Saga on Rural Development in Karbi Anglong, Assam: An Understanding from Gandhian Perspective

Abstract

Agriculture makes a significant economic contribution to Karbi Anglong in a number of ways, including by providing food for the region's expanding population, sufficient raw materials for a burgeoning industrial sector, a significant source of employment, and a market for the industrial sector's output, among other things. In this paper, it is stated that the agricultural sector has a solid rural foundation, making it associated with rural development and the foundation of agriculture and agricultural development in Karbi Anglong, without which all attempts at agricultural development will be fruitless. It notes that in Karbis society, agriculture is still primarily conventional and is owned by smallholders and pastoralists. Neglecting agriculture has led to a mass exodus of rural inhabitants, which has led to a qualitative and quantitative decline in the population of the rural area and made it less and less intriguing for socioeconomic investment. It comes to the realisation that elevated agricultural growth and development in Karbi Anglong depend substantially on rural development. Therefore, in this study, an effort has been made to highlight the economy and the factors that influence its dependency. Gandhi, a national political figure, mostly relied on populist activism and their economic advancement via the superfluous growth of cottage and small-scale enterprises. It makes an effort to study the Gandhian model of development and assess its applicability in the current setting.