Q. Critically examine the relevance of development planning in India ?

Model Answer:

Development planning in post-independent India was conceived as an instrument of directed social change and state-led modernization (Yogendra Singh) to dismantle feudal structures and reduce inequalities.

Sociological Critiques of Planning

• Marxist Perspective: A.R. Desai argued that planning merely facilitated a capitalist path of development, enriching the bourgeoisie while marginalizing the proletariat.
• Agrarian Inequality: Utsa Patnaik noted that planned agricultural interventions (Green Revolution) disproportionately benefited the Dominant Castes (M.N. Srinivas), deepening rural caste-class divides.
• Subaltern Critique: Top-down infrastructural projects massively displaced Adivasis, causing systemic marginalization, as critiqued by Walter Fernandes.

• Post-1991, imperative planning yielded to indicative planning via NITI Aayog to balance market forces with social equity.
• Decentralized Planning: The 73rd and 74th Amendments shifted focus towards bottom-up, participatory governance.
• Targeted Planning: Initiatives like the Aspirational Districts Programme directly address structural and regional disparities.

Conclusion

As Partha Chatterjee observes, while “civil society” leverages free markets, the marginalized “political society” relies heavily on state welfare. Therefore, decentralized planning remains indispensable for achieving equitable social change in India.