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Quest for the west- Are we obsessed with western culture?

The tyrannical rule of the British in India lasted for 200 years. As India became a typical colonial economy, a source of cheap raw materials and a market for
finished products; its economy started declining rapidly and what started out as one of the richest countries in the world was crippled to one of the poorest.
However, there are notable positive aspects of the British raj in India as well. It modernized industries, integrated the nation and aroused a feeling of nationalism
among Indians. It became an impetus for modern political and social thought and gave rise to an independence movement that united India like never before.
However, one of the main impacts of the Raj is rather complex. You see, the British considered them to be the superior race because of their white complexion.
They got access to better facilities whereas the “brown” Indians were ruthlessly discriminated against. This created a feeling of inferiority that still exists to this
day. Fairness creams can be seen advertised on billboards, marriage columns look for “fair” prospects and orthodox grandmothers force us to rub gram flour on
our face so we look whiter. Our obsession with the west begins with our urge to look like them- conventional European beauty standards that propagate fair skin
to be “beautiful.”The major world powers are still considered to be great and mighty but what we fail to realize is that Western civilization would cease to exist
without the significant contribution of diverse people and other civilizations from all over the globe. Even decades after our independence, we still have extreme
Eurocentric beliefs. The impact of western culture is so deep rooted in us that we are slowly forgetting our true roots and essence. And don't get me wrong,
westernisation of beliefs is rather important- we have derived several ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity from the French and American
revolutions. The recent celebrated decriminalization of section 377 is an excellent example of how beneficial western thoughts and ideas are- after all, the West
has been instrumental in technological and scientific development. However, if we slowly degrade and forget our true Indian identity while adopting
to western ideas, the idea of India that our forefathers dreamed of will cease. As the youth, the future leaders of the nation, we should acknowledge
our Indian roots and be in touch with them. We must adopt western ideas, but also stay true to our traditional culture. It is the era globalization
after all- but let's pledge to remain a true Indian at heart.

Mahek Bhatia,
Grade 10

The Society

There is the universe, then there are the galaxies, then there is the Earth, and then comes the Countries and then a society. One may ask, “Who or what this
'society' is?” Well the society consists of the four 'unseen people' who indirectly or directly like to be a crucial part of your life decisions. The paradigm, which is
set by the so called “society”, is cruel to be straight forward and be brutally honest. 'Why?' One may ask, they direct not only your thought process but also your
loved ones. That's the type of power it holds. These are the four unseen members, who you are made to subconsciously fear. One can say it's worse than the fear of
darkness, it's worse than the fear of death, to be extreme. It brings in you the fear of being judged. Though we fear being judged, we never seem to understand
why, like any other fear, this seems to be irrational too. Certainly, there could be an explanation. Well, we can say that we were never born with it but over time were
made to inculcate it. Every step we take in our precious life, we will always take a step back, no matter how well we assure ourselves, that we will succeed and are
right, we will always give it a second thought, and rarely is this second thought ever about us, it's about the four unseen judgmental people,” WHAT WILL FOUR
PEOPLE SAY!”. In life we decide on missing and lose upon so many precious and incredible opportunities, which we knew would have taken us to great heights,
yet were forced to be kept back, even if we knew the possibilities of failure were slim to none. But the reality is, even if we go against our gut, will and
calculation and decide to go with “what will four people say”, these people are never going help us to get out from our darkest moments in life or even
failure for that matter. At the end you will be held responsible for gains and failures. So, think again, is it really worth being bound with the judgmental
societal norms?

Ria Deshpande,
Grade10

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