ON THE
IMPORTANCE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE
Surendra
Munshi
Culture
is usually understood to mean improvements that result from the refinement of
thought and action. Just as one cultivates a garden, one may also cultivate
one's abilities, including physical abilities. A cultured person is typically an
educated person with refined ways of thinking, talking and acting. A social
group is considered to be cultured in the same manner. An important
consideration here is whether the members of a social group have acquired the
ability to live together harmoniously, a skill most needed among the inhabitants
of a city who by necessity live in larger numbers and in closer physical
proximity than people living in rural areas. Culture is often understood for
this reason to be the 'city' of human beings. If the city is the centre of
culture as compared with the village, a nation may be viewed as more cultured
than other nations. This was the view that dominated the world in the era of
colonialism when the 'white man's burden' as Rudyard Kipling put it was to
'better' the rest of the world. Culture thus created a divide between nations,
groups and persons in terms of the presence or absence of culture of at least in
terms of the level of culture that had been achieved.
This view is unacceptable in the current social
scientific usage. Culture now means the way of life of a people, a whole society
or a particular group within it. It includes not only beliefs, values and rules
of conduct but also the material resources of a society or a group. The emphasis
now is on differentiating human beings from animals, for much of our behaviour
is supposed to be socially learned. Culture is socially acquired and is passed
from one generation to the next. It is thus our social rather than biological
inheritance. A Kashmiri boy or girl, for example, if taken away at the time or
birth and brought up by different parents in an alien culture will grow up
acquiring that culture, including the language of that society. There will be
nothing to show by way of Kashmiri culture in that child. Language plays a
significant role in our attempt to communicate with each other. What is not
noticed often is that language organises our experiences. If a word does not
exist for an object in a language it is likely that the object does not exist in
that society or if it does it is not given any importance in the cultural world
of the people speaking the language. Bengalis do not have a differentiated
vocabulary for snow in their language, and Kashmiris do not have such a
differentiated vocabulary for snow as exists among Eskimos. Eskimos are thus in
a position to share understanding and communicate with each other in a
differentiated manner about snow, something relevant to their physical
existence.
It is now recognised that all societies are cultured
and not just those who claim superiority for themselves. Culture has thus become
a descriptive term, not evaluative as it was earlier. It becomes the task of a
researcher then to study the culture of a society or a group in a descriptive
manner. Each culture has its own inner principles that govern it. To eat in the
Western style then is not to be considered superior to the way we in India
usually eat without such tools as knife and fork. To uphold the standards of
one's own culture in relation to the culture of others is to be guilty of
ethnocentrism which is not acceptable any longer. What provides then the
standard of evaluation for a culture? The standard is provided by the principles
of values internal to a culture. This allows for greater tolerance.
The modern concept of culture in the social sciences
takes into account several principles for understanding social behaviour. One of
them has already been identified. This is the principle of social learning. Not
all of this learning though takes place consciously. A good example once again
is language. The best way to learn a language is at the knees of one's parents
as a child. This learning takes place naturally, with lasting impact. It is also
recognised that culture patterns our perception and also our thoughts. To behave
'naturally' or 'honourably' may mean different things in different societies.
Beauty does not lie only in the eye of the beholder but also in the eye of the
culture to which the beholder belongs. All of us take over the ways of our
culture to a large extent, consciously or unconsciously. Is a woman beautiful if
she is slim or if she has a more rounded form? Different cultures give different
answers to this question. We are often so tuned to the positions of our culture
that it becomes difficult to even recognise that others may have different
preferences. It should be understandable to us that those who are not used to
salted tea may not quite be able to relish the shir chai of which we are
so fond.
Culture is inherited and that makes it our heritage.
Every society or group lays claim to its heritage. Even though in principle it
is possible to think of heritage as inherited circumstances which may include
benefits as well as burdens, it is usual to emphasise positive aspects when
cultural heritage is discussed. Why do we need this heritage? We need this
heritage as our shared resource for communication and for common identity.
Something needs to be said now on the issue of identity. Sociologists have shown
that identity is socially bestowed, and many lament the growth of self-absorbed
selfishness in the modern world that has arisen due to the weakening of common
cultural bonds. Can there be a celebration of the self in this situation? Many
plays and novels show the breakdown of the self in a world of fragmentation and
homelessness. Culture is a resource that provides us with our home that is more
secure than the one provided by a house of four walls. It helps us to stabilise
our identity by establishing our links with our forefathers from whom we
inherited it and also with our successors on whom we are going to bestow it.
This is not all. Culture helps us to channelise our desires in the form of
values and also to regulate them by prescribing acceptable norms. It has given
us abilities that have been developed over generations to live and live well in
our surroundings.
Does it mean that all we have to do about culture is to
acquire it and pass it on? Are we passive recipients of our cultural heritage?
To answer these questions in the affirmative will be misleading. It is now
recognised that culture is best viewed as a process which involves the active
participation of every generation in creating and recreating it. The way a
particular cultural heritage is interpreted, accentuated or even neglected
depends on the attitude of the generation that has a central role to play during
a particular period. We have a real problem here that needs to be seriously
considered. We are losing our language, for our children are not learning it. We
need to take care of this problem as a task. Each generation sets for itself an
agenda and a course of action suitable for it, even if implicitly or without
clarity. A wise generation does it consciously. Yet another point that needs to
be kept in mind is that a country like India has not one but many sources of its
rich tradition. A decision then has to be taken on the tradition that we reject
and the heritage that we carry forward. The task is to relate with different
sources of tradition in a creative and positive manner. This has to be done in
an informed manner, for unthinking rejection is as lamentable as unthinking
acceptance.
It was Toynbee who propounded the thesis that cultures
develop in societies in response to challenges. This old-fashioned view acquires
significance for us. It is for us to turn the challenge facing our community and
our country into an opportunity for significant advance. It is for us to prove
that no matter how great the challenge is we are capable of meeting it together
with resolve and resourcefulness.
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