JC Kumarappa: TN's forgotten economist

C Kumarappa (1892-1960) was a man of many facets with great distinction. He was a thinker who was ahead of his time and an economist that successive governments at the centre likened him as an idealist than a rare visionary who combined theory with practice.

- Ramu Manivannan

C Kumarappa (1892-1960) was a man of many facets with great distinction. He was a thinker who was ahead of his time and an economist that successive governments at the centre likened him as an idealist than a rare visionary who combined theory with practice. He laid the foundations of Gandhian economics in India with original economic thought located in the classical worldview of integral relationship between human beings, nature and development.

Kumarappa believed that the only social order was one what he called the "the economy of permanence" wherein human beings are content to live in harmony with nature in order to meet their needs without disrupting the natural patterns of growth and renewal. He also contended that the vision of "economy of permanence" could best be realized through a decentralised model of economic planning based on the concept of village as a basic and core concept of self-sufficient unit with optimum usage and application of local resources.

Kumarappa was a graduate in history from Madras Christian College, Chennai and took to accountancy as a qualified chartered accountant from London. His interest in education made him pursue another bachelor's degree in business administration from Syracuse University and later a master's degree in Economics from the Columbia University, New York.