india is a big country. Her civilization is around 6000 years old. She has given birth to the world’s most important cultures and religious. She has also accepted different cultures of the world. People of many races have come to India and settled here. She has absorbed different faiths, cults, beliefs, sects, religious, language, manners, lifestyles, etc. Unity and synthesis are the embodiment of Indian culture.
India fundamental unity rests upon her peculiar type of culture. There is no single character or aspect that can be defined as culture. It is expressed through language, literature, religion, philosophy, customs, traditions and architecture. India has achieved cultural unity by fusion of many cultures. She has assimilated the good qualities from all cultures. Various cultural groups live side by side in India. This has made Indian society a multi cultural society.
In India people of different religious live together. Hence she has a multi religious society. Besides Hinduism other religious like Christianity Islam Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism have a large following in India. According to 2001 census Hinduism other religious like Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism have a large following in India. According to 2001 census Hinduism is practiced by more than 80.4 percent of the people there are 13.4 percent Muslim 2.3 percent Christians and 1.8 percent Sikhs . The rest of the people follow Buddhism, Jainism and other religions.
India is famous for religious festivals. Hindu festivals like Diwali, Dussehra, Holi, etc. are celebrated all over the world. Muslims celebrate Eid. Christians celebrate Easter and Christmas. Sikhs celebrate Guru Nanak Jayanti. Buddha Purnima and Mahavir Jayanti are celebrated by the Buddhists and the jains respectively. During these festivals people exchange greeting forgetting their religious affiliations. That India is a clear from the preamble of our Constitutions.
We find a kind of emotional unity in our country. the very name of our country India brings us emotionally close. We may be in any part of the world but we will always be called Indians no matter what religion we follow and what region we belong to . India diversity has always been recognized as a source of its strength. When the British ruled India women and men from different cultural religious and regional background came together to oppose them. India freedom moment had thousands of people of different background in it. In his book The Discovery imposed from outside but rather it is something deeper and within its fold widest tolerance of belief and custom is practiced and every verity acknowledged and even emphasized.
Independent India inherited a conservative community which followed the rigidities of the caste system and had diverse religions. The Indian Constitution gave paramount importance to secularism. It declares that there would be no state religion in India. The state will neither establish religions of its own nor confer any special patronage upon any particular religion. The typical Indian concept of secularism is defined as Sarva Dharma Samabhava.
The Indian civilization has always been based on religious and moral values. Herein lays its unity and strength. In all parts of the country, cultural unity the unity of the way of life and outlook transcends the vast diversity in faiths and beliefs at times bordering on superstition, magic, charms and other practices. One may travel from one part of the country to another and everywhere he will recognize a common thread in some aspect of life which makes him feel at home. This is because the Indian culture has preserved its fundamental character through the ages. We have experience revolutionary economic and political changes in recent times but our past remains very much with us. Our rich cultural heritage has passed from one generation to another and in this process it has got nurtured and renewed.
Indian culture has remained alive and dynamic because it has always been tolerant of different cultures. It imbibed the good qualities other cultures and constantly upgraded itself. Influence of various cultures has made it rich and vibrant. Significant contributions have been made to it by the Dravidians, Aryans, Greeks, Persians, Arabs, Mughals and Europeans. The Persian and Western influences on our art literature painting and dress have now become an integral part of our own culture.