Nowadays the Government is planning to use Super-Computers at a very large scale because it is believed by them that mechanization of work will user a new era in the country. They believe that this is the only way to enter 21st Century. They indentify progress with technological progress. But this is a mistaken view. No doubt, it will increase the production, bring efficiency and help the standardization of the goods but it is not going to help the growing population in getting the employment. Use of machines is no doubt necessary but substitution of manual labor by machines is not desirable. That is why Gandhiji was opposed to big industries because he believed that industrialization would result in greater unemployment.
Computerization of offices and mechanization of most of the manual work may impress the common man because the speedy work would leave a permanent impact on his mind. People may believe that the nation has made progress and so they repose faith in the people in power. But this type of mechanization would make larger sections of the society unemployed because very few people will be needed to handle the machines. Unemployed people create many problems in the country, anti-social elements generally belong to this group and these people also caste some sort of political instability. So in the larger interest of our nation, technological development should be limited to a particular extent. Too much of the use of the technology would finish the skill of the artisans.
The development of the talent of the people is more important for culture to flourish than the mechanization of the work. Moreover, we will have to take the help of the Western countries and the Western technologies to develop ourselves industrially. Dependence on other nations means that they would exploit our helplessness and as it is generally the case they transfer outdated technology to other nations. In other words, it would be difficult to catch up the progress which the advanced nations have made because of the outdated machines. In this manner, we will be caught up in a vicious circle of importing technology and after finding it obsolete then again trying to get the latest one.
Too much of mechanization affects the thinking of the people also. Efficiency, punctuality as well as standardization which are the bye-products of mechanization are not good influences upon human consciousness. These make him mechanical in his outlook, in his relation with others and also in behavior. Mechanical outlook will ignore humanitarian relations and friendliness among the people. Milk of human kindness will become dry. Consequently, the relations among the human beings would be a matter of convenience only. They will not share one another’s joy or one another’s sorrow.
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Moreover, zest for efficiency and standardization would exhaust them and even the imagination would become mechanical. Without imagination no efficiency can make progress. One of the defects of mechanization pointed out by some is that it establishes mechanical relations among the people and so it does not take into account human emotions, environments and much like things. Mechanical attitude also makes us indifferent to humanitarianism as well as morality. To such a person ends are more important than means.
It is wrong to think that only Western type of progress is suitable for every nation in the world. The nations should make progress according to their cultural heritage and also in keeping with their own progress and environments. India is primarily an agricultural country and its very large number of the people are directly or indirectly dependent upon it. If there is quick technological progress, it will be difficult to keep these people busy. They will have a lot of spare time which would not be gainfully employed, under such circumstances, they would consider themselves partially employed and would remain dissatisfied with themselves. So mechanization of work in India should not be done in a blind manner rather limited use of machines in limited spheres is necessary.