India
Asia’s Democratic Colossus
India, with a population of more than 1.15 billion people, is the world’s largest democracy. But if that implies a peaceful, tolerant society that shares power and opportunity, this thriving country has hit a few speed bumps along the way.
Most countries have suffered their own share of invasions, occupations, revolutions, civil wars, and political unrest. Think of China or Korea. India is no exception.
In India’s modern history, the early trading nations – especially Portugal and Britain – controlled India’s port cities and dominated its economy in the 17th and 18th Centuries. Gradually, in the 18th and 19th Centuries, the British took control of India, and India became a colony of Britain, a member of the British Commonwealth, with the Queen of England named the Empress of India in 1877.
Independent Growing Pains
Over time, the benevolent paternalism of the British was not enough for a nation seeking its own identity, and a national independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi, gained strength in the early 20th Century. The road to independence, however, was messy, with many casualties suffered along the way. In time, the independence movement split along religious lines, primarily Hindu vs. Muslim, and religious violence erupted. With its hands full at home following World War II, Britain consented to India’s independence in 1947 and to the partition of India, creating Pakistan and Bangladesh. A focus of the strife that accompanied independence, Gandhi himself was assassinated by a Hindu zealot in 1948.
Political, religious and social upheaval continued for many years in India. In 1984, prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh guards after her decision to send the Indian army against a group of Sikh separatists in Punjab. Indira Gandhi’s son Rajiv Gandhi became the next prime minister, but he too was assassinated in 1991 by a supporter of a Sri Lankan separatist group who took issue with Gandhi’s support of the Sri Lanka’s government.
Since that time, India has settled into a period of increasing political stability and economic growth. The government has reduced barriers to international trade, and a number of industries have thrived, principally India’s information technology industry.
At Your Service
Whereas China is sometimes referred to as the world’s manufacturer, India is now referred to by some as the world’s service provider. If a service can be provided less expensively by Indian workers, and it often can, businesses around the world are asking them to provide it – from call centers that handle hotel reservations and credit card billing questions, to software technicians who help get your computer up and running, to specialists who convert an architect’s drawings to computer-aided designs. In addition, Indian companies such as Infosys and Wipro are among the world’s leaders in creating cutting edge software. And so talented is India’s huge pool of high tech scientists and engineers that numerous foreign manufacturers have established research and development centers in India.
[Tip — Personal Style: Formality and politeness are important in Indian culture. In business and social settings, foreigners should avoid being too informal or casual with their Indian counterparts. For their part, Indians tend to avoid giving offense and often avoid giving a negative response of any sort. Accordingly, sometimes a foreigner should not take “yes” for an answer.]
Family Values
If there is a common characteristic that holds this huge and sometimes fractious country together, and occasionally splits it apart, it is perhaps the devotion of its people to family and religion. It is common for three generations of a family to live in a single home, sharing work and responsibilities. Personal goals are family goals, not individual goals, and the goal of most young people is to get married and have children.
Religious observances and practices are a daily affair for most Indians. Hinduism is the principal religion of India – about 80 percent of all Indians are Hindus. Islam also has a large following in India. Some of the other religions followed in India are Christianity, Jainism, Buddhism, Judaism and Zoroastrianism.
[Tip — Etiquette: Be respectful when visiting a temple or mosque or attending a religious festival. If invited to the home of an Indian business associate, remove your shoes before entering, bring a small gift such as sweets or fruit, and wash your hands before eating. Only the right hand should be used for eating.]
While English is spoken by many Indians, especially in the business and academic communities and in the cities, there are numerous languages and dialects spoken. Hindi is the first language of approximately 30 percent of the population, but there are 16 other “official” languages recognized by the government and some 1,600 minor languages and dialects.
Good Business
A foreign businessperson will generally be pleased with the ease of communicating and transacting business with Indians. Thanks to the British, common business practices, laws, record-keeping, and regulations are well established and generally followed in India. If there is a failing which can also be attributed to the British, Indians – especially those in government – tend to be overly formalistic and pedantic. Government bureaucracies have been known to bring the most promising enterprises to a screeching halt for failing to comply with some minor provision of a vast array of regulatory minutia.
But foreign businesspeople and visitors will also be pleased with the kaleidoscopic variety of art and culture of India and with the characteristic enthusiasm of its people. Few cultural institutions of modern-day India are more representative of this than the current Indian film industry, represented internationally with the movies of “Bollywood,” a name for a genre of films produced and made in Bombay (now Mumbai). These are formulaic films of dance, comedy and drama, full of family values, moralizing, violence and romance, combining issues of religious tensions, economic deprivations and corruption. Indians love the cinema, and other parts of India have their own film industries, producing films in their regional languages.
Diversity and complexity are found everywhere in India, and democracy thrives in all walks of life !
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