Progressiveness of society -2

After the first post on the same topic I received some feedback stating that I didn't drive home the point clearly and was roving about aimlessly. So I take my second chance writing about the same header but in a different context or rather a follow up to the first one.

Resistance to change is one of the most debatable points in mainstream society. Recently I saw a tamil program on Tv "Neeya Naana" (You or Me) a debate/talk show which pits one side of the society and the other side against each other on a variety of topics. The topic under discussion was Modernity vs tradionality and a lot of interesting comments were exchanged between both sides. Though not all points were reasonable and mature it gave a clear sense of how fragmented and divisive the society we live under is. The producers of the show did a smart job of picking a diverse group of people cutting across class and gender and also falling on either side of modernity or tradionality. The crux of the episode was that a group albeit small was consistently attempting to break the boundaries/stereotypes drawn by the society while another group firmly believed in sticking to the experiences passed on to them. The host completed the show by stating that changes caused due to peer pressure are better avoided but at the same time one must keep an eye on the growing changes in the world and accept them if required.

Recently I had an opportunity to see a documentary called "Story of India" presented by Michael Woods (We need a westerner to present even our history to be accepted as unbiased, LOL) which did a very good job of taking the viewer along a journey from the early beginnings of Indian Civilization and the progression it has made over centuries to reach the current state.
One theme that was painted very beautifully was that India faces an interesting challenge considering its status as an ancient civilization which is still alive and has started to make the first steps towards a dramatic economic progression filled with pace and steadfastness. How does it grapple with the pride that it holds for the practices and the modernity it strives to enter, the balancing act is going to be one of the most crucial points in determining whether India goes on to become a genuine super power.

The connection between the Talk Show and the documentary is that the underlying message that one section of the country's progress is rapidly leaving the rest of the country high and dry. The massive gap in living standards is stark and is about to get bigger. What we are observing is a clear divide along the monetary lines, the economically progressive start to shed its inhibitions and controls bit by bit while the average depreived Indian watches on solemnly trying hard to associate himself with something to get his life going. Religion,tradition and culture offer the easisest ways for the human mind to obtain that social defence and its nothing new. The traces of which are slowly emerging on the horizon creating bigger differences than ever before.