Unit 2 Rural Development Programmes

Sriniketan Experiment Impact:

Rabindranath Tagore, a famous poet, witnessed the Introduced new farming techniques and skills.
poverty and hardship of farmers in East Bengal. He Promoted self-reliance and cooperation among
dreamt of improving their lives and making villages villagers.
self-sufficient and dignified. To achieve this, he started Empowered women through education and
the Sriniketan experiment in 1920, with the help of a economic opportunities.
British expert named Leonard Elmhirst.

Goals of Sriniketan Experiment: The Gurgaon Experiment

Befriend villagers: Understand their problems
The Problem: In 1920, F.L. Brayne witnessed the
and work together to solve them.
struggles of rural communities in Gurgaon. People
Learn by doing: Students got practical
faced poverty, poor health, and limited opportunities.
experience in farming, crafts, and other skills
needed to run a village. The Dream: Brayne envisioned a better future for
Science meets tradition: Combine modern
these villages increased crop production, improved
knowledge with traditional practices for better health, and educated women.
results.
Self-reliance: Train villagers to be self-sufficient The Plan (The Gurgaon Scheme):
in food, clothing, and other necessities.
Cooperation: Encourage villagers to work Spreading Knowledge: Village guides were
together for the common good. trained to share information on better farming
methods, health practices, and women's
Key Activities: education.
Demonstration farms: Showcased new farming Improved Farming: New seeds, tools, and
methods and trained villagers. techniques were introduced to boost harvests.
Training in various crafts: Carpentry, weaving, Focus on Health: ealth centers were
pottery, etc. to create additional income. established to provide medical care to villagers.
Animal husbandry: Dairy, poultry, and Women's Empowerment: Training programs
beekeeping to improve nutrition and income. focused on women's education and skills
Cooperative movement: "Dharmagola" development.
community rice bank where villagers could store
and borrow grain during tough times. Challenges:
Women's empowerment: Mahila Samities
focused on women's education, health, and Limited Expertise: Village guides lacked
economic participation. technical knowledge, limiting the effectiveness
of the program.
Lack of Ownership: Villagers weren't involved
Challenges: in planning, so the project struggled to continue
Limited government support hindered expansion. after Brayne's departure.
Lack of research limited program development. Imposed Solutions: People weren't
encouraged to participate actively, hindering
 long-term success. supported, making it difficult to sustain the
program.

The Marthandam Experiment

When and Where: In 1921, Dr. Spencer Hatch, an Baroda Experiment
American expert, started a project in Marthandam,
Overview:
India, to improve village life.
Year: 1932
The Goal: Make villages better in all aspects:
Location: Baroda state (present day Vadodara,
Spirituality: Strengthen religious values and Gujarat)
practices. Initiator: V.T. Krishnachari, Dewan of Baroda
Mind: Improve education and knowledge. Goal: Rural reconstruction and development
Body: Focus on health and well-being.
Society: Build strong communities. Key Aspects:
Economy: Create better opportunities to earn a
living. Comprehensive Approach: Aimed to improve
various aspects of rural life, not just agriculture
What they did: (education,infrastructure, etc.).
Improved Living Standards: Uplifting the
Model Center: Established a central location quality of life for villagers.
with: Self-Reliance: Encouraging villagers to be
Improved breeds of animals (cows, self-sufficient.
goats)
Beehives for honey production Implementation:
Demonstration plots for better crops
Training in weaving and other crafts Pilot Project: Began in Kosamba villages.
Development Committees: Village-level
Tools and equipment for learning new
skills committees with officials and villagers for
Self-help and cooperation: Encouraged planning and execution.
villagers to work together and solve problens State Rural Welfare Board: Provided guidance
on their own. and oversight at the state level.

Success Stories: Specific Initiatives:

Egg-selling Club: Villagers formed a Promoting Cottage Industries: Programs
self-governing club to sell eggs efficiently. focused on income generation through activities
Honey Cooperative: Learned modern like gardening, poultry, beekeeping, spinning,
beekeeping methods and sold honey together. and weaving.
Revitalizing Panchayats: Strengthening
traditional village COuncils for better
Challenges:
governance.
Limited Money: The project didn't have Adult Education: Expanding educational
enough funding to continue long-term. opportunities for adults.
No Government Support: The government
didn't provide much help.
Reliance on one person: The project
depended heavily on Dr. Hatch's leadership.
Volunteer Issue: Volunteers weren't financially
 FirkaDevelopment Scheme Etawah Pilot Project
Origin: Origin (1948):
Launched in 1946 by T. Prakasam in Madras Initiated by Albert Mayer (American engineer) in
state (present-day Tamil Nadu). Etawah district, Uttar Pradesh,India.
Supported by the U.S. Point Four Program and
Goals: the Government of Utar Pradesh.

Comprehensive Rural Development: Address Goals:

various rural issues, not just agriculture.
(education, economy, sanitation) Develop methods for rural development to
Self-Sufficiency: Make villages self-sufficient improve living standards.
in basic needs. (food, clothing, shelter) Promote self-reliance through cooperatives and
Gram Swaraj: Aligned with Gandhi's vision of community participation.
village self-governance. Test the project's scalability for wider
application.
Implementation:
Key Features:
Focus: Firkas (administrative divisions) served
as development units. Focus on local resources: Utilized existing
Phased Rollout: Started in 34 Firkas, then resources and knowledge for development.
expanded to 50 more. Multi-purpose village workers (VLWs):
Decentralized Management: Introduced village-level workers to provide
Collectors oversawdistricts. on-groundguidance and support.
Gram Sewaks supervised village groups Practical solutions: Prioritized solutions that
within each Firka. villagers could readily implement and maintain.
Collaboration between officials and
non-governmental agencies. Activities:

Key Areas: Improved agricultural practices: Introduced

better seeds, fertilizers, and implements.
Infrastructure: Improved roads, Animal husbandry projects: Promoted livestock
communication, water supply. health and productivity.
Governance: Strengthened Panchayats Infrastructure development: Improved roads,
(village councils). water supply, and drainage.
Agriculture: Increased food production, Social development initiatives: Adult literacy
irrigation, livestock improvements. programs, farmer training, and community
Cottage Industries: Promoted engagement activities.
self-employment through crafts like handloom
weaving. Impact:
Increased agricultural production, particularly in
wheat.
Improved living standards and infrastructure in
participating villages.
Served as a model for India's Community
Development Programme.
Challenges: Approaches to Rural Community
Sustainability: Maintaining success after the Development
project's initial phase and Mayer's departure in
1957 proved difficult. A. Gandhian Approach to Rural Community
Development
Core Principles:
Nilokheri Experiment Moral Values: Gandhian approach prioritizes
moral values like truth, non-violence, and
What Happened?
justice as the foundation for rural development.
In 1948, after India's partition, many people Religion and Spirituality: It draws inspiration
came from West Pakistan to live in ndia. from religious texts like Upanishads and Gita,
aiming for a society based on spiritual
S.K. Dey led a project to help these people by
building a new town called Nilokheri. well-being.
ldeal Village: The village is the cornerstone.
Goals of Nilokheri: Gandhi envisioned self-governing villages
cooperating in a federation.
New Homes & Jobs: Create a place where
people could live and work together. Key Features:
Be Self-Sufficient: Grow their own food, make
Decentralization: Power is vested in elected
their own goods, and not rely on others.
Learn New Skills: Get training in different village Panchayats handling legislation,
crafts and trades. execution, and justice.
" Self-Sufficiency: Villages aim to produce what
What They Did: they need - food, clothing, shelter - reducing
dependence on external sources.
Built houses and a marketplace for people to Village and Cottage Industries: Reviving
selltheir goods. traditional industries provides employment and
Started a training center to teach people new supports self-sufficiency. Gandhiwasn't against
skills like farming, carpentry, and weaving. appropriate technology.
Made the swampy land suitable for farming. Trusteeship: Private property is acceptable,
Built a school, hospital, and other facilities for but excess wealth should be held in trust for the
the toWn. benefit of the community.

Special Features:

The project was called "Mazdoor Manzil", B. Tagore's Approach to Rural Community
which means "House of Labor" because Development
everyone worked together.
Nilokheri was like a town and village combined, Tagore's Big ldea:
with everything people needed close by.
Rabindranath Tagore, a famous poet and thinker,
believed in solving problems in rural communities using
logic, science, and practical solutions. Here's what he
thought was important:
Villagers Working Together: He encouraged
villagers to form cooperatives, where they could
 help each other and become more applied to their practical skills.
independent. A Spirit of Service: Encouraging students to
Using LOcal Knowledge: Tagore felt it was dedicate themselves to helping the villages
important to use the skills and knowledge that around them.
villagers already had. This would make Self-Reliance and Dignity: Helping students
solutions more effective and relevant to their feel good about themselves and teaching them
culture. skills they needed to live wellin their villages.
Tagore's Rural Development Program: D. Reviving Local Crafts (Rural Industries):

A. Seeing the Problems Firsthand (East Bengal Bringing Back Old Skills: Tagore believed it
Experiment): was important to revive traditional crafts and
train young people and artisans in using new
Life in Rural Bengal: Managing his estate in techniques.
East Bengal exposed Tagore to the difficulties Shilpa Bhavana: He established Shilpa
faced by villagers. This inspired him to work on Bhavanaat Santiniketan to achieve this goal.
ruraldevelopment.
AComprehensive Plan: His program included E. The Institute of Rural Reconstruction:
improvements in health, education, crafts,
farming, fishing, and weaving. " Helping in Many Ways: The institute had
Modernization Efforts: He introduced tractors different units that focused on farming, raising
for farming, furnaces for pottery making, and animals, crafts, health, education, and village
machines for husking rice. His goal was to organization.
create well-developed villages that were A Multifaceted Approach: Their work included
self-sufficient and confident. research, teaching villagers new methods, and
providing education.
B. Fighting Exploitation (Rural Bank):
F. Making Knowledge Accessible (Rural Library
The Cause of Poverty: Tagore saw unfair System):
treatment by landlords, middlemen, and money
lenders as a major reason for poverty in The Importance of Reading: Tagore knew that
villages. libraries were important for learning, so he
The Solution: He established Patisar Bank in established a central library for research.
Local Libraries: There were also smaller
1905, offering loans with lower interest rates.
This helped villagers escape debt. libraries in villages to serve the community and
encourage reading and learning.
C. The Goals of Sriniketan Experiment: " Unique Feature: Mobile Library (1925): A
special library with a village worker who
Building Trust: Gaining the trust and friendship delivered books door-to-door, making
of villagers by showing an interest in their lives knowledge accessible to everyone.
and helping them solve problems.
Learning by Doing: Bringing village issues into
classrooms and using the institute's farm to find
solutions.
Practical Skills: Teaching students practical
skills like farming. raising animals, keeping
chickens, various crafts, keeping villages clean,
working together, and more.
Science for Everyday Life: Providing students
with basic scientific knowledge that could be