Maia Ramnath - Decolonizing Anarchism.pdf - Libcom

200 I Ramnath
converging to the single goal of the good of the community
and it, members:' The base units fo r this hypothetical social
structure would be "neither so small that a balanced development
of co 111m una I life and culture becomes difficult, nor
so large that life in them becomes impersonalized. They will
be neither rural nor urban, but ... based on a balance of agriculture
and industry, making full use of science and technology
to serve their ends." They would be "self-governing,
self-sufficient, agro-industrial, urbo-rural communities."!>l
These would then fe derate at the district, provincial, and
finally national levels, from the base upward.
If possible, large cities would be reorganized into
smaller federated communities. In each village the gram
sabha would consist of all adult members, from which the
five-member gram panchayat council would be chosen by
consensus. Their duties would be to make sure that all village
members had acces, to food, clothing, shelter, education,
and medical care. Most things would be taken care of
by those immediately involved. As responsibilities moved
up the levels by indirect election from panchayat samids to
district councils and state assemblies. the natioml parliament
would deal only with defense, fo reign rclations, interstate
coordination, and currency.62
Again, it's crucial to note thatJP acknowledged the innovation
of such an arrangement: it was not a return to the
past (as right-wing antimodernists might wish, restoring
a time ofBrahminic/patriarchal supremacy). These were
"communities of the future."63
JP continued to elaborate these ideas in the 1961
"Swaraj fo r the People;' which dealt with the transition to