Is diversity and pluralism in India under threat due to globalisation? Justify your answer.
Approach · directive: “justify”
What it asks · Take a reasoned stand on whether globalisation endangers India's cultural diversity and pluralism, weighing homogenisation and identity backlash against revival and hybridity.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Take a stand: is India's diversity and pluralism under threat from globalisation
- Justify it: evidence of threat (homogenisation, endangered languages, dislocation, backlash) and of resilience (glocalisation, revival, constitutional safeguards)
Open with · NCERT frames the debate as homogenisation versus glocalisation; globalisation strains India's diversity at the margins, but the graver threat is the identity backlash it can provoke.
Cover
- Homogenisation: global brands, English media and fast food spread one lifestyle, crowding out local dress, crafts and cuisines.
- Endangered languages: SPPEL has identified 117 endangered languages, Toda of the Nilgiris among them.
- Dislocation: market forces and large projects displace artisans, tribal communities and small traders, eroding cultures tied to them.
- Backlash: a sense of cultural invasion feeds exclusivist identity politics, amplified by social media.
- Resilience: glocalisation, regional cinema and media growth, yoga and crafts in world markets, GI tags.
- Constitutional shield: Articles 29(1), 30 and 51A(f); way forward through documentation, craft livelihoods and countering hate speech.
Close with · Globalisation that homogenises culture also breeds new hybrid and local forms; pluralism holds if India treats that churn as enrichment, as Article 51A(f) asks.
Add value (verified)
- Article 29(1) gives every section of citizens with a distinct language, script or culture the right to conserve it, a constitutional shield for diversity.The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024), Article 29(1) — Legislative Department ↗“Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.”
- SPPEL has identified 117 endangered languages and aims to document about 500 lesser-known languages.Documenting India's Endangered Languages — PIB backgrounder (Aug 2025) ↗“Currently, SPPEL has identified 117 endangered languages, and is working toward documenting about 500 lesser-known languages in the future.”
- Toda, spoken in the Nilgiris, is an endangered language.Documenting India's Endangered Languages — PIB backgrounder (Aug 2025) ↗“Toda is an endangered proto-South-Dravidian language”
- Article 30 gives minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions.The Constitution of India — Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice ↗“30. Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.”
- Article 51A(f) makes it a Fundamental Duty to value and preserve the composite culture.The Constitution of India — Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice ↗“(f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 16 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 306words · Minimalist IAS
NCERT's sociology texts frame the debate as homogenisation versus glocalisation: does a global market make cultures alike, or blend global forms with local content? In India, globalisation strains diversity at the margins but has not overwhelmed pluralism; the graver threat is the identity backlash it can provoke.
Where the threat is real
- Homogenisation: global brands, English-language media and fast food sell one aspirational lifestyle, crowding out local dress, crafts, cuisines and festivals.
- Endangered languages: the SPPEL documentation scheme has identified 117 endangered languages (PIB, 2025), among them Toda of the Nilgiris.
- Dislocation: market forces and large projects displace artisans, tribal communities and small traders, and the cultures tied to those livelihoods erode.
- Backlash: a sense of cultural invasion fuels exclusivist identity politics on religious, linguistic and regional lines, amplified by social media; this threatens pluralism more than foreign goods do.
Globalisation and Indian diversity: homogenisation; endangered languages; livelihood loss; identity backlash; glocalisation; global revival
Where pluralism has proved resilient
- Glocalisation: global formats carry local content, from regional-language streaming to fusion music, and regional cinema and language media have grown.
- Revival and export: yoga, cuisine and crafts reach world markets, and GI tags protect local products against imitation.
- Constitutional shield: Article 29(1) protects a distinct language, script or culture; Article 30 lets minorities run their own educational institutions; Article 51A(f) makes preserving our composite culture a duty.
Assessment
- Diversity is under pressure where languages, tribal cultures and minority security are weak, but pluralism as a whole has absorbed globalisation and used it.
Way forward
- Protect the fragile: scale language documentation and mother-tongue content, support craft livelihoods through GI and digital markets, and act firmly against hate speech.
As NCERT observes, the globalisation that homogenises culture also produces its opposite; India's pluralism holds if it treats that churn as enrichment, as Article 51A(f) asks every citizen to do.
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.
