Globalization and Indigenous People:
Challenges for Doing Theology in Asia

A. Wati Longchar¹

Globalization has come to be a characteristic feature of the new millennium and an inescapable reality in today's society. No society can remain isolated from the forces of globalization � whether it is the widespread computer culture, availability of brand-name goods, to name a few. We have almost reached a point as to say, "THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE; we can only go forward!"

Globalization is a contemporary stage of development of capitalism. Its general characteristics are liberalization of movement of goods, services, investment and finance across national borders, and expansion of global information flows and the acceleration of information exchanges.² It is a process of social change in which geographical and cultural barriers are reduced. This breakdown of barriers is the result of advanced transportation and electronic communication. It also involves a process by which economies of different countries are oriented to a global market and are controlled by multinational and global financial institutions. It is not merely an economic process; it is also a cultural process. With the help of media, it creates a monoculture - a culture of the rich and powerful. It is a glaring reality, impinging upon almost every aspect of human existence - economic, political, environmental, cultural, and the like. However, if we look at it from the perspective of poor and indigenous people, it is nothing else but another variety of colonialism and imperialism.

There is a Long History

Globalization has a long history as a political and cultural reality and as a religious and cultural movement. The first stage of globalization started with the early Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek and Roman Empires, which united the world of their time. In Asia, we read about the history of Chinese merchants spreading all over Asia even earlier than 3000 years ago. We also read about the history of Aryan invaders who came to South Asia almost 3500 years ago and conquered indigenous people. Later these merchants became kings and princes, masters and aristocrats. The Muslim rulers also expanded their empire in different parts of Asia. For example, India was ruled by different Muslim rulers between AD 700 to AD 1700, which reduced many indigenous people to personal servants and domestic slaves.

The second stage of globalization can be traced to a later part of the 1400s when European explorers voyaged out of Europe to "discover" new lands. Trade expanded between Europe and the new worlds. This was followed by the process of colonization. Globalization intensified with the advent of Industrial Revolution in Europe as different countries sought raw materials and markets for their products. This can be called the third stage of globalization. While this period ended with World War II, its ideological, theological and cultural consequences continue to influence till today. With the rejection and failure of socialism as an alternative³, the whole world is thrown open to market economy, liberal democracy and the powerful march of western cultural values all over the globe with the help of information technology. Today we live in a new stage of globalization.⁴

Promises for a Few

Globalization promises the end of poverty, human suffering and misery through free trade. However, it has failed to deliver its promise. No doubt, developments linked with globalization have opened up boundless possibilities for human development and enhanced the quality of life for some people in Third World countries. For example, mass production of goods has brought not only better and more varied goods available to those with purchasing power, but it has also brought enormous change in people's value system. They have certainly attained greater comfort, speedier communication and faster travel. In recent years, information technology converted the world into a "global village". Events of far-off lands are easily accessible in our living rooms. This process has prompted the exchange of ideas and customs between peoples of different countries. People's ways of thinking and behaving are now challenged beyond accepted traditional patterns. In addition, live communication of facts enables people to partake instantaneously of the events of history. It also creates and promotes global concern. We now have the possibility of immediate worldwide attention to global issues, particularly to people in emergency situations. However, these benefits are only accessible to those with purchasing power. Some 1.2 billion people who live on less than a dollar a day and 2.8 billion who live on less than 2 dollars a day⁵ cannot think of enjoying the promises of globalization. The fact remains that the wealth and comfort of a few have further led to the deterioration in the quality of life of the many, among which the indigenous people are the most affected.

Maximization � Ideology of Exploitation

Globalization process cannot liberate the poor and indigenous people from hunger and misery. Globalization operates with a basic ideology. The underlying principle is maximum profit, maximum capital accumulation, and maximum exploitation of labour supported by global military hegemony. This ideology of ever-increasing growth and the thirst for maximum profit and absolute domination of the earth's resources goes back to the enlightenment movement with its stress on human reason and independence. The revolution that emphasized scientific temper was aggressive and dualistic and found the answer to all human problems in the domination of nature.⁶ With this mindset, development has been measured in terms of the amount of goods and services produced rather than by what is produced and how it is distributed. All human resources are directed to the market for the purpose of commodity production and profit making. Through this process, some nations have tremendous economic advantages, while others have become more dependent. The main players in this process of globalization are governments of powerful nations (in particular the G7), transnational corporations, the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO.

According to Rogate R. Mshana of the World Council of Churches, free trade is only a myth because 40% of global trade performed by 350 big companies takes place in the northern part of the world. This has occurred because there is a strong tendency of developed, powerful countries to control and manipulate natural resources of poorer countries, global trade, and world market for their own benefits and interests.⁷ The development of third world countries has to be related to the world market. The G7 countries control the overall global economy, monetary system, and international trade. Multinational corporations and other institutions, often with the help of the state, control all development processes. Foreign debt works as an instrument to control the development process in developing countries making it impossible for them to develop on their own terms. The role of developing countries is simply to provide cheap labour and raw materials to attract investors.

The unfettered growth of multinationals and the emphasis on foreign trade are not conducive to a development pattern that is oriented to the basic needs of the people. Market forces determine production needs and patterns, often without consideration of the basic needs of the people. It is very clear that the present economic pattern no longer serves the interest of the poor majority. It rather destroys the lives of many people due to its unjust distribution of wealth, exploitation and deprivation of basic needs.

In the globalized free market, people who count are those with goods to sell and money to spend. The small entrepreneurs and indigenous community who depend on land and forest resources have very little chance of survival in this system. Only the stronger and successful competitors survive. Hence, there is a widening gap between the rich and poor, both between countries and within countries. One cannot deny that this economic system has contributed to a worldwide growth in poverty, inequality and human misery. The top 20% have access to 82.7%, while the bottom 20% struggle to survive on 1.4%.⁸ The weak, poor and vulnerable people, including indigenous people, are pushed to the margins of society. In short, globalization works for the benefit of the rich while the poor and indigenous become commodities or cheap labour. Globalization therefore has created a situation of marginalization, exclusion and social disintegration.

Furthermore, in a globalized economic context, the sole criterion of judging human society is economic. Superiority or inferiority is determined by one's purchasing power, which undermines the cultural and moral aspects of human society. When this ideology is applied to human society, particularly to the indigenous community, the logic is very clear. The more we are developed industrially, the higher up we are on the ladder. Since indigenous people are seen to be industrially backward, they are deemed as inferior; so are their culture, religion and spiritual heritage. Somehow, anything that does not conform to the Western value system is regarded as "devilish", "irrational, "backward" and "primitive". Since indigenous people's spirituality is centred on the soil, they have always been considered as primitive, i.e. at the earliest stage of religious consciousness.

The present market ideology has already brought great damage to the mind of indigenous people. A general notion is that those communities which cannot afford goods and live in rural areas are uncivilized and backward. This creates an inferiority complex among the people and this is behind the reason why many indigenous people migrate to cities and towns in search of employment and better living. It encourages migration not only within a country, but also to other countries where they suffer from insecurity and social exclusion.

With the deterioration of the global economic and political situation, indigenous people face further marginalization and graver threats to their continuity and sustainability. In many parts of the world, indigenous people have become victims of big reservoirs, mega projects, wildlife sanctuaries, mines, industries, etc. An indigenous theologian from the Pacific writes about his experience thus:

The advertisement on our local TV demonstrates this concept very clearly. The ad begins with people living happily in a joyous environment where there is fun, plenty of food in the garden and an abundance of fish in the sea. Then the big ships came with big money, which they gave to the chiefs for the forests. The result is total displacement, impoverishment and ecological destabilisation.⁹

In the name of development, people are forcibly evicted from their ancestral land and the abode of various spirits they worship. They are simply ignored, silenced and despised. For example, in India, 100,000 people will be displaced by the Sardar Savovar Project in Gujarat, 60-70% of whom are indigenous people. Around 130,000 are expected to be displaced by the Narmada Sagar Project in Madhya Pradesh of whom 65-70% are indigenous people. Likewise, in the name of development, indigenous people are further reduced to powerlessness and bondage. It is disheartening to see that indigenous people are made environmental prisoners in their own land.

Rape of Land and Indigenous People

The land, river and forest have been the home and life-sustaining sources of indigenous people for centuries. Today these are misused and raped to meet the growing demand of consumerism. Forest and fishing resources are depleted for quick profits. Mining companies have little regard for the environmental and social costs. The sustaining power of the earth for nurturing life is being destroyed. The whole planet is being threatened.

Today, however, land and other resources have become a major cause of conflict between nations and different communities within a nation. Resources are hoarded by a few and denied to others. Possession of resources is not seen as an opportunity for mutual sharing of unmerited gifts from God, but as a matter of conquest, a tool of oppression, greed and power.¹⁰ This trend is becoming more and more alarming particularly in Asia.

As the Western scientific method of reductionism took the mystery out of nature, people began to believe there is nothing amazing about the cosmos. The physical world is viewed merely as the sum-total of its material components and energies. To understand the world, one has only to know the laws which govern these components. This worldview further contributed to the secularization of the world. By detaching God from nature, natural resources are seen as something to be manipulated and exploited without compunction. Nature has only an instrumental value, determined by the extent to which humans could utilize it. With such a perspective, human domination of nature has been absolutely justified.

Against the capitalist ideology of privatization of capital, free market and competition, the socialist model emerged. But it could not provide proper alternative that upholds the ecological balance. It could not liberate the poor and indigenous people as well as the land and natural resources from exploitation. A basic difference between capitalism and socialism as models of economy lies only in the means of ownership. Karl Marx expected the end of exploitation of humans once private ownership of the means of production was controlled by the producers themselves.¹¹ But Marx was silent about the exploitation of natural resources.¹² Today we realize that by simply changing the means of ownership, human problems are not solved.

Nature provides abundant resources for the sustenance of life-systems on planet earth. However, considering themselves as lone beneficiaries of the goodness of nature, humankind thought it their right and privilege to exploit the resources for their own use. This has led to wasteful and extravagant use of resources. Consequently, the survival of indigenous people is threatened. Driven away from their home base, indigenous people have lost their means of resource generation and are left to fend for themselves in situations where they are untrained to cope with.

De-colonization of Asian Theology

The following song reflects the realities, struggles and longings of indigenous people:

Afflicted with oppression
The misery of the people grows
Today for us death is better than life
Let us get ready with the quiver, arrow and sword
We shall not leave zamindars, moneylenders, shopkeepers
They occupied our land
From (the jaws of) leopard and snakes, we reclaimed our land .
The happy land was seized by the enemies

                                                  - Song of Birsa Munda

The song expresses the indigenous people's struggle for identity, justice and participation. It links their own situation with the exploitation of the earth's resources. Land and natural resources, which have sustained life for centuries, are now forcibly taken away in the name of development. The liberation of nature from bondage and the liberation of humankind from their oppression are, therefore, two sides of the same coin. Indigenous theologizing cannot be done without one or the other; both have to be held together.

(a) Affirming Wholeness

There is close connection between ecological injustice and social injustice, making it rather impossible to attain social justice apart from ecological justice.¹³ A theology that addresses humanity alone and leaves the rest of the cosmos unaddressed is an incomplete theology. Identity, culture and religion of indigenous people are related to 'space' and thus, the survival crisis of the indigenous people is an integral part of the ecological crisis in Asia and elsewhere. It is in this context of relationship between humanity and space that we need to search for new meaning of life. Experiences of injustice and oppression of indigenous people are not only through poverty, unemployment, disease, etc., but also through alienation from mother earth in which their being and identity are rooted. Indigenous people seek justice not only in the midst of suppression and oppression in the economic and political realm, but also in their quest for their right to land and their soil-centred spirituality. This dimension needs to be considered seriously if we are to construct an Asian liberation theology.

(b) Not Free Trade but Just Trade

What principles of the Bible should bear on our choice of an alternative economic structure? Can the holding of wealth and living in plenty be morally justified? Is it right that a tiny percentage should enjoy wealth and comfort, while a vast majority of people live in misery and poverty?

The Bible plays into the hands of those with vested interests to satisfy their unbridled thirst for power and pleasure at the expense of the right of other humans and the earth. A very powerful biblical teaching is that any economic system that relegates or marginalizes human life falls short of divine standards. Each person is created in God's image and is therefore worthy and valuable to the Creator. Therefore, "any individual, class, caste, nature, gender and community, should not be regarded as an object whose value is determined by the fundamental of the market and who may be bought and sold or dispensed with a whim or will of those who possess economic power, he or she is not to be treated as a means but as an end."¹⁴ The central preaching of Jesus is the reign of God, a symbol with universal or global repercussions. It embraces all as brothers and sisters in God's one family. It demands special concern for the marginalized people. It demands a more equitable distribution of the world's resources, not accumulation by a few. Globalization is definitely not the way in God's reign because it uses human beings as cheap labour and does not respect all persons. This is contrary to the values in the reign of God.

The biblical principle of the use of land and its resources is based on the biblical affirmation that "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof" (Ps. 24:1). According to the biblical principle of divine ownership, human beings are stewards and co-workers and not absolute owners. Human responsibility is to use and manage the earth's fullness judiciously and wisely for both the present and future generations. Nature is not to be exploited. It is not an object but is sacred and holy. It is an integral part of the people, hence it is to be treated with respect and honour.

(c) Affirming Life's Web of Relationships

Doing theology involves protection of life. It means management of the household of life, stewardship of life, sharing and cultivating life, just distribution and production, and enjoying the feast and celebration of life.¹⁵ An essential character of life is interrelationship of all beings. It means a relationship that relates all not as rulers/masters and ruled/slaves, but as co-workers and co-servants. Interrelatedness should not be understood as uniformity that suppresses differences, but as harmony in plurality. Diversity is God's structure of creation. God works in diversity. Diversity expresses God's richness.¹⁶ No culture or community is excluded. All are unique in their own ways and, therefore, no one has right to dominate and suppress others. Life is protected and it can grow to its fullness only by the affirmation of the beauty of diversity. To live a life of interconnectedness is the cosmic design of God. The creation stories of the Bible clearly present the inherent unity of everybody in the universe because everybody is the handiwork of God and everybody, including human beings, emerges from the land. Every being comes from God and is rooted in the land. This affirmation of harmony of all life with the land thus becomes the basis of liberation. By doing justice to the land, by sharing the gift of land among people, life is preserved, cherished, and God's purpose for it can be realized. An authentic life depends on how we relate to God and the land, how we share its resources, and how we fulfill our obligations of caring, commitment and responsibility. Indigenous people's theology needs to work towards achieving this vision of life.

(d) Community-Centred Theology

Indigenous people uphold a very strong communitarian concept of life. Some of the common sayings of indigenous people speak of such a concept of life:

"I am because you are, you are because I am."
"The individual does not exist alone except being in relation to the other."
"A person because of other people�"
"Community welfare first, then comes individual's�"
"No individual existence apart from the community�"

Community signifies a sense of belonging, interconnectedness, and interrelationship. It is a dynamic relationship that binds people together. As community life is the basis of human dignity, fullness of life can be expressed only in community. Living in community is based on the doctrine of trinity, creation and of the church as faith community. The doctrine of trinity indicates that living in community is the fundamental nature of all living beings, including Godself. The doctrine of creation affirms that humans are created to live in community, not in isolation. The church as faith community is the primary context where theology takes place. This essence of community life, however, is being threatened by the global market and the glorification of its economic values-mammonism, consumerism, materialism, hedonism and culture of greed and money power. To challenge the new monster of globalization, we need to rediscover indigenous people's concept of community.

Conclusion

In a world shaped by globalization, rationalization, mechanization, objectification and fragmentation, the vision of interrelatedness of all realities and the indigenous concept of community may help us do theology in a new way � that is, from the perspective of 'interdependence'. Remodeling theology from the perspective of this interrelatedness will renew our understanding of Christian theology and safeguard the world and the poor people from destruction and exploitation:

- God is organically related to the whole creation;
- Christ the incarnate one is organically related to the total eco-system;
- Holy Spirit works and sustains all life;
- Humanity attains redemption only in relation to the rest of creation and in community;
- Nature and human history are one whole; and
- Humanity is an integral part of the macro-organism called Life.