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Kolkata-India
A presentation by Lela and Paula
A city between communism, globalization and poverty
Structure
Facts about Kolkata / CalcuttaOld CalcuttaNew Kolkataglobalization / economydifferent aspects of globalization - politician - business man - rickshaw puller
Facts
about 4.5 million citizens capital of federal state of West
Bengal area: 187.33 km² population density: 24.452
citizens per km² mayor: Bhattacharjee religion: dominated by Kali,
the hindu goddess, or by catholics
politics: ruled by the Communist Party of India
40 % illiterate 1/5 underfed on the edge of AIDS epidemic barely half of the population is
supplied with clean drinking water and electricity
Old Calcutta
Calcutta has been dominated for 28 years by marxism
living conditions have been worse than today
clacutta was magnet for all this poverty
a very big part of the populatione lived in slums
quotations: - "They have 100 unlisted
deseases" (Woody Allen) - "It's a pile of crap dumped by
God" (Günther Grass) -"The home of everything in
the world worth hating” (Claude Lévi-Strauss)
fighting for participation in global market
did not play an important economical role in the world
New Kolkata
economical boom started in the early 1990's
Calcutta was renamed as Kolkata (2001)
contrasts between highest techonology and a lot of poverty/corruption mark the city
fewer slums and fewer homeless people but prostitution rate increases
still problems with transportation planning, bureaucracy, electricity
small indications of an emerging civil society
education removes the barrier between well paid jobs for the higher castes and low paid jobs for the lower castes
high tech elite changed the appearence of the city
one of the world's best technical universities is in Kolkata
the youth wants to stay in india instead of planning an IT-career in Germany or other countries
is supposed to become Indias silicon valley
Globalization / Economy
Kolkata is a symbol of globalization and progress and has a chance to become the next globalization powerhouse
India has a growth rate of nearly 8 percent a year
exports are rising at a double
Indias future will be shaped by IT and globalization
IT-growth of more than 70% brilliant international
software engineers
main growth at computer technology not at textiles
Bengalis governement hopes to draw traditional industries back to Kolkata as well
on the outskirts of the city industrial parks are build up
Politician - Bhattacharjee head of the Communist Party the Communist Party regrets that they tried to
stop the technological process and forbade unions
economical policy of the Cummunist Party is now extremly pro-business
the government declared all software and outsourcing firms to be essential services to prevent work stoppages
says: - alcutta needs to prevail in a world of global
competition - land and work are cheaper - because of globalization they have to
modernize and maybe cut down jobs /new jobs have to be created - he supports capitalism out of convinience
Businessman - Premji
benefitted from a gap in the market founded a company for low-quality
electronic goods established a foundation to finance
village schools says: - capitalism only has a chance to
improve living standarts when entrepreneurs do not boast about their richness - we are world leaders in high tech and train second most computer speacialist
s but fail to create hope for our rural residents - worse is over in Kolkata - flexible way of thinking is neccessary
Rickshaw puller - Badal
aproximately 30.000 rickshaw pullers in Kolkata
live in slums work is not a symbol of
globalozation but of the senselessness of the union politics
politicians tried to abolish the inhumane work
rickshaw union stopped that now pullers are only allowed on
side streets pullers who give up their rickshaw
get $ 260 does not profit from globalization
but knows that future lies in computers
Sources
Spiegel special - international edition Globaization the new world (No.7 2005)
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/kolkatawww.spiegel.de/international/spiegel