There has been direct contact of the India with the West since the past five centuries. With discoveries of the sea route to the East in the 15th century, traders from Portugal, Denmark, England and France came in contact with India. The Portuguese who were the first to visit India had contact with the West Coast, their impact on Indian culture was not of great significance, except the fact that they managed to spread Christianity in some areas on the West Coast. Though the Dutch and the French were interested in spreading commercial and political activities in India, they were not successful in doing so. The Britishers were the only people from the West who emerged as a dominant power in India. Therefore, the Western impact on Indian Culture has been primarily that of the Britishers. England has established its direct rule over India for more than almost 150 years. The British brought with them not only a new system of political administration but also a new way of life. Educated Indians in the cities came under the influence of the British way of life and culture. Large number of Indians started imitating the British way of life. This imitation become a new fashion and a new trend. People in the rural areas also came under the influence of this new trend. As a result, India began to witness a number of socio-cultural changes that broadly could be defined as the concept of Westernization. The advent of the British in India and their prolonged rule led to the introduction of the Western civilization. Those who came under the influence of the Western civilization started modifying their life and activities in accordance with the western standards.
