What do you see?
Probably a lady dressed in a shirt, trousers and sunglasses, headed out to work at her MNC office. No?
Well maybe a young woman dressed in a gown for a masquerade party. No?
Wait maybe a lazy woman, sitting at her home, dressed in cool knickers, gorging on an ordered Pizza?
A common thread connecting these Indian ladies is that they’re Indian by origin and Western by influence. The ‘how’ of the influence is quite evident. From head to toe, from day to night, the attitude, the body language, all speak the language of the West. Dress code, language of communication, lifestyle, food, dance, everything and anything has been coloured in the hues and shades of the West.
The question that pops up here is: Why is there a Western influence at all on young Indian women?
At the time India was colonized by the British, the society and culture were much different from what they are, today. The young Indian female, in particular had a totally different social status. The Western wave brought winds of change and over time, the influence passed on. And among others, the young Indian woman got much more independent.
Pros and Cons of the Society:
The society was a gender-biased and partial one. Social evils like the Sati practice prevailed. Widowed women were looked down upon as people who carried bad luck. The Dowry system, as it still does today, led to women being hassled for more money in their husbands’ homes. Cases of the bride being burnt alive are reported to this day. The woman of the house assisting the man in earning the daily bread and butter, wasn’t considered appropriate.
When a class of people is repressed too much, the rebellion comes back with greater force.
The freedom-starved Indian woman craved for all the freedom and luxuries the Western woman had. With time, as she got the right opportunities, she flourished under the influence and rose up to come face her counterpart and share much deserved, equal status with him.
The Western society being a liberal one, held much attraction for the young Indian woman. Globalization, Liberalization, Intermingling of different backgrounds and cultures have as much of a positive impact as a negative one.
The young Indian woman of the moment is an individual aware of her rights and duties, a being financially and morally independent, someone who can raise her voice when wronged.
And it is nothing that a woman should not be!
Somewhere because of misinterpretation of the culture and heritage of such a progressive country of the past, the values got lost when imposed in an immoral way.
The loss has occurred. But there’s still chance to learn. If the Indian woman had to look westwards for inspiration, the society can be reconstructed in a manner than India becomes the new West and sets even higher standards of individual living.
After all, ours is the country where Shakti is worshiped as the source of all power. Correct interpretation and reimplementation of the old values of the Indian culture can build a society unparalleled, like it once was.
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