In a decade-long desperate attempt to understand the true culture lying in
the most diversified Indian subcontinent, E.M. Forster produced A
Passage to India, but failed to bridge between the Indian and the UK
nationals. Rudyard Kipling went far enough or to be fairer, envisioned too much
in his famous poem, The Ballad of East and West, to declare:
“Oh, East is East and West is West and never shall the twain meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends
of the earth!”
So where we have traveled to in the ride of a century is nowhere but the
vision of the 19th century, the multicultural environment, as
envisioned by the then time dreamers. With the wings of technological
advancement, emergence of capitalism and open market economy, the world once
polarized by distance, now has shrunk to a global village under a multicultural
environment to which we do have no other option but to acclimatize.
In every aspects of our life be it academic, political or professional, we
need to brace for the bigger challenges lying in a multicultural environment
and to make it favorable by developing relationships we should give emphasis on
some basic principles as described by Cherie Brown and George Mazza in their, Healing
into Action, and avail some opportunities as follow:
- Take the
chance to welcome everyone in your world irrespective of their culture,
age, nationalism, religion, language, social status or financial
condition. Each person has to share the right of feeling secured in a
diverse community with their personal beliefs and culture
- In case of
a cultural misinterpretation, do not blame others or make them feel
ashamed: both ways lead things go awry instead of motivating. People are
more likely to adapt a multicultural environment when they are
appreciated, not condemned.
- Give
emphasis on the basic human nature instead of raising any controversial
question regarding the historical background of a particular community,
political situation or religious beliefs.
- Treat
everyone judging what personality they are guided by: altruist, egoist,
extrovert, introvert, altruist or any other. You should not make an
introvert asking him questions one after another or expect an extrovert to
be a listener only.
- Always try
to work like a team involving each and everyone with their opinions while
generating spirits and hopes in their hearts. Educate yourself with the
cultural differences and make a balance in between, recognize the gaps,
show positive attitudes toward it and come out with the desired goal.
It’s all simple in the end. We have crossed the borders, brought the
farthest corners down to our doors. Now, what we must do is to conquer the
cultural gaps just by changing our mind set of being critical to diverse
cultural traits not belonged to us.
This article along with others on cultural diversity & challenges is available in eBook or paperback in Amazon.
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