To what extent globalization has influenced the core of cultural diversity in India? Explain.
Approach · directive: “to what extent / explain”
What it asks · Assess how far globalisation has changed India's core cultural diversity (languages, customs, crafts, food, family), showing both erosion and adaptation.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Explain how globalisation has influenced India's cultural diversity: homogenisation and erosion of languages, crafts and customs
- Explain adaptation, revival and reassertion: glocalisation, reverse flow, protection and identity
- To what extent: a reasoned position on how far the core has changed
Open with · Census 2011 grouped 19,569 raw mother-tongue returns into 121 languages, a measure of the plural core that globalisation meets; since 1991 globalisation has changed the visible surface quickly, while that core changes slowly.
Cover
- Census 2011 grouped 19,569 raw mother-tongue returns into 121 languages: the plural core globalisation meets.
- Homogenisation: global brands, fast food and Western dress create one urban lifestyle; English becomes the language of aspiration.
- Erosion: handloom and crafts face mass-produced goods; nuclear families and individual choice loosen community customs.
- Glocalisation: global chains localise menus; satellite television and regional cinema grow in every major language.
- Reverse flow and protection: Yoga on UNESCO's list (2016), GI tags for Darjeeling tea and Kanchipuram silk; since then Durga Puja (2021), Garba (2023).
- Reassertion: market anxiety and migration sharpen regional and religious identity, sometimes defensively.
- Extent: the visible layer has changed much; language, faith, kinship and caste practice persist and adapt.
Close with · Globalisation in India has produced glocalisation more than homogenisation, a synthesis rather than a replacement; whether it stays two-way depends on support for mother tongues, crafts and living heritage.
Add value (verified)
- Census 2011 received 19,569 raw mother-tongue returns, grouped under 121 languages: 22 scheduled and 99 non-scheduled.Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 3330 (16 March 2021), Ministry of Home Affairs ↗“These two lists are contained under 121 languages Part A : Scheduled Languages (22) and Part B: Non-Scheduled Languages (99)”
- Census 2011 received 19,569 raw returns under mother tongue or language.Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 3330 (16 March 2021), Ministry of Home Affairs ↗“Due to outbreak of Covid-19, the Census activities have been postponed. During Census 2011, 19,569 raw”
- UNESCO inscribed Yoga (India) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016.India: elements on the Lists — UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ↗“India 2016 Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Yoga”
- Durga Puja in Kolkata was inscribed in 2021 and Garba of Gujarat in 2023 on UNESCO's Representative List.India: elements on the Lists — UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ↗“India 2023 Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Garba of Gujarat India 2021 Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Durga Puja in Kolkata”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2016, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 16 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 292words · Minimalist IAS
Census 2011 data, published since the exam, grouped 19,569 raw mother-tongue returns into 121 languages, a measure of the plural core that globalisation meets. Since 1991, the free flow of goods, media and people has changed India's visible culture quickly; its core of language, faith, kinship and region changes slowly.
Globalisation and Indian culture: homogenisation; erosion; glocalisation; revival; reassertion
How globalisation has eroded diversity
- Consumer culture: global brands, malls, fast food and Western dress create a similar urban lifestyle across the metros.
- Language shift: English has become the language of aspiration; smaller languages and dialects lose speakers as schooling and jobs move.
- Crafts and livelihoods: handloom and artisan products compete with cheap mass-produced goods, breaking the bond between craft and community.
- Family and values: nuclear households, individual choice in careers and marriage, and consumerism loosen customs once set by the community.
How the core has held or gained
- Glocalisation: global chains serve vegetarian and regional menus, while satellite television and regional cinema have grown in every major language.
- Reverse flow: UNESCO inscribed Yoga as intangible heritage of humanity in 2016, and the diaspora carries Indian food and festivals abroad.
- Protection: Geographical Indications under the 1999 Act shield Darjeeling tea and Kanchipuram silk; since then Durga Puja in Kolkata (2021) and Garba of Gujarat (2023) joined UNESCO's list.
- Reassertion: market anxiety and migration sharpen regional and religious identity, preserving difference but sometimes making it defensive.
To what extent
Dress, food, entertainment and aspiration have changed substantially. Language, faith, kinship and caste practice persist and adapt, so the core has been reworked rather than replaced.
Globalisation in India has produced glocalisation more than homogenisation, a synthesis rather than a replacement; whether it stays two-way depends on support for mother tongues, crafts and living heritage.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 16 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
