India - A nation Of Unity In Diversity

India, also known as Bharat, is a big country. Her Civilisation is 5000 years old. She has given birth to the world’s most important religions. She provided shelter to other leading religions. People of many races have come to India and settled here. She absorbed them all into her blood and fraternized them as her children. Unity and synthesis are the embodiments of Indian culture.
Physical Diversity and Unity:
India is a vast country extending from the Himalayas in the North to Kanyakumari in the South. The Himalayas separate her from the rest of Asia. The Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean make her a peninsula. We find endless diversity in the Indian sub-continent from the physical point of view. There are wide differences in her climate, temperature, rainfall, soil, agriculture, flora and fauna etc., Yet the fact that Indian economy has been primarily agricultural led to the development of common characteristics and common outlook. Today India is divided into 28 States and 6 Union Territories. The States of India are divided on the basis of the languages spoken by the people.
Cultural Unity:
India’s fundamental unity rests upon her peculiar type of culture.India has achieved cultural unity by fusion of many cultures. She has assimilated the good qualities from all cultures. She has arrived at a synthesis. Her adjustability, accommodation and spirit of tolerance enable Indian culture survive several circumstances. Various cultural groups live side by side in India. This has made Indian society a multi-cultural society.

Languages in India:

People in India speak different languages. There are more than 1652 mother tongues in India. 33 languages are spoken by people numbering over a lakh. In ancient times Prakrit and Sanskrit were used in most parts of India. Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all North Indian languages. Hindi(हिन्दी), Marathi, Gujarathi, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Urdu and Bengali are the major languages spoken in North India.Tamil(தமிழர்), Telugu, Oriya, Kannada and Malayalam(മലയാളം) are the major languages spoken in South India. Many Tribal languages do not have script. Out of the many Indian languages 18 are recognised as the official languages. Language has never been a barrier for India’s religious and cultural unity.

Art :

India is famous for her Carnatic and Hindustani style of music. Each region in india is famous for its style of music. There are variety of dance forms in India. Popular ones are BharataNatyam, Kuchipudi,Kadhakali,Manipuriand Odissi. All these dance forms adopt more or less similar themes from Hinduism.