UPSC Mains 2016 GS Paper 1 Q8: model answer

McDonald's in India sells no beef and offers a McAloo Tikki; its menu was rebuilt for Indian tastes. That small fact captures how globalisation meets Indian culture: it adapts as much as it changes.

The core of Indian diversity

Language, religion, caste and kinship, regional cuisine and festival cycles, and the value placed on family.

Where globalisation has reached in

• Food, dress and entertainment: fast food, jeans, K-pop and Netflix among urban youth.
• English as the language of aspiration; some tribal and minor languages are shrinking (People's Linguistic Survey of India counted about 780 languages and warned many are at risk).
• Nuclear families and later marriages in cities; festivals become market events (Diwali sales, Valentine's Day).

Where the core holds

• Religion and ritual remain strong; pilgrimages have grown with cheaper travel.
• Caste endogamy persists: matrimonial sites filter by caste.
• Regional cinema and music have used global platforms to grow (RRR, Punjabi pop).
• Diaspora carries Indian culture outward: yoga, Ayurveda, Diwali at the White House.
• Marriage, death rites and kinship obligations remain largely unchanged even among families who work for multinational firms.

Verdict

Globalisation has influenced the surface widely and the core only partly. Indian culture has shown its old habit of absorbing outside influences, so the result is glocalisation rather than homogenisation. The real risk lies with small languages and crafts, which need active protection.