Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Everytime i heard about indians society, it said that it still a very conservative society (in the negative way). The systeme of cast is still working and there are other dirty traditions who are still here.
I think we will not see india became liberal in our lifetimes and i even beleive that it will be a problem to continue their economic development if they don't cancel some old way of life.
Everytime i heard about indians society, it said that it still a very conservative society (in the negative way). The systeme of cast is still working and there are other dirty traditions who are still here.
I think we will not see india became liberal in our lifetimes and i even beleive that it will be a problem to continue their economic development if they don't cancel some old way of life.
You're confusing social conservatism with backwardness. Although the two could go hand in hand. You're also equating Western style social liberalism with economic progress. Furthermore, your knowledge of Indian society seems to based on middle school textbooks.
Indian society will progress and evolve all the same that other cultures though, but it will be relative to itself; basically, no, Indian culture will not become "liberal" in the Western sense of the term at any point in our lives, if ever. Indian culture is vastly different from Western culture and they developed simultaneously but separately from one another; for it to suddenly become "liberal" as we understand the term to be, would require it to walk away from thousands of years of established culture and society and adopt a foreign one.
You're confusing social conservatism with backwardness. Although the two could go hand in hand. You're also equating Western style social liberalism with economic progress. Furthermore, your knowledge of Indian society seems to based on middle school textbooks.
Well , enlight me with your knowledge.
For the moment western social liberalism have create liberalism everywhere. The only country who reach the same level of development without it are the one with natural ressources.
I assume you are angry because i talk about the caste system. If it's illegal to discriminate, this system have still a lot of influence in india. Basiccally, people vote in election for their caste.
Most people seem to have avoided answering the OP's question.
As an Indian immigrant, here's my answer. Yes. Hell, I even see a change in myself after 11 years of living in North America (moved there as a young adult). Many of these changes are a result of moving away from my family.
From strongly religious, I've become agnostic.
From deeply suspicious of the homosexual lifestyle, I've become a full supporter.
I've changed from a supporter to an opponent of capital punishment.
I really don't care about someone's use of pot or alcohol as long as it doesn't impact other people's lives.
I believe in not repressing sexual freedom. Repression leads to rebellion, something that many middle-class Indian parents are going to have to deal with in the coming decades.
Obviously, I'm only one person. The changes within India are going to be a lot slower than in an Indian immigrant. But I believe that it is headed in that direction. I think it would take more than one lifetime though, probably more like 100-150 years.
Most people seem to have avoided answering the OP's question.
As an Indian immigrant, here's my answer. Yes. Hell, I even see a change in myself after 11 years of living in North America (moved there as a young adult). Many of these changes are a result of moving away from my family.
From strongly religious, I've become agnostic.
From deeply suspicious of the homosexual lifestyle, I've become a full supporter.
I've changed from a supporter to an opponent of capital punishment.
I really don't care about someone's use of pot or alcohol as long as it doesn't impact other people's lives. I believe in not repressing sexual freedom. Repression leads to rebellion, something that many middle-class Indian parents are going to have to deal with in the coming decades.
Obviously, I'm only one person. The changes within India are going to be a lot slower than in an Indian immigrant. But I believe that it is headed in that direction. I think it would take more than one lifetime though, probably more like 100-150 years.
I appreciate you honesty Arctic Gardner, sometimes people can be in denial about these things in their own communities.
Most people seem to have avoided answering the OP's question.
That includes you. The question concerns whether the Indian culture itself will become liberalised. All you've done is describe one person's experience in abandoning the Indian culture for the western culture.
I also think questioning a question's premises is just as relevant as answering it directly.
That includes you. The question concerns whether the Indian culture itself will become liberalised. All you've done is describe one person's experience in abandoning the Indian culture for the western culture.
I also think questioning a question's premises is just as relevant as answering it directly.
He's made the same assumption as another user earlier that immigrants' experiences in adopting the culture of their new country would be the same as "westernization" of long-standing traditional cultures.
That includes you. The question concerns whether the Indian culture itself will become liberalised. All you've done is describe one person's experience in abandoning the Indian culture for the western culture.
... so then, can we start discussing the OP's question?
Quote:
I also think questioning a question's premises is just as relevant as answering it directly.
I do too, but there's a difference between, for instance, asking someone to define liberalism, and simply asking how long the West has been liberal, then stating that one believes that western culture is on its way out and it shouldn't be foisted on other cultures anyway. That's not questioning the premise of the original question, it's voicing one's own opinions on the matter of Western society and liberalism, which is a discussion of its own.
Quote:
Originally Posted by arctic_gardener
Most people seem to have avoided answering the OP's question.
As an Indian immigrant, here's my answer. Yes. Hell, I even see a change in myself after 11 years of living in North America (moved there as a young adult). Many of these changes are a result of moving away from my family.
From strongly religious, I've become agnostic.
From deeply suspicious of the homosexual lifestyle, I've become a full supporter.
I've changed from a supporter to an opponent of capital punishment.
I really don't care about someone's use of pot or alcohol as long as it doesn't impact other people's lives.
I believe in not repressing sexual freedom. Repression leads to rebellion, something that many middle-class Indian parents are going to have to deal with in the coming decades.
Obviously, I'm only one person. The changes within India are going to be a lot slower than in an Indian immigrant. But I believe that it is headed in that direction. I think it would take more than one lifetime though, probably more like 100-150 years.
The situation of an immigrant or their children in a foreign culture is totally different from the people in that society. An Indian national or ethnic Indian who moves to a Western country is more likely to adopt Western ideals, behaviors, and attitudes over time since they are living in the West, surrounded by Westerners - even if they live in an ethnic enclave, the realities of life in that society will most likely allow these changes to gradually take shape.
A guy who moves from rural India to Canada, the US, Europe, AU, etc as an adult and is prejudiced against homosexuals is going to find himself in a society where homosexuals and transgender people are largely accepted, or at least, it is generally socially unacceptable to openly voice one's opinions or preferences to the contrary. He will likely find himself working with Westerners who are either sympathetic to homosexuals or may be homosexual themselves; this gradual exposure to them and people who accept them makes it more likely that over time, he will decide that they are OK people and should have the same rights as everyone else. He may still never do so, but, he's more likely to just through cultural assimilation.
If he stayed back home and his only exposure to the matter was via occasional articles on the internet, but his day-to-day interactions that included the topic were entirely negative and those around him almost universally shared a negative outlook on the matter, he is much less likely to change his opinion as he has nothing to challenge it and lots to reinforce it. This is the situation that India is in, which in your last sentence you echoed; as I stated earlier, considering that it has its own preeminent native culture that has already survived attempts at colonization, it's not likely that it will suddenly adopt Western social mores. Urban India has already liberalized considerably, within its own cultural paradigm, over the last few decades relative to where it was at the beginning of the last century, and I think it will continue to do so.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
