India is a role model of “unity in diversity.” It embodies the spirit of seekers. In ancient times, it pioneered innovations in sciences and wellness. During the occupation, it contorted to fit into the invaders’ boxes to preserve its core values.
On any given day, India is juggling magic alongside chaos. It is spinning and twirling fiery torches. The torches are its ancient traditions, cultural stories, drive for innovation, and modern constitution. India is balancing the concept of a secular democracy to balance social, religious, and cultural practices.
Indians are living in a schism where their core ancient values and lifestyles don’t always match the rules laid out in its secular Constitution. Their home lives often differ from their professional conduct.
Understanding this reality will help you to build strong relationships with the people of India and Indian teams working globally.
This blog provides an insight into the magnificent opportunity and chaos that is India. It shines a light on the dynamic mix of opportunity and complexity that defines India.
India offers an immense opportunity:
India offers a vast market of nearly one and a half billion people.
- With 65% of its population under 35, India is on track to become the world’s third-largest economy within a decade. (sources: UN data, Wikipedia)
- India is a country where the rich and poor are seeking a better life through innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaboration.
Virtually all industries will grow. The top five include:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI in India-Wikipedia)
- Health and Biotechnology (US Dept. of Commerce)
- Space Industry (Wikipedia)
- Defense (Wikipedia)
- Semiconductor (Growth-Reuters)
India is a dynamic laboratory of cultural and genetic diversity, unmatched in many ways. It presents an opportunity to learn from the mixing of ancient cultural practices, thousands of years old foundations of sciences, and a thriving Indian entrepreneurship world.
India has one of the richest, most diverse, and highly specialized talent pools of the world’s best-educated professionals. India is hungry for knowledge, and its people aspire to the prosperity and comforts that wealth brings.
The schism of the five fingers on a hand.
India’s contradictions can be visualized through the metaphor of a hand:
The modern Constitution enshrines equality for all individuals. The legal system sees individuals as identical. Same crime, same punishment; action, and consequence.
The ancient Indian stories and traditions see each finger in relation to its strength, placement, range of motion, flexibility, and function – framed by duty and morality.
India’s Constitution, in its structured simplicity, does not fully reflect the depth of its cultural and philosophical heritage. It misses the nuances of it many unique pillars: natural forces, wisdom, education, training, age, responsibility, and duty.
Ancient Indian stories weave a tapestry of spirituality, ambition, innovation, and transgression. The core of the Vedic tradition speaks of redemption through penance, donation, meditation, and repentance. India’s current relatively flat constitution does not match the depth of its cultural dimensionality.
India is a magical, chaotic cocktail.
Imagine India as a mythical beast, a fusion of strength, wisdom, and insatiable curiosity. It has the majestic head of an elephant, bearing the weight of its vast history and deep intellect. The unyielding stride of a stallion, galloping forward with relentless energy. Its lion’s fangs embody boldness and sharp intellect, while the towering reach of a giraffe surveys the horizon, embracing both ancient wisdom and future possibilities. The keen eyes of an eagle reflect its foresight and adaptability, and like a great whale, it plunges into the depths of knowledge and resurfaces—driven by an endless yearning for reinvention, growth, and global influence.
Its citizens hold the potential to be among humanity’s best, yet many struggle with the differing expectations of village life, urban settings, family businesses, and global enterprises. The world of social media has blurred the definitions of honor, truth, integrity, punctuality, and politeness.
Imagine one and a half billion vision-impaired creatures trying to find their path, each speaking a different language, eating different foods, praying to a different God, dressing in different attire, and following unique traditions in birth, marriage, and death.
While all are searching for their identity—they all have limitless ambition to live the shiny lives they see on their mobiles on YouTube and local language reels. This incredible colorful tapestry is India. It presents an extraordinary opportunity for mutual growth.
India has arrived here in stages over thousands of years of social evolution.
Over 6000 years ago (Source: The Arctic Home of the Vedas)
The original Varna system architected society along the lines of aptitude, talent, and occupation. People did what they were intellectually, mentally, physically, and emotionally suited for:
- Bright and compassionate people: priests
- Strong and courageous people: rulers
- Skilled negotiators: merchants
- All others: craftspeople, support people
- Not addressed: mountain and other tribes.
2300 years ago
The Verna system morphed into a rigid caste system.
Privileged classes wanted wealth and power and locked out those who were doing manual work from upward mobility.
Whether they had the aptitude for more no longer mattered.
This severely handicapped a large segment of the population.
1000 years ago
Over time, invaders used the caste system as a tool to deepen divisions among Indians. Many from the lower castes converted to other faiths, seeking a fresh start unburdened by caste-based stigma.
75 years ago
In 1950, an independent India cast its new secular Constitution, abolishing the caste system.
It was designed to uplift all citizens.
India adopted elements from the best practices from ten different nations’ constitutions: America, Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, and Russia.
The dilemma of the modern Constitution is that none of these donor Constitutions of the West integrate science, philosophy, and duty in their secular visions. Indians don’t share the past of the western countries. They did not live the same spiritual, cultural, and traditional lives as the Indians. This is why, those who live with the moral code of the stories and traditions of the ancient Indian past (the Bhagwat Gita, Mahabharata, and the teachings of the Veda, Upanishads, Puranas) feel disconnected from the current Constitution.
In the 75 years since independence, the Indian Parliament added many new provisions to uplift the backward classes, lower castes, and disadvantaged tribes.
Considerations to work with India and Indians
Casteism Persists Despite Legal Abolition
- While India’s Constitution bans caste-based discrimination caste still influences social interactions, marriage, and workplace dynamics. In urban and educated circles, caste barriers are dissolving, with people advancing based on merit. However, in rural areas and traditional families, caste-based restrictions on food, seating, and rituals at birth, marriage, and death still persist.
Meritocracy and Excellence Are Valued
- Indian culture places high importance on professional excellence, hard work, and discipline. The tradition of respecting teachers and mentors is deeply ingrained, with education acting as a powerful tool for breaking old barriers. As a result, skilled individuals from all castes and backgrounds are finding success as scientists, engineers, doctors, and artists.
Family-Owned Businesses Rely on Trust and Hierarchy
- Many businesses are family-run, operating on a trust-based model where decisions prioritize family and community over outsiders. Generational enterprises, from small shops to large industries, maintain strict hierarchies based on age, experience, and authority. Secrets and business strategies are closely guarded within the family.
Business Success Relies on Relationships and Adaptability
- In India, personal relationships and trust are often more important than efficiency in decision-making. While multinational companies increasingly prioritize performance, cultural factors still shape hiring and promotions. Workplace interactions are influenced by social norms, including dietary choices and religious customs.
Competition is Fierce, and Self-Advocacy Matters
- India has a highly competitive professional landscape where expertise is respected, but self-promotion is necessary for career growth. While traditional barriers are breaking down, networking and advocacy play a crucial role in advancing careers, especially for those from historically disadvantaged backgrounds.
What should you do when working with or in India and Indians.
- Be clear about your objectives.
- Research skills, track record, qualifications of potential collaborators.
- Be sensitive to social and cultural norms but focus on performance.
- Set clear performance and success criteria measurements.
- Be vigilant, be agile, drive excellence.
The next blog post.
The next blog will focus on the behaviors of people of Indian origin. Some of these seem awkward to the educated and affluent of the West.
This blog will make it easier for you to understand the geo-political negotiations. Fresh talks are under way between US’s Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnik and President Trump with their Indian counterparts Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.