Class 12 Humanities . Political Science . Politics In India Since Independence . Politics of Planned Development
Chapter 3: Politics Of Planned Development
Ch 3
Political Science
Class 12 Humanities
Lecture 1
Reference video · Lecture 1Chapter Overview
Chapter Overview
Economic Development as a Nation-Building Challenge
Definition
Economic development — The third major challenge after independence was to promote economic development and ensure the well-being of all.
The Development Challenge
- Earlier challenges: Leaders had already addressed nation-building and establishing democracy.
- Distinct path: As with those challenges, India’s leaders chose a path of development that was different and difficult.
- Scale of challenge: Progress was more limited because economic development was tougher and more enduring.
Political Choices about Development
Questions Explored in the Chapter
- Key debates: What choices and debates shaped India’s approach to development?
- Early strategy: Which development strategy did leaders adopt during the first two decades, and why?
- Assessment: What were the main achievements and limitations of that strategy?
- Later change: Why was the strategy abandoned in later years?
Stamp-era Vision of Planned Development
- Mostly 1955–1968Postage stamps depicted planned development through projects and advances in dams, industry, transport and agriculture.
Quick recap
- Independent India faced economic development as its third major challenge, alongside nation-building and democracy.
- The leaders chose a distinct and difficult path to pursue development and public well-being.
- The challenge was tougher and more enduring, and success was more limited.
- The chapter examines development debates, the early strategy and its reasons, its outcomes, and why it was later abandoned.
- Stamps from mostly 1955–1968 represented planned development across dams, industry, transport and agriculture, including the Wheat Revolution.
Lecture 2
Reference video · Lecture 2Political contestation & Ideas of development
Political contestation & Ideas of development
Development and Competing Interests
POSCO-India Protest
- Location: People facing displacement by the proposed plant in Jagatsinghpur district protested outside the company’s office in Bhubaneswar.
- Demand: More than 100 villagers from Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadakujanga demanded cancellation of the MoU between POSCO-India and the Orissa government.
- Protest: Police prevented the demonstrators from entering the office premises; the protest was organised by Rashtriya Yuva Sangathan and Nabanirman Samiti.
- Core conflict: Protesters opposed a plant they believed threatened their lives and livelihoods.
Political Contestation
Post-Independence Development Consensus and Debate
- Shared vision: Development should combine economic growth with social and economic justice.
- Government’s role: Development and redistribution should not be left only to businessmen, industrialists and farmers; government should play a key part.
- Continuing disagreement: People debated how much the state should plan, whether it should run key industries, and how to balance justice against growth.
- Different priorities: Some favoured industrialisation; others prioritised agriculture and reducing rural poverty.
Left vs Right
| Point | Left | Right |
|---|---|---|
| Social change and redistribution | Generally favours social change and a state role in economic redistribution | Generally favours less state direction of the economy and relies more on market forces |
| Economic approach | Favours state control of the economy and state regulation over free competition | Favours free competition and a market economy |
| Role of government | Supports an active state role in the economy | Opposes unnecessary government intervention |
Ideas of Development
Modernisation and the Western Model
- Western standard: The industrialised West was often treated as the measure of development; becoming modern was associated with becoming more like Western countries.
- Modernisation theory: Countries were expected to follow a similar path: traditional social structures break down, while capitalism and liberalism rise.
- Associated ideas: Modernisation was linked with growth, material progress and scientific rationality.
- Labels: This framework encouraged countries to be described as developed, developing or underdeveloped.
Development Models Considered at Independence
| Point | Liberal-capitalist model | Socialist model |
|---|---|---|
| Associated examples | Europe and the United States | The USSR |
| Support in India | Had relatively few supporters | Influenced Communist Party and Socialist Party leaders, and Congress leaders such as Nehru |
National Movement and Development Priorities
- Government responsibility: Nationalist leaders believed free India’s government should address poverty and social and economic redistribution, beyond the colonial government’s narrow commercial role.
- Debate within the consensus: Leaders agreed on government responsibility but differed on whether industrialisation or agricultural development and rural poverty alleviation should receive priority.
Planning
The Planning Commission
Planning Commission: Key Aims
- Livelihood: Secure an adequate means of livelihood for all citizens, women and men equally.
- Common good: Distribute ownership and control of community resources so they best serve the common good.
- Prevent concentration: Ensure the economic system does not concentrate wealth and means of production to the common detriment.
NITI Aayog
Key Dates
- 1944Major industrialists drafted the Bombay Plan, proposing major state investment in a planned economy.
- March 1950The Government of India established the Planning Commission by resolution.
- 1 January 2015NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission.
Why are major development decisions political decisions?
Answer: They require balancing competing social interests and present and future needs. Experts advise, but people’s representatives must make or approve the final choice.
What were the key aims guiding the Planning Commission?
Answer: Provide an adequate livelihood, distribute community resources for the common good, and prevent harmful concentration of wealth and means of production.
Quick recap
- Development choices distribute costs and benefits differently, so groups can disagree over what counts as progress.
- Democratic decisions need expert advice but ultimately require political judgement and public approval.
- Left and right refer to positions on social change and economic redistribution, as well as state control versus market competition.
- Development models at Independence included liberal capitalism and socialism; India also debated industry versus agriculture and rural poverty relief.
- Planning gained wide support, including from industrialists who proposed the Bombay Plan in 1944.
- Planning Commission was a non-constitutional advisory body established in March 1950 and chaired by the Prime Minister.
- NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission on 1 January 2015.
Lecture 3
Reference video · Lecture 3The Early Initiative
The Early Initiative
Five-Year Plans and Planning
Early Public Response and a Plan Holiday
The First Five-Year Plan
National Income, Savings and Investment
Rapid Industrialisation: The Second Plan
Industrialisation: Costs and Criticisms
Key terms
- Plan budget
- Five-year expenditure assigned to priorities in the plan.
- Non-plan budget
- Yearly expenditure on routine government activities.
- Land reform
- Changes to land distribution intended to address a barrier to agricultural growth.
- Socialist pattern of society
- The goal declared by the Congress at Avadi and reflected in the Second Plan.
- Urban bias
- A perceived preference for urban and industrial development over rural and agricultural needs.
What were the main priorities of the First Five-Year Plan?
Answer: It focused mainly on agriculture, irrigation and dams, and land reforms to address unequal land distribution and support agricultural growth.
How did the Second Plan promote industrialisation?
Answer: It prioritised heavy industry, protected domestic industries with import tariffs, and used growing savings and investment to develop major industries, especially in the public sector.
What problems and criticisms accompanied the industrial push?
Answer: India had to spend scarce foreign exchange on imported technology, while the shift of investment toward industry raised food-shortage risks. Critics described the plans as urban-biased and argued that agriculture deserved more priority.
Quick recap
- Five-year plans set long-term priorities; plan spending differed from routine yearly non-plan spending.
- The First Plan (1951–1956) prioritised agriculture, irrigation, dams and land reform.
- K. N. Raj urged gradual development, warning that excessive speed might threaten democracy.
- The Second Plan, led by P. C. Mahalanobis, promoted heavy industry and a socialist pattern of society.
- Industrialisation supported domestic industry but required imported technology and risked neglecting agriculture.
- By 1966, economic crisis led to a plan holiday; critics had also challenged the plans’ priorities and process.
Political Science — ALL CHAPTERS
1
THE END OF BIPOLARITY
2
CONTEMPORARY CENTRES OF POWER
3
CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIA
4
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
5
SECURITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD
6
ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES
7
GLOBALISATION
1
Challenges of Nation Building
2
Era of one-party dominance
3
Politics Of Planned Development
4
India’s external relations
5
Challenges to and Restoration of the Congress System
6
The Crisis of Democratic Order
7
Regional Aspirations
8
Recent Developments in Indian Politics