Are We Losing our Local Identity for Global Identity? Discuss

Globalization, both as a process and an outcome of the past developments, has been defined as the spread of products, technology, services, people and ideas across national borders and cultures which has led to the emergence global identity. It impacts remained mixed for the for workers, cultures and small business around the world, in both emerging and developed country. In the modern world, globalization shapes the societies in individual grow and live up. This globalization phenomena leads to greater interaction among various populations, exchange of ideas, values, and artistic expression among cultures and lead to become single world culture.

It has created new jobs and economic growth through the cross-border flow of goods, capital and labour. On the other hand, this economic growth and job creation are distributed unevenly across industries or countries. Globalization motives are idealistic, as well as, opportunistic, and the large corporations in the western world are highly benefitted by the global free market. Globalization may be viewed as having brought both global opportunities as well as challenges, forcing humanity to form a single world culture, thus affecting the local identity.

The cultural globalization involves the formation of the single culture of shared norms and knowledge with which people associate their individual and collective cultural identities. Although it brings increasing interconnectedness among different populations and cultures but also possesses challenges to the local cultures. With regards to increasing cultural globalization in our time, it is said that people undergo an immense dilemma which affects their local identities.

Evidence that Global Identity has subsumed the Local Identity

Loss of Traditional Entertainment Modes-

This cultural globalization has made us forget the local or traditional cultures modes of entertainment. Globalization has engulfed the traditional modes of entertainment. The youth are continuously adopting the music culture of Jazz and Pop, which put the question mark on the survivability of the traditional classical music in India. People across India have shifted their entertainment mode from local to Western modes like Dramas and Puppetry for Netflix and Western music.

Westernization of Culture:

People are blindly copying the features of western culture and giving less importance to our own culture. On the one hand, there is an upsurge in adopting the features of the western culture around India, on the other hand, they are trampling his own traditional or local identity. Ex – celebrating Christian new year but the declining charm of traditional Indian new year (around April).

Loss of Local Language for English:

In this modern world, the death of the native language has resulted from the process of cultural assimilation. Assimilation of cultures leads to language shift and the gradual abandonment of local language in favour of other languages, especially English. In this globalised world, English has immense importance in every field and has become the dominant language. Unfortunately, the local languages are in threat and the list of endangered languages are growing day by day.

Loss of Moral Education for Advanced Commercial Education:

The growing disorientation between morality and higher education is the greatest demolition of our identity. Change in Value systems from respect to elders to everyone being called by their name in a corporate setting and predominance of individual identity over the collective identity.

Loss of Traditional Cuisines:

The globalization has brought different types of cuisines across the regional culture. This has made the change in tastes in the younger generation with respect to cuisines. For Examples, Traditional snacks are being replaced by the Mc Donalds and other global chains. Western Food has subsumed the Indian cuisine. This has led to the crisis of Traditional cuisine identity.

Death of Local Clothing style-

With the rise in corporate cultures, the Indian dressing style has lost its existence. Indian Traditional style of clothing is merely worn by the people, it becomes occasional clothing stuff. The clothing such as dhoti, kurta, saree which represent the traditional culture of India is facing a challenge from the western concept of Jeans, t-shirt, skirts etc.

Degradation of the Institution of marriage:

The growing acceptance to the live-in-relationship has questioned the sanctity of the institution of marriage in our society. This represents the dominance of western culture and the Indian way of living.

Way Forward

Despite the local Identity is being attacked by the Global Identity, local culture has been able to maintain its identity to a significant extent. There is an emergence of a mixture of both global and local identity which is creating a GLOCAL Identity. This can be seen in the form of:

(a) Indo- Western fusion in dressing style

(b) McDonald adapted to Indian style by including a vegetarian menu

(c) Indian Festival is now being celebrated all across the globe. Diya stamps are issued by UNO to celebrate Diwali. Even a local religious festival of Chhath Puja is celebrated in Silicon Valley, USA.

(d) Yoga which was an Indian Philosophy is being appreciated all over the world

Identity, therefore, becomes a central aspect of the capacity-building process in which both local and global elements are harmonised. The identity construct needs to be inclusive, incorporating the diversity of current social distinctions as well as placed in a framework that encompasses the entire world. Such a construct might be a global identity, the perception of being mutually linked to humanity. So, it can be said that culture is an ever-evolving entity that constantly changes through the assimilation of cultures. It is our duty to preserve our cultural identity.

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