Chapter 1 Summary: The Audacity of Difference

Introduction 

a. The basic idea of this book is to look at the west (comprising of America and Europe) through the dharmic framework. This, in my view, is a challenging task in itself due to the lack of scholarship in this area. As the author himself acknowledges – "I am simply using the dharmic perspective to reverse the analytical gaze which normally goes from West to East and unconsciously privileges the former".

Chapter 1 - The audacity of difference

a. This chapter explains how India is different from the west and how this difference is often ignored and underestimated. The author notes "at the level of popular culture, India and the west may meet as equals, but at the deeper levels, where the core assumptions of a civilization reside, the playing field is tilted."

b. Globalization: The author notes that "globalization is often framed in terms and structures that emerged under western domination of the world in the past 500 years and these in turn are founded on the beliefs that emerged from the unique historical and religious experience of the people of European origin". This is an incisive analysis because west's "interaction" with the rest of the world began under adverse conditions in Europe. [1] 

Along with these conditions, the religious conditioning of the western mind played a pivotal role in motivating the early maritime navigators [2]. During the colonial era, the west had to depend on "globalization" for its survival [3]. Even after the colonial era, the west continues to impose its own version of globalization on the world as is evident from the terms of trade with several countries [4]. Also, the author himself shows how "cultural appropriation gives a false impression of equalization" by illustrating that "modeling schools in India teach girls how to walk , talk and employ the body language of western women because the west has defined the standard of beauty for all women." 

Also, the author contends that there are fundamental differences between the Judeo-Christian religions and the dharmic religions. However, these are never discussed openly due to "Difference anxiety" - defined here as the resistance to address differences between religions/cultures. This leads to the illusion of "sameness of all religions/cultures" which is used by the west in unforeseen ways. 

i. On the religious front, it is used to infiltrate the other's faith and carry out mass religious conversions as "the Christian project is seen as a god sanctioned franchise to bring about religious homogeneity in the world". 

ii. On the cultural front, it is used to make the other culture feel inferior. As a result, "an Indian is likely to feel anxious about eating with his hands in a western gathering than a westerner would feel in using silverware at a traditional Indian gathering". 

The author explains how the Indian perception of globalization is different from the Eurocentric view - "being different need not mean being isolationist. Japan has preserved its distinct cultural norms and identity while remaining a major global economy".

-KK

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