I was wondering what the general impression was about diversity and how value adding it is to social and economical growth. We Indians typically are rather proud of the fact that we come from a country where almost every state speaks its own language and has its own distinct culture, but how much do we really value it?
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I know for a fact that when we talk with people unfamiliar with Indian culture, it becomes our conversational pivot-point. Within the country and within ourselves, though, I do not think we respect or value our differences enough to leverage the benefits. To add to that, culturally inherent notions of sexism, and casteist and religious discrimination still prevail, even in educated people.<br><br> I believe cultural diversity is a strong-point, not a weakness. I would much rather see thought processes evolving from people of different or mixed backgrounds than not. Maybe this is too much of a generalization, but there is not much in terms of breadth of thought to be gained from homogeneity of people.
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Most countries encouraging immigration and ethnic diversity have not just realized the power of a diverse and multi-cultural workforce, but have also reaped social and economical benefits as a result. Countries like Japan that have historically been locked into racial unifomity are looking towards implementing broader immigration policies to stop their economies from stalling. <br><br>
To start with, we Indians have a definite advantage, being so different within the same country. As a next step to first embracing and leveraging our internal differences, we need to look into opening up to cultures outside our borders. Interacting with and learning about other cultures will encourage the much-needed open-mindedness within our own country, and a better understanding of our culture in the outside world.
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I wish I had leads to address the issue. Maybe that\'s why this message is on the bulletin boards for folks to bounce ideas off of!