Core Principles
- Decentralization: Economic power should be spread across villages and communities, not concentrated in cities or corporations.
- Self‑reliance: Local production and consumption reduce dependence on external markets.
- Equity & justice: Focus on the poorest and marginalized, ensuring dignity in work.
- Non‑violence in economics: Reject exploitative practices; promote cooperative and sustainable livelihoods.
Gandhian Economics Timeline
- J.C. Kumarappa (1892–1960)
Laid the theoretical foundation of Gandhian economics.
As “architect of Gandhian economics”, he advocated for village industries, trusteeship, and ecological sustainability.
J.C. Kumarappa’s contemporaries like Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and Charles Freer Andrews supported Gandhian ideals in social and economic policy. - K.G. Mashruwala (1890–1952)
Emphasized the ethical and social dimensions of economic life.
He wrote extensively on the moral dimensions of economic life. - Lakshmi Chand Jain (1925–2010)
Development economist and activist, known for promoting cooperatives, rural industries, and people‑centered planning.
Advocated for handloom cooperatives and small‑scale industries as alternatives to centralized industrialization.
Helped Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay organise the Indian Cooperative Union and applied its principles to the handicrafts industry.
Served as India’s Planning Commission member and later as Ambassador to South Africa.
His work embodied Gandhian principles of trusteeship, village industries, and participatory democracy.
Jain received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service in 1989.
He was posthumously awarded Padma Vibhushan by the UPA government in 2011. However his family declined to accept the award since he had been against the concept of State Honours. - Devaki Jain (born 1933)
Carried Gandhian ideals into modern cooperative movements.
Feminist economist who reframed development by centering women’s unpaid labor and grassroots agency.
Founded the Institute of Social Studies Trust (ISST) in New Delhi, a hub for feminist economics.
Coined and popularized the idea of the “feminization of poverty”, highlighting how women disproportionately bear economic hardship.
Deeply influenced by Gandhian ideals of equity and decentralization, applying them to gender justice and global development policy.
In 2006, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan for her contribution to social justice and the empowerment of women.
Devaki Jain and L.C. Jain were married partners in thought and activism, both recognized as Gandhians.
