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 view point. (UPSC IAS Mains 2017 General Studies Paper – 1)
India has been a country of multiple diversities like linguistic, religious, and cultural diversities since ancient times. After independence, various demands of reorganization of states on the basis of various aspirations comprising of cultural similarity, linguistic identity and others emerged from different parts of India. Though the government reorganized various states and also formed new states but cultural units have been intact in India till this day.
- Recently Chhath parv has been celebrated in Purvanchal region, which comprises the eastern end of Uttar Pradesh and western end of Bihar, where Hindi-Urdu and its dialects Awadhi and Bhojpuri are the predominant language.
- Population living in green revolution area that comprises Punjab, Haryana and west Uttar Pradesh practices nearly same traditions and represents a single cultural unit.
- Influence of Dravidian culture can be seen across all South Indian states, food habit of people living in these states is similar, wedding rituals are same.
- North eastern region comprising 8 states represents as a single cultural unit in terms of their traditions.
- Rice fish culture has also been practiced across all coastal regions in different states.
It shows that cultural units in India are not necessarily concurrent with states and beyond the boundaries of formal division of states.
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