This MCQ module is based on: India and Globalisation, Resistance & End-of-Book Exercises
TOPIC 21 OF 21
India and Globalisation, Resistance & End-of-Book Exercises
🎓 Class 12
Social Science
CBSE
Theory
Chapter 7 — Globalisation
⏱ ~28 min
🌐 Language: [gtranslate]
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Chapter 7 · Globalisation — Part 3: India & Globalisation, Resistance Movements & Full Exercises
If India joined globalisation in 1991, it has not stayed merely a recipient. Indian companies have become global predators (Tata–Corus, Tata–JLR, Mittal–Arcelor); Indian software has reshaped Silicon Valley; the Indian diaspora has become a global force. But a substantial number of Indians have also resisted globalisation — through left-wing protests, peasant movements, the Indian Social Forum and the swadeshi revival. This Part covers India and Globalisation, the three forms of resistance worldwide (left, right, social-movement), the World Social Forum at Porto Alegre 2001, all NCERT exercises with full model answers, the chapter Summary, Key Terms, and a special End-of-Book banner congratulating you on completing all 7 chapters of Contemporary World Politics.
7.6 India and Globalisation
India's relationship with globalisation has two faces. India is the target of globalisation — a country into which capital, commodities, ideas and (selectively) people flow. But India is also an agent of globalisation — Indian companies, Indian workers, Indian films, Indian software and Indian culture flow outward to the rest of the world. Both faces are visible at once.
7.6.1 The Long View — Why India Was Closed Before 1991
Globalisation, NCERT reminds us, has occurred in earlier periods of Indian history. Flows pertaining to the movement of capital, commodities, ideas and people go back several centuries. India was a major player in the Silk Road and Indian Ocean trade for over a thousand years.
During the colonial period, however, as a consequence of Britain's imperial ambitions, India was forced into a particular role — an exporter of primary goods and raw materials (cotton, indigo, opium, jute, tea) and a consumer of finished goods (textiles, machinery) made in British factories. After independence, because of this bitter experience with the British, India decided to make things for itself rather than relying on others. India also decided not to allow foreign producers to flood Indian markets, so that Indian producers could learn to make things. This protectionism? generated its own problems. While some advances were made in certain sectors, critical sectors such as health, housing and primary education did not receive the attention they deserved. India had a fairly sluggish rate of economic growth.
7.6.2 The 1991 Turn — From License Raj to LPG
In 1991, responding to a financial crisis and to the desire for higher rates of economic growth, India embarked on a programme of economic reforms that has sought increasingly to de-regulate various sectors, including trade and foreign investment. Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, working under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, devalued the rupee, opened the economy to FDI, dismantled much of the License Raj, and laid the foundations for the IT and services boom that would follow.
While it may be too early to say how good this has been for India, NCERT cautions that the ultimate test is not high growth rates but making sure the benefits of growth are shared so that everyone is better off. Growth without sharing produces a more globalised, but also a more unequal, India.
7.6.3 India as Agent — Indian Companies Abroad
India is no longer only a destination for foreign multinationals; it is now also a source of multinationals that buy and operate firms abroad. Some flagship cases NCERT readers should recognise:
| Year | Indian Firm | Acquired Foreign Firm | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Tata Tea | Tetley (UK) | One of the earliest large Indian acquisitions of a global British brand. |
| 2007 | Tata Steel | Corus Group (Anglo-Dutch) | $12 billion deal — at the time, the largest Indian takeover of a foreign company; made Tata Steel the world's fifth-largest steel producer. |
| 2007 | Mittal Steel (Lakshmi Mittal) | Arcelor (Luxembourg) | Created ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel company. Indian-origin businessman buys flagship European producer. |
| 2008 | Tata Motors | Jaguar Land Rover (UK) | Indian carmaker buys two iconic British luxury car brands from Ford. Became one of Tata's most successful international ventures. |
| 2009 | Bharti Airtel | Zain Africa (multiple countries) | $10.7 billion — Indian telecom giant enters African market. |
| 2010s onwards | Infosys, TCS, Wipro | Multiple acquisitions of consultancies in US, EU | Indian IT firms buy expertise to move up the value chain — beyond outsourcing into consulting and digital transformation. |
By 2023, India's IT and services exports exceeded $200 billion annually. Companies like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL, Tech Mahindra and the Indian arms of accountancy and consulting giants have made the country a central node of global services — what some call the "global back office". India has become both a target and an agent of globalisation simultaneously.
India's Two-Way Globalisation — Inflows and Outflows
7.6.4 India at the WTO — Joining 1995, Negotiating Hard
India joined the World Trade Organization in 1995 as a founding member. India's stance has been: yes to global trade, but on fair terms — protect agricultural livelihoods, allow flexibility for developing countries, ensure access to medicines through compulsory licensing on patents (TRIPS flexibility). At the Doha Development Round (launched 2001), India helped lead the developing world's demand for the elimination of agricultural subsidies in rich countries — subsidies which undercut Indian farmers in world markets. At the Bali Ministerial Conference (2013) India fought to preserve its right to public food stockholding (the PDS programme), and at Nairobi (2015) India insisted on a permanent solution. India's approach combines active participation with strategic resistance.
7.7 Resistance to Globalisation
We have already noted that globalisation is a very contentious subject and has invited strong criticism all over the world. Critics make a variety of arguments. NCERT identifies three broad streams of resistance — from the political left, the political right, and through worldwide social movements.
7.7.1 The Political Left — Globalisation as Capitalism for the Rich
Those on the left argue that contemporary globalisation represents a particular phase of global capitalism that makes the rich richer (and fewer) and the poor poorer. The weakening of the state leads to a reduction in the capacity of the state to protect the interests of its poor. They demand that the state remain strong enough to protect labour, peasants, and the unorganised — and that international institutions like the WTO and IMF be reformed or rolled back.
The most dramatic left-wing resistance to globalisation occurred in Latin America, in what became known as the Bolivarian movement? — a wave of left-leaning governments coming to power in the early 2000s with a programme of resisting US-led neoliberalism, nationalising key industries, expanding welfare and forging regional integration outside US-dominated structures. Key leaders include:
Hugo Chavez (Venezuela)
President 1999–2013. Used Venezuela's oil wealth to fund welfare programmes for the poor (misiones), nationalised oil and key industries, became a leading voice against US dominance in the region.
Lula da Silva (Brazil)
President 2003–2010 (and again from 2023). Built welfare programmes (Bolsa Familia), lifted millions out of poverty without breaking with capitalism. Pursued South-South cooperation (BRICS, IBSA).
Evo Morales (Bolivia)
First indigenous president of Bolivia (2006–2019). Nationalised gas, expanded indigenous rights, pursued an explicitly anti-neoliberal agenda.
South-South Coalitions
ALBA, UNASUR, CELAC — regional bodies created to bypass US-dominated institutions like the OAS and offer Latin American alternatives.
7.7.2 The Political Right — Cultural Protectionism & Self-Reliance
Critics of globalisation from the political right express anxiety over the political, economic and cultural effects. In political terms, they too fear the weakening of the state. Economically, they want a return to self-reliance and protectionism, at least in certain areas of the economy — manufacturing, agriculture, defence. Culturally, they are worried that traditional culture will be harmed and people will lose their age-old values and ways. The right's resistance focuses on cultural protection — opposing foreign TV channels, "Western" festivals, "Western" dress codes for women — and on demanding that the state defend national identity.
7.7.3 Worldwide Social Movements — The World Social Forum
Anti-globalisation movements themselves participate in global networks, allying with those who feel like them in other countries. Many anti-globalisation movements are not opposed to the idea of globalisation per se as much as they are opposed to a specific programme of globalisation, which they see as a form of imperialism.
In 1999, at the WTO Ministerial Meeting at Seattle, there were widespread protests alleging unfair trading practices by the economically powerful states. Demonstrators argued that the interests of the developing world were not given sufficient importance in the evolving global economic system.
The World Social Forum (WSF)? is a global platform that brings together a wide coalition composed of human rights activists, environmentalists, labour, youth and women activists opposed to neo-liberal globalisation. Their unifying slogan: "Another World Is Possible." The first WSF meeting was organised in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2001. The fourth WSF was held in Mumbai in 2004. The latest WSF meeting was held in Nepal in February 2024. WSF deliberately positions itself as the opposite of the World Economic Forum that meets every year at Davos for the world's CEOs and political leaders — a forum for the people, not for the powerful.
World Social Forum — Origins and Reach
7.7.4 India and Resistance to Globalisation
What has been India's experience in resisting globalisation? Social movements play a role in helping people make sense of the world around them and find ways to deal with matters that trouble them. Resistance to globalisation in India has come from different quarters:
- Left-wing political resistance — to economic liberalisation, voiced through political parties and through forums like the Indian Social Forum (the Indian wing of the WSF).
- Trade unions of industrial workers — opposing the entry of multinationals, defending public-sector jobs, demanding labour protection.
- Farmer organisations — opposing imports of subsidised foreign food, opposing seed patents and contract farming. The protest against the patenting of Neem by American and European firms generated considerable opposition.
- Anti-Walmart and anti-FDI-in-retail movements — small traders and Nyaya Panchayats arguing that international retail chains will destroy small-shopkeeper livelihoods.
- Cultural conservatism on the right — objections to foreign TV channels via cable networks, the celebration of Valentine's Day, and the westernisation of dress codes for girl students in schools and colleges.
- Swadeshi revival — the demand to "Be Vocal for Local", buy Indian-made products, support Atmanirbhar Bharat and revive the swadeshi spirit of the freedom movement in a 21st-century form.
🌐 Note — Anti-Globalisation Is Itself Globalised
An important irony NCERT highlights: anti-globalisation movements themselves participate in global networks — the World Social Forum, transnational NGOs, online advocacy, multinational protests. Resistance to globalisation has become globalised. Many activists are not opposed to global cooperation as such — they are opposed to the specific neoliberal version of globalisation that has dominated since 1991, and want to replace it with a fairer, greener, more democratic alternative.
EXPLORE — A Mini-Field Study of Resistance Near You
Bloom: L3 Apply
Identify any one local instance of resistance to globalisation in your own city or district — a farmer's protest, an anti-FDI rally, a trade union action against an MNC, a movement to protect local crafts, a swadeshi campaign.
- What is the issue? Who is protesting?
- Which of the three NCERT categories does it fit — left, right, or social-movement?
- What is their alternative — what kind of "different globalisation" do they want?
- Write a 200-word case-study and present it to the class.
✅ Pointers
Examples you might find — farmers' protests against contract farming or seed companies (left), small-trader protests against e-commerce/Amazon-Flipkart (mixed left/right), cultural-rights protests against Valentine's Day or Halloween (right), citizen movements against bottled-water companies depleting groundwater (social), or campaigns to "Be Vocal for Local" and buy Indian-made products (mixed swadeshi-revival). Notice how Indian resistance often blends categories — making it richer and more democratic than a purely ideological movement.
DISCUSS — A Classroom Debate on the WSF Slogan
Bloom: L5 Evaluate
The slogan of the World Social Forum is "Another World Is Possible". Divide the class into two halves and run a structured debate.
- Side A: Argue that the WSF slogan is right — globalisation as currently practised is unfair, and an alternative is possible (more state, more equity, more environmental care).
- Side B: Argue that the WSF slogan is naive — there is no realistic alternative to integration with the global economy; resistance only delays the inevitable and harms the poor most.
- End with a teacher-moderated synthesis: where can both sides agree?
✅ Pointers
A balanced synthesis: most students conclude that the WSF slogan correctly identifies the need for fairer rules, stronger safety nets, and protection of culture and environment — but also that closing borders and rejecting global trade harms the poor. The realistic version of "another world" is not autarky, but a differently regulated globalisation — with global rules on tax, climate, labour rights, and digital monopolies. India's own balanced stance at the WTO — yes to global trade, no to losing food security or farmer livelihoods — is itself a model of "another globalisation".
⚠ Six Numbers to Remember from Section 3
1991 — India's LPG reforms. 1995 — India joins WTO as founding member. 1999 — Seattle WTO protests. 2001 — First WSF at Porto Alegre. 2004 — Fourth WSF in Mumbai. 2007/2008 — Tata–Corus / Tata–JLR — Indian companies become global predators.
📋 NCERT Exercises — Full Model Answers
Chapter 7 — Globalisation — End-of-Chapter Exercises
Q1
Which of the statements are TRUE about globalisation?
Correct Answer: (d) — Globalisation is a multi-dimensional phenomenon. The other statements are false: (a) globalisation has political, economic and cultural dimensions, not just economic; (b) globalisation has historical antecedents going back centuries — only its contemporary phase intensifies after 1991; (c) globalisation is explicitly NOT the same as westernisation, since cultural flows are multi-directional (yoga from India, K-pop from Korea, telenovelas from Latin America).
Q2
Which of the statements are TRUE about the impact of globalisation?
Correct Answer: (a) — The impact of globalisation has been vastly uneven; it affects some societies more than others, and some parts of some societies more than others. (b) is false: outcomes vary widely. (c) is false: impact spans political, economic and cultural spheres. (d) is false: globalisation produces both homogenisation and heterogenisation simultaneously, plus glocalisation.
Q3
Which of the statements are TRUE about the causes of globalisation?
Correct Answer: (a) — Technology — the telegraph, telephone, microchip, internet, satellites, jet aviation — is a critical cause of contemporary globalisation. (b) is false: globalisation is not caused by any one community; it is a structural process. (c) is false: globalisation has historical roots far older than the US (Silk Road, Indian Ocean trade) and current flows go in many directions. (d) is false: globalisation is multi-dimensional — economic, political and cultural causes work together.
Q4
Which of the statements are TRUE about globalisation?
Correct Answer: (d) — Globalisation is fundamentally about worldwide interconnectedness, sustained by flows of ideas, capital, commodities and people. (a) is false: globalisation involves all four flows, not just commodities. (b) is false: Sarika's case at the start of the chapter shows that globalisation can produce sharp value conflicts (her relatives oppose her job). (c) is false: services like IT outsourcing and call centres are now central to globalisation — Janardhan's call-centre work is one of NCERT's main examples.
Q5
Which of the statements are FALSE about globalisation?
Correct Answer: (c) is FALSE — It is the critics, not the advocates, who argue that globalisation will lead to cultural homogenisation (the McDonaldisation thesis). Advocates of globalisation tend to argue that globalisation enriches choices through cross-cultural exchange. (a), (b) and (d) are all true: advocates do argue for growth, critics do argue for greater disparity, and critics do argue for cultural homogenisation as a danger.
Q6
What is worldwide interconnectedness? What are its components?
Model Answer: Worldwide interconnectedness is the sustained linkage between different parts of the world, created by constant cross-border flows. NCERT identifies four components of this interconnectedness: (1) flows of ideas — through internet, books, films, music, beliefs; (2) flows of capital — investments, FDI, FII, loans, banking; (3) flows of commodities — goods, raw materials, services; and (4) flows of people — migrants, students, tourists, professionals. The crucial element is not just that these flows occur, but that they create persistent, sustained interconnectedness — events in one part of the world have consequences for another part. A bird flu outbreak in one country threatens public health globally; a financial shock in New York moves stock markets in Mumbai; a song uploaded in Seoul reaches teenagers in Buenos Aires within hours. This is what gives contemporary globalisation its distinctive scale and speed compared to earlier historical phases.
Q7
How has technology contributed to globalisation?
Model Answer: Technology has been a critical engine of contemporary globalisation. NCERT singles out the invention of the telegraph, telephone and microchip as having "revolutionised communication" between different parts of the world. Today, the internet, satellites, fibre-optic cables, jet aviation and microprocessors enable ideas, capital, commodities and people to move at unprecedented speed and scale. Telecommunications let voices travel instantaneously across continents. Internet and fibre optics move data — emails, financial transactions, video calls — in milliseconds. Jet aviation made global travel and migration possible at scale. Satellites enable global broadcasting, GPS navigation and military communications. Microchips and microprocessors made cheap powerful computers possible, creating the entire digital economy. Just as printing earlier laid the basis for nationalism, today's digital technologies are reshaping how we think of personal and collective life. NCERT also cautions, however, that technology alone is not enough — globalisation also depends on people recognising and acting on these new interconnections, which is itself a political and cultural process.
Q8
Critically evaluate the impact of the changing role of the state in the developing countries in the light of globalisation.
Model Answer: Globalisation has changed the role of the state in developing countries in three contradictory ways. First, it has eroded state capacity: the old welfare state has given way to a more minimalist state, with the market becoming the prime determinant of economic and social priorities. Multinational corporations now influence economic decisions in ways that limit governments' ability to set independent policy — the threat of capital flight disciplines tax and labour rules. Second, despite this erosion, the state continues to be important: it still discharges its essential functions of law, order and national security; rivalries between states have not disappeared. Third, in some respects globalisation has actually strengthened the state — new technologies (Aadhaar, GST, biometrics, surveillance) give modern states unprecedented information about citizens, making them more able to rule, not less. For developing countries, the impact has been mixed. Countries like India, China and Vietnam have used globalisation to grow rapidly, but small farmers, manufacturing workers and the unorganised poor have often paid the price. State withdrawal from welfare has hurt those who depended on it most — the demand for "social safety nets" reflects this concern. The honest critical evaluation is that globalisation has neither destroyed the developing-country state nor liberated it; it has re-shaped the state in ways that demand new policy responses — combining engagement with global markets and active state protection of the most vulnerable. The ultimate test, NCERT reminds us, is not high growth rates alone but whether benefits are shared.
Q9
What are the economic implications of globalisation? How has globalisation impacted on India with regard to this particular dimension?
Model Answer: The economic implications of globalisation are visible in four kinds of cross-border flows. First, trade liberalisation — the WTO (founded 1995) has lowered tariffs and reduced restrictions on imports between countries. Second, capital flows — Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Foreign Institutional Investment (FII) and external commercial borrowings have grown rapidly. Third, outsourcing — services like customer-care, IT support, accounting and legal research are shifted to lower-cost countries like India and the Philippines. Fourth, migration of labour — though developed countries restrict it more than other flows. Economic globalisation has produced winners (skilled urban professionals, MNCs, exporters) and losers (small farmers, manufacturing workers, the unorganised poor). India's experience began in 1991, with the LPG reforms launched by Finance Minister Manmohan Singh in response to a balance-of-payments crisis. India devalued the rupee, opened to FDI, dismantled much of the License Raj, and joined the WTO in 1995. Outcomes have been mixed: rapid growth in IT services (over $200 billion in annual exports), pharma, autos, and pharmaceuticals; the rise of Indian MNCs (Tata, Reliance, Infosys, TCS, Wipro); large foreign investment inflows; and a vast expansion of the urban middle class. But small farmers have faced subsidised foreign food competition, traditional manufacturing has struggled, and inequality has risen. India's stance has therefore been one of active engagement combined with strategic resistance — at the WTO, defending agricultural livelihoods and access to medicines while pushing for reduction of rich-country subsidies.
Q10
Do you agree with the argument that globalisation leads to cultural heterogeneity?
Model Answer: Yes, I largely agree, but with the qualification that globalisation produces both homogenisation and heterogenisation simultaneously — and the most accurate concept that captures this is glocalisation. Arguments for heterogenisation: First, NCERT emphasises that "cultures are not static things" — all cultures accept outside influences, and these influences often enlarge our choices rather than displacing the traditional. The burger does not replace the masala dosa; it is added to our food choices. Blue jeans go with a khadi kurta — and the combination is now exported back to America. Second, cultural flows are not one-way: yoga from India, K-pop from Korea, anime from Japan, Bollywood from Mumbai, telenovelas from Latin America, and Afrobeats from West Africa all show that non-Western cultures shape global culture too. Third, glocalisation is everywhere — McDonald's offers McAloo Tikki in India, vegetarian menus, no beef; Hollywood plots become Bollywood films with songs, dances and family melodrama. Caveats: The argument is incomplete, because homogenisation is also real — English dominates, certain regional dialects and folk traditions are vanishing, "global" branding tends to flatten local distinctiveness. The honest position is that globalisation produces both tendencies. The right response is not paranoid protectionism but active preservation of cultural distinctiveness combined with confident participation in global flows.
Q11
How has globalisation impacted on India and how is India in turn impacting on globalisation?
Model Answer: India's relationship with globalisation has two faces — India is both a target and an agent of globalisation. Globalisation's impact on India: The 1991 LPG reforms (Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation), launched by Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister, dismantled the License Raj, devalued the rupee, opened the economy to FDI, lowered tariffs, and joined the WTO in 1995. India received over $70 billion in FDI in record years; the IT services sector exploded; the urban middle class grew; consumer choices widened. Cultural flows brought MTV, McDonald's, Hollywood, K-pop and global brands; Janardhan's call-centre case shows the everyday face of this impact. But small farmers have faced cheap imported food, traditional manufacturers have closed under foreign competition, and inequality has risen. India's impact on globalisation: India is no longer only a recipient. Indian companies now buy foreign rivals — Tata–Corus (2007), Tata Motors–JLR (2008), Mittal–Arcelor (2007), Bharti Airtel–Zain (2009). Indian software giants Infosys, TCS, Wipro and HCL serve clients across the world; IT-services exports cross $200 billion annually. Indian culture flows globally — Bollywood reaches every continent, yoga has hundreds of millions of foreign practitioners, Indian cuisine is everywhere, the Indian English literary tradition is celebrated worldwide. Indian engineers and doctors are central to Silicon Valley and to American medicine. At the WTO, India has shaped the agenda by defending agricultural livelihoods, demanding reduction of rich-country subsidies, and pushing for TRIPS flexibility for medicines. Indian-origin leaders — Sundar Pichai (Google), Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Indra Nooyi (PepsiCo formerly), Rishi Sunak (UK), Kamala Harris (US) — have reached the apex of global institutions. India's two-way relationship with globalisation thus illustrates that the country is no longer a passive object of globalisation but an active shaper of its direction.
⚖️ Assertion–Reason Questions — Part 3
Options:
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is true, but R is false.
(D) A is false, but R is true.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is true, but R is false.
(D) A is false, but R is true.
Assertion (A): The first World Social Forum was held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2001.
Reason (R): The WSF was founded as a global platform for activists, NGOs and movements opposed to neo-liberal globalisation, with the slogan "Another World Is Possible".
Answer: (A) — Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A. The WSF was indeed founded at Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2001 as a global gathering of activists for social, economic and ecological justice — explicitly positioning itself against the World Economic Forum at Davos. Its slogan "Another World Is Possible" expressed the conviction that neo-liberal globalisation could be replaced by a fairer alternative.
Assertion (A): Tata Motors acquired Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in 2008, an example of an Indian company impacting globalisation.
Reason (R): India is only a passive recipient of globalisation and never acts as an agent of global flows.
Answer: (C) — A is true: Tata Motors did acquire JLR (Jaguar and Land Rover) from Ford in 2008 in a deal worth around $2.3 billion — and the venture became one of Tata's most successful international moves. R is false: India is both a target AND an agent of globalisation. Tata–Corus (2007), Tata–JLR (2008), Mittal–Arcelor (2007), Infosys/TCS/Wipro globally — all show India actively shaping globalisation, not merely receiving it.
Assertion (A): Resistance to globalisation in India has come from both the political left and the political right.
Reason (R): The left has resisted economic liberalisation through trade unions, peasant movements and the Indian Social Forum, while the right has resisted cultural influences such as foreign TV channels, Valentine's Day and changing dress codes.
Answer: (A) — Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A. NCERT explicitly identifies left-wing resistance (trade unions, peasants, Indian Social Forum, anti-MNC movements, anti-Neem-patent campaigns) and right-wing resistance (cultural protectionism, opposition to foreign TV, Valentine's Day and westernisation of dress) as parallel streams of Indian opposition to globalisation. The two streams differ in their concerns but share the conviction that the state must be strengthened to protect the country.
📚 Chapter 7 — Summary
Globalisation is a multi-dimensional phenomenon involving cross-border flows of ideas, capital, commodities and people that produce worldwide interconnectedness. It has political, economic and cultural dimensions and is NOT the same as westernisation.
Causes: Technological revolution (telegraph, microchip, internet, satellites, jet aviation); historical antecedents (Silk Road, Indian Ocean trade, colonialism); end of Cold War 1991 + neoliberal turn; international institutions (WTO 1995, IMF, World Bank); rise of MNCs (~80,000 with ~840,000 affiliates by 2023).
Political consequences: Three-fold — (i) erosion of welfare-state capacity, (ii) continuity of state's essential functions, (iii) actual strengthening of state surveillance and information capacity.
Economic consequences: Trade liberalisation, capital flows (FDI/FII), outsourcing, labour migration. Winners (skilled IT class, MNCs, exporters) vs losers (small farmers, low-skill workers); rising inequality within countries even as inequality between countries falls.
Cultural consequences: Three simultaneous tendencies — homogenisation (McDonaldisation, Hollywood, English), heterogenisation (K-pop, yoga, Bollywood), and glocalisation (khadi kurta + jeans, McAloo Tikki).
India and globalisation: 1991 LPG reforms by Manmohan Singh; WTO membership 1995; Indian companies abroad — Tata–Corus 2007, Tata–JLR 2008, Mittal–Arcelor 2007; IT services exports $200+ billion. India is both target and agent of globalisation.
Resistance: Three streams — (a) anti-globalisation Left (Bolivarian movements in Latin America, Lula da Silva, Hugo Chavez), (b) anti-globalisation Right (cultural protectionism), (c) worldwide social movements (World Social Forum, Porto Alegre 2001, slogan "Another World Is Possible"). India's resistance — peasant movements, anti-MNC trade unions, Indian Social Forum, anti-Neem-patent campaigns, swadeshi revival.
📑 Key Terms
Globalisation
Multi-dimensional flows of ideas, capital, commodities and people producing worldwide interconnectedness.
De-territorialisation
Loosening of the connection between social activity and a fixed geographical place.
Time–Space Compression
The world feels smaller and faster — distance now takes less time to cross.
MNC
Multinational Corporation — owns or controls production in more than one country.
WTO
World Trade Organization — founded 1995; sets rules for global trade. India a founding member.
IMF / World Bank
Bretton Woods institutions (1944) shaping global finance and development lending.
Neoliberalism
Free-market ideology that emerged after 1980s — reduce state, deregulate, privatise, liberalise.
FDI
Foreign Direct Investment — investment by foreign firms in productive assets in another country.
FII
Foreign Institutional Investment — portfolio investment in stocks and bonds in foreign markets.
Outsourcing / BPO
Shift of services (customer-care, IT, accounting, legal) from developed countries to cheaper locations.
McDonaldisation
Spread of fast-food chain principles (efficiency, predictability) into all areas of social life.
Cultural Homogenisation
Cultures worldwide becoming similar under dominant influence; "soft power of US hegemony".
Cultural Heterogenisation
Cultures becoming more distinctive in response to globalisation; reverse of homogenisation.
Glocalisation
Adaptation of global products to local cultures — McAloo Tikki, khadi kurta + jeans.
World Social Forum
Global platform of activists opposing neoliberal globalisation; first held Porto Alegre 2001.
Porto Alegre
Brazilian city that hosted the first WSF in January 2001 — launched "Another World Is Possible".
Bolivarian Movement
Latin American left-wing alliance against US-led neoliberalism; Lula, Chavez, Morales.
Lula da Silva
Brazilian president 2003–2010 (and again from 2023); pioneer of Latin American left-globalisation alternatives.
Hugo Chavez
Venezuelan president 1999–2013; led anti-US, anti-neoliberal "Bolivarian Revolution".
Tata–Corus (2007)
Tata Steel's $12 billion acquisition of Anglo-Dutch Corus Group — landmark Indian global takeover.
Tata–JLR (2008)
Tata Motors' purchase of Jaguar Land Rover from Ford — Indian carmaker takes over British luxury brands.
License Raj
Pre-1991 Indian system of elaborate industrial licensing — dismantled by LPG reforms.
Swadeshi
Self-reliance movement of the freedom struggle — recently revived as "Vocal for Local" / Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Doha Round
WTO trade-negotiation round launched 2001; India fought for cuts to rich-country agricultural subsidies.
Chapter 7 complete · Book leps1 finished.
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