Question

“We town-dwellers have believed that India is to be found in its towns and not villages. Villages were created to minister to our needs. We have hardly ever paused to enquire if those poor folk get sufficient to eat and clothe themselves...”

Comment on the relevance of Gandhi’s ideas of self-sufficiency of villages in the context of urban migration in India.

Answer 1

1. Economic Decentralisation: Gandhi advocated for village-level industries to prevent wealth concentration. Reviving rural enterprises reduces the economic distress that forces rural youth to migrate to overcrowded cities.
2. Pressure on Urban Infrastructure: Unchecked urban migration strains city housing, sanitation, and water supplies. Creating self-contained village economies creates “rurban” clusters, balancing regional development.
3. Food and Resource Security: Cities rely entirely on villages for food, matching Gandhi’s observation that villages “minister to our needs.” Ensuring rural sustainability guarantees long-term national resource security.
4. Dignity of Labour: Developing local agricultural and handicraft sectors provides rural populations with sustainable livelihoods. This prevents them from being forced into exploitative, informal manual labour in urban slums.