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Being Indian : Inside the Real India
In the 21st century every sixth human being will be Indian. India is very close to becoming the second largest consumer market in the world, with a buying middle class numbering over half a billion. The Indian economy is already the fourth largest in terms of purchasing power parity. It is in the top ten in overall GNP. Yet at least 200 million Indians remain desperately poor. Illiteracy rates are high. Communal violence is widespread; corruption endemic. Brides are still tortured and burnt for dowries; female infanticide is common. The caste system has lost little of its power and none of its brutality How are we to make sense of these apparently contradictory pictures of India today? And how can we overcome the many misconceptions about India that are fed by western stereotypes and Indians' own myths about themselves. Pavan Varma turns a sharply observant gaze on his fellow countrymen to examine what really makes Indians tick. How, for example, does the indifference of most middle-class Indians to the suffering of the poor square with their enthusiasm for parliamentary democracy? How can a people who so supported Mahatma Gandhi's strategy of non-violence during the struggle for independence burn young brides for their dowries and beat domestic servants to near-death? Why do Indians have a reputation for being spiritual and 'other-wordly' when their traditions so exalt the pursuit of material well-being as a principal goal of life? Drawing on sources as diverse as ancient Sanskrit treatises and Bollywood lyrics, Pavan Varma creates a vivid and compelling portrait of India and its people. Being Indian is an essential book for anyone who wishes to understand Indians, and for Indians who wish to understand themselves.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
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About the author
Pavan K. Varma
34 books89 followersPavan K. Varma is a former Indian Foreign Service officer and was an adviser to the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, with cabinet rank. With effect from June, 2014 he was a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) until July 2016. He is currently the National General Secretary and National Spokesman of the Janata Dal (United).
Varma is a graduate of St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi where he studied History (Honours) and received the first position. He was President of the St. Stephen’s College Debating Society as well as the star debater and elocutionist of the University of Delhi. He also won the Sir CP Ramaswamy Aiyar Memorial Essay Prize at St. Stephen’s. Subsequently, he acquired a degree in Law from the University of Delhi.
He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1976. His career as a diplomat has seen him serve in several locations, including New York and Moscow. In New York, he was with India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. His assignments in India include that of Press Secretary to the President of India, Spokesman in the Ministry of External Affairs, Joint Secretary for Africa and Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi.
Varma is a graduate of St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi where he studied History (Honours) and received the first position. He was President of the St. Stephen’s College Debating Society as well as the star debater and elocutionist of the University of Delhi. He also won the Sir CP Ramaswamy Aiyar Memorial Essay Prize at St. Stephen’s. Subsequently, he acquired a degree in Law from the University of Delhi.
He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1976. His career as a diplomat has seen him serve in several locations, including New York and Moscow. In New York, he was with India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. His assignments in India include that of Press Secretary to the President of India, Spokesman in the Ministry of External Affairs, Joint Secretary for Africa and Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
April 9, 2019
I have had this on my shelf a long while, and was looking forward to reading it, which is probably why I struggled a little with it. It is written in a too-technical way for me to find it enjoyable, and moves from the macro to the micro, using the generalizations it rally's against earlier. While it is largely anecdotal, I found myself continually confused as it moved from one viewpoint to the next.
There is little doubt it offers insights, and probably much accuracy, but I found it hard to organize in my mind just what an outcome on a particular issue was. Tackling big topics - power, wealth, tech, corruption, democracy, caste divides / social hierarchy, etc it all got a bit confusing and bogged down.
As is often the case, this is likely a reader issue, not a book issue - probably I wasn't offering the book sufficient attention to link and process the information - I needed a lighter read, while this is analytical and complex. So I am sitting on the fence with 3 stars. With so many positive reviews, it is probably a book I should try again some time.
There is little doubt it offers insights, and probably much accuracy, but I found it hard to organize in my mind just what an outcome on a particular issue was. Tackling big topics - power, wealth, tech, corruption, democracy, caste divides / social hierarchy, etc it all got a bit confusing and bogged down.
As is often the case, this is likely a reader issue, not a book issue - probably I wasn't offering the book sufficient attention to link and process the information - I needed a lighter read, while this is analytical and complex. So I am sitting on the fence with 3 stars. With so many positive reviews, it is probably a book I should try again some time.
September 28, 2025
Най-многочислени в света (над 1,4 милиарда души) са индийците, като близо 40% от тях са вегетарианци (което ги прави най-многобройната група вегетарианци в света). Индия няма един общ национален език на фона на 22 (!) такива, като двама индийци от съседните Керала и Тамил Наду най-лесно ще се разберат на английски. Технологични гиганти и космически технологии мирно съжителстват с близо 80% разпространение на уредените бракове (търсят се “бели” булки и кастата е от значение, за зестрата да не говорим - там има ценоразписи в зависимост статута на младоженеца), безброй силно посещавани и нови никнещи индуистки храмове, милиони живеещи в непоносими гета или директно на улицата, и ендемична корупция за всичко и навсякъде.
Паван Варма се захваща с амбициозната идея да обобщи индийския типаж - хиндуист, в относително недългия период на съществуването на модерна Индия от 1947 г. насам.
И така, индиецът според Варма е:
✔️ прагматик в чист вид, за когото постигането на целта и на утвърден статус е мерилото за живот. Моралният релативизъм (произтичащ и от индуизма), който приема спокойно корупцията, липсата на закон и пълното пренебрежение и безразличие към широкоразпространената жестока мизерия сред околните, прави тесния фокус върху личното благоденствие изключително разпространен.
✔️ адаптивен към всякакви обстоятелства, като предпочита компромиса пред открития конфликт. Поражението не е нещо недостойно, ако е постигнало целта си да избегне ненужни загуби.
✔️ силно йерархично и традиционно създание, умеещо да лавира сред всякакви тънкости и интриги на силно неравно и несправедливо общество, все още доминирано от сковаващи традиции, заплетени лични връзки и касти. Послушанието и усърдието са ценните качества, а творческото мислене особено в разновидността си на критично мислене е неприемливо и не само не води до житейски успех, но е гаранция за сблъсък с общността. А индиецът е и групов играч и участник във всевъзможни общности, които го спасяват като предпазна мрежа. Защото на друго (особено на държавата) не може особено да разчита.
Допирните точки с българина не са малко, включително синдрома на бай Ганьо и на криворазбраната цивилизация, които имат силен индийски еквивалент най-вече по отношение на английския език и британската култура.
И все пак всякакви обобщения, особено пък на някакъв митичен “национален характер”, са доста опасни с опростяването си на културни, социални и исторически феномени. Варма има предимството на вътрешния поглед, но и недостатъка на личните си стереотипи и пристрастия. Както и склонността да си противоречи на места. А не може да избяга и от убеждението си, че дадени национални черти са “вродени”, особено като го избива на национална гордост. (Винаги е приятно си да мислиш, че математическите способности са в ДНК-то на цялата днешна нация.)
Като цяло - приятен и ненатоварващ прочит, незадълбочен и далеч от изчерпателност.
——————————————————————————————
🪢”След векове на йерархизиран житейски регламент повечето индийци имат робско мислене. То им отнема способността да задават впроси и ги обрича на покорство вместо на съзидание. Цялата им енергия е насочена към това да се озоват по-нагоре, но в рамките на предопределения йерархичен ред, а не отвъд него, камо ли да направят нещо „нетрадиционно", което да обърне удобната рутина заедно с предсказуемостта на очакванията, които тя поражда. Самото общество като такова кара индийците все да се връщат към утъпканите пътеки; да боядисват старата канавка, вместо ga
изпробват новото шосе. Те лесно се задоволяват с видимите знаци на успеха, осигуряващи по-високо място в традиционното общество: по-висока образователна степен, по-добре платена работа, по-голям дом, място във властта, шанс за пътуване и работа в чужбина. Това са силно въжделени мечти, преследвани само по добре утъпкани пътеки; те отключват големи амбиции, но не и кураж за самостоятелно мислене.”
🪢"Устояли във времето, традиционните общества удължават живота си благодарение на това, че не задават въпроси."
🪢"На индиеца му отнема известно време да проумее, че да мислиш с главата си не е подривна дейност, нито саботаж, а едно ново начало по пътя към творчество и откривателство."
🪢“Умът [на индиеца] е като шкаф с безброй чекмеджета, а не някакъв прост бофет; само по себе си всяко чекмеде е отделен свят. В определена ситуация то може да бъде извадено, без да засегне нито едно от останалите. Ако моментьт изисква работа с клавиатурата на компютъра, отваря се точното чекмедже и задачата се решава на мига. В следващия момент се отваря чекмедкето, приютило традиция на няколко хиляди години отпреди появата на компютъра. В това пространство на паралелна реалност традиция и технология наистина се срещат, но по типично индийски начин.”
Паван Варма се захваща с амбициозната идея да обобщи индийския типаж - хиндуист, в относително недългия период на съществуването на модерна Индия от 1947 г. насам.
И така, индиецът според Варма е:
✔️ прагматик в чист вид, за когото постигането на целта и на утвърден статус е мерилото за живот. Моралният релативизъм (произтичащ и от индуизма), който приема спокойно корупцията, липсата на закон и пълното пренебрежение и безразличие към широкоразпространената жестока мизерия сред околните, прави тесния фокус върху личното благоденствие изключително разпространен.
✔️ адаптивен към всякакви обстоятелства, като предпочита компромиса пред открития конфликт. Поражението не е нещо недостойно, ако е постигнало целта си да избегне ненужни загуби.
✔️ силно йерархично и традиционно създание, умеещо да лавира сред всякакви тънкости и интриги на силно неравно и несправедливо общество, все още доминирано от сковаващи традиции, заплетени лични връзки и касти. Послушанието и усърдието са ценните качества, а творческото мислене особено в разновидността си на критично мислене е неприемливо и не само не води до житейски успех, но е гаранция за сблъсък с общността. А индиецът е и групов играч и участник във всевъзможни общности, които го спасяват като предпазна мрежа. Защото на друго (особено на държавата) не може особено да разчита.
Допирните точки с българина не са малко, включително синдрома на бай Ганьо и на криворазбраната цивилизация, които имат силен индийски еквивалент най-вече по отношение на английския език и британската култура.
И все пак всякакви обобщения, особено пък на някакъв митичен “национален характер”, са доста опасни с опростяването си на културни, социални и исторически феномени. Варма има предимството на вътрешния поглед, но и недостатъка на личните си стереотипи и пристрастия. Както и склонността да си противоречи на места. А не може да избяга и от убеждението си, че дадени национални черти са “вродени”, особено като го избива на национална гордост. (Винаги е приятно си да мислиш, че математическите способности са в ДНК-то на цялата днешна нация.)
Като цяло - приятен и ненатоварващ прочит, незадълбочен и далеч от изчерпателност.
——————————————————————————————
🪢”След векове на йерархизиран житейски регламент повечето индийци имат робско мислене. То им отнема способността да задават впроси и ги обрича на покорство вместо на съзидание. Цялата им енергия е насочена към това да се озоват по-нагоре, но в рамките на предопределения йерархичен ред, а не отвъд него, камо ли да направят нещо „нетрадиционно", което да обърне удобната рутина заедно с предсказуемостта на очакванията, които тя поражда. Самото общество като такова кара индийците все да се връщат към утъпканите пътеки; да боядисват старата канавка, вместо ga
изпробват новото шосе. Те лесно се задоволяват с видимите знаци на успеха, осигуряващи по-високо място в традиционното общество: по-висока образователна степен, по-добре платена работа, по-голям дом, място във властта, шанс за пътуване и работа в чужбина. Това са силно въжделени мечти, преследвани само по добре утъпкани пътеки; те отключват големи амбиции, но не и кураж за самостоятелно мислене.”
🪢"Устояли във времето, традиционните общества удължават живота си благодарение на това, че не задават въпроси."
🪢"На индиеца му отнема известно време да проумее, че да мислиш с главата си не е подривна дейност, нито саботаж, а едно ново начало по пътя към творчество и откривателство."
🪢“Умът [на индиеца] е като шкаф с безброй чекмеджета, а не някакъв прост бофет; само по себе си всяко чекмеде е отделен свят. В определена ситуация то може да бъде извадено, без да засегне нито едно от останалите. Ако моментьт изисква работа с клавиатурата на компютъра, отваря се точното чекмедже и задачата се решава на мига. В следващия момент се отваря чекмедкето, приютило традиция на няколко хиляди години отпреди появата на компютъра. В това пространство на паралелна реалност традиция и технология наистина се срещат, но по типично индийски начин.”
June 14, 2014
This books is the younger distant country cousin of Gurucharan Das' "India Unbound"
If you have not read 'India Unbound' yet, then go for that book first.
If you have already read that, then there is no need to read this one.
This is an interesting read exhibiting some idiosyncrasies of we Indians, nevertheless.
One quote I particularly liked -
If you have not read 'India Unbound' yet, then go for that book first.
If you have already read that, then there is no need to read this one.
This is an interesting read exhibiting some idiosyncrasies of we Indians, nevertheless.
One quote I particularly liked -
"The mistake one should never make is to accept the amiable Indian as a monolith. He is a most well-adjusted split personality, capable of living simultaneously and effortlessly on two mutually opposed planes. He can make a quantum leap from one epoch to another without showing any strain.
His mind is like a chest of drawers - never a single cupboard; each drawer can be a world onto itself, and can be pulled out, without reference to others, in response to a given situation."
March 2, 2015
The book provides insights into the Indian mind in a coherent framework.
The opinions are frankly expressed and there is rarely any pretense. Though sometimes I felt that there was a little too much glorification.
The author understands the Indian mind very well and after discussing some broad traits in the end provides some pointers towards harnessing the potential of India.
The key message is that public policy needs to be in sync with the Indian traits for them to effectively work.
What I understand about how public policy should be -
1. understand that Indians are perpetually seeking to increase their power. Perhaps 'redefining' what constitutes a higher status rather that assuming that Indians will heed the Utopian ideals of equality is a better idea.
2. Corruption must be tackled 'strongly' because Indians are sensitive to power and authority and will probably accept a well 'implemented' law
3. Hierarchies need to be redefined
4. Indians have an innate entrepreneurial instinct which needs to be harnessed in tackling the poverty problem and empowering the masses and private sector has to be encouraged (though I disagree with the suggestion that private sector should take over the education and health sector as I feel that free market is not sufficient in this regard due to informational asymmetry and poor track record of the private sector in these fields like resorting to exploitation)
5. Democracy needs to be preserved
The opinions are frankly expressed and there is rarely any pretense. Though sometimes I felt that there was a little too much glorification.
The author understands the Indian mind very well and after discussing some broad traits in the end provides some pointers towards harnessing the potential of India.
The key message is that public policy needs to be in sync with the Indian traits for them to effectively work.
What I understand about how public policy should be -
1. understand that Indians are perpetually seeking to increase their power. Perhaps 'redefining' what constitutes a higher status rather that assuming that Indians will heed the Utopian ideals of equality is a better idea.
2. Corruption must be tackled 'strongly' because Indians are sensitive to power and authority and will probably accept a well 'implemented' law
3. Hierarchies need to be redefined
4. Indians have an innate entrepreneurial instinct which needs to be harnessed in tackling the poverty problem and empowering the masses and private sector has to be encouraged (though I disagree with the suggestion that private sector should take over the education and health sector as I feel that free market is not sufficient in this regard due to informational asymmetry and poor track record of the private sector in these fields like resorting to exploitation)
5. Democracy needs to be preserved
February 12, 2013
This book has spelt out for me so many facets of Indianness that hardly ruled my conscious mind.
A must read for all indophiles. A detailed analysis on who we are, where we come from and how we became our present selves. This book has given me deeper insight to questioning what the future holds for me as an Indian and for India itself.
A must read for all indophiles. A detailed analysis on who we are, where we come from and how we became our present selves. This book has given me deeper insight to questioning what the future holds for me as an Indian and for India itself.
August 27, 2013
I do not have words to describe it actually. Only thing is a must read for Indians and anybody who is interested in what India is.
May 6, 2011
By calling his book, 'Being Indian', Mr. Varma takes upon himself a rather difficult task - that of defining the traits, characteristics, beliefs, mannerisms, dreams, aspirations of typical Indians.
He starts by tackling the image of Indians. Indians are considered to be 'other worldly', spiritual and non-violent. But, Mr. Varma argues this is merely a projected image and in reality Indians are extremely practical, worldly people, who have very earthy goals in life. To illustrate his point, the author talks about Indians' attitude towards wealth and power. Varma argues that Indians consider, and have always considered self-advancement through the pursuit of wealth and power as a very legitimate goal in life. While this does not sound very complimentary, Varma attributes the survival of democracy and the inherent tolerance of Indians to this very trait. Indians by nature hate chaos and confrontation because it deviates them from their goal. For them 'adjustment', 'compromise' are the keywords that guide their life because they have a very practical outlook towards life. For Varma, 'Jiyo aur jeene do', these four words succinctly capture the essence of how Indian look at life.
Some of his observations on democracy which stayed with me-
"It is often believed that the pervasive poverty and illiteracy of India allows politicians to get away with such unscrupulous behaviour. This is not true. Educated Indians behave in exactly the same way in the pursuit of power as their poor or illiterate compatriots."
"In a country where resources are scarce, and opportunities for upward mobility are limited, political power opens the gates to both. The resources of the state, which is the single largest patronage, are very highly prized."
"The truth then is that democracy has survived in India not because Indians are democratic, but because democracy has proved to be the most effective instrument for the cherished pursuit of power. People stifling in the pressure cooker of a hierarchically sealed society embraced the _machinery of democratic politics_ for the promise it held of upward mobility within the inherited framework of an undemocratic society."
"Democracy did not adopt India. Indians usurped democracy."
"The miracle of India is that the practice of democracy has flourished within its boundaries for over five decades in the _absence_ of a democratic temperament."
Varma also makes some very blunt observations about Indian psyche when they are busy chasing their goals in life. The reason why Indians are so tolerant to every day corruption and to a large extent they also form a part of this corruption.
In Varma's words, Indians' response to corruption and how they justify it-
"The world is not inherently fair; it does not guarantee a level playing field. In such a situation, success is the consequence of a well-understood transaction: give to the world what is unavoidable, in order to get from it what you want; and take from it what it can give, in order to obtain for yourself what you desire."
In the later part of the book, Varma dwells on the role technology has played in the life of Indians. How Indians have been quick in adopting as well as adapting themselves to the new technological world, but at the same time have managed to hold on to their centuries old traditions. The ability of the Indians to juggle 'cutting-edge' technology and traditions dating back to several generations, may surprise many, but they are second nature to most Indians.
As Varma puts it-
"He (an Indian) is a well-adjusted split personality, capable of living simultaneously and effortlessly on two mutually opposed planes. ... His mind is like a chest of drawers - never a single cupboard; each drawer can be a world unto itself, and can be pulled out, without reference to the others, in response to a a given situation. ... In this space of parallel domains, tradition and technology do meet, but in typically Indian ways. Internet websites now offer online pujas and rituals for sale. Devotees in Mumbai can send their prayers on SMS during the Ganesh festival. Horoscopes are made on computers."
"The ability to 'compartmentalize' the mind is both a weakness and a strength. It is a weakness because the superstitions and prejudices of the past remain insulated from exposure to modern science and technology. It is a strength because the hold of tradition is not a barrier to the world of science and technology. ... His association with technology is simultaneous, not sequential. He does not have to get rid of everything backward in his tradition before he enters the modern world of science. This gives adaptability even if it prevents, or delays, real modernity."
Some of our technical advancement can also be explained by the fact that India comprises of a large elite population for whom English is almost a first language. So much so that millions of toiling masses look at 'knowing English' as a definite tool for self-advancement. Even if this is at the cost of their mother-tongue. The situation is ironic and Varma captures it well when he laments-
"Linguistic shoddiness is a disfiguring scar on a nation that has few peers in the richness of its linguistic heritage."
The last part of the book deals with 'Pan Indianness', about blurring boundaries and merging identities in today's world. Towards the end of the book, the author talks about why he believes Indians will pay a significant role in defining what the 21st century is going to be all about.
The author uses anecdotes, draws inferences from behavioural patterns, draws from varies sources like - sayings and adages, popular literature, folk songs, traditions, bollywood to make his point. And in doing so he makes you frown in disapproval at places, but also manages to draw a knowing smile from you. Overall the style is engaging, though some parts seem long drawn and you start peering in the pages ahead to know where this is going.
He starts by tackling the image of Indians. Indians are considered to be 'other worldly', spiritual and non-violent. But, Mr. Varma argues this is merely a projected image and in reality Indians are extremely practical, worldly people, who have very earthy goals in life. To illustrate his point, the author talks about Indians' attitude towards wealth and power. Varma argues that Indians consider, and have always considered self-advancement through the pursuit of wealth and power as a very legitimate goal in life. While this does not sound very complimentary, Varma attributes the survival of democracy and the inherent tolerance of Indians to this very trait. Indians by nature hate chaos and confrontation because it deviates them from their goal. For them 'adjustment', 'compromise' are the keywords that guide their life because they have a very practical outlook towards life. For Varma, 'Jiyo aur jeene do', these four words succinctly capture the essence of how Indian look at life.
Some of his observations on democracy which stayed with me-
"It is often believed that the pervasive poverty and illiteracy of India allows politicians to get away with such unscrupulous behaviour. This is not true. Educated Indians behave in exactly the same way in the pursuit of power as their poor or illiterate compatriots."
"In a country where resources are scarce, and opportunities for upward mobility are limited, political power opens the gates to both. The resources of the state, which is the single largest patronage, are very highly prized."
"The truth then is that democracy has survived in India not because Indians are democratic, but because democracy has proved to be the most effective instrument for the cherished pursuit of power. People stifling in the pressure cooker of a hierarchically sealed society embraced the _machinery of democratic politics_ for the promise it held of upward mobility within the inherited framework of an undemocratic society."
"Democracy did not adopt India. Indians usurped democracy."
"The miracle of India is that the practice of democracy has flourished within its boundaries for over five decades in the _absence_ of a democratic temperament."
Varma also makes some very blunt observations about Indian psyche when they are busy chasing their goals in life. The reason why Indians are so tolerant to every day corruption and to a large extent they also form a part of this corruption.
In Varma's words, Indians' response to corruption and how they justify it-
"The world is not inherently fair; it does not guarantee a level playing field. In such a situation, success is the consequence of a well-understood transaction: give to the world what is unavoidable, in order to get from it what you want; and take from it what it can give, in order to obtain for yourself what you desire."
In the later part of the book, Varma dwells on the role technology has played in the life of Indians. How Indians have been quick in adopting as well as adapting themselves to the new technological world, but at the same time have managed to hold on to their centuries old traditions. The ability of the Indians to juggle 'cutting-edge' technology and traditions dating back to several generations, may surprise many, but they are second nature to most Indians.
As Varma puts it-
"He (an Indian) is a well-adjusted split personality, capable of living simultaneously and effortlessly on two mutually opposed planes. ... His mind is like a chest of drawers - never a single cupboard; each drawer can be a world unto itself, and can be pulled out, without reference to the others, in response to a a given situation. ... In this space of parallel domains, tradition and technology do meet, but in typically Indian ways. Internet websites now offer online pujas and rituals for sale. Devotees in Mumbai can send their prayers on SMS during the Ganesh festival. Horoscopes are made on computers."
"The ability to 'compartmentalize' the mind is both a weakness and a strength. It is a weakness because the superstitions and prejudices of the past remain insulated from exposure to modern science and technology. It is a strength because the hold of tradition is not a barrier to the world of science and technology. ... His association with technology is simultaneous, not sequential. He does not have to get rid of everything backward in his tradition before he enters the modern world of science. This gives adaptability even if it prevents, or delays, real modernity."
Some of our technical advancement can also be explained by the fact that India comprises of a large elite population for whom English is almost a first language. So much so that millions of toiling masses look at 'knowing English' as a definite tool for self-advancement. Even if this is at the cost of their mother-tongue. The situation is ironic and Varma captures it well when he laments-
"Linguistic shoddiness is a disfiguring scar on a nation that has few peers in the richness of its linguistic heritage."
The last part of the book deals with 'Pan Indianness', about blurring boundaries and merging identities in today's world. Towards the end of the book, the author talks about why he believes Indians will pay a significant role in defining what the 21st century is going to be all about.
The author uses anecdotes, draws inferences from behavioural patterns, draws from varies sources like - sayings and adages, popular literature, folk songs, traditions, bollywood to make his point. And in doing so he makes you frown in disapproval at places, but also manages to draw a knowing smile from you. Overall the style is engaging, though some parts seem long drawn and you start peering in the pages ahead to know where this is going.
February 7, 2017
An honest portrayal of the nature of Indians and the corruption that is openly flaunted there when you consider that the author is one of "them" as a high ranking civil servant. Power, money and sex are all covered in this fascinating book. Indians have been held back for a long time, and in the modern context, the Socialist "Nehruvian" era that lasted from 1947 until the early 1990s seriously stunted the country's growth. When India finally opened for business, it just went off like a rocket - hence the talk of a new superpower.
The author addresses the issue of poverty in India (worse than Sub-Saharan Africa) and acknowledges that this issue must be resolved and is being resolved in the chaotic and slow Indian way. He talks of the quota system for the Dalit castes (Untouchables) and how they have been incredibly successful in politics and how they are pulling themselves out of a situation created by centuries of persecution.
A fascinating insight into a country full of contradictions. This was published in 2004 and feels slightly dated.
The author addresses the issue of poverty in India (worse than Sub-Saharan Africa) and acknowledges that this issue must be resolved and is being resolved in the chaotic and slow Indian way. He talks of the quota system for the Dalit castes (Untouchables) and how they have been incredibly successful in politics and how they are pulling themselves out of a situation created by centuries of persecution.
A fascinating insight into a country full of contradictions. This was published in 2004 and feels slightly dated.
July 29, 2011
Although this book does offer some insight into Indian culture, its gross over generalizations neglect to provide acknowledgment of the diverse nature of this vast nation. As other reviewers have said, the writing style also made this book a slow and laborious read. Although a totally different kind of book, I recommend Dalrymple's City of Djinns as a well-written alternative introduction to Indian culture.
March 8, 2012
or, The truth about why the 21st Century will be India's. This book, published by Penguin, cost me just Rs 250 and the back cover says that it is for sale in the Indian Subcontinent and Singapore only. How odd. Btw, I have not finished this either - I've been distracted by The Argumentative Indian and my rediscovery of my 500+ book collection from which I've extracted a few old favourites. I'm also still digesting much of what it means to be Indian, something I rejected being, quite honestly, for most of my rebellious adolescence and early adulthood.
Being Indian - The truth about why the 21st Century will be India's by Pavan K. Varma - Varma is a diplomat, his biography seems to imply an erudite, well read and well travelled gentleman who evokes a subtle sense of Pico Iyer in his approach and writing. I'm not comparing the two, no one comes close to Iyer in his distinctly global style, but the faint whiff perhaps of mixing Indian with British with a touch of the world feels familiar. I've only completed the first chapter on the relationship that Indians have with power - political or fiscal - rather than charismatic or physical, and it's been a learning exercise for me. I purchased this book for myself, to satisfy my desire to understand what it means to be Indian.
Before I go into book reviews and links like I did for my other book purchases, I'll get this point off my chest. Being Indian - the title itself is so evocative of the complexity of any nationality, race and culture. I carry an Indian passport, of this I am sure, and my skin is brown, my hair black (let's ignore that silver, shall we?) and my eyes brown. Yes, that means I'm Indian. Ethnically. But what about culturally? I'll come back to this later, as a hidden immigrant who once felt "re-entry shock".
Back to the book, what little I know about my fellow citizens led me to dig a little more, and here is an interesting bit, with reference to Varma's earlier book, The Great Indian Middle Class, from The Deccan Herald, Bangalore's daily paper,
And for balance, from The Independent, a review by Salil Tripathi,
And best of all, I found the book listed on this wonderful website online called Khazana (Treasure trove) - that calls itself a source for hard to get books from India and South East Asia. Just $27 - smiles - only a few dollars more than my Rs 250.
Being Indian - The truth about why the 21st Century will be India's by Pavan K. Varma - Varma is a diplomat, his biography seems to imply an erudite, well read and well travelled gentleman who evokes a subtle sense of Pico Iyer in his approach and writing. I'm not comparing the two, no one comes close to Iyer in his distinctly global style, but the faint whiff perhaps of mixing Indian with British with a touch of the world feels familiar. I've only completed the first chapter on the relationship that Indians have with power - political or fiscal - rather than charismatic or physical, and it's been a learning exercise for me. I purchased this book for myself, to satisfy my desire to understand what it means to be Indian.
Before I go into book reviews and links like I did for my other book purchases, I'll get this point off my chest. Being Indian - the title itself is so evocative of the complexity of any nationality, race and culture. I carry an Indian passport, of this I am sure, and my skin is brown, my hair black (let's ignore that silver, shall we?) and my eyes brown. Yes, that means I'm Indian. Ethnically. But what about culturally? I'll come back to this later, as a hidden immigrant who once felt "re-entry shock".
Back to the book, what little I know about my fellow citizens led me to dig a little more, and here is an interesting bit, with reference to Varma's earlier book, The Great Indian Middle Class, from The Deccan Herald, Bangalore's daily paper,
So what has changed in six years? Is it the author�s perception of things or is it a more fundamental change in ground realities? Or is Varma saying that the take-off stage has been achieved not because of the middle classes he censured earlier but in spite of them? Varma's book makes for good reading.
But should it also make the Indian in you feel good?
It depends. Depends on whether you believe ends justify the means. Depends on whether you accept hypocrisy as a way of life. For Varma's evaluation of the forces that fuel India�s launch into the new century makes it clear that there is a lot that is unscrupulous and hypocritical in the Indian's way of life that has served him well. His analysis also poses certain uncomfortable questions about the way day to day Indian life is at odds with some notions that the West and in fact the Indians themselves have about being Indian.
But while Varma does draw our attention to the gross inequities and prejudices that are still prevalent in every walk of Indian life, the fire in the belly seems to have burnt out somewhere along the way, the
sense of outrage dimmed. The result: the Indian middle class that he urged to introspect or perish may actually feel great on reading his new book.
And for balance, from The Independent, a review by Salil Tripathi,
Clichés about India prevail: its people are spiritual and not materialistic; good at maths (and thus also at IT), thanks to an innate ability with numbers; uninterested in power. And, as Churchill said, India is a geographical expression, not a nation. Varma takes issue with each, dividing the book into four parts: power, wealth, technology and pan-Indianness. The picture of India that emerges is not necessarily flattering, but is more interesting.
[...]
For many Indians, Varma argues, spiritualism is meant to harness divine power for material prosperity. The pursuit of Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) is the Indian version of the pursuit of happiness. The
country's software boom has as much to do with lucrative career moves as with innate talent. And greater travel and internal migration, along with cricket, Bollywood, satellite TV and radio, have unified this
"geographical expression".
[...]
As the book suggests, India is bigger than the sum of its parts. But the "big thing" that emerges is neither scary nor unstable.
And best of all, I found the book listed on this wonderful website online called Khazana (Treasure trove) - that calls itself a source for hard to get books from India and South East Asia. Just $27 - smiles - only a few dollars more than my Rs 250.
February 9, 2026
Mission 2026: Binge reviewing (and rereading on occasion) all previous Reads, I was too slothful to review, back when I read them’
I am rereading this tome. What Varma offers here. is not a portrait of India meant to be framed and admired, but a restless, shifting reflection that changes depending on where you stand, how long you look, and what you bring to it.
Reading the book now, years after its first appearance, feels less like encountering a dated sociological text and more like overhearing a still-relevant argument about who we think we are, who we pretend to be, and who we become when those stories collide with reality.
The genius—and the provocation—of ‘Being Indian’ lies in its refusal to begin with sentiment. Varma does not open with nostalgia, nor with civilizational pride, nor with the romantic language so often deployed when India explains itself to itself or to the world. Instead, he begins with behavior. With patterns. With instincts. With the everyday choreography of power, status, aspiration, and survival. His India is not an abstraction; it is a lived psychology.
And this psychology, he argues, is riddled with paradoxes that are not accidental flaws but structural features. To be Indian, in Varma’s telling, is not to reconcile contradictions but to inhabit them fluently.
One of the book’s most unsettling insights is its examination of power. Indians, Varma suggests, publicly disavow power while privately pursuing it with remarkable intensity. Power is rarely claimed outright; it is circled, negotiated, deferred, ritualized, and disguised.
The cultural celebration of renunciation—so deeply embedded in Indian moral imagination—does not negate ambition but reframes it. The ascetic is admired not because power is unimportant, but because the refusal of visible power paradoxically signals a higher form of authority. This inversion allows India to maintain a moral narrative that disowns domination even as it remains acutely sensitive to hierarchy.
Reading this, I found myself thinking not only of politics but of families, offices, classrooms, religious spaces—anywhere status is in play. The choreography is familiar: exaggerated humility before superiors, casual dominance over subordinates, strategic silence, performative deference.
Varma’s insight is sharp because it does not moralize this behavior; it contextualizes it. He shows how historical experiences—colonial subjugation, rigid social stratification, scarcity—have produced a culture hyper-attuned to relative position. Power is not seized; it is navigated. Not declared; detected. The result is a society that often appears chaotic or hypocritical to outsiders but operates according to a deeply internalized logic.
This logic becomes even more visible when Varma turns to wealth. One of the most persistent myths about India, enthusiastically sustained by both Western observers and Indian self-narration, is that of the spiritual nation indifferent to material gain. Varma dismantles this myth with calm precision. Indians, he argues, have never rejected wealth; they have simply moralized it.
The pursuit of material prosperity is not opposed to spirituality but folded into it. Wealth is not vulgar if it is framed as destiny, blessing, or reward for righteous conduct. The goddess of wealth is worshipped with the same fervor as gods of renunciation, and this coexistence does not feel contradictory within the cultural imagination.
What Varma exposes here is not hypocrisy but a different moral economy. The Indian discomfort with overt greed does not translate into resistance to accumulation. Instead, it encourages indirectness. Wealth is sought intensely but discussed obliquely. Success is celebrated but often attributed to fate, divine grace, or collective effort.
Failure, meanwhile, is moralized or spiritualized. This creates a curious atmosphere in which ambition is omnipresent but rarely named. Reading this section, I was struck by how accurately it captures the emotional texture of middle-class aspiration: the relentless push toward upward mobility coupled with a persistent need to appear detached from material obsession.
Varma’s India is not naïve about money; it is sophisticated in its negotiations with it. This sophistication becomes particularly visible in the way Indians engage with modern capitalism. Rather than experiencing modernity as a rupture, Indians absorb it selectively, layering new practices over old frameworks. Varma’s metaphor of the Indian mind as compartmentalized—capable of holding contradictory beliefs without anxiety—is one of the book’s most enduring contributions. Tradition and modernity do not fight for dominance; they occupy adjacent spaces.
A person can believe in astrology and algorithms, destiny and data, ritual purity and technological efficiency, without feeling compelled to reconcile these beliefs into a coherent philosophical system.
This compartmentalization is often mistaken for confusion or lack of rationality. Varma reframes it as adaptive intelligence. In a society marked by extreme diversity, historical layering, and rapid change, cognitive flexibility becomes a survival skill. The insistence on consistency—so prized in certain Western intellectual traditions—is not necessarily functional here. Instead, Indians cultivate an ability to switch codes, contexts, and values depending on circumstance.
This explains much about India’s relationship with technology. The embrace of digital tools does not erase ritual life; it amplifies it. Technology becomes another instrument within an already crowded cultural orchestra.
As Varma moves through these analyses, what becomes increasingly clear is that he is not writing about India as an exception but as an alternative model of modernity.
This is where the book’s postmodern sensibility quietly asserts itself. There is no grand narrative of progress, no teleological arc from tradition to enlightenment. Instead, there is bricolage.
Patchwork. Improvisation. Identity is not inherited whole; it is assembled daily from available materials. This approach resists neat categorization, and that resistance is precisely what makes the book both compelling and frustrating.
The frustration often arises from Varma’s willingness to generalize. He speaks of “Indians” with confidence, drawing broad conclusions from historical patterns, social behaviors, and cultural tendencies.
Critics have accused him of oversimplification, of flattening diversity into typology. And this criticism is not without merit. India contains multitudes that no single narrative can encompass. Yet Varma’s generalizations are not careless; they are strategic. He is not describing individuals but tendencies, not absolutes but probabilities. The book operates at the level of cultural psychology, where precision is always provisional.
What complicates the reading experience is that Varma himself occupies a liminal position. He writes as an insider with access to elite institutions, global exposure, and intellectual privilege.
At times, this vantage point lends clarity; at others, it introduces bias. His tone occasionally veers toward cynicism, particularly when discussing democracy and governance. He suggests that India’s democratic success owes less to ideological commitment than to pragmatic calculation—that democracy survives because it is the most efficient mechanism for managing competing power interests. This is an argument that stings because it reframes virtue as convenience.
Yet it also rings true in uncomfortable ways, especially when one considers how often democratic ideals are invoked rhetorically while subverted in practice.
Reading this, I felt a familiar ambivalence. On one hand, Varma’s analysis strips away comforting illusions. On the other, it risks underestimating the moral labor that democratic participation requires, especially in a society as unequal and complex as India’s.
The truth likely lies somewhere between Varma’s skepticism and nationalist idealism. Democracy in India may be sustained by pragmatism, but pragmatism itself can become a moral stance in contexts where survival and coexistence demand negotiation rather than purity.
Perhaps the most resonant aspect of ‘Being Indian’ is its exploration of pan-Indianness—the slow, uneven emergence of a shared cultural imagination that does not erase difference but overlays it.
Varma is careful not to romanticize this process. Unity, in his account, is not organic or ancient; it is constructed through modern forces: mass media, migration, economic integration, popular culture.
Bollywood, cricket, consumer brands, and shared aspirations create a loose connective tissue that allows people from vastly different backgrounds to recognize something familiar in one another.
This pan-Indianness is not a stable identity but a shifting horizon. It does not eliminate regional, linguistic, or caste-based affiliations; it coexists with them. Varma’s insight here is subtle: what binds India is not sameness but a shared fluency in difference. Indians are accustomed to negotiating multiplicity.
The nation holds together not because differences disappear, but because they are normalized. Conflict is constant, but so is accommodation.
Throughout the book, Varma resists the temptation to offer solutions. He is more diagnostician than reformer. This has led some readers to accuse him of pessimism, of critiquing without constructing.
But this expectation may itself be misplaced. ‘Being Indian’ is not a manifesto; it is a mirror. And mirrors, by definition, do not tell you what to do. They show you what is there.
What makes the book endure is its honesty about discomfort. Varma does not sanitize Indian society for international admiration, nor does he indulge in self-flagellation.
He acknowledges cruelty alongside compassion, ingenuity alongside inertia. His India is capable of extraordinary resilience and extraordinary indifference. It can absorb change without losing itself, but it can also normalize injustice with alarming ease. This duality is not resolved by the book; it is presented as a condition of being.
Reading ‘Being Indian’ today, one cannot help but notice how many of its insights remain relevant, even prophetic. The intensification of consumer culture, the technologization of daily life, the strategic use of tradition in political narratives, the persistent obsession with status—all of these dynamics have only deepened.
If anything, the book feels less dated than one might expect. Its language may belong to an earlier phase of liberalization, but its psychological observations still resonate.
Yet the book also invites resistance. It demands that readers argue back, refine, complicate, and contradict. This is perhaps its greatest strength. Varma does not claim final authority; he claims interpretive courage. He risks being wrong in order to be interesting. He risks offending in order to be honest. In doing so, he models a form of cultural criticism that is increasingly rare: one that is neither defensive nor self-congratulatory, but willing to inhabit ambiguity.
For me, the experience of reading ‘Being Indian’ was not one of revelation but of recognition. Many of Varma’s observations felt like things I had always known but never articulated.
Others felt exaggerated, incomplete, or shaped by a particular class perspective. But even in disagreement, the book compelled engagement. It refused to be passively consumed.
In the end, ‘Being Indian: Inside the Real India’ is less about defining identity than about exposing the processes through which identity is performed, negotiated, and narrated. It does not tell you who Indians are; it shows you how Indianness functions.
And in doing so, it also asks a larger, quieter question: what does it mean for any society to live with its contradictions without resolving them into myth?
That question lingers long after the book is closed. It lingers because it is not really about India alone. It is about modernity, about belonging, about the uneasy coexistence of ideals and instincts.
India, in Varma’s hands, becomes a particularly vivid case study—a place where the tensions of the contemporary world are not hidden but lived out in the open.
To read this book is to accept that identity is not a destination but a negotiation. That culture is not coherence but conversation.
That being Indian, like being anything else in a fractured, plural world, is not about purity or essence, but about learning to move—sometimes gracefully, sometimes clumsily—through contradiction.
Most recommended.
I am rereading this tome. What Varma offers here. is not a portrait of India meant to be framed and admired, but a restless, shifting reflection that changes depending on where you stand, how long you look, and what you bring to it.
Reading the book now, years after its first appearance, feels less like encountering a dated sociological text and more like overhearing a still-relevant argument about who we think we are, who we pretend to be, and who we become when those stories collide with reality.
The genius—and the provocation—of ‘Being Indian’ lies in its refusal to begin with sentiment. Varma does not open with nostalgia, nor with civilizational pride, nor with the romantic language so often deployed when India explains itself to itself or to the world. Instead, he begins with behavior. With patterns. With instincts. With the everyday choreography of power, status, aspiration, and survival. His India is not an abstraction; it is a lived psychology.
And this psychology, he argues, is riddled with paradoxes that are not accidental flaws but structural features. To be Indian, in Varma’s telling, is not to reconcile contradictions but to inhabit them fluently.
One of the book’s most unsettling insights is its examination of power. Indians, Varma suggests, publicly disavow power while privately pursuing it with remarkable intensity. Power is rarely claimed outright; it is circled, negotiated, deferred, ritualized, and disguised.
The cultural celebration of renunciation—so deeply embedded in Indian moral imagination—does not negate ambition but reframes it. The ascetic is admired not because power is unimportant, but because the refusal of visible power paradoxically signals a higher form of authority. This inversion allows India to maintain a moral narrative that disowns domination even as it remains acutely sensitive to hierarchy.
Reading this, I found myself thinking not only of politics but of families, offices, classrooms, religious spaces—anywhere status is in play. The choreography is familiar: exaggerated humility before superiors, casual dominance over subordinates, strategic silence, performative deference.
Varma’s insight is sharp because it does not moralize this behavior; it contextualizes it. He shows how historical experiences—colonial subjugation, rigid social stratification, scarcity—have produced a culture hyper-attuned to relative position. Power is not seized; it is navigated. Not declared; detected. The result is a society that often appears chaotic or hypocritical to outsiders but operates according to a deeply internalized logic.
This logic becomes even more visible when Varma turns to wealth. One of the most persistent myths about India, enthusiastically sustained by both Western observers and Indian self-narration, is that of the spiritual nation indifferent to material gain. Varma dismantles this myth with calm precision. Indians, he argues, have never rejected wealth; they have simply moralized it.
The pursuit of material prosperity is not opposed to spirituality but folded into it. Wealth is not vulgar if it is framed as destiny, blessing, or reward for righteous conduct. The goddess of wealth is worshipped with the same fervor as gods of renunciation, and this coexistence does not feel contradictory within the cultural imagination.
What Varma exposes here is not hypocrisy but a different moral economy. The Indian discomfort with overt greed does not translate into resistance to accumulation. Instead, it encourages indirectness. Wealth is sought intensely but discussed obliquely. Success is celebrated but often attributed to fate, divine grace, or collective effort.
Failure, meanwhile, is moralized or spiritualized. This creates a curious atmosphere in which ambition is omnipresent but rarely named. Reading this section, I was struck by how accurately it captures the emotional texture of middle-class aspiration: the relentless push toward upward mobility coupled with a persistent need to appear detached from material obsession.
Varma’s India is not naïve about money; it is sophisticated in its negotiations with it. This sophistication becomes particularly visible in the way Indians engage with modern capitalism. Rather than experiencing modernity as a rupture, Indians absorb it selectively, layering new practices over old frameworks. Varma’s metaphor of the Indian mind as compartmentalized—capable of holding contradictory beliefs without anxiety—is one of the book’s most enduring contributions. Tradition and modernity do not fight for dominance; they occupy adjacent spaces.
A person can believe in astrology and algorithms, destiny and data, ritual purity and technological efficiency, without feeling compelled to reconcile these beliefs into a coherent philosophical system.
This compartmentalization is often mistaken for confusion or lack of rationality. Varma reframes it as adaptive intelligence. In a society marked by extreme diversity, historical layering, and rapid change, cognitive flexibility becomes a survival skill. The insistence on consistency—so prized in certain Western intellectual traditions—is not necessarily functional here. Instead, Indians cultivate an ability to switch codes, contexts, and values depending on circumstance.
This explains much about India’s relationship with technology. The embrace of digital tools does not erase ritual life; it amplifies it. Technology becomes another instrument within an already crowded cultural orchestra.
As Varma moves through these analyses, what becomes increasingly clear is that he is not writing about India as an exception but as an alternative model of modernity.
This is where the book’s postmodern sensibility quietly asserts itself. There is no grand narrative of progress, no teleological arc from tradition to enlightenment. Instead, there is bricolage.
Patchwork. Improvisation. Identity is not inherited whole; it is assembled daily from available materials. This approach resists neat categorization, and that resistance is precisely what makes the book both compelling and frustrating.
The frustration often arises from Varma’s willingness to generalize. He speaks of “Indians” with confidence, drawing broad conclusions from historical patterns, social behaviors, and cultural tendencies.
Critics have accused him of oversimplification, of flattening diversity into typology. And this criticism is not without merit. India contains multitudes that no single narrative can encompass. Yet Varma’s generalizations are not careless; they are strategic. He is not describing individuals but tendencies, not absolutes but probabilities. The book operates at the level of cultural psychology, where precision is always provisional.
What complicates the reading experience is that Varma himself occupies a liminal position. He writes as an insider with access to elite institutions, global exposure, and intellectual privilege.
At times, this vantage point lends clarity; at others, it introduces bias. His tone occasionally veers toward cynicism, particularly when discussing democracy and governance. He suggests that India’s democratic success owes less to ideological commitment than to pragmatic calculation—that democracy survives because it is the most efficient mechanism for managing competing power interests. This is an argument that stings because it reframes virtue as convenience.
Yet it also rings true in uncomfortable ways, especially when one considers how often democratic ideals are invoked rhetorically while subverted in practice.
Reading this, I felt a familiar ambivalence. On one hand, Varma’s analysis strips away comforting illusions. On the other, it risks underestimating the moral labor that democratic participation requires, especially in a society as unequal and complex as India’s.
The truth likely lies somewhere between Varma’s skepticism and nationalist idealism. Democracy in India may be sustained by pragmatism, but pragmatism itself can become a moral stance in contexts where survival and coexistence demand negotiation rather than purity.
Perhaps the most resonant aspect of ‘Being Indian’ is its exploration of pan-Indianness—the slow, uneven emergence of a shared cultural imagination that does not erase difference but overlays it.
Varma is careful not to romanticize this process. Unity, in his account, is not organic or ancient; it is constructed through modern forces: mass media, migration, economic integration, popular culture.
Bollywood, cricket, consumer brands, and shared aspirations create a loose connective tissue that allows people from vastly different backgrounds to recognize something familiar in one another.
This pan-Indianness is not a stable identity but a shifting horizon. It does not eliminate regional, linguistic, or caste-based affiliations; it coexists with them. Varma’s insight here is subtle: what binds India is not sameness but a shared fluency in difference. Indians are accustomed to negotiating multiplicity.
The nation holds together not because differences disappear, but because they are normalized. Conflict is constant, but so is accommodation.
Throughout the book, Varma resists the temptation to offer solutions. He is more diagnostician than reformer. This has led some readers to accuse him of pessimism, of critiquing without constructing.
But this expectation may itself be misplaced. ‘Being Indian’ is not a manifesto; it is a mirror. And mirrors, by definition, do not tell you what to do. They show you what is there.
What makes the book endure is its honesty about discomfort. Varma does not sanitize Indian society for international admiration, nor does he indulge in self-flagellation.
He acknowledges cruelty alongside compassion, ingenuity alongside inertia. His India is capable of extraordinary resilience and extraordinary indifference. It can absorb change without losing itself, but it can also normalize injustice with alarming ease. This duality is not resolved by the book; it is presented as a condition of being.
Reading ‘Being Indian’ today, one cannot help but notice how many of its insights remain relevant, even prophetic. The intensification of consumer culture, the technologization of daily life, the strategic use of tradition in political narratives, the persistent obsession with status—all of these dynamics have only deepened.
If anything, the book feels less dated than one might expect. Its language may belong to an earlier phase of liberalization, but its psychological observations still resonate.
Yet the book also invites resistance. It demands that readers argue back, refine, complicate, and contradict. This is perhaps its greatest strength. Varma does not claim final authority; he claims interpretive courage. He risks being wrong in order to be interesting. He risks offending in order to be honest. In doing so, he models a form of cultural criticism that is increasingly rare: one that is neither defensive nor self-congratulatory, but willing to inhabit ambiguity.
For me, the experience of reading ‘Being Indian’ was not one of revelation but of recognition. Many of Varma’s observations felt like things I had always known but never articulated.
Others felt exaggerated, incomplete, or shaped by a particular class perspective. But even in disagreement, the book compelled engagement. It refused to be passively consumed.
In the end, ‘Being Indian: Inside the Real India’ is less about defining identity than about exposing the processes through which identity is performed, negotiated, and narrated. It does not tell you who Indians are; it shows you how Indianness functions.
And in doing so, it also asks a larger, quieter question: what does it mean for any society to live with its contradictions without resolving them into myth?
That question lingers long after the book is closed. It lingers because it is not really about India alone. It is about modernity, about belonging, about the uneasy coexistence of ideals and instincts.
India, in Varma’s hands, becomes a particularly vivid case study—a place where the tensions of the contemporary world are not hidden but lived out in the open.
To read this book is to accept that identity is not a destination but a negotiation. That culture is not coherence but conversation.
That being Indian, like being anything else in a fractured, plural world, is not about purity or essence, but about learning to move—sometimes gracefully, sometimes clumsily—through contradiction.
Most recommended.
March 13, 2017
Wish I had read this before our trip to India not while we were there LOL. Excellent insight into interacting with the people in this amazing, interesting country. A bit repetitive in some spots but certainly worth reading.
September 26, 2022
في معالجة سلسة وشيقة يهدف كتاب "أن تكون هنديا" للدبلوماسي الهندي "بافان فارما" إلى الإبحار في الشخصية الهندية، فالأفكار الرئيسة هنا تقوم على
مقابلة الفرد بالجماعة، والفقر بالثراء، والواقع المؤلم بالأمل الغائب.
لا يغرقنا الكتاب في المشكلات السياسية أو القضايا الإقليمية، كما لا يخدعنا بالاحتفاء بالصورة الجمالية للتسمية الخادعة "أكبر ديمقراطية في العالم"، فالهدف الأساسي له تفصيص المجتمع من الداخل لدرجة تكاد تنبعث معها رائحة الهند الشهية التي نشتمّها مبهورين في الأسواق والمعابد والميادين.
عزيزي القارئ، يمكنك التوقف هنا إن كنت في عجلة من أمرك، فالعرض التالي الذي يتألف من 1500 كلمة يحتاج منك صبرا..لكن أعدك إن أكملت القراءة ألا تشعر بالندم 🙂
(1)
يستهل الكتاب رحلته بمقارنة الصورة التي يعرفها الناس عن الإنسان الهندي بالواقع الذي يعيشه هذا الإنسان. ويتفق المؤلف مع إدوارد سعيد في كتابه "الاستشراق" في أن الصورة التي يعرفها العالم عن الهندي هي صورة استعمارية مغلوطة.
تطورت صورة الهندي عبر التاريخ لدى سكان العالم من الهندي "الحكيم" أو "الفيلسوف" إلى الهندي "المتعبد الورع" لتصل في العهد الاستعماري إلى "الكسول البليد" و"الخادم الأمين".
وفي حالات كثيرة زاوجت الصورة الاستشراقية بين الهندي الغارق في خرافات الجن وأساطير الآلهة وبين الهندي البارع الحاذق، أو بين الهندي الخانع والهندي الثائر.
وفي آخر أيام الاستعمار البريطاني في الهند أضاف غاندي بعدا جديدا للصورة النمطية عن الهندي بنشره سياسة اللاعنف، حينذاك سافرت صورة الهندي عبر المحيطات لتعلن ميلاد قوة جديدة لا نظير لها في التضحية والتحمل.
يعترف الكتاب بأن سياسة اللاعنف وإن ساعدت أخيرا في تحقيق الهند استقلالها، إلا أنها كانت قد جلبت كوارث متوالية حين تمكن الغزاة –كل الغزاة- من إخضاعها بسهولة عبر الألف سنة الماضية، بداية بسيوف المسلمين وانتهاء ببارود الإنجليز.
لم تتغير صفة اللاعنف التي يتسم بها الهندي كثيرا بامتلاك بلاده السلاح النووي الرادع للغزاة والانفصاليين. علينا في المحصلة أن نرى صورة الهندي -ينصحنا المؤلف- كمرئية تقترب ألوانها من التنوع والثراء أكثر ما تدنو من الارتباك والتشوش.
وإذا أدركنا هذا التنوع ربما نقتنع بأنه لا يوجد في الهند ما يمكن تسميته بمجتمع "الأغلبية"، فالوطن الهندي مليء بمجموعات الأقليات التي تجمعها ظاهريا الثقافة الهندوسية. ويتم فرز هذه الأقليات إما على أساس الطبقة أو المهنة، الثراء والغني، المستوى التعليمي، أو الطائفة والعِرق، وهو ما يجعل ذلك البلد محيطا هائلا من الهويات شبه المنفصلة وإن بدت متلاصقة وسكنت متجاورة.
(2)
لا تكتمل صورة التناقضات في حياة الهندي إلا حين يشبع الكتاب نظام الطبقات الهندوسي ما لذع من النقد. فهنا نجابه أسوأ نظام للتفرقة الطبقية عرفته الديانات، فتحت دعوى القدر الإلهي يعيش ملايين البشر في فئة المنبوذين في الدرك الأسفل من المجتمع. ويتساءل المؤلف: عن أي تسامح وتحمل نتحدث؟
لقد ترك تاريخ التفرقة الطبقية آثاره على البناء الهرمي للمجتمع، فغدت شخصية الهندي منذ التاريخ غير مستعدة لقبول التهميش فحسب، بل ومتفاخرة إن كان لها صلة، حقيقية أو وهمية، بأحد من أبناء الطبقات الأعلى. هكذا ترك الهندي نفسه منساقا، في تناغم قدري، مع هذا الترتيب العنصري.
ويبدو أن المؤلف لم يقتنع بعد بجدية الجهود التي تبذلها الدولة لإعادة تأهيل المنبوذين وإتاحة الفرصة لهم في المجتمع، بحجز مقاعد مخصصة في الجامعات والوظائف الحكومية.
يواصل المؤلف نقده متجاوزا مرحلة جلد الذات إلى تشخيص الأزمات النفسية التي عاناها الإنسان الهندي. ومن هامش تلك الأزمات ينتخب المؤلف مشكلة الاستهواء الديني.
يدعم المؤلف فرضيته بالاستشهاد بأشهر ما قدمه التلفاز الهندي من أعمال فنية ذات بعد ديني، حين عرض مسلسلا طويلا يتناول ملحمة "المهابهاراتا".
ولأن بطل الملحمة هو الإله "كريشنا" فقد تعلق المشاهدون بالممثل الذي شخص صورة ذلك الإله بشكل مهووس. لم تكن مفاجأة إذن أن يفوز ذلك الممثل، الذي لم يجرب السياسة يوما، في الانتخابات عضوا في البرلمان وذلك في أول انتخابات تشريعية تلت عرض المسلسل.
بهذه الحادثة ذات الدلالة يلج الكتاب إلى الديانة الهندوسية التي تشغل مساحة مهيمنة في حياة الهندي، الكثيرون يتعبدون ورعين، والبعض ينتخبون من الدين ما يوافق هواهم وطموحاتهم المالية.
ويركز الكتاب على إله شهير في حياة الهندي هو الإله "جانيش" الذي يصور في المعابد بتمثال له جسم إنسان ورأس فيل. ليس هناك من عمل يقوم به الهندي إلا وجانيش حاضر فيه.
ولأن جانيش إله الثروة والرزق، تقدم القرابين إليه قبيل أي مشروع تجاري، كما توضع تماثيله في البيوت والمحال التجارية، وتلصق صوره على عجلات الريكشا التي يجرها المعدمون أملا في زبائن أسخياء.
ينصحنا المؤلف أن نفهم العلاقة بين الإنسان الهندي وجانيش كعلاقة براغماتية وليست شكلا من أشكال نفاق الآلهة. ولا يتركنا لخيالنا قبل أن يمضي بنا في صور ملونة من المناسبات والطقوس، فيقف بنا هنيهة في معبد تيريوباثي لنحصي معه عوائد النذور والتبرعات التي تفوق مائة مليون دولار سنويا.
من تيريوباثي يغادر بنا الكتاب إلى طقوس عيد الأنوار الذي يحرص فيه ملايين الهندوس على ترك نوافذ وأبواب بيوتهم مفتوحة طوال اليوم والليلة حتى يفتحوا الطريق أمام الإلهة "لاكشمي" -إلهة الرزق والبركة أيضا- عساها تلج من أي منها فتجود على عبادها بسعة العطاء.
(3)
الصورة المتدينة للهندي تخفي وراءها كثيرا من صور الفساد التي تجتاح المجتمع. هنا يتهرب أصحاب الشركات من دفع الضرائب دون خوف من أن يحاسبهم أحد، كما تمضي تعاملات الأموال السوداء تستنزف 40% من اقتصاد الدولة وتضخها في جيوب الناهبين.
وبحمية وطنية، وربما بحماسة دينية تسعى إلى الخلاص من الذنوب، يقع المؤلف في شرك التعميمات فيصور لنا الطلاب في المدارس والجامعات يشترون الاختبارات ليحصلوا على شهادات علمية لا يستحقونها، ويتجول بين مواقع على الإنترنت تعرض في وضح النهار استعدادها لتقديم رسائل الماجستير والدكتوراه لمن يدفع، فنخرج من بين السطور وقد تجسدت الهند أمامنا مجتمعا غرق في الفساد حتى أذنيه.
وحين يشعر المؤلف أننا قد لا نصدق تعميماته يستشهد بما قدمته المنظمات العالمية التي وضعت الهند في ذيل قائمة الدول ذات الشفافية الاقتصادية. وكأنه يقول ألا تصدقوني؟
ويستشهد المؤلف بمقال في صحيفة تايمز الهندية تساءلت فيه الصحيفة "عما إذا كان شيء ما ينبت في تربة الهند الخصبة يدس في عروق الإنسان حيل الغش وأساليب الفساد".
من الفساد على مستوى الدولة إلى الفساد على مستوى الولاية يضع الكتاب عدسة مكبرة على ولاية بيهار -أفقر ولايات الهند- حيث لا يستطيع 55% من السكان تأمين وجبتين في اليوم لأطفالهم.
ولأن الهند بلد العجائب بقدر ما هي بلد المتناقضات، يروي لنا الكتاب قصصا شيقة عن أناس عاديين يعملون في جمع القمامة وفرزها، وعن أولئك المشبوهين الذين كانوا بالأمس مجهولين في زحمة شوارع مومباي ودلهي لا يمتلكون إلا القليل ليصبحوا اليوم على قائمة أغنى أغنياء الهند مشكلين العالم السري للنخبة الثرية.
تعيش النخبة الثرية في الهند حياة بالغة الترف على حساب الأغلبية المسروقة من الشعب، وهى حياة لا يجد المؤلف خيرا من التعبير عن حالها مما قاله المفكر الأميركي نعوم تشومسكي حين زار الهند في 1996 فأعرب متأثرا "لقد رأيت من ثراء النخبة في الهند ما لا عيني رأت في أي مكان في الدنيا".
(4)
من الثروات المهدرة والمنهوبة إلى التوقف مليا عند ثروة الهندي العقلية، والمهارات الحسابية والهندسية منها بصفة خاصة.
الثورة الصامتة في الهند يصنعها اليوم أبناؤها ذوو العقول الماهرة الذين يحركون آلة العمل الإلكترونية في أكثر من 400 شركة حاسوبية عالمية افتتحت لها فروعا في الهند، كما يدفع تلك النهضة أولئك الأذكياء الذين سافروا إلى كبريات الشركات العالمية في الولايات المتحدة والغرب الأوروبي للإسهام في تقنيات البرمجة التي تتطور من ساعة لأخرى.
هل نعلم كم تجني الهند من عائدات المشروعات الإلكترونية التي أقيمت على أراضيها؟: 50 مليار دولار، وهو ما يعادل إجمالي صادرات الهند من كافة السلع.
إن المواهب الهندية الحاسوبية ستنقل الهند إلى مرتبة اقتصادية بنفس الدرجة التي نقلت بها صناعة المنسوجات بريطانيا إلى الانتعاشة الاقتصادية الكبرى، بل وستتخطى النقلة التي شكلها النفط في اقتصاديات دول الخليج العربية.
لا يتوقف الكتاب كثيرا أمام التفاصيل التقنية لكيفية ازدهار صناعة الحواسيب والشرائح الإلكترونية في الهند، وقد يعطينا بعضا من الأمثلة العابرة، ولكنها معبرة، عن مدن مثل بانجالور التي لا يعرفها أغلب سكان العالم، وبفضل المصانع الإلكترونية في هذه المدينة لا تطرح شركة نوكيا العالمية أية جوالات في السوق العالمي دون شريحة بانجالور.
الأكثر أهمية لدى الكتاب الرجوع إلى الجذور التاريخية للتفوق الهندي في الحساب والهندسة، وهو يدلل على أن للهند الفضل الأكبر في تطور علوم الرياضيات الحديثة التي وصلت إلى أوروبا عن طريق العرب الذين عرفت لغتهم كلمة "الهندسة" نحتا من اسم "الهند".
على هذا النحو فإن طفرة تقنية المعلومات لدى العقول الهندية اليوم ليست مبتورة عن جذورها التاريخية، هي فقط ظلت كامنة انتظارا للحظة التحرر من الاستعمار فأخرجت القدرات الهائلة التي ستضمن للهند مستقبلا واعدا وعائدا ماليا هائلا.
(5)
January 9, 2022
A slap on the face of India. It tells the tale of truth. Of what is and what should be. How Indians behave and where they are in the world. How their thinking works and as an Indian I can say it was very insightful. It is funny,cunning,fast and thorny in the way it tells the tale. Now I know what I needed to and what was never told in the school. Now I know the difference between the real image of Indians and the one projected by the society. But even though of its beautiful course towards reality, it had less research backup to negotiate its point. Though already told by the writer that the book is more of a story,I never doubt the decision was right of him. But point is that at some points of chapters it diverted from hard facts to churn out emotional melodrama excellently folded in the milieu of emotion. Overall I give it four star to tell the idea of reality and its entertainment. But one star less because I wanted to read a nonfiction and it blended it somehow into a simplistic review of India.
August 25, 2016
After spending 6 months in India, this book helped explain a lot of my feelings about the people and the culture. It gave words to ideas that were perculating in my mind regarding what I saw, felt, heard about how Indians live and why they did so. If you have a general idea of what India is like already or have really good friends who are Indian, this book would be very interesting to you. If not, read a primer first. This is more about the sociology of the Indian, albeit in broad brushstrokes.
May 5, 2007
Some comments and observations are so good...almost like a psychoanalysis of a cross section of Indians....great read...I could not read it at one stretch like I normally for books of this size and type...memorable.
December 28, 2013
Best one I've read so far. Enjoyably unsentimental and happy to debunk many a piety (the end justifies the means; you're poor because it's your fault; democracy is a fast track to influence; wealth is always good; bribery isn't always bad). Very useful.
October 27, 2012
A brilliant insightful book that solved a lot of incomprehensible dichotomies in my mind about india. Very practical, grounded and eminently readable
June 12, 2022
I took the C train all the way to Frederikssund today, just for the fun of it. Thought I'd finish reading this on the shore or something. The seagulls were not happy with me munching some Maltesers - yelling all the time they saw me eat some. Out of nowhere, it started to drizzle a bit - I figured it would pass - but it didn't, and I had to find some shelter from the rain. Except that there was none. No ledges from buildings, no trees wide enough to stand under to prevent getting soaked from the now pouring rain. Walking along the harbour, I couldn't help but think - if it were India - the buildings would have a ledge to stand under. The apartments I passed in the rain had glass walls - balconies/front spaces with the awnings spooled in and with chairs and tables meticulously set up - yet I couldn't spy anyone in any of the houses through the glass. It felt like a somewhat poetic metaphor to this idea of Scandinavia I've come up with - an alluring, beautiful picture but with no one in it.
About the book? Eh. It's a 3.5 from me. Some parts are good - especially the first few chapters - towards the end it gets a bit tedious and in 2022 - dated. It's a good read I guess. I suppose you can't take the India out of an Indian. I'll leave it to you to decide if that's a good thing or bad.
The sort off 'Hindu' explanation of everything India seems a bit of a stretch at times, but the observations made mostly (mostly) stand, and will stand till we stop being this amalgam of baffling contradictions.
About the book? Eh. It's a 3.5 from me. Some parts are good - especially the first few chapters - towards the end it gets a bit tedious and in 2022 - dated. It's a good read I guess. I suppose you can't take the India out of an Indian. I'll leave it to you to decide if that's a good thing or bad.
The sort off 'Hindu' explanation of everything India seems a bit of a stretch at times, but the observations made mostly (mostly) stand, and will stand till we stop being this amalgam of baffling contradictions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2018
Great book for starters who wants to know the real India .I found the book quite limited due to its emphasis on few basic topics which everyone knows but it States the true face of Indians who are corrupts ,sufferers and money minded. it seems that these bigots will never change but this never changing attitude will land them nowhere. apart from this the authors generalization about certain things like entrepreneurs or democracy is quite genuine, yes Indians are born entrepreneur s and will be so in future also safety valve is the only theory which help us to survive as a democrat ,but why are we democrats surviving as a sufferer ,why some gets everything and all gets nothing ..why everybody resents what the other is getting and nobody is entirely happy ...why to lose even a Penney on those power corrupts who work for vote bank ( which is a very bad deal ). So to live is to suffer ,to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering. But overall I was pleased with the book and happy to have had the opportunity to read it :)..
November 27, 2019
It's never too late to make discoveries. With this book "Being Indian: Inside the real India", I would have liked to have read it before working in India. As a foreigner, I had never understood this attraction of Indians to the hierarchy. It's human, the quest for power exists all over the world, but in India, there's a big complex about it and Pavan K Varma explains it quite well. For Varma, the Indians respect too much the powerful and lack the courage to emancipate themselves from the hierarchy. While examining India's assets for the 21st century, his book challenges many prejudices about the wisdom and disinterest of Indians.
If I had to remember two things to read, it is the text of the introduction and the first chapter "power" that I find excellent. In the introduction, the author immediately asks very relevant questions about Indian stereotypes and Indianity. The first chapter "Power" is to be read, reread and studied. Everything is said about the blatant inequalities of the Indians, their relationship to power, their lack of emancipation hindered by the hierarchy, their ostentatious and apparent religiosity, their incessant quest for money.... The book is very severe but necessary for Indians first of all. (less)
If I had to remember two things to read, it is the text of the introduction and the first chapter "power" that I find excellent. In the introduction, the author immediately asks very relevant questions about Indian stereotypes and Indianity. The first chapter "Power" is to be read, reread and studied. Everything is said about the blatant inequalities of the Indians, their relationship to power, their lack of emancipation hindered by the hierarchy, their ostentatious and apparent religiosity, their incessant quest for money.... The book is very severe but necessary for Indians first of all. (less)
August 8, 2019
Really, 3.5. Writing style = 3 while content = 4.
The writing style was a bit repetitive and didn't consistently flow well between points.
Content wise, it was very interesting to read. I think this book is meant to be very insightful, and since the author is Indian I'm guessing his insights are profound, but I found them hard to swallow. His most salient points, which he states without prescribing a morality to them, are that Indians are power hungry, wealth seeking, morally ambiguous people who can be oblivious to the suffering of their neighbor. He catalogues the positives of these traits and how they have brought India to where it is now. I found it hard to reconcile my, apparently culturally-bound, values with Indians, as described by this author.
If he's right, this book is amazing, brilliant, and insightful. If he's wrong, he has badly maligned a billion people.
The writing style was a bit repetitive and didn't consistently flow well between points.
Content wise, it was very interesting to read. I think this book is meant to be very insightful, and since the author is Indian I'm guessing his insights are profound, but I found them hard to swallow. His most salient points, which he states without prescribing a morality to them, are that Indians are power hungry, wealth seeking, morally ambiguous people who can be oblivious to the suffering of their neighbor. He catalogues the positives of these traits and how they have brought India to where it is now. I found it hard to reconcile my, apparently culturally-bound, values with Indians, as described by this author.
If he's right, this book is amazing, brilliant, and insightful. If he's wrong, he has badly maligned a billion people.
February 2, 2024
Varma’s love of country and depth of research are evident in this work. Varma carries the reader through 5 myths of modern India in an attempt to explain and break them: Image, Power, Wealth, Technology, and Pan-Indianness. I enjoyed diving into Indian history & culture, but there are moments where Varma leans too far into his own philosophizing.
As a civil servant himself, Varma brings his prescriptions for India’s success to the table. This book was published in 2004, and the light of history is already evaluating some of his predictions. In his chapter on Pan-Indian Identity, he seems unconcerned about the battlegrounds of Ayodhya. He goes as far as to suggest a hospital or school will be built on the grounds of the destroyed mosque. I’m very curious what Varma would say in 2024, with the Ram Mandir nearing completion and Modi continuing to espouse Hindutva.
As a civil servant himself, Varma brings his prescriptions for India’s success to the table. This book was published in 2004, and the light of history is already evaluating some of his predictions. In his chapter on Pan-Indian Identity, he seems unconcerned about the battlegrounds of Ayodhya. He goes as far as to suggest a hospital or school will be built on the grounds of the destroyed mosque. I’m very curious what Varma would say in 2024, with the Ram Mandir nearing completion and Modi continuing to espouse Hindutva.
May 6, 2019
This book definitely made some broad generalizations that made me a little uncomfortable, but overall I really enjoyed it. The author draws some really interesting relationships between Hindu religious stories and Indian attitudes toward authority, wealth, and cultural norms. Also, especially because it's relevant to my current situation, I really enjoyed the discussion of the homegrown software engineering industry versus the much more prominent and high-level role Indian migrants to the US have taken on in international software companies. The book can get a little dry at times, so it's definitely only for those with a real interest in the subject matter.
September 5, 2025
I recently read Being Indian by Pavan K. Varma (2004), and it’s a brilliant, well-researched book with sharp insights on almost every page. Varma dismantles common myths about Indians and examines what truly drives people in India today.
The book highlights India’s contradictions—where many ideas and lifestyles coexist. It offers fresh perspectives on power, wealth, technology, and what it means to be Indian in the modern world.
For me, it gave shape to thoughts I’d often had about how Indians live and why they do what they do. If you already know India or have close Indian friends, this book will resonate deeply.
The book highlights India’s contradictions—where many ideas and lifestyles coexist. It offers fresh perspectives on power, wealth, technology, and what it means to be Indian in the modern world.
For me, it gave shape to thoughts I’d often had about how Indians live and why they do what they do. If you already know India or have close Indian friends, this book will resonate deeply.
September 19, 2020
The gentleman has a biased point of view set in traditional Western ideology of ultimate right or wrong that is totally stripped off from the inclusiveness concept of 'India' and her context, as it is.
Those who are to see 'Indian' with the same lens would find the meaning & value reinforcing enough, of course, devoid off the deep rooted empathetic understanding we do as researchers while understand culture and people.
Those who are to see 'Indian' with the same lens would find the meaning & value reinforcing enough, of course, devoid off the deep rooted empathetic understanding we do as researchers while understand culture and people.
September 16, 2018
This book is for young Indians who really want to understand Indian culture in depth, traditioons, beliefs and much more concepts .
Also it has a great analysis technique in every aspect of a nation and the people living in it. The most beautiful part of this book is that it gives us a new way of path to think on and to look back on our own path to correlate.
Excellent read .....👍👍
Also it has a great analysis technique in every aspect of a nation and the people living in it. The most beautiful part of this book is that it gives us a new way of path to think on and to look back on our own path to correlate.
Excellent read .....👍👍
March 29, 2020
Lots of incredible insight into the Indian national character in regards to power, wealth, technology, and the growth of Pan-Indian identity. It is overburdened with anecdote and examples and it is outdated and wrong in some of predictions so it acts in part as a piece on what India could’ve become and maybe what it still can become if it changes course sharply in certain areas.
September 24, 2018
well written ..tries to probe into what INDIANS want to be and what we are ..
July 12, 2022
Its wonderfully well written...I am curious to see if there was an update.
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