Thursday, November 28, 2019

1984 by George Orwell free essay sample

Marxism In the Novel 1984 Throughout time, rulers and controlling governments have used the ideas of Marxism to take and maintain control over the working class. Even today ideas such as classism and commodification are used in countries such as North Korea and Syria to help governments rule over their citizens. In George Orwell’s 1984 the ideas of Marxism are used to oppress proletariats. The Party tricks the citizens of Oceania into thinking that their propaganda benefits the working class, classism is used as a means of allowing the Party and its associates more power and control than the average citizen, and people under the Party’s rule are commoditized physically and psychologically so as to not questions their totalitarian government. Through the use of propaganda, the Party has tricked its citizens into believing that their controlling ways benefit proletariats, when in fact they only allow this oppressive government even more power. We will write a custom essay sample on 1984 by George Orwell or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The Party uses the Ministry of Truth to reconstruct the media as well as literature past and present so that all information available to the public provides a positive image of the government. 1 â€Å"And the Ministry had not only to supply the multifarious needs of the Party, but also to repeat the whole operation [of reconstructing media and literature] at a lower level for the benefit of the proletariat. † (Orwell, 45). The Ministry of Truth reconstructs the media and literature as a means of meeting and exceeding the Party’s needs as well as to sneakily trick proletariats into oppression. In addition, Junior Spies is sold to the adults of Oceania as a program to better raise their children when it is in fact the Party’s way to condition future generations to not turn against them as well as to monitor and report anybody who shows disloyalty to the government. 2 â€Å"Nearly all children nowadays were horrible. What was worst of all was that by means of such organizations as the Spies they were systematically turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel against the discipline of the Party. † (Orwell, 26). Junior Spies creates miniature mind-controlled monsters that obey anything told to them by the Party, even if it means turning on their own families, while the parents of these children are tricked into believing that their children are benefiting from this life-sucking program. Via the use of organizations such as the Ministry of Truth and Junior Spies, the Party has made their citizens believe that propaganda is beneficial to proletariats when it in fact controls every aspect of their lives. Classism is used by the Party to provide those at the top of the government more power than the average citizen, leading to their oppression. By being forced into poverty, the people of Oceania have been placed into a lower class and oppressed by those at the top of the Party. 3 â€Å"Winston wrenched his body out of bed – naked, for a member of the Outer Party received only three thousand clothing coupons annually, and a suit of pyjamas was six hundred – and seized a dingy singlet and a pair of shorts that were lying across a chair. † (Orwell, 33). The tiny amount of currency provided by the Party to its citizens doesn’t allow for people to purchase quality supplies and resources, demoralizing the public and allowing them to easily become oppressed victims of classism. Even those who work for the government are politically disenfranchised and have no idea that their work is helping to further strengthen those who are already politically powerful. 4 â€Å"It was therefore necessary to rewrite a paragraph of Big Brothers’ speech, in such a way as to make him predict the thing that had actually happened. † (Orwell, 41). A politically weak Winston doesn’t understand the full effects of rewriting one paragraph so that it shows Big Brother – the leader of the Party – as correct on a speech concerning an issue involving a war that Oceania was involved in. By rewriting this speech Winston makes Big Brother look more credible and allows him an easy opportunity to gain more political power, creating more class distinction and greater oppression from the Party. Being both financially and politically powerless, the average people of Oceania are clearly in a lower social class than those at the top of the Party and are forced to lead strictly controlled lives. The physical and psychological commoditization of the citizens of Oceania prevents anybody from questioning the actions of their totalitarian government. The feelings of hatred created within people by the Party are channelled into intense protests against the Partys’ enemies called â€Å"Two Minutes Hate†. These protests cause people to forget about the constant fear that they are under because of the Party, and instead fear their governments’ enemies and obey Big Brother as a means of protection. 5 â€Å"The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining it. † (Orwell, 16). The Two Minutes Hate being impossible to avoid joining despite not being mandatory illustrates further the hatred and fear instilled in the citizens of Oceania by the Party and how these terrible feelings are turned drastically in favour of the government by being redirected at political enemies which may not even exist. The dependence on the government that this manipulation creates prevents anybody from questioning the actions of Big Brother and turns peoples’ feelings into something of use, advantage, and profit for the Party, which by definition makes them a commodity. Also, the Party uses torture to convince any citizens who show a lack of loyalty that nothing is more powerful than physical pain, which gives the Party control over people’s actions – making their bodies a commodity. 6 â€Å"At the time when it happens you do mean it. You think there’s no other way of saving yourself and you’re quite ready to save yourself that way. You want it to happen to the other person. You don’t give a damn what they suffer. All you care about is yourself. † (Orwell, 305). Julia says this to Winston, explaining that the Party had used physical torture to turn the two of them against each other and that all they cared about in that moment of pain was themselves. With enough physical torture people can be rid of all emotions towards anybody else, making them easy to psychologically manipulate and then physically control as Winston was. With the Party having physical control over them, the bodies of the citizens of Oceania become the commodity of the Party. With their bodies and minds as commodities of the Party, nobody could question the reign of Big Brother, oppressing the proletariats of Oceania. In Orwell’s 1984 the Party oppresses the proletariats of its society through the ideas of Marxism. The Party clearly uses propaganda as a means of control, but convinces citizens that this propaganda in fact benefits the working class. This propaganda creates class distinctions, which allow for classism to be used as a means of increasing the power held by the government of Oceania over its people. Being made totally powerless, the Party then psychologically and physically transforms the proletariats into their commodities. Orwell provides us with warnings about the dangers of ppressive forms of government such as Marxism and totalitarianism by showing us the worst-case scenario of a government that has taken absolute power over its citizens. To avoid making the mistakes made in countries such as North Korea and Syria, everybody must understand the dangers of controlling governments. Once people truly know how bad the situations in countries under this type of rule can be, eve ryone as a whole will be able to make a strong effort towards putting an end to this oppression and bringing peace to powerless proletariats everywhere. Works Cited 1 Orwell, George. Operation of Reconstructing Literature† 1984. Penguin Books. London, England: 1949. 45. 2 Orwell, George. â€Å"Children Turned Into Savages† 1984. Penguin Books. London, England: 1949. 26. 3 Orwell, George. â€Å"Very Few Clothes for Members of Outer Party† 1984. Penguin Books. London, England: 1949. 33. 4 Orwell, George. â€Å"Rewriting Newspaper Article to Benefit Big Brother† 1984. Penguin Books. London, England: 1949. 41. 5 Orwell, George. â€Å"Impossible to Avoid Joining Two Minutes Hate† 1984. Penguin Books. London, England: 1949. 16. 6 Orwell, George. â€Å"People Only Care About Themselves† 1984. Penguin Books. London, England: 1949. 305. 1984 By George Orwell free essay sample # 8211 ; With Outline Essay, Research Paper 1984 by George Orwell OutlineThesis Statement- This paper will analyze how George Orwell wrote 1984 as a political statement against totalitarianism.I IntroductionII Summary of 1984III Functions of major Charters A. Large Brother B. Winston C. O # 8217 ; Brien D. Julia E. Shop ownerIV Propaganda A. Ministry of Truth B. Ministry of LoveV Orwell # 8217 ; s ideas on Dictatorship A. From life experiences B. From a authors point of viewVI Decision Introduction # 8220 ; Orwell observed that every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written straight or indirectly, against dictatorship and for democratic socialism, as I understand it # 8221 ; ( # 8221 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; ) . George Orwell has been a major subscriber to anticommunist literature around the World War II period. Orwell lived in England during World War II, a clip when the dictatorship province, Nazi Germany, was at war with England and destroyed the metropolis of London. # 8221 ; I know that constructing # 8217 ; said Winston eventually. We will write a custom essay sample on 1984 By George Orwell or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Its a ruin now. It # 8217 ; s in the center of the street outside the Palace of Justice. # 8217 ; That # 8217 ; s right. Outside the Law Courts. It was bombed in-oh many old ages ago # 8217 ; # 8221 ; ( Orwell 83 ) . This reflects Orwell # 8217 ; s ain life experiences as a citizen in war lacerate England and how he uses this in 1984. George Orwell is celebrated for two major novels which attack dictatorship. The first is Animal Farm a sarcasm depicting the leaders of the Soviet Union as animate beings on an carnal farm. The 2nd novel is 1984 a narrative of dictators who are in complete control of a big portion of the universe after the Allies lost in World War II. The authorities in this fresh gives no freedoms to its citizens. They live in fright because they are afraid of holding bad ideas about the authorities of Oceania, a offense punishable by decease. This is the treasure in Orwell # 8217 ; s aggregation of novels against dictatorship. This paper will demo how George O rwell wrote 1984 as a political statement against dictatorship. 1984 is about life in a universe where no personal freedoms exist. Winston the chief character, is a adult male of 39 who is non extraordinary in either intelligence or character, but is disgusted with the universe he lives in. He works in the Ministry of Truth, a topographic point where history and the truth is rewritten to suit the party # 8217 ; s beliefs. Winston is cognizant of the falsehoods, because he makes them true. This makes him really upset with the authorities of Oceania, where Big Brother, a larger than life figure, controls the people. His dissatisfaction additions to a point where he rebels against the authorities in little ways. Winston # 8217 ; s first act of rebellion is purchasing and composing in a diary. This act is known as a idea offense and is punishable by decease. A thought offense is any bad idea against the authorities of Oceania. Winston commits many thought offenses and becomes paranoid about being caught, which he knows is inevitable ( Greenblast 113 ) . He becomes paranoid because he is followed by a immature adult female who is actively involved in many community groups. Winston is obsessed with the yesteryear, a clip before Oceania was under rigorous absolutism. He goes into an old-timer store and buys a shell covered in glass which is another offense punishable by decease. He sees the same adult female following him. Many ideas race through his head # 8220 ; I wanted to ravish you and so slaying you afterwards. Two hebdomads ago I thought earnestly of nailing your caput in with a sett. If you truly want to cognize, I imagined that you had something to make with the Thought Police # 8221 ; ( Orwell 101 ) . The miss who was following him slipped him a note while at work. The note said # 8220 ; I love you # 8221 ; ( 90 ) . They make programs to run into each other and carry on an illegal love matter. This love matter is another rebellion against the authorit ies. It goes on for some clip. Winston rents a room where he and Julia can be secluded from the outside universe. They meet a adult male named O # 8217 ; Brien who indicates that he is another radical. Winston and Julia go to his house to run into with him. O # 8217 ; Brien gives than a incendiary book to read. Soon after that, they are caught by the Thought Police and neer see each other once more. O # 8217 ; Brien, becomes Winston # 8217 ; s rehabilitator and torturer for the following 9 months. O # 8217 ; Brien tortures Winston in phases. The first two phases are to coerce the party # 8217 ; s beliefs on him so learn and understand what is expected of him. In the 3rd phase, Winston is made to confront what he in secret fears most, rats eating his face. After being wholly rehabilitated by O # 8217 ; Brien, Winston now loves the constitution and the authorities. He is set free. Large Brother is the front man of a authorities that has entire control. The Big Brother governmen t uses propaganda and puts fear in its citizens to maintain the general population in line. # 8220 ; Big Brother is watching you # 8221 ; ( Orwell 5 ) is merely one illustration of many party mottos that puts fright in its citizens. Large Brother uses assorted ways to catch people guilty of bad ideas # 8220 ; In the universe of 1984 the autocrat Big Brother does use a huge ground forces of betrayers called thought constabularies, who watch every citizen at all times for the least marks of condemnable divergence which may dwell merely of irregular ideas # 8221 ; ( 112 ) . Winston Smith represents Orwell # 8217 ; s view on dictatorship. Winston Rebels against the authorities of Oceania by get downing a diary and invariably holding bad ideas against the authorities. # 8220 ; Winston knows that he is doomed from the minute he has his first dissident idea. The tensenesss of the fresh concerns how long he can remain alive and whether it is possible for Winston to decease without men tally bewraying his rebellion # 8221 ; ( Greenblast 115 ) . Winston starts composing in a diary for two grounds. The first is that he wants to be able to retrieve the day-to-day happenings in the universe. In 1984, the memory of persons, is efficaciously manipulated, programmed, and controlled from the exterior by the party ( Kolakowski 127 ) . People don # 8217 ; t know what they are consciously retrieving and what is told to them. # 8220 ; The party had invented aeroplanes # 8221 ; ( Orwell 127 ) is merely one illustration of the party # 8217 ; s propaganda and false statements that change every twenty-four hours. The other ground for the journal is so that people in the hereafter will be able to read what went on during Winston # 8217 ; s clip and to state them about his day-to-day contemplations on his feelings about the party. These are the same grounds why Orwell wrote 1984. He wanted to expose a communist state ( the Soviet Union ) . The specific political intent that h ad aro used Orwell # 8217 ; s sense of urgency was his desire to detonate the myth of the Soviet Union as the paradigm of the socialist province. He besides wanted to expose the dangers of dictatorship, which the devaluation of nonsubjective truth, and the systematic use of the common people through propaganda ( # 8221 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; ) . O # 8217 ; Brien is an source to Big Brother. He is non who he seems to be. He appears to Winston as a fellow plotter, but really becomes Winston # 8217 ; s torturer and rehabilitator. O # 8217 ; Brien and the party can # 8217 ; t digest Winston # 8217 ; s treachery of the authorities. O # 8217 ; Brien tells his victim: You are a defect in the form, Winston. You are a discoloration that must be wiped out # 8230 ; It is unbearable that an erroneous idea should be anyplace in the universe, nevertheless secret and powerless it may be. ( # 8221 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; ) . In fact, the party can # 8217 ; t grok his incredulity and must alter his ideas through anguish and brainwash. # 8220 ; You will be hollow. We shall squash you empty and so we shall make full you with ourselves # 8221 ; ( Orwell 200 ) . O # 8217 ; Brien represents the nucleus of Communist or totalitarian regulation, doing the victims suffer by utilizing brainwashing to command them. O # 8217 ; Brien besides tells Winston what he should experience about Big Brother when Winston is at his lowest point mentally and physically. O # 8217 ; Brien # 8217 ; s addresss to the broken Winsto N Smith in the Thought Polices # 8217 ; torture chamber represents for Orwell the nucleus of our century # 8217 ; s political hideousness. Although O # 8217 ; Brien says that power seeks power and needs no ideological alibi. he does in fact explain to his victim what this power is ( # 8221 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; ) . Julia is considered a sexual pervert in the laden universe of 1984. In a normal universe sex is free, in 1984 it # 8217 ; s a forbidden act merely allowed for reproduction intents to maintain the party # 8217 ; s Numberss changeless. Julia has been sexually active since her teenage old ages. # 8220 ; She had had her foremost love matter when she was 16, with a party member of 60 # 8221 ; ( Orwell 109 ) . Love and sex is non allowed in this totalitarian province so Julia has to look every bit pure as possible so that she does non demo any guilt. # 8220 ; You thought I was a good party member, pure in word and title. Banners, emanations, mottos, games, community hikings all that material. And you [ Winston ] thought that if I had a one-fourth of a opportunity I # 8217 ; d denounce you as a thought felon and acquire you killed off # 8221 ; ( 101 ) . The proprietor of the old-timer store is another illustration of person looking to be what he is non. Orwell uses the store proprietor to exemplify a point. Orwell shows that no 1 can be trusted in a totalitarian state. Person who appears to be your friend will reall y turn you in and have you killed. The store proprietor appears to be an old widowman who enjoys holding conversations with Winston Smith. Throughout the book it can be seen that looks can be lead oning. He is really a member of the Thought Police and gets a good laugh when Winston and Julia acquiring caught. Now all he can make is wait for his following victim to come in his shop. The Ministry of Truth is a topographic point where history and facts # 8211 ; important and undistinguished are rewritten to reflect the party # 8217 ; s Utopian beliefs. They exhaustively destroy the records of the yesteryear ; they print up new, up to-date editions of old newspapers and books ; and they know corrected versions will be replaced by another, re-corrected one. Their end is to do people bury everything- facts, words, dead people, the names of topographic points. How far they win in killing the yesteryear is non to the full established in Orwell # 8217 ; s description ; clearly they try di fficult and they score impressive consequences. The ideal of complete limbo may non hold been reached, yet farther advancement is to be expressed ( Kolakowski 126 ) . Winston and Julia are workers at the Ministry of Truth. Winston gets more mentally involved in his work than Julia. # 8220 ; Winston Smith and his chaps at the Ministry of Truth spend their yearss rewriting the yesteryear: Most of the stuff you were covering with had no connexion with anything in the existent universe, non even the sort of connexion that is contained in a direct prevarication # 8217 ; # 8221 ; ( # 8221 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; ) . Winston is non as strong mentally as Julia. His work affects him more. The Ministry of Truth is like a totalitarian state, because it has ways to frighten its citizens. People guilty of offenses are erased from holding of all time existed. # 8220 ; Your name was removed from the registries, every record of your being was denied and so bury # 8221 ; ( Orwell 19 ) . Agai n people were taken off without any rights. # 8220 ; # 8230 ; there was no test no study of apprehension # 8221 ; ( 19 ) . The existent intent of the Ministry of Truth is to distribute prevarications and to hold control over its citizens utilizing memory wipe outing techniques. # 8220 ; # 8230 ; the differentiation between true and false in their usual significance has disappea ruddy. This is the great cognitive victory of dictatorship: it can non be accused of lying any longer since it has succeeded in abrogating the really thought of truth ( Kolakowski 127 ) . These same control techniques are used by totalitarian states that seek control over at that place citizens. The Ministry of Truth is a complete contradiction of itself. A Ministry of Truth should non alter past happenings or say people neer existed. It should represent the truth and non wipe out records of the being of people. The Ministry of Love is where all felons are tortured, rehabilitated, so put free or killed. Equally shortly as Winston is captured he knows he is traveling to the Ministry of Love. The Ministry of Love was the truly scaring one. There were no Windowss in it at all. Winston had neer been inside the Ministry of Love, nor within half a kilometre of it. It was a topographic point impossible to come in except on offical concern, and so merely by perforating throu gh a labyrinth of barbed-wire webs, steel doors, and concealed machine-gun nests. Even the streets taking up to its outer barriers were roamed by gorilla-faced guards in black uniforms, armed with jointed nightsticks ( Orwell 8 ) . In a totalitarian province something resembling a Ministry of Love is common topographic point. It # 8217 ; s a topographic point where the authorities can bring down hurting on its topics for offenses large and little. That is how totalitarian states maintain, power over their citizens # 8211 ; by fright of hurting. The name Ministry of Love is a contradiction of itself. Its name shows a feeling of love and heat, but in actuality it # 8217 ; s the complete antonym. It # 8217 ; s a topographic point of hatred and hurting and is cold and dark. A better name for it would be the Ministry of Hate. George Orwell lived during a clip when Europe was in a period of reconstructing after World War II. During that clip Soviets gained six states as orbiters. England was incapacitated and had to worry about their ain jobs and had to watch the Soviet Union take control of half of Germany. The leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin, closely resembles Big Brother. They were both larger than life figures in there several states. In the Soviet Union you could easy hold found big postings with Stalin # 8217 ; s face on them. The same holds true in 1984 ; Big Brother # 8217 ; s face is everyplace. A celebrated quotation mark from 1984 is # 8220 ; Big Brother is watching you # 8221 ; ( Orwell 5 ) . Meaning if his Thought Police don # 8217 ; t catch you, his telescreens and concealed m ikes would. In the Soviet Union, Stalin # 8217 ; s K.G.B. sought felons who plotted against the authorities. In Stalin # 8217 ; s government over 10 million people were killed. In 1984 100s of felons were killed daily. Another facet of the 1940 # 8217 ; s were the new broadcast T.V. # 8217 ; s and mainframe computing machines. The new engineerings could be used for agencies of control. Orwell saw communist states utilizing these engineerings for control ( # 8221 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; ) . This is where Orwell # 8217 ; s thought of telescreens and concealed mikes came from. Before World War II, Orwell had his worst brush with Communists. While Orwell was in the Spanish Civil War, he was running off from Soviet Communists who were seeking to kill him. After that experience he got out of the ground forces and became a author full clip. # 8220 ; Another daze to Orwell was when the Nazi-Soviet treaty signaled the dislocation and the beginning of the mental and emotional provinc e out of which grew Animal Farm and 1984 # 8243 ; ( Greenblast 105 ) . Orwell may of hold extracted what he saw in his universe while composing but it was done to acquire people # 8217 ; s attending of jobs in the bing universe. # 8220 ; Orwell # 8217 ; s primary intent is to falsify upseting conditions inclinations and wonts of idea that he saw bing in the universe # 8221 ; ( # 8221 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; ) . Orwell saw, the whole universe steadily traveling toward a huge ruthless dictatorship. He felt nil could halt it # 8217 ; s monstrous advancement. 1984, in malice of its scene in the hereafter, is non chiefly a Utopian phantasy vaticinating what the universe will be like in 30 or 40 old ages but a novel about what the universe is like now ( Greenblast 112 ) . Orwell ever relates characters in his books to points of position and existent people. In Animal Farm every farm animate being represents a individual in the Soviet Union. In 1984, Orwell represents his point of position in Winston. He shows a totalitarian leader, in O # 8217 ; Brien and Big Brother, while Julia is the desire and lecherousness in every human being. George Orwell had deep bitterness against dictatorship and what it stood for. He saw the job of dictatorship in his existing universe. He besides understood how the job could maturate and go larger due to instability in Europe # 8217 ; s economic system after World War II. He intentionally makes the narrative, 1984, unrealistic and blown out of proportion to capture people # 8217 ; s attending and do them believe possibly it wouldn # 8217 ; t be unrealistic in the close hereafter. With his deep bitterness toward dictatorship it became the focal point of his novels. George Orwell # 8217 ; s, novels were directed toward against dictatorship and for Socialism and what it stood for. 1984, Andrews, Paul. # 8220 ; 1984 Plus 10. # 8221 ; The Seattle Times 6 March 1994: A1+ . Black, David. # 8220 ; Wider Still and Wider # 8221 ; European 25 October 1991: 8-9. Daley, Alan L. George Orwell, Writer and Critic of Modern Society. Charlottesville: Samhar Press, 1974. Deutscher, Isaac. # 8220 ; 1984-The Mysticsm of Cruelty. # 8221 ; George Orwell, A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Raymond Williams. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc. , 1974. 119- 132. # 8220 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; Detecting Writers. 1993 erectile dysfunction. Gale Research Inc. , 1993. Greenblast, Stephen J. # 8220 ; Orwell as Satirist. # 8221 ; George Orwell, ACollection Of Critical Essays. Ed. Raymond Williams. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc. , 1974. 103-118. Huber, Peter. # 8220 ; Bye -Bye, Big Brother. # 8221 ; National Review 15 August 1994: 48-50. Kolakowski, Leszek. # 8220 ; Totalitarianism and the virtuousness of the Lie. # 8221 ; 1984 Revisited, Totalitarianism In Our Century. Ed. Irving Howe. New York: Harper and Row, 1983. 122-136. Leyden, Peter. # 8220 ; On the Digital Age: Dawn of a Second Renaissance # 8221 ; Star Tribune 25 June 1995: 1t+ . Orwell, George. 1984. New York: The New American Library Inc. , 1983. Reilly, Patrick. Nineteen Eighty-Four, Past, Present, and Future. Boston G.K. Hall and Co. , 1989. Stansky, Peter and William Abrahams. Orwell: The Transformation. London: Gramala Publishing Limited, 1981. Tucker, Robert C. # 8220 ; Does Big Brother Really Exist? # 8221 ; 1984 Revisited, Totalitarianism In Your Century. Ed. Irving Howe, New York: Harper and Row, 1983. 89-103. Verity, John W. # 8220 ; Why Big Brother Isn # 8217 ; t Watching You. # 8221 ; Business Week 9 January, 1995: 15- 16. Weight, Richard. # 8220 ; Return To Albion, Intellectuals in Wartime Britain. # 8221 ; History Today. December 1994: 37-43. OutlineThesis Statement- This paper will analyze how George Orwell wrote 1984 as a political statement against totalitarianism.I IntroductionII Summary of 1984III Functions of major Charters A. Large Brother B. Winston C. O # 8217 ; Brien D. Julia E. Shop ownerIV Propaganda A. Ministry of Truth B. Ministry of LoveV Orwell # 8217 ; s ideas on Dictatorship A. From life experiences B. From a authors point of viewVI Decision Introduction # 8220 ; Orwell observed that every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written straight or indirectly, against dictatorship and for democratic socialism, as I understand it # 8221 ; ( # 8221 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; ) . George Orwell has been a major subscriber to anticommunist literature around the World War II period. Orwell lived in England during World War II, a clip when the dictatorship province, Nazi Germany, was at war with England and destroyed the metropolis of London. # 8221 ; I know that constructing # 8217 ; said Winston eventually. Its a ruin now. It # 8217 ; s in the center of the street outside the Palace of Justice. # 8217 ; That # 8217 ; s right. Outside the Law Courts. It was bombed in-oh many old ages ago # 8217 ; # 8221 ; ( Orwell 83 ) . This reflects Orwell # 8217 ; s ain life experiences as a citizen in war lacerate England and how he uses this in 1984. George Orwell is celebrated for two major novels which att ack dictatorship. The first is Animal Farm a sarcasm depicting the leaders of the Soviet Union as animate beings on an carnal farm. The 2nd novel is 1984 a narrative of dictators who are in complete control of a big portion of the universe after the Allies lost in World War II. The authorities in this fresh gives no freedoms to its citizens. They live in fright because they are afraid of holding bad ideas about the authorities of Oceania, a offense punishable by decease. This is the treasure in Orwell # 8217 ; s aggregation of novels against dictatorship. This paper will demo how George Orwell wrote 1984 as a political statement against dictatorship. 1984 is about life in a universe where no personal freedoms exist. Winston the chief character, is a adult male of 39 who is non extraordinary in either intelligence or character, but is disgusted with the universe he lives in. He works in the Ministry of Truth, a topographic point where history and the truth is rewritten to suit the p arty # 8217 ; s beliefs. Winston is cognizant of the falsehoods, because he makes them true. This makes him really upset with the authorities of Oceania, where Big Brother, a larger than life figure, controls the people. His dissatisfaction additions to a point where he rebels against the authorities in little ways. Winston # 8217 ; s first act of rebellion is purchasing and composing in a diary. This act is known as a idea offense and is punishable by decease. A thought offense is any bad idea against the authorities of Oceania. Winston commits many thought offenses and becomes paranoid about being caught, which he knows is inevitable ( Greenblast 113 ) . He becomes paranoid because he is followed by a immature adult female who is actively involved in many community groups. Winston is obsessed with the yesteryear, a clip before Oceania was under rigorous absolutism. He goes into an old-timer store and buys a shell covered in glass which is another offense punishable by decease. H e sees the same adult female following him. Many ideas race through his head # 8220 ; I wanted to ravish you and so slaying you afterwards. Two hebdomads ago I thought earnestly of nailing your caput in with a sett. If you truly want to cognize, I imagined that you had something to make with the Thought Police # 8221 ; ( Orwell 101 ) . The miss who was following him slipped him a note while at work. The note said # 8220 ; I love you # 8221 ; ( 90 ) . They make programs to run into each other and carry on an illegal love matter. This love matter is another rebellion against the authorities. It goes on for some clip. Winston rents a room where he and Julia can be secluded from the outside universe. They meet a adult male named O # 8217 ; Brien who indicates that he is another radical. Winston and Julia go to his house to run into with him. O # 8217 ; Brien gives than a incendiary book to read. Soon after that, they are caught by the Thought Police and neer see each other once mo re. O # 8217 ; Brien, becomes Winston # 8217 ; s rehabilitator and torturer for the following 9 months. O # 8217 ; Brien tortures Winston in phases. The first two phases are to coerce the party # 8217 ; s beliefs on him so learn and understand what is expected of him. In the 3rd phase, Winston is made to confront what he in secret fears most, rats eating his face. After being wholly rehabilitated by O # 8217 ; Brien, Winston now loves the constitution and the authorities. He is set free. Large Brother is the front man of a authorities that has entire control. The Big Brother government uses propaganda and puts fear in its citizens to maintain the general population in line. # 8220 ; Big Brother is watching you # 8221 ; ( Orwell 5 ) is merely one illustration of many party mottos that puts fright in its citizens. Large Brother uses assorted ways to catch people guilty of bad ideas # 8220 ; In the universe of 1984 the autocrat Big Brother does use a huge ground forces of betra yers called thought constabularies, who watch every citizen at all times for the least marks of condemnable divergence which may dwell merely of irregular ideas # 8221 ; ( 112 ) . Winston Smith represents Orwell # 8217 ; s view on dictatorship. Winston Rebels against the authorities of Oceania by get downing a diary and invariably holding bad ideas against the authorities. # 8220 ; Winston knows that he is doomed from the minute he has his first dissident idea. The tensenesss of the fresh concerns how long he can remain alive and whether it is possible for Winston to decease without mentally bewraying his rebellion # 8221 ; ( Greenblast 115 ) . Winston starts composing in a diary for two grounds. The first is that he wants to be able to retrieve the day-to-day happenings in the universe. In 1984, the memory of persons, is efficaciously manipulated, programmed, and controlled from the exterior by the party ( Kolakowski 127 ) . People don # 8217 ; t know what they are consciously retrieving and what is told to them. # 8220 ; The party had invented aeroplanes # 8221 ; ( Orwell 127 ) is merely one illustration of the party # 8217 ; s propaganda and false statements that change every twenty-four hours. The other ground for the journal is so that people in the hereafter will be able to read what went on during Winston # 8217 ; s clip and to state them about his day-to-day contemplations on his feelings about the party. These are the same grounds why Orwell wrote 1984. He wanted to expose a communist state ( the Soviet Union ) . The specific political intent that had aro used Orwell # 8217 ; s sense of urgency was his desire to detonate the myth of the Soviet Union as the paradigm of the socialist province. He besides wanted to expose the dangers of dictatorship, which the devaluation of nonsubjective truth, and the systematic use of the common people through propaganda ( # 8221 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; ) . O # 8217 ; Brien is an source to Big Brother. H e is non who he seems to be. He appears to Winston as a fellow plotter, but really becomes Winston # 8217 ; s torturer and rehabilitator. O # 8217 ; Brien and the party can # 8217 ; t digest Winston # 8217 ; s treachery of the authorities. O # 8217 ; Brien tells his victim: You are a defect in the form, Winston. You are a discoloration that must be wiped out # 8230 ; It is unbearable that an erroneous idea should be anyplace in the universe, nevertheless secret and powerless it may be. ( # 8221 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; ) . In fact, the party can # 8217 ; t grok his incredulity and must alter his ideas through anguish and brainwash. # 8220 ; You will be hollow. We shall squash you empty and so we shall make full you with ourselves # 8221 ; ( Orwell 200 ) . O # 8217 ; Brien represents the nucleus of Communist or totalitarian regulation, doing the victims suffer by utilizing brainwashing to command them. O # 8217 ; Brien besides tells Winston what he should experience abou t Big Brother when Winston is at his lowest point mentally and physically. O # 8217 ; Brien # 8217 ; s addresss to the broken Winsto N Smith in the Thought Polices # 8217 ; torture chamber represents for Orwell the nucleus of our century # 8217 ; s political hideousness. Although O # 8217 ; Brien says that power seeks power and needs no ideological alibi. he does in fact explain to his victim what this power is ( # 8221 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; ) . Julia is considered a sexual pervert in the laden universe of 1984. In a normal universe sex is free, in 1984 it # 8217 ; s a forbidden act merely allowed for reproduction intents to maintain the party # 8217 ; s Numberss changeless. Julia has been sexually active since her teenage old ages. # 8220 ; She had had her foremost love matter when she was 16, with a party member of 60 # 8221 ; ( Orwell 109 ) . Love and sex is non allowed in this totalitarian province so Julia has to look every bit pure as possible so that she does no n demo any guilt. # 8220 ; You thought I was a good party member, pure in word and title. Banners, emanations, mottos, games, community hikings all that material. And you [ Winston ] thought that if I had a one-fourth of a opportunity I # 8217 ; d denounce you as a thought felon and acquire you killed off # 8221 ; ( 101 ) . The proprietor of the old-timer store is another illustration of person looking to be what he is non. Orwell uses the store proprietor to exemplify a point. Orwell shows that no 1 can be trusted in a totalitarian state. Person who appears to be your friend will really turn you in and have you killed. The store proprietor appears to be an old widowman who enjoys holding conversations with Winston Smith. Throughout the book it can be seen that looks can be lead oning. He is really a member of the Thought Police and gets a good laugh when Winston and Julia acquiring caught. Now all he can make is wait for his following victim to come in his shop. The Ministry of Truth is a topographic point where history and facts # 8211 ; important and undistinguished are rewritten to reflect the party # 8217 ; s Utopian beliefs. They exhaustively destroy the records of the yesteryear ; they print up new, up to-date editions of old newspapers and books ; and they know corrected versions will be replaced by another, re-corrected one. Their end is to do people bury everything- facts, words, dead people, the names of topographic points. How far they win in killing the yesteryear is non to the full established in Orwell # 8217 ; s description ; clearly they try difficult and they score impressive consequences. The ideal of complete limbo may non hold been reached, yet farther advancement is to be expressed ( Kolakowski 126 ) . Winston and Julia are workers at the Ministry of Truth. Winston gets more mentally involved in his work than Julia. # 8220 ; Winston Smith and his chaps at the Ministry of Truth spend their yearss rewriting the yesteryear: Most of th e stuff you were covering with had no connexion with anything in the existent universe, non even the sort of connexion that is contained in a direct prevarication # 8217 ; # 8221 ; ( # 8221 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; ) . Winston is non as strong mentally as Julia. His work affects him more. The Ministry of Truth is like a totalitarian state, because it has ways to frighten its citizens. People guilty of offenses are erased from holding of all time existed. # 8220 ; Your name was removed from the registries, every record of your being was denied and so bury # 8221 ; ( Orwell 19 ) . Again people were taken off without any rights. # 8220 ; # 8230 ; there was no test no study of apprehension # 8221 ; ( 19 ) . The existent intent of the Ministry of Truth is to distribute prevarications and to hold control over its citizens utilizing memory wipe outing techniques. # 8220 ; # 8230 ; the differentiation between true and false in their usual significance has disappea ruddy. This is the great cognitive victory of dictatorship: it can non be accused of lying any longer since it has succeeded in abrogating the really thought of truth ( Kolakowski 127 ) . These same control techniques are used by totalitarian states that seek control over at that place citizens. The Ministry of Truth is a complete contradiction of itself. A Ministry of Truth should non alter past happenings or say people neer existed. It should represent the truth and non wipe out records of the being of people. The Ministry of Love is where all felons are tortured, rehabilitated, so put free or killed. Equally shortly as Winston is captured he knows he is traveling to the Ministry of Love. The Ministry of Love was the truly scaring one. There were no Windowss in it at all. Winston had neer been inside the Ministry of Love, nor within half a kilometre of it. It was a topographic point impossible to come in except on offical concern, and so merely by perforating throu gh a labyrinth of barbed-wire webs, steel doors, and concealed machine-gun nests. Even the streets taking up to its outer barriers were roamed by gorilla-faced guards in black uniforms, armed with jointed nightsticks ( Orwell 8 ) . In a totalitarian province something resembling a Ministry of Love is common topographic point. It # 8217 ; s a topographic point where the authorities can bring down hurting on its topics for offenses large and little. That is how totalitarian states maintain, power over their citizens # 8211 ; by fright of hurting. The name Ministry of Love is a contradiction of itself. Its name shows a feeling of love and heat, but in actuality it # 8217 ; s the complete antonym. It # 8217 ; s a topographic point of hatred and hurting and is cold and dark. A better name for it would be the Ministry of Hate. George Orwell lived during a clip when Europe was in a period of reconstructing after World War II. During that clip Soviets gained six states as orbiters. England was incapacitated and had to worry about their ain jobs and had to watch the Soviet Union take control of half of Germany. The leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin, closely resembles Big Brother. They were both larger than life figures in there several states. In the Soviet Union you could easy hold found big postings with Stalin # 8217 ; s face on them. The same holds true in 1984 ; Big Brother # 8217 ; s face is everyplace. A celebrated quotation mark from 1984 is # 8220 ; Big Brother is watching you # 8221 ; ( Orwell 5 ) . Meaning if his Thought Police don # 8217 ; t catch you, his telescreens and concealed mikes would. In the Soviet Union, Stalin # 8217 ; s K.G.B. sought felons who plotted against the authorities. In Stalin # 8217 ; s government over 10 million people were killed. In 1984 100s of felons were killed daily. Another facet of the 1940 # 8217 ; s were the new broadcast T.V. # 8217 ; s and mainframe computing machines. The new engineerings could be used for agencies of control. Orwell s aw communist states utilizing these engineerings for control ( # 8221 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; ) . This is where Orwell # 8217 ; s thought of telescreens and concealed mikes came from. Before World War II, Orwell had his worst brush with Communists. While Orwell was in the Spanish Civil War, he was running off from Soviet Communists who were seeking to kill him. After that experience he got out of the ground forces and became a author full clip. # 8220 ; Another daze to Orwell was when the Nazi-Soviet treaty signaled the dislocation and the beginning of the mental and emotional province out of which grew Animal Farm and 1984 # 8243 ; ( Greenblast 105 ) . Orwell may of hold extracted what he saw in his universe while composing but it was done to acquire people # 8217 ; s attending of jobs in the bing universe. # 8220 ; Orwell # 8217 ; s primary intent is to falsify upseting conditions inclinations and wonts of idea that he saw bing in the universe # 8221 ; ( # 8221 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; ) . Orwell saw, the whole universe steadily traveling toward a huge ruthless dictatorship. He felt nil could halt it # 8217 ; s monstrous advancement. 1984, in malice of its scene in the hereafter, is non chiefly a Utopian phantasy vaticinating what the universe will be like in 30 or 40 old ages but a novel about what the universe is like now ( Greenblast 112 ) . Orwell ever relates characters in his books to points of position and existent people. In Animal Farm every farm animate being represents a individual in the Soviet Union. In 1984, Orwell represents his point of position in Winston. He shows a totalitarian leader, in O # 8217 ; Brien and Big Brother, while Julia is the desire and lecherousness in every human being. George Orwell had deep bitterness against dictatorship and what it stood for. He saw the job of dictatorship in his existing universe. He besides understood how the job could maturate and go larger due to instability in Europe # 8217 ; s econ omic system after World War II. He intentionally makes the narrative, 1984, unrealistic and blown out of proportion to capture people # 8217 ; s attending and do them believe possibly it wouldn # 8217 ; t be unrealistic in the close hereafter. With his deep bitterness toward dictatorship it became the focal point of his novels. George Orwell # 8217 ; s, novels were directed toward against dictatorship and for Socialism and what it stood for. 1984, Bibliography Andrews, Paul. # 8220 ; 1984 Plus 10. # 8221 ; The Seattle Times 6 March 1994: A1+ . Black, David. # 8220 ; Wider Still and Wider # 8221 ; European 25 October 1991: 8-9. Daley, Alan L. George Orwell, Writer and Critic of Modern Society. Charlottesville: Samhar Press, 1974. Deutscher, Isaac. # 8220 ; 1984-The Mysticsm of Cruelty. # 8221 ; George Orwell, A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Raymond Williams. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc. , 1974. 119- 132. # 8220 ; George Orwell # 8221 ; Detecting Writers. 1993 erectile dysfunction. Gale Research Inc. , 1993. Greenblast, Stephen J. # 8220 ; Orwell as Satirist. # 8221 ; George Orwell, ACollection Of Critical Essays. Ed. Raymond Williams. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc. , 1974. 103-118. Huber, Peter. # 8220 ; Bye -Bye, Big Brother. # 8221 ; National Review 15 August 1994: 48-50. Kolakowski, Leszek. # 8220 ; Totalitarianism and the virtuousness of the Lie. # 8221 ; 1984 Revisited, Totalitarianism In Our Century. Ed. Irving Howe. New York: Harper and Row, 1983. 122-136. Leyden, Peter. # 8220 ; On the Digital Age: Dawn of a Second Renaissance # 8221 ; Star Tribune 25 June 1995: 1t+ . Orwell, George. 1984. New York: The New American Library Inc. , 1983. Reilly, Patrick. Nineteen Eighty-Four, Past, Present, and Future. Boston G.K. Hall and Co. , 1989. Stansky, Peter and William Abrahams. Orwell: The Transformation. London: Gramala Publishing Limited, 1981. Tucker, Robert C. # 8220 ; Does Big Brother Really Exist? # 8221 ; 1984 Re visited, Totalitarianism In Your Century. Ed. Irving Howe, New York: Harper and Row, 1983. 89-103. Verity, John W. # 8220 ; Why Big Brother Isn # 8217 ; t Watching You. # 8221 ; Business Week 9 January, 1995: 15- 16. Weight, Richard. # 8220 ; Return To Albion, Intellectuals in Wartime Britain. # 8221 ; History Today. December 1994: 37-43.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Bless Me, Ultima Critical Analysis essays

Bless Me, Ultima Critical Analysis essays 1. "The waters of the pool were clear and pure, but dark from their depth and shadows of the surrounding brush. The sun was crystaline white in the clear, blue sky, but still there was the darkness of shadows in this sacred spot," (113). Throughout the entire novel of Bless Me, Ultima, Antonio struggles to be received by fellow students in his class. The best season of the year to attempt to associate with friends is the summer period. Instead of appearing, gray and contrasting like it does in winter, the "waters of the pool are clear and pure." "The sun was crystaline white in the clear, blue sky" embodies the mood and ambience of the summer season. The "darkness of the shadows" implies that both autumn and winter are just around the corner. Summer helps me to recognize the wonders and miracles that the earth truly has to offer. Variation will come with the rotation of the seasons, but summer will keep hopes and joy running high for Antonio. He gets to start school being accepted and having some friends. Before the school year begins, Antonio needs to fight to meet new friends, and Antonio needs to soak up as much information from Ultima as humanly possible to help prepare him for school. 2. "The green of the river passed through a bright orange and turned brown. The trickle of water in the river bed was quiet, not singing as in summer. The afternoons were gray and quiet, charged with the air of ripeness and belonging," (147). During the seasonal progression throughout the year, Antonio reminisces about the previous summer, which is his learning season with Ultima. Antonio has become harmonized with the environment, and has learned to cherish the ever-changing nature surrounding him. He notices that the vigor and the intensity of the river is being depleted by the arrival of the winter season."The trickle of water in the river bed was quiet, not singing as in the summer" is the obvious clue that the river i ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Visual culture and society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Visual culture and society - Essay Example This makes it evident that visual perception, as a tool, plays a major role in human’s approach to life. As per my observation, usage of visual perceptions as a tool to build made-up impressions has a negative impact on individuals’ lifestyles because it provides a fabricated sense of reality. There are a number of evidences that I can provide in order to back up my position about this issue in hand. For instance, in my opinion, advertisement of â€Å"Sting†, an energy drink, portrays a person to get energized after drinking it. However, in real terms, the drink contains a high level of sugar and toluene, which is harmful for human body. In the same way, I have noticed that advertisements of certain brands of cigarettes promote male sexuality, but in reality it harms the society and individuals smoking cigarettes. In addition, ramp modeling, cosmetic advertisements and other fashion industry platforms promote the concept of Barbie-like figure. Consequently, teenagers take harmful slimming pills to gain attractive and slim bodies, which in reality are hard to achieve and should not be considered as a benchmark for beauty because every person is different from other. In my opinion, while looking at certain images and other visual coverage, people thoughts and beliefs are subjected to change as the characters portrayed through images influence them. Vision consists of intangible properties which are invisible, disembodied and dematerialized. Though, not all beliefs can be regarded as negative but it has been seen that most of the cognitive development in individuals is hampered by visionary experiences. It is also seen that most of the general lifestyles of individuals are troubled as they are continuously comparing their lifestyles with those images and characters, which are presenting a luxurious life style. Many individuals or viewers are seen exposed to images, which may cause them to carry out behaviors, which may not be acceptable in the society they

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Marine Renewable Energy Market Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Marine Renewable Energy Market Analysis - Essay Example Utilizing nature in the sense, using many natural elements only including various natural energy sources, humans have come up with many inventions and innovations. However, certain of these natural energy sources, have negative side-effects, which kind of destructs the nature or natural environment, from which it is accessed, thereby pushing the need to tap other eco-friendly renewable energy sources. Among them, Marine energy sources are proving to be a feasible and productive option. The United Kingdom not only has 50% of Europe's marine energy potential but the UK also is a prominent leader in the marine renewables market at the present. When these optimum exploitable wave resources as well as tidal stream resources are optimally tapped, it can provide sizable benefits to various sections or stakeholders. One of the key stakeholders is the government. With this sector being a small and upcoming one, it needs maximum support from the government to grow further. Government has been providing good financial support, but the view is, still more grants can be given by the government. This is particularly important in the context of high installation and operating costs involved with these wave and tidal projects. The capitals as well as operating costs are on the higher side, but with the development of technologies, it can reduce in the near future. In addition, this sector has potential for providing employment opportunities, but there are chances that other socio-economic structures in the vicinity of the projects could be affected. Technologies involved in this sector are manifold, and still it is in the development stage, with completely tuned devices and implementations still some years away. Thus, the UK Marine sector has good potential for growth, but still certain challenges exist. Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Scope 4 1.2 Marine Renewable Energy 4 1.3 Marine Energy Development 5 1.4 Market Size and Growth 6 1.5 Key Competitors 7 2. Trend I: Interests of t he political Government 2.1 Government’s Role 9 2.2 Government’s funding 10 2.3 Need for more funding 10 3. Trend II: Economic Costs and socio-economic impacts 3.1 Installation and operating costs 11 3.2 Socio-economic costs 14 4. Trend III: Technology Development 4.1 Technologies Used 15 4.2 Technology with environmental perspective 16 5. Trend IV: Increasing Environmental Awareness 5.1 Negative impacts 16 5.2 Legislative backings 17 6. Conclusion 17 7. Appendices 20 8. References 21 1. Introduction 1.1 Scope This report will do an analysis of the external environment of the UK’s marine energy market using the PESTLE tool. Through the PESTLE analysis, the report will try to discuss not only the opportunities but also the threats that are prevailing in the marine energy market. By doing these analyses, the report will ‘glean’ four trends, which are visible now and importantly could be visible for the next three years in the marine energy market. The se trends as well as recommendations that can be implemented will provide an overview of the market, and could be helpful for the new entrants as well. The information for preparing this report was obtained from various online sources, which includes government reports, reliable websites, online books, etc. 1.2 Marine Renewable Energy Marine renewable energy constitutes into two sectors, Wave energy and Tidal energy. Wave energy is generated with the aid of wave movement. However, as wave movement and the resultant energy is irregular, a variety of infrastructures or prototypes are developed and installed in the sea to tap the energy. Devices are often separated by their location in the sea, particularly the depth of water. Figure.1 Wave energy (Carbon Trust 2006) On the other hand, Tidal

Monday, November 18, 2019

The evaluation of the social value of fossil and alternative fuels Essay

The evaluation of the social value of fossil and alternative fuels (hybrid) and the use of unleaded petrol - Essay Example ans in discovering alternative forms of energy, such as solar energy, hydrogen energy, etc that seem to affect the social value of fossil fuels adversely (Foster & Witcher, pp. 39-51, 2009). However, fossil fuels continue to enjoy their economic importance despite of such adverse effects. In particular, this paper will focus on social value of the fossil fuels, as well as alternative fuels along with some light on the unleaded petrol that has becoming common in various countries around the globe due to its associated benefits. In order to evaluate social value of fuels, it is very important to understand the meaning of this notion. According to experts (OECD, pp. 10-13, 2006), social value is an entity that indicates a product or service’s benefit in line with the well-being of citizens of the society. In addition, social capital is one of the major aspects of social value that relates to the goodwill and trust that an organization or a product acquired during a period of various years. From this understanding, it will now be easier to evaluate social value of the fuels that seem evident from results of the different researches. In specific, fossil fuels are playing an imperative role in the human society; however, at the same time, its social value seems to diminish every day and every year due to a number of factors. According to the social value theory, that is the basic premise of evaluating social value, ‘everything is connected to everything else’ (Kramer & Bazerman, pp. 55-63, 2009), and these connections allow the organisms to identify some patterns that create the social value. From this principle, fossil fuels seem to be focusing on the necessity aspect of the human society; however, at the same time, they have been affecting the citizens with their increased costs and prospective adverse impacts associated with them that indicate lower social value of fossil fuels in the human society. One of the basic ways of evaluating social value of fossil

Friday, November 15, 2019

Consumer Perceptions of Non-Banking Financial Institutions

Consumer Perceptions of Non-Banking Financial Institutions Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFI) v/s Banks in India – Why NBFI are doing much business than Banks? A study of New Delhi based Upper and Middle Class Consumers. Master of Business Administration ABSTRACT In the era of globalization and liberalization the development of financial sector has played and important role in the economy of India. With the services offered by banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFI) the life of consumer in India has completely changed. Borrowing is one of the important aspects that have changed the whole scenario of Indian society. Change in the trend of culture of upper middle class consumers, change in the behaviour of consumer regarding borrowing and change in the norms of banks and NBFI regarding borrowing has made life of Indian consumer very comfortable. This research shows how non-banking financial institutions are fulfilling the demand of upper middle class consumers and how they are doing more business than banks and why consumers rely more on NBFI rather than banks in India. This research uses questionnaires, interviews of consumers and direct sales agent of NBFI to examine the consumer borrowing and role of financial institutions. The research concludes that consumers are relying much more on NBFI and it is not risky difficult to borrow loan because of policies norms regarding loans and availability of flexible financial options. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTON 1.1 PREVIEW This chapter is introduction about the research topic. It highlights the aims and objectives of the research. It also tells about the structure of the dissertation and the summary of this chapter. 1.2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION Each and every country has its own financial system. Financial system usually consists of financial market, financial intermediaries and financial product or service. Finance in simple words means ‘money’ but finance is a source which provides funds to a particular activity. A financial sector/system acts as an agent to make sure that funds flow from the areas of surplus to the deficit area. A financial market is a place which creates financial assets and exchange of money for goods and services. Financial market consists of foreign exchange market, capital market, credit market and money market. (Web 8) Money is a fascinating thing which attracts human to a great extent. Over thousands of years the process of creating money and using money is making human enthusiastic. Financial intermediaries play an important role in building economy of a country. Financial Intermediaries includes banks, financial institutions, non-banking financial institutions (NBFI), investment companies, pension and mutual funds. (Web 9) Financial sector plays an important role in organizing and properly distributing sharing the savings. Financial sector act as a passage or tube which transfers the financial resources from net savers to net borrowers .ie. from the person who spend less as compared to their earning to those who earn less and spend more then their earning. (Web 10) Indian financial system consists of huge network of banks and financial institutions (including non-banking financial institutions) and range of financial instruments. From the last two decades there have been great improvements in Indian Financial system and there is a huge supply of banking and other financial facilities provided to large population of India. (Web 10) A safe and sound financial sector is required to maintain the growth of an economy. With the help of globalization and change in technology the operating environment of banks and other financial institutions has changed significantly. Due to competition and change in customer demand there is increase in product innovation and change in strategy of banks and financial institutions. In order to face the competition and meet challenges Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also changed its regulations and provided a new framework. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is trying to develop a strong, competitive, stable and powerful banking system so that it can help in growth and development of the economy. (Web 11) According to Sarkar (n.d.) a strong, diverse, efficient and flexible financial system plays an important role in the economy of a country. A developed financial system maintains high level of investment and promotes growth in the economy. The financial system in India consists of financial institutions, financial market, financial instruments and services. Indian financial system is divided into two segments- organized sector and traditional sector which is also called as informal credit market. In organized sector financial services are provided to the community by large number of financial institutions which are mainly business organizations. And financial institutions that are providing specialized or provide some extra services are called as banking or non-banking units. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the apex institution and regulates the credit. Financial institutions include public and private commercial banks, cooperative banks, development banks, regional rural banks. Where as finance leasing companies, LIC (Life Insurance Corporation), GIC (General Insurance Companies), provident funds, mutual funds, post office banks .etc. are non-banking financial institutions in India. (Sarkar, n.d., pp. 1) RBI is the central bank of India and was established in April, 1935. RBI acts as Government banker, agent, adviser and also act’s as banker’s bank. RBI is the controller of the credit which means that RBI has power to change the volume of credit created by banks. (Web 12) The profitability of banking sector is improved because of reforms set by banking system which results in high operating and net profit. With the entry of private banks there is a huge competition for public sector banks for loaning of funds. With the entry of non-banking financial institutions (NBFI) and Development financial institutions (DFI) the competition in sourcing the funds is also increased. (Chanda, 2005, pp. 31) NBFI act as an intermediary between lender and borrower and provide better, different services than normal banks. NBFI includes investment companies, finance corporations, chit funds, hire-purchase finance companies, loan companies, leasing companies, mutual benefit funds. All of these NBFI have the ability to provide large amount of financial services to wide range of customers from small borrowers to established companies. (Chanda, 2005, pp. 36) Indian consumers are changing their habits at a fast rate and they are borrowing money to buy the product they wanted. Because of easy financing options they don’t have to think if they can afford a product or not. Consumer finance is a win-win situation for every one and now they don’t have to wait for years to save their money and upgrade their living standards. (Agarwal and Mittal, 2004, pp. 6) The Buy Now Pay Later culture is very much common in India now a days. Consumers are loosing their fear of borrowing. Even if a consumer wants to buy a home, home loan financing is easily available. Falling interest rates, increasing loan duration and reduced monthly installments are making all these things possible for consumers. (Agarwal and Mittal, pp. 6-8) The banking sector is one of the most important sectors in Indian financial sector. Over 80 percent of funds which flow in the financial sector are because of banking sector. (Sarkar, n.d., pp. 1). NBFI are entering in the financial sector because of inflexibility of banks and their less competition amongst them. Kotak Mahindra, Citi Financial, Ashok Leyland Finance, Sundaram Finance .etc. are the big players in this field and are growing rapidly at faster rate and are taking good position in financial sector. In respect to all these things, the purpose of this study is to find why these institutions are doing better business than public and private banks in India. 1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This research is planned to understand and examine the trend of upper class and middle class Indian consumers in taking loans and their reliance on banks and non-banking financial institutions, particularly in today’s competitive environment. This research is done to achieve the following defined objectives: To compare and contrast the role of banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFI) in India economy. To evaluate the role of both banks and NBFI for borrowing in Indian developing economy. To understand and examine the banking and financial sector regulations in India in post liberalization period. To evaluate and analyze the emerging consumer culture in India. To understand and examine the trend of upper and middle class Indian consumers in taking loans. To examine the policies of banks /non-banking financial institutions regarding offering loans to consumers. To identify how NBFI are fulfilling the aspirations of upper and middle class in India. 1.4 STRUCTURE OF DISSERTATION There are 5 chapters in this dissertation. Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter introduces the research topic. It outlines the aims and objectives of dissertation, overview, structure of dissertation and finally summary of the chapter. Chapter 2: Literature Review This chapter talks about the literature review. Discussion of available literature related to the topic is done. The aim of this chapter is brief about various concepts on which this dissertation is based. The literature is available from various books, online journal articles and websites. Chapter 3: Research Methodology This chapter discusses about various research methods and data collection methods. It discuss about research design, quantitative research, qualitative research, advantages disadvantages of various methods, limitations, validity reliability. Chapter 4: Findings, Analysis and Discussions This chapter analyses all the data collected using different data collection methods. All the data is critically analyzed and discussions are made on the basis of literature which is related to the objectives of research. Data presentation is done using various methods like tables, graphs, charts and pie charts .etc. Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations This chapter concludes the research by providing a conclusion on the basis of findings, analysis and discussions. This chapter also discusses the limitations faced during research and recommendations for future research. 1.5 SUMMARY This chapter was an introductory chapter aimed to give reader a brief idea of what this research is all about. It highlights introduction, aims, objectives and finally structure of the dissertation. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 PREVIEW Aim of this chapter is to discuss the literature related to the research topic. This chapter discusses about financial institutions regulations in India, culture of upper middle class consumers in India and worldwide, what makes consumer to borrow and strategies policies of financial institutions regarding credit. 2.2 FINANCIAL INSTITUTION REGULATIONS 2.2.1 Financial Institution Regulations Globally The Changing scenario of banking sector around the world, in the light of globalization has significantly drawn the attention of researchers and practitioners. They have raised important issues regarding corporate governance regulation and banking institutions as corporate governance is related to banking regulations. In this context the research of Alexander (2004) titled Corporate Governance and Banking Regulations requires worth mentioning here. The research of Alexander (2004) addresses the issues of corporate governance and banking institutions. Alexander (2004) begins by analyzing the upcoming international rule of bank corporate governance. Alexander (2004) provides a framework for how bank supervisor and bank management should act together in relation to the management of banking institutions and its impact on financial stability. Further, Alexander (2004) has analyzed corporate governance and banking regulation in UK and USA. Alexander (2004) concludes Financial Services and Market Act 2000 has authorized FSA (Financial Services Authority) to fill in the gaps to enhance corporate governance because traditionally UK corporate governance was not focused on special role of banks and financial institutions. (Alexander, 2004, pp. 1-2) In USA, the federal and state statute regulations regulates the corporate governance for banking institutions. In order to manage the responsibilities of senior management and directors a framework is provided by federal regulation. There is governance problem in banks and financial companies in US. In order to provide financial stability institutions and banks, the bank regulator must establish governance standard in regards to national banking law. (Alexander, 2004, pp. 1-2, 37) In this era of globalization, banking and financial industry is greatly affected by major changes and it results in increased competition, less profit margin, pressure to cut the price, products having short life cycle. (Alexander, 2004, pp. 1-2, 37) However, when it comes to comparison of financial regulations in UK and USA, it is revealed that regulation of financial system in UK is not exact as it is in USA. Evidently in USA the Securities and Exchange Commission has wide ranging regulations, and is stated as too much. Further, it is also stated that formal and strict USA rules procedures do not allow desired flexibility and pace. However, interestingly so far new system in UK provides settlement between the self regulation and statutory regulation to make sure that financial market works in proficient and systematic way. (Web 1) Apart from UK and USA, the regulations of financial market are changing constantly all around the world. For .eg. In Europe the membership of EU changed the main concerns of government while facing the problem of changing or executing the regulation of financial system and it is revealed that issue was the assistance from the jurisdiction. Quinn (1992) says that â€Å"harmonisation of banking rules in the EU, the co-ordination of countries own regulatory standards and centralisation of an EU integrated financial market are needed to enable swift reaction to any future market failure†. (Web 1) 2.2.2 Financial Institution Regulations in India Financial system in India consists of specialized and non specialized financial institutions which further involves organized and unorganized financial market and deals in financial instruments services and it helps in transferring funds. In finance money is exchanged with a promise to pay back in future. Narayanan (2005) says that in product market a buyer can easily find if a product purchased by him is defective but it is difficult to find the defects when a loan is taken. (Narayanan, 2005, pp. 1-2) If we compare Banks and Non-banking Financial Institutions (NBFI) with non financial industries, both banks and NBFI can change or remove the risk factor of their assets more quickly than non financial industries and also banks can easily give loans to clients without taking into consideration the previous debt problems. Financial market easily allocates the resources efficiently and effectively. The financial market face the problem that it is controlled by others because some persons have some information that other does not have. In order to solve this problem there is requirement of corporate governance so that it can be assured that supplier of finance get their return on investment. (Narayanan, 2005, pp. 1-2) India has a strong financial system. After India got freedom it inherited a diverse setup in regards to institution and market. The purpose was to mobilize savings and to increase investment rate. (RBI, 2003, pp. 3) Financial reforms were introduced in 1991 because India faced the crisis of balance of payment in 1991 so several reforms were introduced to come out of the crisis. India faced this problem because it was heavily dependent on the public sector and industrialization strategy and both of them were not able to deliver the growth in competitive environment. Later in 1980’s India tried to expand the role of privatization and reduced the direct tax but it didn’t helped. Later the reforms were introduced in June 1991 to recover from the crisis of balance of payment. (RBI, 2003, pp. 9) After the end of crisis Indian banking system made a considerable progress functionally and geographically. New bank facilities were introduced and the pattern of lending was changed. The feature of reform was ‘gradualism’ because it enhanced micro stability and the same time encouraged micro economic linkages. (RBI, 2003, pp. 5-8) Currently the institutional composition of financial system in India is illustrated as three constituents: banks either domestic or foreign, owned by RBI, government or private and regulated by RBI; Financial refinancing institutions set up under a separate law or under companies act and owned by RBI; Non-banking financial companies/institutions owned privately and regulated by RBI. (Reddy, 2002, pp. 4) On the development of banking and financial sector reforms in India Reddy (2002) comments that reforms have changed the form of organization’s, ownership model, domain of financial institution operations in terms of assets and liabilities. Less availability of low cost fund has resulted in increasing competition for resources for both banks and financial institutions and further with the entry of banks in field of lending and financial institutions are making an attempt to pay out the short term funds has resulted in increased competition. (Reddy, 2002, pp. 4-5) Finally Reddy (2002) says that the aim of financial sector reforms in India to set formal semi formal measures which aim to strength the banking system as well as providing safety and reliability with the means of superior transparency, responsibility, answerability and public trustworthiness. (Reddy, 2002, pp. 6-7) However on the other end Patel (2004) argues that in spite of the establishment of market reforms in India since early nineties the government concerns in the financial sector is not lessened in correspondence to its exit from other feature of economic activity and therefore it is too large to justify the presence on the basis of involving systematic risk. Patel (2004) further puts that during early years of India’s development there might have been some good reasons for ownership of government in intermediaries but now it is causing some damages. (Patel, 2004, pp. 5-6, 28-29) Now India has proper intermediaries and very well commercially oriented. According to Patel (2004) â€Å"A combination of directing resources of intermediaries in fulfilling a quasi-fiscal role for government, extra-commercial accountability structures and regulatory forbearance (arising out of an implicit overarching guarantee umbrella) has mitigated the essential corrective effect of market discipline in both lending and deposit decisions. Coupled with persisting government involvement in intermediation and an implicit support scaffold, this has resulted in an aggravation of the problems of moral hazard that is a normal feature of financial systems.† (Patel, 2004, pp. 29) Commenting on the government role in liberalized economy Echeverri-Gent (2001) says that reducing state economic interference does not lessen the importance of state in economic development. And in addition to its role of maintaining stability in economy the state continue to play small but more important role to design and modify the activities of economy by creating incentives. There are different ways that are used by state in order to create the incentives; it involves authorization of property right, market microstructure which involves matching the investors demand with the price and volume in effective and efficient manner. (Echeverri-Gent, 2001, pp.1) (Giridhar, n.d., pp. 1-3) Echeverri-Gent (2001) also states that incentives created and recreated by state using political process are present in part of economic result. And politics explain efficiency and fair behavior in market are promoted by which state institution. (Echeverri-Gent, 2001, pp. 1) In relation to the above fact Ramesha (2003) finds that currently in India there is a dual control for credit cooperative and banks. The state government looks after and regulated all the issue related to administration where as Central Bank of India (CBI) supervises and regulates the banking operations. As a result there is some conflict in taking legal decisions between state government and central banks of India. Ramesha (2003) argues that it is not possible to separate the financial administrative areas for regulations and even if it is possible it acts as an obstacle in the effective supervision and control. (Ramesha, 2003, pp. 10-11) Further according to Ramesha (2003) central bank has power under Banking Regulation Act to keep money for specific purpose and to handle vital aspects related to the performance of commercial banks. There is need of Registrar of Cooperative Societies to get involved in the function and difficulties of cooperative banks. The central bank is not in a position to supervise credit cooperatives and banks. Therefore dual control affects the function of urban cooperative banking sector, supervision regulation quality. Therefore Ramesha (2003) finds that beneath this rule of duality of control the urban cooperative banks might result in neither cooperative nor commercial bank. (Ramesha, 2003, pp. 10-11) According to Chakrabarti (2006) the fundamental role of legal reforms in maintaining the growth of economy and financial progress is strongly voted and accepted in India. Where as it is difficult to find what basics of legal system have an effect on financial system and how. Reviewing the literature on law finance and evaluating the India’s legal judicial system it seems that excellent protection is provided to the investor’s right. (Chakrabarti, 2006, pp. 12, 15-20) According to Porta et al there is best protection provided to the creditor in India by Indian legal system in contrast to creditor rights. (1998 in Chakrabarti, 2006, pp. 13) But execution of these laws is below to the satisfactory level. Further it is found that law which deals with public enforcement of securities is weak and courts in India are very slow and has loads of ongoing cases. India is still fighting with the problem of red-tapism and bureaucracy which are obstacles for business and foreign investment in India. Chakrabarti (2006) says that Indian small medium sector rely on informal network and institution on the basis of trust and reputation for financing rather than counting on legal system to issue contracts and settle disputes. (Chakrabarti, 2006, pp. 23) Finally, Rajan and Shah (2003) says that there is problem in the regulations of banks, insurance companies and non financial institutions. There are a lot of problems related to the government guarantees, public sector ownership, processing of information risk taking. Therefore according to Rajan and Shah (2003) there is requirement to solve all these problems by obtaining good regulatory system, and obtaining world class regulations. Thus Rajan and Shah (2003) suggests that dealing with these problems will provide information processing system, reducing the fiscal problem, increasing the flow of risk capital in the system. (Rajan and Shah, 2005, pp. 46) 2.3 CULTURE OF UPPER AND MIDDLE CLASS CONSUMERS The word culture has several meanings, in Latin it means â€Å"tilling of the soil† whereas in most western language culture means â€Å"civilization† or â€Å"refinement of mind†. In simple words culture means way of life, art, behavior and beliefs. (Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005, pp. 2-4). According to Mooij (2004) culture is glue which joins groups together, without culture design it will be difficult for people to live together. It’s only the culture which defines a human community, its individuals and social organizations. (Mooij, 2004, pp. 26) Where as according to Kluckhhohn â€Å"Culture consist in patterned way of thinking, feeling and reacting, acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values† (1951, pg 86 in Hofstede, 2001, pp. 9) Each and every individual is a product of its culture and its social group therefore they have to act in certain manner to live in their social cultural environment. Culture cannot be separated from an individual neither culture can be separated from historical events/situations. (Mooij, 2004, pp. 26) Culture is found in local street, in your city, state, and country. Small children, youngsters, adults, older people have their own culture and most of the times share the culture as well. According to Williams culture is a way of life, people, group or humanity. Culture is not something we absorb- it is something that is learned. (1983b:90 in Baldwin et al, 1999, pp. 4-7) Culture includes shared beliefs, attitudes, norms, roles and values. These elements are basically transferred from generation to generation. Culture includes values, rituals, heroes, symbols. Values are basically feeling of a person having plus and minus side. It deals with evil v/s good, dirty v/s clean, ugly v/s beautiful .etc. values are acquired by a person at very early age in their lives. Values are visible until they become evident in behavior. In contrast to values, rituals are related to social acts, ceremony or something related to religion. Rituals are carried out by an individual for their own sake and usually involve paying respect to other ways of greetings. Heroes are persons alive or dead, real or imaginary whose characteristics are highly appreciated in culture and most of the times serves as a model for behaviors. For eg. Mahatma Gandhi in India or Bill Gates in USA. Symbols are words, gestures, pictures or objects that carry a particular meaning and are recognized by only those people who share a particular culture. It involves national flag or any particular dress or hair style .etc. (Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005, pp. 6-8) (Hofstede, 2001, pp. 9-11) The culture of people around the world is demonstrated in wealth celebrity and this is particularly true about people in western countries. According to Schor (1998) â€Å"Instead of emulating folks with a similar income, people are taking their consumption cues from television characters, relatives, friends and co-workers whose income often far exceeds their own†. Commenting on this trend Schor (1998) states that this can get expensive because it seems that their culture worship wealth and celebrity. (Web 14) There are 3 layers of culture. The outer layer consists of explicit culture and it involves language, food, houses, monuments, market, fashion and art. These are the symbol of deeper level of culture. Middle layer consists of norms and values. Norms is basically sense of what is right and what is wrong. Norms can be written laws or social control where as values determine what is good and what is bad. Values help in making choice from existing alternatives. And the third core layer is assumptions about existence which is related to the ways that deal with the environment with the available resources. (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, 2005, pp. 20-24) Hofstede and Hofstede (2005) has divided cultural layer as national level, gender level, generation level, social class level and regional/ethical level. National level is related to ones country or the country where a person belongs and with nation they have their culture, community. Gender difference is basically based on gender .ie. male or female. In some societies the culture of male is different from female. For eg. Women are not suitable for some particular jobs which are meant for men only. Generation level is separating grandparents, parents and children. For eg. Younger generation has no respect for the values of elders. Social class level is associated with individual’s profession and education because education and profession are the powerful sources of cultural learning. Regional level is based on person’s region and religion. (Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005, pp. 11-12) Today consumers are very much concerned with their identity, ego or superego which totally depends on their culture and most of the times related to the luxuries of life. Human needs are totally related to the culture. Needs like Psychological, safety, self actualization and esteem needs are very much important for consumers of each class. Consumers feel more powerful if they have symbols of power or prestige possessions. For e.g. Prestige possession for consumer is luxury car, big house, frequent travel abroad/holidays abroad. Clothes satisfy functional need but fashion satisfies social need. The behavior of consumer is not only determined by their needs but also by their surroundings. Consumers in same culture can do different things for different reasons. Ownership of luxury items shows the status symbol where ownership of cheap watches show low income of person. (Mooij, 2004, pp. 136-140) 2.3.1 Culture of Consumers Globally Schor (1998) also comments that how you save and spend totally depends on the reference that you choose and it rules the culture of upper and middle class, particularly in western culture of world. In order to make his observation solid Schor (1998) presents example of Americans, where he shows his concerns regarding consumerism. Schor (1998) states that Americans are spending and consuming as if there is no tomorrow, and the worst part is that they are not paying cash for it. Consequently, Schor (1998) cites that debt of personal credit card has doubled in last four years. The bankruptcy has reached on to the highest point and people are trading financial security for short term satisfaction. (Web 14) Schor (1998) also points out that the assets of an American family is $10000 and savings have fall down very quickly in last 10 years. In other words the western culture today commanded by influencing consumers, which forces the people to believe in wealth creation celebration and in result it leads to the tendency of high borrowing. (Web 14) Consumer research has given some evidence that within each social class, there are some specific lifestyle factors which involves beliefs, attitudes, activities and behavior. And all these factors help in distinguishing between the members of one class from other class. There are usually three main classes upper class, middle class and lower class. (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2000, pp. 307) A product can also express the value of consumer. For e.g. A house is not only to live but it tells something about the owner as well. Different towards food is also a part of the culture. Some people buy food from small shops where as some buys from expensive supermarket. Product usage and ownership also determines cultural values. (Mooij, 2004, pp. 233-236) In India the position of consumer in society is defined by the clothes they wear, the shoes, the accessories .etc. and all these things determines the class and power of a particular person. People do not wear in public what they wear in private, but in USA even Pr

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Media Stereotyping of Men and Women Essays -- Media Stereotyping of Ge

Throughout society, men and women have been expected to live by guidelines consisting of media generated ideas and ways of living out life. Both men and women’s thinking process are being altered the negative effects of society’s mass media. For both sexes, this repeating negative exposure causes a constant downfall in self-image and creates media influenced decisions that lead to unhealthy lifestyles. The media effects the thinking process of both men and women in negative ways therefore media needs to be heavily regulated.  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   Today’s young men are increasingly being influenced by the harming mass media. Starting at a young age, these young boys are big active users of many types of media such as watching countless number of hours of television, movies, and sports programs, listening to radio programs and CDs, and playing violent video games. These boys are increasingly surfing the Internet at record numbers unsupervised. All of these forms of media are making huge influential decisions in their lives. Young males are least likely to read beneficial sources of media such as newspapers and magazines. We live in a society that often sends many confusing and contradicting messages to males. These young people that are taking in large amounts of media experience a contradiction between their own reality and media’s messages. These young men are bombarded with advertisements and media based ideas that can harm and alter the way young men operate. Our young men of o...

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Internet in India Essay

We live in an age of information. Today information is power. Those who have it are powerful and those who don’t have it are powerless. The rise of internet as a tool for information and information, in the last decades of the twentieth century has changed the power balances on this globe. The twenty first century has begun with the most populous countries on this world, India and China adopting the internet technology very fast. These two countries share almost 40% of the population on this globe, and the pattern in which they have adopted internet is surely leading them to become super powers in future. This essay discusses how internet has developed in India, what are the reasons behind this development and what could be the future implications of the current status of internet in India. The Beginning In the middle of 1980s, India had a young Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who understood the importance of government policies favoring information technology. He managed to hire services of USA based Indian technocrat, Sam Pitroda, for improvement of the communication scene in India. The foundation stone for a revolution was laid then. While working on the telecommunication aspects, the government realized the fact that internet can be powerful democratizing force, offering greater economic, political, and social participation to communities that have traditionally been underserved- and helping developing nations meet their pressing needs. ( internet growth ). Subsequently, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL), the government agency responsible for telecommunications in India, launched the internet in the year 1995. It was perceived by the government of India that internet would be helpful in the following ways : 1. Open dialogue – The low cost networking would facilitate knowledge sharing, awareness of alternate perspectives and allow more open exchanges. 2. Improve governance – To raise the efficiency of the government by making it more transparent and enabling more public participation. 3. Improve social and human rights condition – Expand access to better quality education, health car, disaster relief capacity and other services. 4. Reduce poverty : Open new avenues and opportunities for income generation for the bypassed groups like women, rural people etc. 5. Introduce more economic opportunities – Through Ecommerce, and other applications of the internet, many new earning opportunities can be created. 6. Improve environmental management – through GIS, early warning systems and various other applications, the environment can be better managed. ( Internet growth) The government also rightfully perceived the emerging globalization phenomenon since 1980s. It was right in believing that if the nation had to survive in this scenario, giving information access to the public is a must, and behind internet, the facilities attached with it, like E-governance, E-Commerce and E-learning are also bound to come. For the first four years, VSNL had the monopoly to provide internet services and was the sole service provider. This monopoly was withdrawn in November 1998, and the field opened up for the private service providers. The terms were very liberal. There was no license fee and unlimited players were allowed to take part. Private ISPs were allowed to fix their own tariffs and set their own gateways also. The department of Telecom (DOT) has issued licenses to almost 100 ISPs in category ‘A’, which is for All India operations, and 220 each for category ‘B’ and ‘C’, which is for metros and state level circles, and medium and small cities, respectively. Out of these, about 184 ISPs have started their operations. ( Internet growth ). Government Initiatives The government of India has laid primary focus on development of internet in India. Some of the measures taken by it, to freely promote the use of internet are ; 1. Formulation of National telecom policy in 1999. Its target is to provide internet services to all district headquarters by 2002. 2. Provide license to private ISPs without any license fee up to October 2002. A token fee of Re. 1 ( 2 cents) per annum, to be levied from November 2003. 3. There is no restriction on the number of ISPs in all categories. 4. ISPs are given permission to set up international gateways by having business arrangement with Foreign Satellites Providers, and collaborators. 5. ISPs permitted to provide last mile access using radio and fiber optics. 6. ISPs also permitted to provide service through cable TV infrastructure /operators 7. Initiated an ambitious plan to develop National Internet Backbone (NIB). 8. Adopted the Information Technology act, a law recognizing electronic transactions and thus providing legal frame work for E-commerce in India 9. Internet telephony services opened up to private service providers from 1 April 2002 ( Internet growth ) Fats and figures The internet industry in India, can be described in the following table in a nut-shell: ISP licences issued Appx. 540 ISPs operational Appx. 185 Cities/towns covered Appx. 340 Internet subscribers Appx. 3. 3 million Cyber cafes/ public access kiosks Appx. 12000 In principle approval for setting up international gateways Appx. 45 ISPs Operational gateways by 8-9 ISPs 40 + Total estimated investment by ISPs Rs, 6000 crores Estimated investment in equipments By ISPs Rs. 2500 crores Estimated employment provided ( direct/ indirect ) 1. 1 lac ( Internet growth ) primary source : Internet services providers association of India. The Internet Growth in India During the initial years, when VSNL had a monopoly on this business, the growth rate was very slow, but no sooner private players were allowed, the growth in internet subscribers was substantial, as proved from the following table : Month/year subscriber base ( million ) August 1995 0. 01 March 1996 0. 05 March 1997 0.09 March 1998 0. 14 March 1999 0. 28 March 2000 0. 90 March 2001 3. 00 March 2002 3. 30 ( Internet Growth ) primary source : Internet services providers association of India Research results Some interesting results are also available from a research study conducted by Larry. Press, William Foster, Peter Wolcott and William McHenry, on the subject of comparison between the internet status in China and India. This paper was published in ‘ First Monday ‘, a Peer reviewed journal on the internet. The authors used a six dimensional framework which characterizes the state of internet in a nation. These are : 1. Pervasiveness : This parameter indicates the number of internet users per capita. 2. Geographic dispersion : This measure the concentration of internet within a nation from none or a single city to nationwide availability. 3. Organizational structure : This is a measure based on the state of the ISP industry and market conditions 4. Connectivity Infrastructure : This is based on domestic and international backbone bandwidth, exchange points and last mile access methods 5. Sectoral absorption – This is a measure of degree of internet utilization in education, business, health care and public sectors. These sectors are seen as key to development and were suggested by the United Nations Development Program. ( UNDP) Human development Index. 6. Sophistication of use – This measure ranks the usage from conventional to highly sophisticated and driving innovation. A conventional nation would be using Internet as substitute for other media like telephone and fax. Pervasiveness India needs to improve upon the following aspects to score more on the Interrnet pervasiveness factor. – With GDP per capita of $ 2358 and a dial-up tariff of $15. 75 per month for 30 hours usage, internet is still unaffordable to most of the Indian population. – With a tele density of 3. 6 in the year 2000, India ranks 145th on a global scale. This has to go up. – Electricity, personal computers and networking equipments are also expensive in India. There are estimated 6 million PCs in India. The equipment cost needs to come down. – Literary rate of India is rather poor at 52%. The secondary school enrollment rate is 39% and mean years of schooling for those who are 15 years and above is only 5. 1 % . Internet cannot spread unless the user is literate. – India has a large population which is very well conversed with English, which is the language mostly used in internet also. This works to India’s advantage. Geographic dispersion Reaching remote villages in the countryside is one of the major hindrance. Most of India’s population lives in villages. The huge investment required for Internet to become accessible from remote villages, is not justified. Low earth orbiting IP satellite technology may solve this problem in future, not only for India but many other developing nations also. Here Indian efforts are commendable. The ministry for Information technology has a working group on Information Technology for Masses that issued a report recommending about 56 actions in infrastructure and service, electronic governance, education and raising mass IT awareness in October 2000. Organizational infrastructure Largely due to a very complex political structure it is difficult to formulate and implement policies in India. The complexities are further enhanced by the law and judiciary system, government inefficiencies, and corruption. The organizational infra structure can be further improved upon, if these bottlenecks are removed. Connectivity infrastructure The key determinants to connectivity infrastructure are trade policy and other factors which encourage investment and the availability of skilled work force. India will see increase in trade as it implements its IT plans. India is also an early mover in software exports, which totaled to 8. 26 billion in 2001. The expatriate trained work force in Europe and United States is also playing a role in growth of internet in India. Most of them have formed joint ventures or set up subsidiaries, back home. This surely enhances the use of internet. Sectoral Absorption The schools and colleges of India have started using the internet on a wide scale, but there is considerable scope for improvement. E-governance and increase in trade will see increased use of internet in future, in India. The relative freedom of states in India is the determining factor here. In the health sector internet is hardly used. Sophistication of use Almost 70% of Indian population lives in villages. If Internet can improve rural education, health care, entertainment, news, economy etc. , the flow of people to the crowded cities can be diminished. India has several projects pursuing village connectivity, but there has not been widespread deployment. ( Press Larry, Foster William, Wolcott Peter & McHenry William ) The ISPs in India There are 183 ISPs in India in total. Out of these, those who have the All India license are as follows : ISPs having all-India licence include: BSNL CMC RPG Infotech Essel Shyam Communications Sify Siti Cable Network Gateway Systems (India) World Phone Internet Services VSNL Guj Info Petro Hughes Escorts Communications Astro India Networks Reliance Primus Telecommunications India ERNET India RailTel Corporation Data Infosys GTL Jumpp India L&T Finance HCL Infinet Primenet Global Tata Internet Services Tata Power Broadband Bharti Infotel Pacific Internet India In2Cable (India) Reliance Engineering Associates BG Broad India Swiftmail Communications Estel Communication Bharti Aquanet Trak Online Net India Spectra Net Reach Network India i2i Enterprise. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Comsat Max Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers Corporation HCL Comnet Systems and Services Harthway Cable ( Indiaonestop ) The role of BSNL in development of Internet in India Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, ( BSNL) the apex body which looks after the telecomm sector in India, was formed in 2000 as a public enterprise. It is India’s largest communication service provider and offers services throughout India, except New Delhi and Bombay. On March 31 2007, it had a customer base of 33. 7 million wirelines, 3. 6 million CDMA-WLL and 27. 5 GSM mobile subscribers. The credit of making Internet popular and affordable to the people of India goes to BSNL. It pioneered in offering the broadband services to its customers, at a unbelievably low rates, under its ‘home’ and ‘business plans’. The cheapest home plan is slated at Rs. 250/- for a usage of 1 GB. This is in sharp contrast to the expensive dial-up networking where the charge was time based, and used to be very high. These plans have become so popular in a short span of 2 years or so, that today, BSNL is the biggest ISP with a market share of about 50%. The Indian communications minister, Dayanidhi Maran, has declared the year 2007 as a ‘ year of broadband ’, and BSNL is targeting 5 million broadband connections by the end of the year 2007. BSNL has two major plans to be executed in the near future. One, to provide a speed of 2 Mb/sec on to all its broadband customers without any extra cost, and two, it is planning to upgrade its broadband services to triple play in 2007. Today, BSNL is India’s one of the largest PSU with a share capital of $ 3. 95 billion, and net worth of US $ 14. 32 billion. ( BSNL ) Most favored outsourcing hub – India The development of internet in India, has opened up many new venues. One of them is outsourcing of work to India. This trend started with outsourcing of medical transcription jobs, which later spread to database management, insurance and the financial sector. Today it has become an authentic hub which is most favored by all. India has got a new identity as a most favored nation for outsourcing. This would have never been possible, without the fast, affordable spread of the internet in India. Of course, India also benefits from its proficiency in English and the perfect time synchronization with the USA and UK. The work hours of USA are night hours in India and vice-versa. The work hours of UK synchronizes with 3 p. m. to 11 p. m. in India. Hence, a file can be sent at the end of the day from UK or USA, work on it is carried out when UK and USA sleep, and the processed file is back to them , when they start their work on the next day. Conclusion Internet is a modern day technological tool, which has considerable advantages. Development of Internet is related to increasing the number of people who can gain an access to it. It is a general assumption made by all, that if more and more people get an access to the Internet, the nation will automatically develop. All debates and research on this subject, is based on the number game. The basic question is : even if Internet is available to every one, will the development be automatic? It has to be borne in mind that Internet is a potentially dangerous tool also, capable of ruining lives, especially of youngsters, if not handled judiciously. Exactly this is happening in India. The government has only concentrated on the number game, taking it for granted that it will be used judiciously for betterment. So far, the only good internet has done is to fill the pockets of the players in this game and provide earning opportunities to a negligible percentage of the population. Any visible advantage to the nation, to the society or to the Indian culture is not witnessed at all. Another colossal mistake the government of India has made is, it has given importance to the IT sector, by bye passing other crucial areas like electric power, education, and health services. Including New Delhi, the capital India, compulsory daily power cuts are very regular !!! What to talk of other cities and the interiors? Hardly anything could be achieved, only by increasing the number of Internet users ! References 1. Internet growth, key learnings from India, Retrieved on 12 May 07 from: < http://www. internetpolicy. net/principles/021122india-lessons. pdf > 2. Press Larry, Foster William, Wolcott Peter & McHenry William, The Internet in India and China, First Monday, a Peer -reviewed journal on the internet, retrieved on 12 May 07 from : < http://www. firstmonday. org/issues/issue7_10/press/ > 3. Indiaonestop, retrieved on 12 May 07 from : < http://indiaonestop. com/ISPS. htm> 4. BSNL, wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 8 May 2007, retrieved on 12 May 07 from: < http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/BSNL>.