RELATIONS PAST FORWARDED

Transcription

1 RELATIONS PAST FORWARDED While sipping on steaming cups of the famous South Indian filter coffee, our eclectic and high profile group of experts from the sectors of Arts, Media, Law, Education and Academia congregated at the British Council in Chennai on 7 February 2012 to negotiate the cultural dynamics of India and the UK in its current and future contexts. We also asked, what does the future look like for this relationship? Cultural exchange needs to start early, in school, India doesn t like being told what to do anymore, One cannot deny the importance of learning English today, UK needs to ask what can India do for us? opinions were voiced clearly. We listened intently as each discussion paved its own trajectory, compounded by personal anecdotes and heated debates on the issues of cultural politics, the colonial hangover and the importance of the English language in this day and age. Because it is all this and much more which will be part of Re-Imagine: India-UK Cultural Relations in the 21st Century, a one-year project by the British Council and partner organisations the King s College India Institute and Counterpoint which, hopes to understand the India-UK cultural relationship in the 21st Century. Read here what everyone had to say: 5(,0$*,1(,1',$8.&8/785$/5(/$7,216,17+( &(1785< 1

2 Given the fast-changing world we need to renegotiate constantly the cultural dialogue that happens between UK and India. While the English language has been an important part of that there have to be other ways and these need to be thought about beyond language. We don t want to see the UK as the big brother, big sister or big mother, where you re being inspired and constantly told what to do. There are certain wonderful things in the way in which their cultural world operates, primary among them being institutions, mechanisms of cultural dissemination, processes, systems, the way reaching out is done, technology, archiving and some research. We need to be inspired and learn from that. What we find in India in a lot of spaces is that there is a great lack of ability to discourse and I think that s something we need to learn from UK. To have a space of critical discourse where we can as Paul said earlier and I say very often at Prakriti, a space where you can agree to disagree. We also need to extend imaginatively the reach of whatever is brought in through the British prism, whether it s a theatre, an exhibition or a seminar to imaginatively extend it beyond the specific cultural axes of Bombay and Delhi not only Chennai but places like Baroda and Kochi as well as getting out to tier two cities. The soft option of pop culture is very important and we need to see how those linkages can actually be done even though right now they seem to be sort of linkages that happened because of the Internet or technology, it s a great precursor to getting a whole generation involved in the engagement with both cultures. Part of this also means that while things were done on a more general level, people to people interactions and connections should be prioritised as those are really catalytic moments. How do we initiate a two-way dialogue if we have to break from the older models? Some of the ideas our group thought of was it should be a two-way dialogue. Very often you get people from the UK coming to India but as for people going there, it s not unless they re going on scholarships. More needs to be done from the Indian side to send people to UK so that there s an understanding of the Indian cultural context as well and to break within that, because we have on our side in India our own cultural monopolies and cronies within the institutions. This can then give us a genuine exchange of people, people who are not necessarily those who have achieved a certain :KDWQHHGVWR EHGRQH ([WHQGZKDWLV EURXJKWWKURXJKWKH %ULWLVKSULVPEH\RQG %RPED\DQG'HOKL +DYHDVSDFHRI FULWLFDOGLVFRXUVH ZKHUHZHFDQDJUHHWR GLVDJUHH 0RUHQHHGVWREHGRQH IURPWKH,QGLDQVLGHWR VHQGSHRSOHWR8. stature or celebrities, but people with genuine openness because that s where true

3 exchange is going to happen. We need some amount of clarity and thinking to be done in this area on how we can take this idea forward, right now it s just a generic idea the group felt. Our final recommendation is that while the British Council and British organisations in India push functional English teaching, because it s very important and it s a great enabler, we need to enhance that through literature, culture, movies, other kinds of tropes that would enlarge the scope of absorbing the culture and understanding it much better and also in some ways marrying it with liberal arts and humanities per se. While functional engagement is the first stepping stone that allows you to bridge the chasm, we need to go slightly beyond that and that needs to happen through libraries, through online resources and other things, and it needs to be more easily accessible. S. MUTHIAH It is possible to have a general committee from both countries, a cultural exchange committee who can make these choices and decisions. GOWRI RAMANARAYAN It is important to engage younger people in theatre and encourage interpretation. For example, a person from Madurai goes to UK and directs an Indian play with an English cast and a person from UK comes to India and works on a western script with Indian actors. KALA SHREEN We discussed the different issues related to education and the India-UK relationship regarding education. We divided education broadly into three areas, one being teaching, the other being research and the third one being training. The members of the table agreed that while there had been a lot of programmes, teaching exchange programmes, whether with students or the faculty, one neglected area has been research, and within research itself, research in social sciences has been far more neglected than research in sciences and technology. Therefore we came to a conclusion where we felt that pure research should be tied in with what is called applied research and social sciences have to be integrated into education. We felt it is important to marry pure research with applied research as it pays in the upliftment of the community and it s here that UK can play a role. In the field of education, English is a major player. While there are pros and cons, it was noted that English could have the ill effect of having to mask the regional identity of a particular area, at the same time one cannot deny the fact that it s a great springboard and very necessary for modernisation and if you want to compete in the global world.

4 In the field of education England has got a lot of resources which they can offer and India has got the needs for those resources and sometimes these are not fully matched and it doesn t reach where there is a need. Sharing of resources is very important from the India perspective and the UK perspective. UK-India educational networks should be built where students come to India for research. We can help with that. It is not a one-way process. In the current status there has been a quantum jump, a lot of research programmes and collaborations, not just in colleges abut schools too. There are, however, difficulties in collaboration the two countries have different systems and there is no focus on research in Indian colleges. The weakness in the current scenario is funding, which is a major problem. Banks should look at funding education as an investment for nurturing talent. PRATEEP V PHILLIP Anyone from education institutions, industries to individual people can contribute to this relationship. KAUSALYA SANTHANAM I feel UK students who come to India are welcomed by us so Indian students who go to UK can be made to feel at home more. PRATEEP V PHILLIP India and UK are now in the same world, so it s time for mutual engagement and parity. S. MUTHIAH Madras University has programmes with a US college. We have an arrangement where the students spend a term and get credit on their courses for this. This has been a great success. They have had wonderful experiences and some students have even come back here to study further. Britain can think of this. PAUL SELLERS I agree with what is being said here, we need to question, what does India have to offer to the UK? We are in the same world now and British students should also say, I studied in India. :KDWKDVEHHQ QHJOHFWHG 5HVHDUFKHVSHFLDOO\LQ VRFLDOVFLHQFHV )XQGLQJHGXFDWLRQ %DQNVVKRXOGORRNDW IXQGLQJHGXFDWLRQDVDQ LQYHVWPHQWIRUQXUWXULQJ WDOHQW 7KH8.PXVWUHLQYHVWLQ,QGLDDQGDVNZKDWFDQ,QGLDGRIRUXV"

5 DEBORAH THIAGARAJAN While student exchanges are important, there should also be exchange of teachers so they learn how to introduce the country and its culture to their students. SUJATA SEN The same points arose in the UK workshop which we held in January in London. The UK must re-invest in India and ask what can India do for us? SELVI PALANI In my law college we had a paper where we had to study the constitutions of other countries, a comparative paper where we learnt about the British, US, Germany s constitutions. We study theirs, they should also study ours. B. JAYASHREE It has been a good experience to just talk with everyone about this. Cultural Relations has an all-inclusive meaning, beyond mediums. In education we felt there was a need to start early. There should be sharing of experience and cultural exchange, like Madhuvanti was saying about her school and how the kids in the UK school will perform from Amarchitrakatha and the Indian children will perform Red Riding Hood. Conflict has always been there between the two cultures so what is required is openness on both sides, a mutual understanding. We also felt there was a need for cognitive learning and the education system definitely needs to be rehauled since actual exposure and experiences make a big difference. As someone recommended, we can have quiz contests on the other country for kids in these two countries and then follow it up with exchange visits. Uma s experience showed her that in the UK she is recognised as an Indian artist but not as an artist in general. This acceptance as an artist, and not just an Indian one, must come from the UK. There should be a platform for the two countries where one can go beyond culture and achieve social consciousness. We can discuss concerns affecting culture and issues affecting people. 7KHUHVKRXOGEH VKDULQJRIH[SHULHQFH DQGFXOWXUDO H[FKDQJH&RQIOLFW KDVDOZD\VEHHQ WKHUHEHWZHHQWKH WZRFXOWXUHVEXWZH UHTXLUHRSHQQHVVRQ ERWKVLGHVDPXWXDO XQGHUVWDQGLQJµ About English language, it was felt that it has aspirational value and should also reach rural communities and reach out beyond the urban.

6 It is seen that Indian students now prefer to go to the US and the relationship with US is growing strong. Maybe UK should try to address that. And there is also a need to have lateral thinking, more learning exchanges to reach out to more people. GEETA DOCTOR On the subject of conflict I would like to just ask, do we really want to avoid conflict? No. Conflict is good. There must be co-existence and conflict. We need to develop a sense of humour, we are not really equal, take it with some humour. SUJATA SEN Initially you said Geeta that the India-UK relationship isn t working at the moment. Why did you say that? GEETA DOCTOR The British media has been criticising India s decision to buy jets from the French and are being severe about the fact that we didn t purchase from them. We don t want to be told what to do anymore. They have spoken about how 50 per cent of the world s hungry children are from India. The two are unrelated; they need to move beyond these polarities. VIPINENDRAN India is changing; Andrew Flintoff was chosen for the Indian Premier League and made his money in India. In an organization like HCL there is the same style of management for both countries. KAUSALYA SANTHANAM In education India has a lot to offer. Students from the UK can come to learn crafts, weaving etc, We are after all, to quote a cliché, a civilisation many centuries old. S. MUTHIAH British Parliament says they have given us aid so we should buy our jets from them. This is not right. But the world is a market place, it s all about trade. You can talk about ethics but it won t happen. PRATEEP V PHILLIP We had some officers who came from the UK and what did they think? Yes, the world is a marketplace but also other things. India can impart these things to the UK. We have now

7 colonised UK. How? We have colonised the British palate. There is a sign outside this room in the courtyard which is typically British. It says MIND YOUR HEAD. In India the unspoken rule is MIND YOUR HEART. This is what we can give the UK. SUJATA SEN I attended an event at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology University Bhubaneswar where they had invited the President of the Supreme Court in the UK and top legal professionals from India and UK. It was observed that nothing had been changed in the Indian Penal Code since its creation by the British. It is so perfect that there is no change required. It was an interesting experience to see how both sides have a shared history. For a true cultural experience we need to go beyond post colonialism and post imperialism, we must go beyond and ahead. These are historical facts for us, accept it and move on. KAUSALYA SANTHANAM But an element of patronisation still exists. It exists both ways. KAUSALYA SANTHANAM There are some Britishers who still feel that since they were the colonisers they must be better. PAUL SELLERS This works to our detriment. VIPINENDRAN There is so much to learn from the British, just something as simple as greeting people Good Morning or being disciplined about work. I learnt this when I was in UK and taught my students here. This is what cultural exchange is. PRATEEP V PHILLIP :HKDYHQRZ FRORQLVHGWKH8. +RZ":HKDYH FRORQLVHGWKH %ULWLVKSDODWHµ I have an interesting anecdote, which colleagues shared after a visit to the UK. When the recent riots in England started, UK police assumed it was minorities who were at the

8 forefront. But they were surprised to see it was white British people. It was a learning point for them. Indians are also racist, it is a human condition. Humans are biased by nature. Finer humans overcome it, through cultural relations. SUJATA SEN Thank you all for being a part of this workshop. Please share your views with us by taking the survey on our website. For more information visit THE BACKGROUND A Cultural Mapping workshop was held on 7 February at the British Council s offices in Chennai. The workshop was part of Re-Imagine: India-UK Cultural Relations in the 21 st century, an evidence-based strategy for understanding and improving India-UK Cultural Relations today for mutual benefit in the future. A series of similar workshop by the British Council and partner organisations the King s College India Institute and Counterpoint have been designed as part of Re-Imagine to listen to experiences of stakeholders working in areas allied to India-UK cultural relations. THE DISCUSSIONS WERE AROUND THREE THEMES: What is a cultural relationship and how important is it? What is the nature of the current cultural relationship between India and the UK? What is the nature of the relationship specifically in your sector and how might it be strengthened? THE ABOVE IS A TRANSCRIPT OF THAT DISCUSSION. Individual speakers have been identified where possible, although it should be borne in mind that, since they were relating the words of others, opinions expressed are not necessarily their own. No transcript is an exact translation of the spoken word, and this document is intended more as guide to the original recording.

9 PARTICIPANTS Mr. P M Belliappa, IAS (Retired) MBE, Former civil servant and ex-president of ABS Chennai Dr. Kala Shreen, Professor of Visual Arts Ms. B Jayashree, Communications and Development officer, UNICEF Ms. Kausalya Santhanam, Deputy Editor, The Hindu Ms. Madhuvanthi, founder Calibre Educational Foundation and dancer Dr. Deborah Thiagarajan, Founder President, Madras Craft Foundation Dr. Renuka Rajaratnam, Professor of English and research associate fellow with Metropolitan University Mr. Ranvir Shah, Entrepreneur and founder of Prakriti Foundation Chennai Mr. D. Venugopal, Honorary Director of the John Sullivan Memorial and Nilgiris Museum at Kotagiri Mr. S. Muthiah MBE, Renowned Historian and author of coffee-table books on history and culture of India-UK Mr. Prateep V Philip IPS, senior officer and recipient of Queen s Award for Innovative Police Training Ms. Geeta Doctor, writer and critic Ms. Gowri Ramnarayan, theatre veteran Ms. Selvi Palani, Human Rights lawyer Mr. Vipinendran, Professor of Mechanical Engineering Ms. Uma Krishnaswamy, Artist and Illustrator Ms. Shonali Muthalaly, Journalist Ms. Parvathi Nayar, Artist and arts writer Paul Sellers, Director British Council South India Sujata Sen, Director British Council East India For more on Re-Imagine: India-UK Cultural Relations in the 21 st Century please visit