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Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2022/Paper II/Applied & Forensic Anthropology
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper II 2022 15 Marks Model Answer Available

Anthropological Perspective on Development — 2022 Paper II

Question · 2022 · Paper II · 15 Marks

Briefly describe the anthropological perspective on development. How have anthropologists contributed in India's rural development?

Model Answer

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Approach

Demand of Question: Explain what makes an anthropological approach to development distinctive and show concrete contributions to rural development in India, including both applied work and critical reflection.

Structuring the Response: Define development anthropology; explain holism, emic perspective, participation and cultural fit; discuss Indian contributions through village studies, community development, tribal/rural planning and participatory methods; add critical “anthropology of development” perspective.

Key Dimensions to Cover: Applied anthropology; Sol Tax/action anthropology; S.C. Dube and Community Development; M.N. Srinivas—dominant caste/faction; L.P. Vidyarthi—Nature-Man-Spirit complex; B.K. Roy Burman; ethnography, PRA/RRA and social impact; Escobar/Ferguson critique of technocratic development.

Model Answer

Introduction: Anthropology treats development not merely as the economic growth of income or infrastructure, but as planned social change embedded in culture, power, ecology, and local institutions. Its rigorous fieldwork tradition asks how people define well-being for themselves and why technically sound top-down schemes often produce unintended consequences.

The Anthropological Perspective on Development:

  • Holism and Cultural Fit: Anthropology links the economy with kinship, caste, gender, religion, and ecology. Cultural relativism ensures that development models are adapted to fit local realities rather than forced upon them.
  • The Emic Perspective: Through participant observation, anthropologists capture the "insider’s view," revealing local priorities that macro-economic surveys routinely miss.
  • Action Anthropology: Pioneered by Sol Tax, this approach stresses active participation and collaborative problem-solving with communities, rather than treating them as passive subjects.
  • Critical Anthropology of Development: Scholars like Arturo Escobar and James Ferguson have critically shown how Western development discourse can depoliticize structural inequality, framing political problems as mere technical issues requiring bureaucratic intervention.

Contributions of Anthropologists to India’s Rural Development:

  1. Evaluation of Early Rural Programs:
  • S.C. Dube: In his seminal evaluation of the Community Development Programme (CDP) in India’s Changing Villages, Dube demonstrated that local leadership, caste factions, and communication gaps heavily influenced program outcomes, explaining why the CDP primarily benefited rural elites.
  • M.N. Srinivas: His concept of the "Dominant Caste" explained the rural power matrix, highlighting how land-owning dominant castes capture the benefits of Panchayati Raj institutions and agrarian reforms.
  1. Culturally Sensitive Planning:
  • L.P. Vidyarthi: Proposed the Nature-Man-Spirit Complex based on his study of the Maler tribe. This emphasized that rural/tribal economic development (Man-Nature) cannot succeed if it violates their cosmological and religious beliefs (Man-Spirit).
  • B.K. Roy Burman: Argued strongly for recognizing customary land rights and local participatory models over top-down bureaucratic control in tribal and rural planning.
  1. Methodological and Contemporary Contributions:
  • Participatory Methods: Anthropologists popularized PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) and RRA (Rapid Rural Appraisal), allowing rural communities to map their own resources and needs.
  • Social Impact Assessment (SIA): Ethnographic methods are now statutory requirements for assessing the displacement and rehabilitation impacts of dams, mining, and infrastructure projects.
  • Contemporary Application: Today, anthropological insights are crucial in tailoring saturation schemes like PM-JANMAN (for PVTGs) to ensure culturally appropriate housing, or understanding local water cosmologies for the successful behavioral-change aspects of the Jal Jeevan Mission.

Critical Appraisal: Applied anthropology risks becoming technocratic if it treats local culture merely as an "obstacle" to be managed for state projects. Its strongest and most ethical role is to make development initiatives accountable to local knowledge, constitutional rights, and community agency.

Conclusion: Anthropology improves rural development by connecting micro-level ethnography with wider structures of power. By dismantling the myth of the undifferentiated "beneficiary," it ensures that rural development addresses the intersecting realities of caste, class, and gender, making people active participants in their own progress.

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