Proponents of alternative economic development paradigm participating in the Badanavalu Satyagraha have passed a resolution that Badanavalu should be developed on the lines of Sewagram in Wardha. They want the village to be converted into a memorial as Mahatma Gandhi visited the place in the 1930s to give an impetus to Khadi.
Resolution passed
It also passed a resolution that practices of traditional societies, including hand-spinning, should be treated as wealth generators. The satyagraha was launched by theatre personality Prasanna to draw attention to the dichotomy in the existing development paradigm, in which the gap between the rural and urban economies have widened, with the latter growing at the cost of the former.
The focus of the satyagraha was also to promote sustainable living and development. Badanavalu was identified as the starting point for the satyagraha as it epitomises the negative impact of the present economic paradigm. For, it was once a thriving centre spinning cotton for khadi but is now a decrepit village steeped in social and economic backwardness.
Meaning of ‘growth’
Mr. Prasanna said the meaning of ‘growth’ has been distorted by governments, political parties and bureaucrats who think that industrial growth, market growth and the growth of money is all there is to development. “GDP is a pathetic indicator of human happiness and a true measure of growth should be able to register cultural continuity and social stability,” said the resolution.
The roots of the Badanavalu satyagraha is traced to the crisis plaguing the handloom industry in India. The All-India Federation of Handloom Organisations had agitated against the government’s decision to favour powerlooms. The first stage of the satyagraha was launched in January last year and this is the second phase of the movement.
President of the federation Ugramma said the Union government’s move to favour power looms would have sounded the death knell of the handloom industry of India and the satyagraha was held all over the country. There was massive support from the civil society but no response from the Union government, she said.
The federation said that satyagraha was an integral part of the larger struggle to protect the livelihood, food, farms and forests, and hence all organisations and movements working on sustainable living have been invited to join the Badanavalu Satyagraha.
The participants in the satyagraha included students, NGOs working on alternative development paradigms, litterateurs, and artistes promoting sustainable living.
