Sustainable Commerce and Viksit Bharat: Learnings from Nomadism

The research question the paper addresses is: could a rear view into India’s nomadic economy of the past have implications for the articulation and realisation of the vision of India’s future, Vision Viksit Bharat (VVB) via sustainable commerce? The research question assumes inevitability as reference to, if not reliance upon, ancient wisdom and traditional knowledge (AWTK) as integral to addressing contemporary issues. In this context, even its flip version, would there be a place for nomadic communities - of pastoralists, hunter-gatherers and peripatetic groups - in Viksit Bharat is an equally pertinent question. The paper delves into the learnings from the nomadic commerce and economics of the past to understand potential connections with our common future. In a broader context, the paper explores the resurgence of interest in the social, environmental, and economic aspects of nomadism, as evident in initiatives such as the World Initiative for Sustainable Pastoralism (WISP). The paper vehemently makes a case for active protection of nomadism wherever it exists and also focuses on discerning and extending the economic and environmental contributions of nomadism of the past for an economy, polity and society of the future. In the process, the paper identifies several linkages and pathways to leveraging nomadic wisdom of the past for India’s future as reflected in the Vision Viksit Bharat.