Rethinking Development: Vikalp Sangam and the search for alternatives in India

Abstract

It is increasingly becoming evident that the current model of “development” has led the world to the brink of a climate disaster, as the very fundamentals of the natural systems on which the world’s current economic structure is predicated upon stand compromised. Vast tracts of lands have become poisoned and barren, and the rising seas are threatening coastal cities and ecosystems. As people begin to make sense of this rapidly devolving situation, some serious and well-considered attempts are being made to craft an alternative model of human existence. In India, Vikalp Sangam or the “Confluence of Alternatives” is an emerging platform, which is leading this exploration through a blend of modern progressive thinking, and ancient wisdom of indigenous peoples and other traditional community worldviews. It is empowering these ideas as well as the practice of alternatives to reach a large audience and become viable for discussion, analysis and eventual replication in other places. This paper analyzes the opinions, facts, theories and data emerging out of the Vikalp Sangam process to understand the evolution of “alternatives” thinking in India, and how it can influence the process of recalibrating the larger idea of development in the country. It focuses on the process by which a fundamental and transformative systemic change could be introduced into the society for the construction of a new political-economy that moves beyond both corporate capitalism and state socialism and towards the creation of “Radical Ecological Democracy”, based on climate justice, environmental sustainability and socio-economic equality.