Globalization & Religions in India

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India is the country known for spirituality and philosophy. Here religion is considered to be a way of life, an essential part of the tradition. Religions in India are not only about beliefs but also about ethics, ceremonies, rituals and many more. India is home for many religions like Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism.

Hinduism is believed to have developed about 5000 years ago. According to 2011 census data, about 80% of Indian population follows Hinduism. It is the third largest religion in the world, with a following of approximately 1 billion people. Ninety-eight percent of Hindus can be found on the Indian subcontinent, chiefly in India. And in around 500 BC two other religions Buddhism and Jainism developed in India. These three ancient religions shaped Indian philosophy. However, there are new religions that evolved in the modern Moreover, there were other attempts to establish new religions in India which did not succeed. One of the example is Akbar, a Moghul Emperor, tried to establish new religion known as Din-E-Elahi. But it did not succeed. With globalization came new religion in India as well such as Islam, Christian and Judaism. [1]

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Religions in India 

Following religions are found in India:

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HINDUISM – about 80% ISLAM – about 12% CHRISTIANITY – about 2.5% SIKHISM – about 2% BUDDHISM – about 0.7% JAINISM – about 0.5% ZOROASTRIANISM – about 0.01% JUDAISM – about 0.0005%

[2]

 

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Introduction of Non-Indian Religion

Islam is the largest non-Indian religion in India constituting 12% of India’s population. Muslims who arrived in India converted Indians to Islam. While introducing Islam in India, first they used peaceful means to convert people into Muslim. Later on, they were forced to choose Islam or they were killed.The different Muslim rulers of India also brought into their kingdoms Muslim mercenaries, businessmen and slaves from different parts of the world like Russia, Afghanistan, Turkey, Arab countries and Africa. These people remained in India, married local Indians and converted them to Islam.

The Apostles St. Judas Thomas who was a carpenter came to Kerela, India to build a temple in 52 AD. He succeeded in converting local Indians to Christianity. His converts were called Syrian Christians. One assumption says that some of the Syrian Christians were actually local Jews converted by St. Judas Thomas to Christianity. The disciples of Jesus at first intended to convince the Jews to adopt the philosophy of Jesus as new Judaism. Therefore they arrived to regions where Jews had settled in the world. Among these regions where Jews had settled was India. Two Apostles are believed to have arrived in India for this purpose. St. Judas Thomas arrived in Kerala in south India and St. Bartholomew in western Maharashtra in west India. Roman Catholicism was introduced by European colonization which started in 1498 when Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer,  arrived on the Malabar coast.Christian missionary activity increased in the early 1800s. Today Christianity is the third largest religion of India making up 2 – 2.5% of the population largely concentrated in Nagaland,Mizoram, south India, major metro areas, and in western states such as Goa.

Another non-Indian religion is Judaism. Jews are a minority in India comprising around 0.0005% of the population. The origin of Judaism is hard to estimate because the origin of Jewish community are distinct as some arrived during the time of the Kingdom of Judah while others are descendants of Israel’s Lost Ten Tribes. Of the total Jewish population in India, about half live in Mizoram and a quarter live in the city of Mumbai. Unlike many parts of the world, Jews have historically lived in India without largescale anti-Semitism.

There are five native Jewish communities in India:

1. The Cochin Jews arrived in India 2,500 years ago and settled down in Cochin, Kerala as traders.

2. The Baghdadi Jews arrived in the city Mumbai from Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, and Arab countries about 250 years ago.

3. The Bene Israel arrived in the state of Maharashtra 2,100 years ago.

4. The Bnei Menashe are Mizo and Kuki tribesmen in Manipur and Mizoram who claim descent from the tribe of Menasseh.

6. The Bene Ephraim (also called Telugu Jews) are a small group who speak Telugu; their observance of Judaism dates to 1981. [3]

Another minor non-Indian religion is Zoroastrians which make less then 0.01% of India’s population. It is believed to originate from Persia (Iran)so, the followers are known as Parsis. The followers of this religion exiled from Iran in the 7^th century AD. They arrived in Gujarat in west India. [4]

REFERENCES

Image Source[1]http://www.indiavisitinformation.com/Indian-religion/img/recipe.jpg

Image Source[2]http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/religion.jpg

Image Source[3]http://www.oneindia.com/img/2015/01/02-1420205294-communalharmony.jpg

[1]http://www.crystalinks.com/indiareligion.html

[2]http://adaniel.tripod.com/religions.htm

 [3]http://adaniel.tripod.com/nonindian.htm

[4]http://adaniel.tripod.com/nonindian.htm

Conflict in the name of Nationalism & Ethnicity – India

 India is well-known for its diverse ethnicity and religious group in the World. There are more than 2000 castes, 8 religions, 15 different languages spoken in all over India. However, India is not behind the ethnic and religious conflict.

Hindus Vs. Muslims 

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Back until 1947, India ( known as Jewel in Britian’s Crown) was ruled by British. After Independence in India, another major problem arises- bitter division between Hindu and Muslims.  As a result, India was divided into two independent countries in terms of their religion- India and Pakistan. Majority of people in India were Hindus and in Pakistan were Muslims. However, the division of land, creation of borders led to another problem. There were Hindus living in Pakistan and Muslim living in India. People struggled to get into the nation of their religions. There was violence all over those two nations- killing more than 500000 people. Moreover, border conflict of Jammu- Kashmir was another problem of India and Pakistan. Even if majority of people in Jammu-Kashmir were Muslims, India was given the control of Jammu-Kashmir. However, it does not follow the constitution of India rather it has its own constitution. Even though India and Pakistan has signed a truce establishing peace, there is still war going on over Jammu Kashmir.[1]

 

Conflict in Assam

A Bodo student demostrating in Assam state, India

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Moreover, there is an ethnic conflict within India. For instance, Assam is one of the state in India that faced conflict in the name of ethnicity. There are three ethnic groups; Assamese, Bengalis (native to the land of Bengal i.e West Bengal  and Bangladesh) and local tribes(Bodos-largest tribes). Bengalis Muslims came from Bangladesh back in British colonial era as a slave.But after British rule was over, the Bengalis didn’t leave Assam but rather settle in the land that were unsettled. As a result, Bengalis started working in high pay professions and they grew in numbers. [2] There was violence and destruction between Bodo and Bengalis. The Nellie massacre in 1983 is known as one of severe massacre after world war ii where nearly 1800 Bengali-Muslims were killed by Lalung tribe. [3]

Sikh Vs. Hindu

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Another Example is Sikh-Hindu conflict in Punjab. In Punjab, Sikhs are a majority, Hindus, a minority. Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India at the time, ordered an attack on the temple when the negotiation to the surrender of Bhindranwale(Sikh Preacher) and his men failed. The attack killed thousands of Sikhs. As a retaliation, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards. Official figures claim there were only 1,000 casualties, but most estimates put the number of civilian casualties around 5,000. Approximately 700 soldiers from the army were reported killed. Bhindranwale and his followers were killed. Of the people said to be in the temple on the day of the attack, only 1,300 were part of armed groups. The other 10,000 were civilians. [4] This lead to 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms in Delhi, government and police officials aided Indian National Congress party worker gangs in “methodically and systematically” targeting Sikhs and Sikh homes. As a result of the pogroms 10,000–17,000 were burned alive or otherwise killed, Sikh people suffered massive property damage, and at least 50,000 Sikhs were displaced.[5]

REFERENCES

Image Source[1]https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjAxe7tkaTPAhWEHB4KHYtMDx8QjRwIBw&url=%2Furl%3Fsa%3Di%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dimages%26cd%3D%26cad%3Drja%26uact%3D8%26ved%3D0ahUKEwjAxe7tkaTPAhWEHB4KHYtMDx8QjRwIBw%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fmuslimmirror.com%252Feng%252Fgrave-diggers-tale-death-in-the-time-of-kashmir-conflict%252F%26bvm%3Dbv.133700528%2Cd.dmo%26psig%3DAFQjCNEPCSRDLcl3p6jZS3g3fXOUn0zsUw%26ust%3D1474673708663222&bvm=bv.133700528,d.dmo&psig=AFQjCNEPCSRDLcl3p6jZS3g3fXOUn0zsUw&ust=1474673708663222

Image Source[2]https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjErp-ZlKTPAhVEmx4KHXp_ClUQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.civilsdaily.com%2Fblog%2Finternal-security-assam-riots-and-demand-of-bodoland%2F&bvm=bv.133700528,d.dmo&psig=AFQjCNFD6lRHlHyd5ZYvqrZ_y1kFrmlbnA&ust=1474673826627485

Image Source[3]http://www.sikh24.com/wp-content/uploads/1984_Policemen_after_bibi.jpg

[1]http://www2.needham.k12.ma.us/nhs/cur/Baker_00/baker_modern/baker_mj_ep_p4/indian_pakistani_conflict.htm

[2]http://www.hafsite.org/media/pr/indian-state-assam-origins-and-causes-conflict

[3]http://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/26/world/peace-fragile-in-assam-a-year-after-carnage.html

[4]https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~aschadwi/World%20Politics%20Website/page4.html

[5]http://www.sacw.net/aii/WhoaretheGuilty.html

Cultural Globalization & India

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Introduction

Globalization, in general, means we are living in a world so interdependent that changes in one side of the world are felt in another. So, does globalization affect our personal life or the way we are live everyday? Yes, it does. Cultural globalization refers to the transmission of ideas, meanings and values around the world in such a way as to extend and intensify social relations.[1] It is the movement of ideas, values and knowledge from one country to another. Traveling to different places to explore, to find jobs, globalization has left footprints everywhere. The advancement of technology like internet has helped globalization tremendously to spread its wings.  Globalization has resulted interchange of lifestyle of people worldwide. Every culture is unique and that is what makes population different from place to place. However, the uniqueness has affected by globalization and India has felt the pinch of globalization as well.  It has not only introduced so-called “Westernization” in India but also spread Indian culture all around the world.

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CULTURAL GLOBALIZATION IN INDIA

Globalization is dispersing cultures across the world making a unified world culture. India is culturally rich country. India, being a secular country, one can find people of all religion like Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Muslim, Jain, Buddhist in India. Majority of people of India still practice a religion-mostly Hinduism (approximately 80% of India’s 1 billion people are Hindus.)[2] Followed by Islam making India third largest country with Muslims in the world. Christianity, Buddhism and Sikhism each comprise less than 5% of the Indian population. Let’s look at some of the aspects of culture and how it is affected by globalization:

Social Aspects:

Traditionally, in India men and women were not treated equally. Women were not allowed to study or work. They had to stay at home, taking care of their family. But with the introduction of globalization, the society has accepted women as equal as men. They are also given opportunity to study and work. For example, Kalpana Chawla-the first aeronautical engineer women to travel space in 1997. Another aspect of soety that has been influenced by globalization is the family structure. Indian families believed in living in a joint family(grand parents, parents, uncle, aunt, children living together) but nowadays people are becoming independent as a result, they prefer living in nuclear family. Moreover, there is increment in old age homes and senior communities in city area of India like Senior Citizen Home Complex Welfare Society(Delhi), Chudamani Vrudha Ashram (Hyderabad). Furthermore, Indian believed in arranged marraige, where parents and relatives used to find husband/wife for their children of their own caste. But now the number of people who marry the one who they love have become popular.

Language aspect:

The are 29 states in India and people have languages of their own.There are 29 individual languages and more than 1 million native speakers(2001 census). Thus, India has recognized 22 languages as their official of India. However, people have adopted English language as medium of communication. Therefore, India is the World’s second-largest English speaking country.[3]

Festivals:

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Even though celebrating Indian festivals have not changed a lot, some influence can be seen. Festivals have become global. Even Indians have started celebrating international festivals like Christmas, Valentine’s Day which was hardly any tradition back in the days.

Performing arts

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India is very rich in terms of music and dance. They have their own varieties of music like folk, pop, classical and own dance like folk and classical (Kathak, Odissi, Kathak, Bhangra etc). However, international music has also paved its way in India. People have adopted the western music and fusion of music has become very popular in India. Not only that, Indian music has also been flourished in other part of the world. For instance, Cornell Bhangra-a group of Indian students and their friends from Cornell University step up their Bhangra in America’s Got Talent in 2014.[4]  A. R. Rahman’s -Indian music composer, two-time winner and five-times nominee of the Academy Award (Oscar), has composed songs for movies like Slumdog Millionaire.[5]

Clothing Culture:

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The traditional clothing style of indian for women is Saree, Ghagra Choli and for men is Dhoti Kurta. But now, the younger generation have fully adopted the western attire like shirt, pant, skirts. The fusion of western and sub continental fashion can be seen in India.

 

Food Culture:

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Indian uses lots of herbs and spices in their food. Traditionally, Indian cuisine has been influenced by various cultural groups that has entered india Mughal, European colonists. With globalization comes new food items in India. KFC, McDonalds have been introduced in India. And the Indian cuisine has also been popular worldwide. You can find Indian restaurant in USA, Canada, UK. Indian spices are traded worldwide.

 

REFERENCES

Image Source[1]  http://media2.intoday.in/btmt/images/stories/globalisation_660_121514030158.jpg

[1] http://www.academia.edu/1642214/Globalism_Nationalism_Tribalism_Bringing_Theory_Back_In_2006_

Video Source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TamdjGVbWLA

[2]http://www.religionfacts.com/india

[3]http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/countries-with-most-english-language-speaker-map.html

Image Source[3]http://www.idgconnect.com/IMG/442/16442/mikadun-shutterstock2328-620×354.jpg?1410935545

[4]http://grabhouse.com/urbancocktail/11-indians-rocked-international-talent-shows-beyond-talented/

[5]http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006246/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

Image Source[4]http://listsurge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Indian-Vs-Western.jpg

Image Source[5]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/15/article-2394423-1B4FB652000005DC-813_634x558.jpg