Instant Scholar: Development as freedom - an India perspective by Amartya Sen

Time of India

5 days ago

When Nobel laureate
Amartya Sen
published Development as Freedom in 1999, he reshaped the global discourse on economic development. Moving away from the narrow focus on income or GDP,
Sen
argued that freedom is both the primary objective and the principal means of development. His thesis laid the foundation for what is now termed the capability approach, a framework that sees development as the expansion of people's capabilities—their real freedoms to lead the kind of lives they have reason to value.
Nowhere is this framework more relevant than in India, a country grappling with economic disparity, social stratification, and democratic aspirations. Sen's insights, drawn partly from his own experiences growing up in British India and later as an economist engaged with policymaking, offer a moral and philosophical compass for India's journey toward inclusive development.
Freedom as the Ends and Means of Development
At the heart of Sen's thesis is a simple but radical idea: development is the process of expanding human freedoms. These freedoms are not just political or civil but also include economic opportunities, access to
education
and healthcare,
social inclusion
, and protective security.
Sen identifies five types of instrumental freedoms:
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Political freedoms – Free speech, democratic participation, and accountability.
Economic facilities – Access to resources, employment, and production.
Social opportunities – Education, healthcare, gender equality.
Transparency guarantees – Institutional openness, trust in governance.
Protective security – Social safety nets for the vulnerable.
These components are interconnected; for instance, education enhances economic opportunity, which in turn strengthens political participation. In India, where disparities are vast, ensuring access to these freedoms remains a central development challenge.
India's Economic Growth: Unequal and Unjust?
India has experienced substantial GDP growth over the past few decades, particularly after the liberalisation reforms of 1991. However, Sen cautions that growth without human development is incomplete. In his words, 'there is no automatic connection between economic growth and human freedom.'
India's progress is often undermined by stark contrasts. On one hand, it is the world's fifth-largest economy; on the other, it continues to grapple with malnutrition, illiteracy, poor health outcomes, and widening inequality. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) reports show that over one-third of Indian children are stunted, and anemia affects more than half of women aged 15–49.
Sen critiques India's overreliance on trickle-down economics, arguing that public investment in health and education has been insufficient. 'India has managed to achieve economic growth with a disgraceful neglect of the social sector,' he once noted. This mismatch is precisely what the Development as Freedom approach seeks to correct.
Public Policy through the Capability Lens
Sen's framework reframes the role of the state. Rather than acting merely as an enabler of market growth, the state should actively expand citizens' capabilities—what they can do and be. This implies a rights-based approach to policy design: education, healthcare, food, and employment are not handouts but entitlements.
Some Indian policy innovations reflect this shift:
The Right to Education Act (RTE) gave legal teeth to the notion of education as a fundamental right.
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) empowered the rural poor with wage-based employment and social dignity.
The Public Distribution System (PDS) and the National Food Security Act aimed to ensure food as a right, not a charity.
While these policies have had implementation challenges, they represent a shift toward institutionalising freedom and capability—a central theme in Sen's work.
Democracy and Public Reason in Indian Context
Sen places high value on democracy not just as a form of government but as a form of public reasoning. He argues that political freedoms and open debate enable societies to prioritise people's real needs. This has direct implications for India, the world's largest democracy, where the freedom to dissent and discuss shapes the developmental agenda.
A well-known illustration is his argument that famines do not occur in functioning democracies. Drawing from India's experience, Sen showed that democratic institutions—free press, electoral competition, civil society—act as checks against catastrophic failures. The Bengal famine of 1943, which occurred under British colonial rule, contrasts with India's post-independence record, where mass starvation has been largely absent despite recurring droughts.
Yet, Sen warns that democracy in form is not enough. In recent years, concerns over democratic backsliding in India—curbs on press freedom, judicial independence, and civil liberties—threaten the very instruments that ensure equitable development. For Sen, democracy must remain inclusive, participatory, and deliberative, not just majoritarian.
Gender Justice and Social Inclusion
Another area where Development as Freedom intersects sharply with Indian realities is gender justice. Sen famously coined the phrase 'missing women' to describe the millions of girls and women whose lives are cut short due to gender-based discrimination—through sex-selective abortion, inadequate healthcare, and systemic neglect.
In India, despite progress in female literacy and labour participation, deeply embedded patriarchal norms still restrict women's freedoms. The capability approach demands not only formal equality but substantive freedom—real choices and empowerment. This is seen in movements pushing for women's reservation in legislatures, greater access to healthcare, and stronger protections against gender-based violence.
Sen's framework also encourages reflection on caste, tribal identity, and religion—factors that shape social exclusion in India. He calls for policies that enhance the capabilities of marginalised communities, not merely by offering quotas or subsidies but by improving foundational systems like education, nutrition, and justice delivery.
COVID-19 and the Fragility of Freedoms
The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the vulnerabilities in India's developmental model. Millions of migrant workers were stranded during lockdowns, lacking basic food, shelter, or transport. The healthcare system was overwhelmed, and education access declined sharply due to the digital divide.
Sen, along with fellow economist Jean Drèze, wrote during the pandemic that India needed to prioritise universal access to healthcare, employment support, and education continuity, not just economic stimulus. The crisis reaffirmed the urgency of investing in human capabilities to build a more resilient and equitable society.
The Global Impact and Continued Relevance
Beyond India, Development as Freedom has influenced UNDP's Human Development Index,
World Bank
policy papers, and numerous national development strategies. In India, its relevance has only deepened. As the country eyes a future of technological prowess and global influence, Sen reminds us that true development is not about what a country produces, but about what its people are free to become.
From climate resilience to AI ethics, from rural health to urban inequality—India's policy questions today demand a framework that is moral, inclusive, and human-centred. Sen provides that foundation.
Towards a Freedom-Centred Future
Amartya Sen's Development as Freedom challenges India to rethink its development model—not as a race for GDP growth but as a commitment to human dignity, equality, and justice. In a country of 1.4 billion people with immense diversity and disparity, the real challenge is not just how to grow, but how to grow with freedom.
India's development story will be richer and more just when it is rooted in the expansion of freedoms—for women and men, for rich and poor, for urban and rural, for all castes and communities. Sen's vision is not just an economic theory; it is a call to action for democratic India to fulfil the promises it made in its Constitution—liberty, equality, and fraternity—for every citizen.
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