Globalisation: A Linguistic Approach...

According to many anti-globalists, globalisation, i.e. the breaking down of cultural and national boundaries, has led to 'cultural imperialism' by the West (particularly America) over the rest of the world i.e. dominance of Western culture over other cultures. These anti-globalists make certain valid points and point towards the proliferation of the English language when trying to illustrate the effect that cultural globalisation has had on the different cultures around the world, claiming that the spread of English world wide has undermined the plethora of other dialects that enrich the international tapestry of languages. However, this argument is reductionist in nature and does not entertain the notion that linguistic globalisation may also be a positive phenomenon.

 The nineteenth century was a time of Pax Britannica, with Britain dominating over other European powers and spreading it's culture (language being a part of this) through colonisation. The twentieth century was the age of Pax Americana, with the United States imposing it's military and political hegemony through out the world, spreading it's culture in the process. Thus, English has enjoyed a double tenure, first as the language of the British and then as the central language of American culture and the international proliferation of English has only been a natural consequence of the dominance of these two nations.

However, the spread of English has not led to the elimination of other languages but has rather resulted in rich blends of different languages with English, altering English to local dialects while at the same time making these dialects more easily understandable by the rest of the world. As the English intellectual, Charles Leadbeater says, "Many varieties and combinations of the language (English) have emerged. The pessimists' black and white world rules out the possibility of people reaching these fruitful combinations in language." The works of Salman Rushdie, who sews together English with Bengali slang in his fictional writing, and other Asian writers such as Anita Desai and Arundhati Roy, demonstrate how local languages and English can come together beautifully.

The United States itself is slowly becoming a multi linguistic society; with immigrants hailing from countless cultural and linguistic backgrounds and the American emphasis on equal rights for all this gradual shift to multi lingualism is only natural. Bhagwati, in his book, 'In Defense of Globalisation', points out that cash dispensing machines in American banks now 'talk' in multiple languages such as Spanish, Chinese and Gujrati, which signifies how America is a host to multiple dialects.

The local use of indigenous languages has even revived in spite of, and even in response to the spread of English. Globalisation has made people more acutely aware of this distinct values and norms of different cultures and has pushed people to more actively hold on to and flaunt Thieu distinctive cultural identities. This has lead to a resurgence in the promotion of local customs and languages, instead of undermining these as anti-globalists seem to believe.

Karachi: My City by the Sea...

A year ago, in the May 17^th issue of Time, Howard Chua-Eoan, while analyzing the attempted bombing in Times Square by Faisal Shahzad, called Karachi, “Pakistan’s dangerous port city.” These four words leave a heavy impact on the mind, painting a picture of a decaying city, torn by violence and plagued by crime. But though Karachi is indeed heavily burdened by terrorism and violence we are in no way a decaying city. Though dealing with poverty, over-population and crumbling infrastructure since my memory serves me, Karachi is a thriving city, a resilient city. It is bustling with life and filled to the brim with people who are strong and determined to make the best of their conditions. From the vendors on the streets, to the C.E.Os sitting in air conditioned offices the people in this city are determined to overcome the turbulence and turmoil that is a part of our everyday lives.

I have always loved Karachi, my chaotically beautiful city by the sea, and I would never want to live anywhere in the world but here. This is home. It is the land which has sustained me my whole life and I would never turn my back on it. I scoff at those people who aspire to establish their lives abroad and dream of greener, more peaceful pastures. I feel that they are trying to fool themselves; they don’t understand that no city in the world will accept them as their own… they can go to the other end of the Earth but they will always and forever be Karachites. I feel weary of those who continuously complain about the conditions of this city. There is beauty, I tell them, in this cluster and this pandemonium and it is up to us to dust away the bedlam to reveal this beauty.  

 It’s a lovely city, our Karachi. There’s no place in the world quite like it. No city which, despite the tragedy we face and the uncertainty we live in, manages to wake up every morning and get on with the day with the determination that we do.

South Asian society

South Asia is one of the richest regions of the world on two accounts; it is home to a variety of the world’s richest and most prominent cultures and is also a region abundant in natural resources and human capital. The region includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka amongst other countries, each of whom have very unique and dynamic cultures and histories. However, a key feature in all South Asian cultures is religion; faith is an imperative fabric of the social as well as political fabric of all the countries recognized as belonging to this region. Other aspects of South Asian cultures that make them stand out are the rich plethora of colors that are seen in every aspect such as traditional clothing and festivities; the Hindu festival of Diwali, most commonly practiced in India is, quite literally, a celebration of colors. South Asian food is also very distinguishable and is recognized the world over as being very original and full of flavor; from the delicacy ‘Lamprais’ to the Pakistani nation’s favorite dish of ‘Biryani’.

Over the past few decades South Asia’s economic growth and development have also boomed. The region includes one of the world’s fast growing economies i.e. India which is, along with China, Brazil and Russia, part of the ‘Big Four’ economies recognized as the four countries to have shown the highest rate of economic growth over recent decades. However, while literacy in some countries, such as Sri Lanka (which boasts a literacy rate of higher than 90%), is commendable, in most of the region the quality of education is abysmal with the majority of the population, in countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, having no or little access to any education.

Poverty is also a major issue in South Asia which, instead of being successfully eradicated, has grown exponentially: the number of people in South Asia living on less than $1.25 a day increased from 549 million in 1981 to 595 million in 2005 and this number has continued to increase over the past five years. Millions of people are living in squalid living conditions with no access to proper nourishment and health care. I believe that there are two reasons for the poverty epidemic of the region: firstly, the economic growth in most of the region has been spurred greatly by the presence of multi-nationals and firms from developed countries investing in the region. This investment however is in terms of the manufacturing of labour-intensive consumer durables which employs cheap unskilled laborers at the lowest possible wage rates which are not even enough for the earner to gain access to basic necessities. Workers in Nike’s factories in Thailand are paid less than fifty cents per t-shirt… t-shirts which are then sold in Nike’s stores for over $50. Such economic growth, while appearing impressive when presented statistical data, does nothing to elevate poverty on the micro-level. Secondly, the countries of South Asia spend appallingly low portions of their government spending on social welfare; most government spending is squandered in the Defense budgets of these states or is used to sustain the corrupt bureaucratic institutions present in most of these countries and thus little is spent on the education, health and other aspects of the well-being of the masses.

However, South Asia holds the capacity to successful conquer its setbacks; it is a region which has already fought off many impediments from a plethora of natural disasters to numerous autocratic ruling regimes. If the region learns to sustain itself by coming together and taking advantage of the many natural and human resources it holds it could gradually but steadily rise as the world’s most thriving and developed region. 

South Asian society...

The South Asian society is widely known and believed all over the world as a conservative and backward model to the world. The South Asian society majorly consists of nations such as Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. In order to erase their name from the list of conservative societies, these three countries have embarked on a journey to heighten their names in different fields of agricultural and textile exports. Each country has their own strengths. Pakistan is known to have stable nuclear power, whereas India is the home to the second largest navy, falling behind the British, and Bangladesh is ranked the eighth most populous country in the world and benefits from agricultural and textile exports.

In south Asian society, cultural, family and traditional values are most honored and valued. The people in this society are so closely knitted to each other that the pain of one becomes the pain of many. Happiness is spread and sorrows are shared. This society has been a recent target to claims such as terrorism and instability but has survived with great love and care that fills every other heart that beats in these nations.

South Asian society is supplemented with multicultural civilizations and values. The region is traditionally diverse as each region of every country in this block has different communities and religious preference; different communities’ has lived in harmony and peace. This cultural diversity has led to the development of new inclinations even in the fashion outlines. People in this region give great respect for their culture and drifts and have overwhelming admiration for their religion. The large populations of the South Asian block are more hard working and determined. The employments from the Asian block are more favored over any other realm because of this nature of people which is a great boon to employers across the globe

Middle East...

After a raging battle for the achieving the right for democracy and freedom, a judgment was passed upon. At the end of a dramatic day, Egypt’s willful protests finally took a turn as the powerful army promised to give them all they were fighting for. This raised high hopes as the people waited with baited breaths to hear the final verdict, that the president would end his 30 year rule. Instead, what met the ears of the people was not entirely good news. Mr. Mubarak instead said on television again that he would stay on till September.

This betrayal enraged protesters more and brought up protests from foreign powers, with the United States increasing international pressure on Mr. Mubarak to quit.

After the president's speech, Barack Obama released a statement demanding an "unequivocal path toward genuine democracy" in Egypt, which has long been supported by massive US aid.

"The Egyptian people have been told that there was a transition of authority, but it is not yet clear that this transition is immediate, meaningful or sufficient," he said.

"Too many Egyptians remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy, and it is the responsibility of the government to speak clearly to the Egyptian people and the world."

Hidden Face of Globalization...

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We wake up to the sound of our Nokia phones, we put on our Nikes and Levis and jump into Toyotas while sipping our Nescafe’s. Do our assignments through Google on our Hp computers. Watch our favorite movies on our Sony TV screens with Samsung DVD players, while having McDonald’s with Coca Cola. Globalization- we’re living it. Every day, all the time.

Do we ever stop to think who makes the products we buy? Do we spare a second to imagine the countless human faces behind these brands and labels? All across the developing world the workers who make our products are young people like us. 80 % of them are women 16 to 25 years old who are locked in factories and forced to work under hard, sweatshop conditions. Why? Because people like us need to have the best of everything, in all colors and sizes with all the right labels. They say the cruel and inhuman labor condition of the millions of workers around the globe is something the corporations have hidden from us. But I think we all see it and chose to ignore it.

Think about it: one day you read somewhere or watch a documentary about how children are forced to work in those factories with extreme heat, being paid starvation wages of hardly 17 cents an hour and living in misery, let alone poverty. The next day would you stop drinking Red Bull? Not buy the half priced pair of slippers from Wal-mart that everyone you know owns? Or stop watching television?

Globalization

The world seems to grow smaller and smaller. Here I sit in my room, write down a document and mail it to a friend to lives miles away. All I do is type it on a technological box called computer, upload it to the internet and press a button and my friend receives it. This same mail could be send to my brother who lives in a country thousands of miles away and even to my cousin who lives hundreds of countries away.

This is globalization. It has brought the world so close that the inter connections can never be cut off.

One country produces something on its land and the other day the stuff exported to another country miles away.

This sounds good to hear, but the greatest problem is we tend to ignore how this could be used by other evil forces at work. If a good can be traded so easily, how difficult would it be for a terrorist to smuggle arms and ammunitions, even bombs over boundaries? Are we ignoring the high smuggling to drugs all over the world? Drugs that are produced in African countries and then traded all over the world. How a terrorist leader hides insides the caves of Afghanistan and control a suicide attack in America?

If globalization has opened borders, it has done so for everyone. It is an irreversible process that is being now used by forces that tend to work to bring harm to the world and its inhabitants.

If one nation prospers, are we forgetting that it is doing over the suffering of another nation, simple economics, u take from one and give it to the other, stuff just doesn’t come out of nowhere.

The world has become a GLOBAL VILLAGE but do not butter yourself with the phenomena, it connects not only you but everyone and everyone does not work for the betterment of its inhabitants.

The South Asian society

The South Asian society known and believed all over the world as a conservative and backward model to the world consists of nations such as Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Pakistan, itself being a nuclear state, India ,having the second biggest navy in the world only coming second to the British, and Bangladesh, the eighth most populous country which has embarked its name in agricultural and textile exports.

It is this society in which cultural, family and traditional values are most honored and valued. It is this society in which people are so closely knitted to each other than the pain of one becomes the pain of many. Happiness is spread and sorrows are shared. Even though this society has been a recent target to claims such as terrorism but this society has survived with great love and care that fills every other heart that beats in these nations.

Even though Pakistan has had recent setbacks of terror attacks and natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes on its land but it has survived for 65 years and with the heart and prayer of its people it will carry on to not only live but prosper. India is the fasting growing economy and the next “soft power” rising shoulder to shoulder with china, one of the most dominant economic and cultural nations of the world. These two nations have had their differences in the past and might be having them forever but great hope is being put together and talks have been channeled so that better for both nations could be sought out.

Like every society, even this society is been dismembered by forces that have been either created or fed by them. The serious lack of unity due to multi-cultures’ and different ethnic backgrounds has divided this society to extremes that the interaction of poles have rather become not impossible but improbable. The society faces diseases such as crime, corruption, inflational practices, overpopulation and the worst bad governance. These add onto make the society so weak that it is been looked down on by the western culture, and the worst that could happen to this society was the push by religious extremism.

Even though the society is weak, but is full of beautiful people with beautiful hearts, which is why it has the ever knowing ability to prosper. 

Globalization...

The world is now a Global Village is a cliché which is used to define Globalization most of the times. The way the world is now interconnected and in some cases interdependent and the influence of one country on another is what Globalization is all about. Culture invasions, creation of excess and mass demand, trends in the way of living, comparative advantage and Industrial revolution are some of the very distinct outcomes of Globalization.

The best example of culture invasion is the westernization of culture in the Asian countries. We see that over the years, way of living and culture has been heavily influenced by the western countries, in the form of the clothes we wear, the food we eat and even our recreational activities. This change in the way of living creates an excess of demand because the more we get exposed to the variety  of products and utilities that are offered the more the demand it creates and hence there is an excess of demand.

This is taken advantage of by large multinationals as they come and setup factories in developing countries  which have been the worst hit as they are the biggest importers of western products. This is because most developing countries have an absolute advantage in Agriculture and they concentrate on the production of agriculture and import industrialized products.

Globalization on the other hand also has its negative impact. The mass production of products has resulted in rapid depletion of the natural resources. It has created a huge market for the trade of Arms and Ammunition which has given rise to terrorism around the world. The race towards industrialization to take advantage of the mass demand has caused Global warming. This has resulted in drastic climatic changes giving rise to deadly natural disasters which remains to be a major concern throughout the world.

Middle-Eastern society...

Middle east has been a major concern in the global war against terrorism. There have been major terrorists attacks in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Israel which shows how terrorism can ruin lives. The active groups mainly comprise of  al-Qaida, Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS), Hizballah, Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Ansar al-Islam (AI). A significant amount of counterterrorist movements have been made against them one of which is the removal of Saddam Hussein while conducting the US led operation, Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Governments throughout the region have shown a great interest in joining hands in the fight against terrorism and the eradication of terrorism from their own land. These countries worked in coalition for the Iraqi freedom project and are also working in coalition with US in Afghanistan. The United States provided training throughout the region to increase the capacity of these countries in the fight against terrorism. After Saudi Arabia suffered two major, horrific terrorist attacks during 2003, it joined hands with the US and started an aggressive campaign against Al-Qaida. Saudi and US started working hand in hand for intelligence information sharing and to hinder terrorist Financing that was being carried out from this region. The Saudi Government has also widely publicized a rewards program for the capture of the Kingdom’s most-wanted terrorist suspects. Saudi security forces arrested more than 600 individuals on counter terrorism charges following the attacks in 2003.

The Government of Yemen made a number of key al-Qaida–related arrests in 2003. The United States and Yemen continue joint counterterrorism training and cooperation, and there has been significant

progress on standing up the Yemen Coast Guard. The other states have also made important progress, particularly in locating and blocking terrorist finances, sharing information and intelligence on terrorists and terrorist groups and strengthening law enforcement cooperation.

Morocco stepped-up its counterterrorism actions after the suicide bombings in Casablanca. The Moroccan authorities took strict actions to identify the culprits and uncovered the involvement of several deadly terrorist groups and took decisive legal actions to address the threat. Egypt continued to be a leader in the counterterrorism fight and increased its dialogue with the United States on this issue.

Algeria also made regional counterterrorism cooperation, supporting Coalition efforts against al-Qaida while it acted against indigenous terror groups.

The Palestinian Authority on the other hand is being continuously blamed by the western countries for taking insufficient steps to stop terrorist operations. They blame Palestine and Lebanon for continuously hosting numerous terrorist groups and that they refused to take actions against certain terrorist elements in the country.

South Asian society...

South Asia comprises of a group of countries that have made the head line of many news papers around the world for good and bad reasons.  It includes Pakistan that has been the centre of attention for many western countries because of it being continuously blamed for terrorism. Then it has India which has economically out classed many countries by consistently trying to become self sufficient. Then there is Bangladesh which has made a mark in the textile and garment Industry.

South Asia is rich in culture and tradition. A set of unique languages are spoken in different countries for e.g. Hindi and Urdu which is a mixture of historical languages such as Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic. Cultures and traditions followed in such countries have their own differences but generally they are the same. It is a fact that the culture over the years has been heavily influenced by the western countries yet there are certain things that remain the same. For example, the lack of rights and respect for women even though most of the beliefs followed in this sub continent preach otherwise. The ethnic back grounds that people belong to in this sub continent are also very unique in nature with very distinct languages and ways of living e.g. Sindhi, Balochi, Punjabi and many more.

South Asia is also rich in agriculture with bumper production of crops such as wheat, sugar and rice which are exported throughout the world. Countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan are now trying to become more industrialized to overcome certain economic problems such as inflation and unemployment.  Even though literacy rates are low in this subcontinent, it still supplies a vast number of highly qualified professionals to the rest of the world for e.g. Doctors, Accountants and Engineers etc.

The term Globalization...

The term  globalization is a phenomena which is inevitable specially at this point and time. The world is largely becoming a global village and there is a rise in the interdepence amongst countries. One could say that the world is becoming more and more efficient as far as the usage of resources and production of products is concerned. Thus the world is evolving and becoming a stage where the survival of the fittest is the need of the hour.

Globalization has not only encouraged development and prosperity amongst nations but has also created an environment where specialization as well as quality control and development procedures have attained a lot of importance along with a lot of development in these fields has also taken place. For example now countries know their strengths and weaknesses specialize in those fields which would be beneficial for the growth of the nation.

But like everything globalisation also has some disadvantages. The world has become very competitive and the countries who own the resources dictate terms to the dependent partners. The war which had initially started to attain greater market access has eventually leaded to a war to attain resources. The greatest example is the United States which started the war against terror so that terrorism be eradicated but if one reads different analysts associated with different think tanks around the globe, there is a general perception that the war is just a way to get hold of the resources present in Iraq and Afghanistan. Former President George Bush and Vice President Dick Chenny have been associated with different scams in regard to the war on terror.

The other disadvantage could be the unequal distribution of wealth as the rich are becoming richer and richer while the suffering of the poor is increasing by every passaging of day. Some believe that it is the result of free trade which is a product of globalization which has adversely affected the small trading partner.

Having said that still the benefits comapred to the disadvantages of globalization are far more greater. The concept of world becoming a global village might eventually lead to an international government which would act like a regulator amongst different countries.

The interaction amongst different cultures and traditions is also on a rise which would eventually lead to a common ground where all segments of societies could meet and the differences amongst them would be eliminated and by this interfaith harmony would also be possible.

By this the world would become a better place to live……

Egyptian Crisis...

It had been almost thirty years that Egyptians were living under the rule of Hosni Mubarak, apparently a few months back Egypt as a state had refused to recognize Hosni Mubarak as their president and want immediate resignation from him. Renowned political parties and other media anchors said that it was because of his dictator attitude and unfriendly policies that had compelled people of Egypt to rebel against him. Furthermore he had always been a domestic dictator; he never led any political party to come in the lime light and work for the flourish and prosper of democracy. He kept suppressing and polluting political stability with his tyrant rule which became the major reason of his downfall. On the other hand his policies like banning the main Islamic opposition group and suppressing and holding back the voice of media made him appear bad character in front of masses. During his regime Poverty corruption unrest situations and unemployment flourished at its maximum. But the question that strikes every mind is that who were the protesters and how did it started and how it got quite heated up in such small span of time? Originally this was that young middle class social media group who started all of this protest. Their enthusiasm spread to all ages including people from civil society, politician’s media to raise their voice against unfair policies of eighty two years old dictator and finally asked for a revolution. Protests all over the Egypt started to emerge and people belonging from diverse sectors gathered together and compelled the dictator to resign. After weeks of protest in Cairo and other cities Hosni Mubarak, stepped down as president of Egypt and world witnessed a great revolution.