Do you class India more with Europe or East Asia? (education, best)
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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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India is it's own creature - the 'sub-continent' has it's own unique spiritual, socio-cultural tradition with a civilisation (Indus Valley) that is one of the world's oldest. It has strongly influenced both Europe and East Asia, through religion, art, science.etc.
Significantly, for instance, it seems linguistically the spread has been from what is now Central Asia to Europe and South Asia - the Indo-European language family, of which Sanskrit is an early variety, along with Sumerian. The proto-Indo European language as well as the genetic origin of the Indo Europoids is believed to have been in the Black Sea region.
In terms of religion, however, it's obvious India is far more united with the rest of Asia. Buddhism, a derivative of Brahmic cosmology, have come to dominate East (by 'East' I include 'South-East Asia) Asia. Traditional Chinese religion has largely synthesized with it.
In terms of the culinary tradition, I think Northern India shares more with the Middle East and Eastern Europe, majoring more in breads and dairy, while Central and Southern India shares more with the rest of Asia, with curries and rice, for instance. The widespread cultivation of rice is for me personally the area defined as 'Asia proper' - South, East/SE Asia. North-East Asia has a lot of wheat/millet, as does a lot of northern India, Pakistan, Afghanistan.
Historically, it seems India has had many links with both Central Asia and the Middle East, which itself seems a separate region from classical Europe, but I think the Mediterranean, Near East and Indian Sub-continent have always formed the core of the Ancient world. Alexander's Empire extended into India, and the Roman Empire almost extended to the banks of the Indus. The Moghuls, somewhat related to the Turkish Ottomans, transmitted a lot of Near Eastern cultural idioms to India proper.
So overall, it's a complex question. I raise it not so much for a simple answer, but in order to sort of compare the complex manner in which Indian culture/society has interacted and influenced/been influenced by both the 'West' and the 'East.'
I don't 'class' it with either; I class it as 'south Asia' and to me 'south Asia' encompasses countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and parts of Afghanistan.
I'd say it's dead even. India has been influenced by many cultures. There's been a long tradition of European influence in India stretching back to Greece and Alexander the Great. The British of course ruled India, but there was also Portuguese influence, Dutch influence, German influence, etc. Then of course, there was Islamic and Moghul influence. More recently, Japan and other Asian countries have influenced India technologically. There's also a considerable amount of American and western consumer culture in India. So, it's really all over the map.
I'd say there's more influence from Europe, and the Anglosphere more specifically. India has managed to emerge from British colonialism taking only the best of British civilization and leaving behind the worst. Parliamentary democracy, cricket, certain literary traditions, and the current education system. It's influenced by Europe more, but it's a culture that is unmistakeably all its own.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,019,186 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BIMBAM
I'd say there's more influence from Europe, and the Anglosphere more specifically. India has managed to emerge from British colonialism taking only the best of British civilization and leaving behind the worst. Parliamentary democracy, cricket, certain literary traditions, and the current education system. It's influenced by Europe more, but it's a culture that is unmistakeably all its own.
I also mean where has it influenced more...I wasn't thinking so much colonial influence but if you're talking India today that will come into the picture.
I see it as having its own culture, but much influence from England and not as much influence from East Asia.
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