Voluntary Action and Gandhian Approach (A Study of Three Voluntary Movements in India)

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This book, addressed primarily to the youths, is a lively narration of the author's experiences and observations of three voluntary movements-one by the Chipko activists for conservation of forests, the other two by Baba Amte against leprosy and by Smt Ela Bhatt against exploitation of women workers respectively. There is a short chapter on Mahatma Gandhi, which has been written with care but great hesitation because Gandhiji's personality is so fascinating that it is not an easy task to describe him.

D. K. Oza (b. in 1933 in Gujarat), aware of being born in a very dry region, had decided early in his boyhood to do something to make the land of his birth greener. He hoped to be a conservationist. During his early teens he enjoyed reading Mahatma Gandhi's periodicals, especially Harijan Bandhu and Harijan Sevak these journals, though discontinued in the fifties, left an indelible impact on his mind. After graduating from the Gujarat College in Ahmedabad, he joined the Administrative Service in 1957 and a year later left for Tamil Nadu to settle there. During 1987-88, he took leave from work to see for himself the voluntary movements of the 'Chipko' activists in the Himalayas, of Baba Amte in Maharashtra and of Smt Ela Bhatt in Gujarat. He has also worked as Vice-Chancellor of the Gandhigram Rural Institute in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu.

This book is a result of my wanderings in remote areas of the country and the study I made of three voluntary movements in India during 1987-88. The 'Chipko' movement took me to the Himalayas where I go every year; it is an addiction. The movement of Baba Amte drew me to him and gave me a chance of seeing some of the finest forests; and the SEWA movement took me to the severely drought-stricken areas of Gujarat during the hottest months of the year. What I saw and learnt has been presented in this book. I greatly value my experiences since these took me away from the routine of a government official's life.

This book is addressed primarily to the young people of India whose sense of adventure and idealism is the only hope for more such voluntary action in future against unsavoury acts towards man and Nature. Even though the study is based upon research, it avoids technical terms and the inevitable use of difficult words. To help me in this study, I was formally attached to the Gandhigram Rural Institute, a Central University located near Madurai in Tamil Nadu. Shri Devendra Kumar, its Vice-Chancellor and Dr R. Subramanian of the Faculty of Rural Development have helped and guided me in the use of research methodology for my work. I am grateful not only to them but also to Shri Padmanabhan, Chairman of the Gandhigram Trust.