Geographically India is a vast peninsula with
a total land area of about 33 million Sq.Kms. It is the seventh largest in area
and it accounts for 2.4 per cent of the total geographical area of the world.
The length and breadth of the country is around 3,214 and 2,933 Kms
respectively. Due to its large area it is often referred to as a sub-continent.
One of its states is bigger than many countries of Europe. But the whole
country is well bounded by nature. The north and north-east region is sheltered
by the Himalayan Mountain Range. The Indian Ocean situates on the southern
side. The eastern and western sides of our country are flanked by the Bay of
Bengal and the Arabian Sea. The mountaneous and hilly regions of the Himalayas
in the north are extremely cold but the coastal areas in the south are at times
extremely hot and humid.
India is the second most populous country in
the world with around 1.271 billion people (2015), which is more than one
sixth, (17.5%), of the world population.
India is a
repository of multiplicity of cultures and it is one of the ancient civilizations in the world stretching over 5000 years. There are more
than 33 languages and hundreds of dialects in India. The Constitution of India
recognizes 22 major languages, written in 13 different scripts. The Indian languages belong to four language families
namely Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Austroasiatic (Austric) and Tibeto-Burman.
Majority of India's population are using Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages.
The Indo-Aryan languages like Assamese, Bengali, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi,
Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanscrit, Sindhi
and Urdu are spoken mainly in northern and
central regions. The Dravidian languages of
southern India are Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Ethnic Santhal tribals of the Chota Nagpur Plateau in
eastern India (comprising
the states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha) speak Santali belonging to Munda family, an Austric language.
People in the northern Himalayan region and near the Burmese border (Assam and
Manipur) speak Tibeto-Burman languages like Bodo
and Manipuri (includes Meitei.) The official Indian languages are
Hindi (with approximately 420 million speakers) and English, which is a world
language widely spoken among the educated class of people in India. In
spite of different languages and dialects, Sanskrit,
the language of Vedas, brings us all together because Sanskrit has made great
influence on all these languages.
Religion has the most important place in
India. We have different religions in India. Apart from Hinduism we have the
followers of Budhism, Jainsm, Islam, Sikhism, Christiantity, and Zorashtrainism
of Parsees. Judaism of Jews too has influenced us. These different religions
and cultures have been blended together. But Hindus form the greater majority.
Despite diverse languages and dialects; and different cultures; varied castes,
sub-castes and creeds; different food habits, clothes, from region to region;
there are a lot of other factors like religion, customs, traditions and the
theory of “Dharma and Karma,” (the law and its observance; and
daily service or duty) that binds us together.
Indians lay emphasis on spirituality, not on material pursuits or
wealth. Hinduism has been, to a great extent, able to take all other Dravidian
gods like Mahadevan, Murugan, Badrakali and a lot of other gods into their fold
and that has helped in merging of their identity. Hinduism has a broader
outlook and the capacity to absorb all the immigrant good ideas and cultures.
Hindus firmly believe in freedom of thought and expression because such freedom
enriches the culture which then becomes dynamic. The theory of rebirth, the
fear of hell and heaven purification of soul, and the ultimate aim of achieving
salvation, keeps them all bound together. Our philosophy of life, customs, creeds
and traditions are basically, more or less, the same. The institution of
marriage and most of the rituals are similar everywhere. We unitedly celebrate
the festivals like Holi, Diwali, Christmas, Id, Budh Jayanti and Mahavir
Jaynti.
National unity and integrity have been
maintained even though sharp economic and social inequalities have obstructed
the emergence of equalitarian social relations. It is this synthesis which has
made India a unique mosaic of cultures. We might be little different in patterns
of living, life styles, occupational pursuits, inheritance and succession of
law and practices, and different in rites related to birth, marriage and death.
We might also 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.
The idea of unity and integrity of India is
inherent in all its historical and socio-cultural facts as well as in its
cultural heritage. Constitution of India guarantees to its people belonging to
all socio-economic strata and belonging to diverse religions, cultures and
languages.
The significant characteristic of Indian
society is the religious tolerance and co-existence of different ethnic groups.
India is one of the countries in the world where people belonging to different
religions, castes and creeds with sharp economic and social inequalities,
speaking different languages, having different cultures, different modes of
living, different clothing, different food habits, worshiping different gods
and deity live together in harmony and believe to be the children of “Bharath Matha,” Mother-India. We are one
nation at large without a parallel in other continents. Despite these
differences and foreign invasions, and Mughal and British Rule, the people of
India belonging to varied castes, creeds and communities upheld its national
unity in diversity.
Excerpts from
MEMOIRS
by
Joseph J. Thayamkeril
josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com
