MULTICULTURAL ASPECT OF INDIAN SOCIETY

RAJKUMAR POREL, M.SC , GEOGRAPHY
WBSU, BHAIRAB GANGULY COLLEGE

1. 2.4 Indian Society And Its Multicultural Identity RAJKUMAR POREL M.SC GEOGRAPHY

2. Multiculturalism What is multiculturalism? • As a descriptive term it refers to cultural diversity where two or more groups with distinctive beliefs/cultures exist in a society. • It can also refer to government policy as a formal recognition of the cultural distinctiveness of particular groups. • It implies a positive endorsement of cultural diversity.

3. Key Facts – India: • Key figures: – Population: World's second most populous country with 1.17 billion people, representing 17% of the world population. – GDP: US$1.237 trillion , which makes it the twelfth-largest economy in the world – GDP Growth: Over the last 10 years, India has registered an average GDP growth rate of 6.3% - amongst the highest in the world – FDI: The FDI inflow for 2007-08 has been reported as $24bn and for 2008-09, it is expected to be above $35 billion • By 2034, India will be the most populous nation in the world with 1.6 billion people. – India’s middle class is already larger than the entire U.S. population – India is home to the biggest youth population on earth: 600 million people are under age 25 • Hindi is the official language and is spoken by more than 30% of the population – The Indian Constitution recognizes 22 languages. – There are more than 1200 Dialects in India. – 29% of India’s population speaks English (language for national, political, and commercial communication

4. National Identity: National identity is the form of social identity decided by birth or citizenship of a person in a country. Nationalism is the concept arising after the movement of national liberation as a result of colonial rule and reformations of nations in Asia and Africa (Salazaar, 1999). National identity is strengthened with the emergence of nationalism but is formed as a cognitive construct during the developmental phase. Nationality of a person determines the national identity, but nationality is dependent on citizenship of the country. Nation is considered as a deep, horizontal comradeship, in a form of „imagined community‟ (Anderson, 1991). Cultural Identity: The term „culture‟ refers to the language, values, beliefs, norms, customs, clothing, food, gender roles, knowledge and skills, and all the other things that people acquire that make up the „way of life‟ of a society. Cultural identity is a part of socialization process of an individual. Parental migration, mother‟s cultural knowledge and orientation (teaching about culture, language) demographic characteristics such as education, and degree of community urbanization influence cultural identity (Knight et. al. 1993). Regional Identity: Regional identity is somewhat a related concept to state-nation induced identity. In India, states divided on the basis of language and regions give an exclusive example of regional identity. Since the regional or territorial principle is drawn from a belief in ancient heritage, encapsulated in the notion of „sacred geography‟, and figures in both imaginations, it has acquired political hegemony over time. Territory is a part of the national identity, but overpowering as an in group when it comes to preference (Vershney, 1993).

5. Religious Identity: Religion as identified in psychology is a set of beliefs and practices related to the divine, God or sacredness. Zinnbauer and Pargament (2005) defined religion as, „system of belief in a divine or supernatural power, practices of worship and other rituals directed towards such a power‟. They also referred to „religion‟ as a broad construct, which is not exclusively differentiated from spirituality. Positive effects of religion on group membership provide adolescents „a sense of membership and belongingness‟, social support, self-esteem and satisfaction (Loewenthal, 2000). Religion offers an orientation to life and channels an individual to facilitate the rationality of self. Gender Identity: Gender has two components, namely Masculinity (M) and Femininity (F). While early literature used these two terms „sex‟ and „gender‟ interchangeably, from the late 1930s, femininity and masculinity had come to be recognized as significant dimensions of personality rather than as given but invisible properties of biological maleness and femaleness (i.e. as psychological processes within are different from appearance) (Basu, 2010). Although sex is a trait determined by birth, gender is psychological in nature. Gender identity is influenced by the society but developed inwardly in the individual.

6. • Languages – There are 22 official languages and 1200 dialects in India. – Hindi is the most widely spoken language. – English is the language of official use. – Tribal or Aboriginal language speaking population is large. • Religions – India is a home to a large number or religions the most popular being Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism. • Cultures – It is a Multi-cultural society that celebrates holidays and festivals of various religions. – India is also home to a large number of native dances and music. – Many states and regions have their own local festivals. – The three national holidays in India are Independence Day, Republic Day and Gandhi Jayanti, which are celebrated with zeal and enthusiasm across India. • Himalayas – A mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. – The Himalayan mountain system is the planet's highest and home to the world's highest peaks, which include Mount Everest and K2. • Taj Mahal – India is also home to the Taj Mahal, which is in the city of Agra, and as the world knows, is one of the wonders of the world. • Wildlife – India’s wildlife is both rich and varied. More than 4% of India's land is under forest cover- there are at least 90 national parks and 482 wildlife sanctuaries. – In terms of animals, the country is one of the 12 mega diversity areas in the world.

7. • Indian Railway – Indian Railways has one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting over 18 million passengers and more than 2 million tones of freight daily. – It is the world's largest commercial or utility employer, with more than 1.4 million employees. • Indian road network – of 33 lakh Km. is second largest in the world. – There are 259 National Highways. – Driven by the ambition to connect the various regions of the country, construction and up keeping of roads is one of the country's most continuous and expensive tasks.