Civilization is defined as the most advanced stage of human social development and organization. Culture on the other hand culture consists of patterns implicit and explicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols.
For the growth of mankind, it is essential that the advancement of both culture and civilization go hand in hand. But this is not exactly the case. In countries like India, the fact remains that with the advancement of a civilization, culture declines sooner or later.
To understand this fact, let us take a practical example. India today is undoubtedly making advancement in all the fields including technology. The generation today is largely influenced by the Western culture instead of our very own Indian culture.
Children today are fluent in English but when it comes to speaking Hindi, they cannot even pronounce Hindi numerical properly. Moreover we more or less dress according to the Western culture.
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Technology is also a gift from the West though India follows in making discoveries. The good news is that as a civilization, India has advanced by leaps and bounds. But when it comes to the advancement and understanding of Indian culture, whether we agree or not, today’s generation lacks behind in most of the cases. Ask them about Indian history; it will be difficult for them to answer. Now if you ask them about their favorite pop star, they will have a list ready. It is not the fault of the child that he or she has a little understanding of our culture, the circumstances are such.
As civilization advances, people leave their hometown and move towards the cities and larger towns. The roots are thus left. Now as these people get married and settled, their kids get acquainted with a different culture but as a civilization the country starts advancing. Moreover with the advancement of civilization, people get so busy in the technological advancements that they seldom have time to understand their rich culture.
Most of us speak English and Hindi fluently but the question is how many of us can speak our mother tongue i.e. Marwari, Bengali, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Odia or other languages fluently. Most of us cannot even understand their mother tongue properly. Forget mother tongue, parents today tries to speak to their children only in English just for their better future. The result is that their English becomes exceedingly excellent but when it comes to speaking Hindi these children are weak.
Today this fact is accepted that civilization is advancing and culture is declining but if we as individuals are determined to keep our cultural heritage intact, we can easily do so. Making our kids understand the significance of the Indian festivals as much as understanding the significance of Christmas is essential. Speaking in Hindi or their own regional language also keeps an individual attached to his or her roots. Keeping these few factors in mind will surely help in the advancement of culture alongside the advancement of civilization.
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