Culture of India
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Indian Culture

Indian Culture is so diverse that even Indians do not know of all the customs of India. With growing modernization, it has become more difficult for the increasingly small families to keep in touch with the tradition and culture of their forefathers. They are unaware of their customs.

India is a land of great diversity, more heterogenous than any other country in the world. Four major racial groups have met and merged in India resulting in a complex demographic profile. The pale-skinned Europoid entered from the western mountain passes, encountering settled populations of Dasyu, the dark skinned ones of Rig Vedic description.

The Aryans established a dominant presence in the northwest and the Gangetic plain, but the people of Mongoloid descent remained undisturbed in the Himalayan region and the highlands of the northeast. Their affinity with the southeast Asian world is remarkable and is reflected in the motifs used in the crafts. Though the Mongoloid people influenced the racial pattern of tribes in the eastern provinces of Orissa and Bihar, by and large, they stayed within central India. Southerners in peninsular India might have had a link with Negroid racial elements, as deduced from contemporary populations with dark skins and tightly curled hair. But the only true Negrito are isolated in the Andaman Islands.

A comparative analysis of Indus valley culture and Vedic culture would reveal the main features of ancient culture that shaped the Indian subcontinent. The focal centers of the Harappan culture remained for a long time the twin cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro and it is from these centers that Harappan culture budded off, whereas the focus of attention of the Rig Veda was the Punjab and in the later Vedic period it shifted to the Doab of the Ganges and Jamuna rivers.

India is a land of multiple religious sects that have grown to live together in harmony, even as some forces tend to divide them. Indians understand religious thought as no other country, as India has given the world numerous religious thoughts through religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism etc. Religious concepts of Karma, Rebirth and Ahimsa have all risen from this land.

Among the major religions of India are: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianis, Sikhism, Judaism and the Bahai Faith. Some of the main religious thoughts of India include Hindu Dharma, Hindu Doctrines, Bhakti, Vedanta and Caste System. India has also produced some famous religious Personalities that have made their mark all over the world.

The number of languages listed for India is 418. Of those 407 are living languages and 11 are extinct. Originally, the Eight Schedule contained 15 languages which are known as official languages i.e. Assamese, Bengali, Gujrati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telgu & Urdu. By the 71 amendment of the Constitution Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali have been added to the schedule.

Indian dance usually refers to traditional dance from India, such as , Bharatanatyam , Kathak , Kathakali , Kuchupudi , Mohiniyattam , Odissi Dance Indian dance is based on the treatise Natyashasthra by the sage Bharatha, which explains the Indian art of acting. Acting or natya is a broad concept which encompasses both drama and dance.

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