Urbanization: The changing face of Indian Society

A COUPLE of centuries ago, India was just a conglomeration of villages and small towns. The kind of lifestyle and practices followed were those inherited from our forefathers. A dramatic shift came about after the arrival of the Portuguese, Spanish navies followed by the French and the English.  During this period the whole of Europe was being transformed by the Industrial Revolution which lasted till the 19th century. By the end of the 19th century India was slowly being consumed from within by the British crown for various obvious reasons.

The metrics in India changed with Bombay, Calcutta and Madras becoming centres of governance for the British rulers. A rash of activities started mushrooming in these cities like roadways, railways, trams, colleges, hospitals, and the manpower required was to be filled by the natives. Though most of these were done for their convenience, the infrastructure boom and the opportunities that arose resulted in the migration of people to these places.

The tradition bound people started observing a new way of westernised behaviour from their rulers and the change started ticking. The end of World War II resulted in a major shift, with countries across the world realigning and of course an independent India came into being.  Though the English moved out of India, they left an indelible footprint of their culture and practices. And the craze to impersonate the white skin was deeply embedded on the Indian society.

India with a strong culture & heritage had practices like festivals, melas, community gatherings and even marriages happening to be reasons for socializing. The sands of Time worked and these events moved out from the social calendar. Though the Western culture imbibance was a factor, the socio-economic demands became a decisive factor. In this process the traditional joint family splintered into smaller nuclear families. This resulted in a paradigm shift in an individuals’ behaviour which by and large impacted the society as a whole.

The traditional joint families did teach an individual about interpersonal behaviour, civilised behaviour, self-management of finance, respect for elders and more importantly, it had mentors inside a home, whereas in a nuclear family all these were missing.  But with the advent of gated communities a major shift is happening.

In cities like Mumbai where such gated communities came into existence almost 20 year back, the traditional values are being imparted in the form of celebrations, get-togethers and many activities. Eventually this will spread and communities which come together because of socio-economic demands will evolve into traditionally modern society teaching our younger ones a new way of life.

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