Abstract
Imagining Wholesome Wellbeing of All by J. B. P. Sinha is the first-ever attempt by an Indian psychologist to discuss issues related to the inclusive wellbeing of all and how it can be made possible. The author’s integrative approach includes cultural, economic, political and social components, thus justifying the title ‘Wholesome Wellbeing’. Wholesome wellbeing emanates from living in harmony with nature and our community. Such a lifestyle may be materially modest, but it proves to be rather productive, stress-free, happy and worthwhile. The author further emphasises that if most wellbeing issues are political in nature, then they must be addressed politically. The book also offers a multidisciplinary perspective on model of development.
The author discusses the concepts of economic growth such as the gross domestic product (GDP), which is the primary cause of inequality in India due to concentration of wealth in a few hands. GDP growth invariably increases social and economic inequality of all kinds among the people. An unbridled ambition to make more money (Fromm, 1978) dehumanises the rich, which also causes social, physical and mental stress as well as overall disharmony. The author claims that once Indian masses develop faith in the wholesome wellbeing, they will no longer be misled by caste, religion and other petty politics.
The author traces the genesis of development and wellbeing by engaging with its interpersonal context. Efforts, he argues, must be directed towards achieving desirable changes that provide people with a sense of competence and self-worth that define properties of wellbeing. Learning how to approach positive outcomes while learning to avoid negative outcomes is central to wellbeing. One who does so feels competent and develops self. The book provides an overview of development and in the area of understanding wellbeing. According to Sinha, Islamic and colonial dominance had left behind polarizing influences on communities within nations. The Post Independence national movement and its underlying political philosophy was dominated by Gandhi’s model of Gram Swaraj, Bhoodan, Sarvodaya and the idea of trusteeship. Gandhi was against industrialisation and urbanisation. He posited that cultivating the value of aparigraha (non-possession) while searching for satya (truth) through ahinsa (non-violence) was essential for human wellbeing (Gandhi, 2001). Later on, his ideas were supplanted by Nehru’s socialism which paved the way for industrial development of India. Nehru (1982) was opposed to capitalism which for him was an improper strategy for alleviating poverty.
The first section of the book discusses the influence of religion and caste on politics. The author engages with the views of Mahatma Gandhi in this context who sought to blend religion and politics. It did not work because people played amoral politics and used religion to serve their political purposes. Caste in India is another pervasive and enduring social formation. The caste system, over many centuries, has become so endemic that even non-Hindus (Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians) maintain the caste hierarchy (Singh, 1977). Sinha is of the view that caste, communalism, corruption and capitalism have been the most significant distracters in the path of the right kind of development of the country.
The second part of the book discusses Nehru’s dented idealism that offered only half-baked remedies to problems faced by the people of India. Nehru believed that religion, like caste, is a relic of India’s cultural past and would disappear if India adopted the socialist model of economic development. But this never resulted. People at the bottom of the pyramid have remained neglected, while those at the top bask in glory. A vast majority of people in India remain uneducated or ill-educated. A large number suffer from poor health and live in deplorable conditions. The country did not envisage the kind development that we see around today. Sinha, in view of this, advocates a model of wholesome wellbeing. For this, he feels a paradigm shift will be required. To realise such a healthy wellbeing for all, India will need to reshape its educational, skill-building, health care and productive employment-generating institutions.
This book may be seen as an important contribution towards further development of the concept of a welfare state within the framework of India’s liberal democracy without ‘dented idealism and incomplete solutions’ (p. 201) in the wake of globalisation. Sinha’s book documents the evils of politicizing stances that thwart the central tenets of the welfare state and the wellbeing of people. The book should appeal to policymakers, administrators, social workers, also, scholars interested in working towards the promotion of wholesome wellbeing of the people of India.