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Antyodaya and Inclusive Development: Tracing the Ancient Roots of a Modern Policy Principle from Ramayana and Mahabharata to Deendayal Upadhyaya
Author(s): Mool Raj, Prof. Inder Singh Thakur.
Authors Affiliations:
Mool Raj, Ph.D. Research Scholar and ICSSR Fellow, Central University of Himachal Pradesh.
Prof. Inder Singh Thakur, Centre for Deendayal Upadhyay Studies, Central University of Himachal Pradesh.
The concept of Antyodaya—the rise of the last and most marginalised person in society—occupies a central place in the political philosophy of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya and constitutes one of his most enduring contributions to Indian social and political thought. This paper argues that Antyodaya is not an innovation without precedent but rather the modern policy articulation of a welfare ideal deeply embedded in the Rajadharma tradition of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Through a close reading of primary textual sources—particularly the ideal of Ramarajya in the Valmiki Ramayana, the welfare maxims of the Mahabharata's Shantiparva, and Upadhyaya's foundational lectures on Integral Humanism—this study traces a continuous philosophical lineage connecting ancient conceptions of praja-palana (welfare of the governed) to the principle of inclusive development as articulated in contemporary policy discourse. The paper further situates Antyodaya in relation to comparable concepts in modern development theory, including Amartya Sen's Capability Approach, John Rawls's Difference Principle, and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal of 'Leaving No One Behind.' It argues that while these Western frameworks independently arrive at similar normative conclusions, Antyodaya is philosophically distinctive in grounding the welfare imperative not in contractarian rationality or capability metrics alone, but in the Dharmic obligation of the powerful toward the vulnerable—an obligation understood as constitutive of legitimate governance itself. The paper concludes that Antyodaya, properly understood, offers both a philosophically robust and culturally grounded framework for evaluating development policy in contemporary India.
Mool Raj, Prof. Inder Singh Thakur. (2026); Antyodaya and Inclusive Development: Tracing the Ancient Roots of a Modern Policy Principle from Ramayana and Mahabharata to Deendayal Upadhyaya, Shikshan Sanshodhan : Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, ISSN(o): 2581-6241, Volume – 9, Issue – 8, Available on – https://shikshansanshodhan.researchculturesociety.org/
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