SALIENT FEATURES OF INDIA – UNITY IN DIVERSITY

7.UNITY IN DIVERSITY
In common parlance diversity means differences. It also bears connotations with something more than mere differences. It means collective differences, that is, differences expressed as group of people from another.
Diversity is different conceptually than uniformity. Uniformity means similarity of some sort that characterises a people. ‘Uni’ refers to one; ‘form’ refers to the common ways. So when there is something common to all the people, we say they show uniformity. When students of a school, members of the police or the army wear the same type of dress, we say they are in ‘uniform’.
Like diversity, thus, uniformity is also a collective concept. When a group of people share a similar characteristic, like language or religion or anything else, it shows uniformity in that respect. But when we have groups of people hailing from different races, religions and cultures, they represent diversity.
Thus, diversity means variety. For all practical purposes it means variety of groups and cultures. We have such a variety in abundance in India. We have here a variety of races, of religions, of languages, of castes and of cultures. For the same reason India is known for its socio-cultural diversity.
Meaning of Unity
Unity means integration. It is a social psychological condition. It connotes a sense of oneness, a sense of we-ness. It stands for the bonds, which hold the members of a society together.
There is a difference between unity and uniformity. Uniformity presupposes similarity, unity does not. Thus, unity may or may not be based on uniformity. Unity may be born out of uniformity. However Indian model of accommodation of diversity is known as Mosaic Model, which emphasized on integration of various kinds of diversity than assimilation and isolation.
CONCLUSION
Indian society and culture is one of the most complex, Indian history is marked by asion and conquest and her residence marked by change and continuity. Indian social landscape can be understood by the unique traditions that persisted through time 184 as well as the changing pattern across the ages. It is difficult to explain the regional and local variations in customs, traditions, languages, class, food, village festivals and deities etc. but both tradition and change best describe India’s unique social life.
In conclusion, it can be advocated that various salient features of Indian society give it a unique place in the world. It not only provides exclusive character to it but also enrich Indian society with v