40. Book Review:Intercultural Communication: The Indian Context

Book: Intercultural Communication: The Indian Context
Authors: Ramesh N Rao and Avinash Thombre
Publishing House: SAGE Publications Pvt Ltd.
Year of Publication: May, 2015
ISBN Number: ISBN13: 9789351500308

"Intercultural Communication: The Indian Context” by Ramesh N Rao and Avinash Thombre is a comprehensive book that provides the requisite context and scholarly framework that helps readers to appreciate the unique cultural fusion that typifies India. It is a comprehensive read which builds a foundation on intercultural communication and does an excellent job in terms of theorizing the subject in the Indian context. The book introduces its readers to the challenges of and opportunities for intercultural communication in India.

Ramesh N. Rao is a prolific author and a well-published commentator. He has authored several books and chapters in the field of communications and more than half of his dozen scholarly collections has been published in newspapers and magazines. Avinash Thombre has taught a wide variety of communication courses at the undergraduate and graduate level and his research has been published in various peer-review journals. The main reason behind this book is the lack of proper material concerning communication studies in India. It tries to fulfill the need for instructional material, teaching and the development in the study of intercultural communication in India. Furthermore, the book is a concerted effort to expand communication studies in India beyond mass communication, as the existing courses present lack with relation to an understanding of India’s ethnic, religious, linguistic, social diversity and in effect the fundamentals of intercultural communication. The book derives its inspiration from Kapil Sibal, former Union Minister of Human Resources and Development and the Yashpal Committee report, which had sought to make Indian education consonant with the international education system.

The context of the book is manifold. According to the authors, recent scholarly works on Indian societal makeup has taken on partisan color, thus becoming handmaidens for political gamesmanship. This is at a time when India is engaging rapidly with the various countries in the world through globalization which makes intercultural communication even more important. Intercultural communication has seeped into the training of every Indian, be it diplomats, negotiators, business leaders or day to day interaction of young Indians, across various platforms. Understanding intercultural communications is a step towards improving India’s understanding of themselves for reducing conflicts. The authors thus wrote this book in an attempt to understand these new dynamics while at the same time encouraging further research on this topic by fostering interest in the field of intercultural communication. The intended audience for this book is everyone interested in intercultural communication in the Indian context, including students, scholars, practitioners, academicians, politicians and business people.

The book is divided into ten chapters and each chapter is linked to each other. The book broadly talks about the relationship between communication and culture. In various parts of this book, this relationship is traced through Indian mythology. The authors have dedicated one chapter on the historical backdrop of Indian culture and its relation with communication beginning with the Indus Valley Civilisation. The principles of communication, which the authors have called ‘framework of operationalization of communication’ is discussed widely. The authors believe that there are three fundamental functions of communication namely ‘Information gathering’, ‘fulfilling personal needs’ and ‘establishing personal identity’. This has been explored under various themes throughout the book.

According to the authors, the idea of value system defines Indian culture, which is resonated with the modern worldview shaped by technology, trade, travel, and television whereby the role of globalization is emphasized. The authors provide interesting examples throughout the book to present their arguments. One example can be cited of the namakaran ceremony of India and its possible effects on self-concept, and the nicknames which go a long way in shaping a child’s self-esteem. The book also talks about the various types of non-verbal communications- gestures, facial and eye expressions, and spatial communications. The symbolism and use of non-verbal communication by Mahatma Gandhi (Mauna Vrat, Fasting) are also briefly touched upon as well as the aspects of non-verbal communication in the online world.

Another theme touched upon in the later sections of the book is the power of diverse Indian languages. The authors also take on an interesting observation on the concept of culture shock and cultural adaptation in India. Indians traveling and settling outside of their hometowns and villages and even settling in faraway cities can be resonated with me and my classmates. The 7th chapter ‘cosmologies and worldview’ is my favorite chapter of the book. The chapter takes on a unique path to describe the role of faith in escalating conflicts due to the reasons that the various communities in India perceive the conceptualization of the universe in many different ways.

As a whole, the authors have been successful in presenting a detailed outlook of intercultural communications in India. This is one of the main plus points of this book and the reason why I liked it. The book brilliantly explains the importance of addressing socio-political-economic issues to communicate effectively in India. The book also provides insider knowledge that bridges the gap between Indian and non-Indian cultures and the various stakeholders who want to understand the Indian culture in depth. Hence the book has been largely successful in fulfilling its motive. Another positive point about this book is the fact that it is written in a very clear and concise manner. The authors present their arguments with well-constructed sentences, precise word choices and interesting examples. The book is highly researched and the flow of the text is highly structured.

The primary shortcoming of this book? Since the book is a highly researched thesis, it needs full-fledged attention and focus to read it. This book is not meant for casual reading, due to which it is possible that those who are not interested in the topic can experience boredom.

In conclusion, after having read this book I have a better understanding of intercultural communication in the Indian context and I would highly recommend this book to those who are interested in cultural studies and communication research.