Abstract
This book by J. B. P. Sinha presents an analysis of the unique manner in which the Indians construct, think and reflect about their world and how that influences their actions. The book is based on Sinha’s empirical research carried out over a period of five decades. As a researcher, Sinha has consistently argued for the development of culturally appropriate conceptualisations and multiple methodologies that can be used in different socio-cultural contexts for understanding the working of the mind and behaviour of the Indians. As Sinha says, the book tells a story about ‘how Indians think, feel, and behave and why they do so differently than many other nationalities’. Sinha places the Indians in the contemporary society and then attempts to search the manner in which the socio-cultural inheritance and background of the Indian people dynamically interact with the present forces to shape the thought and behaviour of the Indian people. He holds that the Indians’ respect for their past traditions and easy acceptance of the new, enables them to develop ‘paradoxical beliefs, values, and norms’. Sinha asserts that it is for this reason that the Indians keep navigating between the old and the new, show lack of consistency in their behaviour and at times get called as ‘elusive, hypocritical and unreliable’. He argues that the Indians may lie low during their bad days but get charged with the energy like that of an entrepreneur as soon as the situation turns favourable. Depending on the context, they choose to think and act either as a collectivist or an individualist. Three concepts that are considered key to understanding of the Indians are desh (place), kaal (time) and paatra (person). Thus, Indians could both be materialist, sexually indulgent and spiritual at the same time. By using empirical as well as an insightful analytical base, Sinha goes on to argue in favour of the co-existence of the opposites in the psyche of the Indians. He recognises that the Indian societal context is pervasive with casteism, poverty, corruption, fragmented politics and violence. Even so, the Indians are conscious of their cultural heritage and bound to an inclusive and adaptive mindset which is quite different from mindsets of other nationalities.
The preface of the book provides a strong justification as to why a serious scholar should engage with this book. While reading it, one gets a feel that the book is about resolving puzzles related to the way the Indians think and behave, and why they do what they do? The book is full of valuable insights for the Indian people and those who care to know them better. Chapter 1 provides a conceptual discussion on the Indian culture and its influences on shaping perception, thoughts, cognition and behaviour of the people. Interesting analysis of the primordial base of the Indian culture is provided. Sinha discusses how new ideas thrive in such a culture and how it seeks to accommodate ideas which are alien, and in the process allowing ancient Indian wisdom to co-exist with modern ideas. Chapter 2 is on individualism and collectivism which has been extensively studied in the last three decades particularly by the cross-cultural psychologists. Based on the findings of large cross-national surveys, some of which are of questionable quality, the western cross-culturists have called the Indian culture collectivist. Systematic studies carried out by Sinha and his colleagues are discussed to build the case that behaviour of the Indian people as an individualist or a collectivist is relative to the context. Sinha concludes that ‘individualism and collectivism coexist in the Indian mindset as part of on-going interactive and interchanging means–ends relationships’ (p. 46). Chapter 3 is on how hierarchy and power influence the Indian mindset and behaviours. Sinha elaborately discusses the hierarchical world view of Indians and cultural construction of power in the Indian tradition. He combines this reflective integration of cultural foundation of power with the findings of his empirical studies to conclude that the Indians use vertical perspective in arranging people around them in hierarchical order and interact with them accordingly. Chapter 4 critiques both ancient and modern philosophical perspectives, the Vedantic, Buddhist, Jain, Charavaka and Kautilya’s on the one hand and, Roland and Kakar’s on the other, on spirituality and materialism. The chapter helps the reader in understanding the role of spirituality in bringing about the inner transformation of the self and transcendence of the self. Yearning for spirituality in the midst of materialism is a unique quality of the Indian mindset. For Sinha, as stated in Chapter 5, religiosity, secularism and sexuality are not adversative but they get interwoven and intermingled in the Indian mindset. Such conclusions are drawn not from the research but from the available discourses of religious, social, political thinkers and reformers. The discussion on entrepreneurship amidst dependence proneness in Chapter 6 is based on Sinha’s own extensive work. His view is that though dependency among the Indians is pervasive due to situational and cultural demands, it does not come in the way of their entrepreneurship. Chapter 7 discusses various dimensions of the nature of the Indians which is said to be paradoxical. The author’s well-argued conclusion is: ‘Unlike the western cultures that value consistency and rationality and hence tend to suppress paradoxes, Indian culture accepts the presence of paradoxes’ (p. 166). Inconsistent and contradictory ways of thinking and action of the Indians are discussed in Chapter 8. As Indians are guided by desh (place), kaal (time) and paatra (person), their thinking and behaviour are highly situational. They engage in the balancing of these as per the demand of the situations. Because of which, Sinha calls them multicultural, although, I am not sure how far the use of the term ‘multicultural’ is justified in such a case. In Chapter 9, the working of the Indian mindset is discussed in the context of the Indian socio-economic milieu which he finds full of contradictions. According to Sinha, the larger milieu has inner and outer layers. The inner layer accounts for variations in every day thought and behaviour. The outer layer consists of major societal factors broadly affecting thinking and behaviour of the Indians. Both inner and outer layer factors interact adding to the dynamic complexity which is further impacted by cultural experiences of religious–philosophical–political nature of the people. In the Epilogue, Sinha recommends that changes in the Indian mindsets could be possible through interventions made in the educational system and through a process of mass awareness.
While reading the book, I also felt that probably paradoxical mindset is used to explain inconsistent thoughts and behaviours of the Indians. It appears that Sinha may be using norms as post hoc explanatory tools. For example, if someone helps a stranger in an emergency, his behaviour could be explained in terms of his high altruism. But if he does not help in a similar situation, then the norm not to interfere in others’ affairs could be used to explain his behaviour. The paradoxes represent norms of different kinds and, therefore, use of such paradoxes is like a post hoc explanation and such explanations could be highly elusive.
This book opens up some new debates related to the Indian mindset and also raises a plethora of questions and issues for further enquiries and research. I recognise it as the strength of the book. The book is an extraordinary contribution to understanding the way the Indian mind works in the contemporary societal contexts and is a must read for psychologists of all hues and social scientists in general. It may also be of interest to the civil servants, political and social workers and others for enhancing their understanding of many baffling situations that they face while working with the Indian people in the course of implementing social policies and plans. Knowing people is necessary for policy formulation and this book could serve an excellent purpose.
I wish that Springer would publish a paperback edition of the book with a price that is affordable to Indian readers.