The Idea of India: A Glimpse of History, Culture and Society

Mihir Bholey, PhD Assoc. Senior Faculty NID, Ahmedabad, INDIA

India: What is it About? An ancient living civilization: as old as 3300 BC 1300 BC An ancient cultural melting pot having diverse composite culture A multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious society Contributor to the world civilization: mathematics, medicine, concept of democracy, university, philosophy, non-violence Rich tradition of aesthetics, literature dance, drama and art forms

India: The Shades of Perceptions Notable views are Anglo-Saxon, Orientalist , Marxist and those who challenged the imperialist school of history- Bhandarkar, Raychaudhary, Majumdar et al. The Greeks Herodotus, Plutarch, Ptolemy attempted the history of India in their writings Megastheneses Indica gave more extensive account of India The next important phase of Indian historiography begins with Al-Beruni who accompanied Mahmud Ghazni Christian missionaries and scholars made in-depth study but their history of India became victim of Europes Religio-Political problems Thus to accept a existence of a civilization prior to the period of genesis was a kind of sacrilege The Indian mythologies on the contrary referred to four Yugas (Satyug, Dwapard, Treta and Kalyug) and several hundred million years- shook the foundation of Christian faith However, what is important is to understand the evolution of Indian Civilization through the phrases of History than the period of History

India as Seen by Some European Scholars and Philosophers

French philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778) viewed India as homeland of religion in its oldest and purest form, also the cradle of world civilizations. Believed Astronomy, Astrology, Metaphysics came to the western world from the bank of Ganges Great German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) wrote their religion has a purity. (and) one can find traces of pure concepts of divinity which cannot be found elsewhere British scholar John Holwell wrote mythology of the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans were borrowed from the doctrines of the Brahmins Swiss philosopher Henri Frdric Amiel (1821-1881) wrote : there is a great affinity in me with the Hindu genius that mind, vast, imaginative, loving, dreamy and speculative, but destitute of ambition, personality and will British historian Basham writes: the most striking feature of ancient Indian civilization is its humanity. In no other early civilization were slaves so few in number, no ancient lawgiver advised fair play in battle as Manu did and therere few tales of massacre of non-combatant in ancient Indian history

Marxs View of Indian Society Marxs views of Indian history, culture and civilization was rather superficial and contemptuous. Was also influenced by the Hegelian views of India Marx was a great votary of India being enslaved by the British, dismissed India as a backward uncivilized nation with no history Marx wrote: Just as Italy has, from time to time, been compressed by the conquerors sword into different national masses, so do we find Hindostan, when not under the pressure of the Mohammedan, or the Mogul or the Briton, dissolved into as many independent and conflicting States as it numbered towns, or even villages. That religion is at once a religion of sensualist exuberance, and a religion of self-torturing asceticism; a religion of the Lingam and of the juggernaut; the religion of the Monk, and of the Bayader (Marx, Karl. 'The British Rule in India' New York Daily Tribune, 25 June, 1853)

India: As Nehru Saw it Did I know India? I who presumed to scrap much of her past heritage? There was a great deal that had to be scrapped, that must be scrapped; but surely India could not have been what she undoubtedly was, and could not have continued a cultured existence for thousands of years, if she had not possessed something very vital and enduring, something that was worthwhile. What was this something? (Nehru in The Discovery of India)

The History of Indian Civilization Broad timeline of Indian history Pre-historic- 3300 BC-1700 BC, Ancient- 500 BC 550 AD, Medieval 550 AD 1857 AD and Modern 1857 onwards Known history of Indian civilization begins with Indus valley civilization in the north-western part of India during 3300 BC1300 BC Its followed by Vedic Age - Period: 1500 BC to 500 BC The Vedic Period or the Vedic Age refers to the period when the Vedic Sanskrit texts were composed in India Vedic age flourished during 1500 BC and 500 BC on the Indo-Gangetic Plain India became a melting pot of different ethnic groups Greeks, Scythians, Huans, Turks among others The Aryan invaded India around 1500 BC - 2000 BC from central Asia. Drove the original Dravidian inhabitants down south Indian civilization later got divided into Dravidian and Aryan civilization. In the Indian context Dravidian was the pre-Aryan civilization Christianity came to Kerala in India in 52 AD with St. Thomas Islam came to India in circa 11th century and manifested as an empire (Mogul) in 16th century ruled till mid 19th century, defeated by the British

Philosophical Schools Indian philosophy may be divided into two schools of thought Orthodox and Heterodox (Aastik and Nastik) one which believed and the other which didnt believe in God Six schools of orthodox philosophy: Nyaya, Samkhya, Viaseshika, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa and Upnishad Nyaya: Attributed to Gautama, deals with the concepts of reasoning and logic Samkhya: The school of enumeration is the philosophy of manifestation, includes manifestation of all entities from subtle to grossest Viaseshika: Propounded by Prashastapada, deals with the physical sciences. Explores five elements, interprets mind and soul of living beings Yoga: Propounded by Patanjali, explores all the states of human existence, underscores unification of body and soul Purva Mimamsa: Propounded by Jamini, focuses on emancipation of the human soul with action

Upnishad: Vedas are considered the source of all knowledge and Upnishads the interpretation of the Vedas, thus called Vedanta. The Vedantic philosophy focuses on the concept of self-realization enabling man to find his true nature beyond death and decay

Sufism The early history of Sufism in India is vague, however, the first Sufi who travelled India was the martyr Mansur-al-Hallaj Sent to gallows for saying anal-Haqq (Im the absolute truth, Im God) India attracted dervishes from Samarkand, Bukhara, Iran during 11th century AD Sufism is essentially Islamic mysticism which in India imbibed certain terms and notions prevalent in Hindu philosophy Laid stress on tauba (repentance) and tawakkul (Faith in God) In India it tried to interpret Islam in a more liberal manner and succeeded in gaining following to Islam A large part of Indian philosophical influence on Sufism came through the contact of Islamic mystics with the Buddhists who had set up monasteries in Balkh The concept of fana (annihilation of self) is close to nirvana and moska Habs-i-dam : holding back breath a yogic process Sama : spiritual concert Rosaries and counting of beads practiced by Hindus and Buddhists Pir-O-Murid Guru-Shishya tradition

Gandhi A man whose whole life was his experiments with truth, never shied away to learn from his mistakes His Objectives: Swaraj & Sarvodaya Self Rule & Uplift of all His Weapons: Satya & Ahimsa Truth and Non-violence His Method: Satyagrah & Asahyog Civil Disobedience and Non- cooperation His Credo: Compassion, Self-sacrifice, Unity of Being, Spirituality, Practice what you Preach

According to me the economic constitution of India and for the matter of that of the world, should be such that no one under it should suffer from want of food and clothing. In other words everybody should be able to get sufficient work to enable him to make the two ends meet. And this ideal can be universally realized only if the means of production of the elementary necessaries of life remain in the control of the masses. These should be freely available to all as Gods air and water are or ought to be; they should not be made a vehicle of traffic for the exploitation of others. Their monopolization by any country, nation or group of persons would be unjust. The neglect of this simple principle is the cause of the destitution that we witness today not only in this unhappy land but in other parts of the world too.

I want to bring about an equalization of status. The working classes have all these centuries been isolated and relegated to a lower status. They have been shudras, and the word has been interpreted to mean and inferior status. I want to allow no differentiation between the son of a weaver, of an agriculturist and of a schoolmaster.

To me political power is not an end but one of the means of enabling people to better their condition in every department of life. Political power means capacity to regulate national life through national representatives. If national life becomes so perfect as to become selfregulated, no representation becomes necessary. There is then a state of enlightened anarchy. In such a state everyone is his own ruler. He rules himself in such a manner that he is never a hindrance to his neighbours. In the ideal state therefore, there is no political power because there is no State. But the ideal is never fully realized in life. Hence the classical statement of Thoreau that that government is best which governs the least.

Revolutions Changing Contemporary India Historian Ramchandra Guha talks of five simultaneous revolutions going on in contemporary India which are reshaping the nation: The Urban Revolution The Industrial Revolution The National Revolution The Democratic Revolution and The social Revolution These revolutions were staggered in Europe and North America while they happened simultaneously in India

I. II. III. IV. V.

US became independent in 18th century, urbanized and industrialized in the next century and fully democratic in 20th century

India through Statistic Worlds largest thriving democracy Worlds second most populous country having 1, 210 billion people World's 2nd fastest growing economy (CII-KPMG Report 2010) Worlds 4th largest economy by PPP and 11th largest by nominal GDP Ranks 49th out of 133 economies in terms of Global Competitiveness Index, GCI (2009-2010) (World Economic Forum: The India Competitiveness Review 2009) Abject poverty coexists with rising affluence over 50 Indians figure in 2011 Forbes list but 1/3 or 33% of the worlds poor also reside in India Ranks pretty low on Human Development Index 119th out of 169 countries, way behind China which ranks 89th (UNDP 2010 Report) 37.2% Indian population is BPL (Tendulkar Committee Report 2009) 41.6% Indians earn below $1.25/day and 75.6% below $2/ day (World Bank 2008 Report based on 2005 data) A largely agrarian society getting urbanized at the rate of 29% 234.1 million people engaged in agriculture in 2001 (GOI, Ministry of Agriculture, 2010) Agriculture contribution to Indias GDP - Rs. 6519.01/ billion in 2009-10 (GOI, Ministry of Agriculture, 2010) Industry contribution to Indias GDP Rs. 12708.97/ billion in 2009-10 (GOI, Ministry of Agriculture, 2010) By 2025 the rate of urbanization estimated to increase to 38% Home to 3 megacities of the world out of 19 2/3 of Indias GDP and 90% of government revenue generated by less than 1/3 of Indias urban population living in big and megacities

Ethnic Diversity in India There are many diverse ethnic groups among the people of India. The 6 main ethnic groups are as follows: Negrito, Proto - Australoids or Austrics, Mongoloids, Mediterranean or Dravidian, Western Brachycephals, Nordic Aryans

Linguistic Diversity in India Indian languages belong to four language families - Indo-European, Dravidian, Austroasiatic (Austric) and Sino-Tibetan Austric languages are spoken by the tribal community in India. Some of the languages are: Santali, Mundari, Ho, Korku, Kharia, Savara, Bhumij, Nocobarese among others Tribes of the North East - Naga, Mizo, Khasi and Lushai speak dialects close to the TibetoBurman or Sino-Tibetan family The 8th Schedule of Indian Constitution recognizes 22 languages. Therere eighteen official scripts and over hundred regional languages. Most of the Indian scripts have originated from Brahmi and Kharoshti script

Social Stratification Caste is the basis of social stratification. A unique socio-religious system , determines status of an individual in the society on the basis of birth Traditionally divided into Forward, Backward and Untouchable castes pyramidal form, Forward at top, Backward in middle and Untouchable at the Bottom Responsible for socio-economic and political discrimination and marginalization of a large section of society for a long time causing violent and ideological caste conflicts National policy of Reservation in govt. jobs and education for the discriminated caste groups after independence

Indian Economy From a mixed economy with a socialist bias, India has moved on to market economy since 1990 Public sector dominance is over, the competition between private and foreign players in all sectors of economy: telecom, aviation, automobile, IT, media, pharma, steel, infrastructure, white goods, hospitality, banking and the rest is order of the day Indian companies have become MNCs Tata, Mittal, Birla, Airtel, Reliance, Videocon are among a few Indian multinational operators Strong Balance of Payment (BOP) has helped in considerable accumulation of foreign reserve Indian Forex reserve as on July 22, 2011 was US $316,801 mn. (Source: RBI) Exports during March, 2011 were valued at US $ 29134.89 mn. (Rs. 131081.97 crore)

Cumulative value of exports for the period April-March 2010 -11 was US $ 245868.29 mn. (Rs 1118822.85 crore) Imports during March, 2011 were valued at US $ 34743.08 mn. (Rs.156314.00 crore) Cumulative value of imports for the period April-March, 2010-11 was US $ 350694.97 mn. (Rs. 1596869.37 crore) (Source: Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India) The above characteristics make it a developing economy but the low per capita income (appx. US $ 1000/) also make it an underdeveloped economy Indian economy is expected to grow at the rate of 8.2% as per IMF Report The rate of unemployment is 9.4% which in absolute numbers is 40 million persons 65% of Indian population depends on agriculture but the sector contributes only 23% of the GDP

Urbanization and its Challenges in Changing Indian Society India: Towns (places with municipal corporation, municipal area committee, town committee, notified area committee or cantonment board); also, all places having 5000 or more inhabitants, a density of not less than 1000 persons per square mile or 400 per sq km, pronounced urban characteristics and at least three fourths of the adult male population employed in pursuits other than agriculture is urban. Urbanization is a process of human settlement Arising out of polarization of economic development in urban areas Characterized by the rise in the proportion of the total population of an urban-rural system that is urban Also a socio-economic process leading to spatial growth for accommodating large population influx Urbanization promoted by: scale of production in manufacturing, technological developments in building and transport sectors and land becoming major urban capital

The Urban Ecosystem Social Elements: Heterogeneous, Urbane, Identifiable Social Groups, Distinct lifestyle, Extreme Poverty and Affluence Economic Elements: Predominantly industrial, Production- Consumption-Distribution orientation, Higher employment opportunity, Higher wages Political Elements: Centre of power, Right consciousness, Class Conflict, Colonization, Organized Social Groups, Unions, Guilds

Cultural & Design Elements: Distinct culture, Cultural Evolution, Material and Immaterial Culture, Products, Systems, Aesthetics, Function, Lifestyle Spatial Elements: Building, Architecture, Town planning, Monuments Demographic Elements: Population, Sex Ratio, Natural Increase Year 2025-2050 China and India will account for 32% of global urban population Year 2050 - China will have 1 billion or 100 crore and India 0.9 billion or 90 crore urban population China: Rate of Urbanization 41% present, 52% by 2015, 65% by 2030 (Source: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) India: Rate of Urbanization 29% till 2005 Year 2025 - India will add 215 million or 21.5 crore to its cities, will be 38% of the total population in 2025 (McKinsey Global Institute, April 2010) Out of the present 19 megacities 3 are Indian: Mumbai 19 million (1.9 crore), Delhi 15.9 million (1.59 crore) and Kolkata 14.8 million (1.48 crore) (upto 2010) By 2025 Mumbai and Delhi will rank number two and three in position with expected population of 26.4 and 22.5 million respectively The Geographical Area of India: 3,287,590 sq. km. 7th largest in terms of area, represents 2.2% of the total land area of the planet (9,31,810,17 sq. km.) 2nd largest in terms of population, total population: 1162.3 million or 116 crore appx. In 2010 (Source: National Commission on Population, GOI) Density of population: 360.34 persons per sq. km. (source: http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/populations/ctypopls.htm)

285 million (28.5 crore) urban population lives in 4378 cities Cities classified from Class 1 6 in terms of population

Emerging Infrastructural Requirements of Indian Cities 2/3 of Indias GDP and 90% of government revenue are generated by even less than 1/3 of Indias urban population living in big and megacities In 2006 urban India required investment of Rs. 28,035/ crore on sanitation, water supply and roads (The India Infrastructure Report of 1996)

Cities having 100,000 or more population would require investment of Rs. 207,000/ crore on urban transportation alone by 2030 Indias urban spending markedly low in comparison to China and UK Indias per capita spending including capital and operational expenditure - $50, China - $362 and UK - $1772 India requires investment of 1.2 trillion by 2030 in urban infrastructure (McKinsey Global 2010) Equivalent to per capita average annual spending of appx. $250 37.2% Indian population is BPL (Tendulkar Committee Report 2009) 41.6% Indians earn below $1.25/day and 75.6% below $2/ day (World Bank 2008 Report based on 2005 data) Is spending of $250 on urban infra viable?

Concludingly Multiplicity and diversity characterize the nation called India and the Indian society Conflict and reconciliation are the two parallel forces which go on simultaneously So the Naxalites, the Maoist, the Secessionists armed struggle against the state is subdued and subsumed in democratic process Liberalism always prevails over authoritarianism Indian renaissance which awakened the Indian society in 19th century ensured India gets its rightful place in the world That its known as a modern nation yet not disjointed from its civilizational anchorage

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