Meetu Singh
Read on the occasion of GP Day Programme held at Tromby Club, Mumbai
Prout the progressive utilisation theory
Prout the progressive utilisation theory was propounded by Shri Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar in year 1959, philosopher The spiritual teacher and a social reformer he was. All the lectures given by him is compiled in the book called prout in nutshell in 21 volumes. I am going to share an introduction to prout.
The word PROUT stands for Progressive Utilisation Theory.
Here theory means hypothesis or philosophy or way of thinking.
Word Utilization teaches us to make the optimum use of all our resources — natural, agricultural, industrial, and human.
For example, if someone is talented but we only use them for basic work, we are underusing them. PROUT doesn’t allow this.
“Progressive” means we should keep improving the utilisation of resource with time and technology. Like how we moved from bicycles to cars.
This is how the word PROUT is defined.
SOCIO – ECONOMIC ELEMENTS OF PROUT
- 1. Economic Development –Prout guarantees that everyone’s minimum needs will be fulfilled — food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and education.Today, many reformers talk about giving free education and free medical care. But Prout takes a different approach. It doesn’t believe in giving things for free until someone genuinely deserve it. The freebies weaken the economy.Instead, Prout says: give people the purchasing power — that means the ability to earn enough — so they can afford these basic needs themselves.
And to ensure this, Prout promises 100% employment.
- 2. Social Justice – Everyone in society can live with dignity. There has to be no place for Caste discrimination, or no space for minority or majority groups based on language or based on geo-sentiment. Prout says earth belongs to all.
- 3. Ethical Leadership – A very important yet a tough point, it speaks of morality in leaders whom we are electing to govern. An unbiased leader who can step-in in the shoes of people of his region, have to be kind hearted yet a strong leader, who do not compromise on ethics.
Only when all three go hand in hand, then only the true development will take place.
Girls Proutist
´Girls Prout (GP), was founded by Shrii P R Sarkar on 4th August 1978, is a socio-economic and cultural organization, dedicated to the welfare of women.
PROUT (Progressive Utilization Theory) places great emphasis on the holistic development and empowerment of women. Unlike many socio-economic theories that treat gender as an afterthought, PROUT explicitly integrates women’s development into its core principles. Below are specific PROUT programmes and proposals for women, based on its philosophy.
Girls Proutist is a big venture, we call it a Trade.
Under this trade there are 5 departments
GPIF, GPSF, GPYF, GPFF, GPLF
Because the women have specific requirements under a specific category. Tomorrow we may add more departments to it.
Some of its objectives include:
Creating specific PROUT programs that directly benefit women.
1.Education and skill development
GP runs online coaching for students, especially from rural areas, under its department Students federation. It also offers training in Madhubani painting, dance, and other skills to help build confidence and social empowerment.
2. Maternal and child welfare
Maternal and child health is a major concern, especially during pregnancy and childcare. GP collaborates with health departments to organize medical camps and dispensaries, while also conducting regular yoga and Kaoshikii classes. Yogic Chikitsa by Shri P.R. Sarkar serves as a guiding text for holistic health care.
3. Self defense and social security
Technical knowledge & Awareness programme
Self-defence has always been vital for women. Young girls are motivated to learn self defense techniques by GPYF, whereas GPIF conducts awareness programs to promote respect and security for women. The GPIF platform hosts open forums discussion on related issues—recently highlighting women’s safety during wartime.
4. Psychological upliftment
The mind governs our actions. Years of suppression have affected women’s psychological well-being, leading to many physical and mental challenges, which later imbibed in their genes and got transferred to generations. Girls Proutist empowers women through meditation and is actively initiating many into this inner strength-building practice.
5. Special focus on Rural and Tribal area women
Tribal women possess valuable knowledge of herbal medicine but lack business skills, often falling prey to middlemen. Girls Proutist under the department farmer federation has a provision to support them through tailor made cooperatives, helping them become economically independent and empowered.
Empowering women against injustice
GP actively fights all forms of oppression and exploitation against women — including sexism, racism, classism, and poverty. Women from poor or marginalized backgrounds often face abuse both in society and within their own families, yet rarely report it or seek legal help. Even educated women in the office face rough weather. GP, through all its departments and the Girls Proutist Legal Division, takes it as a primary duty to support and empower such women.
Propagating and Implementing PROUT Among Women
Under the Intellectual Federation, PROUT cadres are formed to spread awareness among women and support them in the initiatives mentioned above.
Helping women achieve equal rights and opportunities with men
Physically women are weaker than men and women know this, but as a principal intellectually women are no lesser than men. We see this in board exams where girls perform better than boys. But the problem is that due to subject to suppression by men, family, own parents, women hesitate to accept that they are equal to men, and deserve equal opportubity.
