Deendayal

Deendayal is a concept in Indian philosophy and politics that emphasizes the importance of self-reliance and indigenous development. It was popularized by Vajpayee's government in India, which established the Deendayal Research Institute in 1972. The institute aimed to develop rural India through self-reliance and decentralization, based on the principles of Gandhian socialism and Integral Humanism.

The term Deendayal is often associated with the ideas of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, a prominent Indian politician and social thinker who was a key figure in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS). Upadhyaya's philosophy of Integral Humanism emphasized the need for self-reliance and indigenous development, as he believed that India should find its own path to progress and development rather than adopting Western models.

Deendayal Research Institute later became the National Foundation for Communal Harmony, again during the Vajpayee government. The institute's mission is to work towards the goal of Cooperative-Competitive Futurism, where economies and communities work together for mutual growth. According to this approach, development is perceived as a cooperative process driven by institutions that support self-reliance.

In recent years, the term Deendayal has gained increased relevance in Indian politics, particularly in the context of economic development and rural transformation. Some researchers associate Deendayal with a Gram Swaraj ideology which focuses on democratic decentralization at the level of villages. According to them, Deendayal was aiming at taking the governance directly to the villagers to fulfill all their needs.

Overall, Deendayal represents an Indian approach to development that emphasizes self-reliance, decentralization, and people-centered development.