Large number of suicides were reported by traditional weavers in Dubakka village in Medak district, Andhra Pradesh as they had no means to invest in technology and were unable to adapt to the changing consumer tastes and competition from power looms. What does this example reflect?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Link between Cultural forms and Globalisation
Option (1) Link between Globalization and Liberalisation — Incorrect. Liberalisation is the policy of removing government restrictions and opening the economy to world markets, one of the ways in which globalisation came about. The weavers’ example is not about that policy link; it shows what happened to a traditional craft once the market changed.
Option (2) Link between Traditional Knowledge and Liberalisation — Incorrect. Traditional knowledge systems are the knowledge of medicine and agriculture passed on from one generation to another; the threat to them comes from attempts by multinational companies to patent Tulsi, Haldi, Rudraksha and Basmati rice. Weaving is a craft, a cultural form, not such a knowledge system.
Option (3) Link between Corporate Culture and Liberalisation — Incorrect. Corporate culture is a branch of management theory: a firm builds its own organisational culture of company events, rituals and traditions to raise productivity and employee loyalty. The weavers of Dubakka worked in no such firm.
Option (4) Link between Cultural forms and Globalisation — Correct. A link between cultural forms and globalisation is seen in the condition of many indigenous craft and literary traditions. The traditional weavers of Sircilla and Dubakka had no means to invest in technology and could not adapt to changing consumer tastes and the competition from power looms, and many of them took their lives.
NCERT (2025-26): “Threat to many Indigenous Craft and Literary Traditions and Knowledge Systems … Yet another link between cultural forms and globalisation is evident from the condition of many indigenous craft and literary traditions and knowledge systems. It is, however, important to remember that modern development even prior to the stage of globalisation did make inroads into traditional cultural forms and occupations based on them. But the sheer scale and intensity of change is enormous. For instance about 30 theatre groups, which were active around the textile mills area of Parel and Girgaum of Mumbai city, have become defunct, as most of the mill workers are out of jobs in these areas. Some years back, there were reports of large number of suicides by the traditional weavers in Sircilla village of Karimnagar district and in Dubakka village in Medak district, both in Andhra Pradesh. These weavers with no means to invest in technology were unable to adapt to the changing consumer tastes and competition from power looms.…” “…Similarly, various forms of traditional knowledge systems especially in the fields of medicine and agriculture have been preserved and passed on from one generation to the other. Recent attempts by some multinational companies to patent the use of Tulsi, Haldi (turmeric), Rudraksha and Basmati rice have highlighted the need for protecting the base of its indigenous knowledge systems.” |