It would be very interesting to compare two countries that are in Asia. Still, it is worth noting that both India and Saudi Arabia have some stalk differences and also similarity in culture. In order to understand the cultures of both countries, we must start from the geopolitical entities that make up India and Saudi Arabia. This paper focuses comparing the political structure of India and Saudi Arabia as well as the way both societies treat women.
With approximately 15% of the world’s population living in India, the definition of India as a polity might be challenging. A country with mixed ethnicities, religions, languages, and cultures and, historical backgrounds but united with the common name and entity as the Republic of India (Gupta, 2000). India qualifies past the common definition of a nation as a group of people with a shared culture, language and one political system into a nation grouped more or less as a function of convenience. Considering the historical background of this country, one cannot fail to argue that the traditional tribes which would have chosen to be their kingdoms or nations so to say, such as Punjabi, Hindi, Gujarat among others decided to come together to form the great Indian nation. This ethnicities practice their own cultures in the more cooperate Indian nation with tension resulting from their relationship. India is a parliamentary democracy that holds elections every five years. Of most significance is that India is a secular state (Khilinani, 1997).
Saudi Arabia is an official Islamic state. It is not a democracy but a monarchy. Unlike India with a population of approximately 1.3 billion, Saudi Arabia has only 30 million people. In terms of wealth, Saudi Arabia is much richer than India. However, India is booming and slowly becoming industrialized while Saudi Arabia still depends on oil as the primary source of its wealth. It is important to note that both countries are ancient civilizations and multi-racial. Arab is an ethnic entity and not race. In Saudi Arabia you can find black Arabs and Caucasian Arabs.
In India, it is possible to find almost all regions. India is the original home of four religions namely Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism, amongst others. However, the Indian society has embraced progressive attitudes towards life. In India, women have some rights as protected by the constitution and the bill of rights. Compared to Saudi Arabia, Indian women fare better. In Saudi Arabia, women have basically no rights. Women are legally discriminated, subjected to female genital mutilation, and denied the freedom of dressing according to their taste. If married, women cannot be granted divorce unless the man accepts to do so. In Saudi Arabia, it is legally acceptable for one man to have as many as four fives. Saudi Arabian women are also not allowed to drive cars or occupy political office. The county exercises obsolete Sheria law that limits progressive attitudes which they term as western (Kamrava, 2009).
Even though India is progressive in terms of its treatment of women, the country is still has a lot to do. First, Indian women except in few cases, are subjects of arranged marriage. The parents have a great stake at the marriage of their daughters. In India, the girls side pay dowry to the man’s family for marrying their daughter. In Saudi Arabia, it’s the man’s family that does that. It is also important to remember that although India is a multiethnic society, it has the biggest Muslim population in the world. India has approximately 200 million Muslims. This means that India and Saudi Arabia interact all the time. Many Saudi goes to India and vice –versa.
References
Gupta, Dipankar, India between two worlds, (New Delhi: Harper Collins Publishers, 2000.), 11,109. http://indiantake.blogspot.com/2012/04/dipankar-gupta-mistaken-modernity-india.html
Khilnani, Sunil, The Idea of India, (New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1997.), 173.
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Luce, Edward, In Spite of the Gods, (New York: A Division of Random House, Inc, 2007.),142.
http://books.google.com/books?id=e9_bsysRUdQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Luce,+Edward,+In+Spite+of+the+Gods&hl=en&sa=X&ei=H2ifUpnlI8rkyAH5rYHoAg&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Luce%2C%20Edward%2C%20In%20Spite%20of%20the%20Gods&f=false
Kamrava, M. (2009). The Modern Middle East: A Political History since the First World War. University of California Press.
http://books.google.com/books?id=JYE2eOEmwmkC&pg=PA146&dq=Kamrava,+M.+%282009%29.+The+Modern+Middle+East:+A+Political+History+since+the+First+++++++World+War.&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QGifUurmLvPlyAHVtoCgDA&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=saudi%20arabia&f=false
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia. (2013, January). Facts & Figures. Retrieved November 6, 2013, from About Saudi Arabia website: http://www.saudiembassy.net/about/country-information/facts_and_figures/
http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/lunch-with-bs-dipankar-gupta-sociologist-113081601233_1.html
