I Year B.A., LL. B (Div.

-D and E) – Semester-I (2021)

1st -Internal Assessment – History-I

Research Article submission

Topic
‘SWOT analysis of Indian Culture’

NAME: MANSI JHA

DIVISION: D

PRN: 21010125304

COURSE: BA LL.B. (H)

BATCH: 2021-2026
CONTENTS

S.N. Name Page number

1. Introduction 3-4

2. Strengths 5-6

3. Weaknesses 7-8

4. Opportunities 9-10

5. Threats 11-12

6. Conclusion 13

7. References 14
 “A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in soul of its people”

-Mahatma Gandhi

INTRODUCTION

India has a rich and vibrant culture. There are various religions and traditions practiced here
that divide the massive population into small social groups. However, there is an underlying
unity amongst all the social groups that makes India incredible. The history of India and its
path to this united force we are proud to call our country is highly colourful.

The Indus Valley Civilization1 was among the greatest of the ancient world, producing a
vibrant and progressive culture. The decline of this civilization marked the beginning of the
Vedic period2. During this period, the increased urbanization and wealth attracted the
attention of the Middle East, and northern parts of India kept being attacked and invaded like
the conquest of Alexander the Great3. Alexander's departure caused a chain of formation and
gradual decline of empires. The prominent ones are the Mauryan Empire 4 and the Gupta
Empire5 in the north and the Pala Empire6, and Chola Empire7 in the south. This lack of
stability in the rulers led to the country's division into small, chaotic fragments. Many minor
dynasties, such as the Khilji dynasty8, Tughlaq dynasty9, and Lodhi dynasty10, captured the
1
Bronze Age Civilization (2600 BCE-1900 BCE)
2
Vedic Period (1500 BCE-500 BCE)
3
Alexander invaded India in 326 BC
4
Founded by Chandragupta Maurya (322 BCE-185 BCE)
5
Founded by Chandra Gupta I (319 CE-467 CE)
6
Founded by Gopala (750 AD-1162)
7
Founded by Vijayalaya (850 AD-1279)
8
Turko-Afghan dynasty (1290-1320)
9
Muslim dynasty of Turkish origin (1320-1413)
10
Afghan dynasty (1451-1526)
northern India and build the Delhi Sultanate11. This divide allowed the Islamic conquerors to
capture India and establish the Mughal dynasty 12. The decline of the Mughal dynasty
segregated India again, providing opportunities to the Marathas, Sikhs, Nizams, and Nawabs
to regain their territories in India. Nonetheless, this fragmentation left India vulnerable, and
we became slaves again, this time, of the British Empire13.

The paragraphs below attempt to conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,

and Threats) analysis of the Indian Culture concerning Hindustani Music, Kathak,
Education system, Religions, and Festivals. In this analysis, we will see that all these
aspects of our culture have a common theme of finding inner peace and harmony and
celebrating life.

“The fundamental strength of Bharat is that we are a land of seekers – seekers of truth
and liberation.”

11
Islamic Empire stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years.
12
Founded by Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad Babur (1526-1857)
13
British East India Company: 1599, British Raj: 1858
STRENGTHS

“Dancing is like dreaming with your feet”

During the Vedic period, the priests would sing hymns with the essence of melody and
rhythm to connect one's soul to God. In this period, artists used a combination of dance,
music, and mime to narrate the legends. The Islamic reign in India influenced the cultures,
marking the beginning of a romantic era. Hindustani music evolved to express one's emotions
ranging from joys and sorrows to hopes and despairs. Kathak proved its progressive
propensity during the Mughal period. The spiritual Kathak dancers of religious sanctuaries
became the courts' performers with the luxurious ensemble, polished movement, rhythmic
vocabulary, and technical genius.

“Music is the universal language of the mankind.”

Hindustani music has become a calming presence in one's soul, pacifying the mind and
bringing peace to the heart. Indian Sangeet benefits humans both physically and spiritually.
The fast footwork, hand-eye coordination, expressions and gestures, and movements provide
a proper exercise to the body and release anger, stress, and tension.

While Hindustani Music and Kathak were not learned and taught systematically during the
Vedic period, the education system during the same was very formal. The Gurukul system
prevalent during the period was unique. It focused on realizing and achieving supreme
consciousness. It helped to unfold the spiritual and moral powers of the individual during the
Vedic period. There is evidence of a highly evolved education system that started at an early
age. The gurus gave high preference to a practical approach in the teaching method.
Interaction of the students with teachers was more profound and intuitive than what is at
present.

Religion also played a considerable role in education. Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism,
three of the world's oldest religions, originated in India. All three of the religions share the
belief in reincarnation, karma, and achieving nirvana.

Saints developed Ayurveda, a primary form of Indian medicine in the Vedic Period. Indian
saints of the Vedic period had already known many concepts discovered by the Europeans in
the Later Middle Ages.

“India has two million gods and worships them all. In religion all other countries are
paupers; India is the only millionaire.”

Although Hinduism predominates the Indian subcontinent, people practice many other
religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Christianity, and Islam. They also have smaller
communities and social groups divided by the regions, education systems, and ways of life.
All these diverse cultural communities celebrate countless festivals connecting with God and
bringing people together from different walks of life. The celebration of festivals is not
limited to a specific group of people. People from different social and religious groups
celebrate festivals throughout India like Holi, Diwali, Pongal, Baisakhi, Eid, or Christmas. It
helps them in dealing with stress, anger, grief, sadness or any other negative feelings. It also
improves harmony among various social groups present in society.

“India is a curious place that still preserves the past, religions, and its history. No matter
how modern India becomes, it is still very much an old country.”
 – Anita Desai

WEAKNESSES

Hindustani Music, Classical Dance forms, and many other intricate details of our culture have
time and again proved their immortality. These forms have always been rigid and formal,
with a few exceptions brought on by the different empires that ruled the country. Although
this has helped nourish our culture, it has also become our weakness. The 21st-century
modern world has a very dynamic environment. The world keeps evolving. One needs to
keep moving forward and transforming to match the pace with the world. Sticking by rigid
rules is causing our heritage to become a deadweight.

These days, people are infringing the guru-shishya tradition that has continued from time
immemorial. The fading appreciation of the art forms has led to apprehension in the minds of
the gurus of losing respect and identity. This fear makes them stifle the creativeness of their
pupils. While independence with experimentation of arts has never been a forte of Indian
culture, today, the young artistic minds are being sheltered in a strict bubble with the gurus
scrutinizing their every step.

In the Gurukuls, one guru and his followers and disciples would impart teaching to the
students. This system limited the students to a single line of expertise as it lacked
interdisciplinary studies. The knowledge was also not shared across different disciplines. It
did not provide holistic development for the pupil's mind.
One of the significant problems the classical arts and the formal education system faces is the
restrictions stemmed from religious superstitions and the caste system. Specific caste groups
received the knowledge and the rest of the society was hugely dependent on them. Everyone
did not receive the privilege of education. The language that was used for formal education
back then was Sanskrit. While Pali and Prakrit were the common languages, the education
system used Sanskrit, which a selected few knew. The scriptures that provided the knowledge
were in Sanskrit, making the commoner unable to understand them.

Brahmans had the task of interpreting the religious contexts. They started using the fear of the
unknown to exploit the people. The upper castes would abuse their power and use this
knowledge for their purpose rather than to uplift society. This exploitation planted the seeds
of hostility towards the upper castes in the minds of lower caste groups.

While the celebration of festivals is a joyous moment, sometimes we tend to exceed the
limits and cause harm. While music is considered very tranquil and symphonious to ears,
abundance and loud volume hurt more than they calm. The aftermath of the celebration is
visible in the environment. Colorful papers, plastic flowers, plastic plates, and cups can be
found strewn on the streets. Smoke and chemical gasses pollute the air making it nearly
impossible to breathe freely outside. Burning the effigy of Ravana, firecrackers, immersing
idols in the river contributes to pollution. These festivals can be very time consuming. During
festivals, productivity of people towards their work might decrease. It creates a financial load
on the family at times, erasing the smiles on their faces and increasing lines of worry.
 “India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe’s languages:
she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our
mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother,
through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in
many ways the mother of us all.”

-Will Durant

OPPORTUNITIES

Classical Arts have never failed to prove their versatility. What started as a way to pray to
God changed into an expression of one’s deepest thoughts. What once was used to narrate the
myths and legends simply by the extension of mime and slight hand movements became one
of the most elegant dance forms with inexplicable charm, mesmerizing footwork, and
graceful movements. The art forms have not lost their natural beauty, although the influence
of Islam is visible. Once more, the influence of western arts is threatening to dissolve this art
form. The art absorbed the small intricacies of the Islamic era, and similarly, the need has
come again to evolve with the world.

While western arts tend to threaten our classical heritage, they also allow the artists to be
more creative. Today a fusion of the classical arts with western is very much appreciated. All
platforms are looking for innovative minds that can take the nuances and intrinsic details of
the classical arts, fuse them with the western arts, and create a more contemporary style.
Without changing its essence, the fundamentals, we can traverse through this different world
and create a new style of this art form. The strong basics of these classical arts collaborated
with western arts will lead to the survival of these dance forms and might weave something
fresh and more captivating.

The name of Tansen, one of the nine jewels of Akbar’s court, is still taken with a certain
reverence for who can deny respect to a man who can bring another to tears just with his
voice. Ragas have the quality of stirring deep emotions in one’s heart. In this fast-paced
monotonous, modern world, people get attracted to these classical arts because of the
emotions that make them feel alive. While one can jam to the beats of a catchy pop or rock
song, it gets very tiring. In such moments, people tune in to listen to some ragas or hum along
with the bhajans. Nothing can be more calming than a soft Sufi song.

Our country’s traditional form of medicine, Ayurveda, is highly demanded by people

worldwide. ISRO has succeeded in using Vedic knowledge and combining it with modern-
day technologies to launch multiple satellites and moon missions. Our country was the first
country ever to reach Mars in its maiden attempt in the meager budget of $73 million. The
popularity of the Sanskrit language is also increasing all over the world. The technical details
of Sanskrit make it an optimum language to use in computers. Although the Gurukul system
has dissolved way before, the current system with a comprehensive syllabus and much depth,
along with one of the most competitive education systems, has made Indians very resilient.
Attestation of this genius is that about 12% of all scientists and 38% of all doctors in the USA
are Indians.
 “Indian culture certainly gives the Indian mind, including the mind of the Indian
scientist, the ability to think out of the box.”

– Roland Joffe

THREATS

One of the biggest threats to classical art forms is westernization. Fusion of the art forms as a
form of creative art creates a more alluring and lighter version of the art; however,
abandoning the basic concepts and elements of the art would be not only disrespect but also
an excruciating show of clinging to transient fashions. The lack of financial support in
classical arts is also posing a threat to their evolution. A career in any of the art forms might
not be enough for basic amenities in most cases. Only some handpicked with much partiality
and preferential treatment get to earn enough to live luxuriously.

In today’s fast world, people do things with the motive of finishing them rather than learning
or enjoying them. They have an average attention span of 30 minutes. The patience to enjoy
an elegant performance of any classical arts that takes about two or three hours is simply
lacking. Where concerts of western arts are swamped with people with no room to move, the
classical art program hardly sees any audience. Except for the chief guests specifically invited
to the performance who are mostly too busy with their mobile phones to appreciate the art,
the seats remain empty. The thunder of claps that provides the energy and enthusiasm to keep
performing is missing. The artists lose their motivation to dedicate themselves to the art form,
to create something new. Any performing art thrives on the feedback of the audience. When
the critics and positive feedbacks decline with each passing day, the novelty of the art dies
and becomes a job for the artists.

India is facing a massive case of unemployment where skilled people are not getting jobs.
This lack of job opportunities is causing brain drain. Thus, while our education system
imparts knowledge and develops brilliant minds, our economy cannot provide them with
jobs.
The government cannot retain them, resulting in our country lagging behind the other
countries, leaving us no choice but to import goods from foreign countries. Most of our
researchers leave the country for money, recognition, and proper working environment. This
continuous brain drain is hampering our country’s progress. While western countries prefer
Ayurveda over western medicines, our country still prefers western medicines. We pay
astronomical fees for foreign medical services while foreign people get Ayurvedic treatment
at significantly cheaper costs. Our education system teaches students to be fluent in English
right from the beginning without crediting or recognizing Sanskrit. Dishonesty and corruption
in the education system are also proving to be a threat to our country.

The youth don’t know about a lot of rituals and ceremonies of our culture. They aren’t
interested to divulge in their heritage. The western way of life attracts them. Even our
education system is based on it. They teach us about the various western achievements but
forego talking about Indian culture. While we still celebrate the major festivals, we find the
more intimate festivals rather boring and dull. We refuse to live in joint families, one of the
main features of Indian society. We are attracted towards the nuclear family style of living in
the west where the children have to make appointments to meet their parents.

“Culture is the widening of the mind and the spirit”

 -Jawaharlal Nehru

CONCLUSION

“India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of
history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand-mother of tradition. Our most
valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India
only.”

-Mark Twain

Indian culture has evolved over the ages. This research paper discusses classical forms of
arts: Hindustani music and Kathak, the education system, the religions, and
the festivals, which are essential aspects of Indian culture. Hindustani music focuses on
bringing peace to the soul. Kathak improves the physical and mental health of the individual.
The education system has been able to achieve a lot more than was once considered possible.
India is known as a spiritual country, with more than ten religions practiced here. The
festivals we celebrate maintains harmony in our society, binding us together in the joyful
moments of our life.

The attraction of youth towards western culture is preventing them from learning about their
own. The current education system, while focusing on all European studies, fails to recognize
our culture. There are no textbooks prescribed that teach us about the rituals and traditions of
our culture that take place in every event, from marriage to death or different festivals. We
need to bask in the glory of our exquisite culture and rich heritage. It is time we learn from
our past. All the time we spent as a slave to other countries taught us that we need to stand
united. We need to preserve the sanctity of Indian culture, the epitome of Indian philosophy.

The SWOT analysis concludes that although some weaknesses are present in our culture, they
are far outweighed by the strengths. Many threats are posing to our culture, but far more
opportunities have opened. Indian culture is remarkably resilient. It will become the cultural
capital of the world again.
REFERENCES

 A Cultural History of India by A. L. Basham.

 Kathak: the dance of storytellers by Rachna Ramya
 A brief history of Indian Classical Music by Sunil Daman
 Ancient India by Joshua J. Mark
 Ancient India – World History Encyclopedia
 The Religions and Beliefs of Ancient India by Susan Henneberg