Sarvodaya Movement

Sarvodaya means ‘progress of all’ or ‘Universal uplift’. Gandhi started this Sarvodaya movement, and people consider it an addition to his efforts in his non-violence movement. The main objective of this event was to establish a new India based on non-violence and love. It is an intellectual and powerful movement to develop India’s socio, economic and moral independence.

Sarvodaya movement aims at creating a society that uses politics of co-operation instead of politics of power. The leading preachers of this movement are Jayaprakash Narayan and Acharya Vinoba Bhave. Sarvodaya is an essential topic for UPSC exam aspirants, and this article discusses its details.

IAS aspirants must also refer to the Socio Religious Reform Movements at the linked article.

Objectives of the Movement

Gandhi’s Sarvodaya focused not only on the welfare of the individual citizens but also on the welfare of society as a whole. Here’s why-

• Peace as a weapon- Sarvodaya promotes peace and has no place for non-violence. It believes in self-discipline and self-reliance. This movement also believes in a government that lets people be free and does not approve the use of the state’s power, even if it is meant for the state’s welfare.
• Democratic nation- This movement did not believe in political parties ruling the state. Instead, it suggested that there would be chosen Panchayat heads who take up the final decision. The panchayat heads would be honest people selected by the agreement of the village and not on a political basis.
• Economic equality- Gandhi believed in economic equality and thought it could give financial independence to a nation. For this, equal pay according to labour should be implemented. A non-violent government functions best when there is no vast gulf between the rich and poor.
• Moral and ethical values- Sarvodaya attempts to control the craze for power using manipulative and non-violent ways. As a result, people give up their morals and ethics while achieving power and wealth. Thus, this movement attempts to stop it.
• Spiritualism- This movement believes that spiritual power is above any materialistic philosophy. Thus, it tries to shape people’s ideologies, be it feudal or capitalists. It asks people to focus more on higher and nobler ideas of spiritualism instead of concentrating on shallow thoughts.
• Village council (Gramrajyam) – Sarvodaya believes in a self-sufficient village system. This meant that every village would have a village council composed of one member from each family. It is the overall well-being of the village as a whole.
• Bhoodan movement- Gandhian follower Vinoba Bhave started the Bhoodan movement, also known as Bloodless Revolution, in 1951 while he visited the Ponchampolly village. The objective of this movement was to convince rich people who had a large area of land to give up a part of their land area to the poor.

Also, refer to the following IAS Syllabus related links for reference:

Significance of Sarvodaya Movement

The Sarvodaya movement focused on the welfare of all people. It focuses on the upliftment of both classes in society that is rich and poor. It did not discriminate among humans based on religion, caste, creed, colour, gender or economic and societal status. This movement wanted each human to be treated equally. It wanted to establish a community based on non-violence where freedom and equality prevailed. However, such a society is not ideal in the modern world. Although the thoughts and beliefs are noble, they cannot develop a nation.

This is all for Sarvodaya movement. Aspirants can read this information and also refer to study materials for better preparation.

Aspirants can visit the linked article and get details about the upcoming government exams that comprise current affairs and general awareness as an important topic in the syllabus.

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