Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “Indian Values and Western Culture” Complete English Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Indian Values and Western Culture

The mysteries of nature were explored and exposed in India which is termed as the cradle of an ancient civilization. The Vedas, the Puranas and the Upanishads were written in India where personalities like Gautam Buddha, Lord Mahavira, Swami Dayanand, Swami Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda and many other were born. We have a value system which is unparalleled in the world; this value system has been developed due to the extensive and agonizing study of life and divinity by our ancestors. Our family system is the best in the world. Respect for parents, a cooperative attitude for peers and affection for juniors are the chief characteristics of our culture.

Mother is supreme: she is treated at par with Almighty. The teacher is also revered in our society. In ancient India, business was also carried out with grace and dignity. The king and their courtesans had high character who respected the national consensus and the royal orders as if these were the orders from God.

The universities of Taxila and Patliputra were known around the world for their education system and education was at its peak. The learned scholar, of our country wore so popular that students from the foreign universities used to come to India for learning about spiritualism, yoga, divinity and scientific streams. During those ancient times India was the spiritual and moral leader of the world.

However, today the situation has totally changed. We go to the Western nations for studies. Our children learn English nursery rhymes. Our schools are known as public schools and are based on Western education pattern.

Television and cable television have brought a new revolution in our lives. We are now more fun-oriented and less work-oriented. Our passion for sex, liquor, entertainment and leisure has assumed dangerous proportions. There is no doubt that Western culture motivates us for hard work. But it also brings drugs, disco and shameless nudity along with its virtues. Our society, not fond of these onslaughts from the West, is totally confused. The youth segment is puzzled. There are no directions for their careers, there are only the avenues. Cinema and pornography have led to a complete moral degradation of our society. Respect for parents and teachers are a thing of the past and love for disco dances and short dresses is gaining momentum.

Joint families are being replaced by nuclear families—a trend, which is very popular in the West. Individuals struggle for their identities in big cities and fail because the Western cultures promote individualistic personalities due to availability of good resources and opportunities. But these resources and opportunities are not available in India and hence, the individual has to struggle harder in the big cities.

Marriage is still intact as an institution but there are many cases of broken hearts. The value systems, adopted conveniently from the West, do not continue for long time periods after the marriage. For example, the husband was the boy and wife was the girl and they were in love prior to their marriage. But after marriage, the husband does riot tolerates the late arrival of wife at home; she cannot attend disco parties as she used to do when she was a girl. What an irony!

Let us discuss some solutions the primary lesson to be learned from the Western culture is that of efficiency. The Western nations have scientific thinking and attitude, Individuals arc less in number and their needs are thoroughly met. In India, it is the opposite. We must learn to control our population and accept the efficiency and productivity norms of the West.

Secondly, we must accept the good values from the Western nations. For example, career-minded individuals are respected in the USA and Europe. Indians do not want to study or struggle harder. They want to join a ‘smooth’ job without pains and do not want to catch the bull by its horns. The Western nations create competent individuals and India should follow in their footsteps. Already, India has been doing very well in the software development industry which is highly competitive and based on skills related to Information Technology (IT). These are the good signs of positive acceptance or other cultures.

Finally, we must avoid the acceptance of negative values from the West. Free sex, drugs, liquor, violence, betrayal of family norms, disrespect for elders and teachers, misuse of the natural resources, etc. have been adopted from the Western cultures and these must be eschewed at all costs. We must say ‘no’ to drugs and ‘yes’ to the family system. We are Indians and we cherish the family values and norms which are normally shunned by the West. We believe in *social approach” whereas the Westerners favour the “individualistic approach”. Our thinking on this front is rightly respected around the world. Western culture has many plus points. We must choose and„ accept them and must avoid bad points so that our societal fabric remains intact.