Srija Srinivasan

2 December 2016
Prof. Neil Schaefer
Field Investigation
Proposal
Over the course of human history, Western nations have become the example for
industrialization and development. Because of this, the way in which developing
countries are modelling their progress is build upon notions of seeming and transforming
into a more Western or even American standard of living. Nations worldwide are
forced to undergo this transformation while industrializing in order to keep up with the
demands of the global market. In doing so, the culture, environment, economy, and social
structure of these countries is compromised. Yet this, like most issues comes at both a
benefit and a loss. The development and resulting Westernization of India has changed
the country, allowing for a heightened ability to compete globally at a loss of cultural,
environmental and societal potential. The proposal in question is in regards to Indias
industrialization and the ways in which this process is expedited to the point of concern.
If India were to continue industrializing and westernizing at the rate it is currently able to,
the states of the economy, environment, culture, and society are all subject to dangerous
change.
Context and Historical Background
As India began transforming from a Third World into a Second World country, its
people were introduced to Western ideas more than ever. Yet this concept of
transformation is nothing new. Since its colonization by the British in 1601 until its
independence in 1047, Indias familiarity with Western influence is well established. The

colonization began with a monopoly of the tea market in the British control of the East
India Tea Company in the early 17th century. This control grew from economic and
corporate privatization into overall governmental reign. This meant that the Indian people
were now under complete control of the British, opening up Indian systems to Western
influence. Most Indians today are taught English in school, explaining why this
susceptibility and outlet of being exposed to American and Western culture today is so
vulnerable and often idealized (The Flow of History, 2007, pg. 1). Call centers in
outsourced companies and increased access to social and global media has influenced
younger citizens of India and their expectations. People in India today desire to be
American. In New York Times columnist Thomas Friedmans 2004 documentary The
Other Side of Outsourcing, Friedman discusses the subject of globalization and its
Western influence over India with several Indian workers, activists, and scholars. When
asked what she felt the future of India holds, 21-year-old call center worker Sophia Ross
expressed her expectations. The way were speaking and dressing is changing. So
maybe India is going to be a mini-america(Discovery Channel, 2004). Friedman
continued to interview Ross and her family in order to get a better understanding of the
generation gap between these Indian young adults and their parents. In discussing their
role models, Ross explained that her inspiration would be a hard-working philanthropist
such as Bill Gates. Her mother laughed at this response and explained why that would
never be her answer. Instead her mother stated that she looked up to God for inspiration
and was in need of no other role model (Discovery Channel, 2004). This disparity
between the children and parents of India is influenced greatly by the culture in which
they grew up. As India changes, this gap between these two generations increases. This is

not unlike the same disparity faced by Indian immigrants who move to First World
countries in search of a better life for their children. My own parents left India twentyfive years ago in order to provide for my family. The diaspora formed by immigrant
Indian parents in the new American state they move to works to protect the children from
a complete assimilation into Western culture. My parents have worked hard all of my life
to find a balance between my Indian heritage and my necessary and inevitable American
assimilation. Yet looking at how Western India has become today, it seems as though it
wouldnt have made a difference on how American I would have ended up whether or not
they had left. This shift that is occurring in India results in both benefits and harms for the
people of both generations as well as the country as a whole.
B: Social Impacts
Social Impacts: Supporting Arguments
The modernization of the younger Indian generations has allowed them to gain a
newfound sense of independence and self-reliance. This is important as women in India,
who are traditionally expected to marry early and neglect higher education are now able
to ride their own motorcycles to and from their jobs and earn enough to rent apartments
of their own with friends (Discovery Channel, 2004). Allowing these women to break the
social stereotypes of growing up with little to no formal education in order to work only
as mothers at a young age is incredibly important to the progress of the nation. In a
country with the second highest global population, opening up the labor force to half of
the people within it allows for an increased opportunity for growth and accumulation of
wealth both by the citizens and the nation-state. Allowing these women the opportunity to
live freely and independently is what helps India break out of the traditional gender roles

that holds back its progress. Yet at the same time, the country can only take so much
breaking of tradition before it faces harsh and seemingly unstoppable societal hardships
(Discovery Channel, 2004).).
Social Impacts: Opposing Arguments
As young adults in India begin finding a sense of independence, they also leave
behind the thousands of years worth of culture. American culture generally places an
emphasis on each individuals pursuit of an autonomous journey upon which they are
able to find a sense of self-reliance and independence. In contrast, Indian culture focuses
primarily on strengthening ones ties to their family and working to support and bring
honor to ones parents. When these young adults earn spending money that translates into
disposable income from their call center jobs, they often neglect the needs of their parents
and end up pursuing an adulthood similar to what most American young adults pursue
instead (Discovery Channel, 2004). Indian author and scholar Anantha Murthy claims in
Friedmans documentary that We may have all the problems that the west has without
the advantage (Discovery Channel, 2004). The infrastructure set in place by a nations
government is incredibly dependent upon and heavily influenced by the culture of the
nation itself. Because American culture is not one that promotes supporting ones family,
it has social security and retirement programs set up so that as these parents age into
retirement, they have means by which they can support themselves. Indias infrastructure
is void of any such opportunities for its older citizens as it is expected that these parents
and grandparents are taken care of by the younger individuals of their family. This leaves
only the countrys upper class citizens to afford retirement homes for their elderly family

members while the remaining middle and lower class citizens are left with no one to
support them in their old age (Discovery Channel, 2004).
C: Change in Culture
Change in Culture: Supporting Arguments
A nations attempt to globalize in the modern world is largely dependent upon
how Western they can become. The need for a country to change in order to better
participate in the global economy inevitably impacts the everyday citizens directly. As the
people of India transform their culture so that it better fits the needs of an industrializing
country, they are able to pursue higher education as well as gain the skills necessary to
migrate to different, more developed countries in order to make a living. This change in
culture is greatly facilitated by the earlier British influence on Indian culture during its
colonization. Indias ability to globalize and Westernize in order to participate in global
markets is helped largely by the fact that many Indians had been given the tools to
Westernize by the British. Indias establishment as a global power was also aided by the
British control of the country and the implementation of English classes in schools
nationwide. Today, this lasting effect of British rule serves as an advantage in
westernizing to meet global demands (The Flow of History, 2007, pg. 1).

Change in Culture: Opposing Arguments

While it is necessary in many regards for India to westernize in order to fit the demands
of the global market, it is also important for the nation to preserve its deeply rooted
culture. It is impractical to expect a country to industrialize and follow a Western model

while also keeping its entire history and culture intact. Jadooworks, an Indian animation
studio Friedman visits in his documentary seems to have found a happy medium between
preserving culture while producing goods and services that tailor to the Westernized
global market. The studio creates animations that are reminiscent of traditional Indian
drawings and depictions of various deities and articles of worship.If we dont transform
these traditional skills today, they might actually die out. We need to get people to think
that they can keep the traditions which their forefathers had, and just do it in a modern
form says Ashish Kulkarni, COO of Jadooworks. (Discovery Channel, 2004). This
balance between tradition and Western marketability is referred to by Friedman as
Glocalization. Glocalization is what Friedman explains to be a balance struck between
finding ways to continue traditional means of production and development while also
using these aspects of the culture to profit globally (Discovery Channel, 2004). Yet it is
important to question who profits when India is able to compete globally.
D: Economic Impacts
Economic Impacts: Supporting Arguments:
When a nation is wealthy, it is generally more able to provide for its people. Not
only does Indias globalization allow for an increased opportunity for employment, but it
also means that more products will be available to the everyday citizen at a lower price.
Thomas Friedmans 2011 New York Times Op-Ed column titled Indias Innovation
Stimulus explains the importance of strengthening corporate abilities in small countries
in order to amass wealth to implement governmental programs. Nandan Nilekani, the
former C.E.O. of Infosys Technologies, is leading a government effort to provide all
Indian citizens with ID numbers, an effort that would revolutionize the Indian peoples

ability to interact with their governments and avoid corrupt politicians in the process.
Once everyone has one, the government can deliver them services or subsidies some
$60 billion each year directly through cell phones or bank accounts, without inept or
corrupt bureaucrats siphoning some off ( Friedman, 2011 pg. 2). In the article, Nilekani
goes on to promote the wonders technology is providing Indian citizens. Were bringing
the most sophisticated technology to the most deprived, said Nilekani. The
hyperconnected world is giving us a chance to change India faster, at a larger scale, than
ever before (Friedman, 2011 pg. 2). With this economic development however, how
many people from the middle and lower classes of Indian society are profiting from these
advances?
Economic Impacts: Opposing Arguments:
As the standard of living in India is changing due to both the new expectations
that stem from Westernization and from the benefits of a global economy, there becomes
a disparity between the growing class of well-off middle and upper class citizens and
those still suffering from the remnants of the caste system. The sheer number of people in
India hinders the economic benefits of globalization from trickling down to the lower
class citizens, as there are just too many. This creates a Fourth-world between the people
are from developed enough places in India to leave and the remaining individuals who
are left with nothing but a system that oppresses them. These people have little to no
opportunity to pursue education or employment. In his documentary, Friedmans
interviewee Abraham Varghese explains this concept. In India, if you just go 100 miles
out of town, you will travel 100 years behind(Discovery Channel, 2004). This new
standard of living has only furthered the gap in the classes of social status, yet who is to

say which way of life is superior? Madhu Bhushan, another interviewee of Friedmans, is
an Indian women's rights activist who argues that there is no objective way of viewing
village life when the new concept of city life has become idealized. There is another
legitimate point of view and a legitimate way of life which has been de-legitimized.
People may not be living according to that industrial kind of framework. Dont make us
feel poor. That is the danger. Why cant they [villages] survive? Its because the city has
become the model of development, growth, of economic progress, of everything.
Therefore, you create economic conditions where village life becomes unsustainable
(Discovery Channel, 2004). While this may be true, it is undeniable that in many ways,
the environmental sustainability has been compromised, leading to the poor to remain
poor under these new globalized conditions.
E: Harm done to Environment
Environmental Impacts:
While the improvement of certain areas and building of colleges and universities
can be considered vital to the growth of the country, the negative environmental impacts
of such industrialization are important to be cautious of. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
once said God forbid that India should ever take to industrialism after the manner of the
West. If an entire nation of 300 millions took to similar economic exploitation, it would
strip of the world bare like locusts proving that even during his time, the idea of India
and other developing countries being weary of sustainability was dire. In the process of
industrializing and in efforts to maintain a competitive edge, it is easy for companies to
forget the environment and the harm it must endure. An example of this phenomena is the
change in infrastructure due to an introduction of new buildings which would serve as

medical and engineering colleges in Chennai, a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
The progress of the project necessitated Environmental Clearance for use of the land and
in order to build upon it. The project involves about 125 acres of land while the buildings
alone with take up about half of that space. The buildings will be built in the
Mevalurkuppam & Chettipedu villages of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. While an introduction of
more colleges in rural areas is encouraging for younger generations to aspire towards
higher education, the noise and air pollution along with the added air and water pollution
caused by the construction of the buildings. Developing countries are currently
discouraged from developing so quickly as the environment would not have the
capability of handling such a fast paced change. Yet as the global market becomes more
competitive, it is almost impossible to refrain from industrializing while still be able to
participate and succeed as a nation. It is difficult to remember that when a University is
being built, it is not simply a collection of rooms to study and learn in. Building a college
requires a plethora of accommodations in addition to just the classrooms. The bathrooms,
dormitories, and other areas for students to utilize are equally necessary and produce a
large amount of pollution. Among the buildings for each subjects department, the project
is estimated to produce nearly 9,000 Kilograms of solid waste. The project is also
expected to conflict with the surrounding area due to both noise and air pollution.
(Porkodi S and Valarmathi S, 2015 pg. 3). When poorly managed, projects like these can
turn into unmanned chaos and result in excessive pollution and abuse of various
resources. According to article titled Industrialization at the Cost of Environment
Degradation, published in 2013 by the Innovative Journal of Business and Management,
the cumulative environmental pollution index has been observed to be 55.50 for water

pollution, which falls under the category of severely polluted in respect of water
environment(Innovative Journal of Business and Management, 2013 pg. 21 ). This is
due to the constant pollutant drainage into the sewer systems. Because most corporations
are able to pollute these resources with little to no regulation, the sustainability of the
environment is compromised and there are virtually no short term consequences. Yet
while these corporations are using their greed to better accumulate wealth at the expense
of the environment, the ones who are left to suffer are the people who have no access to
clean drinking water as a result of corporate actions.
(D) Analysis, Personal Experience and Conclusion
Throughout researching and discussing this topic, it reminded me how far away
from home I am. Not merely in a geographic sense but also in an ideological one.
Watching Friedmans documentary was especially personal to me as he explores and
focuses primarily on the city of Bangalore which happens to be the city in which my
mothers younger sister settled down with her family. I have visited several times and
seen my teenage cousin strive to appear and become American. The culture of India is
ever-changing, just as any adaptable nations mentality should be. However there is an
apparent difference from the India my parents grew up in and the India they have left for
me. Even in the past few years, my last visit 5 years ago was starkly different from my
first visit 4 years prior to that. I feel that my parents and I cant help but describe the
transformation of our country as anything but bittersweet. It is a beautiful thing to see
how much your country can adapt to fit the needs of the global market and transform so
seamlessly as it develops and shifts its focus onto the poverty stricken people crushed
under the hand of the caste system. Seeing this progress in my parents lifetimes has been

incredibly fortunate for them. However this pride in our country is soured by the fact that
so much of what makes this country what it is is being compromised in an attempt to
westernize it, and for what? Sacrificing the value of culture for the value of globalization
is difficult. Essentially it is deciding whether it is worth it to sell parts of yourself in order
to make a more sustainable profit. Yet this decision is nothing new to the Indian people.
In fact, it was a decision my parents made 25 years ago when they came to America.
They were expected to trade their culture for the ability to assimilate and make a living.
They, like many other immigrant parents, were forced to deal with the fear that their
children would never learn their mother tongues. They were scared that their favorite
foods, movies, songs and books would all be American. They were scared that this
generation gap would divide their children even further from them, and worse, from their
country. My parents have not felt at home since 1990 and unfortunately, India has
transformed so much that now they will never truly feel at home anywhere.
India is changing rapidly, and whether it wants to or not, this means that some
culture is being sacrificed. Not only is this happening through immigration, but even
domestically, Indian life is transforming within the lifetimes of my family members and
even myself.

Works cited:

"British Rule in India (c.1600-1947)." The Flow of History. The Flow of History, n.d.
Web. 09 Dec. 2016. <http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/eme/18/FC123>.
Friedman, Thomas L. "Indias Innovation Stimulus." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 5 Nov. 2011. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.
Friedman, L. Thomas. (2004). The Other Side of Outsourcing. (Documentary) Discovery
Channel
International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology, Porkodi S & Valarmathi S
(January, 2015) <https://www.irjet.net/archives/V2/i1/Irjet-v2i175.pdf>

Innovative Journal of Business and Management, Jasdeep Kaur Dhami, Harminder

Singh, Manish Gupta (February 2013)
<http://innovativejournal.in/index.php/ijbm/article/viewFile/401/385>