Question

Essay on community development programme

Answer 1

Community Development Programmes are defined as developmental initiatives, which are aimed at the development of the communities at all levels, including economic, cul­tural and social. The desired outcomes of these programmes are complex, and may not be known at the outset, but typically include increased self-reliance, and decision­ making powers resulting from the process of community development.

India inherited a rich legacy of experimentation with rural development pro­grammes, which drew inspiration not only from the Gandhian vision of a rural com­mune, but also from various philanthropic and missionary movements from the United States and the United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland), as well as the late colonialist attempts to revive the stagnating Indian agriculture by drawing on the lessons of various foreign experiments, such as the Raifeissen rural credit schemes in Germany and the agricultural extension services of the United States.

However, it was Nehru’s strategic and centralized planning policies, which not only established the community as a ‘site for the privileged agency of the rural poor’, but also provided the full backing (including domestic and foreign funding) of the Community Development Programmes (CDP), which were launched in 1952 on the fourth anniversary of Gandhi’s death.

Answer 2

Answer:

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Community Development Programmes are defined as developmental initiatives, which are aimed at the development of the communities at all levels, including economic, cul­tural and social. The desired outcomes of these programmes are complex, and may not be known at the outset, but typically include increased self-reliance, and decision­ making powers resulting from the process of community development.

India inherited a rich legacy of experimentation with rural development pro­grammes, which drew inspiration not only from the Gandhian vision of a rural com­mune, but also from various philanthropic and missionary movements from the United States and the United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland), as well as the late colonialist attempts to revive the stagnating Indian agriculture by drawing on the lessons of various foreign experiments, such as the Raifeissen rural credit schemes in Germany and the agricultural extension services of the United States.

However, it was Nehru’s strategic and centralized planning policies, which not only established the community as a ‘site for the privileged agency of the rural poor’, but also provided the full backing (including domestic and foreign funding) of the Community Development Programmes (CDP), which were launched in 1952 on the fourth anniversary of Gandhi’s death.

The concept of community development in India was initiated well before Independence. Even during the struggle for Independence, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, considerable attention was given to rural upliftment and reconstruction. He emphasized on a nineteen point constructive pro­gramme for complete Independence by truthful and non-violent means.

He often warned the leaders that true Independence could be enjoyed only when the rural econ­omy was strengthened and poverty eradicated. He advocated communal harmony, eco­nomic equity, social equality, de-addiction from alcohol and narcotics, promotion of ‘khadi’ (hand spun and hand woven cloth) and village industries, sanitation, healthcare, education and empowerment of women. The aim was to generate gainful employment in rural areas and to improve the quality of life (Gandhi, 1941).