Dhananjay Rai

Relationship of dalits and globalization has been construed in many ways. This paper proposes that interpretations centring on mere economism have profoundly eclipsed various facets of this relationship. ‘Economic’ construal entails that not only defenders of globalization have found its sui generis aspect only in economic-interlinking of nation states and societies but also oppositional forces have zeroed on perforating sovereign economic structure of the nation state due to globalization. In the case of defenders, this is a matter of selective choice whereby they can push forward their subtle but not so subtle agenda. Nevertheless, for the oppositional and alternative forces, this is nothing but solecism. This invites explication. Opposing globalization (especially in the context of deprived sections) through merely economic argument per se has been meted out by defenders through ‘prosperity syndrome’ i.e., exhibition of quadrupling GDP, growth rate, emergence of exclusive artefacts like malls and multiplexes. Prosperity syndrome deliberately creates a few elites across the sections to celebrate ‘economism.’ In this context, for oppositional and alternative forces, it becomes difficult to reveal the real effect of globalization on dalits. Therefore, there is a need to look beyond this unilinear interpretation.

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