The means and ends of communication

 

University OF Pune

Deptt. of Foreign Languages

An international conference on

COMMUNICATION OVER BOUNDARIES

Current Approaches towards Intercultural Understanding

7^th to 9^th January 2008

 

The means and ends of communication

                                                                                 - Prof. Dr. Neeti Badwe

 

 The 1990s have indeed been the “turning years” for India due to two major factors. One : The electronic and digital technology which revolutionised the means of communication and changed the co-relation between time and space. And two : free market economy, that gave a tremendous impetus to the Indian markets which have since then boomed across the sectors beyond expectations. Now India has become a preferred destination for foreign investments.

 If we have to pick a singular significant characteristic of our era it is the rapid transfer of knowledge and wealth that defines and controls our lives. New industrial branches for processing information to knowledge and transporting knowledge world wide are on the rise. Emergence of the Knowledge and Service industry has apparently rendered the key concepts of the industrial revolution like machine production and class struggle redundant. With global connectivity, quick access to information and people, most efficient transportation and logistics facilities, geographical locations have become literally immaterial. The commodities have become intangible. Art and education too have been commodified

 Simultaneity is the obvious method and mode of development in the post-modern era - , a term, which negates its diachronic as well as polarized understanding. The Modern and the post-modern are in a way juxtaposed in a continuum. Polarities and contrasts appear to be bygone concepts. Concurrence is conquered by collaborations or mergers. Industries are perpetually on the look out for new international markets and worldwide destinations for investments. Today we are witnessing prospects of disposability and instant obsolescence, and of innovation in marketing strategies like never before. The economic growth by occupying commercial space and market territories, as well as by transfer of wealth is happening essentially horizontally. The Synchronic is getting an upper hand over the diachronic. In the geo-economic context, the boundaries have become blurred and superfluous. The ‘mega’, that matters. The mini has to merge. The local is losing out to the global.

 Digitalisation with alternately changing 01010 zeros and ones has in effect levelled the differences. Horizontal management is pleaded for on the production floor. The hierarchies like the first and the third world, the colonizers and the colonized, etc. are being dismantled. Even the political parties are losing colours. Thus, overcoming apparent contradictions, bridging the gap, flattening the differences is order of the day.

 On the one hand the marginal and peripheral are experiencing centrifugal movement, on the other the centre itself is getting fragmented into multiples. The era we are living through, is typically that of multiple choices, having both, diversity and inclusion as distinctive characteristics. The contemporary world doesn’t operate in terms like ‘either-or’, but it welcomes ‘this as well as that’. One talks in terms of co and con, multi and pluri. Simultaneity, multiplicity, horizontality are the key concepts of our era, which have given rise to global culture. The Globizens are obsessed with the omnipresent electronic media and cyber space, digital equipment and communication technology.

 The contemporary condition thus appears to be ideal for the most efficient and effective communication beyond boundaries. Philosophical discourses, international politics, global market surveys illustrate the contemporary scenario in these terms and colours.

 Thriving Indian economy

 The New Economy has brought along a paradigm shift. It has turned the traditional understanding of many notions upside down. “Swadeshi”, for example, the local and indigenous, seems to have lost its relevance. Importing goods, which was until recently considered detrimental to the growth of Gross National Product, is no more a hindrance. Strong national currency, which was a matter of pride and an important parameter to assess the economic status, is no more a valid scale. On the contrary, appreciation of Rupee is a cause of concern for many. An over populated poor country like India becomes the most attractive destination for investment precisely due to these two factors.

 The approach of foreign players towards partnership with Indian companies has changed noticeably. Almost until a decade or two ago India was conceived as a colonized, subordinated, exploited, poor, underdeveloped country belonging to the so called third word. It is only with the emergence of the digital era and development of electronic technology in the 90is that India gained importance and a more respectful place in western minds and in the globalising world. This  reflects e.g., the commercial slogan of the recent entrant in India, the German auto giant BMW, which says : “BMW and India : Two success stories one future”. It took almost half a century after independence to gradually change our status and the perspective of the “others”. With a number of acquisitions from Arcelor to Corus and esteemed brands like Jaguar and Land Rover in the pipeline India is now looked upon not only as a strategic partner, but also as an investor in the EU. The relationship between the East and the West is slowly but surely changing.

 Interaction with Germany

 Let us take a closer look at the changing interaction e.g., between India and Germany, two countries, which are strongly represented here. In the 50is, i.e., in the early years of the independent Indian Republic, India relied on German expertise and technical know-how, starting with projects like Rurkela and BHEL at Bhopal. In the 70is and the 80is India was known in Germany through spiritual Gurus, yoga and meditation, and of course the sands of Goa, and so on. In the recent years more popular Indian art and cinema have caught the fancy of German audiences, especially in the metropolis.

Today the major German players are engaged in India in the field of pharmacy, chemical industry, insurance, logistics, and above all the auto industry is in the top gear. Daimler-Chrysler has expanded its establishment in the last two years, BMW has launched its Indian operations with a big bang and Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche rolled out a series of their products. (S. Murlidharan “ A year of imports and luxury marquees”, the Hindu, 30-12-07). The stocks like Mico, Siemens, BASF are sharply rising with the raging Indian markets. Further collaborations between India and Germany are envisaged in the field of alternative energy.

Besides such commercially and technologically important interaction one more eye-catching event took place in Berlin some time ago. The bust of “Rashtrapita Mahatma Gandhi” was unveiled in the German parliament at the Reichstag building in June 2006. (German News 3/06, P.7).

 International trade, rapid economic growth, electronic means are facilitating instant and intensive interaction. While these achievements are being celebrated with much shine and glitter, one must also look beyond the cash flows and transfer of technology, and take some reality bites on the other side of the story.

 The reality bites

 - Education

 Galloping aspirations in the New Indian Economy are experiencing huge pit falls on the road maps ahead. ‘Talent crunch’ is the foremost problem on hands. Talent hunt and talent management is the real challenge for the CEOs besides knowledge and fund management. On the one hand there is a huge gap between the requirement and the availability of trained and skilled people, on the other unemployment is increasing. The number of new courses offered and the private educational and vocational institutes founded in the last ten years is astonishingly high. Education industry too is going global. We can see, for example Pune growing into a big hub of private and international institutes providing higher education and vocational specializations. The UGC chairperson Dr. Thorat (Sakal 2^nd Jan 08) and the Prime Minister (The Hindu, 29^th Dec. 07) too are talking about strengthening the Universities. What about primary education? Who is interested in this philanthropic venture? During the last 15 years the gap and disparity not only in education but in many fields has widened.

 - Concentration of power

 The self-employed common man is feeling threatened by the typical trend of our era. Through acquisitions and mergers gigantic centres of power of wealth are emerging. For example, the SEZs and the retailers.

 SEZs are the Special Economic Zones, the duty-free enclaves with innumerable benefits and tax exemptions, as well as a number of incentives for the FDI, Foreign Direct Investment. (“Indo-German Economy” Vol.50, issue 4/ 06, IGCC, Mumbai, P.25ff). These are mammoth land deals which only the industrial tycoons can enter into to construct big malls, giant retail markets, star hotels, private air strips or airports, etc. and to become billionaires by diversifying or by erecting dream constructions. The State Governments are the official middlemen in the deals. The farmers have no say. [[ They have neither the freedom to decide whether they want to sell the land nor at what price. Employment is promised to them, but one doesn’t know when and what sort. ]] Their freedom and bread are snatched away at the same time and they are left to live a miserable life in slums. We have seen what has happened to the displaced of the dam and other development projects.

 The same story is repeated through retail marketing of goods of daily requirements to reach largest sections of consumers. All the small vegetable or fruit vendors are forced to sell their perishable goods at the dictated price or seek employment at the offered rate, to which they are neither inclined nor used to.

 - Deepening of the divide poor and rich

 The reality prices are soaring and the reality stocks are having phenomenal run ups beyond anybody’s imagination. There are encroachments on sanctuaries in the name of development (see IBNlive.com, 26^th Dec. 2007 for denotification of the Saraswati sanctuary for the Rs. 250 crore Hansi Butana canal project in Hariyana), paddy fertile fields are sold out in the SEZs, ecology is given no heed in the deals of real estates. As we are well aware such development policies are deepening the divide between poor and rich.

 P. Sainath, a socially vigilant and acclaimed journalist, provides statistical evidence for the scale of disparity in his article of 24^th Dec. 07 in the Hindu. As per the index of the United Nations Development Programme India, with its GDP growth around 9%, ranks fourth in the super rich countries and ranks paradoxically 128^th in the human development. (P. Sainath : “India 2007 : high growth, low development, The Hindu, 24^th Dec. 2007, P. 10. )

 P. Chidambaram, the Finance Minister of India, however, still insists that “Growth is the only solution to bridge the two Indias, otherwise India will remain a poor rich country.” These are the quotes from his “Harish C. Mahendra 2007 annual endowed lecture” at the Harvard Business School, on 18^th Oct. He further states that the burden of the legacy of social polity is a challenge in economic growth.

 Isn’t this yet again an example of how an acceleration of consumerism and escalation in urbanisation can result into the same plight of the poor which started way back with the industrial revolution?

 - Militancy at the turn of the millennium

 Alongside the economic growth and digital revolution, the last decade of the 20^th century also witnessed deepening of the ethnic rows and increasing religious animosity. The decade started with the Gulf war and assassination of Rajeev Gandhi. It witnessed the rise of Afghan militancy as a fallout of protest manoeuvres against Russian occupation, which ultimately culminated in the “Nine-eleven” attack. It saw a bleeding Palestine, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the falling apart of the Yugoslavian states due to ethnic and political disputes which remain unresolved till today. Back home in India we saw the terrorist attack on the parliament building, communal riots started with the Ram Janma Bhoomi issue, the revival of which we are experiencing in the form of the Ramsetu issue, two series of bomb blasts in Bombay (1993 & 2006), the Kargil war, Godhra and the aftermath, terrorist attack on Akshardham temple, random killing of renowned scientists at the Indian Institute of Sciences in Bangalore, Hyderabad bombings, Malegaon bombings, attacks on tourists and pilgrims in Kashmir, just to mention a few instances, in which hundreds of thousands fell victim. Communal agenda is used every where as the trump card to rise to power.

- The Indian democracy

India is also wholeheartedly praised today [[ by the German Chancellor ]] as the biggest multicultural democracy which has succeeded in economic development. (German News Mar.-Apr. 2006, P. 7). But this largest democracy also exhibits consumerism, unemployment, miserable condition of the poor, increasing number of farmers’ suicides, deteriorating environment, degradation of land, declining biodiversity, perishing forests, contaminated water sources, and so on. Industrial revolution of the 19^th century released all sorts of fears and shook the value systems. Aren’t the digital revolution and incomprehensible economic growth too driving us on the crazy paths without allowing any sort of introspection, retrospection or any respite to think?

 – Gandhi’s principles

 While the memories of Mahatma Gandhi are revived through respectful gestures of installing his statue or expressing regrets for not having endowed the Nobel Peace  Prize on him, his philosophy is forgotten even in India. In the recent Hindi film, the protagonist, an ambitious youth from the village becomes very rapidly the most successful industrialist. A Gandhian News paper owner exposes him and his illegal corrupt ways and means to rise. However, before the tribunal of inquiry he justifies his deeds and means as service to the nation, for prosperity of the Motherland, for immense rise in the value of his stocks, by which many have benefited. The tribunal finds his argument convincing enough to acquit him. Upswing of the economic growth is thus upheld at the cost of compromising values. Mahatma Gandhi was both, a political and spiritual leader. For him the means were equally important as the goals. He often observed silence as an effective tool to achieve goals. One wonders what sort of a communication the electronic media are facilitating.

 - A dialogue between layers

 On the one hand through horizontal rapid growth and digital networking the traditional dichotomies like East and West, North and south, first and the third world, colonizers and the colonized have been to some extent seemingly lifted, on the other this development has certainly given rise to the new divide between the globalized and the localized. The global netizens are surfing on the superficial cyber surface without connecting to the ‘locizens’. Isn’t the digital communication taking place primarily among the globizens who form the thin layer of global players? Why can’t a dialogue be established between these two layers through the modern means of communication?

 - Communication on macro and micro level

 Do instant connectivity, efficient mobility, rapid interaction, extensive intercultural exchange, international marketing, and global business mean communication? Can the communication between firms, countries, cultures translate into a dialogue between human beings? Can the macro level communication inspire or transpire a dialogue on micro level? While talking about international collaborations, a communication with the next-door neighbour is completely missed out. Why can’t this be changed?

 – Interpersonal communication

 The rapid technological development and the breath-taking economic growth have left the common man completely perplexed and confused on many accounts. The traditional means of savings and security are lost in the turmoil of new economic policies. By offering tax benefits one is almost forced to invest in stocks or mutual funds, the path, which every one may not like to follow.

 Simultaneity and juxtaposition of multiple offers are unknowingly causing stress and consuming a lot of our energy. Be it as important a matter as education or as trivial as buying a tooth paste, one is perpetually confronted with a situation where one has to make a choice and take a decision. To be able to do so one is caught in the never-ending process of seeking and sorting information. It is often the case, that one can neither escape the explosions of information nor can one keep pace with development as the only path of survival.

 Despite the most efficient means of communication, the dialogue between the individuals is diminishing. Speed and growth are causing anxiety, fear and uncertainty. This in turn is affecting interpersonal relations e.g., within the small unit like family. Communication beyond the wall of your room often becomes problematic. All pervading electronic media have already paralyzed human minds and disrupted interpersonal communication.

 Conclusions

 To conclude, we must recapitulate the real challenges lying ahead. A telecommunication company like BSNL, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, e.g., sees its function in “connecting India” through mobile phones. Airtel, another telecom giant suggests in its commercial, “There are no walls and barriers that can keep us apart only if we talk to each other”. This sounds absurdly paradoxical when mega telecom companies are themselves fighting the spectrum war! So, we must take care, that the communication is not lost in the speedy development of digital devices.

 By launching INSAT satellites Indian Space Research Organization has provided the most efficient means for telecommunication and broadcasting. The efforts must be made to effectively implement the satellite technology, especially the ‘edusat’, for primary education in schools, and not only for new TV channels and mobile connectivity.

 As we know the post-modern Reality is hybrid, complex, evolved by networking, cress-crossing of threads of civilizations and cultures, of fractured identities representing pluralistic value systems. On the economic front 2007 will certainly go into Indian history as a year of raging bull, in which the gigantic deals were struck to better use the synergies. We must make sure that these synergies are used to establish an interpersonal dialogue. The real challenge lies in overcoming the old-new divides and in bridging the gap between layers.