SWADESHI IN THE GLOBALISING WORLD

Crossborder production of goods and services has virtually changed the dimensions
of the international economic order. Termed as globalisation the process has
resulted into a world where markets as indispensable part of human life are no
longer isolated from each other. By making use of the latest technology, at
competitive cost goods of high quality are produced as a package of end product.
The various components manufactured in one part of the world on account of
labour cost advantage are assembled in another part whereas sold somewhere else.
As an example, an interconnection can be seen between the iron ore industry of
Brazil and steel plate making in Mexico and its close association with the
automobile industry of USA or that of Japan.Globalisation has a preference for
large units of production controlled from overseas. In such type of giganticism and
bigger units of production, capital rules the human beings. They are treated as
things and assets rather than living beings, leading to alienation of labour from the
product. The process of globalisation is irreversible. We cannot fight it to end.
Rather we should not waste our reserve of energy in fighting with the process, we
should fight to bring it down to our basic realities. We should use it to provide input
to the concept of Swadeshi which means small is beautiful.
At the same time Swadeshi also has to widen its horizon to cooperate with the
increasing global activities. Then and only then harmonised development is
possible. Swadeshi does not leave any scope for coexistence of the poor and the rich
or the weak and the strong nations. When taken to higher levels it means that after
everyone’s basic needs have been satisfied there should be some overall constraints
on material demands so that resources can be diverted towards the fulfilment of
man’s non-material needs.