Globalization, Revolution and time

The dictionary defines globalization as ‘the merging of international barriers for the promotion of trade and hence facilitate economic development of the countries’.

Charles Darwin coined the theory of evolution. We as early men would have felt proud after accidentally discovering fire, after inventing wheel, after learning how to grow food, after taming animals and most important of all – after realising our position in the pyramid of life. We were not just mere animals, but a better species with a mind to think critically and some potential.

After this kick start, homo-sapiens never looked back. They used one discovery as a base and hence followed innumerable new discoveries and inventions. Eras passes and the environment saw the sea change from ‘early man’ to ‘modern man’. It is though ridiculous that what we thought still remains the same. Earlier we used to wear animal skin and used to hunt animals. Now that it is a modern era, we have become more sophisticated for we wear processed animal skin, that is, leather and we still kill animals for food, but the fact that we used forks and knives to eat them places us at a better position than what we were years back! I just realised that with the passage of time, our ways and methodologies may change but the basic idea, that is its raw form, more or less remains the same.

Globalisation is a term that took birth with the first flake of fire. It is an idea that was conceived long back. That is why man never stopped at any stage but went on exhuming his skills and thoughts to develop something new. That was the time when man was much closer to nature than he is today. He hunted animals, cut trees and used natural resources to fulfil his daily needs but in some way or the other he had also realised the worth of all these in human life. He was also a protector then.

In today’s era, the situations have somewhat changed. Greed made man to extract everything out of nature, be it animals, plants or resources. At the present time, the situation reveals that our future would be in doldrums if we do not get back to the nature now! And hence, after thousands of years, we are standing at the same place from where we started, our role as protectors of the mother nature. Carbon credit system, pacts, treaties and various schemes have come into picture to take care of these.

As man progressed more, he developed family relations and proper communication skills giving rise to a rich variety of dialects and many new languages. There developed society, moral and ethical values. Then came into existence social structure, hierarchies which gave rise to exploitation. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Jyotirao Phule, Peary Charan Sarkar and many more fought against the social practises of Sati, purdah, etc. These were aimed for the social upliftment of the women. These people worked real hard to free the society of such differences and clash of the opinions, they tried their best to remove all these superstitious practices from the society. With the passage of time, this gained momentum and finally acts were passed thus proscribing all these evil customs.

In today’s world, though scenario has changed, the problem still is the same. Every single day we witness innumerable cases wherein a woman is burned to death by her in-laws for dowry or she is raped or she is stoned to death because of accusation of practising witch-craft. Be it female infanticide or trafficking, the thing common in all is the ‘female’. There are many prominent personalities working in this field to provide social stand to women.

It is said that the entire Mahabharata was the brain child of Krishna. Be it the venomous politics of Duryodhana and Shakuni to take over the reign from the Pandavas or be it the diplomatic speech of Lord Krishna to help Arjun win the battle, the things portrayed are clearly visible. Even in the ancient times, people knew how to deceive and dodge. Kaikeyi too didn’t think twice before sending Lord Rama to 14 years of exhile. And the tradition continues. It seems we have genetically acquired this skill from our ancestors as it is clearly visible in today’s world.

Connecting these three words together- that is globalization, revolution and time is an arduous task. But critical examinations clearly reveals the essential nexus. With the each revolution of the earth around the sun and its rotation about its own axis, the universe witnessed change in idea, conflicts in minds and communities. Many people played their roles on the stage of the world and left, but their causes were the same. Globalisation brought countries together for further development. Want of education and improvisation of living standards forced the birth of many great social as well as industrial revolutions of the world. But looking beyond these, the nuances remain the same. Our social values, ethical thinking and traditions have remained the same.

Since times immemorial we have been fighting for the same causes, in the same manner but with different people, be it the environment, or the women or the politics or any other situation.