Freedom fighter, economic philosopher, environmentalist and Gandhian constructive worker, Joseph Cornelius Kumarappa (1892–1960) was a man of many parts. Driven by his convictions, he abandoned a life of prosperity and comfort to throw in his lot with that of Mahatma Gandhi. The result was a lifetime spent championing the cause of rural India, both under British Raj and after Independence. Kumarappa was that rare thinker who married theory with practice. He wrote extensively on economic philosophy, political economy, and the fate of agrarian India. Kumarappa’s clear-eyed exposition marked him ... More

Freedom fighter, economic philosopher, environmentalist and Gandhian constructive worker, Joseph Cornelius Kumarappa (1892–1960) was a man of many parts. Driven by his convictions, he abandoned a life of prosperity and comfort to throw in his lot with that of Mahatma Gandhi. The result was a lifetime spent championing the cause of rural India, both under British Raj and after Independence. Kumarappa was that rare thinker who married theory with practice. He wrote extensively on economic philosophy, political economy, and the fate of agrarian India. Kumarappa’s clear-eyed exposition marked him out as the primary advocate of a decentralized economy and an early Indian environmentalist, but he was also a creative interpreter of Christian thought and Sarvodaya. In order to address the pressing needs of the village, he worked on improving village industries that offered a livelihood to millions. If Gandhi’s swaraj was more than political self-rule, it was Kumarappa who gave it economic content and meaning. In turn, he also influenced Gandhi’s own thinking on economic matters. In his fight for economic justice, Kumarappa challenged received wisdom on industrialization and modernity. Seen from this perspective, this book examines the many vital political and economic choices in the crucial decades before and after the pivotal year of 1947, that is, economic planning in the 1930s, Britain’s exploitation of India during the Second World War, agrarian reform in independent India, the Cold Wars shadow on India’s developmental policy, and the response of the Gandhians and the Congress to the challenges of a post-Gandhi era. Based on extensive archival research, this highly readable intellectual biography presents the fascinating story of Kumarappa’s life, work, and ideas that have a strikingly contemporary resonance.