Siddhartha Deb: the Other Face of Globalization - Essay Example

?Siddhartha Deb: The Persuading Argument on the Other Face of Globalization Introduction Is globalization the answer to eliminate social inequality in a country? Globalization constitutes the openness of the market to foreign investors and enhances international relations (Baral 3). The open trade between countries aids the economic aspect of a nation due to the increasing rate of employment and taxes imposed to business establishments. However, in the book written by Siddhartha Deb entitled The Beautiful and the Damned: A portrait of the New India, he analyses the other side of globalization. Deb returns in India as a journalist working in The Guardian. This book explores the New India and meets new individuals such as Arindam Chaudhuri, Esther, and the farmer. During his travel, he exposes the contradictions in the projection of New India and the real world. The author aims to project the deception that globalization creates in terms of its declaration of massive wealth, but secretly repels the class inequalities. Globalization impacts not only the cultural identity of Indians, but it also aggravates the social condition of the poor. The main thrust of this paper is to argue that the story is convincing because of the logical reasoning presented, accountability of the author, and appeal to emotions. Logical Reasoning Persuasive writing includes an appeal based on logic or reason. Logical writing tends to persuade readers to agree with the viewpoint of a writer. The book of Siddhartha Deb has logical reason because of the utilization of facts and observation to support his views that India is creating an illusion with the advent of globalization. According to Glenn and Gray, the method of “using a number of specific facts or observations” is called inductive reasoning wherein the writer formulates a reasonable judgment (126). Furthermore, logical reasoning comprises of the gathering of stories from different persons he met while travelling in the subcontinents of India, factual evidence based on its observation through defining it in a descriptive text and statistics. The description provided allows the connection of the narrator and readers through drawing an image of the working condition in India. The narrator’s description to the workers: “The men … were infernal creatures, rags wrapped around their faces to protect themselves from the heat, inevitably dwarfed by the extremity of the place, with everything so large, so fast and so hot” (Deb, qtd. in Subramanian). Moreover, the balance in the story is achieved because Deb does not only focus on the poor individuals, which desire to be rich because of the promise of progress in New Delhi, but the subject of his story is a rich man who owns large business establishments. The description of the author to the steel workers in New Delhi depicts the miniscule in comparison with the gentrification of the city. Thus, the buildings are too immense, which signifies a progressive city. Along with gentrification is the lost of cultural identity of Indians, due to the invasion of the West. The invasion happens because the author has observed the modern buildings, products, and dress code. The traditional services and products are nowhere to be found. It means that the contemporary India is changing to a globalized India, but the labor condition remains the same. Deb supported his logical reasoning through a statistics that implies the income inequality among Indian workers. The Kirkus Reviews on The Beautiful and the Damned stressed the factual evidence of Deb about the “total number of people in India consuming less than 20 rupees a day was 836 million - or 77 percent of the population.” This statistics proves the condition of Indian workers, which contradicts the wealth projected by the government. Abelson iterates that statistics is often used to support an argument and to prove its reliability and validity; however, it is also misleading (1+). Statistics is supposed to create credibility, which depends on the author’s manner of reporting or writing. In Deb’s work, statistics clearly differentiates facts from opinion, which implies the objective reporting. Accountability of the Author In the book of Siddhartha Deb entitled, The Beautiful and the Damned: A New Life in India, he clearly stated that he returned to his home country as a journalist. Journalists are considered as the Fourth Estate due to its influence and power utilizing media. Ward indicates that journalists have critical roles in the revolutionary period because of their capability to recount past events and to speak in a passionate voice that can stimulate actions. Thus, the author is convincing because of his occupation that has a social responsibility to criticize the government and to tell stories accurately. In his book, the author tells the stories of different persons he met using the investigative journalism and mere observation. The book is written in a narrative style that recounts his experiences as he travelled in the subcontinents of India and while he is gathering information to support his assumption. Despite the attachment of Deb in his own country, objectivity in relaying information must be prioritized. Thus, in a review conducted by Baker, she described Deb as a “detach” person, but with compassion to every person he interviewed. This analysis will receive criticism on the accountability and credibility of journalists because of the sensationalize articles as a method of sustaining the life of a business. Indeed, this could be a counter-argument because of the truth that corruption exists in the media. However, the remark of Baker with regard to the book says: He [Deb] has a particularly fine eye for a culture and landscape in transit from what he calls a “high context” India of caste, regional and linguistic divisions to the “low context” promise of the English-speaking, globalized, technocratic elite. The criticism of Baker led to answer that Deb is not just an ordinary journalist, but he is also a citizen of India despite his foreign background. India is his home country, which enables him to identify changes in its culture brought by globalization. Furthermore, the law suit filed against Deb might affect his credibility as a writer and as a journalist. Filed cases against journalist are just a normal scenario because of its role as the watchdog of society. Muralidhan asserts that the freedom of speech in India is hampered because of powerful personalities who do not want to expose their corruption. Furthermore, the author establishes his journalistic attitude through the method of interviewing people, which persuades readers to believe on the weight of his credibility. Use of Testimonies and Anecdotes Advertisement commonly uses testimonies to persuade the audience that this product is effective. In the concept and writing style of Deb, he uses testimonies of real individuals and anecdotes. Anecdote and testimonies are utilized as a support to the arguer’s point. These are short stories of a particular incident or event. Objectivity is achieved in this manner of writing because Mauk and Metz assert that the “details in anecdote … draw an audience into a specific scene” (620). In the journey of Deb, the first chapter of his book accounts the story of the rich man in India -- the great gatsby (27). The author’s goal was to find a rich man in India to be interviewed “about the making and spending money in India” (Deb 28). The title of a great gatsby reflects the American dream that projects power and greatness, but it signifies the opposite. The contradiction of dreams to reality is presented by the author through the testimonies it gathered from the woman in F&B, the steel workers, and farmers. The woman in F&B affirms that her experiences “given her a body of knowledge that was a blend of prejudice and wisdom, sometimes perceptive and sometimes contradictory.” The New India promises material profits to the workers, which push them to travel from the subcontinents of India to the gentrified city. However, the workers extremely labor to earn for a living, but women are treated unfairly. In the statistics given by Deb, there are 24, 000 female fetuses that are aborted every year due to the treatment to women. The statistics appeals to the emotion of women readers due to the recorded abortion and the unequal treatment for them. Thus, if the New India aims for globalization and wants to catch up with the development of the West, why is there no equality between men and women? This was the point of the author in contradiction of globalization to the condition of workers in India. Men are considered a high profile wherein they are provided jobs in executive level while women must work hard to earn money. Conclusion The inequality in the distribution of income and social condition of Indian in the image of the New India is grounded to the negative impact of globalization. The argument of the author is convincing because it based on logic and reason that is presented with facts and observation. Moreover, the argument is persuasive because of the establishment of author’s credibility and occupation as a journalist. Lastly, the author utilizes testimonies and anecdotes to strengthen its claim about the New India. Indeed, globalization has a positive impact on the built environment of India, but it aggravates social inequality among Indians. Works Cited Abelson, Robert P. Statistics as Principled Argument. USA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1995. Print. Baker, Deborah. “New India, Old Schemes.” Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 15 Oct. 2011. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. . Baral, Kailash C. “Globalization and Tribes of Northeast India.” Indian Folklife July 2006: 1-24. Print. Deb, Siddhartha. “The Girl from F&B: A Portrait of the New India.” The Nation. The Nation, 18 Aug. 2011. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. . ---. The Beautiful and the Damned: A Portrait of New India. USA: Faber & Faber, 2011. Print. Glenn, Cheryl, and Loretta Gray. The Writer’s Harbrace Handbook, Brief. 3rd ed. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2008. Print. Mauk, John, and John Metz. Inventing Arguments. 3rd ed. USA: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Muralidharan, Sukumar. Alarming Spike in Legal Actions Against Journalists and Media in India. Australia: International Federation of Journalists, n.d. Print. Subramanian, Samantha. “From Gandhi to Gatsby.” New York Times. New York Times Company, 16 Sept. 2012. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. . The Beautiful and the Damned. Kirkus Reviews, 2012. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. . Ward, Stephen John Anthony. The Invention of Journalism Ethics: The Path to Objectivity and Beyond. Canada: McGill-Queen’s UP, 2004. Print. Read More