Reforms in land-agricultural system, political governance, and financial management have led to a landmark stage of economic progress, with India’s GDP rate higher than many emerging market economies. This volume explores the reasons why India has fared better than other emerging market economies, and whether other countries can take inspiration from this model and rebuild their own countries based on their national resources, cultural heritage, and the capacity to interact globally.

The book is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘India of my Dreams’. It would be entirely unrealistic to claim that India’s development model is all positive or meets the standards of India of Gandhi’s dreams. Gandhi was a great proponent of the self-sufficiency of villages and of the bourgeoning of cottage industries. However, in present day India, debt-ridden farmers’ suicide rates are drastic and the crafts are dying. In finding answers to why this is so, the volume looks at the failures in the development of cottage industries, whether the efforts of NGOs in this regard are sufficient, and whether Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach would complement Gandhi’s ‘self-sufficiency of villages’ perspective in order to preserve crafts and indigenous production systems while continuing with industrialization and agrarian reforms.