Tag: #cultural relativism

The Amazon

The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its life activity; it affords protection to all beings, offering shade even to the axe-man who destroys it.

– Gautama Buddha

Today , let’s feel the presence of fresh air , waterfall , trees , flora and fauna . Being a citizen of a country , which is well known for its resources , different species, mixed economy and different cultures. It is important for us to see the world of flora and fauna.

Well you get to know by the heading , today we are gonna talk about THE AMAZON’S which is well known for its vast species .

Introduction .


The Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin encompasses 7,000,000 km2 (2,700,000 sq mi), of which 5,500,000 km2 (2,100,000 sq mi) are covered by the rainforest. This region includes territory belonging to nine nations and 3,344 formally acknowledged indigenous territories.

The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest, followed by Peru with 13%, Colombia with 10%, and with minor amounts in Bolivia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. Four nations have “Amazonas” as the name of one of their first-level administrative regions, and France uses the name “Guiana Amazonian Park” for its rainforest protected area. The Amazon represents over half of the planet’s remaining rainforests, and comprises the largest and most biodiverse tract of tropical rainforest in the world, with an estimated 390 billion individual trees divided into 16,000 species.

The name Amazon is said to arise from a war Francisco de Orellana fought with the Tapuyas and other tribes. The women of the tribe fought alongside the men, as was their custom. Orellana derived the name Amazonas from the Amazons of Greek mythology, described by Herodotus and Diodorus.

Flora and Fauna.

Wet tropical forests are the most species-rich biome, and tropical forests in the Americas are consistently more species rich than the wet forests in Africa and Asia.

This constitutes the largest collection of living plants and animal species in the world.

The region is home to about 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and some 2,000 birds and mammals. To date, at least 40,000 plant species, 2,200 fishes, 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been scientifically classified in the region.

The biodiversity of plant species is the highest on Earth with one 2001 study finding a quarter square kilometer (62 acres) of Ecuadorian rainforest supports more than 1,100 tree species.

Human impact on Amazon jungle.

The human impact on the Amazon rainforest has been grossly underestimated according to an international team of researchers. … They found that selective logging and surface wildfires can result in an annual loss of 54 billion tonnes of carbon from the Brazilian Amazon, increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

Lead researcher Dr Erika Berenguer from Lancaster University said: “The impacts of fire and logging in tropical forests have always been largely overlooked by both the scientific community and policy makers who are primarily concerned with deforestation. Yet our results show how these disturbances can severely degrade the forest, with huge amounts of carbon being transferred from plant matter straight into the atmosphere.”

The second author, Dr Joice Ferreira from Embrapa in Brazil, said: “Our findings also draw attention to the necessity for Brazil to implement more effective policies for reducing the use of fire in agriculture, as fires can both devastate private property, and escape into surrounding forests causing widespread degradation. Bringing fire and illegal logging under control is key to reaching our national commitment to reducing carbon emissions.”

The forest is not a resource for us, it is life itself. It is the only place for us to live.

-Evaristo Nugkuag Ikanan

Link

Transportation in India.

India’s transport sector is large and diverse; it caters to the needs of 1.1 billion people. In 2007, the sector contributed about 5.5 percent to the nation’s GDP, with road transportation contributing the lion’s share.

Good physical connectivity in the urban and rural areas is essential for economic growth. Since the early 1990s, India’s growing economy has witnessed a rise in demand for transport infrastructure and services.

However, the sector has not been able to keep pace with rising demand and is proving to be a drag on the economy. Major improvements in the sector are therefore required to support the country’s continued economic growth and to reduce poverty.

Roads. Roads are the dominant mode of transportation in India today. They carry almost 85 percent of the country’s passenger traffic and more than 60 percent of its freight. The density of India’s highway network — at 0.66 km of roads per square kilometer of land – is similar to that of the United States (0.65) and much greater than China’s (0.16) or Brazil’s (0.20). However, most roads in India are narrow and congested with poor surface quality, and 33 percent of India’s villages do not have access to all-weather roads.

Rural Roads-A Lifeline for Villages in India: Connecting Hinterland to Social Services and markets

Railways. Indian Railways is one of the largest railways under the single management. It carried some 19.8 million passengers and 2.4 million tonnes of freight a day in year 2009 and is one of the world’s largest employer. The railways play a leading role in carrying passengers and cargo across India’s vast territory. However, most of its major corridors have capacity constraint requiring capacity enhancement plans.

Ports. India has 13 major and 199 minor and intermediate ports along its more than 7500 km long coastline. India’s seaborne foreign trade being 95% by volume and 67% by value, the ports play a very significant role in improving foreign trade in a growing economy. These ports serve the country’s growing foreign trade in petroleum products, iron ore, and coal, as well as the increasing movement of containers. Indian ports handled cargo of 850 million tonnes and about 9.0 million TEU container traffic in year 2010. Over the last decade, the average annual growth rate of port cargo volume has been about 10%.. The future potential for port sector, particularly container ports is huge considering that the container traffic is projected to grow to 40 million TEU by 2025. Inland water transportation also remains largely undeveloped despite India’s 14,000 kilometers of navigable rivers and canals.

Aviation. India has 128 airports, including 15 international airports. Indian airports handled 142 million passengers in 2010-11 and 1.6 million tonnes of cargo in year 2009-10. The CAGR for the domestic passenger and freight growth over the last decade has been 14.2% and 7.8% respectively. The dramatic increase in air traffic for both passengers and cargo in recent years has placed a heavy strain on the country’s major airports. Passenger traffic is projected to grow more than 15% annually over 2011-13 and it is estimated that the aviation industry, currently 9th largest in the World, will require 30 billion USD investment in the next 15 years to keep pace with the growing demand.

Urban Transport. India is experiencing rapid urbanization with the present urbanization levels at 30% translating to a population of roughly 340 million living in urban areas. The number of million plus cities is presently at 42 and the urban economy accountd for roughly 60% of the GDP. Motorisation rates in India are in double digits as in most developing economies. Only about 20 cities out of 87 cities with a population in excess of 500,000 and state capitals have any kind of organized transport and only 3-4 cities could lay claim to a mass rapid transit system. The share of public transport in cities with population sizes over 4 million has declined from 69% to 38% between 1994 to 2007. Accident and fatality rates are one of the highest in the world affecting primarily the poor and vulnerable without their own means of transport.

Transport infrastructure in India is better developed in the southern and southwestern parts of the country.

The major challenges facing the sector are:

• India’s roads are congested and of poor quality. Lane capacity is low – majority of national highways are two lanes or less. A quarter of all India’s highways are congested. Many roads are of poor quality and road maintenance remains under-funded. This leads to the deterioration of roads and high transport costs for users.

• Rural areas have poor access. Roads are significant for the development of the rural areas – home to almost 70 percent of India’s population. Although the rural road network is extensive, some 33 percent of India’s villages do not have access to all-weather roads and remain cut off during the monsoon season. The problem is more acute in India’s northern and northeastern states which are poorly linked to the country’s major economic centers.

• The railways are facing severe capacity constraints. All the country’s high-density rail corridors face severe capacity constraints. Also, freight transportation costs by rail are much higher than in most countries as freight tariffs in India have been kept high to subsidize passenger traffic.

• Urban centers are severely congested. In Mumbai, Delhi and other metropolitan centers, roads are often severely congested during the rush hours. The dramatic growth in vehicle ownership during the past decade – has reduced rush hour speeds especially in the central areas of major cities.

• Ports are congested and inefficient. The average annual growth of cargo volume in the ports in the last decade was close to 10%, However, capacity utilization in some of the major ports remain as low as 58-60% Both bulk and containerized traffic is expected to grow at a much faster pace in future and by some estimate the container traffic is projected to grow to about 4.5 times of the current volume by 2025. India’s ports need to significantly ramp up their capacity and efficiency to meet this surging demand.

• Airport infrastructure is strained. . Air traffic has been growing rapidly leading to severe strain on infrastructure at major airports, especially in the Delhi and Mumbai airports which account for more than 40 percent of nation’s air traffic.

Agriculture

When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.”

— Daniel Webster

Introduction

It all started thousand of years ago , when the human civilization came into existence . Agriculture was a key to survival . People were farming for there domestic purpose , not for the others .

As the civilization started to grow accustomed of agriculture , they grew food in surplus that enabled people to live in cities. Plants were independently cultivated in at least 11 regions of the world.

The development of agriculture enabled the human population to grow many times larger than could be sustained by hunting and gathering.

It was the beginning of different civilization in different parts of the World. From those civilizations , one of them was our’s The Indus Valley Civilization . Vedic literature provides some of the earliest written record of agriculture in India. Rigveda hymns , describes plowing, fallowing, irrigation, fruit and vegetable cultivation.

Some of the ancient and historical evidence suggests rice and cotton were cultivated in the Indus Valley.

Agriculture : In India and World today .

India ranks second worldwide in farm outputs. As per 2018, agriculture employed Indian work force and contributed 17–18% to country’s GDP.

In 2016, agriculture and allied sectors like animal husbandry, forestry and fisheries accounted for 15.4% of the GDP (gross domestic product) with about 41.49% of the workforce in 2020.India ranks first in the world with highest net cropped area followed by US and China.The total agriculture commodities export was US $ 3.50 billion in March – June 2020.

Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for about 58% of India’s population. Share of agriculture and allied sectors in gross value added (GVA) of India at current prices stood at 17.8 % in FY20.

During 2019-20 crop year, food grain production reached a record of 296.65 million tonnes. In 2020-21, Government of India is targeting food grain production of 298 million tonnes.

India is among the 15 leading exporters of agricultural products in the world. Agricultural export from India reached US$ 38.54 billion in FY19 and US$ 35.09 billion in FY20.

Agriculture is an important industry in the United States. The agriculture industry, which includes both crops and livestock, is responsible for producing most of the world’s foods and fabrics. Agriculture impacts so many things that it’s hard to imagine a world without this important industry.

Schemes and Initiatives

Due to the high requirement of agriculture . It is important for the government to take initiatives and provide better infrastructure to the farmers. However , the required level of investment for the development of marketing, storage and cold storage infrastructure is estimated to be huge.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), established in 1905, was responsible for the search leading to the “Indian Green Revolution” of the 1970s. The Union Minister of Agriculture is the president of the ICAR. The Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute develops new techniques for the design of agricultural experiments, analyses data in agriculture, and specialises in statistical techniques for animal and plant breeding.

Schemes by government for Indian agriculture :

  • Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme.
  • Rainfed Area Development Programme (RADP)
  • Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)
  • Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY)
  • National Agriculture Market (e-NAM)
  • Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan yojana.
  • Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
  • Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme.
  • Pashu Kisan Credit Card Scheme.
  • PM-Kisan Scheme.

Conclusion

Agriculture sector is one of the prominent sector in India as well as all over the world . India is becoming self – sufficient in pulses and other crops .

Gone are the days , when India was unable to provide sufficient amount of food to the citizens . Gone are the days , when people used to think agriculture was not as important as other sectors . Gone are the days , when people used to think less of farmers . And gone are the days , when people were less educated about agriculture.

Farming is a profession of hope.

— Brett Brian

Link

International day of Tropics

The serenity of the lulling ocean is a wondrous thing to behold..more precious than the gems coveted and covered in platinum or gold…

Oksana Rus

Introduction

International day of Tropics is observed every year on June 29th . This day is celebrated to highlight the different challenges and opportunities faced by the nation as well as by the people who lived in tropical areas .

Firstly , you want to know about things like :

What are tropics ?

Why we celebrate international day of Tropics ?

Or

Is it worth it to talk about these things and is it really important ?

Well hold your horses and try to calm .

What is tropic day and why we celebrate it ?

Well a tropic day is celebrated to highlight the importance of Tropics , it signifies extraordinary and astounding diversity of tropical nations .

The Tropic defined as a area /region between tropic of Cancer and tropic of Capricorn . The day aim at promoting tropical regions and awareness to the people about the diversity of these regions .

While these regions go through little seasonal changes on day to day basis because of some factors like tomography , climatic variation that causes changes in temperature and make these regions warm.

This day introduced to the world when in June 29th , 2014 twelve leading tropical research institutes come together and collaborate. The inaugural state of the Tropics report was launched . The report offers some unique perspective for the increasing the importance of these regions .

United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/70/267 in 2016, which declared that 29 June of each year is to be observed as the International Day of the Tropics.

The International day of Tropics briefly explained the issues affecting the tropical zone’s all over the world. To raise awareness and important role the countries played to Sustainable goals .

International day of Tropics 2021

As per the state tropics report the theme of this year is “ THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN THE TROPICS ”

With the record of sustainable development goals as well as developmental scope . The biodiversity of these regions are maximum and its loss is also greater there. Tropical regions comprise 98% world’s mangrove forests, and around 99% mangrove species.

Due to the subpolar zone the Sun is directly overhead which is one of the region of extinction of flora and fauna in the Tropics. The region is subjected to myriad and need immediate attention to ensure sustainable development.

More than 50% of renewable water resource could be founded their. But the threat lies which causes eviction of lives in the Tropics.

Importance :

Due to the problems it’s our duty as a human being to spread awareness about the implications in climate changes , deforestation , urbanization , global warming effect the biodiversity and lives in Tropics.

The International day of Tropics organize many events in which people share their stories , events and lives in these areas and formulate strategies to ensure the development of such regions .

You who sacrifice fortunes to see the luxuriance of the tropics or the polar lights of the arctic, must pay more dearly to see the One for whom the luxuriance of the tropics is poverty and the polar lights are a tallow candle.

Nikolaj Velimirović, Prayers by the Lake

Link:

TEACHERS DAY

Introduction

In India, every year Teacher’s day is celebrated on 5 September. On this day all the students decorate the schools and organise special programs in honour of the teachers all over the country. Along with students, teachers also participate in these programs with full enthusiasm. On this day we are discharged from our school activities so that we can participate in other programs.

Why is Teacher’s Day celebrated on 5 September ?


Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on 5th September. He was the first Vice-President of independent India. He served the country as Vice-President from 1952 to 1962. He served as Second President of the country from 1962 to 1967. Worked as well.

Dr. Radhakrishnan greatly respected the teachers. Before joining politics, he taught in many institutes like Calcutta University, University of Mysore and Oxford University. He was highly appreciated for his work and was also loved by all his students. He believed in the fact that the teacher is the person who prepares the youth as the future of the country. This was the reason that he fulfilled this responsibility of the professor so diligently and always tried to give good values to his students.

When he became the President of our country, his students expressed their wish to celebrate his birthday every year. In response to this, Dr. Radhakrishnan said that he would be more happy if his students celebrated his birthday as Teachers ‘Day. From that day 5th September, his birthday is celebrated as Teachers’ Day.

Importance of teachers day

Teacher’s day is a very important day for both the students as well as the teacher’s life. On this day we celebrate the honour of all the teachers as a tribute to their efforts and works of theirs. Teaching is one of the most difficult tasks in the world because they have the responsibility of educating the youth. There are children in the whole class and because each student is different from the other and has his own ability, this task becomes even more difficult, some students are good in sports and some in mathematics. Some are interested in English. A good teacher always keeps the interest of his students in mind and recognizes their abilities. The teacher teaches them to hone their subject or work skills and also takes care so that their other activities or subjects are not affected.

That is why this day has been dedicated to show respect and gratitude to the teachers.

Teachers’ Day celebration in schools

Teacher’s day programs are celebrated with great enthusiasm in schools across India. On this day, the students wear the costumes of their favorite teachers and go to lower classes than themselves. On this day, senior students go to different junior classes and teach them. It is a very fun day for all of the students. During this, senior students take care that the discipline of the school is maintained and for this junior students support them.

In many schools, junior students also play their role as teachers. On this days students organise various programs for the teachers. They organise programs like singing show, dancing show, quiz competition, dance-drama, ramp walk etc. These programs are normally organized after break time i.e., in the second half of the day. In the first half the senior students take the classes till the lunch break . The teachers relax in the classes and enjoy all these activities.

On this special day, students bring greeting cards, flowers and all sorts of gifts for their teachers. Teachers also feel very happy after receiving all such gifts from their students and they also give treats to their students.

Conclusion

In India, Teachers’ Day is celebrated in honor of teachers, as they work hard throughout the year and want their students to do well in school and other activities. On this day different types of programs are organized in schools across the country. These types of programs strengthen the attitudes of students and teachers. In fact, it is a special day for both students and teachers.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarvepalli_Radhakrishnan

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sarvepalli-Radhakrishnan

@track2traininginstitute @track2trainingseminar @edunewsnetwork @track2trainingservice

A society that can breach the stereotype in India .

I never feel confined by gender, by labels, by expectations, by stereotypes. I’m free to be myself.

Princess Nokia

Introduction

During the last two decades it is said that to be a women is the most precious gift a human can have . To be able to give birth to another human being that lives inside precisely 9 months at most .

But their is another dispute that a women can only be a insider . That can fulfill the needs of the dominant society.

Isn’t these two statements are contradictory. In first one a women is a precious gift and in another she can only fullfill one’s needs but only in four walls .

Aren’t they human or a thing that can only live under the roof of men for living ?

Women have always played an important role in the society . Even in the ancient times , they were considered as an equal with the men . So what change , the air , the water , the life style or the mindset . We can also say that the stereotype mindset in society .

Years and years before people grew their ego and think about their individual benefits. Women lead life with virtue , wisdom and respect .

When it start

It was all not same as it was now , their were times when women rule the nation . But due to the foreign invasion , women suffer immensely . At the mediaeval times , women came to be confined within the four walls of the house .

Mediaeval period also known as ‘DARK AGE ‘ as very few women’s were found to be a ruler at that period . It was the period when women brought to the deeds where they made to be inferior to men .

They were raped and brutally killed by the demons who think they can dominate them .

Rani Padmavati, Jodha Bai, Gulbadan Begum, Nurjahan, Jahan Ara , Mumtaj Mahal, Razia Sultan , Jija Bai are some of the women who fought for their right , safety , people , family and love also saved many .

“And one day she discovered that she was fierce, and strong, and full of fire, and that not even she could hold herself back because her passion burned brighter than her fears.”

– Mark Anthony

Modern era

It’s a century of love , reliability , equality and most important individuality .

Then why women are always compared to the men . Why they questioned when they are innocent . ( Well not all are innocent and victim , just for those who are ) .

I do believe that men and women are different . Their differences doesn’t make them weak . It’s just a perspective and view of people that make them vulnerable .

But do women care , it’s their own life not to say that anyone means ANYONE can come and stamp their ‘so called ’ rules on them . Not against the male gender but to those who think they can dominate and lock them in four walls .

Not to say, if women lock men in four wall room . So what will happen to them . Umm. Let’s think , they run like a horse at the time when the room unlocked .

If OJO -MOJO can’t stay in their rooms can’t OLLE do the same . Yes she can , also kick their humpy dumpy bum.

Let’s end the topic and eat some more . It’s a 21st century donot let someone walk on you , you can stand for yourself .

“Don’t let anyone speak for you, and don’t rely on others to fight for you.”

– Michelle Obama

This editorial is written under one’s perspective . Neither against any gender nor in favour .

Indian festivals!

Festivals in India are celebrated in many parts of India, as India is subdivided into different Linguistic States. The local Government in each State also specifies certain festivals, in addition to Central Government festivals and holidays, depending on the local population which have elected them.

INDIA

INDIA
Festivals of India



Festivals in India
Festivals in India are celebrated in many parts of India, as India is subdivided into different Linguistic States. The local Government in each State also specifies certain festivals, in addition to Central Government festivals and holidays, depending on the local population which have elected them.

India is a multi-cultural country
India is a multi-cultural country, and it is reflected in the Festivals of India: Festivals of India is about various social, religious, and national festivals celebrated in different parts of India. India has been rightly described as a sub-continent and of its major festivals, many are region-specific festivals too. There are many festivals which are celebrated as national festivals; while a number of them are celebrated by members of particular religious or social groups. India is a land of festivals. These Indian festivals bind all Indians together of different castes, religions, etc there is no discrimination while celebration. When there is no discrimination then it is called INDIA.


The major festivals are from religious groups as under:


Diwali or Deepawali
Dussehra
Raksha Bandhan
Krishna Janmastami
Ugadi
Maha Shivaratri
Ramanavami
Makar Sankranti
Holi
Pongal
Onam
Bonalu
Hanuman Jayanthi
Vasant Panchami
Thaipusam
Chaitra Navratri
Gangaur Festival
Mahavir Jayanti
Rath Yatra
Mahavir Jayanti
Guru Purnima
Ganesh Chaturthi
Maharishi Valmiki jayanti
Karva Chauth
Dhanteras
Govardhan Puja
Bhai Dooj
Eid-ul-Fitr
Muharram
Ramzan
Barawafat
Milad-Un-Nabi
Giaravahin Sharif
Hazarat Ali’s Birthday
Shab-e-Barat
Jamat-Ul-Vida
Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid or Eid-Ul-Zuha)
Good Friday
Easter
Christmas
Losar
Buddha Purnima
Hemis Gompa
Ullambana
Guru Nanak’s Birthday Jayanti
Guru Govind Singh’s Birthday Jayanti
Guru Teg Bahadur’s Martyrdom Day
BaisakhiMJNJ

And many more! But this is the power of our Indian culture we celebrate all of the festivals together and happily.

Race: today’s generation!

As I’m going to start this blog I would love to say everyone is perfect in their own personality, in their own perspective, in their own decisions. So it’s been a long time I had passed my school and now persuing my passion (not a course) ‘my passion’ so let me tell what is the main topic I’m talking about but firstly I’ll tell you a story which is real, so I was studying in 10th and one of my closest friend I can’t revel his name but his intrest was in painting and then he was confused that ‘bro what should I take as a stream in 11th’ so I told him what you love or in which you have your interest, but he said my father is telling me to take PCM (science, math) and he wants to take humanity but he was confused because his dad said if you’ll took humanity then there’s no future! And his dad told him take science-maths and then you cout prepare for IIT and he took science-math and just because he want to become a engineer and want to earn money! And he wasn’t happy as he wasn’t able to paint because of his studies and he wasn’t that good in studies so he was trying very hard but I said why I mean if you love to paint and you wanted to take humanity as your stream then did you took science and math just for the sake of money and even you don’t have intrest in science maths then why and he said because of my father. And this is my experience ladies and gentlemen he took science and maths he studied very hard and gave the exam for jee and he failed because he wasn’t having that intrest in PCM. And on the other hand he haven’t painted for more than a year and when he gave his exam and came back home he took his brush and painted and I’ll that art was one of the best of my friend as he hasn’t painted for a while which is more than a year but,

As i said ‘IF YOU HAVE INTREST IN A PARTICULAR FIELD, YOU’LL DEFINITELY WIN’ but if you don’t have intrest in that particular field you’ll definitely lose doesn’t matter who much you work upon it ‘HAVING INTREST IS THE TOP FACTOR’

For example, if you don’t love to cook and your mom said son just cook tonight’s dinner and you know how to cook but you hate it than Tonight’s dinner would be for the dustbin. I’m damn sure! I don’t love to paint and if you’ll say please make my sketch. Then I don’t know what I’ll make but after making that Sketch you’ll disown me I know.

But why you guys just want yurselves to put yur souls, your hard-work, your precious time and obviously money, in those things where you don’t have any Intrest in. My today’s generation just want to become a engineer, doctor, or a IAS.

Okay so, let’s take an assumption, if my friend was passed in that jee exam and he was selected in a college and becomes an engineer and was doing his job properly but what do you think he used to be happy and prosperous okay if you was at his place were you used to feel good and happy. Guys invest yourselves in those materials where you’re good at and where you’ll love your thing. Its not about that we should not listen to our parents but sometimes we should listen to ourselves too.

Cultural Relativism

Human is a social animal. He cannot survive without a society. Society gives birth to culture. The ideas, customs, practices, beliefs of a society forms it’s culture. This culture incorporates with the lives of the people belonging to a society. Cultural transmission starts from right when we are born and continues till we live. Our culture is given to us as our legacy which must be practiced and preserved. Therefore it is a given that different societies have different culture and cultural practices, some more different than others.

Generally, it has been seen that there is this notion among people that our culture is superior or that a particular culture is inferior to our culture. An “Us vs them” mentality is created which leads to perception bias in our favour. This leads to cultural misinterpretations and generalisations about other cultures. Sometimes these beliefs are so strong that they take forms of prejudices, disparity, bullying, intolerance, wars, genocide etc.
A well-known instance of this is the Nazi Germany and the holocaust of Jews.

It’s not our differences that divide us, but our own inability to accept those differences.

This is where ‘Cultural Relativism’ comes into light. Cultural relativism refers to the ability of a person to understand a culture on it’s own terms and not being judgemental towards it. It simply means that we should try to understand cultural practices of other groups in their own cultural context. This term was first used philosopher Alain Locke. It lays emphasis on the fact that people from different cultures can have relationships with respect and acknowledgement of each other’s diverse lives.

The basic goal of cultural relativism is to promote a sense of unity and to demolish the views pertaining to superiority of a particular culture over others. It also argues that there is no particular standard of judging what is good or evil and every decision is individually decided in each society. The bottom-line is that there no right or wrong in an ethical system and it is our own perception which tints our sense of morality.

Cultural relativism has two broad categories, absolute and critical.
The former argues that whatever happens within a culture has nothing to do with outsiders and therefore should not be questioned. The later forms questions about the practices in terms of who is accepting them and why.

We need to understand that there exists absolutely no culture that can be called Perfect. Cultural relativism has it’s flaws of course. Sometimes in the name of culture, we violate Human Rights but inspite of that, it is very important because it gives us objective insight, cross cultural empathy and makes us realise similarity among human cultures. It enables us to leave behind our biased mind sets and to see things in new light. It can also help to put a check on discriminatory practices and prejudiced behaviour which originates as a by-product of cultural misinterpretation. Cultural relativism important in studying and understanding other and different cultures because first and foremost we have to realise that our perception can be prejudiced while we are studying another culture. In a nutshell, cultural relativism is what we need to create a world which is equally hospitable and welcoming for everyone irrespective to their culture.