Lalbagh Flower Show 2012 - 100th Exhibition Event : January 20 till 29, all roads lead to the Glass House in Lalbagh Botanical Gardens. Around 10 lakh visitors are expected to visit the gardens and see a visual treat, thanks to the Mysore Horticultural Society. The flower show is the 100th exhibition of the Mysore Horticultural Society that was started by the then Superintendent of Lalbagh GH Krumbiegal in 1912. Major Attractions this time include Buddha Stupa, Floral dance forms, Floral Flow, Florance Flora Show and Diagonal floral Lines.
Globalisation may not be a new concept, but for European politicians and business leaders, it may as well have been the buzzword of the year in 2005. It seemed every time managers and prime ministers announced another economic reform or downsizing, the reason they gave was "globalisation." Patrick de Vos, a Belgian social scientist, has just published a book about his travels in rapidly globalizing India, where many Western companies have outsourced production.
What is globalisation? "It's like a steam engine, in which you have to maintain a difference in temperature, in order to maintain drive. The system rests on the possibility of generating profit through the exploitation of the socially weak".
This is what Patrick de Vos writes in his book India Unbound. It means that the essence of globalisation is the endless search for cheap labour. Businesses move production to countries like China and India, because they can hire cheap labour there. This keeps the price of a product low and increases profits. But there's more, says De Vos. There's also a social cultural exchange:
"Streams of people go to a specific place and take with them money, culture, and political and cultural ideas that change the place". So aside from its economic impact, globalisation also has a strong impact on a country's culture.
Businesses moving their activities to the Far East has given large sections of European society a negative image of globalisation. A common view is that "people in China and India are becoming increasingly wealthy at the expense of our jobs and standards of living". Many European jobs do indeed move along with the companies that build a factory in India, for instance.
"The city of Bangalore in southern India is a key hub in the world of computers and information technology and a textbook example of globalisation. All well-known technology or IT companies have descended on the place. Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Siemens, Motorola and Philips are only some of the close to 1400 technology companies that settled in Bangalore over the years.
Although two-thirds of these are Indian companies, two-thirds of total investments come from abroad."
The idea that globalisation only has negative effects on Europe needs rectifying. Setting up shop in India helps a company survive, for instance, and also saves jobs in Europe. Without cheap labour, groups like Philips would be driven from the market and all their jobs would be lost.
"[Philips] is a company with three headquarters, one in Eindhoven in the Netherlands, one in Bruges in Belgium and one in the Indian city of Bangalore. You could say that the partial move to India was negative for those who lost their jobs as a result of the new factory being built there. But if you look at the big picture, even they benefit from it. The move makes Philips stronger on a competitive world market and the company continues to exist. If it didn't, there would also be unemployment", says De Vos.
Drawbacks of globalisation The mass arrival in India of companies and prosperity also has its negative side. People and the environment are suffering from the explosion of activity. De Vos writes in his book:
"In the twilight around us, there are scenes of crowded poverty and forever increasing want. We move slowly past a festering, overcrowded anthill of underfed and neglected people. In the damp air, the black smoke mingles with exhaust fumes and the penetrating smell of urine. The endless coughing bouts of our driver don't bode well. In a smog city like Bombay breathing can seriously damage your health."
Countries that once seemed out of reach are now increasingly easy to reach.
On the other hand, poverty is also increasing at a fast rate. This presents Europe with problems.
"The continuous flow of migration from poor to rich countries shows that the problem of large-scale poverty and exclusion is no longer someone else's problem. The globalisation of poverty is increasingly our problem."
Europe benefits from globalisation, but the flow of illegal immigrants in search of happiness and wealth is also part of it. This means it will remain an important topic in the coming years, which will see important cultural, economic and political changes. And one word will be heard again and again: globalisation.
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