The Various Avatars of Self-Reliance

Governments of the world have co-opted some of the most revolutionary ideas for their own ends

13 July 2020 (Wall Street International)* — Over the last couple of months, India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly emphasized the need for the country to move towards atmanirbharta, or self-reliance.

Why this sudden awakening in a man who was till recently zipping around the world trying to attract corporations to invest in India, and doing little to reduce the country’s export-import dependence built up over the last few decades of globalized growth?

Apparently, our little virus friend, COVID-19, has made him rethink. It is not only Mr. Modi – since global trade came crashing down in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, new wisdom seems to have dawned on many of the world’s political leaders.

One would not begrudge the origin or suddenness of this new realization, especially the fact that a tiny terror did what decades of social movements could not do if indeed this realization was well-directed. What does Mr. Modi really mean when he says “self-reliance”?

What is he thinking of when he says: “Be vocal about local”? Does it match with the long-standing vision of Mahatma Gandhi who argued for swaraj, a combination of self-rule, self-reliance, self-sufficiency that starts, first and foremost, from each village?

How does it square with the demands of many Adivasi (indigenous) communities in India who want to be left alone to carry on with their lives amidst natural ecosystems, or be enabled to take their own paths of well-being even when they want outside help, and not have alien, destructive “development” imposed on them? Does “make in India” necessarily lead to self-reliance?

Let’s look at what Modi said. On 24 April 2020, celebrated as National Panchayat Day (panchayats being village-level councils of governance, elected by the residents), Modi proclaimed:

Every village has to be self-sufficient enough to provide for its basic needs. Self-reliant villages will strengthen democracy by ensuring fruits of development percolate down to the grassroots. Similarly every district has to be self-sufficient at its level, every state has to be self-reliant at its level and the whole country has to be self-reliant at its level…. We should never have to look outside. This is an age-old thought in India, but the changed circumstances have reminded us again, to be self-reliant. Our panchayats have a very important role in this… strong panchayats are the foundation of a self-reliant village. The stronger the panchayat system, the stronger our democracy, and through this, the benefit of development will reach the last person.

In an address to the nation on 12^th May, Modi said:

Today the meaning of the word self-reliance has changed in the global scenario… it is about Human Centric Globalization rather than Economy Centralized Globalization. The culture and tradition of India speak of self-reliance and the soul is Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the whole world is our family). This is the culture which believes in the welfare of the world, for all the living creatures and the one which considers the whole world as a family. Its premise is the culture that considers the earth to be the mother.

Wordsmithing par excellence. But dig a bit deeper, look at actual policy decisions his government is taking, and one finds plenty of doublespeak. It is there even in the words: on one hand, he says: “The Corona crisis has also explained to us the importance of Local manufacturing, Local market and Local supply chain”, and on the other: “Today it is the need of the hour that India should play a big role in the global supply chain.”