Addressing India’s Diversity — A Developmental Conundrum
India has been highlighted over the past few years as the fastest growing major economy in the world. The abundance of economic wealth coming into the country has allowed the country to progress, but there is still scepticism among academics & professionals about the benefits of the economic influx on the common man. Variety of factors that are political, historical, religious and social in nature have been attributed the blame for the lack of development in the country. The failures and gaps in society have been plugged with the rapidly growing development sector.
The growth of the development sector in India is staggering. Reports suggest that India now has one NGO for every 400 citizens in the country versus one policeman for every 709 citizens. The sector is equipped with large amounts of manpower and professionals that are trying to address diverse and unique problems in regards to India’s development. The quality of impact each of these NGOs achieves varies but it's important to acknowledge the sheer number of these development sector organizations. Apart from the numerous NGO’s, the government also runs developmental programs that have been successful depending on which political lens it is viewed under. Important to note, however, is that development work taking place in India under the current NDA government as well as the former UPA government has changed the lives of numerous people with the variety of schemes and programs implemented.
Having said that, there is still an underlying sentiment that India is poverty ridden with poor standards of living, public infrastructure and health facilities. Measurements of these aspects need to be understood under certain considerations. For instance, poverty in India has been measured through different parameters depending on the government in charge and these measurements have a tendency to be political in nature. With current statistics saying only 22% of India’s population is below the poverty line still accounts for a significant number of people, given India's population. At the same time, people who have moved above the poverty line over the past few decades is considerable and credit must be given where it is due. Using quantitative data to understand development in a population that is so diverse in culture, language and religion blur the granular impact and achievements of development in the country.
The lens at which development is measured is fundamentally a problem in regards to India’s development. Given the diversity of India, measuring development or to say ‘there is development’ can only be achieved when society agrees that a degree of diversity in India needs to be homogenized. Homogenization of certain cultures and their practices would be required to see the growth and development of India. This understanding, or acceptance rather, that Indian society needs to further homogenize will be the catalyst in our movement towards becoming a future superpower.
Diversity — The Catalyst for Change or the Barrier?
India is a federal state with unique cultures, languages and religions that have all come together to become one country in 1947. India’s development conundrum is coupled with the vast diversity present in the country. This very diversity, that is romanticized across the world; and rightly so, is a very important factor when considering development work in India. The diversity of the country makes the country even harder to govern with unique problems for unique sets of people, which requires a unique set of solutions for every one of these people.
The way the United Nations and other IGO’s look at development, they aim to showcase and highlight the importance of diversity. If such diversity of cultures is celebrated across the world, then why is development in India so determined to homogenize so many aspects of livelihood? India has cultures that have been openly defecating for centuries, but part of the Modi’s government's program for development, Swach Bharat, was to build toilets across India in order for safer sanitation practices. If diversity is important in development and societies are allowed to determine what development is for them, what is wrong with open defecation? Education is another great example, wherein the goal of India is for everyone to have equal access to education. This education is to be monitored and standardized in order for the so-called ‘development’ to take place. Do we want tribal children from across the country to give up learning indigenous knowledge and replace it with nursery rhymes and arithmetic tables? If we crave for diversity so much, why not let every community have their own education system and decentralize education to each state, or in the case of diverse India, each district. This simply cannot happen because there is a requirement of standardization of some sorts, some sort of homogenization for the citizens to be able to interact with each other and integrate into the economy and the wider world. The pill is hard to swallow but there is a requirement for homogenization and it is hard to accept because we romanticize and enjoy the diversity of people.
Policies will need to be incredibly flexible and at the same time stringent to compensate the diverse cultures, practices and thoughts of the people. The measurement of these tasks will further be a monumental task. Scholars that believe that diversity should not be an issue need to at the same time address the incremental patterns of problems that arise with diversity, especially in a country that has 22 languages, 780 dialects, 2240 registered unrecognized political parties coupled with educated and uneducated people. Even if we see pockets of development, the country will be incapable of terming it as ‘development’ because the diversity and opposing cultural beliefs cannot accept such change as development. So in order to see some development, we have to outlaw bad cultural practices like Sati, child marriage, female foeticide; cultural practices that have been within Indian culture for centuries.
The issue of development is even more complicated at this juncture. What consists of bad cultural practices? Who decides what is a bad cultural practice? This is the very juncture where development becomes hypocritical. To the extent that culture aligns with the current liberal perspective of the time, these cultures are termed acceptable and allowed to develop. Looking at cultural practices that are termed ‘backward’ are deemed to need development. The issue here is not to address whether Sati, child marriage etc is bad but instead that these cultural practices over a period of time move towards homogenization or acceptance of what the society considers ‘development’.
This is not to advocate for the complete eradication of culture, but simply that in order for development and progress to take place in this country requires a certain form of homogenization by the state. Culturally diverse countries are also developed, for instance, Canada and Belgium but these countries are dwarfed in comparison to diversity present in India. Society must swallow the hard truth that this much diversity is barrier more than a catalyst for change. Policy and lawmakers must at least acknowledge the bad sides of diversity when drafting and implementing policies. There are solutions to coupling diversity with development with political tools like asymmetrical federalism but these come with their own set of unique problems.
Homogenization has been a trend across human history. There is significant evidence that the world is moving towards ‘one culture’ and this is happening with the advent rise of technology and open information. For the Indian context, however, the development sectors understanding of the requirement of some homogenization will drastically propel the country in better and more sustainable direction. Lawmakers and policymakers will be required to systematically and hegemonically create central policies that harness the power of diversity and at the same time begin to stagnate so-called “bad cultural practices”.
A significant amount of power lies behind the development sector. It requires careful vigilance of the patterns of behaviour that are predominant in society. It is vital for us to be aware of these overt and underlying cultural dynamics in the development sector and also constantly question the power dynamics at play. There is no real solution, but only a continuous struggle between culture and development that will be fought in various power pockets across different sectors. The most important thing is being aware, which is the powerful leverage to understand the complex marriage of culture and development.
