1. Gandhian Concept of Trusteeship: A Solution for Sustainable Living Manisha Tripathy Admission No. 2014DR1052 Department of Humanities and Social Sciences Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad

2. An Overview The thesis is a critical analysis of Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of Trusteeship which was aimed primarily at bridging the gulf between the rich and the poor/ the capitalists and the workers. The thesis intended to analyse the possibilities for the utilization of the idea of trusteeship in resolving the long standing issue of economic disparity between the rich and the poor. The research aims to explore the possibilities of solving the problems underlined by the UN as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by adopting the idea of trusteeship. This possibility seems pragmatic because the idea of trusteeship is based upon need based consumption rather than greed centric hoarding of things.

3. Objectives 1.The foremost objective of the present study is to critically analyse the Gandhian idea of trusteeship. 2.The ideas of nonviolence and voluntary renunciation have also been critically examined in the present endeavour. 3.It has also been an effort to trace the antecedents of the social service aspect present in various religions. 4.The present study on the idea of trusteeship explores the possibility to address the present challenges of environmental degradation and economic disparity in society. 5.The practicality of the idea of trusteeship has also been analysed to ascertain its utility in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

4. Chapter Division Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Gandhi’s Background in Brief Chapter 3. The Idea of Trusteeship in the Scriptures Chapter 4. Trusteeship from Gandhian Perspective Chapter 5. Application of Trusteeship in Achieving Sustainable Living Chapter 6. Conclusion

5. Chapter-1 Introduction The Rise of Capitalism and Communism The spread of new ideologies of socialism and communism Rise in militarism The unparalleled scale of violence Socio-economic and political upheavals as witnessed by Gandhi Mahatma Gandhi envisioned Trusteeship as the means to achieve the end of an equitable society

6. The world in 20 th Century In the 20 th century the clash between Capitalism and Communism became inevitable. Russian Revolution (1917) made it clear that the ideology of communism is a force to reckon with. The capitalists were alarmed. The idea of Socialism, which gained currency in 19 th century was also gaining ground in India in early 20 th century. Socialist ideology believed in the principle of public undertaking of resources. 20 th century also saw the high point of militarism/armament. European nations armed themselves to the teeth.

7. World War I …This war did show the world how violent the humans have become …the weapons of mass destruction found their way to battle grounds. Gandhi felt the necessity of Nonviolence more than ever for the peaceful co-existence Various socio-economic crisis made Gandhi’s conviction in equitable distribution of resources to establish an economically egalitarian society.

8. Chapter-2 Gandhi’s Background in Brief  Gandhi before becoming Mahatma Childhood Influences Mother Putlibai Plays of Raja Harishchandra and Shravan Kumar Learnt the lesson of tolerance from his father Return good for evil – the guiding principle of Gandhi

9.  Maritzburg - The Milestone to Remember Received rude shock of blatant racism The opportunity to not only fight against the South African authority for the cause of the fellow brethren from India but also test the efficacy of the ideas of Nonviolent, Non-cooperation and Civil Disobedience as tools of political protest. The most remarkable aspect of his methods was the fact that the tools he employed were thoroughly engrained in the ethical and spiritual ethos of the tenets of Indian philosophical systems which deals with the relation of man with the almighty. Gandhi’s journey began to become the apostle of nonviolence. His apprenticeship in new methods of Satyagraha, Nonviolence, Non- cooperation and Civil Disobedience was complete with rare distinction. He was ready to shoulder the burden of leading the millions of his fellow countrymen back home to free them from the yoke of British colonial rule.

10.  Homecoming Champaran Satyagraha (1917) made its way in annals of the Indian Freedom Struggle. After the year 1919, Gandhi was treading incessantly on a path of non-violent, non-cooperation and civil disobedience. His experiments with truth, by then, began to snowball into a massive political boom across India and his fight against injustice and inequality had assumed an inordinate proportion. Moreover, the Gandhian methods heavily relied upon the ethical and spiritual entrustment not only because of his own conviction but also of the people whom he was leading for a cause just and noble. In fact, Gandhi never separated ethics and spirituality from any walk of life he followed.

11.  The World in Gandhi’s Time The world in Gandhi’s time has been discussed to understand the Gandhian world view for it seems pertinent to the present work to understand why Gandhi insisted on nonviolent methods like trusteeship to bridge the chasm between the haves and the have-nots. Division of the world in two halves, of the workers and the owners of the resources (capital, in modern times). Karl Marx became the God of the workers across the world by contributing Communism to the world. His Das Kapital and Communist Manifesto became the holy scriptures of the labour class.

12. For the first time in the history the world had acutely understood the class differentiation. The words the Haves and the Have-nots were to find place in dictionaries, writings, lectures and public speeches of the leaders supporting either of the two. The calls for violent actions against the rich and to grab their riches were made frequently. The Bolshevik revolution of Russia attracted many millions and caught the attention of an even broader audience including Gandhi. However, Mahatma Gandhi did not approve such a means to achieve the noble end of equality in the society. Rather, he was critical of communism for the latter's approval of violence to attain the aims enunciated by the Communist ideology.

13. Gandhi was a firm believer in the vedic principle of ‘Aano Bhadrah Kratavo yantu vishwtah’ (let the noble thought come from all sides) still he was opposed to any mindless aping or adaptation of thoughts coming from far off lands, cultures and civilizations as he believed that peculiarities associated with locale need to be assessed before putting the thought into practical plain.

14. Chapter-3 The Roots of Trusteeship in the Scriptures A brief survey of the scriptures of the major religions of the world to trace the roots of the ideas concerning rudimentary forms of trusteeship have been taken up. The antecedents of trusteeship from religious scriptures are highlighted in this chapter. From Classical Indian Scriptures From Christianity From Islam From other Religions Gandhi considered it the duty of every cultured man and woman to sympathetically read the scriptures of the great world religions.

15. Every single religion on earth has human welfare at the core of it.  From Classical Indian Scriptures īśā vāsyamida ṁ sarva ṁ yatkiñca jagatyā ṁ jagat | tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā g ṛ dha ḥ kasyasviddhanam || (Ishopnishad, Verse 1) “All this is for habitation by the Lord, whatsoever is individual universe of movement in the universal motion. By that renounced thou shouldst enjoy; lust not after any man's possession”.

16. The idea of helping people in need is deeply embedded in the Indian ethos. Therefore, it is not surprising to find a great number of references to the people’s generosity in both the religious and otherwise literary works of ancient India. Example: Danveer Karna from the epic Mahabharat. Atithi devo bhava’ -Taittiriya Upanishad’s Shikshavalli I.11.2 Donation being beneficial for earning religious merit. Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarve Santu Niramaya Sarve Bhadrani Pashyantu, Ma Kashchid Dukh Bhagbhavet.

17.  The Bible God is the master of the world and we are merely trustees of whatever He has bestowed upon us. The rudimentary idea of the trusteeship seems vividly present in the Bible. The wealthy must be kind towards poor people to provide them with food, clothes and shelter. Tithe – 1/10 th of the annual produce – a Mandatory Contribution by the Laity St. Thomas Aquinas- God is the Lord of Everything and the Human Being is the Trustee on His behalf.

18.  The Islam There are significant practices in Islam that support voluntary acts of charity throughout the Islamic world. Zakat is a mandatory contribution to the society by the Muslims who are blessed with better resources. They have to donate a certain proportion of wealth each year for the charitable causes. Sadaqa is another important practice that prevails in the Muslim societies. This is a voluntary charitable act towards others. This also includes simple deeds like a smile, a helping hand extended to any needy person etc. Waqf is an Islamic endowment of property to be held in trust and used for charitable or religious purpose.

19. Sikhism: Pilgrimage, Penance, Compassion, and Charitable giving. Jainism: Parasparopagraho Jivanam. Buddhism: Generosity is the first of six “perfections”. Judaism: Tzedakah- Social welfare as an economic and social justice. Zoroastrianism: The practices of giving are not confined to charity alone; rather they even go beyond philanthropy in their efforts to contribute to the welfare of the society.  The Practices of ‘Giving’ in Other Religions

20. Chapter-4 Trusteeship from Gandhian Perspective Various facets of the idea of trusteeship as propounded by Mahatma Gandhi. Understanding about the concept in its entirety.  Concept of Truth, Non-violence, Satyagraha and Aparigraha The basic principles Gandhi vouchsafed throughout his life to resolve every single problem big or small. According to Gandhi, these tenets were the noblest of the means to achieve the virtuous ends like peace and equality in the world.

21. Satya, Ahimsa, Satyagraha and Aparigraha act as the four pillars of the edifice of Gandhian thought and action to make the world just and equitable for one and all. These four principles remained Gandhi's main weapons to wage war against all sorts of injustice that included not only by the British imperialism but also encompasses injustice prevailing within the Indian society for socio-cultural and political reasons. In fact, these must be seen in unison to one another when Mahatma Gandhi propagated the idea of trusteeship, aimed to establish an egalitarian world where there will be no disparity, that of race, religion and class.

22.  Trusteeship as Enunciated by Gandhi The Right Path to Achieve Trusteeship Satya Ahimsa Satyagraha Aparigraha Equal Distribution of Wealth Inequality of Wealth is a crime against God. - Gandhi

23.  Mass Production, Mass Consumption and Trusteeship Gandhi was propagating the idea of trusteeship in times when capitalism was cushioned deeply in the society as the leading economic model of production and distribution of goods and services. The current section deals with the mass production and profit making and how the idea of trusteeship would have positively affected the whole process in a manner suitable to the needs of all the sections of the society and above all making the whole process responsive to the needs of nature as well. It also looks into the consumer behaviour playing as a catalyst for the mass production and consequently changing behaviour of the consumers affecting the wellbeing of the planet in general and the poor in particular.

24.  Trusteeship and Social Responsibility The immense growth of capital in the last two centuries and its confinement in the hands of a miniscule percentage of people across the globe has led to a rightful clamour for the social responsibilities of the profit guzzlers that include both the local and multinational business houses. The countries with capitalist economies have been grappling with the issue of social responsibilities of the business houses. This is apart from the idea of regular taxation. Initially it was often voluntary but the growing size of the wealth of the capitalist class across the globe has made the governments think about formulating rules and regulation to legally compel the business houses to contribute to the social welfare of the people. As a result many countries have come up with many legislations to regulate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). India too has enacted an act to look after the Corporate Social Responsibility provisions in the country.

25. Here I critically examine the theory of trusteeship, deconstructing the idea in a bid to understand its finer nuances along with the pros and cons of the theory for this exercise becomes a must in times of growing economic inequalities and ensuing unrest and violence across the globe. The idea was to make Haves responsible for the welfare of Have- nots, Landlords to Farmers and landless labourers, Industry Owners to the Employees. The flow of the resources have to be inverted to achieve the end by applying the means suggested by Gandhi. However, the epitome of the idea also includes the duties and skills of the workers etc. to be taken as trustees.

26.  Corporate Social Responsibility This portion deals with the idea of social responsibility and the current practices of corporate social responsibility in the 21st century. How pragmatic it has turned out to be over the years. What are the legal support systems especially in India for the practical implementation of the idea of trusteeship and how far has it been successful? It has also been emphasized in this section that apart from ethical compulsions how the legal framework for corporate responsibility has evolved over the period.

27.  Critical Analysis of Theory of Trusteeship The major limitations of the theory of Trusteeship The communists and the socialists criticized Gandhi for being sympathetic to the interests of the capitalist class. Many people including his party colleagues called the idea as utopian. Even Nehru called it impractical however, recent developments around the CSR practices prove the practicality aspect of the idea. Trusteeship, in the long run, was not intended to be merely an appeal but it was postulated that the state will intervene in case of those who will not voluntarily come forward to adopt it.

28. Chapter 5: Application of Trusteeship in Achieving Sustainable Living There has been an attempt to analyse the relevance of the idea of trusteeship in today's world in the light of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), proclaimed in 2015 with a deadline of 2030. Through this analysis, the thesis aims to highlight the 360-degree expandability of the idea covering not only economic imbalances in the world but also providing a solution to universal peace and sustainable development to arrest the environmental slide.

29. The idea of trusteeship becomes even more adaptive to the situations of today by having a sort of ethical ratification for its application in socio-economic and environmental responsibilities of humans to safeguard the planet for the future generation. Gandhi calls for Action by the owners of resources to shed lifestyle that promotes pomp and show Desire will lead to destruction – Need not Greed shall be the mantra for environment friendly development Better it would be to mend ways before its too late

30. Chapter-6 Conclusion The thesis concludes by summarizing this research endeavour for the benefit of not only the academia but every single individual on the planet earth by ethical and spiritual sensitization. The effort has been made to delineate and highlight all of the important facets of the research work. The principle of need must prevail rather than that of greed. The world can achieve universal peace, as envisioned by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), through the Gandhian means of Ahimsa and Aparigraha.

31. Is it not the interdependence what Gandhi preached to establish a peaceful and equitable society? Yes, he did believe in interdependence so does almost every single religion on earth, something which we have evaluated and analysed above. This is precisely what is needed today to check the menace of poverty in its complex cause and effect existence.

32. Thank You