No decision yet on giving India access to Headley, US Clarifies.Sino-Indian ties most Important: China.UN bodies hail education law!Karuna seeks PM's intervention on convert Christians in SC list.
The Shiv Sena Friday spewed venom over tennis star Sania Mirza's plans to marry cricketer Shoaib Malik, saying if she is a 'true Indian' how can her 'heart beat for a Pakistani?'.
Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - THREE HUNDRED Twenty Eight
Palash Biswas
http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/
Human societies across the globe have established progressively closer contacts over many centuries, but recently the pace has dramatically increased. Jet airplanes, cheap telephone service, email, computers, huge oceangoing vessels, instant capital flows, all these have made the world more interdependent than ever. Multinational corporations manufacture products in many countries and sell to consumers around the world. Money, technology and raw materials move ever more swiftly across national borders. Along with products and finances, ideas and cultures circulate more freely. As a result, laws, economies, and social movements are forming at the international level. Many politicians, academics, and journalists treat these trends as both inevitable and (on the whole) welcome. But for billions of the world's people, business-driven globalization means uprooting old ways of life and threatening livelihoods and cultures. The global social justice movement, itself a product of globalization, proposes an alternative path, more responsive to public needs. Intense political disputes will continue over globalization's meaning and its future direction.
http://www.globalpolicy.org/globalization/defining-globalization.htmlPhenomenon of globalization
March 27, 2010
Transformation that is continually coming in world economy is actually the process of globalization. world economy has changed at drastic level and still it is changing and transforming. Forces that are responsible for this transform and modification are liberalization of trade and multi lateral trade system. Liberalization is the elimination of different trade hurdles and obstacles. Whereas, multi lateral trade system is the political process through which a government made and formulate its trade policies. So, we can say that globalization is the consequence of this liberalization and multi lateral trade system.
Peter Drucker argues that, "the talk today is of the "changing world economy"… the world economy is not "changing"; it has already changed-in its foundations and in its structure-and in all probability the change is irreversible." (1986, 768).
Robert Reich (1992, 3) argues that "we are living through a transformation that will rearrange the politics and economies of the coming century. There will be no national products or technologies, no national corporations, no national industries. There will no longer be national economies, at lest as we have come to understand that concept."
Globalization leads the world towards complex interdependence means, now all the regions and countries are depending on each other for variety of their unusual need. No one can live in isolation because of this complex interdependence. Due to this now, one thing is not producing just in one country but its different constituents are being made in different countries and they assembled globally. Economies are now interwoven with each other. Now, trade web has been created.
Now developing countries are also start emerging and putting their contribution in enhancing world's trade and world's economies. One of the best example is of Newly Industrialized Countries; the Asian Tigers (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong). There share in world's trade is continually increasing.
Globalization is not an abrupt process; it's actually a transitional process. All the countries want to enhance their economies and due to this, they want transition. So, process of globalization is far from completion. It's not a new phenomenon, new is the complexity of the phenomenon which came due to modernization and industrialization.
written by QAISER JAHAN
Operation Greenhunt starts in Orissa, Bengal
Bhubaneswar: The much-delayed anti-Maoist offensive Operation Greenhunt along Koraput-Malkangiri-Dantewada axis on Orissa-Chhatisgarh border has started with Border Security Force police aided by Special Operation Group of Orissa police and the Central Reserve Police Force making deep forays into the jungles of Malkangiri and Koraput since last 4-5 days.
The offensive which got underway amid little fanfare has so far met with no resistance, a senior police official associated with the operation told The Indian Express.
One of the 5 battalions of BSF which have arrived in southern Orissa for the offensive have already participated in the operation along with State police and CRPF. "We are yet to get any tangible result. It seems the Maoists are on the run," a senior CRPF official told The Indian Express. Central Task Force Commander Vijay Raman also confirmed that the operation has started.
Though the last battalion of BSF arrived in Koraput a few days ago, the first battalion which arrived on March 18 had already undergone synergisation and familiarisation process at the local camp.
After a week's training, the first batch of highly-trained BSF forces started the operation. A DIG of the BSF now stationed in Koraput is helping the central forces synergising the operation with the State police.
Armed with sophisticated weapons, GPS systems, night-vision binoculars, landmine detectors and helped by bomb-disposal squads and sniffer dogs the combined forces have been doing operations both day and night. More than 95 per cent area of Malkangiri and 75 per cent area of Koraput are beyond the State's control.
Senior police officials in-charge of the operation said the operation would be intensified in the next one week with around 7000 police personnel from 10 battalions of central forces including 5 battalions of BSF scouring the area for the rebels have been put under a Orissa's elite anti-Maoist force Special Operation Group which recently lost three jawans in Gajapati district to Maoist ambush is also spearheading the onslaught against the rebels.
A chopper to evacuate the injured security personnel as well as for reinforcements and aerial surveillance of the jungles would soon land in Koraput.
The officials said the police forces are getting good support of the villagers who are by and large supportive of the offensive. "In the village we are conducting medical camps. Barring a few everyone else is quite sympathetic," a CRPF official said.
The officials said the real challenge would be to gain foothold of the areas by the end of May as the onset of monsoon in the first week of June would make the operation difficult in jungle areas.
Though Operation Greenhunt against the Maoists was to start sometime in October last year, the State police refused to kickstart the operation demanding deployment of BSF forces, who are trained in jungle warfare and more skilled than the CRPF. Lack of synergy between the State police and 3 battalions of CRPF stationed in southern districts was the main reason in delay of the operation.
On its part, the State is also geared up for the operation with allocation of Rs 20 crore for deployment of 5600 police personnel in the Maoist-affected areas during next first four months.
The Central forces would move northern Orissa districts of Sundargarh and Keonjhar after the operation in southern Orissa.
BUDGET BURNT In MUMBAI
The rally started at 1500 hours from Chembhur, after garlanding the statue of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. When this rally started crossings the Pune-Mumbai road at the Shivaji Maharaj statue circle the traffic came to an abrupt halt for about an hour. More than 7,000 to 8,000 people participated in the rally. The rally was lead my women folks. Many tribal women from Dahanu and wada (tribal region – 90 Kms from Mumbai had participated in the rally. Four women were carrying the symbolic body of the " khuni budget 2010-2011" on their shoulders and one women was walking in front the funeral carrying a pot with lighted wood, cow dung cake. As the Budget is Brahminwadi the funeral was taken out in the traditional brahminwadi way. The rally was lead by Prof. S.S. Yadav, Phulatai Jadhav, Ravindra Mali, Mr. Gajbhiye (ex-employee from Centaur Hotel). The rally was more than 1 Km in length and the throughout the way traffic had come to an hault. The entire area was filled with Slogan against the Budget and the Brahminawadi Government such as " desh ka gaddar kysa ho, Pranab Mukherjee jaisa ho.", " desh ka gaddar kysa ho, Manmohan Singh jaisa ho.", "Manuwadi Budget, Jala do, Jala do", "Ye ajadi zouti hai, Desh ki janta bhuki hai". The rally concluded at 1830 hours at Govandi. Police called the activists and warned them against burning of the Budget but the activists in returned told the police that they are burning the policy of a political government and have every right to burn the same. The copies of the budget were burnt in presence of the police and the entire area was filled with slogans against the Murderous budget. Prof.S.S. Yadav, Phulatai Jadhav, Suresh Patil, Ravindra Mali spoke on the occasion and vented their feeling against the Budget. While speeking Prof. S.S. Yadav thanked the participants for fulfilling his dream of people's agitation against the economic policy of this country, which he was pursuing since more than 10 years. Phulatai spoke at length about the FIRST STEP TOWARDS MATIONAL WIDE MASS AGITIATION has started with a grand success.
With Regards
B. SIDDARTHAN
Rs.12 lakh bounty on Kishenji?
Ranchi: Jharkhand police have recommended to the state government to place a cash reward of Rs.12 lakh on information leading up to the arrest of top Maoist leader Kishenji. In a tit-for-tat, the rebels too announced "price" for capture of seven police officials.
"The police headquarters has recommended to the state home department to announce Rs.12 lakh reward for providing information about Kishenji's whereabouts. The home department will take a decision in this regard soon," a police official told IANS.
Koteshwar Rao alias Kishenji is the most wanted Maoist leader in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa. He is believed to be hiding in the forest areas on West Bengal-Jharkhand border.
The outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) too, on its part, has announced rewards of Rs.10 lakh on superintendents of police of Ranchi, Hazaribagh, East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Lohardagga and two other officers.
"We have come to know about CPI-Maoist announcing reward on police officials. Even in the past, Maoists had issued similar statements," a police officer said.
IANS
We are ready to take on China, says new Army chief
New Delhi: As General VK Singh takes over as the chief of the Indian Army he asserted that India is ready for any challenge. Indian Army is well prepared to face any threat from China, he said.
In this handout picture released by The Indian Press Information Bureau (PIB), Incoming Chief of India's army staff General V.K. Singh (R) shakes hands with outgoing Chief General Deepak Kapoor (L) as officials look on in New Delhi on March 31, 2010.
The General also said that he will focus his attention on improving "internal health" of the force to weed out corruption. General VK Singh took over as the Army chief on Wednesday on the retirement of Gen Deepak Kapoor.
Commissioned into 2 Rajput in June 1970, Singh had been heading the army's Kolkata-based Eastern Command. A veteran of the 1971 India-Pakistan war and IPKF (Indian Peacekeeping Keeping Force in Sri Lanka) operations, Singh is a graduate of the US Army Infantry School and has also attended the US Army War College, Carlisle.
A senior army officer who has served with Singh said, "He is a stickler for rules and has zero tolerance for corruption. His personal conduct has been above the board."
General Singh ordered an inquiry into the Sukna land case and recommended strict action against four generals allegedly involved. Singh, a third-generation officer of the Rajput Regiment, hails from Bapoda village in Bhiwani.
An army spokesperson said Singh has vast operational experience in counter-insurgency operations, Line of Control and high-altitude environment.
General Vijay Kumar Singh will find any number of challenges that demand urgent attention. But the first and foremost task of the new Army chief is not difficult to discern. It is to restore the image of the army that has taken a battering in recent years amidst the many serious charges of corruption.
Mega industrial zones to promote manufacturing!L&T-Rolls Royce to make N-parts!Brickbats and bouquets for private power discom!
Billion dollar bids seen at spectrum auction!
Friends, our ancestors had not to deal with Globalisation Phenomenon which makes the STATE withering away in the REVERSE Gear, in a capitalist way as Government of India elected by the Citizens of Republic India stands no longer for WELFARE and converts itself into a Super ROBOTIC Killer Agency of Money Machine. Thus, Pranab Mukherjee well said that the State is an ENABLER in his recent Budget speech. The Zionist Brahaminical system chooses a set of Working force to run the Production System and Economy and gives them Free hand with HANDSOME Pay package and Perks better than their worth, merit and status to have a set of OBLIGED Super slaves who run the Machinery of LPG Mafia killing the Entire Productive forces and Working Class. They Co Opt Politicians, Economists, Civil society, Media, NGO, Civil Society, Intelligentsia, Rebels for Example the Al Quaeda and the Maoist backed by world Bank and Pentagon, NASA, CIA, Mossad and UNESCO, WTO and IMF. They leave NO Space for Freedom of Expression as they MONOPOLISE Knowledge in Knowledge Economy, the Post Modern Manusmriti and use the most EFFECTIVE Mind control TOOL with intense Hate Campaign and Demonetisation, Misinformation campaign. The Confusion further worsens as we the People have been DIVIDED in Castes, Religions, Clans, Races. Exclusion is the Oldest Game played well with Virtual reality and special effects with AVTAR as Iconised Planted and we do engage in Personality Worship as it is quite in Vogue as the Human Faces of Ruling Hegemony Divert and Dilute, Confuse and Divide us in whatsoever Resistance.
Budgetary measures will boost investment and growth, Pranab decalres to boost the Economic Ethnic Cleansing as so called Inclusive GROWTH means out and out EXCLUSION of SC, ST, OBC and Minorities, Eighty Five Percent of Indian population as LEGISLATION and ADMINISTRATION mean MONOPOLISTIC Corporate Aggression against Nature and Nature associated People. It means Destruction, calamity and Disaster. Displacement with Blind Urbanisation, Foreign Capital Inflow , Import of Foreign Territories, Industrialisation and All out land Acquisition in the Bleeding Divided Geopolitics, Absence of Fiscal Policy, Marketing strategy,Thus, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Friday hoped that the measures outlined in the 2010-11 budget will boost private investment and put the economy back on a 9 percent growth track.
'I am optimistic that the measures I have outlined in this year's budget will revive private investment and put the economy back on the growth path of 9 percent,' Mukherjee said, addressing a SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) function here.
'The economy in 2009-10 would grow by 7.2 percent, which is impressive by global standards, while the growth during the 2010-11 will be between 8.25-8.75 percent,' he added.
The government till now has maintained that the economy will grow at 8.5 percent in 2010-11.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday asserted that the Indian economy would grow at 9 percent by 2011-12 and at 10 percent thereafter in the 12th Five Year Plan.
India's economy grew at 6.7 per cent in 2008-09 after having a growth of over 9 percent in three consecutive fiscals till 2007-08.
Mukherjee later told reporters that direct tax collection expected for the 2009-10 fiscal was well above the budget expectations.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes has already revised the original direct tax collection target of Rs.370,000 crore to Rs.400,000 crore this year on expectation that economic recovery would lead to a higher mop-up.
Karuna seeks PM's intervention on convert Christians in SC list! As Ruling Zionist Hegemony has launched a Global India Incs Expansion!RBI relaxes overseas investment norms for telecom firms!The Reserve Bank has liberalised investment norms for Indian telecom companies by allowing them to invest in international submarine cable consortia through automatic route. "As a measure of further liberalisation, it has now been decided.To allow Indian companies to participate in a consortium with other international operators to construct and maintain submarine cable systems on co-ownership basis under the automatic route," RBI said in a notification yesterday. "Accordingly, banks may allow remittances by Indian companies for overseas direct investment," the notification added.
Earlier, RBI had allowed domestic entities to invest in overseas unincorporated entities in the oil sector, up to 400 per cent of the net worth of the Indian company, under the automatic route.
It, however, said that the companies should have international long distance (ILD) licence from the Department of Telecom (DoT). "It is reiterated that the revised form is only a rationalisation of the reporting procedure and there is no change or dilution in the existing eligibility criteria or documentation".
Eventually, these reports will be received on line by Reserve Bank. All such investments would be subject to the reporting requirements as prescribed under Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or issue of any Foreign Security) Regulations, 2004.
The US has said India is committed to the Nuclear Liabilities Bill and that it was up to the Government there to figure out how to move forward in the wake of the Opposition objections to some aspects of the controversial legislation.
The stalled Bill, whose passage in Indian Parliament is a must, is a crucial step for full implementation of the historic Indo-US civil nuclear deal.
"In all of our conversations with the Indian government, they have consistently said that they remain committed to fulfilling this commitment under the civil nuclear deal, to pass civil liability legislation," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake told repor0ters at the Foreign Press Center here.
He said the US was fully committed in implementing the civil nuclear deal signed with India.
"I think the opposition in India has recently expressed its objections to aspects of that legislation, so it will be up to the government of India to figure out how to move forward on this. But again, they've always said to us that they remain committed to moving that legislation," he said.
The Indian Government is facing stiff resistance from Opposition parties over the legislation and has indicated its willingness to hold talks with them.
BJP and Left parties have blocked the introduction of the bill in the Lok Sabha, saying the nuclear plant operators were being let off with a meagre liability in the event of accidents.
However, the Government says the civil liability on the operator stipulated in the Nuclear Damage Bill has not been capped at Rs 500 crore and that the amount can be enhanced.
The amount was specified in the bill to enable the operator to get insurance cover as it could not be open-ended, sources had said.
The US official's comments also comes four days after the two countries clinched a Reprocessing Agreement.
Billion dollar bids seen at spectrum auction!Reuter reports:
Nine firms will compete in a widely watched airwaves auction in India starting next week that would pave way for the introduction of high-speed third-generation mobile services in the world's fastest-growing mobile market.
In what could be one of the world's biggest such auctions over the past few years, the government hopes to net revenues of nearly $8 billion from 3G and a near simultaneous auction of broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum.
The 3G auction starts from April 9 and two days after it closes, the BWA spectrum auction will begin. India's top six private telecoms operators are bidding for 3G spectrum across all 22 zones, while three others including Etisalat's Indian telecoms venture will bid in select zones.
Due to limited number of slots for 3G -- three each in most of India's 22 telecoms zones and four in some -- and high competition for the scarce spectrum, analysts expect each winning bid to be more than $1 billion for a pan-India licence, or even touch $2 billion, compared with a base price of $780 million.
For a graphic on India's mobile market, click http://r.reuters.com/cuv25j
For details of the auction process, click http://r.reuters.com/cux72j
The auction also comes at a time when operators have intensified a 2G price war, with per-second charges falling to around 1/50th of a U.S. cent, eating into cashflows and margins.
Heavy investments on licences and then on building networks could further stretch the winning firms' financials.
"Definitely bidding would be aggressive," said Kunal Bajaj, managing director at telecoms consulting firm BDA Connect, which has local and international firms as clients.
"There is sufficient competition in place. And very clearly, there's high risk of losing your high-end, high-ARPU (average revenue per user) subscribers if you don't get 3G spectrum," said Bajaj.
He sees market leader Bharti Airtel, Vodfone Essar and Tata Teleservices, which is backed by Japan's NTT DoCoMo, winning spectrum in a majority of the zones.
Eleven firms, including U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm, will bid for BWA spectrum, for which two slots in each of the 22 zones are up for grabs. The base price for a national BWA licence has been set at around $390 million.
India is a late adapter of 3G and is the biggest economy to not have these premium services in wide scale yet, though the state-run telecoms firms have 3G services in some zones. China, the world's biggest telecoms market, took a long-delayed 3G plunge last year by awarding licences to the country's top-three phone operators.
Among others, the UK raised more than $35 billion from a spectrum auction in 2000, while the U.S. government got about $19 billion by selling spectrum in 2008.
SLOW PICK UP SEEN
Winning operators have to deposit the money within 10 days of the auction, but they will be awarded spectrum only in September, meaning there is no immediate opportunity to make money out of new services such as faster Internet on mobile phones and video calling that 3G would facilitate.
Also, some argue in a market like India, which is built on a low-price, high-volume model, there may not be many takers for luxury services and it would be limited to metros and big cities. Currently operators make only a tenth of their total revenue from data services.
A study by telecoms researcher Wireless Intelligence estimates India will have 60 million 3G users by 2013, which is less than 10 percent of consultancy Gartner's forecast of 771 million total mobile phone users by then.
(Editing by Aradhana Aravindan and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
(For more business news on Reuters Money visit http://www.reutersmoney.in)
Devidutta Tripathy
Hindustan Times reports:
The government has proposed the setting up of mega national manufacturing investment zones (NMIZs) to drive industrial growth in this decade. In a discussion paper, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has proposed the formation of these mega zones that will house special economic zones, regular industries, industrial parks and export oriented units (EoUs). An area would be specifically delineated for the establishment of manufacturing facilities for domestic and export-led production, along with allied services and infrastructure. The objective of setting up NMIZs is to increase the sectoral share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 per cent by 2022 and make the country a hub for both domestic and global markets. Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said India will have to attract new technologies to emerge as the world's workshop.
Besides a processing area, the NMIZs would have a non- processing area, to include residential, commercial and other social and institutional infrastructure.
HT Correspondent
L&T-Rolls Royce to make N-parts
Mumbai, April 1 -- Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and UK's Rolls-Royce have signed a memorandum of understanding to make components and provide services for Light Water Reactors (LWR) in India and abroad. The companies will be complementing each other as L&T has proven track record in heavy engineering and construction while Rolls Royce will lend its expertise in control and instrumentation. "The agreement brings together rich experience and will effectively leverage the strengths of both the companies to tap rapidly emerging opportunities in India, UK and rest of world," said M V Kotwal, senior executive vice president and board member, L&T. The companies have agreed to collaborate on areas, including nuclear instrumentation and controls, engineered products and systems, reactor components, engineering services, in-service reactor support and waste management. Production of instruments will be in India.
Production of these instruments is expected to start in 6 to 8 months, as there are some technical issues to be sorted out between India and the US.
Hindustan Times
Brickbats and bouquets for private power discom
The transfer of power distribution from government to private hands has got a mixed response in this Taj city. More than 2,000 people had complaints while many others praised the private power discom Torrent Private Limited for its prompt response.
The transfer was not a smooth affair on the first day Thursday with flare ups in at least three localities, reports of 65 breakdowns and eight over-heated transformers that needed immediate replacements.
Within hours of the takeover by Torrent Power Limited, there were more than 2,000 complaints on its helpline.
Dakshinanchal Vidyut Nigam Limited (DVNL) employees continued their strike in the morning but withdrew their stir in the evening following assurance by the state government that Kanpur's power distribution would not go in private hands.
Dissatisfied consumers, along with the striking employees, blocked road traffic in many parts of the city during the day.
On the other hand, there were many who were pleasantly surprised by the prompt response to faults and redressal of grievances by Torrent officials whose charming ways won many friends.
Torrent General Manager Deepak Thakkar told IANS: 'The faults are being attended and proper backup infrastructure being put in place.'
He said the company would focus on prompt maintenance and give advance information to consumers about the rostering and load-shedding schedules.
In 1923, the city of the Taj Mahal got electricity through a private company Martin Burns of Kolkata. The city's power supply is once again back in private hands after the government-owned DVNL failed to meet the Supreme Court directive of providing uninterrupted power supply to the eco-sensitive Taj Trapezium Zone.
The city has been facing an acute power crisis for many years after the two power houses were shut down in 1978 and 1980 to bring down air pollution level, on the directive of the apex court.
The gap in demand and supply could not be bridged as line losses continued to soar up to 40 percent.
'We have high hopes from Torrent and want to give it a chance to improve supply,' financial consultant Sudhir Gupta said.
Hotel owner Sandip Arora in Taj Ganj wanted Torrent to concentrate efforts on improving conditions in and around the Taj Mahal on a priority basis.
Cyclonic storm kills seven, damages 16,000 houses!President Pratibha Patil today said government's efforts to provide medical facilities to the common man should be supported by the private sector and asked the corporate world to adopt such social responsibilities.Major UN organisations today hailed the implementation of Right To Education Act and said this "ground-breaking" initiative will propel India to even greater heights of prosperity and productivity.
At least seven people were killed and nearly 16,000 houses destroyed as pre-monsoon rains accompanied by strong winds and hailstorms continued to create havoc in Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and southern Assam, officials said here Thursday.According to officials, between Sunday and Wednesday night, a cyclonic rainstorm accompanied by heavy lightning killed three people each in Tripura and Mizoram while a woman tea worker died in southern Assam.Tripura was the worst hit by this seasonal cyclonic rainstorm accompanied by heavy lightning. A 21-year-old youth was killed and seven others injured when they were struck by lightning. Two women died when their bamboo houses collapsed in different places in southern Tripura.
Thackeray flays Sania, says she is no longer an Indian! As Separatists guerillas blow up railway track in Kashmir!This is the first time that separatist guerrillas have attempted to disrupt rail traffic in the valley, which connects south Kashmir with North Kashmir.
Task force seeks checks on mining for minor minerals!On the other hand ,Tribals rally against anti-Maoist operations in Orissa!Meanwhile,Separatists guerillas have blown up about three metres of railway track in South Kashmir's Pulwama district, an official said here Friday.
'About two to three metres of railway track was blown up by guerillas late Thursday by carrying out an IED blast near Ratnipora village in Pulwama. The track is being restored and rail traffic will be resumed very shortly,' the official said.
Concerned over damage to environment due to rampant mining of minor minerals like sand and marble, a government task force favours bringing them under a strict regulatory regime. If the suggestions are implemented in toto, companies would have to follow strict mining norms to extract boulder, shingle, brick-earth, fuller''s earth, marble, stone used for making utensils, ordinary earth, road metal and limestone which have been identified as minor minerals.
Hundreds of tribals today demonstrated against the proposed joint operations against Maoists in Koraput-Malkangiri-Dantewada area on the state''s border with Chhatishgarh. "We are opposed to any kind of operation in our areas as tribals will be in trouble in the name of anti-Maoist operations," Rama Rao Majhi, president of the Kanda Reddy Unnayan Sangha which organised the protests, said.In a memorandum submitted to the district collector, they said that the operations would prevent gathering of forest produce from jungles and women who did it would be at risk. They also demanded supply of drinking water, health care and other basic facilities in tribal villages.
"The government will take care of needs of the tribal population in Malkangiri," District Collector R Vinil Krishna told the tribal delegation. The administration made tight security arrangements in view of the rally which was peaceful, police said.
Noting that the US is committed to share full information with the Indian government on Headley-Rana case, a top Obama Administration official has said that no decision has been taken on giving Indian intelligence agencies access to David Coleman Headley.The US national of half Pak descent has been charged by the federal prosecutors for being involved in Mumbai terrorist attack in November 2008 that killed more than 166 people.
On the other hand,Chinese President Hu Jintao has said that Beijing regards its relationship with New Delhi as one of the most important bilateral ties.Speaking on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and China, Hu said that China is ready to strengthen friendship, deepen mutual trust and expand cooperation with India.
Meanwhile,the Pakistani government introduced a constitutional bill in parliament Friday, transferring President Asif Ali Zardari's sweeping powers to the prime minister and possibly ending months of political wrangling.
The task force, set up by the Environment Ministry last year, has stressed on the need to re-look at the definition of "minor" minerals by the Mining Ministry along with the Bureau of Mines in consultation with the state governments. "The minerals should be classified into major and minor categories on the basis of their economic value instead of end-usage," says the report which was submitted to the environment ministry recently.
It substantiated its view by pointing out that in some minor minerals like silica sand and limestone the scale of mechanisation and production level was much higher than those of industrial mineral mines. The 16-member group headed by the environment secretary has suggested a uniform area size of five hectares and five- year period to be granted for mine lease to ensure adoption of eco-friendly scientific mining practices.
"It is also recommended that provision for preparation and approval of mine plan, as in the case of major minerals may be provided in the rules governing the mining of minor minerals by the respective state governments. "These should specifically include the provision for reclamation and rehabilitation of mined out area, progressive mine closure plan and post mine land use," the task force has said suggesting setting up of a separate corpus for the purpose.
In view of environmental damage being caused by unregulated river-bed mining of sand, buzari and boulders, the committee has advocated the need for identifying specific river stretches for the purpose so as to ensure requisite safeguard measures. The panel, while favouring restricting of the mining depth to three meters, has said, "for carrying out mining in proximity to any bridge or embankment, appropriate safety zone should be worked out on case to case basis, taking into account the structural parameters, locational aspects.
"We are very much committed to full information sharing with the government on that. However, no decision has yet been made on the question whether they will have direct access to David Headley.
The US Department of Justice is working with the government of India to discuss the modalities for such cooperation.
But again, no decision has been made on that," the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake, told foreign reporters here.
"We understand that there's a lot of information that Headley has that is of great interest to India, particularly because he was scouting out some possible sites.
And so, obviously, the Government of India has great interest in anything to do with that.
We have a great interest in sharing as much information as we can on that," Blake said in response to a question.
Blake, however, said the government of Pakistan does remain committed to prosecuting these individuals who were responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attack.
Blake, who was recently in India, said he talked a lot about the US-India relationship and encouraged New Delhi to continue to open its economy, and that that will help to attract foreign investments and create jobs.
"It will also help us to export more to our friends in India," he said.
According to China's foreign ministry website, Hu and his Indian counterpart Pratibha Patil exchanged congratulatory messages on the occasion.
The China Daily quoted Patil as saying that the Sino-India bilateral ties have global and strategic significance, as the close cooperation between the two nations would impact peace and stability in Asia and the world at large.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also exchanged greetings with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the occasion.
In his message, Wen said the world has enough room for China and India to develop together.
The neighbours should learn from and support each other to achieve win-win results and common development, Wen said.
India's National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon on Thursday said that India and China have found a way to manage their differences over "the most complicated and difficult" boundary dispute and have decided not to allow it to stand in the way of expanding ties in other areas.
"The two countries have found a modus vivendi to deal with the boundary issue and to manage their different approaches to issues where their peripheries overlap," he said.
Thackeray flays Sania, says she is no longer an Indian
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray today lambasted tennis star Sania Mirza for deciding to marry Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik and said she is no longer an Indian.
The 84-year-old Sena supremo also said that had Sania been truly Indian at heart she would not have chosen a Pakistani. "Henceforth, Sania will not remain an Indian. Had her heart been Indian, it wouldn't have beaten for a Pakistani," Thackeray said in an editorial in party mouthpiece ''Saamana''.
Thackeray further went ahead and asked Sania to marry an Indian if she wishes to play for India. "If she wished to play for India, she should have chosen an Indian life partner," he added.
Thackeray's comments came days after the Sena attacked Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan for his comments on the omission of Pakistani players from the third edition of Indian Premier League(IPL) cricket tournament now underway.
23-year-old Sania, who is the most successful woman tennis player from the sub-continent, has announced her marriage to the 28-year-old former Pakistan skipper on April 15 in Hyderabad. "More than victories on tennis court, Sania became famous for her tight clothes, fashion and love affairs," Thackeray alleged. "More than her play, people's attention was on her mannerisms," he claimed.
The Sena supremo alleged that "For Shoaib, India is an enemy, not only in sports arena but also in the battlefield. We have heard that Shoaib has many affairs in India and has promised many girls he will marry them," he said.
Thackeray also expressed surprise over the alacrity with which Sania's family members were granted Pakistani visas. "Getting a Pakistani visa is tough even for a singer like Lata Mangeshkar," he said.
'Lightning and thunder, accompanied by high velocity winds, have lashed Tripura during the past four days, damaging standing crops and uprooting electric poles, telephone lines and big trees besides partially and completely destroying over 9,000 houses,' an official of the state relief department said.
In neighbouring Mizoram, over 4,000 houses were destroyed and at least 50 people injured in the cyclonic rainstorm across the mountainous northeastern state.
'The destruction of nature is more or less the same in all the eight Mizoram districts,' state Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla told reporters in Aizawl.
Three people were killed when homes and trees collapsed in separate incidents in Aizawl, Serchhip and Mamit districts.
'I have asked the ministers, senior officials and deputy commissioners to visit affected areas with relief materials,' the chief minister added.
The cyclonic storm swept through many parts of southern Assam's Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts damaging over 2,000 houses made of bamboo and hemp.
'A tea worker, 51, died in Koomber in Cachar district of southern Assam when her thatched house fell on her,' a relief department official said in Silchar, the main commercial city of southern Assam.
The cyclonic storm also ripped through Manipur, damaging at least 800 houses and injuring 15 people, mostly women and children.
An official said Ukhrul and Imphal west districts were the worst hit.
Power and water supply have been disrupted after power transmission lines were badly damaged in Tripura and Mizoram.
There were also reports of damage to vegetables, a variety of horticultural crops, food grains and trees in many parts of these northeastern states.
'The cyclonic rainstorm would continue till the onset of monsoon,' meteorological department director Dilip Saha told IANS.
Karuna seeks PM's intervention on convert Christians in SC list
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Friday sought the "personal intervention" of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure inclusion of convert Christians in the list of Scheduled Castes.
In a letter to the prime minister, Karunanidhi said though Paragraph three of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 originally laid down that "no person who professes a religion different from Hinduism shall be deemed to be a member of a SC", constitutional amendments were later made to include persons professing Sikhism and Buddhism in the SC list.
"The government of Tamil Nadu feels that members of Castes listed in SC have suffered social and economic discrimination irrespective of the religions professed by them," he said, adding it would be "appropriate if paragraph three of the Constitution (SC) order, 1950 is deleted in toto."
Karunanidhi sought the "personal intervention" of Singh on the inclusion of convert Christians in the list of SC through an Act of Parliament, meeting the Constitutional requirements to make them eligible for all concessions, including reservation benefits.
The DMK is a major constituent of the UPA dispensation at the Centre.
Congress workers quit to escape Maoist fury
Some Jharkhand Congress workers have quit their party fearing attacks by Maoists who blame the party for a sweeping inter-state offensive against them.
The banned Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) had last month warned that Congress workers would be targeted if the crackdown on Maoists was not halted.
State Congress spokesman Radha Krishna Kishore admitted that members were leaving the party but he gave no numbers.
'At a few places Congress workers have quit fearing Maoist backlash. Congress workers are scared as the government is soft vis-a-vis Maoists.' Kishore told IANS.
Gobardhan Mahali, who was president of the Congress Dhalbhumgarh block of East Singhbhum district, was shot dead Tuesday night by Maoists to protest against the offensive against them.
Kishore said 'some Congress workers and leaders' had quit. He said the Chhatarpur division president, Gopal Prasad Singh, and two dozen others had also resigned.
The resignation letters have been forwarded to the party headquarters in Ranchi. The party is yet to any decision. he said.
PC's one foot here, another there |
| OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT |
Calcutta, April 1: When in Bengal, pack two suitcases. Union home minister P. Chidambaram will squeeze both Burdwan and Lalgarh into his tentative weekend itinerary in an apparent balancing act to humour ally Mamata Banerjee and pre-empt flak from adversary CPM. The Union minister is scheduled to be in Bengal on Saturday and Sunday but the programme could be advanced by a day if rain disrupts his visit to Arunachal Pradesh tomorrow. While it was announced yesterday that Chidambaram could visit Lalgarh on Sunday, it emerged today that the tour of the Maoist battle zone would be preceded by a trip to Burdwan — a theatre of war between the Trinamul Congress and the CPM — on Saturday. Congress ally and railway minister Mamata Banerjee had called on Chidambaram yesterday. Sources said she insisted that the home minister — who in December had sent an "inspection team" that disappointed her by staying put in Calcutta — make a trip to Burdwan. "Didi met the Union home minister yesterday and told him that the CPM was on the rampage in several parts of Burdwan district, particularly in Mangalkot and Raina, and was killing Trinamul workers. She requested him to visit Burdwan and reminded him that the central team did not go to trouble-torn Khanakul in Hooghly last year," an MP said. Caught between a rock and a hard place, the Union minister apparently packed into his schedule, besides the Lalgarh trip, a meeting with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at Writers' Buildings to discuss law and order and the Maoist menace in West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura. His visit to Lalgarh is being seen as an attempt to convince potential critics that the Centre is not indifferent to the deaths of CPM activists in the Maoist-infested areas. Bengal home secretary Ardhendu Sen and director-general of police Bhupinder Singh are likely to accompany Chidambaram to Lalgarh. CPM leaders said they would have preferred the Union minister not going to Burdwan. But they added that the chief minister had advised caution, asking them to wait for Chidambaram's pronouncements after the visit. |
UN bodies hail education law
Major UN organisations today hailed the implementation of Right To Education Act and said this "ground-breaking" initiative will propel India to even greater heights of prosperity and productivity. UNICEF, ILO and UNESCO applauded the law which makes education a fundamental right of every child in the 6-14 age bracket in India.
"Tens of millions of children will benefit from this initiative ensuring quality education with equity," said Karin Hulshof, UNICEF Representative in India. "RTE will propel India to even greater heights of prosperity and productivity for all guaranteeing children their right to a quality education and a brighter future," Hulshof said.
Noting that a large number of children in India are still out of school, Hulshof said the world cannot reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of having every child complete primary school by 2015 without India. "RTE presents an opportunity to reach the unreached, particularly the disadvantaged such as child labourers.
Considering there is no general minimum age for employment, the Act recognises that children should be in school which is an implicit recognition that they should not be at work," said Andr Bogui, Acting Director for ILO''s Sub-Regional Office for South Asia. "This Act is an essential step towards improving each child''s accessibility to secondary and higher education, bringing India closer to achieving national educational development goals, as well as the MDGs and Education for All (EFA)," said UNESCO New Delhi Director Armoogum Parsuramen.
He said UNESCO places the right to education at the heart of its mission, and stands ready to accompany all partners in their efforts to ensure its successful implementation.
Ramdev has gone mad, says Lalu
RJD chief Lalu Prasad has flayed yoga guru Ramdev, who has decided to float a political party, for criticising every politician in the country and said it is nothing but madness.
"It is not good that Ramdev is criticising every politician in the country to prove him good," Prasad told a function in Patna on Wednesday.
"In fact, Ramdevji Bauwra Gaye Hai (Ramdev has gone mad), he said adding that he had already told the yoga teacher not to launch any political outfit.
The former Bihar chief minister also criticised Ramdev for claiming to cure cancer.
"In this research age, it is nothing but cheating and befooling people," he said
Lalu had earlier defended Ramdev when CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat had alleged that animal bones were being mixed with the ayurvedic medicines produced by Patanjali Yogapeeth, an institution established by Ramdev at Hardwar.
Kabir Suman shows up at JU meet, repeats quit threat
Indian Express
Jadavpur University students who were holding a convention today in protest of Operation Greenhunt were in for a surprise when rebel Trinamool MP from Jadavpur Kabir Suman walked in along with the parents of Abhishek Mukherjee, a former JU student who reportedly turned a Maoist before being "killed" in an encounter with joint security forces last week.
During the three-hour convention, hundreds of students made speeches, sang songs and performed street plays.
Suman spoke at length on the "oppression" of tribals and sang amid loud applause from the assembled students. "I tried to voice my opposition against Operation Greenhunt a number of times. But in the Trinamool Congress, my voice was suppressed as the party is concentrating on the 2011 Assembly elections," the singer-MP told the students.
Suman, who sent an SMS a few days ago to his party chief Mamata Banerjee saying he wanted to quit as MP, said he would continue to support the cause of the students and oppose police atrocities in tribal areas. The singer said he would be an ordinary citizen in the next seven days.
The parents of Abhishek Mukherjee, father Asesh and mother Lekha, pleaded that the state government at least inform them about the whereabouts of their son.
Jadavpur University students had earlier organised protest rallies after reports of Abhishek being killed in a police encounter. "We just want to know whether he is dead or alive and his whereabouts. The Maoists have said Abhishek was not their leader. So, why is the government maintaining a silence on this issue?" said Lokeshwari Dasgupta, a representative of United student Democratic Front, a pro-Naxal outfit at the JU.
Express News Service
It's a two-way street
Hindustan times
India, April 1 -- On April 6, 1998, Sonia Gandhi was unanimously elected the Congress president. The intervening 12 years have seen huge changes.
In Gandhi herself and in the way we see her. Soon after taking over the Congress presidency, Gandhi visited, Mumbai.
Murli Deora, then the head of the state Congress, hosted a lunch to introduce her to the media and prominent people. With her was Manmohan Singh.
When she sat down for lunch and was asked a question about politics, her response was to look at Singh and say, "Manmohanji aap hi boliye." The diffident manner may still be much in evidence, but the diffidence itself has long since gone.
Gandhi's unsure outward manner, in fact, hides a remarkable metamorphosis, one through which a simple, uncomplicated homemaker unfamiliar with India's intricate social structure and its complex political nuances of caste and region, has become adept at handling them with consummate ease. This personal transformation has taken place undeterred by the hostility she faced from the chattering classes.
It's difficult to imagine that just 12 years ago, a vast majority of India's educated elite disliked the very idea of Sonia Gandhi. They resented the fact that a foreigner was elevated to such an important post, sniggered at her unimpressive academic qualifications and mocked her political naivete.
Many of those critics have now become admirers, others converts to her cause. If she weathered this disparagement it was because Gandhi's instincts must have told her that their disapproval didn't matter.
What mattered was the affection with which the poor of India welcomed her, evident in the 'huge' or 'frenzied' or 'rousing' election rallies. Why was there such a diametrically opposite response to one individual? The poor of India weren't put off by her foreign identity because they saw that she had embraced an Indian one: in clothes, in deportment, in language and in family values.
Why did India's upper classes take a dozen years see what the poor and illiterate masses saw instinctively? There is a simple explanation for it, so simple in fact that we may be tempted to reject it. That explanation is this: the educated elite has over the years become cynical.
So cynical, in fact, that it fails to see the possibility of good in others. Not good as in good, better, best which it understands, but good as in morally right and virtuous, as in a person of noble character, which its cynicism won't allow it to accept.
This is the reason why the educated elite was unable to comprehend Gandhi's turning down of the prime ministership in 2004. They invented 'reasons' for her refusal: that the president advised her to do so because there would be constitutional objections to her foreign origins (Rashtrapati Bhavan denied this).
Some said she was afraid for her life, a ridiculous statement when you considered the openness of her election campaign. The 'inner voice' she referred to had advised her earlier too: first when she refused the Congress presidency which came as an emotional response to Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991, and seven years later in 1998 when she relented and accepted the job reluctantly.
The cynicism of the chatterati made them think she did so because of ambition; what they were unable to see is that she did so from a sense of duty to save the Congress from the oblivion it was hurtling to under the 'leadership' of the likes of Sitaram Kesri and Arjun Singh, Sharad Pawar and N.D. Tiwari. That sense of duty, born of being a part of the Nehru-Gandhi family from the age of 24, was so strong that it overrode her shyness and the horror of living through the assassinations of Indira and Rajiv.
That sense of duty to the Congress and the nation now also drives Gandhi's aggressive pursuit of social legislation: against poverty (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and farm debt waiver), against corruption (Right to Information Act), against gender inequality (Women's Bill). This continues the tradition of legislation brought in by the Nehru-Gandhi family: Jawaharlal Nehru's 'temples of modern India' and 'commanding heights' of socialism, Indira Gandhi's abolition of privy purses and bank nationalisation, Rajiv Gandhi's panchayati raj and communication network to rural and small town India.
In retrospect, not all these ideas stand the test of time, but their intention was always for the greater good of the majority. In short, the intention was always - and there's that word again - noble.
It takes some effort to use that word. It probably makes some of you cringe to read it.
But when you think about it, the fact that it lacks currency in today's world is a sad reflection on our times and the people who occupy our public space. If Sonia Gandhi and her steadfast ally Manmohan Singh restore it and give it back to us so we can use it without self-consciousness, they will have given to our national life something far greater than all the bills and legislations put together.
But they need us to meet them half away; they need us to let go of our deep-seated cynicism.
Anil Dharker
Differences in Pakistani government over clipping president's powers?
Differences seem to have emerged in the Pakistani government over a constitutional amendment to drastically curtail the powers of the president, with a key minister staying away when the bill was tabled in parliament Friday.
Law Minister Babar Awan did not attend the National Assembly session apparently because he was indisposed. However, the appointment of Raza Rabbani as advisor to the prime minister is said to be the real reason behind the absence, Online news agency reported.
Rabbani, who is a member of the Senate or upper house, had headed the constitutional reforms committee that recommended that the 18th amendment be introduced to slash the president's sweeping powers and all but reduce him to a titular head of state.
'Awan wanted to present the ... bill but he could not seize the opportunity after the induction of Raza Rabbani as advisor to the prime minister and expressed his resentment by not attending the session,' Online said.
Under the amendment, the president will be bound to act on the advice of the prime minister, who will get back, among others, the power to appoint the armed forces chiefs and the chief election commissioner.
These powers had been taken away by then president Pervez Musharraf by the 17th amendment that he rammed through parliament in 2002.
'I appreciate the (efforts of the constitution reforms) committee and the political parties to redress the acts of a dictator who had trampled the constitution,' Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as saying ahead of the bill being tabled.
'I also congratulate Raza Rabbani and his colleagues who burnt the midnight oil to mend the mistakes of the past in a legal and constitutional effort,' Gilani added.
President Asif Ali Zardari has accepted the recommendations of the reforms committee, which include stripping former military dictator Gen. Zia-ul Haq of his title of president of Pakistan and removing the current bar on a prime minister serving a third term.
According to Gilani, the recommendations of the committee will empower the provinces, leading to good governance and political ownership.
Under the 18th amendment, the president will not be able to dissolve the assemblies in future and can do so only on the advice of the prime minister.
Then, the prime minister and the provincial chief ministers will be elected by their respective legislatures by a show of hands against the current provision of secret balloting.
Also, a caretaker chief minister will be selected by the provincial governor in consultation with the chief minister and the leader of opposition in the outgoing assembly.
Under the amendment, the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) would be renamed Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa.
In Rajasthan selling of unidentified dead bodies a 'lapse', not an 'offence'
The Rajasthan Government has said that the case of state police personnel selling the dead bodies of unidentified people was not a criminal act, but a lapse.
ough the State government has accepted the lapse by the Gandhinagar police, it does not consider it to be a criminal act.
It has been reported that the Rajasthan Home Minister Shanti Kumar Dhariwal told the House on March 30 that there have been irregularities, but no crime has been committed. hariwal said that action would be taken on the complaint by a man, who lost his 19-year-old son in 2009, and alleged that his dead body was sold by the Gandhinagar police.eanwhile, the probing officials are now questioning the complainant Rajkumar Soni, whose application exposed what could be a huge racket of selling unidentified dead bodies run by the Rajasthan Police.
He has filed an FIR against the Superintendent of Police and co-administrator of the medical college and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the entire matter.Gandhinagar police is involved in the scam, so I want a probe by higher authorities or the CBI," said Soni.
Soni has charged the Gandhinagar police of selling the dead body of his 19-year old son in 2009.t has been reported that Soni's body was found injured in a park in Gandhinagar on May 25, 2009 and he died in the hospital the next day.
The police have been charged of giving away his body to a local medical college for research, without notification or any efforts to identify the body as per law.
I want to change the political culture of India: Tharoor
New Delhi: Often surrounded with controversies over his use of words, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has said he has been "brought down" as there were "elements in our society who rather revel in bringing down people as well".
Tharoor said he wanted to change the Indian political culture, which "sadly" doesn't welcome discussions, but did not have "rank, or the authority or the background" to do so.
"I have been brought down, but I am not going to make any bones about it," Tharoor said admitting that some of the controversies relating to him were due to language used by him.
Asked if there has been a problem understanding the vocabulary of Indian politics, he said, "Possibly. I am not denying that."
Right to Education: India joins league of 130 nations
With the Right to Education Act coming into force, India has joined the league of over 130 countries which have legal guarantees to provide free and compulsory education to children.According to the UNESCO's 'Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2010', about 135 countries have constitutional provisions for free and non-discriminatory education for all.
However, the report says that despite the legal guarantee of free education, primary school fees continue to be charged in some countries.
It also cited a 2005 World Bank survey, which stated only 13 countries impart primary education totally free of cost. In majority of countries, some direct costs have been reported though no tuition fees are charged.
"In reality, free primary schooling still remains the exception rather than the rule," says the report.
Chile tops the list of countries in providing free education for a period of 15 years to a child. It gives free and compulsory education to children in the age group of six to 21 years.
The Latin American country, where elementary education was among the worst two decades ago, had implemented a special education programme in 1990 which recorded a significant improvement among primary and upper primary students.
There are seven countries such as Germany, Belgium, Italy and Norway that have provisions of free compulsory education to children covering their entire schooling period.
Countries like Britain and New Zealand have made education compulsory and free for children for a period of 11 years.
Spain, France, Norway and Canada are among the 19 nations where education is free of cost for a duration of 10 years, ranging from the age of five to 15 or six to 16 years.
There are 34 countries, including Japan, Finland, Russia and Sweden where a child gets nine years of compulsory education, according to the report.
In India, the Right to Education law, providing free and compulsory schooling to children in the 6-14 year age bracket, came into force on Thursday.
With the new education act now operational, India has joined some 20 other countries including Afghanistan, China and Switzerland which have laws guaranteeing free and compulsory education for eight years of elementary education.
India's neighbours such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan do not have any law providing free education, where as Bangladesh and Myanmar have such provisions for a four-year-period while Nepal has five years of compulsory schooling.
According to the report, there are seven countries, including Romania and Brazil whose laws define seven years of compulsory education for a child, while five countries, including the Philippines and Georgia give children legal right to education for a period of six years.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq and eight other countries have the provision of five years of free education for children.
However, there are over 50 countries, including the US, South Africa, Malaysia and a majority of Sub-Saharan African countries which do not have any constitutional provision to provide free and compulsory education to children.
The UNESCO report, however, does not have data about certain countries on whether they have any constitutional provision of providing free education.
The report also states that some countries have achieved extraordinary progress in their education system and the number of children dropping out from schools has declined by 33 million worldwide since 1999.
101.54 mn mobile phones sold in India in 2009
India's mobile handset market remained flat in 2009, registering sales of 101.54 million units, mainly due to lower sales in the first six months, research firm IDC India said.The market showed signs of revival in the fourth quarter of 2009 with a year-on-year growth of 2.3 per cent to touch 28.36 million units.
IDC India, in its Quarterly Mobile Handsets Tracker, said while the Finnish handset maker Nokia retained the largest market share of 54.1 per cent in terms of sales during the year, new vendors are catching up fast.
The number of new vendors in the Indian mobile handsets market grew to 28 and together garnered 17.5 per cent of the total sales for the first time during the October-December 2009 quarter, it said.
This represents a steady growth from only five new vendors, representing a 0.9 per cent combined share of units sold in the January-March 2008 quarter, the report added.
Overall, new vendors registered a combined market share of 12.3 per cent in terms of total sales for the year 2009.
"The mobile handsets market got even more crowded and fragmented at the lower and mid-market segments with the rise of 'copycat' models that have looks and aesthetics resembling those of high-end smartphones," IDC India Lead Analyst (Mobile Handsets Research) Naveen Mishra said.
These 'copycat' look-alikes are often available for as little as one-tenth of the average sales value (ASV) of a smartphone, he added.
IDC said the trend is expected to continue, with the market witnessing launch of more such look-alikes, following the launch of aspirational value smartphone models by major vendors.
"The adoption of these look-alikes is expected to be higher amongst the student and young executive segment, whose purchase decisions are often driven by peer group and lifestyle influences as well as affordability," the report said.
Samsung and LG had a 9.7 per cent and 6.4 per cent market share for the year ended December 31, 2009, placing the Korean majors at the No 2 and No 3 spots, respectively.
Business not politics dictates IPI gas project
New York
"The Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline discussions have been going on," said Petroleum Secretary S Sundareshan, who was accompanying Oil Minister Murli Deora during his stay in New York after returning from the International Energy Forum in Cancun.
"We must leave the politics aside, ultimately this pipeline project can progress if the gas is variable at reasonable rates at the India-Pakistan border," he added.
"It's basically going to be a business decision at the end of the day."
Conceived over a decade ago, the IPI is a proposed 2,775-km pipeline to deliver natural gas from Iran to Pakistan and India.
Besides pricing, discussions have been halted over India's security concerns with Pakistan and persisting tensions between the neighbours.
The last trilateral meeting was held in 2007. At times, New Delhi is also understood to be under pressure from Washington to scrap the deal.
Three years after India went cold on the talks, on the sidelines of the meeting in Cancun, Deora proposed restarting trilateral talks in Tehran in May.
"I am ready to hold talks with both Iran and Pakistan representatives here in Cancun. We need certain assurances on supply of gas and also on the point of delivery from Iran," Deora said in Mexico.
The Secretary here reiterated that two outstanding issues remained the price formula and India's insistence for the gas to be delivered at the India-Pakistan border and not at the Pakistan-Iran border.
"We would have to pay for the gas only when it reached us. We can't be taking the risk of gas going through Pakistan on our shoulders," he said.
"These are aspects that have to be discussed and we are continuing our discussions."
Meanwhile, Iran and Pakistan have pushed ahead with signing the last of the contracts on a bilateral basis without India.
In Cancun, however, Pakistan guaranteed India safety of the pipeline and suggested giving New Delhi an equity stake in the section passing through its territory as additional surety of safe delivery of the fuel.
India top money recipient, remits $55 bn in 2009
MUMBAI: At a time when the global economy has been staring at
The provisional balance of payments data released by RBI on Wednesday shows that overseas Indians remitted $55.06 billion in 2009, around 17% higher than what the World Bank had projected for the year.
India has been the largest recipient of remittances by its expats for over a decade now. Unlike NRI deposits, which are repatriable, remittances are permanent transfers and hence, add to the external sector strength of an economy.
According to the World Bank, India continues to be the top remittance receiving country in the world, having attracted significantly higher inflows of $ 51.6 billion in 2008 (followed by China with inflows worth $48 billion and Mexico with $26 billion) compared with $37.2 billion in 2007.
The World Bank had, however, estimated that remittances would decline to $47 billion in 2009, reflecting a lagged response to a weak global economy.
Commenting on the trend, Naresh Malhotra, deputy general manager, international banking group of State Bank of India, said: "It reflects a flight to safety by the overseas Indians. Besides, the global economy too has picked up in the last six months." The bank accounts for a large share of overseas inward remittances and is estimated to account for around 24% of the market share."
SBI has been focusing on this business by adopting custom-made products for different markets and sees most of the inflows from the US, Europe and the Middle East, which are the key focus area for the bank in this business. For the Mideast, the bank has also benefited from tie-ups with local players, said an official.
According to an RBI study on 'Invisibles in the Balance of payments' released earlier this month, higher remittance flows to India could be attributed to relatively higher growth of the Indian economy, making it an attractive investment destination, a hike in interest rate ceilings on NRI deposits since September 2008 and uncertainty in oil prices, which might have induced workers to remit their money to India as a hedging mechanism because of its relatively good growth prospects.
The World Bank has said though remittance flows to developing countries had shown relative stability during the past crises, during the recent global economic crisis, with both the developed and developing countries facing an economic slowdown, it was argued that remittances to developing countries could witness a significant slowdown.
Apart from falling income on account of jobless growth, the increased uncertainty about exchange rates during periods of heightened volatility and immigration controls are expected to depress remittance flows.
From a longer-term perspective, the sharp increase in remittances started with the booming oil industry in the Gulf in the early 80s, resulting in the surge in migrant labour to the region and later in the 90s, the technology boom resulted in a surge in migration of skilled IT professionals in North America and Europe.
Also, back home, RBI progressively eased restriction in the currency markets since 1991, thereby almost eliminating the illegal 'hawala' market for such remittances by Indians, especially from the Gulf market. Besides, local banks and currency dealers have also devised attractive products to woo inflows from such formal sources.
RBI eases overseas investment norms for telecom firms
1 Apr 2010, 2115 hrs IST
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Thursday allowed telecom companies to build and maintain submarine cable systems with global players on a co-ownership basis.
ET in the classroom: India refuses 'market economy' status to China
1 Apr 2010, 0326 hrs IST
India has refused 'market economy' status to China. ET looks at what it means for china?
New survey on anvil as rich grab houses built for poor
1 Apr 2010, 0322 hrs IST, Amiti Sen
Nearly half the houses constructed for the rural poor have been cornered by others in connivance with local politicians, the government has admitted.
Revised diet chart for fiscal health
1 Apr 2010, 0317 hrs IST, Surabhi
The government will reaffirm its resolve to achieve fiscal health at the earliest by committing itself to new goalposts through a change in the law.
India unifies foreign investment policies into one document
31 Mar 2010, 1648 hrs IST
India unveiled a comprehensive policy document that consolidates all policies on foreign direct investment, including as many as 178 press notes issued from time to time, in a bid to simplify procedures.
RBI likely to tighten accounting policy of banks
31 Mar 2010, 0240 hrs IST, Sangita Mehta
RBI may tighten the accounting policy of banks' treasury operations, a move that may reduce profits shown by banks from the treasury division even when markets are volatile.
Govt to release single document on FDI tomorrow
30 Mar 2010, 1826 hrs IST
Govt is to come out with a single "investor friendly" FDI document tommorow.
RBI almost certain to raise rates again: Fitch
30 Mar 2010, 1259 hrs IST
Fitch has a BBB-minus rating on India's local and foreign currency ratings, with a negative outlook on the local currency rating.
Steel Min seeks PM support for 20% duty on iron ore exports
30 Mar 2010, 1231 hrs IST
The Steel Ministry is learnt to have sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention for imposition of 20 per cent export duty on iron ore shipments.
Coal block policy may specify banned areas to fast track projects
30 Mar 2010, 0314 hrs IST
The government aims at giving faster approval to coal projects that are delayed due to environment and forestry clearances.
Duration: 06:00
Posted: 2 Apr, 2010, 1641 hrs IST
Assam plans cell to ensure schooling for every child | ||
| A STAFF REPORTER | ||
Guwahati, April 1: Dispur today announced plans to set up an elementary education council to mark the coming into effect of the "revolutionary" legislation that provides for free and compulsory education to children in the age group of six to 14. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi made the announcement to reaffirm Dispur's commitment to implement the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, which came into effect from today across the nation, except in Jammu and Kashmir. Under the legislation, states and local bodies are obliged to ensure that children between 6 and 14 get the benefits of education as envisaged under the law. Gogoi did not give details of the proposed council, except that it would focus exclusively on improving the elementary education sector so that "our educational base" became strong. CMO sources, however, said the council would be over and above the state advisory council to be set up according to the act. The proposed council/commission would be something similar to that of the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council that looks exclusively after Plus II level in the state, they said. Recalling how he had touched upon the issue of free education in the seventies, Gogoi said, "Our responsibility has increased manifold from today. Education has become a fundamental right today. It is a revolutionary step. I am pleased to say that my government has been according top priority to education and health since taking over in 2001. I am also particularly happy to share with you all that I had raised on the issue, including 25 per cent reservation for meritorious but poor students in private schools, during my first speech in Parliament on June 30, 1971". In his speech, a copy of which was made available by the CMO, Gogoi stated: "There are also thousands of children who do not have shelter and food, and do not get adequate education and other help. It is the duty of the government to see to it that all children get due care and protection. The children are the assets and future of our country and it is their fundamental right to get food and shelter and proper education". Implementing the law will be easier said than done, the government admitted. Therefore, it will soon begin mapping existing infrastructure. According to norms, there has to be a lower primary school every 1km and an upper primary school every 3km, among others. Government estimates suggested that it would require Rs 4,000 crore in the next five years, over 20,700 lower primary, 5,000 upper primary teachers, 40,000 additional classrooms, 30,500 girls' toilets and 20,000 general toilets to reach the intended target. Of the estimated population of 60 lakh children in the 6-14 age group in the state, nearly 60,000 are out of school. Gogoi appealed to all sections of society to help make the right to education, as well as Census 2011, which got under way today in the state, a success. "It is important that everyone co-operates with the enumerators as this would help us plan better for the future. I have also asked districts bordering Bangladesh to be extra cautious while carrying out the massive census exercise given the problem of influx there," he said. |
Aladdin lamp test for education law | |
| CHARU SUDAN KASTURI | |
New Delhi, April 1: As 13-year-old Bantu Kumar scrubbed dirty plates under a trickle of tap water and wiped them dry, the light the Prime Minister wants to shine on those like him threatened to pass him by. "I read under the dim light of a kerosene lamp. I am what I am today because of education," Manmohan Singh told the nation as his government launched the right to education law today. "I want every Indian child... to be so touched by the light of education. I want every Indian to dream of a better future and live that dream." But Bantu does not dream the kind of dream the Prime Minister wants him to. "I really wanted to study when I was young. But today, even if the government offers me schooling, I will refuse. I need to work for my family, for myself," said the boy from Bihar, sent by his parents to Delhi seven months ago to work. To accounts teacher Vinod Kumar Singh, 35, capturing the interest of millions of children like Bantu represents the government's biggest challenge as it gives the right to every child between 6 and 14 to legally demand free schooling from it. The government, central or state, can assign the child to a government school or even a private school under a 25 per cent quota for disadvantaged children that private schools are required to ensure. But Vinod Singh's school — one of the capital's best-known government schools, the Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in Minto Road — shows why it may prove hard to attract children like Bantu. The school, like most across the country, is desperately short of teachers. Nationally, India needs 12 lakh schoolteachers to meet the student-teacher ratio mandated by the education law. The Centre says India is 5 lakh teachers short of this target. Vinod works almost 70 hours a week — across two shifts a day — instead of the 32 hours he is required to under service rules. The teacher, who earlier taught in a well-known private school, said he decided to shift to the government school system after a friend threw him a challenge. Today, working twice his scheduled number of hours to ensure that students do not suffer because of the vacant teaching posts, he sometimes questions "the point of it all". "I feel like I am confronting a seemingly endless army of challenges. But when I look over my shoulder, I see that the rows of my soldier colleagues end almost immediately," Vinod said. He does not mind working extra hard but says that some recognition, even a few words, from the government — his employers — would help encourage teachers like him. "Par sarkaar me to gadhe ghode ek hai (but in the government, donkeys and horses are treated the same)," he said. Government officials accept that the publicly funded schools will have to bear most of the burden of implementing the right to education law. Most children who do not attend school cannot afford private schools, and the 25 per cent quota can accommodate just a small fraction of them. "But the state of government schools is such that today our best students are likely to get jobs as peons or lower-division clerks at best. Would a child already earning a living be attracted enough to join school?" asked Manvender Singh, principal of another Delhi government school, while lauding the intention behind the law. |
VIEW: Nationhood —Shehryar Rahim Sheikh
The problems of one country are now also the problems of the world as dangerous actors now have more powerful technology that can be used to do more harm. No instance better exemplifies this fact than nuclear weaponry
The idea of a state as a stretch of land that holds sovereignty on the basis of the demarcated borders that surround it, is one that originated towards the end of the renaissance under the Treaty of Westphalia. The idea behind the model was that each state would function as a more or less independent body, free from foreign interference, especially in matters of defence and security. The internal threats of a state were for it alone to deal with. This nation state model that has lead to the creation of a plethora of states today, is one that I believe has become outdated with time. As the problems of the world are slowly becoming uniform and the phenomenon of globalisation changes the world, increasingly, into a global Pangaea, the idea of what constitutes a state continues its metamorphosis and does not, in my opinion, give much weight to the idea of national boundaries.
The world today is one that has shrunk with time, as regards to large geographical distances being an impediment to communication and progress. The technological revolution has meant that countries that were on opposite ends of the globe have now become as good as neighbours. Though this phenomenon has its positive effects in that it allows for greater communication and aid-transfer between different countries, it also has negative ramifications. The problems of one country are now also the problems of the world as dangerous actors now have more powerful technology that can be used to do more harm. No instance better exemplifies this fact than nuclear weaponry. The 20th century, with its exuberance about globalisation also saw countries around the world opening their borders with lax visa policies, eager to see the emergence of 'global citizenship'. Again, the threats that may once have existed in only one state diffused around the world. It thus comes as no surprise that problems such as 'terrorism' as targeted by George W Bush's war on terror in 2001, are far from being localised threats.
It is understood that the global community is now united in targeting serious threats; the question of what state structure is most conducive to remains. Under the Westphalian Model, each state has a certain sovereignty by virtue of its borders, which does not allow other countries to interfere in its 'domestic affairs' (if such a thing exists in the 21st century!). This model would imply that any country facing a given problem cannot be helped under any circumstances by another state, lest the sovereignty of the former be infringed upon. So Pakistan cannot be helped with its problems of Islamic militancy in its northern regions and the North Koreans cannot be helped by the global community against the gross human rights violations that are taking place in the country. In this model, sovereignty lies within the boundaries of the nation, not even the state acting on the behest of the people can give it up. It is clear that this model is completely inadequate in dealing with threats of the magnitude of those being seen on the global arena today. For the global community to leave given countries 'high and dry' while possessing the capability of helping them would be absurd, especially seeing as the problems of those states will also effect the people in states around the world.
The state structure that does cater to these problems is one in which sovereignty is thought to reside not in the borders of the state, but in the people who live within these borders, a kind of 'popular' sovereignty. The populous of any country is supposed to be safe from attack, being protected by the state that is thought to have a monopoly on force. The legitimacy of the state is thus dependant on how well the people are treated. In this way, the population becomes a part of the equation, determining the existence or non-existence of sovereignty in any give state. If the people of the state are being harmed by non state-actors (eg. Islamic militants) and the monopoly on violence no longer exists, then the legitimacy of the state is lost as is any associated sovereignty. Alternatively, if a state is committing gross injustices against its own people (eg. modern-day North Korea, or Iraq during Saddam Hussein's time) it again loses any legitimacy and sovereignty, as the people are no longer safe. Under such a model, the global community can intervene and help the people of that state and grant them that ever-elusive security they need. Clearly, such a model is more suited to the 21st century.
It can thus be concluded that the role played by national boundaries has changed as the problems facing the global community have changed over the years. Today, these boundaries are clearly fading into little more than guidelines to demarcate division between countries. In order to help other countries resolve threats like terrorism, and to prevent the effect of these threats reaching our own borders, these boundaries sometimes have to be ignored. The idea of state-sovereignty that was once associated with state boundaries has also changed, with states recognising ideas such as conglomerate sovereignty, as in the European Union. To say that national boundaries have far less meaning today than they may have in the past would be to hit the nail quite on the head.
Shehryar Rahim Sheikh is a freelance writer. He was declared the seventh best debater in the world in the recently concluded Doha World Debating Championships
New breed revs up with globalisation...
1 April 2010
... but teaching institutions and those in poor nations could be left behind. John Morgan reports
A breed of "global research universities" is at once driving globalisation and being shaped by the phenomenon, but teaching institutions and poor nations could be excluded.
Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at the University of Melbourne, outlined the concept of the global research university (GRU) in a keynote address at the British Council's Going Global international education conference in London last week. He defined a GRU as a "multiversity", active in all disciplines and fields "plus global systems and ranking ... located in national systems of higher education, but also part of a global system at the same time".
In another keynote address at the conference, which was attended by 1,200 delegates, John Sexton, president of New York University, predicted a world of "eight or ten ideas capitals" in which universities were central.
But panel members from Russia and Brazil, as well as Professor Marginson, told the conference that swathes of the world could be left out in such a scenario.
Leandro Tessler, director of foreign relations at the State University of Campinas in Brazil, said a key goal of higher education must be "the eradication of poverty and inequalities". Every part of the world must have a GRU, but non-GRU universities must be key to policies, he said.
Professor Marginson started the debate by arguing that "higher education and research are central drivers of globalisation - research universities are among the most globally connected and driven of all sectors of society - while at the same time global connections, the global flow of ideas, global comparisons and rankings, and global people mobility are the most powerful single driver of change in higher education".
He identified three tensions in the GRU phenomenon, between national and global goals, Anglo-American dominance and the rise of Asia, and the institutions left out altogether.
Professor Marginson said: "In many nations, especially in Africa, there are no GRUs. None is in sight." He said that "many millions of lives are blighted by the global knowledge gap" and argued that research universities in developed systems had a "public-good role" in establishing long-term partnerships with higher education institutions in emerging systems.
Professor Sexton discussed how NYU, which has 16 sites on six continents, operated as a global institution. He said that it was soon to open a campus in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, which would be an "organically connected ... second doorway" at which many of NYU's leading academics would teach and conduct research.
Isak Froumin, a senior education specialist at the World Bank and academic supervisor at Russia's Higher School of Economics, was on a panel that responded to the keynote addresses. He asked how "mass teaching schools" were affected by globalisation, "because the future of social and economic development lies not only in - maybe not mainly in - GRUs, but with those types of colleges and universities".
john.morgan@tsleducation.com.http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=411066&c=1
Globalisation and consumer culture
Thursday, April 01, 2010
GLOBALISATION has a very close link with the culture of consumerism and there is a need for consumers to exercise critical thinking when dealing with this culture, says Fiji National University's Dr Eta Norton.
Presenting a paper on consumerism and education at the symposium on consumerism and market economies, Dr Norton said the presentation put forward a proposal to incorporate critical thinking into the school curriculum.
"There are three types of critical thinking approaches and this paper is based on the social critique and education and political reforms," she said.
"Globalisation has a very close link with the culture of consumerism. The first wave of globalisation was a global phenomenon.
"It involved the movement of a mass of people from one country to another. These people were expected to work as labourers in plantations to ensure a continuous flow of raw materials to industries in colonised markets.
"The second wave was the process of industrialisation and this ensured several developments including the continuous flow of manufactured goods which extended into developing countries where container ships moved large quantities of items across the globe."
She said manufactured goods were turned to disposables for distribution to maintain the system and to ensure there was a constant replacement of items.
She said a new kind of distribution soon emerged where items were distributed in the form of shopping malls, supermarkets, internet shopping and e-banking.
"In some way, the push to globalise included internationalism of financial services to maintain the flow of capital around the globe, global communication networks around the work, broadcasting news instantaneously including advertisements to customers," she said.
"The spread of mass media also gave rise to popular culture, transcending occasion and community. In general, it gave rise to consumer culture."
She said in the world of consumption, citizens have now become customers and their duty is to be consumers.
http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=143449Are we losing mother tongue?
Invariably hungry, the first thing she does when her mother greets her at the door is demand food. "Aaje khavama shu che (what's there to eat)? " she asks in Gujarati, the language of her father. And whatever her Bengali mother has made, the little girl is never happy. "Anathi vadhu rasprad biju kayi na hoi shake (couldn't there be anything more interesting)? " she asks. And, adds for dramatic effect. "Hu ketli mehanat karu chu and thame mane aavu aapo cho (I'm studying so hard and this is what you give me)."
But Sadanand and Mousami, the tiny tyrant's indulgent parents, don't mind. "She's quite a handful and can make things pretty chaotic around the house, but when she speaks in Gujarati it makes up for everything," Sadanand, a chartered accountant working in Delhi since 2000, says. "Her grandparents, who live in Gujarat, are ecstatic to know that Shyamoli continues to make life miserable for us in the language of her forefathers."
ATTACK OF THE 3 MS
Sadanand is lucky he's in a position to joke about it. Countless couples in urban India, troubled by thoughts of seeing their children grow up without an inkling of their mother tongue, don't .
"It's awkward when my cousins from Patna come visiting," says Rajeev Singh, a software developer in Delhi. "They speak in Bhojpuri and both my children, 10 and 12, are completely at sea during such conversations. No one likes the situation - not my cousins, nor my kids. And I hate to be in the middle of it all. Everyone looks at me accusingly. The kids wonder why their uncles and aunts make no effort to speak in Hindi or English . My relatives, on the other hand, appear mortified that I have failed in doing even this much - teach my children their mother tongue."
It is, and it's getting worse. In an increasingly urbanised India, mother tongues are under siege and facing a sustained attack from the three Ms of migration, market and mixed marriages. What will, for instance, the children of a Kashmiri married to a Tamil with a job in Kolkata pick up? And the battle is looking increasingly lopsided by the day. In every second family - say in Mumbai or Delhi, even Pune or Bangalore - young, upwardly mobile couples are taking recourse to English as a means of communication between themselves and their children. Hindi, too, has gained ground across Indian metros as a major link language - the prime casualty everywhere is the mother tongue.
DANGER AHEAD!
Linguists agree that urban centres are witness to great pressures on the mother tongue; what's more, English and Hindi are spreading fast to the mofussils too. They say that if present trends continue there will soon come a day when the nation will realise it is speaking far fewer languages than in the past. Of course, it's a trend the world over, and as Unesco says, "Increased migration and rapid urbanisation often bring along the loss of traditional ways of life and a strong pressure to speak a dominant language necessary for full civic participation and economic advancement." (See 'Wither the native word' )
Unesco estimates that as many as 196 Indian languages face varying degrees of peril - some are staring at extinction, others are at risk of losing their literature. Scholars at Tribal Research Institute (TRI), Ranchi, say that at least 25 per cent of tribal youths in urban cities, especially those who have not spent any time in their native place, do not know their mother tongue at all. Another 50 per cent can understand the language but are unable to speak it.
Prakash Chandra Oraon, director of TRI, and an expert in the Mundari language, blames government and NGOs for the present crisis. "In six decades of independence, government agencies and NGOs have treated tribals like objects in a museum and have relentlessly worked to take away their culture in the name of assimilation with society," he fumes. "Whenever a tribal is approached for anything, he is told to adapt to the modern world. If this is not stopped, there won't be anybody speaking any tribal language."
Oraon would be very unhappy to meet 12-year-old Suman Murmu, who has never heard her parents speak Santhali. "I study in an English medium school and have never heard my parents converse in our mother tongue," she says, a little mystified. "Most of my relatives don't speak Santhali either, so how can you expect me to speak a language that is not known to me?"
Suman's father Vishwanath Murmu, a bank employee, says his wife, born and brought up in Orissa, doesn't know Santhali. "For us, the most important thing is communication," he argues. "Most of the people around us in Ranchi speak in Hindi; if we were to speak Santhali, we'd be treated as aliens."
DEMAND OF THE TIMES
In India - with its burgeoning ambition, changing demographics, widening market, nuclearisation of families and massive shift in population from the rural and semi-rural to the urban - the linguistic map is rapidly changing.
For many this change is the inevitable destiny of old languages in a new world. Madhu Singh, the mother of Harshita, a class IV student in Patna, says she doesn't mind the girl not taking a shine to Magahi , their mother tongue. She encourages her daughter to speak English "as one needs to move with the trend instead of trying to persist with something that has little to do with one's career."
Somnath and Suman Banerjee, an Army couple in Chandigarh, have also done what numerous young couples across India are doing - gloss over the mother tongue issue. "We decided early on not to force our two kids, Nikhil and Nupur, to learn either Bengali or Punjabi. Of course, we have a mix of customs and traditions at home but when it came to languages it was convenient for everyone to have a 'neutral' language so that the kids could adapt to their cosmopolitan surroundings."
The other important reason for parents to let go of their mother tongue is the feeling that their children will fare better if they can speak English and the main language of the place they have settled in. Sanjay Wadwalkar, a professor, never misses any Marathi function that's held at the Maharashtra Bhawan in Chandigarh. But teaching the language to his two sons, Arjun and Abhay , has never been a priority .
This is also where the breakdown of joint families kicks in. Devoid of the company of grandparents, children of most urban Indian couples have no link with their native tongue.
During the course of this article, as TOI-Crest reporters fanned out across the country's metros, many youngsters said they didn't even know their parents came from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds because all of them spoke English at home. The "assimilation" , in that sense, was complete and seamless. It's a pointer to a larger change sweeping across communities migrating from their native towns to urban centres.
Like Tamra, the daughter of IAS officers Neerja Rajsekhar and Rajsekhar Vundru, says, "I speak in English or Hindi. The one time I showed an interest to learn Telugu (her father's mother tongue), there was no one to teach me." But what is this doing to the linguistic characteristics of India, and its rich linguistic diversity?
With a quarter of India's population - 255 million - speaking at least two languages and one in every 12 - that's 87.5 million - speaking at least three, India is still a nation of polyglots. An analysis of data from the 2001 census on bilingualism and trilingualism suggests that speaking three or more languages is largely restricted to the relatively elite sections of society, but bilingualism is not.
The data shows that of the 87.5 million people who speak three or more languages, a little over 63 million speak both Hindi and English. This could be the impact of the three-language formula in schools, but the fact that almost three-fourths of the trilingual population speaks English is evidence of the phenomenon being more common among the better-off sections of society. There appears to be a clear link between knowledge of English and economic prosperity.
Among the 167.5 million who speak only two languages, only 54.8 million speak English as either their first or second language. In other words, less than a third of the bilingual population knows English. Quite clearly, many of the bilinguals are from the not-so-well-off sections.
DEEPLY IMPACTED SOUTH
The phenomenon is more visible in the south, where the absence of a link language - unlike Hindi in the north - means that outside of the home, conversation amongst friends and colleagues , in relatively affluent quarters, is entirely in English. This is not to say they don't know other languages. Most Kannadigas or Malayalis follow Tamil (it's not necessarily the other way round) but English is the language of choice for conversation.
Kids in big, southern city schools are likely to speak different languages at home: Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Tulu, Kodava, Konkani, Urdu, Deccani. But they can only converse among themselves in English. And because English is the language of the peer group and also the medium of instruction, they tend to think of it as the preferred language.
Alice Mathew, a lecturer in Mount Carmel College, initially tried to speak to her son in Malayalam but he wouldn't react. "Even if he tries to speak Malayalam, it's anglicised," she says. "When we visit Kerala, he makes an effort to speak in Malayalam but ends up speaking in English." Her colleague, Lekha George, a botany lecturer, shares the same "problem" . Though she tries her best to speak to her three-year-old old son in Malayalam, her husband and babysitter both speak to him in English. "He has picked up a few words in Malayalam but mostly he speaks English. I am very keen that he learns his mother tongue," she says hopefully.
IT NEEDN'T BE SO
Though most experts and linguists watching the trend agree modern culture, urban living, and the need to earn a livelihood in a competitive world have deprived the youth of their mother tongue, they say it needn't be so. Nor is it necessarily a good thing. "Language is part of a people's culture, so such children do become alienated from their culture in certain ways," says Rajani Konantambigi, associate professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).
TOI's Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar in a recent column says, "Global research shows children should learn reading and writing in their mother tongue first. Only after they can read fluently at a minimum of 45-60 words per minute can they absorb what they are reading. Such fluency is most easily achieved in the mother tongue. Once that is established, learning the second language becomes much easier. Premature teaching of a second language - like English - can prevent a child from learning to read fast enough in its mother tongue. Early reading and writing is vital: children that cannot do so fluently by Class 2 will likely never catch up with classmates in higher class.
These insights flow from research on the neurological foundations of learning. In Efficient Learning for the Poor: Insights from the Frontier of Cognitive Neuroscience, educationalist Helen Abadzi shows that human short-term memory works well for up to 12 seconds. So, within 12 seconds, a person should be able to read a sentence (or complete grammatical unit), process its meaning, and classify and file it within his or her mental library (what experts call "cognitive networks" )... This is not an argument against learning two or three languages. Indeed, children under eight learn new languages most easily. But research shows that proficiency in one language makes it easier to master a second. Learning the first language expands the cognitive networks of a child's mind, making it easier to grasp the same concepts in a second language."
Adds Mohini Khot, head of department of English at St Mira's College, Pune, "English, which is technically not the first language in India, is a matter of prestige for most Indians and parents realise that it's important for their child to know it. But keeping an open mind towards our regional languages is equally important."
Orissa takes pride in being the first state in India to be carved out on a linguistic basis in 1936. But for the past 10 years, Naveen Patnaik has held fort as chief minister notwithstanding his welldocumented inadequacies in reading, writing and speaking the state's lingua franca. "That a person in Orissa can have a meteoric political rise like Naveen's without bothering to learn Oriya reflects the gradual indifference among the people to their mother tongue and also their whole-hearted acceptance of the 'other' tongue - English or Hindi," says a senior bureaucrat.
Linguists say no one can ignore the pressing need - and the urgency - to learn English as it is the only window to the outside world, a potent weapon that allows one to compete in a marketdriven environment, but so much "dependence" is unnecessary. Co-existence, they say, is the key.
Attributing the decline of mother tongue to the impact of globalisation, sociologist Hetukar Jha says, "Homogeneity is the demand of globalisation and things like mother tongue are found to be obstructions in achieving this goal. Parents are putting their mother tongue on the backburner in an effort to make their children more compatible with the needs of current times."
Dr G K Karanth of the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, says a multi-linguistic environment existing alongside the mother tongue is a must for a healthy society. "Mother tongue has to be there," he says. "Without the mother tongue, the whole basket of culture is lost. Cultural moorings are lost when the mother tongue is neglected ." Bernard D'Sami , professor of Social Sciences, Loyola College , Chennai, says "uprooting kids" from their culture can never bear good results.
REVERSING THE TIDE?
It is this realisation - that a modern India galloping on the strength of English is tearing children away from their languages and roots - that's triggering a modest push-back.
Prajodh Rajan's Malayalee maid has a rare purpose. Some years ago, he had hired her at a premium on one condition - she must speak to his son Aarav only in Malayalam. Aarav, who was about a year old then, could understand Gujarati, the language of his mother, and English, but not a word of Malayalam, Rajan's mother tongue. Today, Aarav is capable of at least monosyllabic conversations in Malayalam.
For Rajan and a few such parents, the itch to rescue their mother tongue is finally translating into action. While some are sending their kids to schools which have regional languages in the curriculum, others have resolved to speak in their mother tongue at home, even if they speak it badly.
Every morning, as Ganesh Kumar sat for breakfast with his family, he faced a peculiar situation. Each member of his family spoke a different language. He spoke Tamil and his wife, Marathi. His convent school-bred daughter preferred English and his 18-year-old son, currently studying in Bangalore, spoke in a language yet to be named though it had traces of English, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Kannada. Kumar has now enlisted himself in the struggle to revive the mother tongue. These days his daughter and wife attend tuitions for written Tamil every weekend.
There are other young parents who are trying to avoid Kumar's fate. There are online tutorials that they subscribe to - like the one started by Thomas Samuel for children who want to, or are forced to, learn Malayalam. The internet is of immense help and has brought a bunch of children to his site. Recently, a curious eight-year-old logged on and asked why his father's friends called him "kudavayaran" (pot-bellied ). Pankaj Shah, the head of Kutch Yuvak Sangh, says many concerned parents ask him to involve their children in the annual Kutchi dramas organised by him. The parents are militantly protective of Kutchi. "Once, when we tried to use some English sentences in the dialogues for impact, parents objected saying the aim was to teach Kutchi. We had to alter it," says Shah. It's an obsession that also drives Delhi-based musicians Shubhendra, a Kannadiga, and his Dutch wife Saskia. "We wanted our son Ishaan to speak both languages," Shubhendra says. "He is almost five now and he knows five languages -Kannada , Dutch, English, Hindi and even Bengali, as we live in a Bengali colony. We are very proud and happy that he is culturally more open and tolerant than many others his age." Will people like Shubhendra, Rajan and Kumar succeed in turning the tide for India's embattled mother tongues? No one quite knows.
But there is hope. "I know only a few words in Garhwali, 'yu bhalu chhah' (it's good) and 'thikai chhah' (everything is alright)," says 22-year-old Krinna Dobhal, an IT professional who's guilty of abandoning the language of her ancestors. "I'll learn more." Pledging to do it soon, she agrees with Karanth that without the mother tongue, a whole basket of culture is lost - including your roots. "English is necessary for knowledge and career advancement," she says. "But it shouldn't be at the cost of the mother tongue."
(With reports from Devparna Acharya, Swati Shinde, Shruthi Balakrishna, Bella Jaisinghani, Sandeep Mishra, Sharmila Ganeshan-Ram, Sanjay Ojha, Sanjeev K Verma, Ramaninder K Bhatia, Jaspreet Nijher and Shimona Kanwar)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Are-we-losing-mother-tongue-/articleshow/5729796.cms
The Phenomenon of Globalization
by Rev. Robert A. Sirico
Globalization has emerged as a new paradigm for describing the way in which the human family can relate to each other. Globalization is the increased interconnectedness of all peoples on the face of the earth. We can now more easily, rapidly, and cheaply move, and thus share, ourselves, our consumer goods, our material and human capital, and the values that comprise our respective cultures. Our ever-increasing ability to share our God-given and complementary gifts with one another holds with it the possibilities of enlarging the scope of our communion and solidarity.
The technological revolution and social dimensions of modernity have made this increased interconnectedness possible. Advancements in technology have made quick and radical improvements in communication and transportation capabilities. The social dimension of modernity contributes the assertion that because all men and women are equally valuable, they should be free from unfulfilling constraints imposed by other persons or the state. These technological capacities and the freedom to develop and use them promise to enhance the potential for integral human development by promoting authentic development in at least the areas of economics, politics, and culture. In economics, globalization broadens the free market to include many nations to which it had not previously reached. Improvement in the political arena is recognized in a newfound permeability of borders that allows for an exchange of information that can undermine the power of abusive regimes. The effects of globalization on culture—society's shared idea of human good and morality—can also be positive in that never in history have these societal ideas and cultural characteristics been so easy to share.
Resulting from human sinfulness, however, our increasing interconnectedness also holds great potential for offenses against human dignity. Greater economic development means a greater need for additional capital. Businesses or states can raise capital through borrowing or "foreign direct investment." Corruption, incompetence, or circumstance may cause business or state revenues to be lower than expected and result in a debt repayment crisis that may lead to austerity measures that disproportionately benefit creditors and hurt the poor. "Foreign direct investment" may promote conditions that allow for dispersed, non-localized ownership and management of the market franchise. Globalization also poses immense long-term challenges for culture. Because widespread skepticism now exists about whether universal and timeless truths exist, cultural freedom can be abused. The weak who seem to have little to offer culture —the poor, the unborn, the elderly, and the disabled—become a burden to be marginalized, limited, and even destroyed instead of being recognized as persons worthy of respect and solidarity.
So what can believers offer to the globalization process? One of the great resources Christianity brings to the mission of ensuring that globalization serves the human person is its universality. We can be more fully extended throughout the entire world, allowing its truth to be brought more completely to the human family. That truth and the community around it embolden us to proclaim unequivocally the absolute dignity of all human persons. The challenge before us now is to use our information and network effectively to develop apologetics that will positively influence the carriers of today's culture.
http://www.acton.org/publications/randl/rl_article_438.php
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Comments to Closing Panel Discussion
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Symposium
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
By Stanley Fischer
IMFAugust 26, 2000
The Nature of Globalization
Globalization means different things to different people. The discussion in this conference primarily reflects the views of economists. To us, globalization means the process described in Michael Mussa's paper (*) - the ongoing trend to greater economic integration among nations. This is evident in the growth of trade relative to GDP, and even more in the startling growth of cross-border trade in financial assets. It is evident too in the shrinking of the globe produced by the declining costs of international travel and phenomenal improvements in international communications.
But this is all at an abstract level. In terms of people's daily lives, globalization means that the residents of one country are more likely now: to consume the products of another country; to invest in another country; to earn income from other countries; to talk on the telephone to people in other countries; to visit other countries; and quite likely to know more about other countries than they were 50 years ago.
But globalization is much more than an economic phenomenon. To many people it means the growth of an international culture - and by that they mean an American culture - at the expense of national and local cultures. I do not know to what extent that is what is happening now. And if it is true, to what extent it is new, rather than part of an ongoing intergenerational clash of cultures. But I am sure that it is an important source of opposition to globalization.
Advances in communications technology have played an extraordinarily powerful role in the broader phenomenon of globalization. We are in the process of becoming one world. Or at least that is how it felt to me recently as I sat on the banks of the Zambezi, eating breakfast and watching the Republican Convention on CNN. If you visit even the remotest communities, you are astonished by how much the people there know about what is going on in the world. To be sure, this process does not reach everyone. The majority of the world's population do not have televisions and, of those that do have them, many do not have access to international programs. But I am sure that the average knowledge of foreign countries in a poor village in Africa, Asia or Latin America today is far greater than it was 50 years ago.
We should not doubt the political impact this can have. The opening up of communications was critical to the collapse of the Iron Curtain. People learned what was happening in other countries, and understood that they did not have to live the way they were living. And the Iron Curtain fell. That was before the Internet. Most of us here already understand the power of the internet, through the changes it has made in our lives. I had thought, though, that the internet would remain irrelevant to the billions of people without electricity or telephones. However that too may be changing: I understand from Jim Wolfensohn that there is an Australian invention that for $13,000 will put a solar- or wind-powered generator attached to a computer with a wireless device that will beam signals up to a satellite. This can be done anywhere, meaning that it will soon be possible for many more people to access the internet.
The Critics
The natural reaction of the economist is to think that all this must be for the good. After all, it expands the opportunity set, and what more can one ask than that? But the process has its critics, many of them passionate. In advanced countries, many demonstrators express concerns about the effects of trade on jobs and the environment. They support protectionism, and they criticize the international financial institutions - though I hasten to add that not every critic of the IFIs is anti-globalization.
There are many critics in the developing countries too. Let me describe briefly what three of them - Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and President Yoweri Musaveni of Uganda - had to say recently at the Southern Africa International Dialogue conference, which met in Maputo in mid-August. The three leaders argued that developing countries risk being further marginalized by the economic trend towards globalization. They said that globalization amounted to nothing but securing access to the developing world for products from the developed nations.
President Musaveni said globalization was "the same old order with new means of control, new means of oppression, new means of marginalisation". (Quotes are from an AFP report on the conference.) To put this comment into perspective, you should know that President Museveni has led Uganda successfully through more than ten years of very high growth and integration into the world economy. His country is one of the best performing in Africa, and it has achieved growth by following a market-oriented course of reform. So his concerns about globalization are particularly interesting.
Prime Minister Mahathir warned that it was dangerous for developing countries to embrace globalization. He noted that its negative consequences were seldom mentioned or instead blamed on bad governance, corruption and cronyism. "A blind acceptance of an ideology that, to date, stands as just that - an ideology - is unacceptable, naí¯ve, and downright dangerous", he said. Pointing to the glaring income gaps between industrialized and developing nations as proof, he added that the benefits of trade liberalization were still far from reaching developing countries.
President Mugabe said that Africa did not yet have the capacity to enter the global village, as the continent was still grappling to set up basic necessities such as good roads, railways, and transport.
What should we make of all this? Let me ask three questions:
First, what are the concerns of the critics of globalization?
Second, what should we do about those concerns?
Third, what does the future hold? - which is the question posed by the title of this session.
The concerns of the critics
We have to be very careful to distinguish among what different groups are saying. Some critics are isolationists who are opposed to the process of globalization. But others are not isolationists; rather they want a better globalization. For instance, some who argue for stronger labor standards and better environmental standards undoubtedly use those issues as a cover for protectionism. But there is a genuine problem in both of those areas, and some who raise those issues want a better globalization, not necessarily its reversal.
Similarly, not all the critics of the international financial institutions want to end globalization. Many simply want us to do a better job - whether it is by being more transparent; moving more rapidly on debt relief; or by allowing a larger say for developing countries in the decisions of the IFIs. In short, they too want what they see as a better globalization.
Nor should we too quickly dismiss all the concerns of the developing country leaders - whether it is about the distribution of power and wealth in the world economy, or about industrial country markets that remain closed to their agricultural and textile exports. While some of what is being said is purely self-serving, some of what they are asking for is part of a better globalization. In that context, it interesting that President Musaveni argued that Africa has to fight globalization "either by negotiations between those who are marginalized and those favored by this unfair arrangement, or by resistance and contradiction". He wants in, not out.
What should we do about the valid concerns?
It is important to recognize that trade does change relative prices and that trade integration can create losers as well as winners in the short run. The economist's response is that everyone can be made better off by opening to trade, and that in the long-run everyone will be better off. Almost every major innovation renders an earlier technology obsolete, and at such times there are typically pressures to protect the workers, firms, and industries who would be hurt by the innovation. But, the economist says, if we heeded these concerns, there would be no progress. That is a good and valid argument. But, of course, we still have to worry about what happens to people in the short run, as technologies and industries rise and fall. Here is room for the social safety net, for education, and for retraining.
Turning to labor, the ILO labor standards are reasonable. In themselves, they are not necessarily protectionist. By contrast, arguments that real wages should be equalized around the world, which sometimes accompany pleas for the observance of labor standards, are protectionist, and would stop much of trade. Still, one can try to improve labor standards without going all the way to seeking to outlaw trade. Similarly, there are real concerns about differences in environmental standards as factors influencing trade, even though some people use these concerns as an excuse for protectionism.
Another set of valid concerns arises from the volatility of international capital flows, brought to the fore by the financial crises of the 1990s. The current debate on the international financial architecture addresses that problem. This is not the place to describe in detail what has been done to strengthen the international financial system, but much is being done.
Among these measures, the change in the exchange rate systems of many emerging market countries - the abandonment of fixed-but-adjustable pegs in favor of floats or very hard pegs (like currency boards) - is probably the single most important factor reducing vulnerability to capital account crises, even if, as I believe, in the long run we will end up with fewer currencies, and in that sense with greater fixity of exchange rates. Similarly the efforts now under way to develop a framework for private sector involvement in the resolution of crises should both make crises less likely to happen and less damaging when they do happen, as crises inevitably will.
Turning to the concerns of the developing country critics of globalization, advanced country obstacles to trade - in particular barriers to trade in agricultural products and textiles - are difficult indeed to explain to those being asked to open up their own economies. Of all the criticisms that I encounter visiting developing countries, this is the most difficult to deal with. Countries being encouraged to join the world economy say, "We are not allowed to export what we produce." It is that straightforward, and it should change.
The unequal distribution of power in the world is another of the major concerns of developing country critics of globalization. The unequal distribution of power is a fact of life, that has to be lived with. But consideration has and is being given to increasing the influence of developing countries in several international fora. For example, there has been some discussion of revisiting voting shares in the IMF, or possibly changing the number of seats that developing countries have in the IMF Board. There has also been the creation of new international fora, which give more representation to the developing countries - for instance, the G-20. I doubt that the proliferation of institutions is useful in the long run, but it is a response to a felt need. How this develops will depend very much on how Europe resolves issues of its representation in the IMF, in other organizations and in the G-7.
Regarding respect for local and national cultures, that is not something very easy for economists to deal with. But there must be enormous sympathy for the need to maintain and nurture the international public good that is the diversity of cultures. So there are many valid concerns about globalization, or more generally, about the way the world is changing. We need to listen to these concerns and respond to them constructively when they are valid and when changes need to be made.
But - and this is critical - we should also speak up in defense of globalization and in defense of the institutions that are trying to make it work better. We should not hesitate to say what is true - that the past half-century has been one of unprecedented progress. It has seen more people, and a greater proportion of the world's population, prosper than ever before in history, and it has seen more people enjoy high income growth than ever before. Those are among the benefits of globalization.
So we should not hesitate to describe the benefits of globalization, to say that this is a process that should be defended, sustained, and improved, and to defend it.
The Future
Finally, what about the future? Two cheering observations to begin with: First, most developing countries continue to liberalize trade despite their complaints about the global trading system. We calculate an index of trade barriers for individual IMF member countries. Almost uniformly, it shows that barriers to trade have been declining in the developing countries. They understand that unilateral trade liberalization is in their own interest; they are arguing for the advanced countries to open up - not for themselves to close down - and that is good news.
Second, despite the recent crises, capital accounts in almost all emerging market countries have remained open. And the two largest economies with relatively closed capital accounts - India and China - are preparing to further liberalize their capital accounts. They understand that is the best way to go. They are doing it cautiously and gradually. And they are right to do it that way. But the direction in which they are moving is clear. Policy-makers in almost all developing countries have no intention of reversing the process of capital account opening, despite their complaints over much of what is going on in the world, and despite their concerns over the recent crises.
I have two forecasts. The first is conditional: if we, and this means the policy-makers of the advanced countries and the international institutions, manage the process well and bring the developing countries into the process of globalization, it will continue, to the potential benefit of all and to the likely benefit of almost all. And, second, there will be surprises along the way.
* Mussa, Michael, Factors Driving Global Economic Integration, IMF (Washington: 2000), http://www.imf.org/external/np/speeches/2000/082500.htm
More Information on the International Monetary Fund
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Report # 2000/08August 22, 2000
This paper uses open sources to examine any topic with the potential to cause threats to public or national security.
INTRODUCTION
1. Shock and surprise were widespread in the wake of the disruptive protests and associated violence that characterized the Seattle World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference, 29 November-3 December, 1999. Yet the demonstrations were not something new, nor was the principal targetâ€"multinational corporate powerâ€"an unexpected focus. Opposition to corporate globalization has been growing for several years, a trend underscored by increasing media attention since 1995. Security agencies at Seattle, however, were caught off-guard by the large number of demonstrators and scope of representation, combined with the use of sophisticated methods and technology that effectively shut down the Conference.
2. Prior to Seattle, the most recent associated event occurred six months earlier, on 18 June, 1999, when protests known as "J18" were organized to coincide with the G8 Economic Summit in Cologne, Germany. The focal point was the City of London, where a march of 2000 people degenerated into a riot in which 42 people were injured and damage was estimated at one million pounds sterling.(1) But the activities were not confined to London; cities in North America and Europe also were involved, and in most cases financial districts were targeted.
3. Bringing together a broad spectrum of interests and agendas, J18 incorporated both people and technology. While the former demonstrated on the streets, the latter featured in cyberattacks against business institutions. For five hours, at least 20 companies were subjected to more than 10,000 attacks by hackers.(2) Adding a sense of insult to injury, the Internet was the means by which the concept of J18 originated, and by which the event was ultimately orchestrated.
4. Neither J18 nor the WTO protest in Seattle, or its counterpart, A16, the International Monetary Fund/World Bank (IMF/WB) demonstration five months later in Washington, DC, were unique, one-off events. As exemplified by further protest activity at the Organization of American States (OAS) Ministerial Meeting in Windsor, and the World Petroleum Conference (WPC) in Calgary, similar incidents can be expected to occur in various forms and with varying degrees of intensity, aiming at the same targetâ€"corporate powerâ€"for the foreseeable future. Reminiscent of the Vietnam and anti-nuclear protest era of the ‘60s and ‘70s, the activities are global in scope, international in locale, and have involved sites in Canada on several occasions.
SITUATION
5. Meetings of international monetary, trade and environmental organizations, which in the past incited little or no protest interest, are now drawing the attention of thousands of anti-globalization activists. Representing a broad spectrum of groups, lobbyists, and overlapping networks, including some violent extremists whose presence raises security concerns, they share a mutual antipathyâ€"that of multinational corporate power. Often described as more influential and stronger than government, some corporations boast budgets larger than the gross domestic product (GDP) of many nations: "...of the top hundred economies, fifty-one are multinationals and only forty-nine are countries."(3)
6. Alleged abuse of corporate power by multinationals is the basic focus of protest activity. Large corporations with international undertakings stand accused of social injustice, unfair labour practicesâ€" including slave labour wages, living and working conditionsâ€"as well as a lack of concern for the environment, mismanagement of natural resources, and ecological damage. Anti-globalization demonstrations have achieved worldwide support partly because the target, per se, its representatives, and its effects are global in nature. Major brand names, among them Nike, Starbucks, McDonalds, and Shell Oil, are principal targets, ironically because their massive advertising campaigns designed to engender public prominence have been successfulâ€"and that status is being used to highlight the charges brought against them.
7. Protest objectives extend beyond the claimed corporate impropriety, however. Multinational economic institutions, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank (WB), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), are seen as establishing, monitoring, and rendering judgements on global trade practices, and are viewed as the spearheads of economic globalization. These institutions, considered to be the servants of corporate interests, exercising more power than elected governments and interested only in the profit motive, have increasingly become principal demonstration targets. Underlying the anti-globalization theme is criticism of the capitalist philosophy, a stance promoted once again by left-of-centre activists and militant anarchists.
8. The global parameters have encouraged disparate groups and individuals to participate in the demonstrations. In Seattle and Washington, for example, the wide variety of parading malcontents evoked the eclectic ambience of a "protest county fair." Circumstances also have promoted the involvement of fringe extremists who espouse violence, largely represented by Black Bloc anarchists and factions of militant animal-rights and environmental activists. The melding of various elements and establishing of strange-bedfellow ties at individual demonstrations have contributed both to the impact and the unique character of the events.
DISCUSSION
The Issues
9. The growing trend toward anti-globalization activism is directed, first, against "big business"â€"multinational corporate powerâ€"and, second, against "big money"â€"global agreements on economic growth. Allegations of exploitive labour and human-rights abuses reach back to the mid-1990s when a number of corporations producing major brand name products, such as Nike sneakers, Gap jeans, and Starbucks coffee, were accused of union-busting, sweatshop working conditions, and child labour practices on a global scale. Among other well-known multinationals, McDonalds, Monsanto, and Shell Oil were indicted for similar faults. The litany of castigation ranges across a broad spectrum, including paying low wages, offering minimal health benefits, depleting old-growth and rain forests, using unsafe pesticides, bio-engineering agriculture crops, violating animal rights, and colluding with violent and repressive regimes.
10. Accusations against the multinationals continueâ€"students still gather in Eugene, Oregon, the home of Nike, to protest the corporate giant's Third World labour practicesâ€"but increasingly they are being supplemented by demonstrations against such institutions as the World Trade Organization (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank (WB). Protagonists claim these establishments promote and facilitate corporate power and that elected governments are being overshadowed in the political arena by global economic institutions and their efforts to direct and expand economic growth. Activists, however, are divided in their anti-globalization position. The larger segment supports restructuring corporations to reflect accountability and transparency; the smaller segment, while also supporting these objectives, actively promotes the total demise of global structures including the WTO. Anarchist activists and some environmentalists fall in the latter category.
11. The philosophy of capitalism also is under attack, facing charges that it is ignoring the social welfare of individuals, and destroying cultures and the ecology in the quest for growth and profit. As prominent corporate names come under fire, making for good publicity and media attention, groups such as animal-rights activists and environmental protection advocates vie for an opportunity to share the spotlight, many making similar claims about exploitation. Some observers term the situation the "rise of the New New Left"(4) and draw comparisons to the 1968 Parisian "summer of the barricades." The unifying elements on this occasion, however, are the powers of the corporations, name-brands, globalization, and the interests of capital, in opposition to the welfare of workers, exploitation of the ecology, and a range of collateral issues. Many factors are involved, with certain incidents cited as triggers, among them the death of Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, and the campaigns against Kathy Lee sportswear, Wal-Mart, Mattel and Disney, and Shell and Chevron Oil Companies, which draw attention to the claims of the protesters and give substantive meaning to the demonstrations.
12. In her book, No Logo, Canadian Naomi Klein claims
"...corporate investment in the Third World was seen ...as a key to alleviating poverty and misery. By 1996, however, that concept was being openly questioned, and it was recognized that many governments in the developing world were protecting lucrative investmentsâ€"mines, dams, oil fields, power plants and export processing zonesâ€"by deliberately turning a blind eye to egregious rights violations by foreign corporations against their people."(5)
Further, she states:
"At the heart of this convergence of anticorporate activism...is the recognition that corporations are much more than purveyors of the products we all want; they are also the most powerful political forces of our time....So although the media often describe campaigns like the one against Nike as "consumer boycotts," that tells only part of the story. It is more accurate to describe them as political campaigns that use consumer goods as readily accessible targets, as public-relations levers and as popular-education tools."(6)
13. Although multinational corporations and international trade institutions are the subjects of criticism, not all observers share a negative perspective. Many commentaries are published which speak in favour of beneficial and positive accomplishments, especially in relation to the international institutions. The concept of free trade is just one topic which has been favourably addressed:
"Global free trade promotes global economic growth. It creates jobs, makes companies more competitive, and lowers prices for consumers. It also provides poor countries, through infusions of foreign capital and technology, with the chance to develop economically and, by spreading prosperity, creates the conditions in which democracy and respect for human rights may flourish."(7)
14. One relatively small but vocal and violent protest element is the militant anarchist faction, often identified as the Black Bloc. Considered to be exponents of a virtually defunct philosophy, anarchists received a fillip for their cause in 1995 when the Unabomber's political manifesto was published. Paradoxically, the manifesto identified technology as a major source of the world's ills and called for the violent destruction of the system, especially the Internet, which in large measure has contributed to promoting the anarchist message worldwide. Although some members of the anarchist milieu believe that a peaceful, ethical approach should be followed, many defend the use of violence as the only means to achieve the classic anarchist society based on small independent communities that function without elected leaders.
15. While most demonstration participants and members of protest groups seek to conduct their activities in a peaceful, legitimate manner, militants and extremists have other ideas. The radical, extremist participants represented at the demonstrationsâ€"whatever their causeâ€"believe the standard forms of protestâ€"marching, rhetoric, and placard-wavingâ€"have failed to achieve anything of importance. They believe it is necessary to undertake "direct action" by inflicting damage on those corporations that extend the reach of global trade and technology at the expense of the Earth and its poorest citizens. Some of the more aggressive frequently resort to climbing and rapelling techniques to scale buildings and other lofty sites to conduct sit-ins or hang banners for publicity purposes. Extremistsâ€"often anarchists, animal-rights supporters, or environmentalistsâ€"indulge in such violent actions as smashing windows, setting fires, or trashing shops and fast-food outlets.
16. No matter the fundamental viewpoint, pro or con, involving globalization, concerns on the part of law enforcement and security agencies are very real. While individuals and groups have a right to legitimate protest, including non-violent demonstrations whatever their size, they do not have the right to close down political meetings. Writing in the The Ottawa Citizen, two professors from Carleton University have said:
"Democracies have the right and the responsibility to protect free expression and lawful assembly. This includes rights for activists and critics. It also includes the rights of elected officials to assemble and express their views. The tyranny of small groups, minorities or even majorities to prevent the exercise of such rights by trying to shut down meetings is unacceptable in a democracy."(8)
Groups
17. Diversity is a major characteristic of anti-globalization protests and demonstrations, which are often described as "multi-generational, multi-class, and multi-issue"(9). Participants represent a variety of issues and not all are pursuing globalization as their primary target. For some protesters, anti-globalization is a principal concern, but for others it is merely a shared goal, with the demonstrations simply a means to an end. That is, the combination of groups and participants coming together creates a powerful impression and an impact out of all proportion with their individual strengths. The melding of the various groups into one large body implies power, and attracts attention and publicity, which, in turn, draws more and more participants. Many groups and individuals take part largely because of the attention and publicity which are generated, almost in the manner of self-generating growth. Seattle and Washington reflect how large the antagonistic audience has become, and the lengths to which participants will go in their desire to shut down or impede the spread of globalization. It is an issue with significantly more supporters from the left than the right, and features a large component of youth.
18. To some degree, participation at protests and demonstrations depends upon the subject of the targeted meeting or conference. Labour had serious concerns about the proposals scheduled to be discussed at Seattle's WTO Meetingâ€"consequently labour was well represented, well organized, and contributed to the protest funding arrangements. The WB/IMF Meeting in Washington, however, was of less interest to labour, drew a much smaller number of labour supporters, and prompted a much lower labour profile. The OAS meeting in Windsor also raised labour's concerns, but when it became evident that some of the more contentious issues were not on the agenda, interest waned. As well, because Windsor is largely a labour town , it did not behoove labour organizers to create a bad impression. Differences of opinion do exist and schisms do impact on attendance and activity at demonstrations; during the OAS Conference in Windsor, for example, labour representatives attempted to prevent the more violent protesters from storming police barricades.
19. Protesters represent a broad spectrum of causes and goalsâ€"environmentalists, animal-rights supporters, union members, human-rights activists, anarchists, even the White supremacist milieu. But with the exception of large and prominent organizations, e.g., Greenpeace, the names or titles of groups are not significant. Many groups are merely splinters, have few members, are formed briefly for the need of the moment, change their names frequently, or are located in a specific region; in many cases, individuals are members of several groups at the same time or espouse various causes. Of more importance are the causes and motivations, per se, which are represented by the various groups and which provide an indication of the likely type of protest activity that might be expected at a demonstration.
20. Some relatively well-known organizations and causes often are represented at anti-globalization demonstrations: the AFL-CIO, appearing on behalf of labour's interests, and People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), one of several animal-rights support groups. Similarly, Rainforest Action Network, Earth First!, and the Sierra Club advocate environmentalism, and Global Exchange, Direct Action Network, Nader's Group, Radical Roots, and Global Trade Watch uphold the human-rights banner. Two organizations which have materialized in recent years and play a significant role are the California-based Ruckus Society, and the Calgary-based Co-Motion Action. Both specialize in training protesters and organizing and managing demonstrations, aspects discussed in greater detail below (see: Tactics and Technology).
21. The more militant and violent protesters belong to extremist elements associated with many of the causes, especially environmentalist, animal-rights, and anti-abortion activists. Extremists currently achieving the most notoriety are found among anarchists and members of the Third Position. The former are represented in part by the Black Bloc, the Anarchist News Service, the Black Army Faction, and Anarchist Action Collective. Individuals identified as members of the Black Bloc were believed responsible for much of the violence in Seattle and, to a lesser extent, in Washington. The Black Bloc is a loosely organized cluster of anarchist affinity groups and individuals, estimated in North America to number a few hundred, who come together to participate in protests and demonstrations.(10) The Third Position, largely a European phenomenon but spreading rapidly to the USA, is a curious mixture of extreme Left and Right political motivations which include the use of violent means of protest.(11)
Tactics and Technology
22. While diversity has contributed to modernizing and strengthening protests and demonstrations, new tactics and technology, collectively and individually, have radically changed the face of protest activity and generated renewed life in the reality of demonstrations. Gone are old-style gatherings confined to waving placards and banners, declaiming speakers, and moderate, controlled marches in specific locations. Not unlike the massive and often vigourous Out of Vietnam and Ban the Bomb protests of the ‘60s and ‘70s decades, today's demonstrations, resurrecting the anarchist theme of "direct action," employ a host of novel methodologies that have given a whole new complexion to the nature of the protests. The development and implementation of new tactics are a direct result of the impact of new technology and the ability of organizers to use it to their best advantage.
23. Creating the foundation for dramatic change, the Internet has had a profound impactâ€"in part by enabling organizers to quickly and easily arrange demonstrations and protests, worldwide if necessary. Individuals and groups now are able to establish dates, share experiences, accept responsibilities, arrange logistics, and initiate a myriad of other taskings that would have been impossible to manage readily and rapidly in the past. International protests and demonstrations can be organized for the same date and time, so that a series of protests take place in concert. The Internet has breathed new life into the anarchist philosophy, permitting communication and coordination without the need for a central source of command, and facilitating coordinated actions with minimal resources and bureaucracy. It has allowed groups and individuals to cement bonds, file e-mail reports of perceived successes, and recruit members.
24. Anti-globalists aim by force of numbers to shut down targeted meetings and, in the process, paralyze free movement in a host city. In the short term, they carry an economic impact, a form of sabotage long endorsed by environmental activists. In the months prior to a campaign, activists attend extensive training and educational courses associated with proposed protests and demonstrations. By organizing counter summits to run concurrently with international events, as was done during the June, 2000, World Petroleum Congress in Calgary, activists ensure involvement. Pre-event lectures include highly emotive subjects, such as the execution of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa by the Nigerian government in 1995, and human-rights conditions in Bolivia and Guatemala. Idealism plays a large role, with protesters becoming more and more knowledgeable about their subject and sophisticated in their methodology, using travelling "road shows" and teach-ins to increase their effectiveness.
25. The new protest phenomenon has been characterized by the broad range of interests which have come together to conduct the demonstrations with minimal dissension. "Reclaim The Streets," a UK-based initiative that originated with street parties or "raves" in the mid-1990s, is a tactical concept that protesters have adopted to promote their causes en masse(12), and which gave rise to the massive gatherings at Seattle and Washington. The methodology has been remarkable in terms of organization, especially because a central "director" is not evident and, in part, the resulting lack of infighting has been the secret of success. Like the Internet itself, the anti-globalist movement is a body that manages to survive and even thrive without a head. However, radical elements and extremists are taking advantage both of the absence of a controlling element and the events themselves to indulge in violence, which is not the stated intent of demonstration participants.
26. One of the more impressive innovations has been the method of organizing, arranging, and directing the operational and administrative activities associated with the demonstrationsâ€"accomplished effectively without the obvious influence of central authority, command, or control. In many ways, the system is very similar to that advocated by anarchists of the libertarian socialist philosophy. Activities begin with like-minded individuals who gather in affinity groups across the country, plan their roles, and travel to the site of the demonstration. Once at the site, they join with other like-minded affinity groups to form clusters and to select a spokesperson who attends the daily spokescouncil. At the latter, discussions are held and information passed concerning operational and administrative activitiesâ€"arrangements for accommodation, feeding, legal advice, types of actions to be implemented. Locations are chosen for certain activities and agreements reached concerning the types of protest actions to be undertaken, although complete agreement is not always achievedâ€"the more militant or extremist elements usually do as they please.
27. Some clusters undertake specific taskings and responsibilities, such as securing food, transportation, and accommodation, making legal arrangements, and forming into working groups to cope with the range of logistical, administrative, and operational requirements necessary for a successful protest (e.g., media, training, legal, transportation, issues, permitted actions, scenarios, propaganda, medical, fundraising, communications). Prior to the Washington IMF/WB demonstration, a number of affinity groups met several months in advance, as did representatives of the spokescouncil and the working groups. Some sponsors, representatives of labour organizations, and a broad range of causes formed coalitions for the purpose of "mobilizing" participants. Again, the availability of the Internet permitted them to share ideas, experiences, and problems from a global perspective.
28. Cellphones constitute a basic means of communication and control, allowing protest organizers to employ the concepts of mobility and reserves and to move groups from place to place as needed. The mobility of demonstrators makes it difficult for law enforcement and security personnel to attempt to offset their opponents through the presence of overwhelming numbers. It is now necessary for security to be equally mobile, capable of readily deploying reserves, monitoring the communications of protesters, and, whenever possible, anticipating the intentions of the demonstrators. In some cases, the extremist elements, e.g., Black Bloc anarchists, have used the ranks of moderate protesters as shields to prevent law enforcement personnel from viewing violent activities and from getting into position to stop the damage.
29. Protesters have learned to employ both kerosene and vinegar-soaked rags for anti-tear gas and anti-pepper spray purposes, and to use a combination of chicken wire, PVC pipe, and linked arms to create almost immoveable street barricades. As well, a technique which harks back at least three decades to anti-nuclear and Left and Right Wing demonstrations in Great Britain, the renewed use of ball bearings and marbles against police horses has been suggested. Among the use of new technologies, Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is the preferred means of encrypting communications on the Internet. As well, the anti-globalists have adopted media-savvy techniques developed and refined by environmental activists. For example, during the 26-30 March, 2000, BIO 2000 biotechnology conference held in Boston, protestors against genetically modified food set up the ‘Boston Independent Media Centre,' which posted photos, stories and audio clips on its Web site throughout the week of protests.
30. The Ruckus Society, a Berkeley, California-based group formed in 1995, has made a specialty of training protesters to meet the challenges encountered in demonstrating effectively, e.g., the placement of banners and individuals in critical locations, overcoming obstacles, and evading security controls. Ruckus played a leading role in preparing demonstrators participating at Seattle and Washington, and previously trained environmentalists in civil disobedience in Alberta and British Columbia. Representatives were present in Windsor and Calgary, prior to the OAS and WPC conferences, to teach demonstrators various improved protest techniques(13). An offshoot Canadian group, Co-Motion Action, conducted a training camp in Banff to prepare protesters for the World Petroleum Congress. Among direct action and civil disobedience lessons taught are use of the Internet, cellphones, video cameras, scaling walls, climbing trees, creating human blockades, scouting sites, and forming plans to combat police tactics(14).
Funding
31. Financial and material support of protesters and demonstrations, partly self-generated and partly raised by contributions from interested parties, is fundamentally a matter of initiative and imagination. Again, the Internet facilitates protest activities, offering a fast, simple, and inexpensive method of communication for organizing, motivating and encouraging attendees, sharing experiences and ideas, and soliciting funds. Many participants make their own way to demonstration sites, securing their own transportation, food, and accommodation; frequently, attendees share their capabilities and facilities and are assisted by like-minded groups and individuals at the demonstration location. Some funding originates with the large and better-known protest organizations such as the Direct Action Network and the Alliance for Global Justice(15). Protesters attending demonstrations considered to be in the interest of labour are often provided funds, transportation, meals, and lodging by labour unions and affiliated groups.
32 The San Francisco-based human-rights group, Global Action, provides an example of the cooperative and collegial relationships which exist in support of demonstration organizers and participants. A nine-person protest team conducted a 20-city tour using shared and borrowed vehicles prior to the Washington IMF/WB demonstration. The tour was arranged by e-mail correspondence, which also facilitated the team's housing and food during the journey. In return, the team conducted meetings, teach-ins, rallies and promotional activities to encourage attendance in Washington.
33. Funds are raised variously by solicitation, sales of badges, T-shirts, and other paraphenalia which publicize the range of protest movements. Other sources of funding are training courses, such as those run by The Ruckus Society and Co-motion Action, which charge $125.00 per attendee but request that participants pay as much as they can afford.(16) Fundamentally, the protesters and the actual demonstrations do not of themselves require huge financial support. Much of what is undertaken is improvised and ad hoc, and does not result from the efforts of large self-interested lobbies or conspiracies. The closest approximation to organized support is that represented by labour's activism, which has included publicity and the provision of buses to transport participants.
Implications for Canada
34. A member of many of the organizations that have been subjected to, or are targeted for, protest actions (WTO, IMF, WB, OAS, WPC) at home and abroad, Canada is a favoured venue for international conferences. Governments at all levels in Canada make a practice of inviting and encouraging organizations to hold their meetings and conferences at various locations across the nation. The concept is good for business and serves to raise Canada's democratic profile in world affairs. Paradoxically, however, Canada's positive image could be marred by the occurrence of protests and demonstrations, and especially by associated unfavourable media coverage. Similarly, some authorities suggest Canada's reputation and interests abroad could suffer if the country is identified as a member of institutions targeted by foreign protests and demonstrations.
35. Although the majority of demonstrations are intended to be pacific, violence does occur and protests can be disruptive and expensive. While security agencies must know the nature of the opposition they are facing and be prepared, they must be careful of the form and extent of their response. Excessively draconian procedures could have a deleterious effect and provide the protesters with propaganda material to be used against the government and security elements. Further, care must be taken that security does not create the atmosphere of an armed camp which restricts and inconveniences the movement of conference attendees and irritates local business interests. Ultimately, security forces and policy makers also must recognize the possibility of increased levels of violence on the part of some extremists who may become frustrated by the protective measures in place at targeted conferences and meetings.
OUTLOOK
36. Anti-globalization protests and demonstrations will continue. In fact, many non-associated groups will seize on the anti-globalization theme as a convenient rationale to participate in demonstrations, making it difficult to accurately forecast security needs. Conference organizers, security agencies, and law enforcement personnel will have to accept that reality and the inherent challenge, which will demand adequate contingency planning. Sound intelligence arrangements will be crucial to the successful implementation of precautionary measures, especially to avoid errors of over- or under-commitment of resources and to preclude draconian responses or steps which would promote violent reactions from protesters. Extremist fringe elements will seek any excuse to indulge in aggressive tactics or resort to destructive activities. Clashes amongst demonstrators and between protesters and security peronnel have become a standard feature of many conference demonstrations, and some anarchist groups are calling for more violent involvement.
37. North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom will likely be the most affected areas, largely because the majority of targeted meetings and conferences are scheduled there. Prominent locales such as London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, and Prague are attractive to delegates, media, and protesters alike, as were Washington and Seattle. Within relatively easy travel distance, even for trans-atlantic journeys, they are readily accessible, offer a wide range of amenities, and possess excellent communications. As well, such major capital cities have a cachet that enhances the impact of media coverage and encourages the presence and extraordinary actions of demonstrators.
38. Distance and remote location remain factors in curtailing the presence of demonstrators to some degree, but are not sufficient to ensure security or constrain the influence of pressure groups. For example, early in May, the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank at Chiang Mai, Thailand, was overwhelmed by 4,000 protesters demanding an end to policies they claimed punished the poor. Inspired by events in Washington and Seattle, protesters caught police by surprise when they stormed security barricades.(17) The July G-8 Summit on Okinawa was peaceful, largely because heavy security precautions combined with high costs for transportation, accomodation and logistic support to deter the presence of large numbers of protesters. Nonetheless, a day prior to the conference, thousands of people staged protests across Japan and students marched in Tokyo, shouting "Smash the summit." (18)
39. While location will have an influence on the number and type of demonstrators present at a conference, the purpose and nature of the gathering will be a much more decisive factor. Significant meetings, especially those featuring senior government or corporate leaders, such as G-8 Summits and IMF meetings, will attract large numbers of peaceful protesters, as well as those predisposed to violent activities. As well, the lack of obvious achievement by principals during a preceding conference, such as failure to approve debt relief for poor countries, may serve to mobilize thousands more protesters and trigger a wave of anger and outrage at subsequent events. Representatives of lobby groups who were present on Okinawa voiced their disatisfaction with the outcome and claimed their frustration will lead to protests "that will eclipse events in Seattle."(19)
40. The Internet will continue to play a large role in the success or failure of globalization protests and demonstrations. Groups will use the Internet to identify and publicize targets, solicit and encourage support, organize and communicate information and instructions, recruit, raise funds, and as a means of promoting their various individual and collective aims. The Internet remains a major source of protest motivation and planning; it will require careful monitoring by conference planners to determine the intentions and goals of demonstrators, and to forestall unexpected incidents.
41. Continued presence and use of large numbers of security forces, fencing, and similar restrictive measures could dampen the enthusiasm of protesters and might gradually reduce the size of some gatherings, as could adverse weather conditions. But, as demonstrated by extremist animal-rights and environmental activists, security measures could prompt a rise in the scale of violence from smashing windows to arson attacks, the use of explosive devices, and even physical threats against individuals, including posting warning letters purported to contain contaminated razor blades. The situation is paradoxical: the interest of targeted institutions and their membership in holding meetings on Canadian soil could wane if faced with stringent security precautions and movement restrictions. Conversely, Seattle-type disturbances and interference could similarly engender a loss of interest in using Canadian venues for international conferences and meetings which might prove attractive to demonstrators. Nonetheless, it has been established that antiglobalists are organizing against a number of international meetings in Canada, including the April 2001 Summit of the Americas in Quebec City. Given the virulent anti-globalization rhetoric directed against the Organization of American States (OAS), the threat of Summit-associated violence in Quebec City cannot be ruled out.
ENDNOTES
1. The Globe Mail, 1 Dec 1999.
2. The Sunday Times, 15 Aug 1999.
3. The Ottawa Citizen, 20 Apr 2000.
4. Minneapolis Star Tribune, 21 May 2000.
5. Naomi Klein. NO LOGO. Alfred A. Knopf, Canada, 2000, p.338.
6. IBID, p.339.
7. "After Seattle", William Finnegan. The New Yorker, 17 Apr 2000, p42.
8. The Ottawa Citizen, 1 Jun 2000.
9. Time. 26 Apr 2000, p.21.
10. "NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND", David Samuels. Harper's Magazine, May 2000, p.37.
11. ‘Neither Left, Nor Right', Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Report, Winter 2000, p.40.
12. Klein, Op. Cit., p.311.
13. Calgary Herald, 15 Apr 2000.
14. The Globe Mail, 12 May 2000.
15. Time, 24 Apr 2000, p.21.
16. The Globe Mail, 12 May 2000.
17. The Globe Mail, 8 May, 2000.
18. CNN.Com, 21 July, 2000.
19. Reuters, 23 July, 2000.
http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Anti-globalization movementFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThe anti-globalization movement is critical of the globalization of capitalism. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement[1], alter-globalization movement, anti-corporate globalization movement[2], or movement against neoliberal globalization. Corresponding terms in other languages are mouvement antimondialiste[3] (French), globalisierungskritische Bewegung (German), Movimento no-global (Italian), or Movimento anti-globalização (Portuguese). Participants base their criticisms on a number of related ideas.[4] What is shared is that participants stand in opposition to the unregulated political power of large, multi-national corporations and to the powers exercised through trade agreements and deregulated financial markets. Specifically, corporations are accused of seeking to maximize profit at the expense of sabotaging work safety conditions and standards, labor hiring and compensation standards, environmental conservation principles, and the integrity of national legislative authority, independence and sovereignty. Recent developments, seen as unprecedented changes in the global economy, have been characterized as "turbo-capitalism" (Edward Luttwak), "market fundamentalism" (George Soros), "casino capitalism" (Susan Strange),[5] "cancer-stage capitalism" (John McMurtry), and as "McWorld" (Benjamin Barber). Many anti-globalization activists generally call for forms of global integration that better provide democratic representation, advancement of human rights and more egalitarian states.[6][7][8] [edit] Ideology and causesMain article: Criticisms of globalization Supporters believe that by the late 20th century those they characterized as "ruling elites" sought to harness the expansion of world markets for their own interests; this combination of the Bretton Woods institutions, states, and multinational corporations has been called "globalization" or "globalization from above." In reaction, various social movements emerged to challenge their influence; these movements have been called "anti-globalization" or "globalization from below."[9] [edit] Opposition to international financial institutions and transnational corporationsGenerally speaking, protesters believe that the global financial institutions and agreements undermine local decision-making methods. Corporations exercise privileges that human citizens cannot:
They are able to move on after doing permanent damage to the natural capital and biodiversity of a nation, in a manner impossible for that nation's citizens. Activists' goals are for an end to the legal status of "corporate personhood" and the dissolution of free market fundamentalism and the radical economic privatization measures of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Trade Organization.  The activists are especially opposed to "globalization abuse" and the international institutions that promote neoliberalism without regard to ethical standards. Common targets include the World Bank (WB), International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) and free trade treaties like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). In light of the economic gap between rich and poor countries, movement adherents claim "free trade" without measures in place to protect the environment and the health and well being of workers will contribute only to the strengthening the power of industrialized nations (often termed the "North" in opposition to the developing world's "South"). A report by Jean Ziegler, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, notes that "millions of farmers are losing their livelihoods in the developing countries, but small farmers in the northern countries are also suffering" and concludes that "the current inequities of the global trading system are being perpetuated rather than resolved under the WTO, given the unequal balance of power between member countries." [10] Activists point to the unequal footing and power between developed and developing nations within the WTO and with respect to global trade, most specifically in relation to the protectionist policies towards agriculture enacted in many developed countries. These activists also point out that heavy subsidization of developed nations' agriculture and the aggressive use of export subsidies by some developed nations to make their agricultural products more attractive on the international market are major causes of declines in the agricultural sectors of many developing nations.  Activists often also oppose some business alliances like the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Trans Atlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), as well as the governments which promote such agreements or institutions. Others argue that, if borders are opened to capital, borders should be similarly opened to allow free and legal circulation and choice of residence for migrants and refugees. These activists tend to target organizations such as the International Organization for Migration and the Schengen Information System. It is often argued that the United States has a special advantage in the global economy because of dollar hegemony, and that dollar dominance is not just a consequence of US economic superiority. Globalization historians claim that dollar dominance has been achieved also by political agreements such as the Bretton Woods System and OPEC dollar-only petroleum trade after the US broke with the gold standard for the dollar. [edit] Global opposition to neoliberalismThrough the Internet, a worldwide movement began to develop in opposition to the doctrines of neoliberalism which were manifested on a global scale in the 1990s when the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) proposed liberalisation of cross-border investment and trade restrictions through its Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). This treaty was prematurely exposed to public scrutiny and subsequently abandoned in November 1998 in the face of strenuous protest and criticism by national and international civil society representatives. Neoliberal doctrine argued that untrammeled free trade and reduction of public-sector regulation would bring benefits to poor countries and to disadvantaged people in rich countries. Anti-globalization advocates urge that preservation of the natural environment, human rights (especially workplace rights and conditions) and democratic institutions are likely to be placed at undue risk by globalization unless mandatory standards are attached to liberalisation. Noam Chomsky stated in 2002 that
In an interview in June, 2005, Chomsky stated,
[edit] Anti-war movementBy 2002, many parts of the movement showed wide opposition to the impending invasion of Iraq. Many participants were among those 11 million or more protesters that on the weekend of February 15, 2003, participated in global protests against the imminent Iraq war and were dubbed the "world's second superpower" by an editorial in the New York Times.[13] Other anti-war appointments[clarification needed] were organized by the antiglobalization movement as such: see for example the big demonstration against the impending war in Iraq that closed the first European Social Forum on November 2002 in Florence, Italy.[citation needed] Anti-globalization militants worried for a proper functioning of democratic institutions as the leaders of many democratic countries (Spain, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom) were acting against the wishes of the majorities of their populations in supporting the war.[citation needed] Chomsky asserted that these leaders "showed their contempt for democracy". Critics of this type of argument have tended to point out that this is just a standard criticism of representative democracy — a democratically elected government will not always act in the direction of greatest current public support — and that, therefore, there is no inconsistency in the leaders' positions given that these countries are parliamentary democracies. The economic and military issues are closely linked in the eyes of many within the movement. [edit] Appropriateness of the termSome participants (see Noam Chomsky's quotes above) consider the term "anti-globalization" to be a misnomer. The term suggests that its followers support protectionism and/or nationalism, which is not always the case - in fact, some supporters of anti-globalization are strong opponents of both nationalism and protectionism: for example, the No Border network argues for unrestricted migration and the abolition of all national border controls. The term "anti-globalization" does not distinguish the international left-wing anti-globalization position from a strictly nationalist anti-globalization position. Many nationalist movements, such as the French National Front, are opposed to globalization, but argue that the alternative to globalization is the protection of the nation-state, sometimes, according to critics, in explicitly racist or fascist terms. Other groups, influenced by the Third Position, are also classifiable as anti-globalization. However, their overall world view is rejected by groups such as Peoples Global Action and anti-fascist groups such as ANTIFA. Some activists, notably David Graeber, see the movement as opposed instead to neoliberalism or "corporate globalization". He argues that the term "anti-globalization" is a term coined by the media, and that radical activists are actually more in favor of globalization, in the sense of "effacement of borders and the free movement of people, possessions and ideas" than are the IMF or WTO. He also notes that activists use the terms "globalization movement" and "anti-globalization movement" interchangeably, indicating the confusion of the terminology.[14] The term "alter-globalization" has been used to make this distinction clear. While the term "anti-globalization" arose from the movement's opposition to free-trade agreements (which have often been considered part of something called "globalization"), various participants contend they are opposed to only certain aspects of globalization and instead describe themselves, at least in French-speaking organisations, as "anti-capitalist," "anti-plutocracy," or "anti-corporate." Le Monde Diplomatique 's editor, Ignacio Ramonet's, expression of "the one-way thought" (la pensée unique) became slang against neoliberal policies and the Washington consensus.[15] Two main approaches to finding a common term for the movement can be distinguished: one that might be described as "anti-globalist" or "regionalist", and another that embraces some aspects of globalization (like cross-cultural exchange of information or the diminishing role of the nation-state) while rejecting others (like neo-liberal economics). While proponents of both approaches often cooperate and are a reaction to the same phenomena, their differences might be actually greater than the common ground. The former approach can be described as outright anti-globalist (usually including what is perceived as "Americanization" of culture), while the latter would be more appropriately called "globalization critics". In practice, however, there is no set boundary between these approaches, and the term "anti-globalization" is often indiscriminately applied. The global justice movement describes the loose collection of individuals and groups—often referred to as a "movement of movements", which advocate fair trade rules and are critical of current institutions of global economics such as the World Trade Organization. The movement is often labelled the anti-globalization movement by the mainstream media. Those involved, however, frequently deny that they are "anti-globalization," insisting that they support the globalization of communication and people and oppose only the global expansion of corporate power. The term further indicates an anti-capitalist and universalist perspective on globalization, distinguishing the movement from those opponents of globalization whose politics are based on a conservative defence of national sovereignty. Participants include student groups, NGOs, trade unions, faith-based and peace groups throughout the world. However it is clear that the movement is overwhelmingly dominated by Northern Hemisphere NGOs and that there is a systemic marginalisation of popular organisations from the global South[citation needed]. [edit] InfluencesSeveral influential critical works have inspired the anti-globalization movement. No Logo, the book by the Canadian journalist Naomi Klein who criticized the production practices of multinational corporations and the omnipresence of brand-driven marketing in popular culture, has become "manifesto"[16] of the movement, presenting in a simple way themes more accurately developed in other works. In India some intellectual references of the movement can be found in the works of Vandana Shiva, an ecologist and feminist, who in her book Biopiracy documents the way that the natural capital of indigenous peoples and ecoregions is converted into forms of intellectual capital, which are then recognized as exclusive commercial property without sharing the private utility thus derived. The writer Arundhati Roy is famous for her anti-nuclear position and her activism against India's massive hydroelectric dam project, sponsored by the World Bank. In France the well-known monthly paper Le Monde Diplomatique has advocated the antiglobalization cause and an editorial of its director Ignacio Ramonet brought about the foundation of the association ATTAC. Susan George of the Transnational Institute has also been a long-term influence on the movement, as the writer of books since 1986 on hunger, debt, international financial institutions and capitalism. The works of Jean Ziegler, Christopher Chase-Dunn, and Immanuel Wallerstein have detailed underdevelopment and dependence in a world ruled by the capitalist system. Pacifist and anti-imperialist traditions have strongly influenced the movement. Critics of United States foreign policy such as Noam Chomsky, Susan Sontag, and anti-globalist pranksters The Yes Men are widely accepted inside the movement. Although they may not recognize themselves as antiglobalists and are pro-capitalism, some economists who don't share the neoliberal approach of international economic institutions have strongly influenced the movement. Amartya Sen's Development as Freedom (Nobel Prize in Economics, 1999), argues that third world development must be understood as the expansion of human capability, not simply the increase in national income per capita, and thus requires policies attuned to health and education, not simply GDP. James Tobin's (winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics) proposal for a tax on financial transactions (called, after him, the Tobin Tax) has become part of the agenda of the movement. George Soros, Joseph E. Stiglitz (another Economic Sciences Nobel prize winner, formerly of the World Bank, author of Globalization and Its Discontents) and David Korten have made arguments for drastically improving transparency, for debt relief, land reform, and restructuring corporate accountability systems. Korten and Stiglitz's contribution to the movement include involvement in direct actions and street protest. High profile events such as the "McLibel" case have highlighted concern over the effects of multinational corporations on society, labour relations and the environment (in that case the McDonald's fast food chain). In some Roman Catholic countries such as Italy there have been religious influences, especially from missionaries who have spent a long time in the Third World (the most famous being Alex Zanotelli). Internet sources and free-information websites, such as Indymedia, are a means of diffusion of the movement's ideas. The vast array of material on spiritual movements, anarchism, libertarian socialism and the Green Movement that is now available on the Internet has been perhaps more influential than any printed book. The previously obscure works of Arundhati Roy, Starhawk, and John Zerzan, in particular, inspired a critique favoring feminism, consensus process and political secession. [edit] Organization Although over the past years more emphasis has been given to the construction of grassroots alternatives to (capitalist) globalization, the movement's largest and most visible mode of organizing remains mass decentralized campaigns of direct action and civil disobedience. This mode of organizing, sometimes under the banner of the Peoples' Global Action network, tries to tie the many disparate causes together into one global struggle. In many ways the process of organizing matters overall can be more important to activists than the avowed goals or achievements of any component of the movement. At corporate summits, the stated goal of most demonstrations is to stop the proceedings. Although the demonstrations rarely succeed in more than delaying or inconveniencing the actual summits, this motivates the mobilizations and gives them a visible, short-term purpose. Critics claim[citation needed] that this form of publicity is expensive in police time and the public purse. Although not supported by many[citation needed] in the movement, rioting has occurred in Genoa, Seattle and London and extensive damage can be done to the area, especially corporate targets, including McDonald's and Starbucks restaurants. Despite (or perhaps because of) the lack of formal coordinating bodies, the movement manages to successfully organize large protests on a global basis, using information technology to spread information and organize. Protesters organize themselves into "affinity groups," typically non-hierarchical groups of people who live close together and share a common political goal. Affinity groups will then send representatives to planning meetings. However, because these groups can be infiltrated by law enforcement intelligence, important plans of the protests are often not made until the last minute. One common tactic of the protests is to split up based on willingness to break the law. This is designed, with varying success, to protect the risk-averse from the physical and legal dangers posed by confrontations with law enforcement. For example, in Prague during the anti-IMF and World Bank protests in September 2000 demonstrators split into three distinct groups, approaching the conference center from three directions: one engaging in various forms of civil disobedience (the Yellow march), one (the Pink/Silver march) advancing through "tactical frivolity" (costume, dance, theatre, music, and artwork), and one (the Blue march) engaging in violent conflicts with the baton-armed police, with the protesters throwing cobblestones lifted from the street.[17] These demonstrations come to resemble small societies in themselves. Many protesters take training in first aid and act as medics to other injured protesters. In the USA, some organizations like the National Lawyer's Guild and, to a lesser extent, the ACLU, provide legal witnesses in case of law enforcement confrontation. Protesters often claim that major media outlets do not properly report on them; therefore, some of them created the Independent Media Center, a collective of protesters reporting on the actions as they happen. [edit] Key grassroots organizations
[edit] Demonstrations and appointments[edit] Berlin88The Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, that took place in Berlin in 1988 (in the part of the city that was then part of the Federal Republic of Germany), saw strong protests that can be categorized as a precursor of the anti-globalization movement.[original research?][18] One of the main and failed objectives (as it was to be so many times in the future) was to derail the meetings.[citation needed][19] [edit] Madrid94The 50th anniversary of the IMF and the World Bank, which was celebrated in Madrid in October 1994, was the scene of a protest by an ad-hoc coalition of what would later be called anti-globalization movements. They tried to drown the bankers' parties in noise from outside and held other public forms of protest under the motto "50 Years is Enough". While Spanish King Juan Carlos was addressing the participants in a huge exhibition hall, two Greenpeace activists climbed to the top and showered the bankers with fake dollar bills carrying the slogan "No $s for Ozone Layer Destruction". A number of the demonstrators were sent to the notorious Carabanchel prison. [edit] J18One of the first international anti-globalization protests was organized in dozens of cities around the world on June 18, 1999, with those in London and Eugene, Oregon most often noted. The drive was called the Carnival Against Capitalism, or J18 for short. The protest in Eugene turned into a riot where local anarchists drove police out of a small park. One anarchist, Robert Thaxton, was arrested and convicted of throwing a rock at a police officer. [edit] Seattle/N30The second major mobilization of the movement, known as N30, occurred on November 30, 1999, when protesters blocked delegates' entrance to WTO meetings in Seattle, Washington, USA. The protests forced the cancellation of the opening ceremonies and lasted the length of the meeting until December 3. There was a large, permitted march by members of the AFL-CIO, and other unauthorized marches by assorted affinity groups who converged around the Convention Center.[20][21] The protesters and Seattle riot police clashed in the streets after police fired tear gas at demonstrators who blocked the streets and refused to disperse. Over 600 protesters were arrested and thousands were injured.[22] Three policemen were injured by friendly fire, and one by a thrown rock. Some protesters destroyed the windows of storefronts of businesses owned or franchised by targeted corporations such as a large Nike shop and many Starbucks windows. The mayor put the city under the municipal equivalent of martial law and declared a curfew. As of 2002, the city of Seattle had paid over $200,000 in settlements of lawsuits filed against the Seattle Police Department for assault and wrongful arrest, with a class action lawsuit still pending. [edit] Washington A16See also: Washington A16, 2000 In April 2000, 10-15,000[23] protesters demonstrated at the IMF, and World Bank meeting.[24][25][26] International Forum on Globalization held training at Foundry United Methodist Church.[27] Police raided a staging warehouse on Florida Avenue.[28][29][30] 678 people were arrested.[31][32] Three-time Pulitzer Prize winning, Washington Post photographer Carol Guzy was detained by police and arrested on April 15, and two journalists for the Associated Press also reported being struck by police with batons.[33] A lawsuit was filed for false arrest.[34] In November 2009, the suits were settled, with $13 million damages awarded.[35][36][37] [edit] Washington G-7 IMFIn September 2002, protesting groups included the Anti-Capitalist Convergence, the Mobilization for Global Justice.[38] 649 people were reported arrested, five were charged with destruction of property, while the others were charged with parading without a permit, or failing to obey police orders to disperse.[39] [40] At least 17 reporters were in the round-up. [41][42] Protestors sued in Federal Court about the arrests.[43] The D.C. Attorney General had outside counsel investigate apparent destruction of evidence,[44][45] and forensic investigations continue, [46][47][48] and the testimony of the Chief of Police.[49] A settlement to the class-action lawsuit was announced for about $8.25 million.[50] [edit] Law enforcement reactionAlthough local police were surprised by the size of N30, law enforcement agencies have since reacted worldwide to prevent the disruption of future events by a variety of tactics, including sheer weight of numbers, infiltrating the groups to determine their plans, and preparations for the use of force to remove protesters. At the site of some of the protests, police have used tear gas, pepper spray, concussion grenades, rubber and wooden bullets, night sticks, water cannons, dogs, horses, and occasionally live ammunition to repel the protesters[citation needed]. After the November 2000 G8 protest in Montreal, at which many protesters were beaten, trampled, and arrested in what was intended to be a festive protest, the tactic of dividing protests into "green" (permitted), "yellow" (not officially permitted but with little confrontation and low risk of arrest), and "red" (involving direct confrontation) zones was introduced[citation needed]. In Quebec City, municipal officials built a 3 metre (10 ft) high wall around the portion of the city where the Summit of the Americas was being held, which only residents, delegates to the summit, and certain accredited journalists were allowed to pass through[citation needed]. [edit] GenoaMain article: 27th G8 summit#Protests The Genoa Group of Eight Summit protest from July 18 to July 22, 2001 was one of the bloodiest protests in Western Europe's recent history, as evidenced by the wounding of hundreds of policemen and civilians forced to lock themselves inside of their homes and the death of a young Genoese anarchist named Carlo Giuliani -who was shot in the face while trying to throw a fire extinguisher on a police car- during two days of violence and rioting by fringe groups supported by the nonchalance of more consistent and peaceful masses of protesters, and the hospitalisation of several of those peaceful demonstrators just mentioned. Police have subsequently been accused of brutality, torture and interference with the non-violent protests as a collateral damage provoked by the clash between the law enforcement ranks themselves and the more violent and brutal fringes of protesters, who repeatedly hid themselves amongst peaceful protesters of all ages and backgrounds. Several hundred peaceful demonstrators, rioters, and police were injured and hundreds were arrested during the days surrounding the G8 meeting; most of those arrested have been charged with some form of "criminal association" under Italy's anti-mafia and anti-terrorist laws. No consistent investigation has been put forth against the violent protesters, mainly due to the difficulties enountered in identification of the many masked protesters and the fierce opposition at Congress held by most of the left-wing parties, such as the Communist Party and current PM Romano Prodi's Union coalition. Eight years have passed, and the city of Genoa is still trying to recover from the many damages provoked by the rioters, mainly devoted to crash cars, setting stores on fire, robbing banks and using any heavy or pointed object as a means to provoke damage to people and objects. As part of the continuing investigations, police raids of social centers, media centers, union buildings, and law offices have continued across Italy since the G8 summit in Genoa. Many police officers or responsible authorities present in Genoa during the G8 summit, are currently under investigation by the Italian judges, and some of them resigned. [edit] International social forumsSee main articles: Social forum, European Social Forum, Asian Social Forum, World Social Forum.The first World Social Forum (WSF) in 2001 was an initiative of Oded Grajew, Chico Whitaker, and Bernard Cassen. It was supported by the city of Porto Alegre (where it took place) and the Brazilian Worker's Party. The motivation was to constitute a counter-event to the World Economic Forum held in Davos at the same time. The slogan of the WSF is "Another World Is Possible". An International Council (IC) was set up to discuss and decide major issues regarding the WSF, while the local organizing committee in the host city is responsible for the practical preparations of the event.[51][52] In June 2001, the IC adopted the World Social Forum Charter of Principles, which provides a framework for international, national, and local Social Forums worldwide.[53] The WSF became a periodic meeting: in 2002 and 2003 it was held again in Porto Alegre and became a rallying point for worldwide protest against the American invasion of Iraq. In 2004 it was moved to Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay, in India), to make it more accessible to the populations of Asia and Africa. This appointment saw the participation of 75,000 delegates. In 2006 it was held in three cities: Caracas (Venezuela), Bamako (Mali), and Karachi (Pakistan). In 2007, the Forum was hosted in Nairobi (Kenya). 2009 the Forum returned to Brazil, where it took place in Belém. 2011, the Forum is scheduled to take place in Dakar (Senegal). The idea of creating a meeting place for organizations and individuals opposed to Neoliberalism was soon replicated at other geographic scales. The first European Social Forum (ESF) was held in November 2002 in Florence. The slogan was "Against the war, against racism and against neo-liberalism". It saw the participation of 60,000 delegates and ended with a huge demonstration against the war (1,000,000 people according to the organizers). The following ESFs took place in Paris (2003), London (2004), Athens (2006), and Malmö (2008). The next ESF is scheduled to take place in Istanbul in 2010. In many countries Social Forums of national and local scope where also held. Recently there has been some discussion behind the movement about the role of the social forums. Some see them as a "popular university", an occasion to make many people aware of the problems of globalization. Others would prefer that delegates concentrate their efforts on the coordination and organization of the movement and on the planning of new campaigns. However it has often been argued that in the dominated countries (most of the world) the WSF is little more than an 'NGO fair' driven by Northern NGOs and donors most of which are hostile to popular movements of the poor.[54] [edit] CriticismsSee also: Pro-globalization The anti-globalization movement has been criticized by politicians, members of conservative think tanks, and many mainstream economists.[55] [edit] Lack of evidenceCritics assert that the empirical evidence does not support the views of the anti-globalization movement. These critics point to statistical trends which are interpreted to be results of globalization, capitalism, and the economic growth they encourage. Specifically, the following are common claims made by globalization advocates to support their view:
Members of the anti-globalization movement respond that the pro-globalization slogan, "growth is good for the poor", is purposefully misleading. They argue that neoliberal policies consistent with globalization and capitalism may not actually be causing growth that has beneficial effects for the poor, or progressing with the urgency the situation requires. They also take issue with the time period which is often normally associated with proponents' arguments such as those cited for life expectancy, child mortality, and literacy above, because they typically include data from periods such as 1950–1975, which were prior to the advent of the neoliberal reforms associated with globalization, and serve to make statistics for globalization seem better than they really are.[citation needed] Similarly, they note that including positive data from countries which largely ignored neoliberal prescriptions, notably China, discredits the evidence that pro-globalists present. For example, concerning the parameter of per capita income growth, development economist Ha-Joon Chang writes that considering the record of the last two decades the argument for continuing neo-liberal policy prescriptions are "simply untenable." Noting that "It depends on the data we use, but roughly speaking, per capita income in developing countries grew at 3% per year between 1960 and 1980, but has grown only at about 1.5% between 1980 and 2000. And even this 1.5% will be reduced to 1%, if we take out India and China, which have not pursued liberal trade and industrial policies recommended by the developed countries."[62] Jagdish Bhagwati argues that reforms that opened up the economies of China and India contributed to their higher growth in 1980s and 1990s. From 1980 to 2000 their GDP grew at average rate of 10 and 6 percent respectively. This was accompanied by reduction of poverty from 28 percent in 1978 to 9 percent in 1998 in China, and from 51 percent in 1978 to 26 percent in 2000 in India.[63] According to the Heritage Foundation, development in China was anticipated by Milton Friedman, who predicted that even a small progress towards economic liberalization would produce dramatic and positive effects. China's economy had grown together with its economic freedom.[64] Critics of corporate-led globalization have expressed concern about the methodology used in arriving at the World Bank's statistics and argue that more detailed variables measuring poverty should be studied.[65][66] According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), the period from 1980–2005 has seen diminished progress in terms of economic growth, life expectancy, infant and child mortality, and to a lesser extent education.[67] [edit] DisorganizationOne of the most common criticisms of the movement, which does not necessarily come from its opponents, is simply that the anti-globalization movement lacks coherent goals, and that the views of different protesters are often in opposition to each other.[68] Many members of the movement are also aware of this, and argue that, as long as they have a common opponent, they should march together - even if they don't share exactly the same political vision. Writers Michael Hardt & Antonio Negri have together in their books (Empire & Multitude) expanded on this idea of a disunified multitude: humans coming together for shared causes, but lacking the complete sameness of the notion of 'the people'. [edit] Lack of effectivenessOne argument often made by the opponents of the anti-globalization movement (especially by The Economist), is that one of the major causes of poverty amongst third-world farmers are the trade barriers put up by rich nations and poor nations alike. The WTO is an organisation set up to work towards removing those trade barriers. Therefore, it is argued, people really concerned about the plight of the third world should actually be encouraging free trade, rather than attempting to fight it. People in the third world, they argue, will not take any job unless it is better than the next best option they have. Thus, if people living in the third world are deprived of their best option, their lives have been made worse. While it follows from definition that, other things being equal, a rational person is better off with strictly more options, anti-globalization advocates would likely either reject the assumption of rationality or more likely argue that globalization creates negative externalities (pollution) or alters the marketplace in such a fashion as to eliminate better options (e.g., investment encourages assembly line production of products out competing traditional methods). On the other hand globalization advocates would suggest that positive externalities and increased efficiencies create better options for the poor. Many supporters of capitalism do think that policies different from those of today should be pursued, although not necessarily those advocated by the anti-globalization movement. For example, some see the World Bank and the IMF as corrupt bureaucracies which have given repeated loans to dictators who never do any reforms. Some, like Hernando De Soto, argue that much of the poverty in the Third World countries is caused by the lack of Western systems of laws and well-defined and universally recognized property rights. De Soto argues that because of the legal barriers poor people in those countries can not utilize their assets to produce more wealth.[69] [edit] Lack of widespread "Third World" supportCritics have asserted that people from poor countries (the Third World) have been relatively accepting and supportive of globalization while the strongest opposition to globalization has come from wealthy "First World" activists, unions and NGOs. Alan Shipman, author of "The Globalization Myth" accuses the anti-globalization movement of "defusing the Western class war by shifting alienation and exploitation to developing-country sweatshops." He later goes on to add that the anti-globalization movement has failed to attract widespread support from poor and working people from the Third World, and that its "strongest and most uncomprehending critics had always been the workers whose liberation from employment they were trying to secure." [70] These critics assert that people from the Third World see the anti-globalization movement as a threat to their jobs, wages, consuming options and livelihoods, and that a cessation or reversal of globalization would result in many people in poor countries being left in greater poverty. Jesús F. Reyes Heroles the former Mexican Ambassador to the US, stated that "In a poor country like ours, the alternative to low-paid jobs isn't well-paid ones, it's no jobs at all."[71] Egypt's Ambassador to the UN has also stated "The question is why all of a sudden, when third world labor has proved to be competitive, why do industrial countries start feeling concerned about our workers? When all of a sudden there is a concern about the welfare of our workers, it is suspicious."[72] [edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
[edit] External links9 | 10 | Next |
Criticisms of globalization
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Criticism of globalization is skepticism of the claimed benefits of the globalization of capitalism. Many of these views are held by the anti-globalization movement however other groups also are critical of the policies of globalization.
Claus Leggewie has divided the critics into six groups: leftists, radical leftists, the academic left, reformers from the business world, critics with a religious base and right-winged opponents.[1]
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Economic effects
[edit] Poverty
Although there has been a big decrease in the percentage of people in developing countries living below $1 per day in East Asia, some regions – notably sub-saharan Africa – has only seen a slight decrease in poverty rates.[2] Kofi Annan responded to this criticism: "But let me hasten to add that, at present, only a relatively small number of countries are enjoying these gains. Many millions of people are excluded, left behind in squalor not because they have been exposed to too much globalization but because they have had too little or none at all."[3]
[edit] Income disparity
Increases in income disparity has occurred over the last 20 years.[4] In the USA the income of the top 50% has risen to a much greater extent than the income of the bottom 50% of American citizens which has risen only slightly over the last forty years.[5]
[edit] Environmental effects
[edit] Water
Globalization has not brought about beneficial effects for the world's poorest countries. In these countries availability of clean water has decreased between 1990 and 2000 in both urban and rural setting.[6]
[edit] Infectious diseases
Infectious diseases such as SARS and Ebola have traveled throughout the world due to increased world trade and tourism.[7]
[edit] Invasive organisms
The spread of invasive organisms has been accelerated by globalization.[7]
[edit] Social effects
[edit] Loss of languages
Languages are going extinct at a rapid rate and this is predicted to continue and attributed to globalization.[8]
[edit] Decline in diversity
Globalization has decreased cultural diversity. This is evident in multinational chain franchises such as Holiday Inn, IKEA, and McDonalds, which wipe out small businesses and smaller regional chains.
Globalization also forces certain cultures to unwillingly adopt aspects of other cultures.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Strength in Numbers for Globalization's Critics". http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=9234.
- ^ "iresearch.worldbank.org". http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/jsp/index.jsp.
- ^ SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN HAVANA ON EVE OF FIRST 'GROUP OF 77' SUMMIT MEETING, EVOKES PROMISES AND PITFALLS OF GLOBALIZATION, UN press release 12 April 2000
- ^ "The Inequality Paradox: Growth of Income Disparity - Review | Monthly Labor Review | Find Articles at BNET". http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1153/is_4_122/ai_55010251.
- ^ "File:United States Income Distribution 1967-2003.svg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Income_Distribution_1967-2003.svg.
- ^ "www.unicef.org" (Unicef). http://www.unicef.org/specialsession/about/sgreport-pdf/03_SafeDrinkingWater_D7341Insert_English.pdf.
- ^ a b Nikiforuk, Andrew (2007). Pandemonium: how globalization and trade are putting the world at risk. Brisbane]: University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0-7022-3618-7. http://books.google.ca/books?id=5yv9lWaJOfsC&dq=pandemonium&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0.
- ^ Cronin, Michael (2003). Translation and globalization. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-27065-0. http://books.google.ca/books?id=90f40mo7U8MC&pg=PA141&dq=Extinction+of+Languages+globalizing&ei=ncXHSZf-HoyENKTBuOwN.
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