There was a Indian journalist on MSNBC talking about the "Americanization" of Indian business

[LittleApple81]

practices and how much of the prosperity seen in India comes from American business... no shit Sherlock!
Well, to balance that statement we could talk about the Indianization of American business: low class workers and rich owners... I guess that makes us equal.

[Greyhound]

1. Well, we can fix that for 'em. n/t

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. We export poverty so you don't have to.... I'm just about sure

that Micky Deez and the rest of the lot are drooling over the businesses that the Iraqi oil is going to support.

[Larkspur]

3. If the terrorists really wanted to hit American business, they should have attacked Bangalore

but from what I understand many of the business complexes are surrounded by barbed wire and other security measures. Not an easy target as a hotel.

[JDPriestly]

4. That's what disturbs me about the commercial links between India and the U.S.

Please note how many individuals of Indian ethnicity are involved in arranging the bail-out.

Now, I have liked most of the Indian people I have known. This is not a personal thing.

My problem with our increasing dependence on India is that our traditional values are diametrically opposed to their traditional values. Traditionally, they have a society strictly divided according to caste. We are founded on the belief in the equality of all human beings.

India still has a caste system.

The Indian classes are similar to the Iranian classes ("pistras"),<1> wherein the priests are Athravans, the warriors are Rathaestha, the merchants are Vastriya, and the artisans are Huiti.<2><3>

Although generally identified with Hinduism, the caste system was also observed among followers of other religions in the Indian subcontinent, including some groups of Muslims and Christians.<4> The Indian Constitution has outlawed caste-based discrimination, in keeping with the socialist, secular, democratic principles that founded the nation.<5> Caste barriers have mostly broken down in large cities,<6> though they persist in rural areas of the country. Nevertheless, the caste system, in various forms, continues to survive in modern India strengthened by a combination of social perceptions and divisive politics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_caste_system

Inequalities among castes are considered by the Hindu faithful to be part of the divinely ordained natural order and are expressed in terms of purity and pollution. Within a village, relative rank is most graphically expressed at a wedding or death feast, when all residents of the village are invited. At the home of a high-ranking caste member, food is prepared by a member of a caste from whom all can accept cooked food (usually by a Brahman). Diners are seated in lines; members of a single caste sit next to each other in a row, and members of other castes sit in perpendicular or parallel rows at some distance. Members of Dalit castes, such as Leatherworkers and Sweepers, may be seated far from the other diners--even out in an alley. Farther away, at the edge of the feeding area, a Sweeper may wait with a large basket to receive discarded leavings tossed in by other diners. Eating food contaminated by contact with the saliva of others not of the same family is considered far too polluting to be practiced by members of any other castes. Generally, feasts and ceremonies given by Dalits are not attended by higher-ranking castes.

http://www.indianchild.com/caste_system_india.htm

Also, the traditional Indian attitude toward women is horrible. Indians still favor arranged marriages. Basically, women are married by their families to men they in exchange for assurances that the prospective husband has money.

The arranged marriages are quite common even in today's India -- only the criteria has slightly changed. The rigid caste system is somewhat diluted and marriages outside of the sub-caste are considered, so are marriages outside of one's own language or province (still within the same caste). Age, caste and dowry play important roles in arrangement of marriages in India today (year 2005).

More and more arranged marriages today take into account the preferences of brides and grooms, something that did not happen till 1970s and 1980s.
The Institution of Arranged Marriage

A marriage in India is considered a marriage of families rather than the marriage of individuals. Once you understand this concept, one can even appreciate the beauty of arranged marriages. The parents try to solder the bonds with their friends by arranging marriages between their respective children. In olden times the boys and girls married in their teens so it was considered appropriate that the parents choose the spouses instead of leaving the decision to the kids

A type of arranged marriage where the maternal cousins and sometimes maternal nephews married was/is also common in India. This was known as rightful marriage alliance in some communities, and possibly came into existence to "keep the money inside the family".

http://www.kamat.com/indica/culture/sub-cultures/arranged_marriage.htm

We are all familiar with the story : boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy and girl gets married. For the majority of the western world, this is our ideal of a great beginning to a perfect marriage. It is important to realize that while India is very modernized in some aspects (i.e.. they lead the world in student's math and science scores and produce the largest amount of engineers in the world) they still keep to the tradition of arranged marriages. Marriages formed out of love AKA "love marriages" do happen in India but it is not the norm. It is an accepted fact that a person's family will play a role in picking the marriage partner.

While to many people raised in the west, this might sound odd. It is important to remember that in Indian society an arranged marriage is seen as an act of love. Since marriage is one of the most important decisions a person will ever make and because divorce
is not accepted among most Indians, it is imperative that the marriage choice is carefully thought out and planned. How can a young person make such an important decision on his/her own? Instead, the family (usually the parents) look for certain traits in a marriage partner. Some desirable traits looked for in both male and female are: matching levels of education, matching cultures, close parental cities, matching religions, and matching vegetarians/non-vegetarians just to name a few.

Potential bride-grooms come under close scrutiny for several areas of the matching process. Do they have enough means to support the bride? Do they appear to be men who will make good husbands and fathers? Often, the bride will live with her in-laws after marriage in what is called a joint family. Because of this, the groom's family is also brought under close scrutiny. Do the women of the household seem well cared for? Do they have a big enough house for another person and grandchildren? Does the family have a good reputation?

http://www.pardesiservices.com/tradition/arrangedmarg.asp

[burythehatchet]

5. Wow. ?

:shrug:

[burythehatchet]

6. Hey LittleApple, what's a "low class" worker?