Towards ‘Welfare State’ Or ‘Grama Swarajya’?

What is a welfare state?

A welfare state is one which cares for its people by giving direct basic needs. The Government schemes which distribute the needs directly to the people are towards creating a welfare state. Anna Bhagya, Ksheera Bhagya, schemes of Karnataka Government, Gas Distribution, Employment Guarantee (MNREGA) from the central government etc., are typical examples of such schemes towards direct benefit to the people. But for this to sustain in the long run, state has to develop long term strategies to generate continuous revenue.

What is Grama Swarajya?

Grama Swarajya is where the Governance is at the grass root level. The state doesn’t give anything directly. Instead the state gives freedom to the people to utilize resources. It protects their right over their resources. They have right over their hills, lands, rivers, lakes, roads, grass lands, desert, forests, plain lands, etc., Whatever they have in their surroundings belong to them. It doesn’t belong to any private individual. The state authorizes village to utilize the resources for their consumption and needs. But for that the villages & blocks of villages, have to organize themselves and protect as well as consume sensibly without warring over each other.  

But this is at the outset. Each has its share of complications and challenges. Lets understand a bit of the history of both first, before we get into the challenges and solutions.

Origin of these types of Governance

Origin of Welfare State:

The Welfare state concept originated in Europe in the industrialization periods of 17^th 18^th century. Industrialization lead to jobs concentration in urban clusters. It lead to mass and fast production. It gave jobs to able bodied persons. Less able persons, aged, women etc., were disadvantaged. It created joblessness.

The governance was moving towards democracy in Europe. Democracy needs people support. So the governance started doling out benefits to the less abled, needy. The mass production enabled good tax collections. So it afforded doling out benefits. It also was needed to spur the consumerism from the mass production of industries.

Communism was another type of governance gaining ground in Europe. It also favoured state control over production & distribution. It went to the extreme of state control over all resources including people. People lost independence. But they were guaranteed food, shelter, water and basic needs through welfare state system.

Origin of Grama Swarajya:

Grama Swarajya is as old if not older than Rama Rajya. In order for the sustainable utilization of the resources of the surroundings, the villages had to organize themselves. Varna system was a natural organization of the society.

The large population was the Shudra community – farmers, artisans, sweepers, construction workers, producers – metals, jewelry, ornaments, leather, utensils, agri implements, wood cutters, carpenters, etc., etc., Basically all producers of different needs of the society.

Then the trader community – Vaishyas – They controlled supply chain. Collection, Storage, distribution, transportation & sale. Reaching the end consumer of the produce is the responsibility of the Vaishyas.

Kshatriyas – The warriors, protectors of freedom – There was no Jati or caste of this tribe. All villages didn’t have this tribe. Standing army was needed in capitals & forts, atop hills & vantage points. These people were from the dominant community of that locality from any of the other Varnas. They raised from the grass root level. The churn of the rulers always happened continuously in India. The ruling changed hands according to the raise of mutiny against an unjust, incapable ruler. A just leader usually organized and revolted and established a just kingdom.

The last community, Brahmins, were a minority. They gave the idea of how to organize, how to sustainably consume the resources, how to set up governance for equity distribution of the rights over resources. They studied stars & planets for rain prediction. They studied plants for medicinal benefits. They studied society & suggested legislation for societal order. But the maintenance of the societal order was Kshatriya & rulers responsibilities. Almost every village had Brahmins. They were mostly the custodians of temples. Temples were spiritual centres. It also doubled as gathering place for bhajans & bringing unity amongst the diverse villagers. It also was centre for panchayati, the dispute resolving, decision making body. It was centre for schooling & education, medicine distribution etc.,  

Failures of these types of Governance

Challenges for Welfare state:

Simple challenge for the welfare state is the balance sheet maintenance year on year. The industrialization has heavy toll on limited resources. Industry tumbles after the resource is exhausted in an area. Then people are left high & dry. But they are used to their freebies & vote to the freebies only. So government develops heavy complex machinery for Food Distribution, Water distribution, Employment Generation, Primary education, Healthcare etc.,

Some area produces rice; then it has to get distributed to thousands of kilometers. For example, the wheat comes through complex PDS system from Punjab to Karnataka. This kind of massive transportation of staple food grains was never there in India. If not every village, but at least every block of villages were self sustained in staple food at least if not exotic foods also of their own.

Even water is being lifted by the government from Yettinahole in Dakshina Kannada to Devarayanadurga in Tumkur and then distribute it to Chikkaballapur, Tumkur, Kolar districts. Ancient times, every village existed only due to availability of sustainable water source. But then self governance died slowly. Government gave industries free water. They polluted it & dried it. Then they packed off from there to another area to exploit.  

In a small country when the industries exhaust all exploitable areas, then the country goes bankrupt. The people are used to freebies. They don’t understand what the meaning of country going bankrupt. They start looting & arson. The country goes to civil war from bankruptcy.

Venezuela got into such a spiral out of control of these direct benefit schemes recently. Greece is another one that often goes bankrupt. But since it is European country, they project it as global crisis and call IMF to dole them out. Asia, Africa are still to get used to this new game of Europeans projecting their problem as global crisis. Zimbabwe got into hyperinflation a decade back and is yet to come out of it with no light at the end of the tunnel.

In big countries like US, & most European countries, the policy makers still believe in Welfare State concept. Never attempting to curtail. In most European countries now, most mineal jobs are done by immigrants. The immigrants are not assimilating. And almost every European country is staring at an imminent civil war in the coming years.  

Challenges for Grama Swarajya:

The Grama Swarajya collapsed with the advent of British. The sheer bruteness, cunningness, corrupting the existing system was a heavy jolt to the people of India.

The Kshatra failed to protect the system. Through corruption, brutal force, weapons of mass destruction on humans (canons) they destroyed the armies. Through doctrine of lapse they stripped kings off their ruling. After the British successfully quelled their upraising, they kept kings and stripped their armies and armaments. So the kingdoms became princely states with no power. British corrupted them to stay indulgent and ignore the rural upraising, unrest. Then they successfully propagated that kings were self indulgent. Even the modern politicians like Gandhi believed it and didn’t have such high regard for the kings. Also Congress was created by British as a safety valve, as an alternate peoples representation to the kings. So they could ignore kings fully and focus on developing softies in Congress as the real people of India.  

The loot of our resources left the Shudras in abject poverty. Forests & hills denuded indiscriminately. The dependent artisans had no clue what to do. Who to complain to. Raja was powerless. The temples which were centre for delivering governance, order, were stripped off their self funding. Then they divided the society and spread propaganda that Varna system created jati system and that is the root cause of their poverty, ignorance etc.,

Our Kshatra & our education system didn’t equip our society to expect this kind of atrocity, attack on our people, resources, culture all at once. We still continue to be under attack. Still we live in ignorance.

Where do we stand now? What lies ahead?

India is at cross roads now. We at least have legacy of Grama Swarajya, the Idea of Rama Rajya. It still alive in some minds and literature at least. However, boldly India introduced the Panchayati Raj almost 30 years ago. And it has made many strides. It is implemented in all states even including Jammu & Kashmir. Is it perfect? No; far from it. But has it made progress towards self governance? Definitely yes.

Its success lies in the people’s coming together and joining hands for self governance. Most importantly they organizing themselves and asserting their rights over their surroundings, environments, wealth etc., Asserting rights is one thing, but more importantly organizing themselves to maintain it, harnessing it, sharing it amongst themselves without discrimination.

Now, organizing doesn’t necessarily mean bringing back the caste system. But the society has to be organized. Swami Vivekananda famously said, that the Varna System is not religious but it is just there as part of any Organized society. We must acknowledge that, Someone will be Brain, Some will be the tiller, toiler, Some will be protector of rights to keep law & order, someone will be a storer & a trader. It may not necessarily be by the caste. But anyone can play any of these roles.

But what of the current subsidies & freebies from the welfare state concept? It will not go away suddenly. Majority are happy to receive and live on it. Government is still auctioning hills, rivers and ponds to individual tycoons to extract minerals, coke factory, fertilizer factory etc.,

Majority people will be pacified with compensation, subsidies, freebies. They basically sell their soul to few individuals to loot their wealth.

People have to Organize and push it all out. Like the way in 80’s how America pushed it all out due to series of litigation by the enlightened Citizens.

Will it happen here? Now? People are angry. They want to push out factories. But after pushing out what? Will they organize to harness their wealth for healthy simple living with equity distribution? Or will few people give in and join industrial tycoons to rule the roost in that block?

Time will only tell. But definitely some awakening is happening. Slowly but steadily