A Historical Step after Independence for Rural Wage Seekers

Abstract

India lives in her villages”. This statement of Mahatma Gandhi still holds true.   A little more than 70 per cent of India’s population lives in rural areas and the issues are poverty, unemployment, quality housing, and infrastructure.  In fact the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, has been implementing different type of programmes for bridging gap between rural and urban areas. The programmes are mainly implemented from centre to different states through district level organization viz., District Rural Development Agency (DRDA)/ Zilla Parishad. In fact in India, top to bottom institutions have been created for planning and implementation of rural development programmes.    Rural development in India mainly focuses on removal of poverty, generation of employment, providing of housing facilities, and reduction of regional disparities.  In this paper, some recent strategies followed in India for generation of rural employment and constructions of houses under Government of India sponsored programmes are discussed. Before that Mahatma Gandhi’s view in this regard is discussed. Mahatma Gandhi was deeply worried about poverty of the masses.     In his autobiography, he clearly mentioned, “The grinding poverty and starvation with which our country is afflicted is such that it drives more and more men every year into the ranks of the beggars, whose desperate struggle for bread renders them insensible to all feelings of decency and self-respect. And our philanthropists, instead of providing work for them and insisting on their work for bread, give them alms” (Gandhi, 1993).  So Gandhiji was in favour of providing work to poor persons not alms. He always advocated for the development of the villages for the development of the country. Gandhiji may be quoted in this context