Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Make way for the world citizens

Come November, it's raining Nobels and Booker. Be it Yunus of Grameen Banks or Phelps of Phillips curves or Kiran and her Inheritance of words, it sure makes us proud. In the age of globalization, we are proud to be world citizens. We no more restrict our pride in these amazing achievements by geo-political barricades.

If we leave politics and economics aside, globalization may be cultural in origin — arising from watching a fireign film or sending students abroad. Democratic globalization is a concept of an institutional system of global democracy that will give world citizens a say in the world organizations. This would, in view of its proponents, bypass nation-states, corporate entities, ideological NGOs, cults and mafias.

The Sergio Vieira de MelloCitizen of the World award is given out by the UN Correspondents Association was initiated in 2003 in honor of the Braziliandiplomat and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who was killed in 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Iraq. Recipients include actor Angelina Jolie, who is also the UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.

India is likely to bid farewell to poverty and become the third most-powerful nation by 2030, says a senior World Bank official. So India will become a superpower in two decades. But, we Indians are ready to become dual citizens — of India and the world. The recipients too, are world citizens as they thrive to improve the world for us.

To the world citizens, though the world is just not enough, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.

No comments: