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Introduction to India: Culture and Traditions of India: India Guide Book

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Globalization is affecting all parts of the world in the modern era, increasing the interconnectedness of the economy and other aspects. In exchange, Globalization has been affecting cultures all over the world, this has caused the major powers of the world to spread their influence to other smaller countries. While globalization may be turning the human race into one singular homogenized culture, more specifically beliefs and foods, it can also be used as a tool to help preserve a country’s own individual culture.

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India's beliefs and values are heavily influenced by its culture and religious traditions. Indians practice religions, for example, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Respecting their elders and strong family bonds are values in Indian society, and people generally value tolerance, compassion, and non-violence. Pursuing knowledge and spiritual growth is also highly regarded, as evidenced by practices like yoga and meditation. India's beliefs and values represent a cultural hybridization of ancient wisdom and modern adaptability, making it a diverse and deep-rooted nation.

The British colonization of India had a massive impact on Indian beliefs and values. One of the main ways they did this was through religion. The British constantly promoted Christianity during their colonization of the country. They did this through missionary activities, in which they went into Indian villages/communities and preached Jesus Christ and the Christian faith (Campbellsville, 2023). Despite their efforts, most Indians actually remained with their own native religions, however a small minority of people turned towards Christianity during the colonial period. This made India much more religiously diverse, causing pluralism and interfaith to rise within India. Also the religious tolerance in India was changed drastically, as the British introduced a policy of religious ‘neutrality’, allowing various religious practices to coexist at the same time without law enforcement preventing such a practice (Oxford, 2016). This law led to many different religious groups to reform their own laws within their respective communities to align with British rule, shaping Indian beliefs and values towards religion (especially Christianity), diversity and religious tolerance.

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On the other hand, there are several factors that argue against globalization affecting India’s beliefs and values. As it was stated earlier, during the British colonization project, the Christian missionaries actually failed to convert most Indians. India as a culture actually is very resilient and is very good at preserving its beliefs and values, including traditions, art, music, festivals, etc. All of which managed to withstand the test of time throughout the years of hardship India had to face (IBEF, 2023). Activities like Indian yoga, Ayurveda, an Indian medicinal practice (NCCIH, 2019), and classical dance forms from India show how committed India is to preserving its culture. Another point would be India’s religious diversity supporting its culture. One may argue that having such a wide variety of different religions would dilute and homogenize India as a culture, however it does quite the opposite. The religious diversity helped contribute to preserving the beliefs and values of India. Because religions like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and other faiths are all coexisting with each other, there is a lot of spiritual thought acting as an influence on Indian society.

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Food is a very big part of India’s culture, and globalization, more specifically, the british colonial rule affected India massively, leaving a massive scar on India’s deep-rooted, diverse food traditions. The effect that British culture had on Indian culture caused the fusion of ingredients, techniques, and tastes. One of the biggest impacts the British had on Indian food culture was how they introduced such a wide variety of new ingredients and recipes to them. Some of these include potatoes, tomatoes, cauliflower and carrots (awesomecuisine, 2023). Through the incorporation of British ingredients, Indian culture was influenced by globalization, new foods were invented such as the aloo gobi and gajar ka halwa, which are foods derived from Indian culture integrated with British influence. The British also introduced roasting and grilling meat to India, resulting in the creation of dishes such as tandoori chicken and seekh kebabs, which are very iconic when it comes to Indian cuisine (awesomecuisine, 2023). The British also introduced using ovens and grills for baking, deep-frying and roasting, which deviated quite a lot from traditional Indian cooking methods. For example, Tandoors used to be primarily used for baking bread, however due to British influence, they have become tools for preparing tandoori dishes (SCMP, 2022). Surprisingly, the British also influenced dining etiquette and table manners to India. The concept of having multiple courses served in a specific order was completely new to India, also popularizing cutlery to India.

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On the other hand, there are several factors that argue against globalization affecting India’s food culture. India’s food culture is taken very seriously and a large part of India’s identity. There are some dishes that date back centuries, all extremely diverse and connected to the country with deep ancestral roots. Despite the British colonization of India, they still managed to preserve a lot of their food culture and it still remains playing such a significant role in India’s culture. One of the biggest reasons for the preservation of India’s food culture is due to their traditional values passed down generations. Indian cuisine has a lot of heart to it, mostly stemming from the elders in Indian families, acting as mentors for the youth. This helps ensure that Indian cuisine has continuity and identity, remaining very deep rooted in Indian culture. Indian food culture is also affected by regional diversity, every individual part of India has a very strong sense of pride in their own cuisine, because of just how dense the food culture is in India, it remains strong and integrated with other cultural aspects of India. Despite globalization introducing new ingredients and cooking techniques, India’s old recipes will never be forgotten.

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In conclusion, while globalization is massively influencing countries all over the world in various ways relating to culture, it is not causing us to become the same culture. Instead, it allows cultural hybridization to occur, in which different cultures adapt and change due to influence from other cultures, for example India adapting its culture to British imperialism, resulting in a complex hybridization of different cultures and identities.