INDIA’S UNITY IN DIVERSITY

From Sampath’s Desk:

 

INDIA’S UNITY IN DIVERSITY

 

India is like a garland of different flowers with a motley of colours and different aromas wafting through in all directions. It can also be likened to butterflies with wings in different mind-blowing colours and designs.

 

India was an ancient and resilient civilization. Being a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual country, even in the face of several barriers of language, religion, community, caste, region, etc. it is the cultural ethos of the traditional Indian society that binds the nation together. India stands as a shining example of 'unity in diversity' in the comity of nations. In the eyes of the entire world, especially the fast-moving Western countries, India is considered an apostle of peace with robust culture and goodwill because of its citizens who have strong roots in their cultural heritage that envisages a peace-loving world order and which has successfully stood the test of times. India is a paradise where tolerance, brotherhood, non-violence and peaceful co-existence have been cherished for centuries in spite of several wars, invasions and alien rules that had to be endured from time to time, thanks to the innumerable philosophers, scholars, poets, saints, social reformers and good Samaritans produced by the sub-continental nation and their relentless campaign to keep the flock contented and peaceful!  The maxim - 'eschew all kinds of evil' - has greatly influenced the Indian society. Moreover, freedom of thinking and speech, free press/media and fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution are special features of the Indian psyche and polity. Embracing and assimilating all schools of thought and opinions is a special characteristic of Indian democracy.

  

The uniqueness of our nation lies more in the convergence of its diverse cultures representing all the echelons of society. However, in a sub-continental nation like India, there may be some elements that are bent upon indoctrinating fissiparous and parochial tendencies in the gullible masses. It is easy to preach and divide society into many denominations. But a total and dedicated conviction towards unity and integrity is a sine qua non to bind the fractured society!

 

Variety is the spice of life. Divergences do exist but beyond that there is convergence. Take any walk of life, like music, drama, sports and/or fine arts, holding of national festivals and competitions promotes unity among the various states (provinces) that constitute the Indian Union. India being a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual country, every Indian state, region, city, town, semi-urban centre or even village has a mix of people professing different religions, belonging to different sects, speaking different languages and upholding their own customs, traditions, conventions and way of day-to-day life, thus presenting a composite character and cosmopolitan scenario.  Exchange of programs of all sorts - be it music, drama, politics and all facets of education and knowledge - among the various states and/or regions of the country helps people come closer. Sense of unity, inter-dependence, co-existence and mutual adjustment always pays, especially on occasions such as International competitions and events, and more conspicuously if and when there is an external threat to the sovereignty of our Motherland to keep the tricolour of the nation aloft. Such is the wonderful and well-knit pluralistic society that India is!

 

Radio broadcasts and Television telecasts in different Indian languages and national events of all hues including festivals (social, religious, national or otherwise) stand testimony to our shared values and vision for the development, promotion and exchange of art and cultural activities. These agencies encompass all the strata of Indian society accommodating and assimilating the cultural moorings of different groups.  One cultural group interacting with the other widens their knowledge base and understanding mutually beneficial to each. Thiruvaiyaaru (Tamil Nadu) Thyagaraja Music Festival and Chennai Music Academy Music Concerts season (December), Dover Lane Music Festival (Indian Classical)-Kolkata-West Bengal, Saptak Festival of Music (Indian Classical), Ahmedabad-Gujarat (January), Tansen Music Festival (Indian Classical), Gwalior-Madhya Pradesh (December), Ragasthan (Folk and Western), Jaisalmer-Rajasthan, ITC Sangeet Sammelan (Indian Classic throughout India) and Sankatamochan Music Festival (Folk and Classical), Varanasi-Uttar Pradesh and a host of ‘Jugalbandhi’ - are typical examples of rendezvous being offered to musical exponents and experts hailing from different parts of the country to exhibit their vocal skills and talents of music from stringed or other instruments, individually as well as collectively, paving the way for integration. Needless to say, musicians are our cultural ambassadors.

 

Individual and group-level interactions promote confidence-building and exchange of people’s visits and cultural programmes that help nurture unity and integrity. The confluence of educational and knowledge groups opens up new vistas of a social and economic order beneficial to all constituents. The uniqueness of our nation lies more in the conglomeration of its diverse culture. We have to inculcate a sense of pride regarding the 'unity in diversity' that India is home to and known for and impart value-based education in our children in their formative stage itself to make them grow into responsible and dutiful citizens and carve out an egalitarian society. Right education with moral value additions will make them tread the righteous path to wage a war against the fangs and scourge of violence of all sorts and cleanse the society of all evils.

  

Complacency and passiveness make no sense and lead us nowhere.  A sustained integrated approach along with entry into the knowledge world for the educational and cultural advancement of the nation as a whole will be a benign harbinger for posterity! People should be properly educated to shun the path of violence. 'An eye for an eye' will make the whole world blind. It is not a solution. Violence begets more violence. Only the right solutions do the trick. It is better to light at least a candle rather than curse the darkness! The philosophy of non-violence propounded by Mahatma Gandhi has more relevance in today's world torn asunder by strife.  All-embracing vision is the right step in the right direction. Let us not shed one another's blood but shed our sweat together to make the world a paradise of amity and altruism. Where differences have led to estrangement, the use of violence estranges us further, and digs the ditches deeper. If alive today, Gandhiji would have liked to see the knowledge and spiritual depths in people of different regions harnessed into transforming energy for everlasting peace in the strife-torn world. The composite culture of India which is a powerful refutation of dangerous divisive theories has an insulating effect against clash of civilizations, ideological conflicts and ominous tendencies. 

 

Let us all remain unscathed from the adverse influence of divisive forces, consolidate the gains achieved so far, and bring about a world order sans evils of sorts. India as a cultural citadel can carve a niche for itself in the galaxy of nations to be emulated by other nations.

 

'India lives in its villages', said the Father of our Nation Mahatma Gandhi. We can now perhaps take pride in rewriting it as 'I"dia lives in its 'unity in diversity' - different cultures absorbed and integrated into one."

 

         

 R.SAMPATH

12.2.2002

 

(This article was published in the BSNL Corporate Office (New Delhi) House Journal ‘CONNECTING INDIA’, in the year 2002)