About Arampur: globalization

 

Qutb Ansari (top) peers through his loom on which he creates carpets which will be finished near Banaras and then exported, most likely, to Europe or North America. Arampur imports few Western consumer goods but many cultural items. The dashboard (above) of a Suzuki truck owned by Sayyid Firdaus' family, reflects the global economy of products and culture with a Disney Scrooge duck ornament set near a representation of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia. A loaf of "Modern" brand white bread, a type introduced by the British, has just been purchased.

The national consciousness of so many Arampur residents commonly piques, and is often piqued by, an awareness of India's international involvements in political, economic, and cultural arenas. From either formal education or oral narratives, most residents have a keen understanding of the impact which people from outside the Subcontinent have had and are having. This is particularly so in regard to the ramifications following the arrival of the English East India Company soon after 1600 and the subsequent absorption of India into the burgeoning global economy of commerce and culture. South Asia has, for millenia, communicated and traded with cultures from beyond the mountain and ocean borders which define it. However, the following concentrates on the contemporary role of Western hegemony in the lives of Arampur residents. Many Arampur residents tell a common narrative of South Asia as a "golden bird," resplendent in its wealth and attractive to outsiders. This uniqueness provided both a point of pride for residents and an explanation for India's presently poor economic standing. The very fact that India stood so tall made it vulnerable to the envy of other (i.e., Western) nations. The image of India as a plucked golden bird is a common local epithet for India. When most residents encounter a Westerner, they are likely to refer to her or him as "Angrez," Hindi and Urdu for "Englisher." The experience of British imperialism &endash; remembered locally and memorialized nationally &endash; left such an impression that many residents of Arampur await the next wave of foreign interference. Many residents fail to see a difference between the East India Company &endash; which arrived to trade but evolved into imperial control &endash; and the likes of contemporary Western companies which have made headlines for their attempts to corrupt politicians. Concern for a renewed foreign economic influence in India has spawned organizations such as the Svadeshi Jagran Manch ("National Awareness Association"), associated with the R.S.S., which scrawled Hindi messages such as the following on a wall in Arampur: "Domestic made is pride, quality, and a sign; Foreign made goods are poisonous. Foreign companies will be sent fleeing, Save the honor of Mother India! This is the cry of the people, the matter, there, of foreign goods." Such sentiments have increased with the growing national debate about the economic liberalization initiated by former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. Yet Western, and particularly American, cultural influence only continues to grow. If Hollywood films only show ocassionally at the theaters in nearby Kendra, they are ever-present in Banaras. MTV may not be available yet in Arampur because cable has yet to arrive there but some residents listen to the Hindi and/or English radio programs broadcast by B.B.C. and Voice of America. Coca-Cola and Pepsi can be bought in Kendra where, recently, internet serve has been introduced. Although no one in Arampur can access this site to date, it is only a matter of time before the internet is, for the privileged, theirs to surf. They will need to know English, however, in order to understand most of what is posted (including this website, designed to describe their own village). The world, however, does not simply come to Arampur. Many residents have left their national borders to work abroad. In general, the region has long been a source of migrant labor: through the British Empire, Bhojpuri speaking laborers scattered across the ocean from the Maldives to Guyana. More recently, among residents some have gone to the Middle East to work and to the United States to study. Some have returned, others have not.