India and her states

[elodie21]

India is a vast country and within the vastness of its boundaries, there co-exist a huge number of different cultural and religious groups. But I always thought that nationalism would conquer any differences, but I was wrong

Comments

[mcgillianaire]

I think any comparison of India with individual European states is unfair. A better one would be between India and the EU. Whereas India began as a political union, the EU began as an economic union. But both are now united in economics and politics. And both are struggling in their own ways to fortify a single identity. They have gone about this project with a democratic system, the first of its kind in human history. They have approached it from opposite ends but I would say that for all its faults, India has done a better job of at least establishing some sort of Indian identity, even if in practice it appears to be sidelined in large part and even abused.

However, the fact of the matter is that while Europe had the advantage of starting up the EU project having gone through the post-Reformation period of history with the Enlightenment, Agricultural & Industrial Revolutions, post-Independent India had to virtually start from scratch. And unlike the development of the human mind (ie socio-cultural development), physical technologies can be adopted at a much quicker rate.

This explains why the majority of Indians are still very parochial. It's where most Western Europeans were until the development of the nation-states in the late 18th and throughout the 19th centuries. And we've got the additional 'burden' (though a good thing in my view) of achieving it within a messy, though nevertheless, democratic system. It will take a few more decades for Indians to remove their levels of parochialism, and look upon each removed layer with less suspicion and use it less as a cloak for convenience. These several levels begin with one's immediate family, the next level is one's extended family and relatives, then one's endogamous sub-caste community, then one's caste, then one's religious community, then the linguistic community, then one's regional community, and only then does one associate with being Indian.

When abroad, it is more 'convenient' to consider ourselves Indians when amongst non-Indians. But once with Indians we tend to segregate ourselves into one of the various levels described above. Like I said, it will take decades to break these socio-cultural barriers down. It took several centuries for it to happen in Western Europe. They did it in an era of lesser technologies. We have the benefit of modern technologies and forms of communication, and whatever is to be discovered and invented in the future. This will help us speed up the process for ourselves, but with a burgeoning population, it will not make it any easier.

I'm sorry if none of this makes any sense! I've just taken a break between studying so my mind isn't quite thinking straight!

[elodie21]

Nah it makes sense! But what I had meant was not so much a comparison as stating that when people from other cultures settle abroad, they are able to maintain their cultures to a certain extent. Then we do live together peacefully, for the most time.

Yes India has a long way to go, I just hope things remain manageable and that India is not broken up. Cynical friends of mine say India will always be a democracy because it allows each petty plitician to fill his or her pockets, something which a one party rule or any form of dictatorship would not allow. So India will be a democracy, ironically.

[mcgillianaire]

Ah, gotcha!

> because it allows each petty plitician to fill his or her pockets
Exactly! It's a messy democracy, made up of corrupt goondas, but a democracy nevertheless. We are paying the price of 40 years of economic mismanagement by the pre-liberal-friendly Congress but at least since the opening up of the economy (which in itself was forced upon us rather that one of choice) we are giving ourselves the opportunity of seeing change for the better take place at a faster rate than any time in our history.

[elodie21]

:) Yes opening up of the economy was quite literally forced and what a noise it made! I think it was George Fernandes who wrote a letter to PepsiCo or Coke, forgetting which, asking them to close their plants in India. I think it was Coke because Cola was reintroduced to the Indian market much later. PepsiCo was cleverer, buying up Parle and involving locals in their attempts to enter the Indian market.

Yes mismanagement is taking its toll but it seems good things too are happening. Undoing the damage will take patience and time, just as you said.

[mcgillianaire]

Also, I don't think India will break up. Even the worst of the separatist troubles in the North East can be sorted out by heavy infrastructural development and negotiating with ULFA and their ilk.

[elodie21]

Oh yes I totally agree things can be very easily sorted out if someone with will power brings about changes. But in India everything gets politicized, generally. Industrialization means farm land being taken=strikes, violence, protests. Its a tricky situation but I firmly believe it can be sorted out, if somebody actually wants to do something about it...