Diversity
of India – a perspective
India is diverse. Yes it is.
Diversity is found in every walk of our life in India, in terms of race,
religion, language, caste, culture & a lot more. As a Hindi saying goes “Kos kos pe badale pani, char kos pe vani” i.e In India - the taste of water changes every 3 kms, and the language
changes every 12 km! That is how diverse we are!
To understand the extent of
diversity in numbers, sample this – there are 4635 known communities in India,
there are 3000 castes and 25000 sub-castes, more than 1650 languages, 1000+
festivals, 1866 registered political parties, wide religious diversity with 9 main
religions, 8 classical dance forms, 29 states and 7 Union territories – with
each being different in the way they live, eat, speak and the way they
celebrate their festivals.
Do you know how many Gods do
we have as per Upanishads? “Trayatrimsa koti” i.e. 330 Million! So metaphorically
speaking there is 1 God for every 3 person today! And this is only counting
Hindu Gods. There are others for Jainis, Buddhists etc.
Add to this 1.2 Billion people
in the country and we are looking at a very complicated and diverse group of
people under one nation. No wonder Mark Twain called India “a country of
hundred nations” and “cradle of human race itself”. As unbelievable as it
seems, it is this amazing we stay united. God must love us! According to me
though, every community has sacrificed a lot for the independence of this great
nation and it is this love for the nation that acts as the overpowering binding
force which keeps us united. And so it will in future too I am sure. Amen to
that.
Thank you!
(Prepared For Ruhin Raghuvanshi - for Class)
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