Challenging the status quo ….

At Barcamp 6 on April 18th, I was among the ‘chosen’ ones for an interview with a Belgian researcher who is in bangalore studying about the globalization and its impact on the young generation in India. I hadn’t really thought about the question ‘what is the impact of globalization?’ as much as I had benefited personally from it. My answer to him was the globalization for India and it’s younger generation was both a good and a bad thing. For the first time since independence, I am finally seeing a reflection of myself 5-10 years younger among the younger generation who are standing up about what they truly believe and want to do in their life. They are less worried about what others say about them or what their parents and relatives will say about them. But globalization has also led to increase in consumerism, total disregard for ’savings’ that our parents generation had and I am afraid that the indiscriminate use of credit cards is going to soon impact many of these youngsters.

The other interesting observation, my new Belgian friend shared with me was that some of the young folks he met in India all sounded very liberal in their values, but when it came to marriage they still preferred someone from their caste/culture/background.

So here we are in the 21st century, with access to knowledge from all over the world, the best of technology, a free independent and thriving democracy that supports cross-cultural marriages. But there are many men as well as women who are still afraid to step outside the boundaries set by their parents and relatives and make some real choices for themselves. Marriage, is this sacred institution, that shouldn’t be touched by globalization, come what may !

And yet, another contradiction. Our thriving democracy is also a unique contribution to this world, where 100s of languages, dilects, cuisines, cultures, religious institutions do co-exist (except for when some mishaps are ignited by selfish politicians!).

Prof Sadagopan of IIIT Bangalore at a recent presentation said to the audience, this country is very confusing and full of contradictions. Don’t try to understand it fully, it’s a useless exercise. Just work with what you know and move forward. I feel that’s the best articulation for where India is today in all aspects from infrastructure to culture.