Chandigarh, July 30 – Dreaming of an economy that would be just like that of a Western country is a utopia. Globalisation is a planned way in which one is losing his cultural identity.
This was stated by Prof Samdong Rinpoche, the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, here, today. He was speaking on the occasion of the fourth death anniversary of former vice-president Krishan Kant.
The Servants of the People Society had organised a lecture on ‘Globalisation and Cultural Identity’ at Lajpat Rai Bhawan in Sector 15-B. Prof Samdong said in this age of globalisation, there is no scope for morality and ethics. ‘‘Economy has become more important. Western countries are manufacturing goods that will sell, and if there is no market, they create it,’’ he said. Only economic globalisation is considered true globalisation, he rued.
He remembered Krishan Kant, the former vice-president of India, as a young turk and praised him for his crusade for a clean, corruption-free electoral process, which is the cornerstone of democracy.
The Tibetan Prime Minister also emphasised that personal interest should never over-ride national interest in a democratic set up.
‘‘Party ideologies, unfortunately, indoctrinate people into believing in the narrow considerations of caste, race and religion at the expense of national interest and values,’’ he said, calling it a major flaw of the multi-party system. He said true globalisation would be a reality only when true democracy prevails or is allowed to prevail in the world.
Prof Samdong also accused the US of encouraging anti-democratic, subversive extremist outfits in different parts of the world, while posing as a protector of world peace.
