| In the literature, economic development has been defined as “a process of improving
the quality of all human lives’(Todaro, 1994), which emphasizes three important aspects: raising
income and consumption; fostering self-esteem through institutions that promote human dignity
and respect and increasing people’s freedom”. Nobel laureate Professor Amartya Sen, (1999) is
of the view that development is actually a process of expanding real freedoms that people can
enjoy through (i) political freedoms, (ii) economic facilities, (iii) social opportunities, (iv)
transparency guarantees and (v) protective security; which help progress the general capability
of a person. Another Nobel laureate of Bengal, versatile Rabindranath Tagore expressed the idea
of ‘freedom’ in his words as: “the departure of the foreign rulers would not give us freedom
which should be made meaningful by rural reconstruction.” |