The dictionary definition of Cultural Cringe is the perception that one’s own culture is inferior to that of another group or country. Here, the word ‘cultural’ refers to the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a society, to the arts and to intellectual achievements. A classic example of Cultural Cringe is the misplaced belief that the Ao language is inferior to the English language, a belief so strong among certain sections of our society so much so that they believe being fluent in the English language and not fluent in the native language is a sign of sophistication.
Cultural Cringe is very established among colonized peoples where they develop an internalized attitude of cultural inferiority as a result of colonization. Cultural Cringe almost borders colonial mentality and it corresponds with the belief that the cultural values of the colonizer are inherently superior to one’s own. The Cultural Cringe is an internalized inferiority complex that causes people in a country to dismiss their own culture as inferior to that of other countries.
The term “cultural cringe” was coined in Australia after the Second World War and is attributed to social commentator A.A. Phillips. In his 1950 essay of the same name, A.A. Philips described the ingrained feelings of inferiority that local intellectuals struggled against, and which were most clearly pronounced in Australian theatre, music, art and letters. The term cultural cringe has been associated many times with colonial mentality.
While the term Cultural Cringe may be new to us, a closer observation at the clearly visible Naga inferiority complex suggests that there is a form of Cultural Cringe or even colonial mentality embedded in the Naga psyche. From the most educated among us to the last person on the street, we seem to look up to the ‘advanced’ people. Not just the common people but even the leaders and politicians are not free from this inferiority complex. Interestingly, we would try to find every possible excuse to justify and defend our inferiority complex by rationalizing it. Our political leaders would do anything to please their superiors in Delhi even at the cost of compromising on their principles, and then rationalize it often by saying that a resource crunched state like Nagaland need to align with whichever political party is in power in Delhi. This, they’d say, is in the best interest of the state; yet, we never see a single political leader standing his ground and advocating for developing Nagaland according to our own ingenuity which actually is the real best thing for the state. The inferiority complex is hurting Nagaland. Even the public in general has developed an acute sense of inferiority complex. We assume that Nagas are not good at math, or that Nagas don’t know how to do business. Be it music, sports, literature, or the arts, we tend to succumb to the misconceived idea that others are superior to us. We prefer everything foreign to home-grown ones. This cultural cringe is a result of colonialism and neo-colonialism. It is now time to decolonize our mind and rid ourselves of the cultural cringe if we are to remain a distinct people.