Why is Multiculturalism important ?

Many Indians do not recognize the trap they are in. They proudly talk about their own culture and boast how the westerners are adopting their practices of yoga and meditation as proof of why their culture is superior. Else they reject their cultures and adopt practices of the so called westerners.

True western power comes from being able to provide an architecture for multi-culturalism. Be it christianity, capitalism or science, West allows for multiple cultures to be be part of them by allowing conversion, equal opportunity for wealth creation or equal opportunity to make fun of all cultures, respectively.

India is caught in this web of western multiculturalism, while it has an alternate basis in its own tradition to create an equally powerful and humane multicultural architecture. Its spiritual tradition contains germs of openness and tolerance which could form the basis for constructing an alternate multi-cultural architecture.

What Indians forget is unless they find a way to celebrate Brazilian, Chinese, Turkish, African, Russian, European, Arabic cultures within their own framework, they cannot really be world leaders. Leaders should be acceptable to every one and while a large part of it comes from sheer power, economic and military, a significant part of it comes from being able to own the cultural software platform that allow for cultures to engage with each other. China and Russia do not have it, Brazil and India could have a shot at it. Whether they take it up and make something of it, it is difficult to day