Culture of the conquerors

Why people follow the culture of the conquerors even when they get rid of them?

I mean why people of Indo-Pak still consider Pants shirt supperior over shalwar qameez, dhoti, kurta, etc?

I’ve also observed some locals wearing Arabic Jubba, which is not suitable for the local atmosphere here in Pakistan?

Re: Culture of the conquerors


because pants, shirts and suits are cooler than local dresses...and it's the norm! :)

well, we don't. we don't dress like MuGhals, Khiljis or Tataris anymore...do we?

in case of the goras, we are a victim of 'inferiority complex' and that's the reason why, even now, desis 'dance' around a gora/gori to please/impress him/her. i go to State Bank of India once a year [thank God!] and i see how 'customised service' they provide to them...even in this gora-land where we live! is that courtesy or plain inferiority complex?

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I think this is more to do with comfortability level, now wearing jeans is far less cumbersome than handling a sari, I sometimes wonder how Sonia Gandhi manages though:hmmm:, apart from that I don’t see any reason of it, there are many things that goras do better than us, during revolt of 1857 Mualana Baqar editor of Dehli Urdu Akbar wrote editorial claiming that Brits corrupted faith of Hindus by banning Sati, this gives insight into mindset of majority forward caste hindus and what antipathy they have tpwards brits, I sincerely thanks brits for banning it, now I don’t know if it is inferiority complex.

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So in your opinion its inferiority complex that made desi's follow their previous aaqa's culture?

KKF there are strong influence of Mughal and even Arab culture on Indo-Pak people.

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But wearing suit with tie in hot summer is not comfartable at all. :frowning:

I do agree to your point regarding satti.

But there is something related to inferiority complex when it comes to adapting language like English and preferring it over our local languages.

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in what sense? other than architecture and some women's clothing and food, what else? i can't give up my muGhlai dishes...simply because, they are yum yum! :) i was responding in terms of men's clothing ONLY as i read only a few lines of your post! :)


English is considered a language of the Elite in India and Pakistan. :)

it's observed that people when angry use English [TooTii phooTii hii sahii!] :D

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KKF I'm talking overall cultural influence including languages. I know some people who own Arabic and Persian more than Hindi.

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However unfortunate it sounds but English is the way of future, they ruled the world and wanted us to be part of clerical cadre. why wearing suits in AC office is problem? women can wear Saris in yards in summer anyway in hindi heartland:D Not only at the time of Ramanujan but even today Abdus Salam has to move to west so that his scientific achievement are well recognized.why only English one can say even muslim culture is culture of conquerors? Culture always kept on changing from cloth-less to dhotis to jeans is very gradual for us even they have changed from medival british dress to modern one. Before Gandhi came all our leaders were english speaking elite and some like quaid kept on wearing till their death and that doesn't made him less muslim than traditional dress wearing Abul Kalam.

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Yes, its not just about English culture, but the culture of other conquerors too, as I mentioned Jubba in first post.

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People can wear whatever they want to wear or speak whichever language they want. What matters most is a society that is fair and just. A society that values people, ans that's what Pakistan is missing right now. We'll get over the inferiority complex once we fix these things and get our economy going.

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Conquerors brought new experiences without Babar India wouldn't have witnessed artillery, British brought use of sea power that they used very effectively. apart from them administration wise India was always okay but thoroughly corrupt, Chankya mentions that elimination of corruption is impossible only minimization is the key. Conquerors because of their intensive experience were much better, problem with India was pleasantries it offered, best fruits, rich, land of milk and honey, Dilli was end of journey, abhi dilli door hai:), I think these facilities made us less innovative.

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Well said bro :k:

The problem is not adapting a language or dress, but to de-value your own culture and feel your people inferior.

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But these conquerors including Babar detested the local food and culture and always remained in superiority complex for their own cultures. Arabs were proud of their language and their proudness made Mulla fall in inferiority complex when they try to copy them. There is a video on youtube, where a Mulla got angry with the child who can't pronunce Arabic words properly.

Same goes true with English loving people. Munh terha karke badesi basha bolna is very much in fashion in elite class :)

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Culture can't survive alone without a thriving economy. A vibrant economy will enable us to take pride in our culture, our country.

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Economy does effect the culture and traditions. Like old days, people consider guests as blessing for them, but now..... :(

Materiailism is making people victim of inferiority complexes. People adapt the culture and language that benefit them in material terms. There is a famous saying in Sindhi 'Farsi GhoRe ChaRhsi'- Persian will make you rich. A saying from the period, when Mughals follow Persian and it was official language.

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is liking English songs (pop songs) over your local melidious folk music a sign of inferiority complex?

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Well I think globalization is playing a role in shaping world fashion as well, like we see Pakistanis wearing western clothes (mostly to do with exposure due to digital media). A few years ago we wouldnt have thought about writing Urdu in English alphabets, but internet revolution has changed a lot. I have seen some muslim westerners and africans wearing shalwar kameez (especially those in tableeghi jamaat) in Western countries. You can go anywhere in the world, meet the tableeghis and you will know what I am talking about.

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So can we say conquerors not only impose their language but also their religion on the conquered ones? :hmmm:

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I havent seen religion imposed by conquerors, if that was the case Iraq, and Afghanistan would have converted to Christianity. Or India should have converted to Christianity during British period. Malaysia and Indonesia are examples also as they were not conquered, similarly even in ancient subcontinent Islam was spread more by the big bazurgs who came there and not by the invaders alone. One thing I am sure of is that you can conquer people by force but not make them leave their traditional ways.

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Agree that its not necessary that conquerors directly impose religion on the conquered ones, but over the time, conqueror religion and language is adapted by the conquered ones due to many reason including for financial benefit.