Negotiations with Multiculturalism in a Globalized World - Essay Example

Negotiations with Multiculturalism in a Globalized World of Negotiations with Multiculturalism in a Globalized World There are many differences between the different cultures of the world in today’s age. There has been contact between different cultures at most points of time in history; however, the extent of the contact between different cultures at this point in the history of the world is unprecedented. This is largely due to the phenomenon of globalization that has managed to bring people closer, at least at the level of geographical distances. This has been made possible due to the rapid growth of industries and technological uses in the daily lives of people. Technology is a very important part of the lives of people around the world at this point of time. This also is due to the fact that the economic processes that take place in the world have a lot to do with the cooperation of people across the globe. For instance several parts of a machine that is to be assembled in a certain part of the world would come from different corners of the world and the entire process would not probably be completed at one place. The after sales services would probably be offered from a place different from all of these depending on a host of factors ranging from the availability of raw material to cheap labor to costs of transport. This paper shall seek to analyze conversations that were had with an Indian friend of mine, Amit Kumar (name changed). The differences of opinion and the misunderstandings that happened during these conversations shall form a part of the analysis. The paper shall look at these conversations through the lens of a multicultural world where the cultures of different people have to be understood properly. They also have to be understood as products of globalization themselves where there may be a disconnect between a person and his or her own culture. Amit Kumar hails from Kerala, a state in the Southern part of India. The place is known for its high rates of literacy and the political awareness that people of this state possess. It is also a state that is very diverse in terms of the religions that people follow here and also the kind of dialects that people use, in different parts of the state. There is however, as a result of the process of modernization, a certain amount of a lack of awareness regarding the pre-colonial cultures and art forms that were a part of that culture. There is thus a rootlessness that the people of Kerala feel at this point of time. This can best be seen in the novel Roots that was written by the very popular Malayali author Malayattoor Ramakrishnan which talks of the reclamation of the cultural roots of a person (Ramakrishnan, 2000). I talked to Amit Kumar regarding this aspect of the Malayali existence at this point of time. Me: How does it feel to go back home these days, Amit? Amit: It is quite disconcerting. The effects of modernity on the lives of people at home even at this point of time seems to be one that has been imposed without taking into concern the particular social conditions of Kerala. Me: why would you say so? Amit: The very basic elements of our culture are not present in the culture that is sought to be imposed upon us. They are then made to be a part of nothing more than attractions for tourists. Amit here may be referring to exactly what Arundhati Roy refers to her Booker Prize winning novel The God of Small Things. In this book, she talks of the marginalization of indigenous cultural forms and their resurfacing as mere elements of the past that cannot be integrated into modernity. Roy uses the trope of the kathakali dancers to make clear how certain symbols of the Malayali society and postcolonial societies in general have degenerated from being frameworks of signs through which a society used to store its memories to being nothing more than a form of attraction that is set up for tourists to watch and enjoy without realizing the importance that that form of art may have for the people of a certain community (Roy, 2002). There are however, certain aspects of even art forms like kathakali that Amit is opposed to. I had thought that he would be a supporter of such forms of art as he was a Malayali. This was not however the case. Amit referred to kathakali as a form of art that was created in the temple and people of certain castes were not allowed to enter the temple. This points our attention to an important aspect of south Asian society where people are discriminated on the basis of their caste belonging. This unfair system of social arrangement was roundly criticized by Jotirao Phule in Gulamgiri and later in the twentieth century by the great Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. Phule felt that much of the discrimination was based on the racial discrimination between the Aryan invaders and the people of the Indus Valley Civilization, people who were supposedly the original inhabitants of the country (Phule, 2006). Ambedkar’s critique of the caste system was geared towards making clear the lack of interest that people of lower castes had in being made a part of the Hindu fold (Ambedkar, 2008). These ideas animate the discussion and the ideas that were being exchanged between me and Amit. The aspect of gender was also a part of the conversation that we had. Me: Do you find anything different about the cultures that we are from as far as gender is concerned? Amit: I do. There is a certain degree of openness in your culture that is lacking in Malayali culture. This has a lot to do with a repressive atmosphere that one can find. One of the questions that I asked Amit was met with great sarcasm. This was concerning one of the stories that I had read regarding the status of different gods on the Hindu pantheon. Once again. Kumar reminded me of the fact that people who belonged to certain castes of the Hindu religion in the Southern part of India did not believe in all the stories that were created about the gods of the Hindu pantheon. In the light of the new theories that are being discovered about the origin of the caste system, it is impossible to continue in the vein of earlier assumptions. There are certain aspects of the concept of a temple that Amit is in agreement with, however. This includes the protection of the environment under the aegis of the temples of certain parts of the country. parts of the country. Certain parts of nature are considered to be sacred and they are not allowed to be touched. This leads to the conservation of the environment and a sense of importance that the environment and the project of its conservation acquire in the eyes of the people who are believers of a certain faith. The sarcasm that Amit displayed however, was a sign of displeasure. This displeasure was brought on by my own mistake. Having decided to talk to Amit about his culture, it was not a good decision to not know about his culture. To undertake research regarding his culture was a prerequisite as I had decided to talk to him about his culture. It is very important for people to know as much as they can regarding different cultures that are a part of this world. The importance of this can be seen from the fact that many of the misunderstandings that occur between people in this world are a result of ignorance. This is being said in the context of problems that people from different cultures are likely to have in relation to one another. The knowledge of other cultures and an ability to accord respect to another person’s culture is the least that a person is supposed to do in a multicultural environment. Amit: There are other problems too that people of other cultures have when it comes to conversing with Malayalis. At this point of time, there is a great deal of violence in households in Kerala. Without condoning it, I would like to say that it is the result of the fast advance of modernity into a society that had already been made to change many of its pre-existing modes of being. Me: I had no idea about all these aspects of your culture. People need to interact more and do so with an open mind so as to understand these aspects. What Amit may be referring to is the matrilineal mode of familial relations between people of the Nair and the Namboodiri castes in Kerala. Both these castes are supposedly high. They have had significant impact upon the culture of Kerala and their matriliny’s abolition through colonial governments’ interventions was something that has changed the way in which relations are looked upon in Kerala. Amit makes it clear that it is important to have a sense of the history of the Kerala state while looking at the different ways in which the present organization may appear unnatural to an observer from the West who may still be influenced by Victorian codes of morality. The repression that these codes engendered in the Victorian masses can be seen in the psyches of people of Kerala at this point of time (Oakley, 2005). There are many such changes that one has to keep in mind while analyzing the people of Kerala and the immense sociological possibilities that such diversity within a state has to offer to the conscientious researcher. Amit: This can be seen especially in the youth of Kerala in today’s time. Especially after the West has moved beyond repressive Victorian structures, the Malayali youth has sought to do the same. There is however, a distinct misogynist aspect to this. Me: I had not thought that the process of colonization had this many effects on the psyche of the colonized. Amit: We have just started to discover most of them. The difference between the experience for men and women is also significant, according to Amit. Me: How would you say the gender divide operates in Kerala? Amit: It is very unfair to women. This is something that I can say as I can look at the culture from the outside. Me: Why would you say it is unfair? Amit: There are very few households where women are given equal opportunities and are allowed to pursue their own dreams. There are several aspects of the multicultural experience that one needs to accept. One of these is the fact that one can look at a certain culture, which may be one’s own culture and analyze the flaws within it. This is what Amit is able to do. The importance of a dialogic relationship with one’s own culture can be seen in the self-reflexivity that one finds on Amit Kumar. References Ambedkar, B.R. (2008). The Untouchables. Delhi: Siddharth Books. Print. Ramakrishnan, Malayattoor. (2002). Roots. Tr. V. Abdulla. New Delhi: Orient BlackSwan. Print. Phule, Jotirao. (2006). “Caste Laws”. The Individual and Society. New Delhi: Pearson. Print. Oakley, Ann. (2005). The Ann Oakley Reader: Gender, Women and Social Science. Bristol: The Policy Press. Print. Roy, Arundhati. (2002). The God of Small Things. New York: Penguin. Print. Read More