The document summarizes several early rural development projects in India prior to independence in 1947. It describes projects started by individuals like Sir Daniel Hamilton's 1903 scheme of rural reconstruction in West Bengal. It also outlines government-led initiatives like the 1920 Gurgaon experiment in Punjab and the 1946 Firka Development Program in Madras. The objectives of these early efforts included increasing agricultural production, promoting education and sanitation, and improving economic and social conditions of rural communities.

1. By
Dr.Harshita Bhumra
Assistant Professor
Department of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Extension
Education
Apollo College of Veterinary Medicine, Jaipur.
EARLY EXTENSION EFFORTS
IN
INDIA/ PRE INDEPENDENCE PROGRAMS

2. THE CONCEPT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN
INDIA
• The concept of rural development was born in the
context of agriculture and it remained for a long
time continuous with agricultural development.
• Rural development encompasses all sectors of
rural life. In its widest sense, it implies
development of every aspect of rural life.
• Rural development is a strategy designed to
improve the economic and social life of rural
people.
• Rural Development is all about bringing change
among rural community from the traditional way
of living to progressive way of living. It is also
expressed as a movement for progress.

3. RURAL DEVELOPMENT INVOLVES
1. Improvement in levels of weaker sections of the rural population, as
indicated by income, productivity, employment, literary rate, health and
nutrition, infant mortality rate, expectation of life, exposure to mass
media, housing, political participation, status of women, supply of safe
drinking water and similar other minimum needs.
2. Decreasing the inequality in distribution of rural wealth and incomes,
3. Decreasing the inequality in rural-urban imbalances in incomes and
economic opportunities
4. Capacity of the rural sector to sustain and accelerate the pace of the
above mentioned improvement over time

4. The evolution of extension programme is described
in two stages:
• Stage I- Pre-Independence Era (1866-1947)
• Stage II- Post-Independence Era (1947-1953)

5. STAGE I
PRE-INDEPENDENCE ERA (1866-1947)

6. Year Program/Place Person/agency
1903
Scheme of Rural Reconstruction at the Sunderban in W.
Bengal
Sir Daniel Hamilton
1905 Servants of Indian Society Gopala Krishna Gokhale
1920 Gurgaon project Mr. F.L. Brayne
1920 Shriniketan Experiment in Bengal Sri Rabindra Nath Tagore
1920
Gandhian Constructive Program/ Sevagram experiment in
Wardha in Gujarat
Mahatma Gandhi
1928 Marthandam Project in Kerala
Dr. Spencer Hatch
Young Men Christian Association
(YMCA)
1932 Baroda Village Reconstruction project Shree V.T. Krishnamachari
1942
Grow More Food Campaign Agricultural departments of state
governments
1946 Firka Development Program Government of Madras
1947
Indian Village Service Mr. Arther T. Mosher and and B. N.
Gupta
1947 Etawah Pilot Project Lt.col. Albert Mayer
1948 Nilokheri Project S.K.Dey

7. SCHEME OF RURAL RECONSTRUCTION
• In 1903, Sir Daniel Hamilton began a
project of rural development on the basis of
cooperation and started this project in
“Sunderban Village” near West Bengal.
• In 1910 under this programme, Co-
operative Deposit Institute was established.
Along with the savings, the programmes of
health, literacy and small industry were
started.
• In this planning, the emphasis was on
specialized training for unemployed young
farmers to make them self dependent.
• This project continued till 15- 16 years and
after some time it disappeared.

8. • The scheme was organised by an individual without the financial
and moral support of the government.
• The area of operation was small and activities were also limited.
• Involvement of people was also not adequate.
• The staff employed was untrained.

9. SERVANTS OF INDIAN SOCIETY
• This was founded by Gopala Krishna Gokhale
as a political society at Pune, Maharashtra on
12 June, 1905
• It laid strong emphasis on socio-economic and
educational activities.
• The society organized many campaigns to
promote education, sanitation, health care and
fight the social evils of untouchability.
• Later Gokhale started training centres in
Chennai, Madhya Pradesh and published
booklets on basic education and labour
problems.

10. GURGAON EXPERIMENT
The rural upliftment programme on a mass scale was firstly started by
Mr. F. L. Brayne, Deputy Commissioner in Gurgaon District of Punjab in 1920.
According to him the main principle of this experiment was development
on practical basis. He stated "Upto that moment success is not hoped unless the
village people will not take interest in each programme”.
In Gurgaon district, this programme of village development was the first
one to be run by the State.

11. GURGAON PROJECT
• The main objectives of this project were:
1. To increase crop production,
2. To control extra expenditure,
3. To improve the health,
4. Village Sanitation
5. To develop the feeling of women-education, and
6. Home development work.
The programme was manned mainly by voluntary organisation
and paid village guides. Propaganda was done by drama and music to
mould the human thoughts.

12. SHRINIKETAN PROJECT
In 1920, Rabindra Nath Tagore laid the foundation of the Sriniketan Institute for Rural
Reconstruction and formulated a programme for the all-round improvement in the Village of his
Zamindari with the objective of studying rural problems and of helping the Villagers to develop
agriculture, improving the livestock, formation of co-operatives.
Shriniketan is situated about 100 km. away from Calcutta (Kolkata) in West-Bengal
State. This area was backward socially, economically and politically.
Shri Ravindra Nath Tagore began this project of village development in this area with the
help of sociologist L.K. Elmhirst.
Shri Ravindra NathTagore thought that if some villages were developed, the other
villages will get inspiration and the programme of village development will spread all over the
country and thus the whole country would be developed.

13. OBJECTIVE
• To increase the knowledge of rural people.
• To help the rural people in establishing cottage
industry and trained students and leaders in rural
matter.
• To inspire the people to follow new technology.
• Development of dairy farming.
• To create the feeling of co-operation
• To arrange the facility of health and education
• To create the feeling of rural leadership
• To improve village sanitation

14. GANDHIAN CONSTRUCTIVE PROGRAMME/
SEVAGRAM EXPERIMENT
Mahatma Gandhi started this programme in 1920 at Sevagram. Later it was
extended to Wardha in 1938.
Principle:
Helping the people to help themselves.
Objectives:
1. To serve the under privileged villagers.
2. To make the villagers self sufficient and self reliant.
3. To develop the power and courage in rural people, so that they stand up in
opposite of oppression and injustice.
4. To provide services to the underprivileged for achieving self dependency and
basic education to the people.

15. MARTHENDAM PROJECT
Dr. Spencer Hatch of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) set up a Project in
1921 at Martandam, 25 miles south of Thiruvananthapuram.
The purpose of this experiment was to bring about a complete upward development
towards a more complete and meaningful life for rural people.
This village was undeveloped economically and the economic condition of the native
majority was poor. The objectives of the project were:
• Spiritual Development
• Mental Development
• Physical Development
• Social Development
• Economic Development
The major achievements of the programme were the change in the attitudes of the rural
people, formation of a desire to improve the spirit of cooperation and self-respect.

16. This movement was started by V.T. Krishnachari in 1932 in the Baroda. In the first
instant its objective was to bring about a rapid increase in standards of living,
industrialization and rapid expansion of the educational system.
The second objective was to increase agricultural production through the provision
of basic necessities for the development of the same.
Objectives
(1) To improve the life style of rural people rapidly.
(2) To spread education and industrialization.
(3) To develop the necessary factors for the progress of agriculture.
• Many programmes such as gardening, poultry-farming, bee-keeping, spinning and
weaving were organized.
• Re-stabilization of Panchayats and other programmes of village progress were
organized.
• The adult education had been extended.
BARODA VILLAGE RECONSTRUCTION
PROJECT

17.  This campaign, started in 1942, was continued after getting
the independence.
 The main object of this campaign was to fulfill the need of
food, which had been created due to the Second World War.
 This campaign was the first one to be organized on a
national level.
 In this campaign, the new seeds and chemical fertilizers
were distributed among the farmers.
 Agricultural departments of state governments organized
this campaign.
GROW MORE FOOD CAMPAIGN

18. Achievements
• After spending a lot of money, some problems were tackled in the end.
• The crop production increased due to new seeds and chemical fertilizers
provided to the farmers.
• From this campaign, the production of cotton and jute increased appropriately.
Limitations
• Its work field was limited.
• The campaign was deemed to be temporary hence the work was done.
• The economic help, the distribution of good seeds and fertilizers could be
available only on some places.

19. FIRKA DEVELOPMENT SCHEME
The Firka Development scheme of Madras was a Government sponsored
Scheme in 1946 this programme aimed at organizing the villagers for a Happier,
more prosperous and fuller life in which the individual villagers had the opportunity
to develop both as an individual and as a unit of a well-integrated society.
The short term objectives of the scheme was to develop basic amenities
and an institutional framework for carrying out communication, water supply,
sanitation, formation of local self-governments (i.e. panchayats) and cooperatives:
'The long term objectives were to attain self-sufficiency in food, Clothing,
shelter, development of agriculture, animal husbandry, khadi and village industries."

20.  The first programme began in 1947 in 34 firkas throughout the state and on 1950
it was extended to another 50 firkas.
 The selection of firkas was based on the consideration of general backwardness
of the area and the possibilities of identification of the production of cloth khadi
and cottage industry.
 Among Pre Independence project, this was the biggest project.
 A firka development officers was selected from among the social worker and
appointed for 2 to 3 firkas.
 Each firka was divided into 5 to 10 groups of villages which were put in charge
of gram sevak.
 The collector was incharge of the scheme in the district level.
FIRKA DEVELOPMENT SCHEME

21. (1)All-round development of rural people
(2)To develop the means of drinking water and
communication.
(3)To develop the committees of panchayat and
co-operatives.
(4)To develop animal husbandry, farming and
irrigation facilities.
(5)To introduce khadi and cottage

22.  It was founded by Mr. Arther T. Mosher of New York and B. N.
Gupta in 1947. Residents of 15 villages near Allahabad were
beneficiaries of this programme.
Objectives
• To assist the villagers to realize their best in their own villages.
• Developing individuals and local agencies.
• To enable them to be effective in helping themselves and
others.
• Assisting government in developing villages.
INDIAN VILLAGE SERVICE

23. The idea of starting this project was conceived and born in 1947. It
was put into action with headquarters at Mahewa village about 17 miles from
Etawah (U.P.) in September, 1948. First 64 villages, which were then
increased to 97, were covered under this project.
Lt.col. Albert Mayer of USA, who came to India with the American
forces in 1944, was the originator of this project for his scheme, assistance
was given by USA and UP Government.
ETAWAH PILOT PROJECT

24.  To see what degree of production and social
improvement, initiative and co-operation could be
obtained from a compact area.
 To see how quickly results could be achieved.
 To see whether results achieved could be permanent
and reproducible in other area.

25. NILOKHERI PROJECT
The project was initiated by S.K.Dey and It was started to settle the 7000
displaced persons (from Pakistan) and later integrated with 100 villages surrounding
Nilokheri. It was built around the vocational training centre that was transferred from
Kurukshetra in July 1948 to the 100 acres of Swampy land on Delhi Ambala highway.
This scheme was called "Mazdoor Manzil".
Objectives:
• Self sufficiency for rural cum urban township in all essential requirements of life.
• Making provision of work and training for the people according to their native
background.
• To eliminate the middle men.
• To enable transactions between the consumer and the producer, to approach a
vertical order.