Page 124 - Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 21st Century ISBN

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

Swavlamban and Sarvodaya: Implementing Development Schemes

The task of governance would not be complete unless development activities are undertaken
and there is change in the livelihood status of the villagers. With this view in mind, a number of

developmental activities are undertaken by the Mendha gramsabha.
After Mendha was granted the managerial rights over the surrounding forest, the most notable

developmental activity was the conservation and protection of plant resources. Mendha gramsabha
undertook systematic and sustainable cutting of the bamboos. In the first year of harvesting (2011-12),

bamboo worth Rs. 21,50,000 was sold in which the component of wages earned by the villagers was
around Rs. 8,00,000. In the second year (2012-13), bamboo worth Rs. One crore was sold in which

the wages component was around thirty per cent. Wages were paid equally to men and women and
gender equality was maintained in all the respects. The selling of bamboo and the wages earned through

this activity enhanced the income levels of the villagers considerably and also strengthened the village
economy.

Gram Dan

The epitome Vinoba’s philosophy has been ‘Gram Dan’. The idea of gram dana i.e. grant of
the whole village’s agricultural land arose during the Bhoodan movement in the sixties. Gram dana

means that the individual ownership in land is renounced into the common ownership of the whole
village. The land is then apportioned to the cultivators and landless laborers as per their needs. While

the inheritance rights are protected, the cultivators cannot sell the land. The land remains the property
of the village. Vinoba idealized gram dana as the basic step for realizing swaraj. During the Bhoodan-

Gramdan movement thousands of villages in the country declared themselves as ‘Gram Danee’
villages and the respective state governments sanctified this by enacting the gram dana legislations.

The idea had lost momentum after the movement had weaned down but recently Mendha again
rejuvenated it by registering itself under the Maharashtra Gram Dan Act, 1964. The legal process was

completed in 2013 and it was duly published into the State Gazette (Government of Maharashtra
rd
Gazette, II-48, 23 November 2013). This has been the ultimate expression of swaraj.

Conclusion

It would be clear from this brief analysis how this small, tribal village in the remote, interior part
of India has strived to put Vinoba’s philosophy into practice. The village has tried to follow the model

of polity based on the idea of sarvayatan and as mandated by the Constitution of India. It has also
followed the non-violent and egalitarian principles of sarvasahmati and sarvanumati. It has thus

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