Collective Well-being – Cooperative Learnings from ‘Bhoodan’

Introduction

Peaceful coexistence is the best approach wherein individuals, families, neighborhoods, and societies exist, share, and have well-being. SDG 16 advocating peace and justice may appear macro, and SDG 17 that aspires institutional cooperation too may appear so. However, the international cooperation, institutional synergies, and global SDG aspirations can be lived at the ground and local level too. This shall be a classic saying’s realized example of ‘think global and act local’.?

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Micro level to Macro

Sociologists organize the society along various levels for their study and probably for possible normative applications. Unit of analysis of village or town was the appropriate units before the mega-city concept became a global reality. Do we have enough homogeneity across the mega cities of 20 million or more so that these can be studied as a single unit may be a “?”. By the time of Indian independence in 1947 rural economy, village structure, and small towns were the observable things on the social and economic spectrum. Mahatma Gandhi, the architect of political freedom for India envisaged ‘village independence’ in terms of stand-alone supported structures and systems. Ideally, if all the people in the village are sufficiently provided, and exist in peace, the macro-structure of the country shall also experience the same is the extension of the logic. This is a natural extrapolation. Here Gandhian notion of ‘to each-one according to need’ should be remembered as the ground rule. We can’t cater to even a few people’s greed. Thus, ‘sufficiency’ should be the bottom-line of proposals.

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Taking forward in the Gandhian spirit

After the vacuum that got created after Mahatma Gandhi, and witnessing the social turbulence, his close believer and follower Acharya Vinoba Bhave embarked upon crisscrossing the country through the turbulent parts. From 1946 to 1951 current Telangana state parts were witnessing turbulence. This area was freed from Nizam’s rule on 17th September 1948, and there were clashes occurring in rural and semi-urban areas. Vinobaji undertook a ‘yatra’ passing through the troubled areas.

When he was passing through southern Telangana parts, in a village called ‘Pochampally’ (well known for its hand-made sarees), he had a village meeting. Many issues were discussed and suddenly there was a desperate appeal by a section of the village that if each family is given two acres of land (about a hectare), their livelihood shall be taken care of. And the appeal to Vinobaji was to ‘appeal to the highest authority’ and get the same happen. Vinobaji appealed to the rich villagers and asked whether this genuine request can be fulfilled at the village level itself, as there were families with hundreds and even thousands of acres of lands in the neighborhood.

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Birth of ‘Bhoodan’

That day became the historical day not only in the history of India but also across the globe by setting an example of how micro cooperation can make collective well-bring happen. From the villagers one rich land-lord offered hundred acres of land to the group of forty impoverished families, and he announced was doing it in the memory of his late father. To the surprise of Vinoba Bhaveji, the transfer of the land happened with the deed and attained the sanctity. No violence, no courts and cases, but it was the demonstration of the highest spirit of peaceful transfer of ‘have to the have-not’, and lot of good-will got generated instantly. This arrangement, Vinobaji termed as ‘Bhoodan’, meaning charity deed of giving away the land. It was a heartfelt deed.

Above was the birth of the Bhoodan movement, and it was replicated at many other places. The first village of Pochampally where it took birth in this very month close to a platinum jubilee ago, came to be known as ‘Bhoodan Pochampally’. Across the country there are estimates that over forty lakh acres of land was given, and a major portion of the land has reached beneficiaries.

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Learnings from the above

Corporates in our Indian context are asked to perform mandatory CSR. Often it is seen as top-down solution. Here we have seen different. Where the problem was, there the solution was. Landless labor were wishing desperately for a couple of acres of land, and there the landlord family member donated hundred acres. There was no hope a day before, but subtle exhorting by the saintly leader made all the difference and brought in the sense of sharing among the rich. Extending the logic, the inequality exists along multiple dimensions. A few haves and many have-nots exist along the lines. Those who have, if they share even a small portion with the desperate, the grudging gulf reduces. In the society where the Gini of 0.5 exists, we need the sense of sharing among the people. Haves should stretch and help the less privileged leverage the riches of the rich, and with their consent and participation.

Micro-level contributions can add up to small corpus which can be efficiently redistributed. Micro level funding based on the collective sharing basis can assure the ‘good will collateral’ and priming at the ground level happens. If rough terrain gets smoothened, then smoother shall be the journey, and further smoother shall be the positive reinforcement. Peace and justice shall prevail.