NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Friday said mindless aping of global culture is obliterating our rich heritage, cultural symbols and ethnic identities and that time has come for the youth to revive their links with our magnificent languages.
Speaking at Osmania University in Hyderabad during conferment of honoris causa on him, Justice Ramana said, “As this global culture engulfs the world, the need for sustaining diversity assumes great significance. The global culture is emerging as a threat to local cultural symbols and identities. The social-media, television and pop-culture glamourize a particular way of life and sadly we are blindly aping the same.”
“According to the 2021 UNESCO World Report of Languages, half of the approximately 7,000 languages spoken in the world today could disappear by the end of the century. With loss of each language, we are not only losing considerable literature and folklore, but also losing wisdom inherited through generations,” he said.
On the globalisation’s impact on genetic diversity, the CJI said, “We are witnessing the rapid loss of crop varieties, wild species and indigenous livestock. Additionally the market is driven by demands of the global economy. As a result more and more farmers are moving beyond indigenous crops for short term gains. This change in cropping pattern is altering the character of soil thereby reducing its capacity to support biodiversity… climate change and environmental pollution are also affecting the wild varieties. Put together, a huge ecological imbalance is staring at us.”
He said globalization has also severely impacted local handicrafts and artisans as multinationals with mass production capacity are flooding the markets with their products. “The local artisans are pushed to the corner. They are struggling to survive. With near zero patronage now, the art forms which have evolved over centuries are vanishing,” he said.
Justice Ramana said he is not opposed to globalisation, but merely pointing out the irreversible adverse impact it has on several crucial aspects of our country. “The rising inequities between classes need urgent attention. We need to find a model of globalization which is sustainable, equitable and just for all,” he said.
“Peace and prosperity can only prevail in a society built on consensus and a sense of fraternity. Beyond the ideas of tolerance, we need acceptance. We should not seek uniformity, rather we should seek unity,” the CJI said. Osmania University, with which the CJI had links during his student days, had conferred honoris causa to 42 eminent personalities including Rabindranath Tagore, Rajendra Prasad, S Radhakrishnan, Jawaharlal Nehru, B R Ambedkar and C Rajagopalachari.
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