Rajni Bakshi

Rajni Bakshi

former Gandhi Peace Fellow

Rajni Bakshi was the Gandhi Peace Fellow at Gateway House from 2011 till 2017. A Mumbai-based author, she published a Research paper in October 2012 titled Civilizational Gandhi. Rajni has a BA from George Washington University and an MA from the University of Rajasthan. She is the author of Bazaars, Conversations and Freedom: for a market culture beyond greed and fear (Penguin, 2009), which won two Vodafone-Crossword Awards. Her earlier book, Bapu Kuti: Journeys in Rediscovery of Gandhi (Penguin, 1998) inspired the Hindi film Swades starring Shah Rukh Khan. Her other books include: Long Haul: the Bombay Textile Workers Strike 1982-83 (1986), A Warning and an Opportunity: the Dispute over Swami Vivekananda’s Legacy (1994), Lets Make it Happen: a backgrounder on New Economics (2003) and An Economics for Well-Being (2007). Rajni serves on the Boards of Child Rights and You (CRY) and Citizens for Peace. She is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture and a long term associate of Centre of Education and Documentation (Mumbai & Bangalore). Download high-res bio image
Expertise

Peace, Economic democracy, electoral politics, social protests, climate change and sustainable development

Last modified: February 8, 2018

Recent projects

Untitled Courtesy: Development Management Institute
2 May 2017 Gateway House

Swaraj as journey

This speech is the first convocation address delivered by Rajni Bakshi, Gandhi Peace Fellow, Gateway House at the Development Management Institute (DMI) Patna on 18 April 2017, which also marked 100 years of Gandhiji's famous statement before the magistrate in Champaran.
vslogo Courtesy: Village Square
2 October 2016

Learning from Mahatma Gandhi’s insights on economic democracy

Rajni Bakshi, Gandhi Peace Fellow, Democracy and Nation Building Studies, Gateway House, wrote an article for Village Square about Gandhi's ideas on economic democracy and how this could be applied to creating a model of sustainable development of rural society and economy in India.
drought (1) Courtesy: Hindustan Times
15 September 2016 Gateway House

Water crisis: traditional solutions work

In a paper submitted to the Degrowth Conference, Budapest, held from August 30 - September 3, 2016, Rajni Bakshi argued that there is much to learn from India's traditional water systems in preparation for the oncoming global water scarcity crisis.
degrowth 2 Courtesy: Common Dreams
15 September 2016 Gateway House

Degrowth: a “bomb-word” comes of age

A decade after the term ‘degrowth’ was first deployed by a small group of European academics, it draws unconventional thinkers, not mainstream policy makers. The recent Degrowth Conference in Budapest made perpetual growth, not degrowth, seem utopian.
Manifestation_anti-G8_au_Havre_-_21_mai_2011_-_025_v1 Courtesy: Wikipedia
18 August 2016 Gateway House

Is another world possible?

The World Social Forum, held in Montreal last week, gave voice to innovative approaches to creating a world system based on social and economic justice, while highlighting the practical complexities of making such a vision a reality.
0mfqbfqs Courtesy: World Social Forum
4 August 2016 Gateway House

Reaffirming a different globalisation

Globalization appears to be giving way to a wave of nationalist protectionism. At this juncture, it is vital to focus on alternative visions of globalization anchored in concern for the environment, human rights, and economic democracy. The World Social Forum in Montreal from 9-14 August will gather more than 5000 people from across the world and serve as a window to the diverse endeavours in favour of a pro-local globalization based on trans-national solidarity.
Degrowth Website Research paper cover Courtesy: Gateway House
4 July 2016 Gateway House

Degrowth: Consume less. Share more.

Society is currently floating on the expectation that the world is entering a period of sustained economic growth. However, there is mounting evidence that the existing models of economic growth cannot continue.
Asia_topic_image_Satellite_image Courtesy: Wikipedia
26 May 2016 Gateway House

Bioregions: India’s strategic imperative

Prime Minister Modi’s term has been marked by a resolve to improve cooperation among South Asian nations. These proactive efforts can bear rich fruit if the Modi government promotes the concept of geoeconomic and geopolitical equations being seen through the lens of bioregions. There are significant precedents which the Modi government can build upon