This content was originally posted by: krystal_watzActually, China and Japan have been victims of cultural imperialism more than India has. In China, more and more people prefer to have an English first name; there are elaborate "coaching centres" in Chinese cities and suburbs that rigorously educates young Chinese women in techniques of gold-digging, designed to ensnare Western million/billionaires. Both Chinese and Japanese hardly don their traditional garments anymore. They still maintain their status quo on preferring their traditional languages to English at social and official levels, true; but that, as you point out, is because they don't suffer from the massive diversity of tongues giving rise to complex linguistic-identity questions.
My understanding from the Asian friends I know, is that they are given a western name to assimilate and an Asian name used within the community. Even though they dress western and adapt western lifestyles, they still maintain their distinct cultures and traditions. It is just that their culture is a lot more walled. South Asians assimilate everyone and freely share our festivals and traditions. Most East Asians keep it within their close knit community.
I am sure the impact of colonialism has definitely left a mark on all colonies. East Asians probably do suffer cultural and identity crisis, maybe far worse than Indians. The most distinct success of East Asians namely China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea is economy and industry. India has the resources, the aptitude and the means but has challenges that prevent us from reaching our potential. One problem is corruption. The other problem is that India is just so culturally, linguistically and socially diverse that agreeing upon a common thread is much harder than in other nations. In that sense what India has accomplished is miraculous. There is no other country in the world that has sustained such diversity.
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