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Third Preliminary Paper: In Balance Every day the world’s poorer nations are growing into economic powerhouses. The major hegemonies are influencing third world countries through globalization and neoliberalism. These economic movements are liberalizing economies through free markets, privatization, and deregulation. Each of these three pillars are positively affecting the economies directly, but are negatively affecting the social aspects of a country. A country undergoing these major changes is India.
This culturally affluent nation is now also becoming a prosperous country. The problem is that India is beginning to lose its culture identity at the price of its growing wealth. The problem comes down to – at what price must a country pay to gain prosperity and recognition? Based on academic research and scholarly opinion, one can conclude that the negative effects of globalization and neoliberalism on India are outweighing the positive effects. India’s economy is growing, but its people are suffering in return.
Since neoliberal policies influence the Indian economy in the 1990s, India has established its economy as the fastest growing in the world. Based on Gross Domestic Product (GDP), India has the tenth largest economy in the world. This is an extremely rapid change because they only gained their independence in 1947. Rudra P. Pradhan’s, “Globalization in India: With Special Reference to the 1990s,” discusses that his studies have shown that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has helped boost India’s economy. This increase in FDI can only be possible because of India’s new neoliberal economic policies.
India is now allowing an internationalization of trade. Studies show that in 2008 6. 69% of FDI inflow was from India, once again anther ramatic increase since the new liberalized economic policies took place. The “new’ liberalized India has created more textile mills, and telecommunications has improved between the rural countryside and the city. Market liberalization has lifted many of the controls that limited the development of large-scaled mechanized textile mills and promoted growth in apparel exports. While these new changes are helping the Indian economy grow, this new wealth is not being put to use for the Indian people. Poverty lines and cultural divides are on the rise in India because of globalization and neoliberalism. India’s economy is growing at a rapid rate, but the conditions that Indian people are living are not getting better. India’s wealth is not being used towards the Indian people, but rather India’s agriculture and production of goods are being used for the hegemonies while people in India are starving.
Utsa Patnaiks studies show that the Indian Planning Commission is fudging its numbers to show a decrease in poverty; furthermore, based on her studies she believes that about 87% of India’s population is living below the poverty level. People are starving because they are not making enough money to keep up with the new standard of living. The standard of living increases each year as the Indian economy grows. The minimum wage in India is only $0. 28 an hour in US dollars. When compared to the United lower level; however, based on the statistical facts Indians must be working at least 40 hours a week to Just be at the standard of living.
Patnaik concludes her argument by saying that Just because a typical Indian family is making Just about enough money to reach the standard of living does not mean that they are living comfortably. Most working class families are exceedingly destitute and hope to have a meal on the table every night. Only 250 million people out of India’s one billion population are considered middle class, while about only 22% are considered below the poverty line. The problem at hand is where all the other people in India stand.
The “new neoliberal” India has created a new image for the Indian people. This new image is a more westernized and educated Indian who speaks both English and Indian, and has changed their old backwards ways to new Westernized ways. Rupal Oza’s The Making of Neoliberal India: Nationalism, Gender, and the Paradoxes of Globalization, shows that India’s new liberal policies to have an assimilated culture as resulted in a severe gap in gender and sexual identities. Women are being treated differently; they are now looked at in a sexual sense rather than someone’s properties.
She is a liberated Indian woman because she is finally able to be a world consumer. 2 Based on Indian culture, true Indians do not believe women should be assimilated into society and hold a position a man could hold.. Women are deemed as pure and weak and should Just take care of the house and family. As India’s economy grows strong, the India people grow weak and hungry. Neoliberal policies are helping India to gain wealth, but not until the wealth is istributed back to the people can India truly succeed.
Most of these neoliberal policies are fairly new and trial and error must occur until the perfect balance is found. Hopefully India can find a way to globalize without losing its true identity. Once India finds economic and social unity they will be able to match up to countries like China, the United States, and the United Kingdom because of its vast size and large population. Bibliography Chowdhury, Kanishka. The New India: Citizenship, Subjectivity, Economic Liberalization. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Hsueh, Roselyn. China and India in the Age of Globalization: Sectoral Variation in Reregulation. ” Comparative Political Studies 45 (2012): 32-61. Lukose, Ritty. “Empty Citizenship: Protesting Politics in the Era of Globalization. ” cultural Anthropology 20. 4 (2005): 506-33. Oza, Rupal. The Making of Neoliberal India: Nationalism, Gender, and the Paradoxes of Globalization. New York: Routledge, 2006. Patnaik, Utsa. “Neoliberalism and Rural Poverty in India. ” Economic and Political weekly 42. 30 (2007): 3132-150. Journal of Economics and International Finance 2(5) (2010): 76-84.