The Cultural Unity of India

Essay No. 01

Indian culture is one of the most ancient cultures of the world. It is because of its dynamism, flexibility and a great power of assimilation that Indian culture has survived in spite of many foreign invasions, attacks and such other odds. Dharma or religion has been a great cultural force to unite India into a nation and a country. It is not easy to explain dharma in Western terms. It is for the sake of convenience that we use here religion as an equivalent term. Indian culture represents a fusion and assimilation of many cultural trends and strands. It is like a mighty river originating in high snow-mountains, and fed by thousands of streams and rivers.

The Indian society, is heterogeneous, but a highly evolved organic whole. The discerning eye can never fail to notice the fundamental cultural unity underlying its limitless diversities. India is the second largest country of the world in population. The teeming millions of India speak numerous languages, dialects and their variations. They profess several faiths, observe different customs and rites. In spite of all these seeming differences, India is not merely a physical name and geographical entity, but a nation inhabited by several people arid races professing many faiths and cults. They are like different bright and fascinating colours of a panoramic scene painted on a single piece of canvas. Notwithstanding all these apparent and endless diversities, India has had always been culturally one and organically whole- from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Dibrugarh to Dwarka.

Indian culture is fundamentally tolerant, absorbing; democratic and assimilating. It is because of these vital factors that Indian culture is so great, alive and that it has so many faiths, religious, sects, cults and styles of living. The Indian wisdom firmly believes that any attempt to bring all diversity under any uniform system would defeat the very purpose of genuine intellectual life and the search for the truth. Thus, freedom to choose, tolerance, detachment, resignation to the will of God form the right key to the proper understanding and interpretation of Indian genius and cultural unity.

No doubt India is a land of a great variety and diversity, yet its unique culture has been a great unifying force. The vast number of languages, dialects, styles of living, faiths, cults and ways of worship may easily confound a stranger, but in reality they represent different aspects of the one and the same nation as do the spokes of the same wheel of a chariot. Our Constitution clearly mentions that it is the prime duty of every Indian citizen “to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India, transcending religions, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities”.

But in recent years, particularly after independence, so many fissiparous, parochial and divisive forces have surfaced. They pose a great danger and challenge to the political and cultural unity and integrity of India. These undesirable forces, instigated by certain vested foreign powers, are bent upon to exploit our variety and diversity or races and religions. We should be aware and fight tooth and nail these divisive forces challenging our age-old solidarity and integrity. We should not only expose these anti-social and anti-national elements but also crush them forever. India is a secular country. All faiths and their followers are free to profess their beliefs and offer worship to God in their own way and style. But fanatics and bigots, at the instigation of some foreign hostile powers, are trying to create communal hatred, violence and intolerance in the name of secular idealism of India. We should identify such narrow-minded and selfish mischief mongers and punish them. In the name of religion, nobody can be allowed to take liberty that encourages separatist tendencies and divisive forces.

Some political parties are also to blame for such unhealthy developments. They fight elections on the lines of cast, community and religions. They divide the people on communal basis to use them as their vote banks. These tendencies should be condemned in no uncertain terms by the people. Unfortunately, some of the Indian political leaders are following in the footsteps of the British rulers who always adopted the policy of ‘divide and rule’. The recent reservations, made on the basis of castes, is a glaring example of this tendency. It was because of this divisive policy that Mr. M.A. Jinnah propagated the two nation theory and India was divided on the eve of her independence.

In order to preserve and strengthen national harmony, integration and unity, it is essential ‘that certain firm steps are taken. Equal developmental opportunities should be provided. to all sections of the society irrespective of their social and economic status, caste, religion, creed, sex, etc. For economic integration it is essential that more and more job opportunities are created and the problem of unemployment is solved at the earliest. Poverty and economic and educational backwardness are the main hurdles in the smooth progress of national integration and unity. The unemployed and frustrated young men and women can be easily misled in the name of religion, caste and community.

Essay No. 02

Unity of India

India, though a well-marked distinct unit geographically, is in size and dimensions, more like a continent than a country. It is as large a Europe without Russia and about twenty times the area of Great Britain. In its vastness are found such varied physical features and social conditions that India has aptly been described as the epitome of the world.

It is true that superficial observers are liable to be bewildered by the astonishing variety of Indian life. They fail to discover the One in Many, the Individual in the Aggregate, the Simple in the Composite. With them the whole is lost in the parts. What is needed is the superior interpreting power of mind that can rise to a vision of the whole.

A keen penetrating insight will not fail to recognise that beneath manifold variety in India, there is a fundamental unity. The diversity itself which is there, far from being a damaging cause of disunity and weakness, is a fertile source of strength and wealth. Sir Herbert Risley has rightly observed: “Beneath the manifold diversity of physical and social type, language, custom and religion, which strikes the observer in India, there is still to be discovered a certain underlying uniformity of life form Himalayas to Cape Comorin”. From his long and first-hand experience of India, Vincent A. Smith says that the civilisation of India “has many features which differentiate it from that of all other regions of the world, while they are common to the whole country in a degree sufficient to justify its treatment as a unity in the history of human, social and intellectual development”.

Even the early Indian history unmistakably shows that the political conscience of the people has from the very early times grasped the whole of India as a unit and assimilated the entire area as the theatre of its activities. The spirit of unity expressed itself in the resistance of Indians against foreign aggressors. The Dravidians fought tooth and nail against the Aryans. In later history, the Aryans fought hard against the Greeks. It was not a walk-over for Alexander. In the course of his campaign, he met sturdy opposition from all quarters. Still later it was a point of honour for the Indo-Aryans to drive away the Sakas or the Huns. The Rajputs formed many a confederacy, though unsuccessful, against the Muslims. The rise of Marathas in the South and the Sikhs in the North was only a national reaction against foreign domination. The same spirit was expressed in the struggle for Independence of 1857.

The revival of linguism has, however, affected the educational and intellectual unity of the country adversely. English, though a foreign language, was the medium of instruction in schools, colleges and universities. Despite the defects of this system, it brought about precious intellectual and educational unity. After the attainment of freedom, the medium of instruction in the highest stage of education is going to be regional or state language. This is bound to lead to intellectual isolation and stagnation. One of the pressing needs in this sphere is to reverse the present policy and introduce Hindi as the medium of instruction in the highest stages of education. If this is not possible, English should be allowed to continue to enjoy the position it did in the past, until such time as a common national language is evolved to take its place.

The need of national unity is even greater at the present juncture. We have to be wide awake to the threats posed by the hostile attitude of our neighbours, China and Pakistan. National unity is also essential for social peace and harmony. We cannot enjoy peace and security, unless there is a mutual trust and good-will among all sections of the people of the country. No progress can be made in the field of art and literature, science and cultural advancement and economic well-being if disruptive tendencies and fissiparous forces are around to tear asunder the very fabric of national life. We cannot play an effective role in the international field if we do not set our own house in order. “Where there is no vision, people perish”. We have to take this fact deep into our hearts and open our eyes to the essential need of existence as a nation.

It is a patent truth that Indian thought occupies a distinct place in the evolution of human thought. The Indian way of life has its part to play in the history of humanity. Human culture would be incomplete and poor without Indian contribution. The world is in need of India, a living, rejuvenated India… of the strength of her message, her cult, her faith. Let India awake a new to a sense of independence and self-respect with true emotional unity and by such an awakening can she contribute her share to the culture of the world. To crown all, it is in such an Indian cult of the spirit that nations, like individuals, will find their peace and realise the democratic dream of a world society, a world community and a world federation that will value humanity above all nations.

Essay No. 03

Unity of India

India is an ancient country, a living example of stupendous paradoxes, extremes and their synthesis. Unity in diversity runs through the entire fabric of the Indian society; its extraordinary heterogeneity strikes one and all with awe and wonder. People are left breathless and gaping at its sheer vastness, complexity and variety. India, the largest democracy in the world, is inhabited by one-sixth of mankind, occupying about a fortieth of the earth’s surface. It is so fascinating and fantastic, with all its variety of colours, dresses, languages, dialects, religions, faiths, faces, races, customs, rites and cults. All these present a feast of colours of a panoramic scene painted on a huge, single piece of canvass, as it were. Not-withstanding all these apparent and endless diversities, India has always been one integrated whole as a nation, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Dibrugarh to Dwarka.

India, the seventh largest country in the world, has a well-defined geographical, cultural, political and social entity. It has been a meeting point and a melting pot of various cultures, civilisations, faiths and religions for centuries. It has outlived the test of time and aggressions. It is here that modernity and tradition, urban and rural, religion and secularism, spiritual and temporal, peaks and valleys embrace each other in counterbalance. It is so wonderful, fascinating, fantastic, mysterious, elusive and seemingly paradoxical that it baffles and defies description and analysis.

India is a land of great variety and its unique and ancient civilisation has been a great unifying factor. The vast number of diverse faiths, cults, beliefs, sects, religions, languages, manners, and lifestyles, etc. may confound a stranger, but in essence they represent the different aspects of one nation as do the petals of a lotus flower in bloom. These give you the same fascinating sweet fragrance, whether you take these Petals severally and separately or collectively. This spirit of unity in diversity is very well enshrined in our Constitution, which says that it is the primary duty of every Indian citizen “to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India, transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities.”

Tolerance and respect for all religions and faiths has been the hallmark of Indian civilisation. The religious life of India makes a complex but a wonderful pattern. Hinduism, which is not based on any single book or person, has the largest following. More than 80% of the population is Hindus. Hinduism is one of the most ancient and extant religions. It believes in oneness of the Universal Soul and is essentially monotheistic. It believes in the eternity c the soul and its reincarnations that eventually lead to final liberation and nirvana. This theory is based on the scientific principle of cause and effect.

Besides Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism have large following. Muslims in India form the largest religious minority and make India one of the largest Islamic nations. In fact, after Indonesia, India has the largest Muslim population in the world. The Christian Church in south India is much older than the coming of Islam in India. St. Thomas, one of the 12 Disciples of Christ, was the first preacher of Christianity in India, He was a contemporary of St. Peter in Rome. Then, there are Paris who came to India seeking refuge from religious persecution in Iran and brought Zoroastrianism. The Jews came quite early, about 2000 years ago. All these faiths and religions have been here, coexisting in harmony, peace and tolerance; and the communal clashes in recent decades may be considered as an exception.

Fundamentally, India is secular as a nation and yet profoundly spiritual and religious. The Indian Constitution guarantees all its citizens freedom of faith and worship. One can follow and preach any faith, religion and sect as long as it does not interfere in the religious freedom and rights of others. All are equal before law, without any discrimination of faith, cult, caste, creed, sex or language. India has always believed in freedom of thought, expression and faith. The people of this ancient nation have always been at liberty to pursue cultural, religious and spiritual goals of their own selection and choice. They have varied views and opinions on religion, political systems, economic order, and social problems, etc.

India is geographically, culturally and politically one, united and strong, and yet allows differences of thought, approach, religion and faith. It is this tolerance which has been a bench-mark of Indian culture and thought since times immemorial. India has an, immense capacity and power to imbibe and absorb all good alien influences. If it didn’t have this tolerance and power to assimilate foreign cultural influences, thought and philosophy would have been now extinct, as has been in the case of many ancient civilisations of the world. There has been useful interaction between the cultures of India and that of the other countries for the last several millennia. In the process, the Indian mind has assimilated much of the thoughts and conceptions of the cultures of other nations. Thus, India’s contribution to world culture and civilisation has been immense. It has been the cradle of such great religions as Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism.

But it is really regrettable that in recent years, particularly after 1947, so many ugly forces have raised their heads in the form of casteism, communalism, regionalism, and terrorism, etc. They pose a great threat and challenge to the unity, integrity, stability and progress of the country. These undesirable forces of evil, let loose by certain vested foreign p6wers, are hell bent on exploiting our spirit of tolerance, secularism, variety and diversity of faiths, religions, and languages’ etc. But these nefarious designs of our enemies will never succeed. We are well aware of our responsibilities and duties as worthy citizens of this great ancient land and ready to fight tooth and nail to defeat these disruptive forces challenging our age-old solidarity and integrity. We shall definitely overcome, sooner rather than later, these fanatics, bigots and extremists trying to create communal tensions, religious intolerance and regional hatred at the instances of some hostile nations. We should identify such narrow, parochial, selfish and communal mischief makers and eliminate them forever. Nobody can be allowed to encourage separatism, division, disharmony and disintegration. Some political parties are also to blame for it. They fight elections on the lines of caste, community, religion, region or language. They divide the people on communal basis, to use them as their vote banks in elections. These parties should be derecognized and their policies condemned in no uncertain terms. Unfortunately, some of the Indian political leaders are following in the footsteps of the British rulers who always adopted the policy of ‘divide and rule’.

In spite of all these odds that have surfaced in recent years, India is one and united politically, culturally, geographically and socially. Our way of life, thinking, literature, heritage, customs and traditions are basically the same. The institutions of family and marriage are the same, so are our social and religious customs throughout the length and breadth of the country. Similarly, there are many fairs and festivals, etc., observed and enjoyed by the people of all communities and castes in common. All these facts and factors underline our cultural and emotional unity and integrity.