Gandhian Perspectives and Alternative Development: How Third World Influenced Development Thinking?

Ratna Mani Nepal

Alternative Development; Gandhi, Freedom, Non-violence, Self-reliance, Trusteeship.

Alternative development thinking emerged in the decade of seventies. This tradition in development studies was partially influenced by the ecological movements in the west. In majority, however, the trend referred to the critical voices in the Third World. In its movements associated with colonialism and domestic feudalism, Third World raised issues which rejected the mainstream development pedagogy. Gandhi of India and Mao Tse Zung of China were among them who opposed western hegemony and practiced alternative traditions. Buddhist economics too is supposed to an alternative economics. This article discusses Mahatma Gandhi's development perspectives in order to examine them in pursuit of alternative development of the seventies. The main objective of the study is to analyze Gandhian principles of social and economic transformation from alternative development perspectives. Required information has been accessed from published library and online sources e.g. books, journals, reports etc. Narrative analysis technique is applied to examine the obtained information. This study concludes that concepts like self-reliance, appropriate technology, critic to capitalism, sustainability, and freedom as discussed in alternative development thinking in the seventies seem to be influenced by Gandhian development perspectives.

https://doi.org/10.31871/IJNTR.7.1.19