Critically examine how globalisation has affected various sections of urban society in India. Also compare and contrast them based on your own observation and experiences. (200 Words)
Globalization is perhaps the biggest turn in human history which has affected every facet of human life, and its effects are purely visible on Urban Indian society too. It has also brought several benefits to the urban societies:-
- It has made people more rational and weakened the caste system.
- Individualism has led to female empowerment as now family duties are not obligatory on then.
- Politically, concept of welfare state has come up to support the poor and needy who have lacked behind.
- Change in attitude towards gay relationships, live in relationships, standing up to early marriages, exposure of movies, arts, music to global forces etc.
- Creation of greater job opportunities in mostly the skilled sector. This change has predominantly helped the educated middle class in getting jobs.
- The shift from labour intensive to technical processes has affected the unskilled laborers in getting jobs. Most end up getting paltry pay for labour intensive work. This is mostly caused due to lack of cheap vocational training.
- Has adversely affected the owners of small enterprises and factories. They were not able to compete against the cheap manufactured goods especially from China, hence, rendering their factories uneconomical.
Negatives:
- Changed the spending portfolios of the families with higher spending on recreation and entertainment rather than basic needs like food (Engel law) making society form materialistic
- Promoted individualism in society leading to smaller families. This has severely affected old population due to lack of family support when needed most also leading to poor development of cultural values in children due to busy parents and unavailable Grandparents.
- It has created rising trends of urbanization which is leading to high rural to urban migration and high slum population which increases inequality in society and higher crime rate.
- Mindless aping of alien cultures without appreciation of local traditional lifestyles is undoing efforts of previous generations leading to erosion of cultural values which result in crisis of cultural identity, changing food habits leading to lifestyle diseases because of fast life and unhealthy fast food culture.
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- Children: Children are the most prone section of our society. Their life has changed a lot, they have access to better education, medical and recreational facilities. Technological boom has raised their awareness level, caste and gender sensitization has increased. But it hasn’t provided a level playing level field for all, migrated children often faces stigma of child labour, domestic help etc. Other potent dangers of globalization include technology overuse, drug abuse and cultural isolation.
- Youth: They are the most benefited sections of globalization. It has opened up new avenues of job opportunities. Better salaries, lifestyles are not more a distant dream for Indian youth. Politically they have become more aware of their rights and are also against irrational practices. Still drug abuse and disrespect for elders are most commonly observed dangers.
- Women: In a patriarchal society like ours, women have made considerable progress in recent past. They are more aware of their rights and didn’t refrain from raising their voice of dissent. They want to pursue their education and demand equal say in the marriage. Increase marital age and stricter laws against women related crime are testimonies to their advancement.
- Rural households: Globalization has laid its fortress deep in rural India too. Farming practices have undergone tremendous change from quality of seeds to quality of fertilizers etc.
- Institutes: Educational, research institutes are also affected by globalization. Exchange programs, joint collaboration etc. is part of this process.
- Government policies: Government also tries to encompass all better policies from outside world in order to bring a more subtle change.