Essay on the impact of western culture on India

Civilizations do meet and even merge but never has such an impact been witnessed as the impact of the west on India. A Birdseye view of the Indian scenario would depict a miniature or a distorted West in India.

The impact has been so great and so deep that, wherever we go, and, as far as the eye can see, we notice only western modes and we are for a moment set to wonder if we are in India or in some western country.

Impact of cultures is felt elsewhere also and this is bound to be, when two people or two societies or two countries meet but, neither leaves its own system wholesale as in India. This is a unique feature in India only, where the culture of the west has penetrated so deep and far and wide that, the original Indian culture has got lost somewhere.

To find western impact on India we do not have to go far to seek. Each and every home, each and every sphere of life has been completely influenced by the west that it is difficult to recognize what is Indian in India. Our food, and food habits, our dresses, our dances, our songs, our music, our life style are all of the western pattern.

One often wonders whether where we live is India, or a colony of the west? The influence is also changing our education system. In schools, the language most prominent is English and not Hindi. The medium of instruction is also English, so far so good.

However, the sad part of this system is that, the schools that lay more stress on Hindi, or use the Hindi Medium of instruction, are known to be second rate schools. Thus, we have not only adopted the British ways but we also appreciate them only.

The height of it all is seen when see that, a person who can communicate in English is known to be smarter than a person who cannot. This volume of change is not understandable.

It implies that, not only have we taken to western styles, we also admire only them who follow the western styles, in comparison to those who follow the Indian styles.

This much influence is not only unwarranted but also shameful. It has often been seen that countries do adopt methods of other countries but in doing so, they maintain their own identity. The loss of the identity is only found in India.

To a great extent the influence of the British can be well understood as, we have remained slaves to them for two centuries. This much may be excused, but to revolt if anything Indian or anything indigenous is being introduced cannot be forgiven at all.

This only points to the ugly fact that, we have got independence from the British only physically and politically but, mentally and culturally the onslaught on India has been complete. We, even to-day, remain culturally and mentally bonded to the west. Whenever anything Indian is talked about there is an attitude of derision for it, even in the highest echelons of society.

This indicates a full and complete degeneration of Indian culture and its total merger with the culture of the west.

In my view, it is good to learn whatever is good anywhere, but, to learn a thing just because it is of the west only depicts a crumbled and shattered state of the Indian mind. We must learn to sort out and learn what is good elsewhere and maintain what is good in us.

If we do this we can have the best of all – and that is what on intelligent person or community should be doing – alas India has not done it and got lost in the labyrinth of western notions at the cost of all that was ours.