Question

Historical reason for diversity in India

Answer 1

Hey mate here is your answer

If you observe closely, you will notice that India was always ruled by various rulers who differed dramatically in faith, culture, languages, traditions etc. From chalukyas, Pallavas, Mauryas to the Mughals, Rajputs and the British, all of them left their mark on India and hence the diversity. Good question by the way.

Hope this answer will help you!!
Please mark my answer as brainliest.....

Answer 2

India, as a country, had not been United in its present form for over 2000 years during independence. Under the rule of Ashoka, somewhere around 250-200 BCE, the land was united. Ashoka's empire extended from present day Pakistan in the West to preesnt day Bangladesh in the East, from Himalayan foothills in the North to present day Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in the south. Only the parts covering present day Kerala and Tamil Nadu were not included. His territory also included Nepal and Bhutan.

However, after Ashoka the country started to split. This empire was only rebuilt for a short while under Aurangzeb. However Aurangzeb was not a very just ruler and there was a lot of unrest and lot of rebel kings in the land at that time. Even though he had the territory under his control, he did not really control the people entirely. After his fall, once again various parts of the country split up.

It was to be soon rebuilt under the Marathas. The Marathas had nearly the entire country under their control except present day Jammu Kashmir and Pakistan (which was under Sikh control) and present day Andhra Pradesh, Keral and Tamil Nadu. However, the British arrived soon and the Maratha dominance started shrinking.

India was a rich land. It had a lot of advantages. It had mountains in the north blocking any invasion attempts, it had the Sindh River in the west, Brahmaputra in the east, Ganga in the north and Kaveri in the south (apart from many others). The south was covered by sea. This made trade and commerce easy. The land was accessible. As a result a lot of foreign powers were attracted to the country. The land was supposedly easy to defend (because of the mountains and the seas) but a lot of invasion happened from the north-west itself. Afghan and Turkish powers were always interested due to the riches of the land.

As a result of all this, various cultures entered the country during different points in history.

The caste system of Hinduism is also to blame somewhat. In ancient India there was one language, Sanskrit. But the Brahmins thought the Vaishyas and Shudras unworthy of learning this divine language. Thus the learning of Sanskrit was restricted. As a result, languages start to evolve and different parts of the country started speaking different dialects. These dialects later became totally different languages (Gujarati, Marathi, Rajasthani, hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Asamiya etc.)

The Dravidian civilisation is shrouded in mystery too. Very little is known about the origin of the Dravidians and how they came to inhabit the southern parts of India. They were totally different from the Aryans, had different language and culture etc.

Over time, there was a lot of cultural exchange with foreign cultures. The British raj era had a lot of influence too. Different states evolved based on languages. States and communities adapted traditions to suit them.

Hindus also have a very rich mythology. Unlike Christianity and Islam, our religion is not defined by and confined to one book. There are contradictions in various mythological texts. They overlap at time, complement at times and contradict at times. As a result they are open to interpretation which may have led to slightly different traditions being followed in various parts of India.

All these factors have combined over time to give rise to multiple languages, religions, faiths and cultures in the country. Diverse geography of India is aptly complemented by a diverse culture.