Moreover, I see it evolving with the times...
- In the Medieval times (when the balance of the world started shifting westwards), we had physical slavery... with people being transported across the world as slaves...
- Then came economic slavery through trading companies setup by European nations...
- These trading companies started ruling and colonising the countries.... political slavery... European conquests all over the world... India lost its self-respect during that rule...
- Next, there was a wave of independence movements and people threw away the shackles of politics that were binding them. This is referred to as Independence in the modern sense... "self-rule"
- The greed of human power led to some sort of "military slavery" wherein, the world got divided into different blocks of military might and weaker nations had to align themselves with one of the blocks...
- With the cold war ending, military slavery has also retracted back... Now, it is the era of Globalisation... another display of economic might...
- working for multinational companies (anyone working at an MNC should be able to connect to what I mean... the kind of work that is repeatedly given to Indian teams and we happily take it under the impression of "learning from them"... the fact that it is they who drive the work and not us... that decisions are "communicated to you" rather than "taken with you")...
- working on research problems that are defined by them... under the comfort of "economic viability"... (how many researchers here work on developing solutions based on the society's needs? how many technology products are even customised to Indian needs?)
It is also being coupled with a slow but sure movement towards "cultural slavery" (how else can you explain most shops celebrating Christmas with greater fanfare than Deepawali?)... all driven by economics...
Where is all this headed? I can only hope that we do not kill our self-respect, by blindly aping the west, this time too...
“The moment the slave resolves that he will no longer be a slave, his fetters fall. Freedom and slavery are mental states.”-Mohit
-- Mahatma Gandhi
"I didn't know I was a slave until I found out I couldn't do the things I wanted"
-- Frederick Douglass
6 comments:
Hi, nice writting, but i would like differ on some points. Although it seems that we are over influenced by western culture, but i dont think that there is any harm in accepting good things from west.
Its true that, till this point west oriented the world, they decided the direction in which we should go, but these days trends are changing. Many emerging countries setting ahead new, revolutionary business models. For example, india's decision of developing SEZs, is based on chinese model of developement.
I am totally agreed with Huckym. Our policies must be such that we should be able to exploit best out of present situation regarding MNCs or FDIs.
I never said that we should not learn from them or not work for them... I am only saying that we are getting too much influenced by them in every thing... so much so that even the academic research we do is closely linked to the problems THEY face...
Have we ever tried working on something more closer home? Something which is suited to Indian needs?
Also, it is not just MNCs... it is the mindset... and which MNC gives us the _real_ work... hard to find...
Anyways, this is an unending argument with both sides having fuzzy arguments... the idea is to internalise the points and find one's own way forward...
-Mohit
A very debating topic. I believe, indians are doing well intellectually all over the globe, but the work we get in india is shit though. So wat, you have ur life in your own hand, wat the $%^#$ slavery.
I AM MY OWN SLAVE.
oye bhodi puttar dukhi na ho ...
The times they are a changing ...
Globalization, libralization has become the order of the world and involvement of private sectors in economic growth cant be avoided. What we have to see is how to use thm for social improvement ?
Intellectual salavry will take ages or may not go at all, as we are too Americanized and we believe they are ideal example of social and cutural development.
Hi Mohit,
0. Its indeed an excellent article reflecting intellectual depth of the author.
1. Self-respect and dignity of indian employees was the zeroth casualty of BPO boom and associated glamour with those jobs. Nevertheless BPO were (partially) successful in creating some sort of confidance to college freshers that they can earn as much as 10k/- p.m. as their starting salary. While the glamour associated with BPOs is indeed cultural slavery, confidence created by them was useful on employment front.
2. A few days back I happened to read an article based on a book Transfer of Power. I know the issue might be debatable, but its my conviction that Mountbatten, first governor-general of India, and Gen. Bucher, chief of army staff at the time of first Kashmir war, worked whole-heartedly in the best interest of their bread-winner, India! What I learned from these English-man is to work whole heartedly in the best interest of your bread winner whoever he might be.
3. In case of MNCs, I fully understand that rules of the game are unfair. But, as a fresher-soon-joining some job, I guess they can't force someone to play the game against his will. I feel that they can't force their employees NOT to quit them. I feel, if one has agreed to play this game with unfair rules, option to complain about the rules is lost.
4. As an individual customer, one has no control on what sort of things he gets from provider. May it be some foriegn coffe on aiport coffe shop or some powai Crosswords with no Indian books section. Only option some dignified customer has is NOT to buy/consume them, however inconvinient it may be for him.
5. Gurudev Rabindranth Tagore's Heaven of freedom lies within one-self who holds his head high!
Eagrly awaiting your response ..
Hi Mohit
Intellectual slavery is really very sensitive topic. It is very diffcicult to define intelluctual salvery. Other forms of slavery are either physical or ecomomical but this one is emotional. Emotions have different meaning to different people and so intelluctual slavery has different meaning to different people.
Evry period is dominated by certain movement like agricultural revolution, industrial revolutions or comunist movement. Current period is of globalization, you like it or not you have to accept globalization. Chinease did it not because change in their communist mindset but because their acceptance of its compulsion. You need to mange it in such a way that its ill effects are minimal while we try to gain maximum out of it. Look selfish but that has busines sense. If we oppose MNCs in India in the name of intelluctual slavery then French are right in their racial remarks against Mittal. Another hard fact is MNCs currently have have huge intelluctual capital, we or indian companies are still in naive stage. We want to learn these intelluctual genre. Lot of people started on there own after working years for MNC. MNCs wants to use us or we want to use MNCs is everbody's perspective. Its give and take story, looks ruthless but that is only pragmatic solution.
Imagine life before globalization era. Indian employee and customer both are exploited by Indian capitalist . They were the true colonist, the people who created girangaon in Mumbai. An indian customer is left with no option but to drive padmini, which can not run for even 100 km without any problem. Cellphone, automobiles, PCs,softwares etc all are part of technological transfer to india by MNCs.We wre surelt benifited by that.
Indian fredom fighter movement takes speed only after Indian started learning english and get acquainted with english literature. That time was for social reformer this time is for Indian enterpreneurs. MNCs at least teach us that business means not just 'baniya giri'. Sun is rising on India, our time has just started. Indian busineses are growing despite senseless politians, worst ever infrastructure because Indians are true enterpreneur. We learn our enterpreneuship on streets, in shops but not in books. Our life is enterprising, that is our only mantra to grow, surely we will be.
Pravin
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