SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. SANTOSH. D. SABALE (5393-5404)
EXPLORING THE CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION TO INDIAN SOCIETY: A PERSPECTIVE IN SOCIAL EXCLUSION
Santosh. D. Sabale , Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Centre for Educational Studies, Indian Institute of Education, Pune. Abstract In this paper, the present paper has employed the discourse analysis method by analyzing the contemporary challenges and consequences by globalization-induced developments to Indian society over the last three decades. The paper brings together various concepts of globalization and how it encourages to market economy rather than human and social developments in particular reference to the marginal segments within Indian society; such as women, dalits, poor and disabled, and other vulnerable groups as well. In first section, this paper attempted to incorporate concepts, dimensions and debates in the context of globalization process and also employs synonymous terminologies which are simply considered as an important domain in social sciences. Second section focuses on how globalization-induced developments boost to industrial and service sectors in Indian economy and manufacture serious challenges before Indian constitution. Moreover, the study also illustrated several social facts and observations while mapping positive and negative consequences in globalized-market economy. Finally, paper focuses on positive and negative effects and challenges of globalization to welfare character of Indian state since 1990s onwards when it was started off. The changing character of Indian state leads to create social and economic inequalities and inevitable exclusions by governing policy formations. In order to reduce inequalities and poverty from the Indian society, formation and implementation of social exclusion discourse by policy-makers and administrators to have an important focus in this paper and it also revolves around multiple causes of market based deprivation and marginalization debates. Keywords: Globalized-induced development, Social exclusion, Gender disparity, Poverty, Dalits Scholarly Research Journal's is licensed Based on a work at www.srjis.com
Introduction It is stated that globalization process can be understood by historical global rapid forces such as neo-imperialism, post-industrialism, neo-colonialism, postmodernism, international division of labour, new economic and labour reform and beyond the process of technological revolutionary age. It is my view that such rapid forces, whether after post-industrialization might have brought about various changes into social structure and social relations and MAY-JUNE 2017, VOL- 4/31
www.srjis.com
Page 5393
SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. SANTOSH. D. SABALE (5393-5404)
thereby it established uneven and unequal developments among the social groups and communities and have been rooted the language of discrimination, marginalization, human rights violations, and exploitation and so on. In present context, marginalization as a social process had been widely strengthened by various forms of deprivation and poverty. In every human society, there are sections of marginalized groups which suffer from the brunt of deprivation; deprived from basic consumption needs, basic sanitation, no access to clean water, adequate housing, no access to modern health services, poor schooling enrollment of children, inadequate dietary energy and protein (less absorption of calories in per day). It means deprivation in basic capabilities encompasses deprivation in years of life, health, housing, knowledge, participation, personal security and environment. Despite enumerable social security and social insurance policies recommended by the centre and state Indian government to poor, there have been hardly section of the poor groups could be motivated from this linear development. Somewhere the process of economic development has not reached up from large numbers of poor section among the society. It is witnessed that the lower castes are being deprived from several adhoc-based policies even after India‟s more than 65 years of Independence. There had been structured and restructured various social welfare programs by the State and Center government in India due to lack of political willingness, unaccountable governance complacencies and growing demands of the lower strata of the society. We are very far from the absolute human development index so as we ranked on 127. Due to the authoritarian state‟s forming policies, the onslaught by the international paradigm shift of the Liberalization, privatization and Globalization (LPG) policy has been drastically brought about change in the life of India‟s poor people. On the contrary, there are raising various hands against these models/paths of development while asking the critical questions of `real beneficiaries` and `real losers‟ out of whole. It is currently stated the process of modernization and globalization could shape out the new information age as well as new labour system in different modes on different situation. In the paper, the present paper has employed the discourse analysis method in order to analyze contemporary challenges and consequences by globalization-induced developments to Indian society over the last decades. Steger (2009) explored different forces of globalization and their escalation in the contemporary time. Is globalization creates social and economic inequalities? Is globalization a uniform or an uneven process? Does globalization create new forms of inequality and MAY-JUNE 2017, VOL- 4/31
www.srjis.com
Page 5394
SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. SANTOSH. D. SABALE (5393-5404)
hierarchy? what is the difference between poverty and social exclusion? Is social exclusion a European concept or does it have global relevance? How can be the concept is used as a tool for inclusive policy? Drawing on pertinent questions, this paper attempts to study objectives in order to comprehend the changing phenomenon to be responsible in creating social inequity and inequality within Indian society as a whole. These objectives are also to investigate series of challenges and consequences by globalized market forces. 1. To understand the nature of globalization and its impact, whether positive or negative, on Indian society; 2. To see the gender aspects in the socio-economic factor leading to vast vulnerabilities; 3. To illustrate the globalization-induced exclusionary processes; 4. To unfold the manifolds of the social stability in the process of globalization. Conceptualizing Globalization The globalization is not a new phenomenon and has been going across world and in India for a long time or several centuries ago. The Brettonwood Conference had been the main instrument to spread the wings to globalization across globe. It is simply stated that globalization means many things to many people. It is said that globalization makes world faster, commodity cheaper, relations deeper and, in Saskia Sassen‟s words, universe as Global City or World City. In other words, the process is also overlapped under the paradigm of “glolocalisation”. In short, the “Glo” means to grow locally and “localization” means to market globally or bring both elements together. In other words, the globalization means many things to many people essentially it has involved a proliferation of the links between different national economics formed by a growth in world trade at a far faster rate than the expansion of gross domestic product and in particular a veritable boom in the size of overseas investment, foreign direct investment. According to Sen (2002), the forces of globalization are bringing new groups of people into economic, social and cultural contact with each other. Globalization is both a threat (especially a traditional ways of earning and living) and an enormous opportunity (especially in providing new ways of being prosperous and affluent). The ability of people to use the positive prospects depends on their not being excluded from the effective opportunities that globalization offers (such a new pattern of exchange, new goods to produce, new skills to develop, new techniques of production to use and so on). For Anthony Giddens (1990), globalization refers to increased interdependence in world, much of MAY-JUNE 2017, VOL- 4/31
www.srjis.com
Page 5395
SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. SANTOSH. D. SABALE (5393-5404)
which transcends the boundaries of nation state. Giddens regards the world capitalist economy as one of four dimensions of globalization. The nation state system is a second dimension. The main centre of power in the world economy is capitalist state in which capitalist economy enterprise (with the class relations that this implies) is a principal form of production. The domestic and international economic policies of these states involve many forms of regulation of economic activities but as noted their institutional organization maintains as “insulation” of the economic from the political. This allows wide scope for global activities of business corporations, which always have a home base within a particular state but may develop many other regional involvements elsewhere. All nation states capitalist and state socialist within the „developed sectors‟ of the world, are primarily reliant upon industrial production for the generation of the wealth upon which their tax revenues are based. The socialist countries from something of an enclave within the capitalist world economy as a whole, industry being more directly subject to political imperatives. Appadurai (1996) argues the globalization process can no longer be understood in terms of world systems theory with its model of a developed capitalist core spreading to the underdeveloped periphery. New technologies of travel and communication have speeded up global interactivity whereby Appadurai pointed out to calls „new global cultural flow´ which can be termed as ethnoscapes, mediascapes, technoscapes, finanscapes and ideoscapes. He stresses that all five of categories overlap each other in complex, disunite, irregular and unpredictable flows of people, media images, technologies, money and ideas and ideologies. Conversely Sen (2002) argues that forces of globalization have brought out new groups of people into economic, social and cultural contact with each other. Globalization is both a threat (especially a traditional ways of earning and living) and an enormous opportunity (especially in providing new ways of being prosperous and affluent). The Present Status-Quo of Women By Indian Constitution, 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts (1992-93) in India provide an extraordinary case study on women in local government as the acts entitled 33 per cent seats for women in three tiers of government. While it has taken some time to implement, net result of ground breaking legislation has been that an estimated one million women are currently in local government in India, and over five million women have had some experiences of local politics in last 10 years. An empowerment is a strategy designed to reattribute power and resources. It is group activity and empowerment of women as an MAY-JUNE 2017, VOL- 4/31
www.srjis.com
Page 5396
SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. SANTOSH. D. SABALE (5393-5404)
operational strategy. It is a group activity dedicated to increasing political and social consciousness, and designed around a continuing cycle of reflections and action. It is stated that empowerment as construct poorly suited to traditional analytical approaches because of its variability and its complex and interactive relationship to a multiplicity of factors that affects womenâ€&#x;s lives and womenâ€&#x;s health. The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Constitution of India in its Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties and Directive Principles. The Constitution not only grants equality to women, but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women. According to the World Bank Report-1997, women are a vital part in Indian economy, constituting one-third of the national labor force and a major contributor to survival of the poorer family, the greater its dependence on women's income. Despite progress in several key indicators, earlier gender analysis of most social and economic surveys demonstrate that women in India continue to be relatively disadvantaged in matters of survival, health, nutrition, literacy, and productivity. Ironically, more than 90 percent of rural women in India are unskilled, are restricted them from low-paid occupations rather than urban women. Women generally have no control over land and other productive assets, which largely excludes them from access to institutional credit and renders them dependent on high-cost informal sources of credit to secure capital for consumption and/or productive purposes. Women form the backbone of agriculture, comprising majority of agricultural laborers in India. Gender divisions in agriculture are stark, with all activities involving manual labor assigned to women, while all operations involving machinery and men generally perform drought animals. Female agricultural laborers are among the poorest sections of Indian society. Agricultural wages for women are on average 30-50 percent less than those for men Persistence of Gender Inequality 1. In India, there has been a sharp decline in the female sex ratio (numbers of females per 1,000 males) from 998 in 1910 to 933 in 2001. 2. Barely 14 per cent of Indian women are in workforce; especially in a soft sector rather than hard sector. 3. In SAARC countries, Indian occupies only the third position so far as Human Development Index is concerned. Indian women have lower rate of life expectancy than other counterpartâ€&#x;s under the SAARC countries.
MAY-JUNE 2017, VOL- 4/31
www.srjis.com
Page 5397
SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. SANTOSH. D. SABALE (5393-5404)
4. In 1988, India occupied 95th rank position among 174 nations so far as the `Gender Empowerment Index` is concerned. 5. In India, very less proportion of 7.3 per cent of parliamentarians is women. In the SAARC countries Indian women again have the least representation in administrative and management services. The gender empowerment measurement scenario of India ranks far behind the average of developed and developing countries. 6. Finally, the higher extent of gender disparities in the areas of income distribution, health facilities,
educational
attainment
and
representation
in
decision-making
bodies,
administration and management services is closely related to the situation of poverty of the marginalized groups prevailing among economically poor countries like India. Poverty brings not only more hardship for woman but also squeezes opportunities and life options for them. It accentuates the gender gap and affects women more adversely than men and ultimately takes the shape of feminization of poverty. 7. The adult literacy rate in India is only 61%. Thus, the status of women in India remains a mixed bag. A third cause is women‟s continued handicap from unwanted pregnancies, especially in rural areas. The government of India bans “all medical tests which can determine the sex of the fetus.” For brevity, let us refer to this as the „sonogram ban´. It is argued through several radicals that this ban is a wrong-headed policy and has the unintended consequence of increasing the size of Indian population and the size of dowry, significantly worsening the status of women over years to come. 8. The source of the low status problem is mainly monetary; namely that girls are often viewed as a strain on family resources. UN Human Development Report for 2006 has ranked 177 countries according to many measures related to human health and welfare. 9. According to the report of National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (1996) more than 20% of the SC populations do not have access to safe drinking water, 78% rural SC households have no electricity and more than 90% of them have no sanitation facility. An Analysis of CSR based on 2001 Census Data was conducted by population research by Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics surveyed proportional sex ratio in India that says, number of female children per 1000 male children in the age group of 0-6 years. The sex ratio at birth in Maharashtra was 915 in 2001, which has come down to 872 of girls in 2005 due to easy availability of pre natal sex determination technology and easy access to MAY-JUNE 2017, VOL- 4/31
www.srjis.com
Page 5398
SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. SANTOSH. D. SABALE (5393-5404)
abortion services. Through international sex ratio is for female per 1,000 males in top ten populous countries are Japan (1041), Russia (1140), Brazil (1025), Nigeria (1016), USA (1029), Indonesia (1004), China (944), Pakistan (938) & India (933). Furthermore, National Health Policy (2002) observed that in most urban areas public health services were meager. By 2020, chronic diseases are expected to claim 7.63 million lives in India, compared to 3.78 million in 1990. Every year in India, 2.1 million children die before their fifth birthday. Half of these children die even before they are 28 days old; accounting for one fourth of global infant deaths of the 9.7 million-child deaths worldwide annually one third occurs in India (UNESCO REPORT: 2008). The population of Homeless children is more in India, as Women and girl children often face sexual abuse. Large proportion of homelessness in Delhi, found little over 1,00,000 (many of them missed by the census staff) stays on pavements, open spaces and night shelters. Despite the extraordinary proliferation of laws, violence against women, including rape, sexual abuse, female feticide and sexual exploitation in home or on work place still occurs on a staggering scale or past decade has witnessed a phenomenal increase in the member of major violent crime against women. Feminist enlisted the much number of violence against, those women „less deserving‟ such as sex workers, bar dancers or migrant women, homeless women, psyche women and girls and now-a-days foreign tourist women, NRIs and working women in informal/unorganized sectors. As far as crime record of India is concerned, Delhi continues to be the undisputed „Crime Capital‟ of the country. Over 32,000 murder, 19,000 rapes, 7,500 dowry deaths and 36,500 molestation cases took place this year which is called India is unsafe for women. The most worrisome fact that report reflects is that rape is the fastest growing crime in the country today and as many as 18 women are assaulted in some form or the other every hour across India. An unsafe India will hurt us deeply in both the social and economic spheres. Over 40% of Indian women report being slapped, kicked, hit or beaten during their marriage therefore among the middle classes in India domestic violence is now definitely as risk factors for smoking. Harassed women smoke more (ToI: 2007). On the eve of International Women Day (2008) noted „more women are working than even before, but they are also more likely than men to get low productivity, low paid and vulnerable jobs, with no social protection, basic rights or voice. Women continue center the world‟s work force in a great number. There are number of employed women increased by almost 200 million over last decade to reach 1.2 billion in 2007. Compared to 1.8 billion men, however, the number of unemployed women also grew MAY-JUNE 2017, VOL- 4/31
www.srjis.com
Page 5399
SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. SANTOSH. D. SABALE (5393-5404)
from 70.2 million to 81.6 million over same period the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the prime employer of women.
Globalization and its Negative Impacts An eminent author has justified that there is narrative of history of globalization how traders, preachers, adventurers and warriors shaped the process. For that, he identified four players who shaped globalization. Traders, preachers, adventurer and warriors each had a different motivation for the traders, it was profit; for the preacher, it was faith; for an adventurer, desire to discover new places for the warriors the desire to dominate land and people. But the fifth actor in todayâ€&#x;s globalization is the „consumerâ€&#x;. The rising middle classes, who great desire to consumer the best products, want best quality at cheapest prices, and then the question is how you ensure equity in a situation where capital and technology are controlled by a small group of countries. (ToI: 2007). As far as inflation in agricultural goods and other commodities is concerned, all economy managers try to achieve high growth with low inflation. India seems to have struck a fine balance for now but the price situation could worsen. The inflation data of 2008 shows prices ruling at a five month high of 3.93 percent. This number looks deceptively modest because of the high base effect: inflation in the same period last year was 6.31 percent. The present rise is on account of higher prices of grains, food based manufactured items and industrial fuel. The rate of inflation has just touched its 7 per cent which is highest it has been in last 40 months. The biggest contributory factor has been the huge increase in prices of minerals, cements and metals prices but these items do not enter household budget directly, unfortunately there has also been a very large increase in the prices of staples such as vegetables price, what and edible oils. Prices rise when there is an excess of overall demand over supply in the economy. There are now clear sign that the Indian economy and indeed economics all cover the world are slowing down. Despite growth elsewhere in the world, the US economy still retains its overwhelming global presence. Not surprisingly even the normally practice Reserve Bank of India has not yet taken any steps to curb the current inflationary pressures. We are sitting on huge pile of foreign exchange reserve. In common, world prices of most essential goods are appreciably higher than domestic prices in India. For instance the price of wheat in global markets is almost twice that in India. Similarly edible prices are also significantly higher than those in India. So, even the complete absence of import duties will not really make imported food affordable. It is MAY-JUNE 2017, VOL- 4/31
www.srjis.com
Page 5400
SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. SANTOSH. D. SABALE (5393-5404)
called food-let inflation. It can be a painful experience for India‟s unorganized sector whereby the former Prime Minister of India Dr.Manmohan Singh firmly predicated the inflation as enemy number one which he said could give rise to widespread social discontent” because more than 90% of India‟s population live in unorganized sector and with “no indexation of their income, inflation can be very painful experience giving rise to wide spread social discontent no government in our country can be obvious to ensuring reasonably price stability with hurting growth process but he did not explain how he would be tacking the huge subsidy burden of Rs.1000 Crore for fertilizer, oil and food. In India where 80% of our agriculture sector is outside the formal financial system and it suffers from excessive loss. The National Sample Survey Organization reported that two fifth of India‟s farmers would rather take up other means to make a living. At present over 50% of workforce is employed in the farm sector but share of agriculture in India‟s GDP is less than 20% growth in the sector has been around 3% whereas industry and services have been growing a double digit rates officially data say over 1.5 lakhs farmers committed suicide between 1997-2005. Writing on PDS is conceived as a primary social welfare and poverty alleviation programs of government that was started as a mechanism for price stabilization in grain market. Essential commodities like rice, wheat, sugar, edible oil, kerosene, coal and so on are meant to supplied to people under the public distribution services under reasonable prices or PDS provide nutritional security to poorest in country. A study conducted by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER)-2007 revealed, despite the PDS being in place for over half a century, India alone accounts for over 400 million poor and hungry people who identified and issued BPL ration card by state Government of India. So that they are able to buy more quantify at a higher subsidized price. Unfortunately the report negated the black market and smuggling of food grain to Bangladesh. The corrupted ghost cards were issued by rich people in which, 70% belonged to northeast and 30-35 percent in the case of other states with support of local politicians. It is called this process as „PDS diversion‟. Welfare Character of Indian State Some of the politicians, social activist, and academicians are debating the state‟s welfare character; it does not keep its hold on the Indian politics. In resulted the „poverty‟ and social exclusion among segments; like dalits, weaker sections; urban poor and women become extremely strengthened in India. An anxious condition of Indian women is quite different than men. MAY-JUNE 2017, VOL- 4/31
www.srjis.com
Page 5401
SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. SANTOSH. D. SABALE (5393-5404)
1. Over 250 million Indians who officially live below poverty line (i.e. with an earning capacity of just an earning capacity of just under Rs.600 a month by 2004 prices and a daily caloric intake of between 2,100 and 2,400) although 641 million of the worldâ€&#x;s poorest nearly two third of the global total live in the Asia pacific region. 2. 97 million children remain underweight four millions children die before reaching in age of five. 3. Some 566 million people living in rural areas have no access to clean water and less than a third of rural inhabitants have access to basic sanitation most of the poor are in the rural sector and agriculture is their main livelihood and this is where problem lies. Agriculture is the main livelihood of the poor and still provides employment for 60 percent of the working population in Asia and the pacific. 4. According to the Human Development Report, 2007, the HDI rankings of this year are a bit shocking: The HDI ranking is a combined measure of long and health life, education and standard of living some 177 countries are ranked in these years report while 174 countries were ranked in 2000. India remains at the same low position (HDI) 128. A list is vital in Indian government for targeted key programs like the public distribution system, swarnjayanti gram swarozgar yojna, indira awas yojna and national old age pension scheme, pradhan mantri gram sadak yojana. In 2002 survey that has left out a large number of deserving poor from BPL list. In contrary, a social justice ministry says tribal have consistently outnumbered dalits in rural job guarantee programs despite being half in number, prompting concerns that scheme might not be benefiting SCs to the optimum. The job scheme is promised for 100 days in annually work to every rural family under NREGS. The reality check conducted in 513 Gram-Panchayat in 68 districts across 26 states left behind a mind numbering statistic only 3.2% of the registered household could benefit by securing 100 days of employment in years 2006-2007 due to corruption and inefficiencies have been part and parcel of these schemes. Recently, the union cabinet announced a Rs.43,700 Crore financial assistance packages for ongoing social sector schemes. NCAER study found that less but at least 40% of BPL cards have been issued to people above the poverty line & 2 crore fake ration cards a government commissioned study in six states has found. The government also begun special antyodaya anna yojana in 2000 to provide subsidized food grain for poorest among the BPL category again the Scheme responded worst. Recently, the Prime Ministerâ€&#x;s Office has come up with the idea of Social Development Zones (SDZ) as a MAY-JUNE 2017, VOL- 4/31
www.srjis.com
Page 5402
SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. SANTOSH. D. SABALE (5393-5404)
way of dealing with the skill crunch. The SDZ‟s could occupy like special economic zones but will focus on education, health & skills development. As a part of monitoring, SDZ will work with TRAI, IRAHE in higher education system for solving India‟s human resource problem. But that seems the SDZ project might end up in wrong policy implementation. Conclusion The globalization and developments over last decades have led to social exclusion among India‟s numerous marginal groups and communities. The paper concluded that globalizationinduced processes, in general, have brought several industrial and developmental projects in Indian context, but it also push down the poor and downtrodden segments in Indian society on the other; such dalits, Adivasi, women, and other socially disabled groups within the Indian society. Moreover, the paper thematically focused on various discourses in Social Exclusion perspective in the process of globalization. Interestingly, it also analyzed different social facts to challenges and consequences which have been faced by Indian society in general and Indian women in particular. More or less, this paper addresses some intrinsic problems in Indian society in general while understanding gender inequality and discrimination as a whole. It has believed that my fact analyses could be of interest to the readers of social exclusion scholarship because those facts bring new light on the controversial role of globalization-induced developments and policies for vulnerable sections in India. In accordance with theories of the globalization, it is proved that the project of colonial imperialism of the developed countries has not yet been finished for its dissemination and expansion over market economic structure. Basically, Social Exclusion Model to study on social processes of exclusion may be understood by studying globalization and its outcome as a whole. The final analysis of paper leads to several neglected and unreported issues within Indian society from advancement to high-tech processes as well as developments to deprivation or marginalization process. That is, therefore, to be understood current phenomenon crisis by locating these theories of globalization and internationalization. As a case, this study attempted to put forth numbers of social and economic facts which could be reflected in people‟s mind. References Appadurai, A.(1996). Modernity At Large: Cultural Dimension of Globalization. Minneapolis: University of Minerot, page. 275 to 277. Bessis, C. (1995). From Social Exclusion to Social Cohesion: A Policy Agenda. UNESCO: MOST Policy Paper. MAY-JUNE 2017, VOL- 4/31
www.srjis.com
Page 5403
SRJIS/BIMONTHLY/ DR. SANTOSH. D. SABALE (5393-5404) Bhalla, A and Lapeyre, F. (2004). Poverty and Exclusion in a Global World. Basingstoke: New York. Byrne, D. (2005). Social Exclusion. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Gacitúa Marió, E. and Woolcock, M. (2008). Social Exclusion and Mobility in Brazil. Washington D C: The World Bank, pages.1 to 41. Giddens, A. (1990). The Consequences of Modernity. California: Stamford. Mearns, R. and Sinha, S. (1999). Social Exclusion and land administration in Orissa, India. Washington, DC: World Bank. Sen, A. (2000). Social Exclusion: Concept, Application and Scrutiny. Social Development Paper (1), Asian Development Bank. Steger, M. (2009). Globalization: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford, Page. 9 to 10. The World Bank. (1997). The Status of Women in India. New Delhi: SAS. Times of India. (2008). Rich Areas Poor in Sex Ratio, February 8, Pune Edition. Times of India. (2008). Inflation No.1 Enemy, January, 15, Pune Edition. Times of India. (2007). Education should be a right. December 14, Pune Edition.
MAY-JUNE 2017, VOL- 4/31
www.srjis.com
Page 5404