When the British and other colonisers inhabited India, they brought about a myriad of changes that both enhanced and tarnished our Indian culture. Furious at these alterations, our freedom fighters demanded their leave. After months of toiling, when they finally did, we as Indians brought our old culture back, with a few necessary changes that we borrowed from foreign cultures.
The west was and is still seen as the embodiment of a perfect life as it tries to uphold values of humanism, egalitarianism and being a secular nation. These values were what the British taught in their schools when they colonised our country. These were the values that enticed the young generation of our country at that time, which led them to claim their freedom. We can see these values in our Constitution and culture even today. However, the most prominent change is in the language.
India is currently the second largest English-speaking country in the world. This is helpful as English is the ipso-facto requirement for gaining better employment opportunities and consequently, a better lifestyle. However, this does not mean that our vernacular languages have lost their touch with youth of today. Many Indians still speak their mother tongues but know English as their second language. The fact still remains that if the British did not make English medium schools, we could not have communicated with Indians from the other part of the country. The English language is what united us at that time.
The British introduced new changes like the abolishment of practices like sati and child marriage and introduced the railway system and allopathic medicines which helped develop our country. The current link with other countries has brought about changes in society like allowing the youth to pick their own spouses and celebrating foreign festivals like Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve with great gusto. Children today eat continental dishes on a daily basis. This fuels a fear in some people that our Indian traditions are dying but that is far from true.
Indian culture is being spread across the country and all over the world. You can find appams in Maharashtra and Kathak in Tamil Nadu, the latest Aamir Khan movie might be playing in Berlin while you visit a Lord Ganesh pandal in New York. Our culture is still prevalent and thriving today, it is just that we have adapted to adopting good practices from other regions while forgetting the ones which have lost their relevance now. Michael J Fox has rightly said, “Everything is cause and effect. If you do not move, nothing will move with you, and nothing will move toward you.
Westernisation of India has also led to friendly relations between India and the United Kingdom
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