Globalisation ke side effect

Globalisation ke side effects Rajesh Kalra Monday October 26, 2009
Has the country really benefited from globalisation? This has been a topic of endless debates in India ever since Narasimha Rao authorised nation’s current CEO, Dr Manmohan Singh, to accept IMF’s ‘conditionalities’ in 1991 and join the global league.There is little doubt that the experience so far has been a mixed bag, but I feel compelled to repost today (with minor updates) a piece I wrote for the Economic Times, almost a year ago that brought out the socio-economic challenges we face. A year on, nothing has changed. Would invite you to read it and decide for yourself.It's no more rustic aloofnessAbout six (now seven) years ago, panchayats of three villages around Gurgaon’s ‘Mall’ Road picketed entrances to the four malls that were operating then (current number is over 20) and threatened to shut all pubs and night clubs located inside if the managements allowed village youth to come in. They complained that their youth were stealing money, and even their mother’s jewellery, to be able to pay for what they thought was the high life. These columns had then argued that the development pointed to a looming socio-economic problem. Most landowners in these new boomtowns had sold their land to developers at what seemed like a lot of money then. A fair number bought cars, several travelled to Singapore and Thailand on holidays, and a large number started frequenting pubs and clubs and generally tried hard to be like the ‘in’ crowd. Multitude of TV channels and their depiction of high life seemed like the best thing to follow. However, in the absence of any guidance on how to wisely invest their money, several of them soon realised their windfall from land sale had dried up. Most had also seen by now how developers had marketed, what was once their land, as a dream destination for the growing middle class, and at rates that were in multiples of what they had been paid. While several felt they had been stupid to sell out so cheap, some actually believed they had been short-changed. In any case, the hunger for good life had not satiated, but with no money, the impressionable had started resorting to unlawful activities, as was exemplified by the happening at the malls. However, even with the money and minus the nefarious activities, in a hugely class conscious Indian society, they were still not considered good enough to be a part. One major cog missing was their inability to speak English. And while most think the erstwhile landowners’ is a story that doesn’t have a happy ending, the realisation that English is necessary for them to survive is one silver lining. Realising that money alone would not get them the acceptance, a number of elders urged their kids to learn English. To them, these kids would get them the recognition in the society that they themselves may have aspired for but never hoped to get. The added bonus was that it would give these kids a higher status even among their peers. It is this class consciousness that has been captured beautifully by a recent mobile advert where an NRI asks a village boy in accented Hindi, directions to someone’s house, only to look incredulous as the child rattles off the direction in perfect English, before rounding off with “Have a good day sir”. And, as I realised last week (this was in October 2008), this is not limited to the advertisement alone. We have a cycling club – Pedalyatri - and were riding through a village beyond Gurgaon late last month and stopped at one point to get directions. It was early morning and a couple of youngsters gathered around us, admiring our bicycles. These could be kids from any Indian village — unkempt, excited, and impressionable. Just as we were about to move on, one of them asked, in perfect English — “uncle, how much are these bikes for?”, and before any of us could answer, another one offered: “These bikes have gears, so they must be very expensive.” We were dumbfounded for a moment. We chatted up the kids and realised they knew a lot more than one would expect them to, thanks to exposure, mostly through TV. A little later, while we struggled through a narrow, sandy track, a car followed us patiently for over a kilometre. It was too narrow for it to overtake, but we were still surprised at the patience on display, especially since this part of the country is known for needless aggression. As soon as we got onto paved track, the car overtook us and out came three typical Haryanvis — tall, well-built and rustic, and started interrogating us in chaste Haryanvi accent. Where we are from, where we are going, why we are on cycles when we could be on cars, how much are these bikes for, how often do we come on these rides, have we ever been on this trail before, and so on. We answered in all seriousness, before our second unbelieving moment of the day occurred. Having heard us, one of them piped up and asked in clear, unaccented English “What would it take for me to become part of this group?” We tried to hide our surprise and explained the Internet group that allows similar minded guys to come together. He took down this information on a piece of paper. How should one take this experience? Depends on whether you look at it as a glass half full or half empty. English is the global language and it is great if more and more Indians understand and speak the language. This opens more avenues for their growth, for example, in the call centre business that has already earned India the sobriquet of the World’s Back Office. So strong is the perception that the day India launched the Chandrayan, at one of the hugely popular Late Night shows in the US, a stand up hack said this: “Hey, I want to say congratulations to the nation of India today. They’ve joined a very select group that has successfully launched a space mission. Chandayaan-1 blasted off early this morning, and this is exciting for us because the next time we call customer service at Microsoft, we might be calling the moon.” This is good, but have the negatives of six (now seven) years ago been addressed. Not really. The desire for material things has gone up, as has the divide between the rich and poor. And while the purchasing power of the middle class has gone up too, the fact is that if one were to look at the class that picketed the malls six years ago, the socio-economic conditions may actually have worsened. There is a need for an all inclusive growth that goes beyond rhetoric and genuinely addresses the issues at hand. The growing number of those speaking English is a silver lining, but all these kids need guidance and mentoring. That push has to come from the government, with support from the corporates. Having the highest number of billionaires in the top 10 list is great, but even better would be if the majority of the population can live contentedly, and as this number prospers, they will consume more of what the corporate sector produces. Ultimately a win-win situation, which would have more happy than unhappy!

Ashwini Suhalka