Page 120 - Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 21st Century ISBN

21oha “krkCnh esa vkpk;Z fouksck Hkkos dh izklafxdrk

3. Nonviolence should be the basis of continual cooperation in the normal course,
and of occasional non-cooperation or resistance.

4. Honest work of all should have equal (moral and monetary) value.” (Vinoba, 2014:29). 2
Swarajya-Shastra is put into practice through what Vinoba calls as Lokniti. Explaining lokniti,

Vinoba categorically mentions that decentralization of power is the foundation of Sarvodaya and
states that “Village affairs would be managed by the villagers themselves through unanimity or

consensus....Gram-Sabha—the assembly of all the adults in the village—would have all the
powers that a State normally has in the area under its jurisdiction… Secondly, the villagers should

decide to become self-sufficient to the extent possible. Self-discipline and self-sufficiency are the
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bulwarks of village self-government.” .He further elaborates that “There would be no freedom until
every individual in every village has control over his own life. When every village manages its own
affairs, settles internal disputes, decides how its children should be educated, undertakes its own defense

and manages its own markets, there would be a renewal of self-confidence, and ordinary people
everywhere would get some experience of public affairs. The distribution or dispersal of the functions

of government is a means for creating strength among the people. When every village has its own
government it would naturally have a group of people skilled in public affairs—persons of experience

and wisdom.” 4
Dwelling on the principle of consensus, Vinoba says, “Unanimity or consensus should be the

basis of decision-making. Unanimity may not always be possible; there may be some difference of
opinion. In such an eventuality, those differing from the majority point of view should express their

opinion, but should not insist on it. Thus there may not be sarvasammati (total agreement), but there
could be sarvanumati (consent by all).” 5

Vinoba has coined two words: vichar-shasan (discipline of thought) and kartritva-vibhajan
(decentralization of authority, capacities and capabilities). Vichar-shasan means that ideas should be

explained and understood; it means that no proposition should be accepted without being understood
whereas kartritva-vibhajan means that the capacities and capabilities for work, and the power

that accrues from them should be built up in every village instead of being centralized. 6
Explained in the following is how this vision is put into practice by this small village in Gadchiroli

district. The links between Vinoba’s Swarajya-Shastra and the experiment at Mendha-Lekha have
been previously indicated by Dewaji Tofa and Mohan Hirabai Hiralal, the two social workers associated

with this experiment. 7

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