changes in their local areas. Awakening the entrepreneurial spirit is the motto of this journey. The journey was an eye opener for those who took it and that included an international team of participants from Africa, US and Europe. This is part of the Enterprise Led Development Programme and was aimed at changing the development focus from one of dependence to that of taking the reins. Considering the Indian demographic profile, one finds that the country has a young power 500 million people that can be harnessed to create an independent development scheme for the country. The programme was aimed to change the mindset of young Indians from job seekers to job creators. In doing so, they create purpose and employment for themselves and provide employment for hundreds of others. Getting into direct contact and understanding how grass root level entrepreneurs have brought in development at their local levels will provide vision to young India. Development Concepts at the Local Level Development strategies adopted over time has made certain things clear; development needs to be articulated at the local level. Most environmental issues can be mitigated through peasant agriculture, which will give rise to a sustainable local economy. The rural economy can form the basis of development at the local level with educated and enlightened young entrepreneurs bringing in micro-level changes to methods of procurement, farming, irrigation, storage and marketing. Farm products bring in more money when there is value addition to the product. Harnessing the power of the local communities and helping them with modern technology will go a long way in ushering sustainable development. Conclusion Post development applications have established the fact that development projects will create a group of people or a part of society which will benefit from it and there will be a group who will be affected adversely. 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