When the 2014 Bollywood film “2 States” came onto her laptop screen, IU freshman Khushboo Chougule spent two hours and 29 minutes watching and laughing at the cultural misunderstandings between the romantic leads.
But the characters were not from different countries. They were both Indian — one from the North, the other from the South.
Chougule said differences in regional identity were enough to create a culture clash.
“People don’t realize how different regions in India are culturally,” Chougule said. “They put it under one big umbrella of Indian culture.”
Research suggests this cultural diversity within countries is not limited to India. A 2016 study published in the Management International Review indicates there are often more cultural differences within a country than between them, especially with work and family values.
The findings question common assumptions that country equates to culture.
Khushboo said people often believe foreign countries are homogenous in culture. When people say “Indian culture,” she said they often forget about the cultural diversity within the country.
Chougule’s mother’s family originated from Gujarat in western India, but her father’s family was originally from the Carnatic region in southern India. When they got married, each one brought a distinct culture along with them, Chougule said.
While they speak the same language, Chougule said they have different dialects and ways of writing. Southern Indians use rounder script while western Indians write more traditionally, she said.
While both parents are Jain, they practice different branches of Jainism that arose in different regions. India also includes a vast array of different religions and practices that are also dependent on region, Chougule said.
Even occupations often reflect regional differences, with Gujaratis leaning toward business and Canartic Indians preferring more academically focused careers, she said.
“Religion, customs, festivals, food, values — they’re all so different based on where in India you are,” she said.
When she talks to her Pakistani-American friends, Chougule said they often share more cultural similarities with her than some others from her own country.
As a result, Chougule said culture doesn’t fit neatly into national boundaries. Instead, a country’s borders may at times seem arbitrary when discussing culture.
“If anything, country lines are more political than they are cultural,” Chougule said. “Culture just kind of spills over into general regions.”
IU sophomore Tania Pacheco was born in Valparaiso, Mexico, where she lived for five and a half years. She said Mexican culture is similarly thought to be homogenous.
Instead, when people say “Mexican culture" they refer to a wide collection of cultures within one country, she said.These differences arise in cultural values in the countryside and in the city.When Pacheco was growing up in Valparaiso, her extended family gathered at her grandparents’ house every Sunday, but her friends in the big city lived more fast-paced lives that didn’t center around gatherings with extended family, she said.
Holidays like Cinco de Mayo and the Day of the Dead that Pacheco said many Americans equate with all of Mexican culture are also reserved for certain regions.
“It’s kind of funny how people assume you celebrate a holiday and are like ‘Oh, it’s the Day of the Dead,’ and I’m just like ‘Oh, yeah, that’ because my family may not celebrate it that much,’” she said.
Food is another source of diversity within Mexico, Pacheco said. Once, Pacheco was working at a Mexican restaurant when a woman asked her for a vegetable they never used in her hometown.
“I don’t even remember what it was called because I’d never heard of it in my life,” she said. “Like my mom never cooks that, but hers did.”
Amy Nunez, graduate student assistant at La Casa Latino Cultural Center, said food differences also arise in the preparation of enchiladas.
While Mexico City specializes in carne asada or grilled steak in enchiladas, some southerners prepare enchiladas with creamy poblano chile and tomato sauce instead of meat. In central Mexico, stuffing enchiladas with cheese and chiles is more common.Due to outside influences, some regions in Mexico may have foods that look more like cuisines in Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East rather than the cuisines of the rest of Mexico.This all shows that national borders often fail in accurately representing culture even if there are some similarities in culture across Mexico, Nunez said.
Chougule said regional cultures create a strong sense of regional identity that is often more powerful than even national identity. This regional identity is so strong that Chougule said it is difficult to pinpoint cultural similarities that bring the whole country together.
“There is some kind of untold connection among Indians,” Chougule said. “But that connection may not be culture. We’re just so diverse.”
While an illusion of cultural homogeneity can create a stronger sense of nationalism, Nunez said it is also damaging to individuals, especially if they don’t fit people’s idea of typical Mexican culture.
“When you generalize an entire country’s culture, you erase parts of it,” Nunez said. “People lose parts of their identity, and if their culture doesn’t fit your generalization, they feel invisible.”
Chougule said these generalizations can lead to stereotypes and the loss of opportunities to learn from one another.
“There’s something different you can learn from all different types of Indians,” she said. “They can offer different things in terms of values and culture, so you can’t learn from people unless you’re willing to understand cultural lines within borders.”
Talking about a country’s culture in a general sense can be inadequate in capturing reality, Chougule said. However, she said she is willing to talk about Indian culture in a general sense with people who are just starting to learn about India.
“It may not be the full reality of things, but it’s a start,” she said. “It’s how you learn, become more knowledgeable and then start to dig into those regional differences.”
