In the context of the diversity of India, can it be said that the regions form cultural units rather than the States? Give reasons with examples for your viewpoint UPSC
India is a land of diversity. Distinct geographical features and varying climatic conditions in combination with differential historical exposure divide India into distinct cultural regions.
These cultural units are characterized by many factors like –
- Geography,
- climate,
- economy,
- dominant ethnic-linguistic-religious groups, etc.
North-East is a mixed cultural region wherein depending on the domination of Hindu, Christian, and Tribal population in a particular state their cuisine, family customs, dance, and music varies.
Meghalaya’s Khasi and Garo tribes follow the matrilineal law of inheritance while Nagaland and Manipur’s Meitei families follow the patriarchal culture. These states are formed on ethnolinguistic lines. Culture differs within and across the state. Neither individual states nor the entire region forms a single block of uniform culture.
The culture of Western India transgresses state borders. To level western India as a geographical unit will be an oversimplification. One can easily observe the Maharashtrian, Gujarati, and Rajasthani cultures in the respective states. Hence these regions form cultural units rather than states.
In north India, Punjab and Haryana are two states forming individual cultural units. Similarly, the eastern UP resembles more the culture of Bihar than the western UP. The majority of the Southern states are formed on linguistic lines. Their culture differs within and across the states.
Southern India as a region is not a single unit of culture. However, at the macro level, the individual states are worthy of claiming the status of cultural units. To conclude no region forms a single monolithic cultural unit in India however some states can claim the status of cultural units.