Unity In Diversity In India

India is probable the only country in the world where people belonging to different religions,

castes and creeds, speaking different languages, having different cultures, different modes

of living, different clothing, different feeding habits, worshiping different gods and deity live

together in harmony and believe to be the children of one mother-MOTHER INDIA. They are

one nation at large. They are governed by one central authority, have one Prime Minister,

one president, one Supreme Court and one army chief. This is why we say we have unity in

diversity.

Geographically India is a vast country so much so that even one of its states in bigger than

many countries of Europe. But the whole country is well bounded by nature. In the north is

the Himalayan Range. On the other side is the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the

Arabian sea. This provides, natural geographical unity to INDIA> 

we have different religions in India. Apart from Hinduism we have the followers of Budhism,

Jainsm, Islam, Sikhism, Christiantity and parsees. But Hindus form the greater majority.

There are, no doubt, different factions, sections and sub-section but basically we all believe

in the theory of Dharma and Karma. The theory of rebirth, purification of soul, salvation,

Heaven and Hell holds good for each and every one. We untidily celebrate the festivals like

Holi, Diwali, Chrismas, Id, Budh Jayanti and Mahavir Jaynti. This provides unity in diversity.

India philosophy has developed on India soil. It has not been borrowed from anywhere. This

has blended the various cultures together. There are differences in overall conception of

gods, and modes of worship. These changes have been gradual due to interaction of different

groups. But the ultimate aim of achieving salvation and the fear of Hell keeps them all bound

together.

Very important characteristic of Indian society is the coexistence of different ethnic groups.

These groups formulated inter-group behavior. Hence there is no mutual interference as also

no merging of their identity.

There might be some drawback in our constitution such as separate provision for different

castes; particularly the backward and scheduled castes and scheduled tribes but

industrialization policy and agrarian reforms have generated a new secular outlook giving

rise to a new culture. Members of different castes and communities and followers of

different religions have come together in forms, factories and educational institution. As a

result different cultures have been blended together thereby bringing unity among them.

We have a cultural unity in India in as much as our philosophy of life, our customs, creeds

and traditions are basically, more or less, the same. The institution of marriage, the very

foundation of a society, exists all over the country and most of the rituals and sanskars are

similar everywhere.

Emotional unity plays its own part. The name of Bharat Mata brings us closer and closer

together. In spite of different languages and dialects, Sanskrit, the language of Vedas, brings

us all together because Sanskrit is the mother of all languages.

The outstanding features of Indian culture responsible for bringing unity in diversity may be

summarized as follows:

(a) We Indians lay emphasis on spirituality, not on material wealth.

(b) Religion has the most important place in India. We believe in Karma and Sanskar.

Performance of duty is our religion.

(c) Religion tolerance is the unique feature of religions in India. Hence there is no difficulty

in coexistence of follower of different religion.

(d) Hinduism, which forms majority of the population, has the capacity to absorb all good

cultures. It has either absorbed the immigrant cultures or has largely influenced them.

(e) We have a very broad outlook. We preach and follow religion and spiritualism without

ignoring married life and worldly things.

(f) We firmly believe in freedom of thought and freedom of expression because such freedom

enriches the culture which then becomes dynamic.

Although unity to the desired extent has not been attained but all attempts by foreign

agencies to disrupt it or disprove it have proved futile. We might be subject to regionalism

and casteism in trifling matters but we always rise to the occasion in times of need such as

foreign interference or invasion on our territory. This is sufficient to prove our unity in

diversity.

India is often described as 'Incredible India'. Why? The title 'incredible' is so apt. You would agree this

when you did study something about India.

The culture, languages, climate, geography, everything is on a different scale on this land. It is more

versatile and complex than that of a continent. On the religious zone India offers an unbelievable sketch,

which you can't find anywhere in the world. With a population of more than 1.21 billion, of which nearly 1

billion Hindus, you may presume that this may be a Hindu land. No, you are wrong. Here lies some

fascinating statistics and that is what I highlight here through this hub. Let's learn some amazing and

amusing features of India's religious population.

INDIAN CULTURE : UNITY IN DIVERSITY

India is a country with many types of diversities, with diversity in religion, languages,

cultures,  food preferences and many more such things. We are taught from the primary

section that India is the country which enjoys “UNITY IN DIVERSITY”, though we don’t

understand it during those days but as we grow up we slowly and steadily understand the

social fabric.

Many people say that it sometimes result in conflicts and I don’t deny that but the conflicts

are mostly created by outside factors. I think there is huge level of love between every Indian

and that’s the reason for the peace and harmony.

LANGUAGE – If we consider the languages, then according to the 1961 census, India has

1652 languages.There is a long list of languages which are spoken in India(which I would

not bore you with).Though there are lots of contradicting voices regarding the languages but

I won’t go deep in that. During my school days, I studied about the languages with great

enthusaism and the main point I would like to share would be that here languages are further

classified like bhasas, bolis, apbhransh etc. Some languages are just spoken by few

thousands of people in the country. According to a new survey India has 780 languages

and has lost 220 languages in the last 50 years (now that’s a huge number of languages

being lost!!!)

I personally have command over (fluent in) Bengali,  Hindi  and English and I’m comfortable

with half a dozen other languages. (Now, that’s awesome isn’t it?)

RELIGION - India has highest diversity in terms of religion, One can’t find a country

having so many religions and that too flourishing well. Further India boost of huge number of

religious places for each of these religions.Hinduism is the most popular religion in India

with almost three-forth of India being Hindus.India has a huge population

ofMuslims and Christians as well.Importantly, religions

like Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainismhave taken birth here and hence most of their

significant places in terms of religion and history are present in India.

India also has a significant population of parsi’s and government is trying to implement

various schemes to improve their numbers. Interestingly, now there are cash incentivesfor

parsi’s to have more children.

CLOTHING – In Indian subcontinent SARI is the most popular attire of the ladies. Sari is

generally a nine meters long cloth which is drapped across the whole body in a particular

style. This style is also very specific to each region, In bengal, women do a Ulta pallu while a

sidha pallu is the way in which women from other regions of India wear it while south Indian

sarees are wore in a little different style to. The quality and texture is also differnt in various

places. While silk sarees are the most popular and hence cost much more than the other

variants.

In north India, women prefer weraing salwar-suit over saris while in Rajasthan and gujrat

lehenga choli is more preferred than other clothes.

kurta pajama is the preferred traditional attire of the Indian sub-continent, while is south India

male may prefer wearing lungi over a pajama. In many places in north India, male also carry

a safa or a cloth which has mutiple use from shielding from dust and wind to work as a

handkerchief if required. Pagri is worn by all the Sikh men and popular in north India.

Festivals – India celebrate many festivals. Festivals of all religions are celebrated in India.

Popular hindu festivals are Diwali or Deepawali, Holi, Durga Puja or Dusshera. and

ganesh chatuthi which is very popular in Maharasthra. Muslim festivals like Eid-al-

Fitr andEid-al-Adha are celebrated  and Muharram is also observed in many cities.

Christain festivals like christmas and good friday are official holidays. Gurunanak jayanti of

sikh is also an official holiday. Mahavir jayanti and Buddha purnima or Vesak are also

observed in India and are official holidays.There are also many other regional festivals that

are celebrated across different parts of India.One thing which is nice to see is that most of

the people in India celebrate all the festivals irrespective of their religion

CUISINES OR FOOD PREFERENCES - India has so many different cuisines, mainly it

could be divided into the south Indian cuisine and north Indian cuisine. Among South Indian

cuisine, Dhosa, Uptapam, Idli and Upma are famous. With all the south Indian cuisine

Sambhar and Chutney are served. North Indian cuisine has a variety of curries from palak

paneer ,paneer kofta,Khadai paneer to name a few (we won’t cover non-vegetarian

food).North Indian curries are complemented with Chapattis or Bread (Roti, Naan or

parathas). Some people also prefer eating the curries with Rice.

Curry (made of vegetables), Dal (made of cereals) and Bread (Roti, Naan or Paratha) is the

staple food of India, one may prefer Rice instead of Bread. (or Rice and Bread both).

Except these two major cuisines, some other famous cuisines are Bengali cuisines, mostly

known for fish curries and its delicious sweets, Maharastrian Cuisine, Vada Pao and Dabeli

are some famous foods of this cuisine. Rajasthani cuisine, Dal-bati-Churma is the most

famous food of this cuisine.There are many other state specific and region specific cuisines

that are available in India.

Indian Society : Socio-Cultural Unity and Diversity!

Historicity of Unity in Diversity:

The Indian cultural tradition is unique. The notions of dharma

(normative order), karma (personal moral commitment] and jati

(caste) as the hierarchical principles of social stratification are

basic to Indian culture. A certain level of configuration of these

elements and consensus have brought about persistence and

equilibrium in Indian society, and hence no major breakdown has

taken place in its culture. It is said that the change is in the

cultural system and not of the system. In other words, basic

cultural and social values and norms still continue with some

modifications.

The values of dharma, karma and jati continue to guide social

and cultural activities to a large extent. Hence, change is in the

system and not of the system. However, the contemporary India

has witnessed basic structural changes in economic and political

fields. The traditional value system has lost its ground to a

considerable extent as the jati has acquired a new form, and it is

no more an effective mechanism of division of labour and status

determination.

The uniqueness of the Indian culture does not simply refer to its

esoteric nature. It requires a thorough study in terms of its

history. Absorption and assimilation characterised social and

cultural change. Aryans and Dravidians lived together. Hindus

and Muslims lived in close proximity – socially and culturally.

Later on, Christians joined them. Today, Hindus, Jains, Muslims,

Sikhs, Christians and people of other faiths participate together

in the government, industry, commerce and other sectors of

public life. Thus, there has been a continuous unity even in the

situation of stark diversity.

Diversity is reflected in thousands of caste groups, each having

its own rituals, rites, rules and customs. It can be seen in terms

of linguistic, religious and other ethnic variations. The styles of

life differ from region to region and vary even between different

castes and religious groups within the same village. Some rulers

made conscious efforts to ensure unity in diversity.

The emperor Ashoka worked for the unity of India by achieving

cultural and religious harmony and administrative efficiency.

Akbar, one of the most powerful Mughal emperors, projected the

concept of a state religion called Din-e-Illahi, a synthesis of

Hinduism and Islam.

The majority of Muslims in villages transformed their social life

beyond recognition. They mingled with Hindus freely in almost

all walks of life. The Hindu rajas and Muslim kings recognized

literary and artistic abilities in individuals from both the

communities. Kabir and Nanak were greatly influenced by the

teachings of Islam.

Conversion to Islam, and later on to Christianity, and today to

Buddhism, has resulted in a ‘mixed’ culture. The Father of the

Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, worked throughout his life to achieve

national unity and integrity through communal harmony,

upliftment of the poor and downtrodden and propagation of a

just social order.

The colonial India has two histories. One is of colonialism

produced by the colonisers, and the other is of India’s culture

and civilization perpetrated through its intellectual and

philosophical fervour. India’s history, its architectural treasures,

its literature, philosophy, music, drama, dance, and its other fine

arts, all contributed to its social life, and could not be destroyed

by alien rule. It is this history which remained neglected during

British Raj.

Mahatma Gandhi desired radical changes. However, he wished

to associate such changes with India’s tradition and cultural

heritage. Jawaharlal Nehru, the architect of modern India, with a

modern and secular outlook, upheld India’s past with reverence

and a sense of pride. He (1956) writes: “Yet the past is ever with

us and all that we are and that we have come from the past. We

are its products and we live immersed in it. Not to understand it

and feel it as something living within us is not to understand the

present. To combine it with the present and extend it to the

future, to break from it where it cannot be so united, to make all

this the pulsating and vibrating material for thought and action –

that is life.”

In another passage, Nehru highlights India’s cultural heritage.

He (ibid) writes: “The rising middle classes … wanted some

cultural roots to cling on to, something that gave them assurance

of their own worth, something that would reduce the sense of

frustration and humiliation that foreign conquest and rule had

produced… The past of India, with all its cultural variety and

greatness, was a common heritage of all the Indian people,

Hindu, Moslem, Christian and others; and their ancestors had

helped to build it.” But Nehru never wanted the deadwood of the

past to dominate the present. He was, in fact, a man with a

democratic spirit and modern outlook.

India, born from the Indus Valley Civilization, is the second most populous country in the world.  She is rich in

diverse cultures with 29 states, and 7 Union Territories, with 22 known languages. India, being Secular, is home

to all religions viz Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism and Judaism.We are

supposed to live by the rule of Unity in Diversity.  We have always believed in the policy of Live and Let Live.

Regional DiscriminationHowever, it can be seen that in India, Racism does exist and it pertains to the attitude of Indians towards

citizens belonging to other ethnicities. South India is divided into Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra

Pradesh, with each state having its own distinctive features, language and culture. However, for every Indian

who does not belong down South, every South Indian is a Madrasi. The South Indian languages and food habits

are made fun of. In the present day and age, it really does not speak well of a person who behaves in the said

manner.

Biharis have been victims of racial attack for a very long time now. The state has always been neglected and

because of the slow economic growth and the rampant corruption in the State, Biharis started migrating to

other states in search of a livelihood. However, they faced prejudice, discrimination based on their ethnicity and

Xenophobia (Unreasonable fear of what is perceived to be foreign). The Biharis have faced racial discrimination

in Maharashtra and Punjab, with the  Dal Khalsa in Punjab demanding the return of migrant Biharis to their own

land.  In fact, there have been violent attacks on the large Bihari community in the North Eastern states too.

The most recent one was on 18th January, 2014, when four youths from Bihar were shot dead after being pulled

out from a bus by NDFB militants in Assam’s Kokrajhar district. Three others, also from Bihar, were injured in

the incident. Apart from these attacks, the Biharis are also ridiculed in mostly all parts of India for their accent

and looked down upon.

North Easterners in India, because of their Mongoloid phenotype, are treated with such discrimination based

upon their looks that it is no wonder that most of the North Easterners have an identity crisis, with many of

them asking a pertinent question as to which country they belong to – India or China. In fact, many of the

residents of North East India consider themselves to be citizens of China. It is indeed shameful for the people of

India that at a time when borders all around the globe are disappearing, we are alienating our own fellow

countrymen.

In recent times, the spate of attack on the North Easterners has increased. The government of India introduced

the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, wherein, any individual committing

an act of atrocity based on racial discrimination would be sentenced to jail for a period of 5 years.  However, it

seems that attempt to safeguard the interests of people of North East India has failed as in the beginning of the

year 2014 Nido Taniam, a young boy from North East India, lost his life in Lajpat Nagar area of Delhi because of

ethnic racism. In October, 2014, 3 people from North East India were beaten in Bangalore because they could

not speak in Kannada. And on 16th October, 2014, 2 boys from Nagaland were beaten up in Gurgaon, and all

the North Eastern residents of the area ordered to vacate the premises