People, read Indians, often say that India is a unique country. We feel proud to do so. I wondered why it is so. Why is India unique? If you ask this the common replies that you get are:
We
have diversity. Well, it is true that India is a diversified country.
But that doesn’t makes it unique. United States is more diversified than
us. They are the true global destination with people from almost every
country. Even the US army and police force has personnel from various
countries and religions. And talking about internal diversity, the
diversity of population within the country, China has more than 50
ethical groups.
Then people say that we are
the oldest civilization. That’s also true to some extent, but Greek,
Egyptian and Mediterranean civilizations also evolved at same time.
One
more point people have is India has Unity in Diversity. The fact is we
have more communal and regional violence than any other country. Whether
its Hindu-Muslim riots, demand for a separate Sikh state, Khalistan,
violence against Hindi speaking in Maharashtra, naxalism or any other
such issue, we always put our regional, religious and self interests
above the national and even humanitarian interests.
Then
what is that makes India unique? The word unique means something that
exists as the only one or as the sole example; single; solitary in type
or characteristics. So, here are some points that I think are truly
unique to India because no other country possesses them:
1. Cultural Heritage and Influence: - India has always had a big impact on the world. This is because we are the oldest living civilization of the world. Thus
there were several civilizations that evolved with Indus Valley, or
even before that (like Mayan), but we still follow those traditions. For
ex- Once there was Ra, the Egyptian God of Sun, Helios, the Greek God
of Sun and Surya, the Indian God of Sun. But nobody worships Ra or
Helios anymore. While there are still several Indian homes where Surya
Namaskar is a daily ritual!
India
had the first ever university, Takhshila, the oldest and longest epics
are Ramayan and Mahabharat, oldest manuscripts are found in India
(written in Pali and Prakrit) etc. This old and continuing civilization
also helped India to get some scientific achievements like invention of
zero, trigonometry, gravitational force, surgery, astronomy etc to name a
few.
India is the only
country in the world to have an ocean (Indian Ocean), a sub-continent
(Indian-subcontinent) and a group of islands (West Indies) named after
it. Such is the cultural influence of India that native people in
various parts of the world are called Indians, like Red Indians of
native America, and as many as 5 countries have names derived from
Sanskrit. They are:
1. Afghanistan- derived from Sanskrit word Afghan meaning horse riders.
2. Cambodia- derived from Sanskrit Kamboj, a Khsatriya tribe in Iron-Age India.
3. Sri Lanka- derived from Sanskrit Lanka meaning a venerable island. It was previously known as Ceylon.
4. Singapore- derived from Sanskrit Singhpur, meaning city of lions and
5. China- derived from Sanskrit Cheen. Indians used Cheen to refer Qin dynasty of China.
2. Geography:
- Nature has bestowed India a unique geography that helps it grow and
prosper. India can be geographically divided into following regions:
1.
The Great Himalayan Range- The largest and highest mountain ranges of
world. These help in heavy rainfall and are source to majority of Indian
rivers.
2. Northern
Plains- They are the most fertile lands in the world due to rivers like
Ganga, Yamuna, Satluz, Brahmaputra, Chenab, Rabi, Ghaghra, Gomti etc.
They are the major factor of high population in northern Indian states.
3.
The Thar Desert- The region of Rajasthan and some parts of Gujarat are
covered with desert which is continuously expanding towards Punjab.
4.
Deccan Plateau- Southern India is located on Deccan Platue that keeps
the weather pleasant throughout the year in cities like Bangalore.
5.
Coastal Lines- Indian mainland has the coast lines exceeding 7000 kms
(without including the islands). They have made Indian cities like
Mumbai and Kolkata, a global trade hub.
6.
Ghats- Eastern and Western Ghats are mountain ranges located along the
Indian coasts. They are home to various endemic species and several
spices are grown in them. They have such diversified flora and fauna
that they comes under “Biodiversity Hotspots” of world.
7. Islands- India also has 2 island groups, Lakhsyadweep and Andaman & Nicobar.
No other country in the
world has geography as diversified. Thus Indian geography makes it
unique and a far better place to live than land-locked countries or
islands
.
3. Language:
- India has more than 1600 languages with dialect changing every 16
kms. We have as many as 22 official languages. Also, Sanskrit is the
mother of nearly all the major European languages including English and
is one of the oldest languages of the world. Then there are South Indian
languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam which do not
resemble to any other language in the world. Thus, scientists had to
invent a whole new lineage of Dravidian languages that evolved out of
nowhere!
4. People and Religion:
- Indian people are always peace loving. It is the only country in the
world which got its independence on the pillars of truth and
non-violence. Though it is the oldest surviving civilization, we have
never attacked any country. Indians were always open to people of
various faiths and nationalities. We welcomed Jews as the first foreign
religion and Jews have historically lived in India without any instances
of Anti-Semitism from the local majority populace, the Hindus. India is
also the only country in the world that is the birth place of 4 major
religions namely, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. The beauty of
this is that with the exception of Sikhism, all others have
non-violence at their core. In today’s vulnerable world, full of hatred
against mankind, also, India is a home to a multi-faith population with
second highest number of peace loving Muslims!
Proud to be an Indian!
Comments
Disqus Comment
great words arpit..i knew that only u can write that much matter about india.
u r the only one who can change the mind of people.India is in ur heart and blood..i felt it a lo of times..
hats off to u..
anonymous..u can understand.