Getting Global: The Culture and History of India
Culture and Context
When I researched India it was very easy to see that there is a lot of deep-rooted history and culture that relates to their most pressing issues today. A big part of their culture that is constantly put into question today is their religion and even though the caste system is illegal today, it still affects their society as well. Those two components play a large role in India’s society. It effects their government, their foreign relations, and everyone that lives in the country.
Just to give a little background on their religious beliefs and the caste system in general, there are four main religious groups Indians follow: Hinduism, Muslim, Christian, and Sikh. (CIA, “The World Factbook: India”) Almost 80% of the population in India believes in Hinduism. Hindu is a way of life; the religion does not worship any one God, any one philosophic concept, or any one specific act of religious rites. It doesn’t share a lot of common characteristics other religions have.
The caste system in part relates to Hinduism as well. The caste system has origins from India and developed through out time specifically during the Mughal Empire and the British Raj. (Bayly, Susan (2001), pg. 25–27 Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age) There are two different concepts of the caste system and they’re Varna and Jati. The Varna system is discussed in Hindu texts and Varna can be translated as ‘class’. There are four classes that are based off of wealth, occupation, social status, etc. You’re in the upper class, lower class, or somewhere in the middle. Jati can be translated as ‘birth’ and they’re derived from occupations. They’re considered to be hereditary. Regardless, the general concept relates to jobs, education, and power in India.
Learning how the caste system came to be and how it was shaped I did find out that the British Raj had to do with Britain ruling India for a period of time and impacted the caste system tremendously. The Mughal era started to differentiate these caste groups specifically the high class ones. The British Raj made the organization of the caste a central mechanism during the British ruling. (Morefield, Jeanne, “Empires Without Imperialism: Anglo-American Decline and the Politics of Deflection”)
One of the biggest issues going on in India has to do with politics and how caste and religion play a part in it. Although the caste system has been considered illegal since 1950, caste identities still remain strong in the country. Dalits also known as “untouchables” are still trapped in this social system. They are considered to be at the bottom of the caste system and barely thought of as human. These people get the worst jobs and bad chances at education and today are still trying to break free of this system. It’s 2017 and they are protesting for a better life, an equal chance for opportunities, to put it simply basic human rights.
According to an article from Al Jazeera, the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling of banning political candidates from seeking election based on caste, religion, or language. (Dwarakanath, C. S. “Can caste be banned from Indian politics?”) This is a big deal because there are several state legislative elections going on this year as well as a presidential election coming up in July. It seems to be positive for most people as India is trying to implement more principles of democracy but the article is questioning how such a core part of India’s culture can really be stripped from politics. It goes further into discussing how one of the biggest political parties, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promotes itself as the party for the Hindus. Not only that but the core of the party belongs to the highest caste. While there are other issues going on in India, I think that something so integral to their society is always going to be the biggest issue they face. Especially with elections going on/coming up I think it’ll be interesting to see more of what people think during these elections and how religion and caste play a part in them.
I think there is a lot more regional news in India since Donald Trump was elected as president of the United States. With the US and India being two of the largest democracies in the world, they are starting to form a very friendly relationship. This past January, Trump had a conversation with India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi about their relationship. They discussed the economy, defense, and fighting against terrorism. Some think a good relationship with the United States will be positive and be helpful to India but many are skeptical with Trump in presidency. Indian leaders worry about Trump and how unpredictable he is, they also don’t really know what his foreign policy looks like besides a vague outline of it. So a lot of it is up in the air right now but I think this news will become more prevalent in time as these two countries continue to have a conversation together. (Gowen, Annie. “Trump may find kindred spirit in India’s Modi, another tough-talking nationalist”)
In further discussing the relationship of the US and India, the United States just made changes in export control laws to help benefit India. Now that the United States is finding India to be a ‘Major Defense Partner’ they are making it smoother to transfer technology and arms to the country. This means that it will be rare that India will be denied licenses of arms. It seems to be a positive policy for Indian companies in the defense sector especially the companies that will partner up with the United States. It’s just making the relationship between the US and India that much stronger. (The Times of India, “US makes changes in export control laws to benefit India”)
Outside of news with the United States and India, what I’ve come to find in my research is a somewhat bitter relationship with Pakistan. I specifically found something about a territorial dispute of Kashmir between the two countries. Apparently there have been a few wars between the two countries over a long period of time because of this territory.
They have been somewhat peaceful and made a ceasefire in 2003 but that doesn’t mean that their relationship is very friendly. ((CIA, “The World Factbook: India”) Although this isn’t a pressing issue right now, these two countries are not fans of one another and I think it’s important to be aware of their issues for future reference. I’m not entirely sure about Pakistan’s relationship with the United States but if the US is able to export technology and arms to India much smoother then who knows what it can lead to India and how it influences their power among the region.
Press Conditions
What I found about India’s press conditions is that they have partly free press freedom but it looks like it’s continuing to get stricter and stricter as each year passes. Based on the Freedom House website, in all their rankings from legal, political, and economic environments they are generally ranked better than most countries in freedom of press. In their Freedom of the World Status, they are considered free which shocks me that other places are worse because from what I read, this doesn’t sound too free to me.
India was the freest in 2015 compared to all the other South Asian countries. But, it seems like since prime minister, Narendra Modi has been in power it’s getting harder and harder to access government officials and there’s starting to be more heavy-handed government censorship. Not only is the actual access an issue but also writers and journalists are receiving threats because of their work. Looking at stories on the ifex website I found so many articles describing journalists were threatened, beaten, sentenced to jail, and/or killed. The first story dating back to June 22, 2015 is called “Another Journalist is burnt to Death in India” and it’s about how an Indian journalist reported extensively on illegal mining in the Balaghat district and filed a case against an illegal mining gang. Police believed because he didn’t drop the case in court that was why he was killed and possibly murdered. The most recent article on the website is from January 5, 2017 and is titled “Third Journalist Killed in India’s Bihar State in Eight Months” and it discusses the deaths of the three journalists and how “these crimes continue to be met with impunity.”[1]
To go more in depth about the laws and how India goes about press freedoms I found that their constitution does guarantee the freedoms of speech and expression but it seems like they only tailor it to the way the government wants it. There are a number of laws that are used to restrict the media, not only that but also state and national authorities as well as the courts try and punish journalists with other security laws if what they’re reporting is too sensitive. “The 1923 Official Secrets Act empowers authorities to censor security-related articles and prosecute members of the press.”[2] There are examples on the Freedom House website that talk about how journalists were covering a certain development in a region and were arrested for ridiculous crimes and the journalists lawyer believed that the authorities charged the journalist with that to prevent him from covering security operations in the area. It’s just amazing at what lengths the authorities take to prevent the media from covering specific, sensitive topics. Also, reading and finding more stories about the press and how restricted they are, it makes me think they’re not partly free, it just seems like they’re not free at all.
Of course there are small advancements being made like in 2015 the Supreme Court made a positive development for online speech. “Section 66A of the 2000 IT Act, amended in 2008, criminalized the dissemination online of information intended to cause “annoyance or inconvenience,” among other loosely worded criteria. That section was struck down by the Indian Supreme Court following public interest litigation.”[3] There have been other things that have been intended to change but from the looks of it seems like there are laws being made but either the government doesn’t enforce it, or uses it for their own benefit. The government plays a significant role in India’s censored media coverage. Just thinking about the research I did for the previous deliverable and looking at the Indian news in general, it’s very rare to find negative stories on the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. There are negative stories out there of him but they’re not front and center.
Overall, what I’ve come to find is that India’s press freedoms are certainly restricted and I’m getting the sense that journalists and media self censor so they don’t have to fear the potential negative outcomes that have happened to others within recent years. Even though they have a constitution that gives them freedom of speech and expression the government plays a large role in what can be expressed and said before it is too much and deserves punishment.
India Correspondent’s Handbook
By: Melanie Escobar
1. Q: What type of government does India have? Who runs this government?
A: India made a parliamentary democratic republic, which is called the Republic of India. It is used in all 29 states and 7 union territories. In this type of system it is still considered a democracy but, in a parliamentary system, the head of state is different than the person running the government. In this case the Chief of State is President Pranab Mukherjee and the Head of Government is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Elections in Parliament are held once every 5 years.
The country has seven national parties: the Bharatiya Janta Party, Indian National Congress, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Nationalist Congress Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, and All India Trinamool Congress. The Bharatiya Janta Party and the Indian National Congress are the two major political parties in India.
The BJP is translated as the Indian People’s Party. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is part of this political party. He won the title of Prime Minister in a landslide victory in the 2014 general election. It is a right wing party that ties ideologies of Hindu nationalism to it. The BJP in general is socially conservative and focuses on globalization and economic growth over social welfare. Majority of the country is Hindu. 79.8% of people in India are Hindu, followed by Muslim with 14.2%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.7%, and unspecified 2% according to The World Factbook.
There have been concerns with this political party because it is conservative and specifically tied to Hindu nationalist views. The concerns have been related to Muslims in India and how the BJP in power might affect them. Back in 2002, when Modi was chief minister of Gujarat he was blamed for not stopping the Hindu mobs that killed more than 1,000 Muslims. Recently, Modi appointed Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu nationalist known as a Hindutva as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the largest state in India. Adityanath has also been tied to violence, protests, and has said a lot of negative, bizarre comments towards Muslims.
Overall, the BJP is really in control after winning the assembly elections this year. It’s just important to be aware of how strong this political party is and the amount of people in this country that are Hindu.
2. Q: How much influence does the government have over journalists/news organizations in India?
A: In India, the constitution notes freedom of speech. Even though it seems like journalists should be free to cover what they want, it’s more complicated than that. The government doesn’t necessarily have control over journalists and news organizations but they can try and do as much on their end to prevent stories from being shared or topics being covered. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is not helpful to journalists as well. He makes it hard for journalists to gain access to government officials and he generally chooses when to avoid and talk to the press himself.
India’s press is most free in South Asia, but it’s still considered partly free overall. There are still a number of laws that can be used to restrict press freedom in India. The 1923 Official Secrets Act “empowers authorities to sensor security-related articles and prosecute members of the press.” (Freedom House) It’s generally the journalists that report on any corruption that find themselves in trouble whether it’s from the government or the authorities. The courts have punished journalists by using not only security laws but also criminal defamation legislation; bans on hate speech, etc.
In terms of news organizations overall, most print outlets are privately owned which is positive for the press in India. These organizations generally provide diverse coverage and examine the government. Broadcast media is mostly privately owned as well. Unfortunately, “local politicians own about 60% of the country’s cable distribution systems.” (Freedom House) This makes the politicians have the ability to block certain channels that don’t support their interests.
Another blow to India’s press is that the Internet isn’t necessarily a huge thing there because majority of India is very poor. 26% of India’s population had access to the Internet in 2015. (Freedom House) To add to that, the government does have a lot of power online. They set up a system that provides authorities with access to all communications data. It allows the government to listen to phone calls, read texts, emails, etc. This can have a major impact on journalists that are focusing on corruption/sensitive topics the government doesn’t want them covering.
Overall, while it seems like the government has heavy power over journalists and news organizations it depends on where you’re working and who you’re working for according to Aditya Iyer, a correspondent for the Hindustan Times that I interviewed. It sounds harsher than it actually is, but there is still plenty of improvement that needs to be made for journalists to have much more freedom.
3. Q: What are the relationships between India and its bordering countries (Pakistan, China, Nepal, etc.)?
A: India doesn’t seem to have the friendliest relationships with its surrounding countries. There has been a long history of violence and war with Pakistan over the historical territory called Kashmir. The reason they fight over this territory is because Pakistan believes more than 70% of Kashmir people are Muslim, and India thinks that since the Maharaja (king) of Kashmir was Hindu that the territory belonged to them. Both countries that try to be civil are still controlling this territory today. In February of 2017, 4 Indian soldiers were killed in raids in Kashmir.
India and Pakistan have been trying to improve their relations; in 2014 both countries signed an agreement of Non-Discriminatory Market Access on Reciprocal Basis, which will liberalize trade between them. Prime Minister Modi also made a brief visit to Pakistan in 2015, which made him the first Prime Minister to visit the country since 2004.
On the other hand, China also seems to have similar frigid relations with India as well. In 1962 the two countries fought a small war over their border as well. Since then they’ve tried to make their relationship closer but continue to struggle with that as well. China is working on the “Maritime Silk Road” initiative, which means they’re trying to increase investment and increase collaborations across the historic Silk Road. China wants to move into New Delhi but they’re skeptical of whether to join. They’re afraid that if they join China’s presence in the region will increase and create more skeptics among the other nations. What also doesn’t help is that relations between Pakistan and China are close. Beijing announced it’s investing $46 billion dollars in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is an extension to the proposed Maritime Silk Road.
There seems to be a pattern between these countries and India that need to be noted if working in this country. While it seems these relationships are trying to be mended, tensions still seem high all around.
4. Q: What is India’s relationship with Western countries (specifically the U.S.)?
A: India and the United States over the past years have tried to make closer ties with one another. It wasn’t always friendly. When Bill Clinton was president, Indian Prime Minister Atal Vajpayee authorized nuclear weapons testing at Pokhran. Clinton imposed economic sanctions on India, cutting off military and economic aid to the country as well as American Aerospace technology and uranium exports too. It didn’t do too much to India because they were on a strong economic rise shortly the sanctions were lifted and the Clinton administration and Prime Minister Vajpayee exchanged representatives to help improve their relations once again. Relations got stronger when 9/11 struck because President George W. Bush worked with India in controlling and policing the Indian Ocean.
Today there are much closer ties with India and the U.S. especially due to India’s communication technology. Between 2014–2016 there have been several visits from Prime Minister Modi to the U.S. as well as Obama visiting India. With Donald Trump as president it seems like the two countries bonds are getting stronger. Donald Trump told Narendra Modi he considers India ‘a true friend’ when he first got elected and Modi agreed that they’re working further to strengthen their bilateral ties. We will see how the world’s oldest democracy works with the world’s largest democracy in the future.
5. Q: What is India’s economy like and how does it affect the people in India?
A: India’s economy is tracked by 3 sectors. These sectors are agriculture, industry, and services. Agriculture is a main source of jobs for people in India. It’s employed 49% of the total workforce in 2014 according to the CIA World Factbook. India is known to be either the largest or second largest producer of many crops, some include rice, wheat, sugarcane, and also milk.
Services, which include Information Technology, employ the second largest amount to the workforce. A lot of these jobs are outsourced from other countries to India. Since this is one of India’s strong suits and technology is developing it is continuing to grow even more.
In 2016, Prime Minister Modi made a decision to ban all 500 and 1000 rupee notes, which were the countries two most used notes. Economists expected this to dramatically affect the countries economic growth but it only decreased by 0.4%. Of course this affects majority of the working class, the lower and middle class because they heavily rely on cash vs. card. The purpose of this ban was to help get rid of corruption and tax evasion but since it’s still so early, the government’s still unsure whether it’s a success or not yet.
Why it’s important to be a global citizen
There are many reasons why it’s important to be a global citizen. In a time where countries are very tense with one another, where the global climate is changing, where serious threats and issues are happening the most important reason it’s important to be a global citizen is to stay informed.
As much as we like our comfort bubble of having our main news sources, our particular figures we follow on social media, etc. It’s important to branch out. We’re now living in a world with fake news: where stories can be false and inaccurate, or stories are claimed to be fake but are actually true. It’s our job to be curious and cautious of what we’re reading. It’s our job to dig deeper than the surface level.
Being a global citizen is important because it gives you the opportunity to understand so many different perspectives, so many different walks of life. You may have your core beliefs, morals, values, political views, religious views etc. but it’s healthy to question something new, to understand something you may not have realized was possible. Sometimes it humbles you, sometimes it frustrates you, sometimes it makes you sad, other times it may inspire you and make you passionate.
Being a global citizen is no walk in the park, it’s a challenge to stay informed, understand something completely different from your way of thinking, and continue to research to make sure facts are accurate. But we must keep pushing towards being more global not only for our sake, to be well versed with how our country is interacting with others but to respect and become more in tune with other cultures, other people that we may not interact with on a daily basis. If we were better global citizens, there would be a lot less racism, discrimination, bias, stereotypes, etc. and a lot more compassion, peace, respect, and more.
So when you continue on your journey of being more worldly, whether it’s reading the news or traveling to a new destination my best advice to give you is to be open-minded and stay curious.