Impact of Colonization on Pakistani Society

 When topics like ‘colonization’s influence’ etc. are bought up, the first change which becomes noticeable is the change in cultural values. Let’s first understand the concept of “Culture”. Anthropologists elucidate that culture acts as a lynchpin of a richly civilized society. There is a succession in the evolution of culture. The concept of culture is not based on rigidity, instead, it is as flexible as a fresh leaf. Some factors which cause the culture of a society to evolve are; exposure to cultures of other people and societies, various social structures, different religions, and ample styles of education.

One of the main reasons for Pakistan’s diverse culture is that it has experienced invasion by various countries or groups of people, among which the British’s scar is the deepest. Britain’s invasion left a mark on the minds and culture of the people of the subcontinent. Their influence had such a deep impact that not only did people of that time feel changes in their customs but the generations that were yet to come also faced and absorbed the aftermaths. Colonization of mind is hence something which is considered as the major developer of identity crisis among individuals. The cultural changes began to increase drastically after independence. It amalgamated along with other factors like globalization which ultimately led them to a path of successive developing influence of the western culture.  Globalization also played a major role in flourishing the impact of the West’s ideologies as today, the economic circle of the majority of countries revolves around Western states. Many other noticeable aspects include the increasing amount of western food outlets being installed in Pakistan, some cities even having more than two outlets of the same food chain. Other than food chains, many Pakistani people prefer and have settled in foreign countries as well which ultimately affects the economy and global status of the country.

Western culture had quite a negative impact on Pakistani society. For example; the traditional joint family system of Pakistan is falling off and losing its value because people prefer to live individually. the influence of western culture’s charm in individuality and independence has eventually caused a drastic increase in the rates of mental illnesses, suicides, and an overall increase in crime rates.  Another massive change in Pakistani society caused by the west’s ideologies and beliefs is the use of language. The use of Urdu, in today’s society, has reduced on a great level which has created an alarming situation for the national language existence. This is occurring because of the presence of ample English medium schools and the more than necessary use of emails and messaging apps in which they mostly prefer to use roman Urdu which diminishes the essence of Urdu language overall. The difference between Urdu and English languages is nowadays also used as a tool to discriminate between the lower and upper class of people. Many people often feel ashamed while speaking Urdu as according to them it is the language of the poor class or illiterate making the fluent English speakers a part of an imaginary elite class.

In conclusion, there are unlimited areas in which Westernization has impacted our society, from the food we eat daily to the media we consume, we are a product of a mixed culture. An increased rate of internet, social media has proved to be directly proportional to the vices it causes, such as drugs consumption, violence, etc. Youth who is extremely vulnerable to such topics is hence easily influenced by them. As quoted by an American scholar, Vine Deloria, he says “Western civilization, unfortunately, does not link knowledge and morality but rather, it connects knowledge and power and makes them equivalent.” It shows how a developing trend of westernization is a danger to our local culture.