Essay, Paragraph, Speech on “India – A Perfect Example of Unity in Diversity” Complete Paragraph, Speech for Classes 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.

India – A Perfect Example of Unity in Diversity

India, a country of many ethnic groups, is a land of myriad languages, a veritable babel of tongues and numerous modes of apparel and countless mannerisms. For the most part, the continental dimensions of the country account’ for these variations and diversities. Besides, there are several religions, sects and beliefs. But there are certain common links and uniting bonds that people have sought to develop in order to achieve the eminently desired goal of unity amidst diversity.

The diversity in the country have several facts. There are several religions, several communities and castes; several languages and different life-styles in different regions. By the very fact of these different life-styles we easily distinguish between a Bengali from a Punjabi, a Southerner from a Northerner, and of course community wise – a Hindu from a Muslim with these apparent diversities we have constantly to face problems. These are castesism, regionalism and linguism. These create divisions among people. The divisions are rather deep rooted too.

Though much has been done and much has happened in removing the caste divisions but still the discrimination on the basis of castes continues. The upper castes the Brahman, Kshatriyas and Vaishs are still not completely reconciled to a total alignment with the backward and the scheduled castes. So much so that even the constitution of India grants reservation to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. That having been made a part even of the constitution, this discrimination remains continuing and successive governments have gone on extending the time-limit of these reservations in the matter of recruitment to government services or selection to technical courses.

Religion has been a great dividing force of the Indian community. I lindus, Muslims, Sikh, Parsis, Christians and even Buddhists have their separate religious sects and different tenets of religion.

Regionalism also raises its ugly head at times and divides the interest of people either in favour or against people of the other region. Every region has its own manners, customs, food habits and dress and can easily be distinguished by these one from the other. Then there are divisions on the basis of languages. There are so many languages – to start from the north – Dogri, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya, Kannada, Konkani, Tamil, Telegu, Malayalam and some more. The protagonists of all these languages promote their language and are not prepared to accept their language as in any way inferior to any other. And true it is that literature of a very high order has been produced in all these languages. Hindi has been accepted as the official language but not as the lingua franca of the country. Conflicts are going on, on this account.

Inspite of all these basic diversities, one comes across a peculiar sense of unity among all the people of this vast country in the matter of religious beliefs and rituals. If there is a Kumbh Mela either at Allahabad or at Haridwar, people from all parts of the country would congregate in large numbers. Bengalis throng the streets of Varanasi or Mathura. Even Hindus visit the Dargah of of Khwaja Salim Chisti or the Dargah of Dewa in U.P. and during the Guru Pooja on the Kartiki full moon, Hindus and Sikhs all congregate at the Gurdwaras and partake in their `Langars’- the congregational meal.

The greatest unity has been demonstrated among the people whenever there has been a foreign invasion challenging the frontiers of our country whether it was the Chinese aggression in the year 1962, or the Pakistan aggression in 1965 or 1971 when India fought a war with Pakistan to liberate Bangladesh. During the recent warlike conflict in the Kargil sector with Pakistan, the whole country rose up in unison and demonstrated the true national spirit of unity. The Indian psyche gets surcharged with the sense of unity and integrity in such times of challenge which in itself is a great comforting factor of unity. Even culturally India feels the same pulse, breathes the same air and remains one or exhibits total unity-be one be a Southerner or a Northerner or from the West or the East, fairs and festivals or temples bring them all together and that is a great oneness.

It is this strand of cultural unity running through the country that we are heir to. It is upto the youth of the country to uphold this torch of cultural unity for the rest of the world to see, follow and emulate, and not get dazed by the superficial prosperity and material achievements of the west where man has set foot on the moon in his quest for space travel, but finds isolated in his own society and community.