India
We’ve seen news and stories about the big developing country of India. With a population over 1.3 billion, it’s no surprise that this country built with vast rich culture intrigues outsiders with their history.
This blog will delve into the different aspects of this country focusing on the history, language, and values. I will be sharing stories through the eyes of two individuals who were born and raised in India. They share their upbringing, education differences, and experience with religion.
History
Like many countries, colonization was a part of India’s history. The countries existence became known to the Western World after the invasion of Alexander in 327–326 B.C. He successfully conquered Northern India, but didn’t leave much of an impact. India was able to quickly heal and rebuild renaming many of the cities he conquered. Soon after, India’s first empire emerged, the Mauryan Empire from 321–185 B.C. A ruler of the time named Ashoka gained fame because of his support of Buddhism. It has been said that he had Buddhism represented through carvings on rocks and caves. From 1858–1947, the British Raj heavily effected India and their economy. The British thrived as India was a good market for goods, and services. The British invested in railways, canals and irrigation works, shipping and mining. To this day even after India regained their independence in 1947, there is still much controversy regarding whether the British helped develop or repress India.
Getting Around: Values, Communication Tips, and Language
The biggest commonality I’ve found amongst all cultures is the importance and value of education and family. Indian culture is no different as many students aspire to pursue a bachelors degree in their home country. If students have the means for it, they’ll continue to pursue a masters in the states or the UK.
As for family values, India is a very tight-knit community. There is an emphasis on community and the feeling of one-ness. A lot of relationships are informal. In a neighborhood, you could just show up and walk into someone’s house. It’s also very common for kids to to live with their family even as adults. India is a very male dominated society and sons are responsible for taking care of parent’s as they get older. In addition, marriage is also very important as it is not an option to not get married. Typically it’s followed with finding a job, and having kids.
When traveling in India, its important to try and remember these five things:
- Clothing: Be very conscious about what you wear even when it’s a hot day. Be mindful and respectful of what regions you are in as certain types of clothing is more acceptable in city vs. a rural town.
- Non-Verbal Communication: Use eye contact, and use whole hands vs. fingers to point something out. It’s polite to remove your shoes before entering someones home and places of worship.
- Check your Bias and Stereotypes: Time and time again we hear the common misconception that “India smells funny”, “All Indian food is spicy” or “There are snake charmers everywhere”. Make sure to check those bias and if you are curious take time to learn! Have authentic dialog with those from India because most people will be happy and receptive to help you.
- Don’t Exoticize: This falls hand in hand with checking you bias and stereotypes. It’s easy to fall into what western media plays out. But there is more to India than colors, food, and riding elephants. Learn to appreciate the culture and not appropriate.
- “India is a poor country”: India has one of the fastest growing economies. The problem is that this wealth is extremely unequally distribute and because of this India is often misconstrued. Mumbai has long been home to some of the richest people on the subcontinent. The 1% owns about 58% of India’s wealth, where as America’s 1% owns 37%.
As for languages, it’s very common to meet someone from India and find out that they speak two-three different languages. The most common languages spoken are English, and Hindi. “There are 22 major languages in India, written in 13 different scripts, with over 720 dialects.” Depending on which part of India you are in you’ll find that in the Northern part, you can communicate mainly in Hindi and English. In Southern India, there are five distinct languages spoken Tamal, Telegu, Karnatak, Malayalam, and English.
“Don’t be hesitant because you want to be politically correct but rather take the responsibility to learn the truth about people’s cultures, and create a safe space for communities. People will appreciate you for wanting to know about their culture.”
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Hi! My name is Kathleen Wong. I am a student at City College of San Francisco. This blog is for an assignment in the class Intercultural Communication taught by Dr. Jennifer Kienzle. If you have any questions or comments about this project, please contact Dr. Kienzle: jkienzle@ccsf.edu
