Urban bias
Topic: Politics of Planned Development · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 3 "Politics of Planned Development"
Meaning
Urban bias is the criticism that planning favoured industry and cities over farming and villages. It was voiced from the Third Five Year Plan (1961-66) onwards. Critics said too much money and attention went to towns and factories, while the rural majority was neglected. Beyond NCERT, the term was popularised by the scholar Michael Lipton in 1977.
Example
After the Second Plan (1956-61) moved resources into heavy industry, farming got relatively less. When droughts struck in 1965-66, India faced food shortages. Critics took this as evidence of urban bias. Rural discontent later helped make farmers a powerful political force.
Don't confuse with
- Agriculture versus industry debate: this is the wider argument over priorities. Urban bias is the specific charge that the actual results tilted against villages.