Refresher Course on C4D: Session-I : 23 October, 2017
Professor K.V Nagaraj in his first session discussed at length about the concept of development in the present context. He stated that though development as a concept is as ancient as human civilization , yet men over the years have made the development process continuous and constant. Having its roots in ‘Demography’ , popularly known as population studies, one cannot ignore the social, political and cultural dimensions of development . A Tunisian demographer and thinker, Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) has been credited for having described development as part of economic endeavours the views of which according to Professor Nagaraj was later propagated by renowned economists like Adam Smith and Ricardo. Most of the experts in the respective field talk about holistic and sustainable development instead of just concentrating on the economic aspects of it. Professor Nagaraj said that the process of development has not taken place on an equal footing the world over. In fact, he said that is a certain wave of development leading to a positive change may be good for a country like the US but may not be feasible for a developing country like India. The media often paints a rosy picture of the West in terms of its economic might, but the hard reality cannot be easily fathomed by the common masses. This brings to light the biggest ‘paradox of development’. Professor Nagaraj specifically cited the example of the People’s Republic of China wherein he said that the Chinese have acquired a penchant for imitating the goals and ideals of the industrialized nations even though a major portion of the inhabitants live in squalid conditions. Coming back to the issue of media acting as the fourth estate of democracy, he said that very often media does not focus on the important stories but rather on those stories which are most likely to grab eyeballs of the readers/viewers leading to a better TRP.
Professor K.V Nagaraj in his first session discussed at length about the concept of development in the present context. He stated that though development as a concept is as ancient as human civilization , yet men over the years have made the development process continuous and constant. Having its roots in ‘Demography’ , popularly known as population studies, one cannot ignore the social, political and cultural dimensions of development . A Tunisian demographer and thinker, Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) has been credited for having described development as part of economic endeavours the views of which according to Professor Nagaraj was later propagated by renowned economists like Adam Smith and Ricardo. Most of the experts in the respective field talk about holistic and sustainable development instead of just concentrating on the economic aspects of it. Professor Nagaraj said that the process of development has not taken place on an equal footing the world over. In fact, he said that is a certain wave of development leading to a positive change may be good for a country like the US but may not be feasible for a developing country like India. The media often paints a rosy picture of the West in terms of its economic might, but the hard reality cannot be easily fathomed by the common masses. This brings to light the biggest ‘paradox of development’. Professor Nagaraj specifically cited the example of the People’s Republic of China wherein he said that the Chinese have acquired a penchant for imitating the goals and ideals of the industrialized nations even though a major portion of the inhabitants live in squalid conditions. Coming back to the issue of media acting as the fourth estate of democracy, he said that very often media does not focus on the important stories but rather on those stories which are most likely to grab eyeballs of the readers/viewers leading to a better TRP.
Everett
Roger’s concept of Diffusion of Innovation occupies an important place in the realm
of development. Professor Nagaraj rightly pointed out the fact that innovative
practices can go a long way in strengthening the economy of a country. He even
said that there is also a certain degree of ambiguity involved as far as social
change (which is increasingly being replaced nowadays by the word social
inclusion or exclusion) is concerned. This is because, changes in the society
can take place only if the people are willing to embrace the notion of
development whilst keeping the indigenous resources intact. Nonetheless
development too comes with its own fair share of anti-social elements, the
biggest amongst them being corruption which is deeply ingrained in the society.
Professor Nagaraj said that corruption is rampant even in the most industrialized
nations of the world which in the long
run causes more harm than good.
Refresher Course on C4D: Session- II: 23 October, 2017
In
continuation with the first session, Professor Nagaraj specifically highlighted
some of the important definitions of development such as the one given by the
father of Economics, Adam Smith when he says , ‘Development is the ability to
mix with others without being ashamed to appear in public’ (Human Development
Report, 1990). In this context Professor Nagaraj mentioned some of the key
choices like political freedom, guaranteed human rights and self-respect to
name a few that contributes towards human development. Another important point
that he touched upon was the concept of ‘distributive justice’ and its relation
with development which refers to that society in which incidental inequalities
in outcome do not arise.
The
Human Development Index as cited by UNDP focuses on education, health and
employment as the three core areas of development. Professor Nagaraj said that
along with the three facets of development as provided by UNDP , social
movements too fall under the purview of development. As against this, the tiny
Himalayan region of Bhutan has even developed the Gross National Happiness
Index in which they have equated development with happiness. Professor Nagaraj
mentioned the fact that for the purpose of development discourses, the world
has been divided into first world (western democratic and industrialized
nations), second world led by the erstwhile Soviet Union and the third world
comprising the developing nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Accordingly societies have also been divided as industrialized north and
agricultural south. As far as the dimensions of modernization is concerned,
Professor Nagaraj said that the parameters are basically economic in nature
such as the consumption power of various resources like power, food and paper
besides education, health, employment and per capita income.
Replying
to a question on the concept of modernity that is prominent among the Mizo
people, Professor Nagaraj said that though a certain section of the population
adapted to the westernized way of living, yet they have remained loyal to their
roots. Lastly, he said that media can act as the complementary and
supplementary support to the developmental agencies. This is because media
alone cannot bring about a change and development in the society. Rather it can
enhance the development process by portraying the society in a positive light.
Third Session :
Ice-breaking
Time : 3.15 pm – 4.45
pm
The
participants were given a tour of the Mass Communication department of Gauhati
University where they interacted with the students of the first semester
programme. This exercise was meant to instill a feeling of bonhomie cutting
across all barriers.
Report prepared by Dr. Trisha D Baruah
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