Why is India culture so backward even in the 21st century? Be it case of dowry, rapes and most importantly putting LGBT sex to illegal?

为什么21世纪的印度文化还如此落后? 嫁妆制度，强奸问题，最为严重的是把LGBT性行为定为非法?

注：LGBT：是女同性恋者（Lesbians）、男同性恋者（Gays）、双性恋者（Bisexuals）与跨性别者（Transgender）的英文首字母缩略字

quora评论翻译：

Sayani Nandy, Campus Ambassador at Popxo

萨亚妮南迪，Popxo（印度自媒体刊物平台）校园大使

Few days back one of my cousins of ninth standard was so upset. I asked her the reason behind this . Her parents were strict enough and not so friendly . But she could discuss everything with me quite freely so I asked her about it . Then I got to know abour her issues which is quite natural in this age. She had a lot of questions about her relationship with her boyfriend and like millions of teenage students, didn’t quite know whom to ask. It was awkward to raise the questions in her family as it is not in our norms.

几天前，看到我一堂妹非常沮丧，我问她怎么了。她的父母很严厉，对人也不太友好。但她和我谈话的时候可以无拘无束，我就问她为什么难过。之后我明白了她的困惑，不过这在她这个年纪是很正常的。正如大多数十几岁的学生一样，她对自己和男友的关系有很多疑问，但是她不知道该向谁请教。在她家里提出这种问题是很尴尬的，那是犯忌的。

The questions ranged from changing bodies to handling the relationship. This is what happens due to the lack of sex education in our country . In India people can have sex but they can't speak about it. This is a social taboo and parents also train us to not speak about it in public which can be the reason of anxety , depression of many .

这类问题包括身体发育和处理男女关系。这是由于我国性教育的缺乏而导致的。在印度，人们可以有性行为，但是绝不能谈论这个话题。这是一个社会禁忌，父母也教导我们不要在公共场合谈论这个话题，这也是让很多人焦虑、沮丧的原因。

We should accept this issue and teach our new generation to accept it quite normally. Young boys and girls should be allowed to speak about it to their elders without hesitation so that we can prevent them from taking any wrong step in their future. This should not be a taboo. This is not an education to start from our school but from our family.

Now this is something real I have come across Sex Education In India- A Taboo .

Hope you got the points. Now let us do something good for our future generation prevent this social taboo from exploiting young minds .

来源：http://www.santaihu.com/45248.html

我们应该正视这个问题，并教导我们的下一代也能正常面对。应该允许年轻男女和自己的长辈们谈论这个话题，以免他们在日后犯错。这不应该成为一个禁忌。性教育不是从学校开始的，而应该从家庭开始。

这是我在印度遇到的真实问题，性教育，印度的一大禁忌。

这就是我的观点。现在让我们为下一代做些有益的事，以免年轻人的思想遭受这一社会禁忌的侵蚀。。

Sabarish Vadarevu, lived in India

萨比什瓦杜拉维，生活在印度

Because a lot of people base their identity in that backward culture. It is quite common for Indians, particularly middle-aged ones, to believe that Indian traditions are the greatest in the world. Or that the epic literary works are books of science- the most disappointing part is that even some accomplished researchers believe that is the case. And all of these people want to retain this culture.

因为很多人在这种落后的文化中找到身份归属。印度人，尤其是中年人，相信印度的传统是世界上最伟大的，在印度这是很常见的。或者认为史诗文学作品是科学书籍——最令人失望的是，即使是一些有成就的研究人员也这么认为。他们都想保留这种文化。

The problem I see is, people think that ideas of civil liberties and equality are somehow owned by "the west". And they think that adopting these basic principles is the same as acknowledging that "the west" is superior to India. Given that western Europe and USA are quite far ahead in terms of GDP and scientific research, culture is the all they have to make themselves feel better. And they point to the adoption of yoga and other spiritual teachings from India in USA to say, "See, they know we had it all right. We need to embrace this too."

我所看到的问题是，人们认为公民自由和平等的观念在某种程度上只属于“西方”。他们认为采纳这些基本原则无异于承认“西方”优于印度。鉴于西欧和美国在GDP和科学研究方面遥遥领先，文化领域成了唯一能让他们找回平衡的。看到印度的瑜伽和其他来灵性教导传到美国，他们会说：“看，他们也认为我们在这方面做得很好。我们也得承认这一点”

Nikunj Kulshreshtha, Media Spokesperson at Delhi University Students Union (2017-present)

尼昆吉库尔什雷沙，德里大学，学生会媒体发言人(2017年 -- 至今)

Indian Culture is backward because of systemic hindrances in our society which prevent any new though from growing. A common phrase which is the reason for corruption, incest rapes and unaccountability is “You should never question your elders, because they always think what is best for you”, “It is rude and offensive to question your elders because they have more life experience than you”. All these statements leads us to not question or correct anything we feel is wrong with our society, parenting systems etc.

印度文化之所以落后，是因为社会存在体制障碍，阻碍了任何新事物的发展。导致腐败、乱伦强奸和专制的原因，归结于一句常见的话：“你不能质疑你的长辈，他们都是为了你好。” “你不能质疑长辈，因为他们比你有更丰富的生活经验。”所有这些导致我们不再去质疑或纠正社会、家庭教育系统等方面的错误，即使我们发现其中有问题。

We often ask what is the reason for the excessive rapes happening in the country and why are women harassed day in and out? Patriarchy is the not the culprit alone. One thing is which we have ignored or forgotten which is prime reason for all this harassment culture. “Bollywood films” For over half a century the only way to procure a woman`s approval/ affection is to stalk, harass her till she gives in as preached by our lovely stars from Bolly.God forbid if she still doesn`t budge forcibly kiss her or the worst of all, rape her and she will eventually fall in love with you(Raja ki aayegi baraat). We worship some of these actors so much that no matter how messed up they are in real life, we will forgive their actions (Salman Khan has a history of assaulting his girlfriends, he has been convicted in two serious offences by trial courts). Women have become caretakers of screwed up men.

我们常常会问，为什么这个国家会发生如此多的强奸案，为什么女性每天都被骚扰?父权制并不是唯一的罪魁祸首。导致这些骚扰文化的主要原因，是一个已经被大家忽视或遗忘的问题，“宝莱坞电影”。半个多世纪以来，获得女性认可/青睐的唯一途径就是跟踪、骚扰她，直到她屈服为止，就像我们可爱的宝莱坞明星所宣扬的那样。如果她还不屈服，就强吻她，或者下下策，强奸她，她最终会爱上你的(参考电影：Raja ki aayegi baraat)。我们是如此崇拜这些演员，以至于无论他们在现实生活中有多糟糕，我们都会原谅他们的行为(萨尔曼汗有殴打女友的历史，他曾两次被法庭判定犯有严重罪行)。女人已经成为坏男人的挡箭牌。

This patriarchal culture hurts men a lot. Those Rohtak sisters incident accused three men were acquitted in the end but their lives have been ruined. Men often suffer all through their lives with depression due to suffering domestic abuse as children, suffer from post traumatic stress disorder etc. If woman cries on the street she will have 100 sympathisers, there are numerous organisations, laws to help them. but if a man does the same he will be ridiculed and mocked to the extent that he may commit suicide. Even after that people will consider him weak.

这种父权文化对男性的伤害也很大，罗塔克姐妹事件中被指控的三名男子最终被无罪释放，但他们的生活也被毁了。男人一生都在抑郁中煎熬，因为就像孩子一样，他们也会遭受家庭暴力，遭受创伤后应激障碍等等。如果一个女人在街上哭泣，她会引来100个同情者，还有许多组织，法律机构来帮助她们。反之如果是个男人，他就会被人嘲笑，无法忍受后他可能会自杀。即使这样，人们也会认为他是个软弱的人。。

Ours politicians keep such incentives that people want to remain backward so as to entitle benefits which they do not need, such is the systemic loss in acquiring things by merit has diminished. Nobody believes in acquiring merit and getting something, our society values success not how you get it. You may be a home-wrecker but you manage to land a millionaire you are super cool as an actress. Even today the second question after asking a person`s name is what is your caste or lineage? Every action of our lives is dictated by a religious book which has not been updated nor has a mechanism for updation since centuries. The language in it can only be understood by people who devote their lives in understanding it and misuse this power to satisfy their selfish needs. We forget as humans, that religion needs humans to grow, not the other way round. Believe in virtues, not in theology. Menstruating women are considered untouchable and not allowed in temples but our society judges and shuns women who cannot bear children, What an irony.

我们的政客们甚至鼓励人们保持落后，以便他们自己能获得好处，通过德行来获得成功的想法已经缺失了。没有人信奉以德取胜，人们看重的是结果，而是过程。就算你是一个小三，只要傍到了一个百万富翁，那你就像一个女演员那么酷。即使在今天，问完别人名字后的第二个问题依旧是种姓或家世。我们生活中的一举一动都是由一本宗教书籍所决定的，这本书自几个世纪以来就一直没更新，也没有一个机构去更新它。只有那些毕生致力于理解它并滥用这种力量来满足自己的自私需求的人，才能理解书中的语言。作为人类，我们忘记了宗教希望人类成长，而不是适得其反。相信美德，而不是神学。月经来潮的女性被认为是不可侵犯的，并且不允许进入寺庙。但是人们却对那些不能生育的妇女进行评判和刻意回避，这是多么讽刺啊。

Our education system focuses on rote memorisation aka follower-ship rather than analytical, critical or creative thinking. Thus when we grow up as adults, we resist and nip in the bud anything that tries to changes our archaic thinking because it takes great courage to be vulnerable, humble and unlearn and relearn new practises.

我们的教育体系注重死记硬背，而不注重开发分析性、批判性或创造性思维。因此，当我们长大成人时，我们抵制并扼杀任何试图改变自己陈旧思维的东西，因为我们脆弱、谦卑、而忘却和重新学习需要巨大的勇气。

India is not the greatest country in the world but I firmly believe that it has all the capabilities to be one someday.

印度并不是世界上最伟大的国家，但我坚信有朝一日印度有能力成为世界上最伟大的国家。

P. S.- This answer may sound quite negative but couldn't help it considering the question. Indian culture has some wonderful things too, now reserved for another question.

我的回答或许听起来很消极，但却也有助于思考这一问题。印度文化也有一些美好的东西，不过这是另外一个问题了。

Murari Das, Friend of the late Richard Thompson

穆拉里达什，已故理查德汤普森的朋友

India is a densely populated country with a culture that goes back thousands of years, largely unchanged. Not just a few hundred years like many newer countries.

印度是一个人口密集的国家，它的文化可以追溯到几千年前，但基本上没有什么变化。不像许多新兴国家那样，只有几百年的历史。

Think of her as a super-tanker on the ocean. The turning circle of a huge ship is up to 3 kilometers. You simply cannot swing around and go in another direction like a small boat. It takes a lot of time, even if you swing the wheel hard to starboard or port, and with such a massive population free to retain their cherished beliefs, it can only be done a few degrees at a time.

把她想象成一艘海上的超级油轮。一艘巨轮的转弯半径可达3公里。你根本不可能让它像小船一样摇摆，马上转向一个方向前进。这需要花费大量时间的，即使你在右舷或左舷使劲转动方向盘。拥有如此庞大的人口，人们有权自由保留他们所珍视的信念，所以一次也只能改变一部分人。

This is not such a bad thing, as not all change is necessarily good in the long run, and it’s helpful to see what happens in other countries as they change, and be aware ahead of time of what problems may come up.

但情况也并不是太糟糕，因为从长远来看，并非所有的改变都是好事。看看其他国家做出改变时的情况，并提前意识到可能出现的问题对我们也是有益的。

I know this answer doesn’t deal directly with dowry, rape, and Lgbt issues, but they are part of the whole culture, and I wouldn’t expect rapid change for the above reasons. When mainstream media and entertainment (films especially) vigorously promote a more progressive culture, the change will be quicker, as younger voters will imbibe these views, and that will produce politicians that support their more progressive views and change or introduce laws that reflect them.

我的回答并不直接涉及嫁妆、强奸和LGBT问题，但它们也是整个文化的一部分，我认为上述问题基本不会有迅速的改观。当主流媒体和娱乐(尤其是电影)大力提倡一种更进步的文化时，改变将会更有效率，因为年轻选民将会接纳这些观点，进而将让政客们也接受他们进步的观念，或者推出相关的法律。