I. Introduction:


It is interesting to know how globalization has influencedour day to day life - if I will be more specific - the quality of life. Thereare contradictory views though on this issue. While the cohorts ofglobalization theory view globalization as improving economic growth andquality of life indicators, the critics view globalization as accentuatinginequalities, promoting poverty, and degrading the over all quality of humanlife. Running through this contentious debate, my paper examines how economicand cultural globalizations have influenced the overall quality of life, or inthe language of developmental economists, how globalization has influenced theindicators that constitute human development. However, my focus here is onthe handicrafts sector of India and those millions of rural artists who havesustained this invaluable tradition/identity of this vast nation since ages.


Human development as it is widely believed is a process ofenlarging the choices of the people. It can be achieved by expanding humancapabilities. Without education (knowledge), good health and means to maintaina good standard of life, the humanity cant think of those choices and can'tthink of development. Simply speaking, without these basic capabilities humanbeing faces inaccessibility to and unavailability of those resources thatconstitute human development. As defined by UNDP, "human development is aprocess of enlarging people's choices- the most critical ones are to lead along and healthy life, to be educated and to enjoy a decent standard of living.Additional choices include political freedom, guaranteed human right and selfrespect."


II. Globalization of Crafts:


As India opens up her doors to the multinationals during thepost- liberalization era, it is not only the economies that often meet in theglobal market sphere, but also the people and cultures. Talking about IndianHandicrafts, its export has reached at a commendable height. Indian economyexperiences the existence of both traditional handicrafts and modern mechanisedproduction. However, thereis no universally accepted definition of the term in India. As the Task Forceon Handicrafts definition (1989) puts it, 'Handicrafts are items made by hand,often with the use of simple tools, and are generally artistic and / ortraditional in nature. They include objects of utility and objects ofdecoration'.



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About the Author:


The author is Doctoral Student of Sociology at the Center of the Study of Social Systems (CSSS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.