UNIT - I

UNITY IN DIVERSITY

India is a land of “Unity in diversity”. The high mountain ranges, vast

seas , large river-irrigated lands, countless rivers and streams, dark
forests, sandy deserts, all these have adorned India with an exceptional
diversity. Among the people there are numerous races, castes, creeds,
religions and languages.
 
Meaning of “Unity in Diversity”
The term “Unity in diversity” refers to the state of togetherness or
oneness in-spite of presence of immense diversity.
“Unity in diversity” is based on the concept where the individual or
social differences in physical attributes, skin color, castes, creed, cultural
and religious practices, etc. are not looked upon as a conflict. Rather,
these differences are looked upon as varieties that enrich the society and
the nation as a whole.

  The term ‘diversity’ emphasizes differences rather than inequalities. It

means collective differences, that is, differences which mark off one
group of people from another. These differences may be of any sort:
biological, religious, linguistic etc. Thus, diversity means variety of
races, of religions, of languages, of castes and of cultures.
 Unity means integration. It is a social psychological condition. It
connotes a sense of one-ness, a sense of we-ness. It stands for the bonds,
which hold the members of a society together.
 Unity in diversity essentially means “unity without uniformity” and
“diversity without fragmentation”. It is based on the notion that diversity
enriches human interaction.
What is diversity meaning?
Diversity refers to the reality created by individuals and groups with the
concept of acceptance and respect.

It is based on the spectrum of demographic and philosophical

differences.

Diversity can also be alongside the dimensions of ethnicity, race, gender,

socio-economic status, sexual orientation, physical abilities, age,
political beliefs, religious beliefs or other ideologies.

In simple terms, it is the degree or measure of differences in identifying

features. The features are similar among the defined group.

What are the reasons for diversity in India?

The diversity in India binds all the cultures, religions, and practices
together. India is one of the most diverse countries found in the world
and has the most complex amalgamation of various cultural identities.

 There are plenty of reasons which contribute towards the diversity

in India which are as follows:
 India is the birthplace of Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and
Buddhism. Over the centuries, many people from across the world
migrated and settled in India bringing more religions such as
Christianity, Judaism Zoroastrianism and Islam to the country.
 India has been ruled by various rulers belonging to different
religions and cultures for a long time. The beliefs and practices of
all the rulers or Emperors still exist in the country.

 Only people from single ethnicity do not inhabit the Indian

subcontinent but it has experienced a series of migrations from all
across the globe contributing to the ethnical diversity of the
country.

 India has various geographical barriers which were difficult to

cross and became the reason for isolation. This leads to the
independent development of varieties in the country.

 The political, trade and commercial practices had a different set of

rules and policies which contributed to different socio-cultural
practices.

 India is one of the oldest societies in the world with the oldest
civilizations. Over time it led to the growth of several social
institutions in their way.
What do you mean by unity in diversity in India?

Unity in diversity is an ancient phrase which has been used in some

societies for several centuries. The phrase has been used in North
America and China since 500 BC.

Unity in diversity refers to a concept of unity without “uniformity and

diversity without fragmentation”.

It is used as an expression of unity and harmony between individuals or

groups belonging to different backgrounds or following different
practices.

The phrase shifts the focus from unity based on the tolerance of
linguistic, cultural, physical, political, social, ideological, or
physiological differences of individuals or social units to the unity based
on appreciation and acceptance.

India is the best example to prove the concept of diversity and unity in
diversity. Being a 5000 years old civilization, it a land of rich diversities.

People, despite belonging to different backgrounds, respect each other,

and live with the feeling of harmony and brotherhood.

The country homes almost all the religions of the world and is the
birthplace to a few of them. It also has a linguistic diversity.
The 29 states of India have their culture, tradition, and language. The
people of the country celebrate more than 30 major festivals of various
religions, cultures, and communities.

Therefore, it is said “United we stand, divided we fall” because the

country falls when the people are not united.

Why is Unity in diversity important?

For any country, unity in diversity is important. We have listed down a

few reasons that explain why unity in diversity is important as follows:

National Integration
Disintegrating people having different views and ideologies is very easy.
Therefore, unity in diversity is very important for a country like India.

If unity exists among the people, it becomes impossible to disintegrate

the nation and its people.

This helps in maintaining peace, harmony, and prosperity in a country.

Development and growth

For the development and growth of the country, unity and diversity have
a crucial role to play.

A country that is integrated and people live in harmony always moves o

the path of development. Such countries face fewer internal issues and
continue to prosper.
Peaceful coexistence
There can be certain internal conflicts wing to people belonging to
diverse social or cultural backgrounds and customs.

However, having unity despite such conflicts pave the way for

maintaining peaceful co-existence among all.

Global recognition
A country that is diverse and unified adds to the value of the nation and
attains respect on the international platforms or scale.

It sets an example of values and morals for others as being a country that
respects ad supports each other despite belonging to different religions,
castes, cultures, races, or creed.
What are the types of diversity in India?

India is a unique country with a large population representing endless

varieties of cultural patterns and physical features.

People belong from all the major religions of the world and the land has
many languages.

The vast population of the country is composed of people hailing from

diverse creeds, customs, and colours.

A few of the important types of diversity in India has been discussed

below as follows:-

Physical features diversity

India is diverse not only in terms of its people but also geographically.
The northern part of the country homes the largest mountain range in the
world, the Himalayas, that is covered with snow throughout the year.
The Himalayas is the source of plenty of major Indian rivers like Ganga,
Indus, Yamuna and more.

The western part of the country boasts the vastness and magnificence of
the Thar Desert.

The southern part of the country has the Indian Ocean, the Bay of
Bengal and the Arabian Sea to add to its charm.

Racial diversity

India has a diverse group of people with a set of distinctive physical

features which categorizes them into a particular race.

The grouping is based on plenty of features such as skin colour, the form
of hair, type of eyes or nose, and more. These features are distinctive
and inherited characteristics.

India has a large number of migratory races which hails mostly from the
Western and Eastern directions.

The population of India is identified into six main ethnic groups which
are as follows:-

 The Negrito’
  The Proto-Australoids
 The Mongoloids
 The Mediterranean or Dravidian
 The Western Brachyphals
 The Nordic
The Mongolian and Dravidian race majorly accounts for the racial
composition of tribal India.

Linguistic diversity

India has as many as 1652 languages and dialects. A very few people
speak most of these languages or majority of the languages are confined
to a particular place, state or area.

As per the 8th schedule of the Constitution of India, there are 22

recognised languages which are Assamese, Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati,
Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Manipuri, Malayalam, Nepali, Marathi,
Punjabi, Sanskrit, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Sindhi, Santhali, Boro,
Maithili and Dogri.

Hindi in Devnagri script is recognised as the official language of the

Indian Union by the constitution.

However, all these languages along with certain other languages are rich
in Literature and their references can be found in many places.

Telugu is the second largest language spoken by about 60 million people

in India. That is why it is said that India has a spectacle of Museum of
tongues.
 Religious diversity

The Preamble to the Constitution of India declares India as a secular

country where people have the right to follow any religion of their
choice.

Although India is a land of multiple religions, 80% of the Indian

population follows Hinduism.

Other religions to which the people belong are Islam, Christianity,

Buddhism, Jainism and Zoroastrianism.

Hindus and Muslims are found in almost all the parts of India with the
remaining minority religion having their places of concentration.

 The southern states of Kerala, Tamilnadu and Meghalaya have the

majority of the population as Christians.

India is a land of multiple religions. Apart from the tribal societies,

many of whom still live in the pre-religious state of animism and
magic, the Indian population consists of the Hindus (82.41%),
Muslims (11.6%), Christians (2.32%), Sikhs (1.99%), Buddhists
(0.77%) and Jains (0.41%). The Hindus themselves are divided into
several sects such as Vaishnavas, Shaivates, Shaktas, Smartas etc.
Similarly, the Muslims are divided into sects such as Shias, Sunnis,
Ahmadiyas etc.
 Caste diversity

There are over 3,000 castes or Jatis in India. A caste is a similar social
unit that is hereditary and practices a specific traditional occupation.

Among the Hindu population, the caste system prevails most

dominantly. However, there is hierarchical grading in different ways in
other religions as well.

The practice of caste system in India has been prevalent since ages. This
helps us in imagining and understanding the extent of caste diversity in
India.

The jati system is not static and there is mobility in the system, through
which jatis have changed their position over years. This system of
upward mobility has been termed as “Sanskritization” by M. N. Srinivas.

Constitutional identity:

 The entire country is governed by one single Constitution. Even,

most of the states follow a generalised scheme of 3-tier government
structure, thus imparting uniformity in national governance framework .

Religious co-existence: Religion tolerance is the unique feature of

religions in India due to which multiple religions co-exist in India.
 Freedom of religion and religious practice is guaranteed by the
Constitution itself. 

 Inter-State mobility: The Constitution guarantees freedom to move

throughout the territory of India under Article 19 (1) (d), thus promoting
a sense of unity and brotherhood among the masses.

Factors that threaten India’s unity:

 Regionalism: Regionalism tends to highlight interests of a particular

region/regions over national interests. It can also adversely impact
national integration. Law and order situation is hampered due to regional
demands and ensuing agitation.
 Divisive politics: Sometimes, ascriptive identities such as caste, religion
etc. are evoked by politicians in order to garner votes. This type of
divisive politics can result in violence, feeling of mistrust and suspicion
among minorities.

 Development imbalance: Uneven pattern of socio-economic

development, inadequate economic policies and consequent economic
disparities can lead to backwardness of a region. Consequently, this can
result in violence, kickstart waves of migration and even accelerate
demands of separatism.. For instance, due to economic backwardness of
the North East region, several instances of separatist demands and
secessionist tendencies have sprung up in the region.
 Ethnic differentiation and nativism: Ethnic differentiation has often
led to clashes between different ethnic groups especially due to factors
such as job competition, limited resources, threat to identity etc. E.g.
 frequent clashes between Bodos and Bengali speaking Muslims in
Assam. This has been accentuated by son of the soil doctrine, which ties
people to their place of birth and confers some benefits, rights, roles and
responsibilities on them, which may not apply to others.
 Geographical isolation: Geographical isolation too can lead to identity
issues and separatist demands. The North-East is geographically isolated
from the rest of the country as it is connected with the rest of the country
by a narrow corridor i.e the Siliguri corridor (Chicken’s neck). The
region has inadequate infrastructure, is more backward economically as
compared to the rest of the country. As a result, ithas witnessed several
instances of separatism and cross-border terrorism, among others.
 Inter-religious conflicts: Inter-religious conflicts not only hamper
relations between two communities by spreading fear and mistrust but
also hinder the secular fabric of the country.
 Inter-state conflicts: This can lead emergence of feelings related to
regionalism. It can also affect trade and communications between
conflicting states. For instance, Cauvery river dispute between
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

 Sometimes external factors such as foreign organizations terrorist

groups, extremist groups can incite violence and sow feelings of
separatism. E.g. Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has been accused of
supporting and training mujahideen to fight in Jammu and Kashmir and
sow separatist tendencies among resident groups.

In-spite of the challenges posed by diversity, there can be no doubt

on the role played by sociocultural diversity in sustaining and
developing Indian society. Problem is not of diversity per se, but the
handling of diversity in India society. The problems of regionalism,
communalism, ethnic conflicts etc. have arisen because the fruits of
development haven’t been distributed equally or the cultures of
some groups haven’t been accorded due recognition.

Hence, Constitution and its values must form guiding principles of

our society. Any society which has tried to homogenize itself, has
witnessed stagnation in due-course and ultimately decline. The most
important example is this case is of Pakistan which tried to impose
culture on East-Pakistan ultimately leading to creation of
Bangladesh.