J. C. Kumarappa
| J. C. Kumarappa | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Joseph Chelladurai Cornelius Kumarappa January 4, 1892 Thanjavur, Tamilnadu |
| Died | January 30, 1960 (aged 68) Madurai, Tamilnadu |
| Occupation | economist |
| Parent(s) | Solomon Duraisamy, Esther Rajanayagam |
J. C. Kumarappa (born Joseph Chelladurai Cornelius) (4 January 1892 – 30 January 1960) was an Indian economist and a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi. A pioneer of rural economic development theories, Kumarappa is credited for developing economic theories based on Gandhism – a school of economic thought he coined "Gandhian economics."
Joseph Chelladurai Kumarappa was born on 4 January 1892 in Tanjore, present-day Tamil Nadu, into a Christian family. He was the sixth child of Solomon Doraisamy (a Public Works officer) and Esther Rajanayagam. His younger brother, Bharatan Kumarappa (1896–1957), would also become associated with Gandhi and the sarvodaya movement. He changed his name following his return from studying economics and chartered accountancy in Britain in 1919. In 1928 he travelled to the United States to obtain degrees in economics and business administration at Syracuse University and Columbia University, studying under Edwin Robert Anderson Seligman.
On his return to India Kumarappa published an article on the British tax policy and its exploitation of the Indian economy. He met Gandhi in 1929. At Gandhi's request he prepared an economic survey of rural Gujarat, which he published as A Survey of Matar Taluka in the Kheda District (1931). He strongly supported Gandhi's notion of village industries and promoted Village Industries Associations.
Kumarappa worked to combine Christian and Gandhian values of "trusteeship", non-violence and a focus on human dignity and development in place of materialism as the basis of his economic theories. While rejecting socialism's emphasis on class war and force in implementation, he also rejected the emphasis on material development, competition and efficiency in free-market economics. Gandhi and Kumarappa envisioned an economy focused on satisfying human needs and challenges while rooting out socio-economic conflict, unemployment, poverty and deprivation. He was described by M. M. Thomas as one of the "Christians of the inner Gandhi circle" – which included non-Indians such as Charles Freer Andrews, Verrier Elwin and R. R. Keithahn, and Indians such as Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, S.K. George, Aryanayagam and B. Kumarappa, all of whom espoused the philosophy of non-violence. J.C. Kumarappa responded positively to the Indian national renaissance, and he and S.K. George rejected the idea that British rule in India was ordained by divine providence
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