India’s Elections
Here’s a really interesting article in the Wall Street Journal. The recent victory of the National Congress Party, and especially of Mr. Manmohan Singh, who has proven to be a truly global choice for Indians living and voting from all over the world.
“Across the world, 30 million members of the Indian diaspora have largely come to see Mr. Singh as their symbol of a new India.” Several years ago he offered “overseas citizenship” which permits Indians to live, work and travel between multiple places of residence in different countries. This past election, these Indians were able to vote, too, for the Prime Minister.
Indians living abroad have greatly boosted India’s recent growth, as the idea of a global Indian (the article referenced here appears in a column called “The New Global Indian”) is now a recognized term. The Indian diaspora, which is a vast global network, represents a plethora of nationalities and is full of new and changing values from countries that are culturally far from India. For example, the definition of status, where being a doctor or lawyer typically signified an elevated position in the past, has been affected by the influx of technology and especially the use of computers and the internet (all things the diaspora has contributed to). In what other ways has The Global Indian impacted the national culture of India? How will culture change as we continue to be more globally interdependent?
