B.2. What Are The Various Manifestations Of Diversity In India?

UPSC Sample Notes [English]

B.2. What Are The Various Manifestations Of Diversity In India?

India’s diversity stems from historical influences, including waves of invasions, the emergence of religions, and Western colonialism. Geographically, the country’s rugged terrain, river systems, coastline, and climate have also shaped distinct cultures, traditions, and languages across regions.

Geographical Diversity and Biodiversity	India’s geography is diverse, featuring towering mountain ranges such as the Himalayas and the Western Ghats, as well as vast plains like the Indo-Gangetic along with the Deccan Plateau. The country also boasts a variety of climates and ecosystems, from the wettest areas of the northeast to the arid deserts of the west. India is one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries, home to around 8% of all recorded species. India has over 45,000 plants and 91,000 animal species, and various ecosystems.
Religious Diversity	India is characterized by diverse religious beliefs and practices. India is the birthplace of four of the world’s major religions, i.e. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. India is also home to people of many religions of the world, including a huge population of Muslims( 3rd largest in the world) and Christians, along with Jews, Parsis, etc.
Caste Diversity	Caste plays a significant role in shaping the diverse fabric of Indian society. There are more than 3,000 Jatis in India. These are hierarchically graded in different ways in different regions. It may also be noted that the practice of the caste system is not confined to Hindus alone. Castes among Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and other communities also exist in India.
Linguistic Diversity	More than 19,500 languages or dialects are spoken in India as mother tongue. 121 languages are spoken by 10,000 or more people in India. The languages spoken by the Indian population can be divided into four language families: Austric family– Santhal, Munda, Ho, etc. Dravidian family -Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, etc. Sino-Tibetan family– Sikkimese, Sikkimese, Bodo, etc. Indo-European family– Hindi, Punjabi, Sindhi, Marathi, etc.
Racial Diversity	India is a country of great racial diversity, with a wide variety of different ethnic and linguistic groups. The population is primarily an admixture of the following races: Indo-Aryans, Dravidians, and Mongoloids. The country is also home to several tribal groups, each with distinct cultures and traditions.
Diversity in Social Life	Indian society is greatly heterogeneous along various regions and sub-regions differing from one another. Diversity can be seen in – Family Structure, Marriage Types and Rituals Festivals, Cuisine and food habits, Clothing, settlement patterns Literature, Epics, Drama, Cinema, and Theatre.

[Image: Demographic & Socio-economics segmentation in India]