Education of the Deprived Groups: Who Takes the Decision?

In the present school education scenario, if there is one debate which seems to be endless, it is the use of mother-tongue versus English as the medium of instruction. One may wonder what the dispute all about is because commonly it is agreed upon that English is the language which has got a global currency. No other language ensures access to higher education, employment and other resources which English does. I said so not because I believe it in completely but it is the assumption that people have about English in general. This assumption has now turned into a belief particularly in developing countries like India and South Africa where struggle to preserve the indigenous languages like Sanskrit and Afrikaans in education have been intense but they finally resorted to English. Earlier, there were societies which wanted their children to be educated in the mother-tongue so that they value their culture and remain rooted in it. But now the system from top to bottom beginning with the State to the parents and children, everyone is emphasizing English school education.

In this whole picture of demand for education in mother-tongue and later for English education, the marginal sections of the society seldom have a say. By marginal sections, I mean the people who are both economically and socially deprived. The so-called lower castes in India which include SC (Dalits), ST and OBC have been oppressed over the years and receiving basic education too was not easy for them. English became an instrument for them to bring about a change in their condition. Similarly, the people of Black community in America are stressing more on the formal English education so that they can compete with others in the world outside their community.

So, what makes English so important for the poor, the lower castes and those who are discriminated on the basis of race and skin colour? Does it really help them when the medium of instruction is bilingual? What effects does it have on their learning and what schools can do to help them in progressing? These are some of the questions that arose in my mind when I read the articles by Lisa D. Delpit (1988) called “The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People’s Children” and few articles by Kancha Ilaiah on education of the Dalit. Further in this article, I will be elaborating some of the issues that both of these authors deal with. While Delpit’s paper is based in the American context, Ilaiah’s articles are about education in Indian society, so it will be a ground for me to compare their perspectives as well.

Delpit (1988) focuses on the teaching methods used in the classrooms and what effects these methods have on the learning of children from poor and Black community in America. She takes the debate over process-oriented versus skills-oriented writing instruction as the base of the paper to argue what teachers should do to help the children from minority groups in learning and grasping concepts easily. In skills-oriented approach, the learning occurs from top (teacher) to down (student). The teacher is like an instructor who tells the student everything he needs to know using lectures, assignments, and such conventional methods in order to attain a certain goal mostly good results in the examination, graduation, etc. (Knowles, 1975, cited in Morris, 2010). Process-oriented approach engages students in self-study, group activities, discussions which are guided by the teacher but does not need him to interfere always. The students are given the freedom to express themselves by writing on topics relevant to them personally as well as culturally and the teacher later gives them feedback and follow-up instructions so that they can improve their writing skills (Troia et al., 2009, cited in Morris, 2010). This approach is useful for classes where number of students is large and thus forming groups to allow them discuss and write on a given topic helps the teacher manage and focus on individual students.

Narratives of some Black students and teachers about their experience in White majority classrooms all say the same thing- they are not heard by the White (teachers and students). Their personal experiences, their problems, their socio-economic background are not counted in as important while teaching Black children themselves. The White people believe that they know what is appropriate to be taught for all children including the Black, they trust research work done by other White people but do not consider the suggestions of fellow Black teachers and students in improving education for the Black. Delpit herself is a Black educator and she also faced such situations in classrooms where the process-oriented approach which is mostly used in American schools, did not prove to be beneficial for the Black students as compared to the White. She says that the dismissal of skills-oriented approach by the progressive educators is not good for the poor and Black children as they are not acquainted with the culture of the White people which dominates the curriculum and pedagogy in classroom. She says that this unquestioned authority of a particular section over the educational practices of the society can be termed as “culture of power”.

The authority of the teacher over students and the curriculum makers’ power to design the content and methods as per their world views are some of the issues of power that are enacted in the classroom. Mannerism of interacting, writing and dressing form the rules to be a part of the culture of power. These all represent the people i.e., middle class and upper class who hold this power but children from the lower class who are alien to this culture find it difficult to follow and survive in this code of conduct. The most important thing Delpit brings out of this discussion is that if rules of a culture are told explicitly, it is easier to follow them and succeed for people from other cultures. She gives example of a reading program called Distar which needs the teacher “to maintain the full attention of the group by continuous questioning, eye contact, finger snaps, hand claps, and other gestures, and by eliciting choral responses and initiating some sort of award system” (p.284). She says that this initiative helped all the children including the culturally deprived ones in learning to read. She refers to a study by Siddle (1988) which shows that direct instruction of standard writing procedures by teacher resulted in improvement in writing skills of the Black children while peer conferencing had the least effect. But here comes the last aspect of the culture of power which opposes explicit instruction to the students. She says that those who have the power do not acknowledge it while those who are deprived of it are more conscious to acquire it. Liberal educators believe that expressing the power of knowledge a teacher has in the classroom will not give opportunities to students to explore and grow. Children from upper class come to the school with the knowledge of mannerism and skills required by the education system but other children do not have that culture at home and so they need to be told explicitly what is expected from them and how they can achieve it. Thus the belief of the liberal educators deprives the poor and Black children from success even before they could try for it.

She gives an example of a Native Alaskan teacher who deals with children who talk in what is called as Black English while the schools expect them to write in Formal English. She says that activities like letting the children interact with “various personnel officers in actual workplaces about their attitudes toward divergent styles in oral and written language” (p.295), asking the students to compare different writing styles, telling them the technical details of formal writing procedures, etc. helps them to learn writing in Formal English while not having to let go their own dialect of English which they use while talking within their groups. I felt it interesting that throughout the paper, Delpit never promotes the methods or language of the dominant people but takes a pragmatic approach while saying that “they must be encouraged to understand the value of the code they already possess as well as to understand the power realities in this country” (p.293).

Delpit suggests that schools should teach these children the basic tenets of the culture which they do not get at home. Being from a different culture should not deny them access to quality education and later employment. She does not advocate the culture of power but says that “to act as if power does not exist is to ensure that the power status quo remains the same” (p.292). Thus, it is important that schools encourage the children from minority groups to value their own culture too but learn the styles and codes of the political world which exists outside the educational system. The teacher should not restrain herself from giving her expert knowledge to students but should also allow them to build concepts based on their contextual and socially relevant knowledge.

Delpit asserts that it is essential to involve the adults of the community in the decisions regarding content and methods appropriate for their children (p. 296). If they wish their children to learn and abide by the rules of the dominant culture because that will lead them to success, they have the right to demand for it and State should provide them with such education. No one from other cultures should interfere and decide what children of minority groups should study. She presents a wonderful thought that “We do not really see through our eyes or hear through our ears, but through our beliefs” (p.297) and thus the people from both the sides i.e., those who are in majority and those who are deprived from power should communicate their beliefs and needs with an open mind so that it can be decided properly and in a just manner what is best for the children of the poor and children of color (p. 296).  

Kancha Ilaiah’s articles mainly talk about the conflicts between regional language and English as the medium of instruction in schools in India. He says that in India, the regional language schools cater to students from lower caste while English medium schools are meant for the upper caste children. Macaulay’s minute emphasized educating the upper castes in English so that they could be employed as clerks and government servants and eventually spread English education to the masses (Macaulay, 1835). But the upper castes claimed their authority over English language just as they did over Sanskrit and did not let English education reach the lower castes. This is similar to the case of Black people who find it difficult to access English education because the White think that the Black need not excel in English and rather follow their own language. Even when the State provided English education through the missionary schools, the caste Hindu people did not allow the Dalits to join them and forced them to study either in local board schools which did not teach in English medium or in the crowded verandahs of the missionary schools (Constable, 2000).

He says that the assumption that teaching in regional language in the first few years of school will make it easier for children to learn English later is wrong (Ilaiah, 2007). He supports the step taken by AP government in implementing bilingual medium of instruction from Standard 1 itself so that children have a choice. The people from lower socio-economic background are also demanding for English education but since most of the Government schools do not provide it, they are deprived of it. Some of them take loans and later find themselves under huge debts for wanting to educate their children in private English medium schools. Ilaiah asserts that to change this situation, the private schools should be nationalized (Ilaiah, 2008). He believes that “Over time, English has become the common language of the global science and technology market and the overall economy” (Ilaiah, 2007) and thus it should be the fundamental right of every child to receive quality English medium education. I find his position similar to Delpit’s because he also never opposes the importance of mother tongue but keeps stressing on English education for success.

In an article titled “Why Dalits Want English”, Gail Omvedt (2006) explains the reasons for which Dalits look up to English as the instrument to get freedom from discrimination. The Hindu scriptures like Vedas and Upanishads were written in Sanskrit and were used by the upper castes to oppress the Shudras. With Macaulay’s minute, they realized that English can be a language which will not be Sanskritized and that they can use it to express themselves as they want. Their vernacular was looked down at by the upper castes but English will not be. Ilaiah also says that English education will open doors of higher education and employment for the Dalits which were inaccessible to them because of lack of English education. Jotirao Phule, a Dalit social reformer too emphasized higher education for Dalits in mother tongue as well as in English so that they can get rid of the Brahmin dominated indigenous school which discriminated the Shudras and Ati-shudras at every step from education to employment opportunities. He maintained that teachers in the schools for Dalits should be from their community itself because they will better understand their needs and problems (J. Phule, personal communication, October 19, 1882).

To summarize, both Delpit and Ilaiah believe in equal and quality English education for the Black and Dalits respectively. While Delpit puts a lot of emphasis on teacher’s role in learning outcomes of children from oppressed section, Ilaiah says that the State should provide quality education to the Dalits just as other dominant sections of the society receive. Delpit talks in detail about the methods which can be helpful to the Black children in learning at the same pace with other children and says that no particular approach (skills-oriented or process-oriented) can alone be the best way and that teachers should integrate a number of innovative methods in teaching. Both the writers assert that there should be a balance between the mother tongue and English to be used as medium of instruction. Children should be encouraged to value their own culture and language while learning English to progress in the practical world where (fortunately or unfortunately) English has become essential.

As I look at it, the fundamental aims of a school I establish will be as follows:

• To use education as a means to end the discrimination based on caste, class, race, religion, gender and any other aspect of society which draws line between people.

• To provide children with various options with respect to subjects, medium of instruction, learning methods, etc so that they can explore and choose what is best for them.

• To enable children to be creative and use their imagination in learning and constructing knowledge.

• To instill in them respect for other cultures, for their own culture; to work together as a team with children from different socio-economic backgrounds.

• To make them aware of the importance of clean and unpolluted environment and encourage them to protect it.

• To discover and nurture the skills of every child through various curricular and co-curricular activities.

I believe that all children whether from upper caste or otherwise should know how the society works, how discrimination separates people from people in the same society, how they need to fight for equality and justice. This is important because only when the children know the reality and understand what is and what ought to be, will they start working together towards the change. Children do not have prejudices and sense of ‘mine’ and ‘others’ like adults have. This is why their minds can be moulded in the right shape in schools. Schools should encourage children from different castes, class and religions to study together and not let them realize these differences. Teachers should be like a facilitator who will guide the children whenever needed and will allow them to construct knowledge as per their skills and experiences. The medium of instruction will be bilingual from the first grade itself so that children have choice between their mother tongue and English and they are not forced to learn any other language (Hindi or the respective State language) unless they want. Play-way method of teaching and learning where students learn from their experiences that they get while engaged in school activities or at home will be used so that students can question and find answers to them by themselves. Local handicraft skills will be taught especially to the tribal children so that their art and culture is preserved and spread in the society. This may also help the poor children in supporting their families financially because dropping out from school for earning can also be reduced through this method.

Now Score Cards on Performance of Teacher Education Institutions

Central Board of Secondary Education for the first time has come out with a comprehensive list on the performance of the teacher education institutions in Central Teacher Eligibility Test. The performance list reveals the number of students against the name of each teacher education institute who registered themselves for the test, the number of them who appeared for test and the number of students who could finally clear the test. This performance list of the teacher education institutes will now help the prospective teacher students to choose the right college to pursue their diploma or degree in education. This would also in turn trigger the managements of the teacher education institutes to improve the quality of teaching in their respective colleges.

In Karnataka 5575 students with a degree in education registered themselves for the paper 2 of the CTET conducted during september 2014. Out of which 4454 appeared for the test and only a negligible 138 of them passed. For those with a diploma in education, 3195 students registered for the paper 1 of CTET and 2649 appeared for the test while only 101 students succeeded to pass.

CTET includes two papers, paper 1 and paper 2. Those with a degree in education and who clear paper 2 will become eligible for teaching classes of grade 6 to grade 8 in school while those with a diploma in education clearing paper 1 of CTET can teach grade 1 to grade 5. Clearing CTET is now mandatory for teacher recruitment in all schools affiliated to CBSE run by central government like Kendriya Vidyalayas, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas etc.

The performance list comes out at a right time to the benefit of students as the Department of Public Instruction, Government of Karnataka invites applications for admission to B.Ed courses for the academic year 2014-2015. The students can access the performance list of each teacher education institutions in the state from the website

www.ctet.nic.in

Written as part of my internship at The HINDU

Analyzing Social Identity Theory

The Social Identity Theory was conceptualized by Tajfel and Turner in 1979. Social identity theory suggests that the membership of social groups and categories forms an important part of our self concept. Self is conceptualised as a collection of identities. It focuses on group and intergroup processes. Therefore in an interaction, the individuals involved represent a group or a category and not just themselves as individuals. Social identity theory looks at the social aspects of identity. These social identities shape intergroup perceptions, attitudes and behaviour. Social Identity theory is based on a number of inter-related concepts: social categorization, social identity, social comparison /positive distinctiveness.

Categorization refers to the process in which objects, events and people are classified into categories.  Social categorization divides the social environment into in-groups and out-groups.  By doing so we tend to exaggerate the similarities of those in the same group and exaggerate the differences between those in different groups. This accentuation occurs for all attitudes, beliefs and values, affective reactions, behavioural norms, styles of speech and other properties that are believed to be correlated with the relevant intergroup categorization. (Burke & Stets, 2000).The process of self-categorization depersonalizes perception, feelings and action in terms of contextually relevant self-defining in-group prototype.

Social identity is the part of our self-concept based on knowledge of our membership of one or more social groups. It is separate from personal identity – which is the part of our self-concept that derives from the way we perceive our personality traits and the personal relationships we have with other people (Turner, 1982). Whereas personal identity is associated with interpersonal behaviours, social identity is related to intergroup behaviours. Our social identity contributes to how we feel about ourselves, so we seek positive social identities to maintain and enhance our self-esteem. Social identity is the individual’s self-concept derived from perceived membership of social groups (Hogg & Vaughan, 2002).

Social comparison is the comparing of one’s own social group with others.  Some social groups have more power, prestige or status than others and therefore members of a group will compare their own groups with others and determine the relative status of their own group.This also results in the tendency for members of a group to distance themselves from membership of a group which does not share the same beliefs and ideas of their group and take more account of the beliefs and ideas of their social group. Positive social identities may result from the process of social comparison as we continuously compare our in-groups with relevant out groups. This social comparison process is set in motion by our need for positive distinctiveness – the motivation to show the superiority of our in-group compared to relevant out groups. By thus establishing the superiority of our in-group, we make sure that our social identities, and therefore our self-esteem, are positive enough. If a group does not help in maintain the self-esteem, people may want to leave the group.  However if leaving the group is impossible then people may adopt strategies such as comparing their own group to a group of a lower status. Through comparison we seek to maintain a positive self-concept which works in two ways: we view groups we belong to in a positive light and view related out-groups in a more negative light. These processes create inter-group differentiation.

  

In group-based identities, people perceive other groups in different cognitive, attitudinal or behavioural ways. They fix people into one image and create a stereotype. When people have certain negative opinions about those who belong to particular country, religion, sex, race or economic background are they are using stereotypes. Stereotypes force them to look at individuals as a part of a large group and not as individuals. They think that a large number of people have same attributes even though it is not fair to fit everyone into a particular image.

   

Some people see Muslims as conservatives, uneducated and superstitious, and that they do not allow girls to study much and work outside. When opinions about certain section of society are always negative then we call them prejudices about them. Prejudice makes us judge other people negatively or see them as inferior. People think that only the way they follow is the appropriate way of doing things and often end up not respecting others belief and practices. People's religious belief, the region they come from, the clothes they wear, the accent they speak in, the race they belong to etc. may become points for prejudice for them. Prejudices are thus one form of behavioural way to differentiate oneself from others and build self-esteem which casts others in bad light.

I feel the social identity theory very well explains how people of one group have certain views about themselves which keep them in positive light while others in negative light. Social comparison may result into positive or negative social identity. Social mobility is an outcome of a negative social identity. It is an attempt to leave group for one that may provide a more satisfactory identity. Positive comparisons produce high prestige and negative comparisons produce low prestige.

   

Social change is based on the belief that group boundaries are impermeable and thus results in positive re-evaluation of the in-group. This depends on perceived stability and legitimacy. If a group believes that its lower status position is legitimate and stable but it is possible to achieve membership of a dominant group will attempt to gain entry into higher class by not showing much solidarity with the in-group. Whereas a group which thinks that its position is illegitimate and unstable and there is less scope for social mobility will engage in direct inter-group competition.(Hogg & Terry,1995)

The best example to show that the social identity theory explains the tendency of a group to see other group in negative light is racism. People of one ‘race’ have a negative bias for people from the other race and they make sense of the world on the basis of racism. It becomes internalised as part of an individual’s self-concept and influences an individual’s perception about others. Social identity theory shows that individuals who are oppressed by this ideology of racism inevitably attempt to escape or to face the negative impact.

  

Thus the Social Identity Theory elaborates not only the importance of society in building one’s identity but also the impact of this on one’s perception about self and others. The in-group and out-group conflict is also a result of this perception which leads to differences and instability in the society.

REFERENCES

Burke, Peter J. and Jan E. Stets. (2000).”Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory” Social Psychology Quarterly 63:224-37.

Hogg, Michael A., Deborah J. Terry and Katherine M. White. (1995).”A Tale of  Two Theories: A Critical Comparison of Identity Theory With Social Identity Theory.”Social Psychology Quarterly 58:255-69.

McLeod, S. A. (2008). Social Identity Theory - Simply Psychology. Retrieved on 23rd October, 2013 from http://www.simplypsychology.org/social-identity-theory.html.

Teachers as Transformative Intellectuals: Understanding Giroux’s Argument

Before the formal schooling system emerged in India, the Gurukuls existed in which students had to stay for a certain period of time under the teacher’s supervision. It was the responsibility of the teacher to decide the proper curricula for students and teach them in his/her own-devised methods. It was believed that teacher is the ultimate source of power and knowledge and so the words said by the teacher were to be followed without questioning. Such was the faith on teachers that most of the crucial decisions-be it about a child in the family or some issue in the community, people would consult the teacher in the village as they held that a knowledgeable person like him/her can guide them in taking correct decisions. This authoritarian position of the teacher was brought down with the emergence of the colonial rule.

The colonial masters believed that the unquestioned authority of the teacher did not allow any room for critical thinking on the student’s part and thus the system needed to be changed. Along with demeaning the role of teacher, even the indigenous knowledge was disregarded. Accusing the Indian belief system to be based on superstition and irrationality, teaching on the basis of scripts and folklore was rejected. That the Indian society was in need of moral and character makeover was reinforced again and again by the rulers and thus the textbook culture was born. Subjects like science, mathematics, history, geography and literature were introduced through textbooks prepared by Western experts.

Not only was the curriculum decided by foreign subject specialists and administrators, but also the methods of teaching and routine to be followed were pre-decided for the teacher. The teacher had no autonomy either on the content to be taught or the practices to teach the students. The only job left for the teacher was to execute the ‘plan’ step by step as given to him/her. They were assigned clerical jobs and were also subject to fear of the regular school inspection. All these led to the loss of authority and identity of the teacher as a trustworthy intellectual person. The status of teachers which I described above has not changed since then and continues to be so.

Giroux talks about the significant role teachers can play in bringing about a positive change in the society by recognizing their potential as intellectuals and helping the students to develop critical thinking. He says that the educational reforms are important not only for the students but teachers too as they affect the complete classroom transaction. But ironically, teachers are never considered important enough to be consulted for their suggestions and opinions before deciding the reforms to be made. Teachers are merely expected to impart instructions as and when needed by the curriculum design which is based profoundly on the political and ideological beliefs of the society. Thus, teachers are forced to work in conditions which are determined by factors working outside the classroom. Giroux states that there is a need for teachers to understand their significance in the educational scenario and strive for the recognition and decision-making power they deserve to get as an intellectual work force. They are in a better position to critique as well as suggest the modifications for in-service and pre-service teacher training programs by doing which they can help the prospective teachers too.

When we expect teachers to be able to develop critical thinking in students, it is first essential that they themselves do so. They should raise questions about practices and concepts they find confusing or doubtful. Sadly, even the teacher-training courses follow the Banking model which restricts the scope of independent thinking on the part of the student as they are supposed to learn and perform the tasks which is taught to them without questioning the rationale behind it. Learners are regarded as someone without knowledge, belief or interests; rather they are only passive recipients of the information given by the ‘more knowledgeable’ teacher. Students who are trained in this manner follow the same tradition when they become teachers and this goes on from generation to generation. Giroux encourages teachers to engage in research and develop theories based on their experiences in classroom and awareness about social and political ideologies. Thus, teachers can not only challenge but also change the way curriculum is designed. Once this is done, the teachers can provide an environment to the students in which they will have the right to resist the pedagogy if it contradicts their beliefs and consequently develop a democratic sphere right from the school life.

Giroux discusses mainly two issues which affect the overall work of teachers. First is proletarianization of teachers which refers to the tendency to reduce teachers to the status of specialized technicians whose duty is to pass on “predetermined  set  of  discrete  information and  instructional  procedures  through  a teacher-proof  method,  and  highly standardized  tests” (Sedeghi & Ketab, 2009, p.53). He calls such type of pedagogy as management pedagogy because the emphasis is on structuring the curricula in such a way that it is easier for maximum number of students to clear the exams. For this, the teachers are given a routine to be followed so as to complete the syllabus on time and allow the students to attempt and pass the examinations.

There are two drawbacks of this approach. First, teachers are completely excluded from the curriculum making process. Second, the curriculum is designed in such a way that it represents a normative picture of society consisting of culture and way of life followed by the upper caste, middle class people. Thus, many children who come from different religion, ethnicity, culture, and economic background feel out of place in the classroom as teachers also ignore the difficulties faced by these students and proceed at their own convenience.

The second issue raised by Giroux is the need to develop a new perspective about teachers- to see them as transformative intellectuals. This perspective accepts that every activity involves thinking no matter how routinized it is. Thus the work of teachers cannot be devalued by saying that there only job is to implement the instructions given to them. This means that they have the right to integrate conceptualization and actualization instead of blindly practicing methods irrespective of its relevance to the classroom context. By doing this, they become active and reflective agent of knowledge and not a source of static knowledge. Giroux says that teachers are not technical experts equipped with skills to achieve pre-determined goals, rather they are “free men and women with a special dedication to the values of the intellect and the enhancement of the critical powers of the young” (Giroux, 1988, cited in Canestrari & Marlowe, 2004, p.209). Teachers are therefore active agent of social change because they are in a position to motivate children to question the existing customs and practices in the classroom thus preparing them to challenge the greater problems and injustices in the society. The Problem-posing approach can help the teachers in engaging the students in critical dialogue with them as well as each other. For this, group activities can be used so that discussions on controversial issues can be held.

Teachers have a greater responsibility in bringing about social change because schools are economic, cultural and social sites which perpetuate power and control in the society. They encounter various conflicts in the form of political discourses which influence the overall pedagogy. Different political groups like RSS have tried to saffronize the curriculum by forcing Hinduism in various topics through various subjects. Teachers have to deal with such political issues and this is the reason why many teachers do not want to enter such situations which may jeopardize their job and personal life. Thus to enable the teachers to use their freedom of not only critically engaging in educating the future responsible citizens of the society but also preparing them to become active participant in the democracy, educational institutions play an important part. They should provide an environment that is liberal, open to change and tolerant to diverse views. If traditional ways of teaching-learning are to be transformed, teachers should be given the authority to devise their own methods of teaching.

Giroux’s argument about viewing teachers as transformative intellectual is very helpful for changing the status of teachers as considered by students, parents, policy makers and by teachers themselves. As described earlier, initiative taken by teachers in improving their work conditions is the most effective way of doing so which will further benefit the prospective teachers and their learners.

References

Giroux, H. (2004). 21 Teachers as Transformative Intellectuals. In A. Canestrari & B. A. Marlowe (Eds.), Educational Foundations: An Anthology of Critical Readings (pp. 205-212). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Sedeghi, S. & Ketab, S. (2009). From Liberal Ostrichism to Transformative Intellectuals: An Alternative Role for Iranian Critical Pedagogues. ELTED, 12, 52-60. Retrieved from http://www.elted.net/6%20%20Sima%20Sedeghi%20&%20Saeed%20Ketabi.pdf

Exploitation at its peaks: Interlinkages of Globalization with Environment

    

Author: Kalyani Jada

Human beings are always under the anthropocentric notion and they tend to forget their immediate environment. They strive hard to achieve material things by all means. This self seeking behavior of the humans leads to the ignorance of the nature as well as other living beings. As the society became more complex the dependence on natural resources has become requisite and this lead to the disruption of the environment. The degree of depletion of bio-diversity has become much more evident post Globalization phase. India, one of the developing countries is a no such exception to this condition.

Globalization is an economic process in which there is free flow of manufactured goods, services and intellectual properties amongst the worldwide nations with an apex international authority regulating such trade. Although the process of globalization can be traced to the ancient times, the term has been in use predominantly after 1990’s. However its impact on the environment and biodiversity is unperceived to a larger extent as most of them are indirect. This environmental turmoil prevails in almost all the countries regardless of either developed or developing countries. Rapid industrialization accompanied with varied developmental programs associated with that has started altering or otherwise destroying the ecological ambience of the country in many ways. Most of the developing countries like India are focusing on the sustainability of the economy and it might lead to chaos in the future. India stands in 3rd position in ecological footprint next to USA and China. Ecological footprint is the measure of dependence of human kind on the eco system. As a result the capacity of nature to sustain has sharply declined to half during the past four decades.

“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

The interesting area of concern would be the ‘Adivasis’ and their commitment towards the conservation of their surrounding environment in all parts of the world especially in India. These bodies of knowledge stand opposite to the mainstream economics as their main motive is to share unlike the concept of heavy competition for basic needs in the mainstream. There have been an increased number of displacements of these people after 1990’s due to the construction of the dams and other heavy developmental projects. Around 30 to 40 million people without proper compensation for their displacement. Degradation of the forests happened because of the colonization and also the new laws of the independent India which focused on development at a faster pace. Biodiversity is in threat from the forces within the India but also from the International finance post globalization phase. Structural reforms program of IMF and WB demands an opening up of the economy including agricultural sector and areas with varied exotic biodiversity. The green revolution has lead to a new style of agriculture which resulted in the heavy use of pesticides and fertilizers. In turn this resulted into the massive decline of the many species of birds, insects and earthworms. Earthworms act as natural decomposers and are boon to the agricultural practices but the so called globalized form of agriculture has ruined the ecological balance of the nation completely. The traditional modes of agriculture and production connect people with the forests, mountains and rivers. Some of the developmental aspects like large scale mining operations, construction of heavy dams and projects; SEZ’s and Steel plants had lead to displacement of many Adivasis. Buy displacing them one is not only doing injustice to Adivasis but also disturbing the ecological balance and biodiversity of that particular place. They are in tune with their ecology and successfully operating that since a very long time. It was evident that the globalization buying up the rights to India’s natural resources and thereby resulting into the more riotous depletion of water, minerals, forests and bio diversity. Therefore the displacement of the indigenous communities can be interrelated to the disruption of the biodiversity of such areas. In such a situation the protests of Adivasis against their displacement not only preserves their culture but also helps to maintain the flora and fauna effectively in this modernized times.

“When one understands the linkages with numerous mining and other projects, it is hard not to see this road-building programme, and new debts taken onto fund it, as a rape of the country’s resources that converts the fertile fields and long established villages into wastelands.” (Padel, 2013, p.46)

The above lines clearly indicated the inter linkages of the adverse impacts of the globalization on the nation as a whole. It enters slowly and destroys all the bonds with the most valuable resources as well as the environment. The number of species which are endangered to extinction due to this phenomenon is hardly recognized by anyone.

There has been almost degradation of the forests by the diversion of 70% for the purpose of mining since 1980. India celebrates its prosperity of having a varied range of flora and fauna out of which 10% of them being listed as endangered species. According to the recent reports, 108 coastal towns and cities release 5.5 billion litres of waste water into ocean daily. This would seriously affect the living of traditional practices like marine fishing to a greater extent. Since 1991 most of the world’s mining industries started investing in India .This includes Rio Tinto Zinc (UK), BHP (Australia), Alcan (Canada), Norsk Hydro (Norway) Meridian (Canada), De Beers (South Africa, Raytheon (USA), and Phelps Dodge (USA). This has resulted in the massive degradation of the environment and also depleted the biodiversity of those regions. Long sections of rivers and have been commodified and sold to the corporate buyers in different parts of the country. This is one of the monstrous consequences of the globalization in the mask of development.

As discussed India is a country of huge variety of species when compared to the rest of the world. Indian rivers have a global frontier of fresh water vegetation and are under the risk of endangered and threatened species. Nearly a 50% of aquatic plants have been recorded in India but only some of them are studied in detail. India has an excellent record of fresh water species as it stands 8th in the world and 3rd in Asia for its fresh water fish diversity. The western Ghats which is the significant point of river biodiversity, 16% of the species are threatened to extinction while in some other significant places the insufficiency of the data of the species to be conserved is itself neglected. The major menace that rivers and its biodiversity and communities dependent on them are the construction of dams and projects, sand mining, deforestation and improper use of environment. Large dams are planned and are under construction and are affecting the protected, sensitized and world heritage sites. All the rules which are imposed by the environment department are getting more liberal leading to adverse impacts they have on biodiversity and also the community of indigenous living there.

According to Ministry of environments and forests, India:

“The Biological Diversity Act 2002 was born out of India's attempt to realize the objectives enshrined in the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 1992 which recognizes the sovereign rights of states to use their own Biological Resources. The Act aims at the conservation of biological resources and associated knowledge as well as facilitating access to them in a sustainable manner and through a just process”

There has been a wide disparity between setting up of laws and strictly enforcing them especially in the case of environment. There has been an impact of globalization on all such developmental activities which calls in for the rapid growth of the economy and which usually forget the encompassment the eco favor implementations. Dams are adversely affecting the Ramsar wetland sites but there is no report of such activity. According to the wetland rules (2010), the definition of wetlands excludes rivers completely and thereby these rivers don’t find any place in planning or in any other programs. The inconsistency in this system might lead to the depletion of entire biodiversity of the rivers.

Affects of dams on biodiversity:

The first thing that is affected is the fresh water aquatic diversity in the fresh waters. It also incorporates various contents like duration, amplitude of floods and flows. temperature, nutrient content, concentration of various pollutants and dissolved gases and turbidity of the water in motion; flow pattern, chemistry, quantity and content of sediments; the physical condition, composition of the river bed, plant, animal, fish, insect biodiversity in the water and floodplains. All these might have adverse impacts if a dam or a hydro project is being constructed. Some of the major dams have acquired permission from the environmental ministry which could destroy the biodiversity. Over 150 dams are planned to be constructed in rich biodiversity states like Arunachal Pradesh. In spite of having the common adverse impacts on biodiversity this special case also results into the degradation of species like black necked crane, Bengal florican etc. There are also many other projects taking place on the rivers Teesta river, Ra thong chu river and over 300 dams in upper Ganga basin and many more of that sort. Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has recommended cancelling at least 24 of these projects for protecting terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity of the region. But all the suggestions were ignored by the environmental ministry itself. Alakananda hydro electric project has all the negative recommendations from WII and also Forest advisory committee, the environment ministry gave a green signal to the project.

The major consequences are the climate change, the patterns and duration of the monsoons, also the increased melting of glaciers of the Himalayas and increased sea levels in coastal areas. All of this fluctuating conditions results into the massive depletion of fresh water biodiversity. In order to control this government should review all such plans and make rules stringent regarding the issues related to environment.

Main Argument:

The independent India had many challenges to face before it. Unemployment, poverty and many other social evils played a very important role in deciding the future role of the country. Strive to achieve economic development has created a chaotic condition in the country as this ensued to the deterioration of the environment and biodiversity. This has led to the displacement of millions of Adivasis who were actually share a divine bond with the ecology. In all the cases the movements against displacement are also associated with save the environment motto. Their economy is interwoven with the ecology and we the mainstream individuals experiencing development at the cost of their exploitation, displacement and their alienation from their motherland. A developmental economist would never understand that. The concern regarding the environment has been recognized these days but in obscure ways. The environmental laws should be made and enforced in such a manner that the development wouldn’t come into the way of using up of all natural resources and the environment.

The special aspect of the environmental degradation and depletion of biodiversity would be the case of endangered fresh water species during construction of dams and heavy projects for various purposes. Rapid construction of dams leads to many disasters hereafter. Globalization is a not a single phenomenon in which it could be defined just as the free flow of goods and services without considering the results of it. Therefore it should incorporate the ideas of the eco economy in order to attain sustainability. The development economics stresses on why certain parts of world are not developed but wouldn’t essentially take into account the adverse impacts of it both economically and environmentally. There are many such incidents where the environment clearances have become very easy in our country. For example:

“The state may get approval to reopen its mines in next two to three months, but actual mining operations will start from September, since environmental clearances and other clearances takes time…. Supreme court imposed a ban on that activity as there were illegal mining operations in 2012” (Economic Times, 27/3/2014, p: 13)

The environment clearance is likely to be received to start the mining operations in Goa. It is evident from the above lines that the concern of the environment in that area is not taken care of properly. The day to day encounter of such news doesn’t bother anyone unless and until it comes into their way. So the government should realize the cons of the globalization instead of supporting it continuously by all the possible means.

Conclusion and Way ahead:

There is no way that one could stop all the developmental programs that are occurring in the country at a faster pace. The only way to resolve this issue is that both the economy and the ecology should go hand in hand with respect to development. There are successive countries which have adopted the policy of eco economy and became progressive. Similarly India should adopt such policies and try to stop the deterioration of the plethora of the biodiversity in our country. in the same way the government should allow the indigenous tribes to leave the way as they are since they can preserve the environment better than the mainstream people. All the dangerous activities like set up of a nuclear plant, exploitation of wetlands for constructions of dams, mining projects, and heavy industries such as steel plant in Rourkela should be compensated or should be functioning in an eco-friendly manner.

Reference List

Free flowing biodiversity rich rivers: Most endangered species in India. (2012). South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People. Retrieved from http://sandrp.in/rivers/Endangered_Riverine_Biodiversity_India_Nov2012.pdf

Padel, F., Danderkar,A., and Unni,J. (2013). Adivasi economics, Ecology economy: quest for a socially informed connection. (pp.21-46). New Delhi: Orient black swan.

Srivastava, A. and Kothari, A (2012). Globalization in India: Impacts and Alternatives. Retrieved from http://www.kalpavriksh.org/images/CLN/Globalisation%20Brochure.pdf

Iron ore mining likely to start in Goa from September, (2014, 27th march), p: 13