Shyam, village schools intermediate pass out. He belongs to a dalit oppressed family in the Rampur village in Uttar Pradesh. His family’s house is located at the outskirts of the Rampur. His family members are looked down upon as out casted due to their low caste and abysmal economic condition. He is the only ray of hope for his family’s welfare and upliftment. One fine morning, he happens to go to the nearby city and comes across an advertisement in a newspaper. That advertisement was regarding the scholarship given by a private funded university in USA for persuasion of a degree in Information Technology. He was excited by this piece of advertisement. He convinces his parents for applying for that scholarship. Somehow Kishan, Shyam’s father manages the money and applies for the scholarship. He was selected for it and went to study. After studying for nearly four years and working there for five years, he comes back to India. He planned and setup a BPO company in his village. His company provided employment to nearly hundreds of young men and women of Rampur. All of these employees’ family are now well off and economically sound. Now they are treated with dignity and respect. This was all done without any government help.
Hap person like Shyam not been there for Rampur, it would have been still backward and living in the dark only following daily chores of village life. This was all possible due to the global appeal by the education institution. These types of institutions, industries, companies, social organizations go for global recruitment only when countries are globally integrated. When countries are open for Globalization, innumerable opportunities are born for every section of the society. Many sectors like education, health, IT, Electronics, Manufacturing, Services are opened up. This in turn leads to more global cooperation and competition. Best Practices from across the globe are adopted to remain competitive in the globally integrated world.
Basic as well as urban amenities reach to rural areas due to their vast market opportunities (68 % of India’s population lives in rural areas). Cultures of different places are integrated and mixed. People enjoy the blend of global culture right in their native place. Various malpractices which had been persisting in villages are opened in international media. They are criticized and subsequently steps are taken for their remedies. More economic and education opportunities tends to eradicate the menace of caste system and out casting. More political opportunities are opened to the villagers. With the outside support such as NGOs, INGOs, villagers get the voice to their sufferings and demands at National and International level. Local talents are showcased to the world. Village industries such as handloom, handicrafts etc. get the global market for their products. Along with this, ambitious migration and tourism opportunities come. Today, a villager from Punjab easily takes a flight from Chandigarh to Canada, Singapore or any other place of the world. He lives up his dreams. BMWs and Audis could be easily seen in villages running towards farms.
Along with these positives, there are some dark sides which are associated with Globalization. It was only due to Shyam’s going to the city, that he came across the advertisement. All are not lucky like Shyam. There are many who could not afford to go to city and come across such openings. Years pass and people do not move out from village. Had the newspaper reached the village itself, many more would have been able to apply. Chances may be there of many more getting selected.
When there is more global integration, there is a high possibility that poor may get poorer. In the race of competition, he tends to get crushed. More innovation happens due to more competition. Village industries get a huge blow in this competitive environment due to their remaining traditional and obsolete in technology. There is a risk of village culture getting eroded due to adoption of so called modern ways of living. New generation loose the art and practices which their ancestors used to do. People become more ambitious and want to become modern. Bad practices such as alcoholism and drug abuse may come along with modernization drive. It could have a lasting bad impact on the rural society. Rural infrastructure is unique in its own ways. It has its own aesthetic value which is priceless. It could not be replaced by urban like infrastructure. Values associated with that area would get lost. Local politics also gets influenced by the external factors. Vested political interest may come into play. INGOs of other countries may try to downgrade the image of a country by showing its rural areas in bad light and backward status. Recently IB report came out with names of certain INGOs having vested political interest trying to hamper development of a nation by arousing protests by local village communities. Party politics would bring along personal interests. All these developments may tend to lose its focus from local level issues.
This analysis of Globalization shows us that it is beneficial to get more globally integrated. Rural society gets benefitted. But this should happen with some checks and balances. Shyam had being working in USA for five years, so was in a position of opening his firm and give people employment. But without Government support, this would only be rare phenomenon in few places like Rampur. So effective and continuous Government support is needed for rural development. Government could effectively intervene in skilled employment generation at local level. Some sorts of incubation and credit facilities should be provided to Village entrepreneurs. This will make village industries innovate and remain competitive even in global market. More education and health facilities should be provided in collaboration with private and foreign firms. External foreign collaborations could happen at village level between farmer cooperatives and village’s industries cooperatives of different countries. All these support and measures would help rural society to remain beneficial from Globalization.
Augmentative Indian 