COVID – 19 opened many new things before the human population that needs attention to know about this evolving scenario. As we discussed in our understanding, global travel and trade of livestock across various micro climatic regions originates from epidemic /pandemic globally. Global initiative to coloured all development projects in a single universal norm posed questions on certain grounded logics. The concept of development with continuity is key to balanced and sustained strategy both for ecology and perspective for people participation in production as well consumption. But production –induced changes under pressure of big corporate houses, changes in land use with emergence of disease and ultimately threats for indigenous population, their cultural practices and inheritance knowledge. Growing genetic monocultures –food animals and plants with nearly identical genomes-removes the immune system and defeats the role of healthy people to enhance the process of human resource development. It also minimizes the role of inherited land knowledge integrated practices in the form of our ancient cultural heritages that played in more diverse populations; slow down transmission of disease, and promote productive assets. Actually, the varying geographical phenomenon associated with particular places that unsystematically evolved through micro spatial ecology, confined with multiple layers of knowledge.
This knowledge system is represented by worldwide existing language/dialects (more than 6000) in different communities across the globe.
It can also be treated as custodian of accumulated knowledge by people in their inhabitant; as the best example of the Indian village system. In depth analysis of Indian villages provides many valuable things that may be helpful in using ancient knowledge to meet present day challenges both physical as well spiritual.
During ancient times, the Indian village system was ‘self supporting and independent, ‘that show autonomy of villages and its people because they designed their knowledge to fulfill all needs of ongoing life. This acquiring knowledge remained within societies as tradition and it was unwritten and not conceptualized in the term of the modern knowledge system.
The continuity of ancient knowledge got disrupted which accumulated through generation to generation in the process of development of civilization. This historical intervention in our country disturbed our sovereign knowledge system and posed on rural people through power without considering local people and their geographical reality.
In this context, our villages and its evolutionary system provided information that may be regarded as beneficial to us in the era of globalization.
Our village system right from its inception tried to identify resource base and established its relation with physiographic /geographical suitability as location to group of population. Being an ancient most system Indian village having many rich layers of knowledge that never became parts of our mainstream formal knowledge in a systematic and organized way. We are less concerned about undocumented and scattered knowledge that prevailed in rural society- place of village. It also reveals how we are experiencing a very small area for local languages with changing essence and flavored.
In Deccan it is very common that the boundary of Maratha speech shows a striking accordance with the edge of Lavas. These facts influenced the rural village system in diverse way and promote plurality in social and cultural practices across India. In spite of having great importance and valuable skill we failed to complete its proper documentation from informal sector of rural/village. A system that survived for more than five thousand years with its ‘self supporting –independent’ characteristics have reasons to enquire the soul of system which facilitate since long back in a very caring, friendly and natural way.
This system supported lots in way of its contribution towards the need of health, food, housing, recreational urges and other spiritual day to day demands. Undoubtedly, this rich traditional knowledge of rural society has many potential in formulating our contemporary development policy.
Now a day the increasing space of mechanization is continuously suppressed the informal knowledge system of rural communities and creates threats for employment, economy and people. But we must remind ourselves that this knowledge is precious to us and gifted by our ancestor with great sacrifices. Our journey in way of modernization could never be completed without considering the area specific conditions and rational behind the dynamics of development.
The rural society demarcated that every two kilometer in water quality and after 10 KM local dialects have been changed its nature in accordance with associated landscape phenomenon. It produced substantial knowledge with interaction of their varying nature and land resources.
The land knowledge interactive process is in real sense can be regarded as production of nature in form of resources. This needs proper attention by entrepreneurs, academia, and policy makers to start route mapping for evolutionary processes of land knowledge capital and its system. The post corona livelihood risk, food insecurity and health, especially in tropical countries, emerged in bigger way and put challenges and opportunities both to large chunk of population of EAST.
Rural society of East has an alternative model as inheritance of natural productive mechanism evolved through inner dynamics of land with participation of locally inhabitants. Gandhi was admirer of this village productive system and he said, “the ultimate solution for fighting poverty was not mass production but production by masses.” Gandhi derived his idea through in-depth study of rural economy and its people. He always said,’ India cannot be understood by scholarly books and prosperous urban center.
If anyone wants to know about India then he must go to see more than six lacks villages. Villages are the custodian of people knowledge and productive skill which needs to be saved by agencies of corporate development. The documentation of all informal sector skill is an emergent task by all policy makers and developers. Traditional skill and folk arts of village society covered large range of human needs right from health, food, and comfort for decent standard in life. Moreover, post corona world will be tried to find out the solution for its future peace, prosperity and growth. It is high time to reinvestigate our development strategy and turn in such way that could relate its focus towards nature friendly land knowledge productive policy. This policy may ensure mass participation in all spheres of productive life. It also ensures knowledge of people, production by mass and consumption by people!