Indian culture, like that of any other country, is equally flawed!
The notion that one’s culture is great and must be respected is totally fine, but idealism of the same is utter foolishness.
India has always been a diverse and multicultural land, fostering people of all religions and practices. The cultural heritage of it is undoubtedly great and must be praised.
But the idea of nationalism is often confused with idealism. To believe that one’s homeland is a great nation and to sing its praises is all fine, but one must admit that this creation or world that we live in is not flawless.
The Toxic parenting culture that no-one talks about
Growing up in a traditional North Indian household, I have had my share of toxic family and parenting experiences. I have been vocal about it around me from the moment I gained the conscience to see it through. But again, mere generalisation of the same would be foolish, wouldn’t it? So let’s just try and understand it separately:
- We are all aware of the ill effects of mental health decline on one’s body, mind, and consciousness. However, it is a shame that the majority of Indian households still believe mental health issues like anxiety, depression, etc. to be falsely made up for seeking attention and for money-making by the mental health care sector. Now, think of the scared teenagers living under the roof of these same people, struggling with the very same issues, and how heartbreaking it is for them that their own parents wouldn’t believe them!
- Reducing children’s lives solely to academics is fairly common here. If you’re a middle school girl in an Indian household wanting to learn swimming instead of always focusing on math and science, chances are high that your parents will be disappointed in you.
- The ultimate lack of emotional maturity is what I believe to be the pioneer of parenting failures commonly seen and happily inherited with bouts of generational trauma tagging along with it.
- The very lack of expression of love and display of affection to children is disastrously wrong. Such children grow up to be adults with attachment issues and complex relationship problems. It is sickening to see that the majority of Indian fathers would rather crumble to pieces than hug their children and tell them that they’re there for them, no matter what. Physical gestures of care and love shown by parents are very important in the early years of childhood. It is important to build a healthy emotional relationship with themselves and to have an equally healthy perception of relationships.
- It is hilarious how we as a nation talk of “beti bachao beti padhao” and then go on to promote misogynistic and patriarchal behaviour at home. Females are often granted no freedom; they are excluded from important discussions and decision making. To foster such beliefs in considering women as livestock is disgustingly wrong.
There is a lot more to this topic, of course, for the world is grey, and fools spend their lives dividing it into black and white!
