Unity in diversity IN INDIA

2. According to Sir Herbert Rizle,
“Even after the linguistic, social
and geographical diversity, a
special uniformity is seen from
Kanyakumari to the Himalayas.”

3. 5,000 year old civilization.
325 languages spoken – 1,652 Dialects, 18 official languages.
29 states, 7 union territories.
3.28 million sq. kilometers – Area.
7,516 kilometers – Coastline.

4. Parliamentary form of Government.
Secular democratic constitution.
Worlds largest democracy since 65 years.
4th
largest economy.
Fastest growing IT super power.
Indian Railways ,the biggest employer in the world.

5. LANDSCAPES

6. Diversity of Physical Features
From Geographical Point of View There are endless varieties;
India has winding chains of inaccessable mountains, covered
withs snow and flat plains, arid desert almost untouched by feet of
man, as well as fertile river valleys maintaining a vast population.
There are many rivers in India both Seasonal and Perennial.
 Vast stretch of fertile land with abundance of crop and lush green
forest on the other hand arid land without any scope of vegetation.
Existence of all kind of climate from the scorching heat of the
desert of Rajasthan to the extreme arctic cold of snowy heights of
the Himalayan ranges. From dry rocky table land of Deccan to the
most tropical luxuriance of Bengal and Malabar. India offer all three
kind of climate ; the polar, the temperate and the tropical.
Geomorphologically also Indian landmass very from places to
place.
 Variation in rainfall also found; some places witness highest
rainfall in world o some place driest in the earth.
Varieties in landmass, temperature, moisture resulted in varieties
in flora and fauna.

7. Diversity of Races
There is a great variety of racial types which India
presents through her teeming millions.
Famous historian Vincent Smith calls Indian an
Ethnological Museum.
India is home to one sixth of humanity and all most
all kind of racial communities. Modern India posses
the primitive tyribesman as well as the polished
inhabitants of cities.
B.S.Guha identifies six races in India- The Negritos,
The Proto-Austroloid, The Mongoloid, The
Mediterranean, The Western Brachycephal and the
Nordics.
Every phase of the racial evolution is represented by
the people of India.

9. BuddhismJainism
Sikhism Islam
Christianity
Hinduism
RELIGIONS IN
INDIA

11. India enjoys good variety of religions. All the main world religious are
found here-Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism,
Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, etc.
All the religions of India have their sects and sub sects..
Hinudism is followed by two third people of India is itself split up
in countless creeds, the Vedic religion, The Puranic Hinduism, the
Vaisnavism, the Shaivism, the Sanatan dharma and many more etc.
Many gods, beliefs, superstitions, dogmas, practices, cults, creeds
grouped under the wide umbrellas of Hinduism.
If Buddhism is divided into Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana,
Jainism has its own sects Svetambara and Digambaras.
Christianity arrived in India within 50 years of its origin so also
Islam.
There are theist and atheist, the polytheist and the monotheist as
well as the animist present over here in India.

12. Languages of India
Hindi
Sanskrit
Tamil
Gujarati
Urdu
Punjabi
Malayalam
Bengali
Marathi
Konkani
Kannada
Assamese
Telegu
Oriya
Rajasthani

15. India is a multilingual country. Language is another source of cultural
diversity as well as unity. It contributes to collective identities and even
to conflicts. Eighteen languages are recognized by Indian Constitution.
All major languages have regional and dialectical variations, for
example, Hindi has Awadhi, Brij, Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Bundeli, Pahari,
Malwi, Odia has Sambalpuri and several other dialects.
The situation is further complicated since 179 languages and 544
dialects are recognized in India.
These languages and dialects are divided into three linguistic families
Indo-Aryan, Dravidian and Mundari.
During the medieval period Persian, Arabic and Urdu became popular
languages. They have different script but many similarities. Arabic and
Persian played the role of official and court languages replacing
Sanskrit and Pali.
In the post independence period, English replaced Urdu as the official
and court language.
Hindi was made the official language of India but English was retained
at least for a transition period. In 1965, English was given the status of
an “associate additional official language” of the union and of inter-
provincial communication.

16. Diversity in Social Status, Habits, Dress and Diet
Indians differ considerably in their social habits, dress and diet. The
society is honey combed with castes, and sub-castes. If the upper
castes enjoy all social privileges and rights, the lower depressed
classes are denied even the fundamental rights.
The Chandals, being considered inferior to the Sudras, lived outside
the cities and villages and had no contacts with other members of
society.
Prevalence of Chatur-Varna and largely stratified caste setup.
Peoples also largely differ in their costumes. Differences in climate
and culture led to variation in costumes.
On accounts of dress, the Bengalis can be distinguished from Gujratis
and Maharashtrian, the Kashmiris and Punjabis can easily be
distinguished from the people of south India.
There is also differences in diet. If people of coastal region eat fish,
the martial races take pleasure in taking meat. Then, some people
dislike taking onion and garlic. Finally, too we find men with barely an
income of a few paisa a day and others who rank among the richest of
the world.

17. Political Disunity
The vastness of the country, the extreme diversity of physical features,
endless variety of races, magnitude of its population, divided into
countless castes. Professing numerous creeds and professions,
speaking a variety of languages and dialects- all these have made difficult
to establish an all India empire.
Political unity was never a normal character of ancient and medieval
India.
In par India was divided into several political unit.
There are monarchical form of government as well as oligarchic form of
administration, centralized bureaucracy to decentralized local self
government.
There are also instances of powerful pan Indian empire for some time.
Internal weakness and disorder or foreign invasions or both shattered
great empires in past.
In fact India had never enjoyed supreme political unity till the 19th
century. Politically a popular national feelings was almost absent.
Calamity of a neighboring province did not rouse sympathy and support
in the people of another province.
They had no urge to unity even in the face of a common enemy or
danger. This absence of political unity fostered varieties in Indian culture
and civilization.

18. In spite of the above mentioned bewildering diversity in the
geographical features, the race, religion and language of
the people, there is a deep underlying fundamental unity
which is apt to be missed by the superficial observer.
Sir Herbert Rislay has observed “ Beneath the mani-fold
diversity of physical and social type, language, custom and
religion which strikes the observer in India, there can still
be discerned a certain underlying uniformity of life from
Himalayas to cape Comorin”
 This unity although recently nurtured, but the ideals of
unity in India was established by the ancestors. The
ancient Indian were fully aware of geographical unity of the
country and they tried to impress it on the popular
consciousness.
Factors of Unity in India

19. Geographical Unity of India
The first expression given to this sense of unity was their description of
entire land by the single name of Bharatvarsa or the land of Bharat. This
very name is given to the whole country in the Epics and Puranas..
Uttaram Yatsamudrasya, Himadreshchaiva dakshinam, Varsham tad
Bharatm nama, Bharati yatra santatih.
The name Bharatvarsha has deep historical significance. It indicates the
country of the Bharats and the Indo-Aryan culture of which the Bharats
were the chief bearers. Bharat stood before the people, inhabiting the
land that was called Bharatvarsha after him.
The term Bharatavarsha symbolise fundamental unity of India.
This name together with the sense of Unity that it imparted was ever
present before the minds of the theologians, political philosophers and
poets who spoke of the thousand Yojans of land that strecthes from the
Himalaya toto the sea as the proper domain of a single universal
monarch.
Today this grographical unity is reinforced by the conception of
common motherland BHARATMATA. The song Bandemataram and Jana-
Gana-Mana characterstically embody this sentiment of unity.

20. The sense of the unity of the whole country was promoted by politics
also.
The political thinkers and writers have always stressed the necessity of
establishing an all India Empire.
This objective was accomplished during the Maurya and Gupta rule to a
great extent.
The ideal of great rulers of India in various ages has been become
Chakravarti or to rule over the entire country. Chandragupta, Ashoka and
Samudragupta had established their suzerainty over the whole of India.
The frequent use of term Adhiraja, Rajadjiraja, Samrat, Ekaraj, Virat,
Sarbabhauma etc in ancient literature and performance of great vedic
sacrifices show that the idea of universal conquest and an all india
ovelrdship was well known to the ancient Hindus.
In the medieval age Allauddin and Aurangzeb sought to establish their
overlordship over the whole of the country. The Mughal created an
imperial system which shows the conception of oneness of rule and
sameness of political experience.
The Broitish also achieved the political unity of India. After
independence modern Indian union also follow the same principle/
Political Unity of India

21. Religious Unity of India
There is an under current of religious unity amng various religious sects
in the country. All the sects and creeds believe in the majesty of the
spiritual life.
The worship of Vishnu and Shiva, though under different names , is as
widespread in the north as in the south.
The temples in honour of Vishnu and Shiva have been constructed all
over the country.
The ancient Epics Ramayana and Mahabharata have been studied
across the sub-continent. The stories of Rama and Krisha are sung in all
the languages of India.
The cow, Vedas, and Gita, the Purana s and other scriptures are
respected equally throughout the country.
The doctrine of reincarnation, Karma, Mokshya and Nirvana are
believed in and followed by all the sects prevailing in the country.
All the activities of Indian are directed towards the fulfilment of religious
ideals, the slavation of the soul, realisation of the Almighty etc.
Network of sacred pilgrimage centre in all direction i.e Chatur Dhama is
a permanent unity in the religious sphere.
The daily prayers of Hindus includes the name of all the rivers of the
sub-continent.

22. Cultural Unity
A peculiar type of culture and civilization utterly different from any other
type in the world, has been evolved among the diverse people of India.
Inspite of different languages, customs and political disunity a uniform
cultural stamp was printed upon the literature and thought of all the
different units of India.
There has been a basic unity of literary ideas, philosophy, conventions
and outlook upon the life throughout the country.
The cultural unity is reflected in social ceremonies and the religious
rites, festivals and modes of life which are similar in entire sub-continent.
The sanctity of the family, the rules of the castes, the sanskaras, the rite
of cremating a dead body, the cleanliness of the kitchen, etc are common
to all over the country.
Several fairs and festivals are same across the country such as the
Kumbhamela at Hardwar, Allhabad and Ujjain is attended by all the people
of all walks of life.
The fairs and festivals reflects and manifest inherent religious ad
cultural unity.
The Rakshabandhan, Deshera, Dewali, Holi and other festivals are
celebrated across the country.

23. Ayodhya Matura Maya Kasi Kanchi
Avantika
Puri Swaravati Chaiva Sapteta
Mokshyadyika
Gange Cha Yamuna Chaiba Godavari
Saraswati
Narmada Sindhu Kaveri Jalesmin
Sannidhikarun

24. Unity of Language
India enjoyed unity of language. Before the Christian era, there was
Prakrit. It was the common language of the people.
The message of the missionaries of Ashoka was successfully
carried in this language to the doors of the humblest of his subjects.
Latter on Pali and Sanskrit took its place.
Sanskrit has always been the vehicle of our thought and philosophy,
theology and mythology. It is the mirror in which all creeds, opinions,
customs and usages of the Hindus are reflected.
Sanskrit has been acknowledged as the one sacred language by all
sections of the people irrespective of their race, rank and creed.
Again Sanskrit has been the original source of the different
languages of the country like the Hindi, Marathi, Gujrati, Bangala etc.
Even Tamil ad Telugu could not escape the far reaching influence of
Sanskrit.
What Sanskrit had done in the past the English language had tried to
achieve during the British rule and now Hindi has been doing the
same.

25. Physical Uniformity
Various tribes-Aryans, Sakas, Scythians, Hunas etc have entered
India. But they were so completely absorbed in the Hindu fold tha they
had lost their separate individuality.
In all the ages different races and tribes have acquired, with the
lapse of ages, physical uniformity.
There have been achieved same approximation also in physical type
and mode of life among the various foreign races that have lived long
enough in India, fed on the same crops, drunk of the same streams,
basked under the same sun and submitted to the same rule in their
daily lives.
In India different racial group, linguistic, religious, social and
political trends have been wielded into an abiding cultural unity and it
has survived successfully numerous invasions and successions of
empires.
 Saint, prophets and followers of different rival creeds have been
associating freely throughout the country.
Inspite of diversity in India herself the great example of the doctrine
of one in many.

26. Agencies for Fostering Unity in India
Following agencies have been fostering in the country
uniform culture and unity.
Sages, Saints, Missionaries and Pilgrims.
Imperial conquerors and Soldiers of Fortune.
Uniform Administration
Language and Religion
Modern Means of Transport ad Communications.
Common History and Nationalism.
Thus, Indian culture and fundamental unity have
been grounded together. A basis unity of religion,
philosophy, cutoms, convbenstions, literary ideas, and
cultural life has been fostred throughout India from he
earliest times and it continues even today..

27. North India - Culture, Festivals & The People
Important festivals :
Rakshabandhan - celebrated all over
North India
Lohri - Punjab
Holi - celebrated all over North India
Vaisakhi - Punjab
Hemis - Jammu & Kashmir

28. East India - Culture, Festivals & The People
Important Festivals :
Durga pooja - Calcutta
Bihu - Assam
Kharchi Puja - Tripura
Chapchar Kut - Mizoram
Cheiraoba - Manipur
Moastu -
Nagaland

29. South India - Culture, Festivals & The People
Important festivals :
Onam - harvest festival, Kerala.
Vijayadashami (Dussehra) – Karnataka
Pongal - Tamilnadu
Sankranthi - Andhra
Pradesh

30. West India - Culture, Festivals & The People
Important Festivals :
Gangaur - Rajasthan
Kite festival – All over west India
Nagpanchami – All over West India
Janmashtami – All over West India
Ganesh Chaturthi -
Maharashtra
Navratri - Gujarat

31. North Indian
Wedding Dress

32. Exotic WExotic South Indian Wedding

33. Bengali Wedding Apparel

34. Maharashtrian Couple

35. North Indian food
Rajma Chawal
Tandoori Chicken Naan
Shahi Paneer
Gulab JamunAloo Paratha

36. Delicious Bengali Platter

37. Mouth Watering South Indian
Cuisine

38. Indian Finger
Food

39. Famous places of the North
Mount Kailash - Himalayas
Taj Mahal - Agra
Ladakh Lake - Kashmir
Famous places In the
North

40. India Gate - New Delhi
"Lotus Temple“ - Delhi.
Golden Temple - Amritsar,
Punjab.

41. Darjeeling – Tea Estate
Howrah Bridge
Famous places In the
East
Kalighat Kali Temple

42. Jagannath Temple,
Puri
Sun Temple,
Konark
Konark
Temple
Rajarani Temple,
Bhubaneswar
Wheel of Konark
Temple
Mukteswar
Temple

43. Tirupathi - one of the richest and
most visited religious centers in the
world.
Ooty - Udagamandalam
Famous places In the
South
Mysore Palace

44. Meenakshi Temple - Madurai
“Gods Own Country”,
Kerala
The Charminar -
Hyderabad

45. Western Thar Desert,
Rajasthan
Hawa Mahal - "Palace of Winds"
Jaipur
The Ajanta and Ellora
caves
Famous places In the
West

46. The Famous Goa
Beach
Gir National
Park
BollywoodMount Abu -
Rajasthan
St Francis Church
Goa

47. The Seven Classical Dance Forms
Mohini Attam
Kathakali
Bharatnatyam
Kuchipudi
Odissi
Manipuri
Kathak
NATARAJA
One of the most enduring
symbols of India is the figure of

48. India
the land of unity in diversity

49. "Oneness amongst men,
the advancement of unity
in diversity – this has
been the core religion of
Rabindranath Tagore
Poet and writer of India’s national anthem
and Nobel laureate in literature in 1913,
(1861­1941) :