Beyond Development: Rethinking Progress Through a Holistic Lens

We speak of development as though it has only one direction: forward.

A new road, a new industry, a new building, a higher income, a new technology—these are often presented as signs of progress. And certainly, development can transform lives. But I have often wondered: development for whom, and at what cost?

This question becomes particularly important when we speak about tribal communities in Odisha.

For many tribal communities, land is not simply a piece of property. Forests are not merely resources. Rivers, hills and fields are woven into livelihoods, traditions, memories and ways of life passed from one generation to another. To look at development only through economic indicators is therefore to see only a part of the picture.

Development must begin with people

Tribal development cannot be meaningful if communities are treated merely as beneficiaries of development programmes. Their knowledge, experiences and aspirations must be part of the conversation.

A community may gain a road but lose access to its forest. It may gain employment but lose a traditional livelihood. A project may bring economic growth while quietly weakening the social and cultural fabric that has sustained people for generations.

These are some of the questions that also find their way into my writing. In Prajacourt, I explored the realities of people living at the intersection of power, society and injustice. The story is not simply about an individual or a particular community; it asks us to look more closely at the systems that shape people's lives, and what happens when those who are most affected by decisions are the least heard in making them. Literature, for me, is one way of bringing those overlooked questions into the light.

This does not mean tribal communities should be kept outside the development process. Quite the opposite. They deserve development that listens to them.

What does sustainable development really mean?

Sustainability is often reduced to protecting the environment. But true sustainable development must also ask whether people can sustain their livelihoods, communities and cultures.

For me, holistic development must bring together several things: people, environment, livelihoods, culture and dignity.

These cannot be treated as separate concerns.

Traditional knowledge, for instance, can offer valuable ways of understanding forests, agriculture, water and biodiversity. Such knowledge deserves not only preservation, but respect. At the same time, communities should have access to education, healthcare, technology and economic opportunities that allow them to shape their own futures.

The answer, then, is not to choose between tradition and modernity.

It is to ask how the two can meet without one erasing the other.

Rethinking what we call progress

Perhaps the most important shift should be in the way we define “progress”.

A society does not become truly developed merely because its buildings become taller or its economy becomes larger. Development becomes meaningful when people are able to live with security, dignity and opportunity—without being forced to surrender the land, culture and identity that give their lives meaning.

For me, this is where the idea of holistic development begins.

Not development imposed from above, but development shaped with people.

Not progress measured only by what we build, but also by what we preserve.

And not a future that asks communities to leave their past behind, but one that allows them to carry their knowledge, identity and dignity forward.