There are many ways that globalization affects culture. Over the ages India has had an open approach to cultural influences and has been enriched because of this. The last few decades have seen major cultural changes leading to fears that our local cultures would be overtaken. Thus there are heated debates in our society not just about political and economic issues but also about changes in clothes, styles, music, films, languages, body language. The debate is not new and 19th century reformers and early nationalists also debated on culture and tradition. The issues today are in some ways the same, in some ways different. What is perhaps different is the scale and intensity of change.

Homogenization versus Globalization of culture

A central contention is that all cultures will become similar, that is homogeneous. Others argue that there is an increasing tendency towards glocalisation of culture. Glocalisation refers to the mixing of the global with the local. It is not entirely spontaneous. Nor is it entirely delinked from the commercial interests of globalization. It is a strategy often adopted by foreign firms while dealing with local traditions in order to enhance their marketability. In India, we find that all the foreign television channels like Star, MTV, Channel V and Cartoon Network use Indian languages. Even McDonald sells only vegetarian and chicken products in India and not its beef products, which are popular abroad. McDonald’s goes vegetarian during the Navaratri festival.
In the field of music, one can see the growth of popularity of ‘Bhangra pop’, ‘Indi pop’, fusion music and even remixes.

Ritzer(2004) has coined another word grobalization that refers to what he calls “growth imperatives(pushing) organisations and nations to expand globally and to impose themselves on the local”. For Ritzer, Globalization is the sum total of ‘glocalization’ and ‘grobalization’.

Homogenization of Culture

• Family structure: Joint family has been adversely affected due to globalization. There has been an increase in nuclear families. This can be clearly manifested in the increasing number of old age homes that are present now. The diversity in family forms has given way to a dominance of nuclear family in the globalized India
• Food: due to opening up of food joints like McDonalds, KFC across the country, there has been a homogenization of food available across the country, but there has also been heterogenization in food. Old restaurants are now replaced by Mc. Donalds. Fast food and Chinese dishes have replaced juice corners and Parathas.
• Borrowing of money has become more acceptable now as compared to the past. Taking loans is very common due to increasing access to financial institutions
• In place of old cinema halls, multiplex theatres are coming up.
• Use of English has increased manifold in urban areas, this has led to a homogenization in language across the country, but the rural areas have been less affected by it.

Glocalization of Culture

• Food: India has its unique cuisine, but the cuisines of foreign countries have become more easily available, they are modified to suit the taste buds of Indians (like Paneer Tikka Burger in McDonalds). This has led to a wide variety of food being available, leading to
heterogenization
• French, German and Spanish are taught to students right from school level along with indigenous languages, this is an exemplification of hybridization of culture
• Movies: popularity of foreign movies has increased, Hollywood, Chinese, French and Korean movies are quite popular among the urban youth. Along with this, dubbing of these foreign movies in local languages is testimony of increased glocalization.
• Festivals: celebrations of Valentines’ day, Friendship day are examples of change in cultural values related to festival. However, along with these new days, traditional festivals are celebrated with equal enthusiasm.
• Marriage: Importance of marriage is decreasing, there has been an increase in divorce, increase in live-in relationships, and single parenting is increasing. Marriage used to be considered as bonding of the souls; but today marriage is becoming professional and contractual. However, despite change in forms of marriage, it has not declined as an institution.

Therefore Globalization influences Indian culture. This has only overcome the isolation of our culture.