Gandhian and Marxist Approaches to Decentralised Governance in India: Points of Similarity

A discussant is expected to comment upon the keynote addresses and thereby extend the discussion further. I am unable to do so in the present context for more than one reason. 1 Instead, let me take a detour and present a point of possible coincidence between the Gandhian approach to decentralised governance and the Marxist2 approach to the same as enunci- ated by E.M.S. Namboodiripad, the Marxist ideologue and the twice chief minister of Kerala. The attempt is to reread Gandhian approach to decentralisation in the light of thoughts on the subject as expressed by E.M.S. Namboodiripad. Gandhi’s thoughts and E.M.S. Namboodiripad’s ap- proaches were markedly separated by considerable time as well as contexts. Therefore, what is to be presented here is not to be taken as an argument that E.M.S. Namboodiripad thought in the same way as Gandhi on the subject.