What is Diversity?

If you move from Northern India to Southern India, you will find a great difference in language, food, clothing, value system, religious activities, heritage, and culture, etc. This is called diversity when different kinds of people from all spheres live in a region together. This article will help in getting an education for understanding social diversity in India.

Diversity in India

India is a nation full of diversities. You move from one place to another, you will find a lot of diversity in Indian society in the two regions, say diversities in language, food, clothing, festivals, music, dance, etc. But if we observe them carefully, they do have some similarities but people do the same things in their own and different ways.

The geography and the history of a place play a vital role in the life of that region. The food or clothing system of the mountain region will be different from a region near the sea. Let's try to understand the diversity with the help of two regional examples of the country- Ladakh, and Kerala, which are situated in different parts of the country and thus will help in understanding diversity in Indian culture.

Ladakh

Ladakh is a Union Territory of India, which is a cold desert. It is covered with snow most of the year and does not receive any rainfall thus, agricultural activities are very minimal here. Very few trees are grown here. People use melting snow during summer for drinking water. Sheep and goats are the major livestock, especially the sheep, which gives precious pashmina wool. The shawls made up of this wool are very costly and a great source of income for the people of the region. Each and every family here owns cows, goats, and yak cows.

This desert area also attracted a lot of traders because of the presence of a number of passes here. The caravans used these passes to travel Tibet for trading spices, carpets, textiles, and raw silk, etc. Buddhism is a major religion here and in Tibet, this religion was reached through this region only. Besides Buddhists, a significant Muslim population is also present here. This area also has a rich tradition of songs and poems. "Kesar Saga", which is the Tibetan National Epic is sung and performed by both Buddhists and Muslims.

Kerala

Kerala is the spice state of Southern India, which is located on the western side and surrounded by the Arabian Sea on one side and hills on the other side. Spices of the state attract a lot of traders like Arab and Jewish traders who were the first to come here. St. Thomas ( the Apostle of Christ ) came here 2000 years ago and brought Christianity with him. Because of the number of visitors in history, this place follows a number of religions like Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. The region has good fertility and climate for rice cultivation. People here used to eat rice, fish, and vegetables. Fishing nets namely "Cheena-Vala" are used here, similar to Chinese nets, and utensils used for frying are called "Cheenachatti". It is believed that the word "cheen" comes from China.

Well, both Kerala and Ladakh are different in terms of their geographical features but they are quite similar with respect to their history. Both regions attracted Arab and Chinese visitors. Because of the geography and environment, Kerala was able to produce rice and Ladakh was able to produce pashmina wool. The diverse cultures are not only because of the past of the region but also about the present lives as well. The way different people and different communities live together in each other's neighbourhood surely creates different forms of diversity in India.

Describe the Main Reasons for Diversity in India

There are various reasons but the following are considered as the major reasons for diversity in India:

• The geography of India, which includes the plains, the plateaus, the deserts, the mountains, etc.

• The vast history of India from the Indus Valley Civilization to the Independence struggle.

• The vast culture and heritage of the country.

Unity in Diversity

There is obviously diversity in our country but unity in diversity is its strength. People of different cultures, backgrounds and different languages or communities having different styles of clothing and food habits live together in the same country happily. All kinds of people from different regions and backgrounds took part in the Independence struggle of the nation. It was their unity that led the nation to fight for its independence. They are united by their single citizenship and their love for their nation.

Types of Diversity

There are many variables that contribute to diversity, some are evident on the surface, while others are simply a part of how people are born. The four categories of diversity can be thought of as levels or classes, each with its own list of appropriate subsets. 

Internal Diversity is Number One, Internal diversity traits are those that are tied to the circumstances in which a person is born. They are aspects that a person did not choose for himself and that no one can alter.

Second is the external diversity, The word external here is used in the sense of diversity to indicate elements that are connected to an individual but are not the qualities that they were born with. While other individuals and their circumstances might have a strong effect on outward diversity, it is essentially something that an individual can modify and often does over time.

The third is organizational diversity, which is also known as functional diversity, which refers to the disparities between persons allocated to individuals by an organization. Basically, these are the traits that differentiate one worker from another inside a workplace. Irrespective of your status or income, any type of work you conduct can help you feel a sense of membership in an organization. You are a member of an organized company whether you work for a corporate, non-profit, public sector, or governmental organization, or even if you contribute for free. An organization can be as tiny as a set of two or as large as a corporation, as long as there is more than one autonomous person. Within organizational diversity, however, there are several subgroups.

Worldview diversity is the fourth category of diversity. Even while a variety of elements, such as our internal, external, and organizational diversity features, come collectively to construct our vision, at the end of the day, everybody has a view of the world with which they agree. Worldview diversity is another sort of variety that evolves over time as we gain new encounters and understand more about ourselves and others, we perceive the world in new ways. However, in our worldviews, there are still differences.

Did You Know?

There are more than 1000 languages spoken in the country in which 22 languages are said to be scheduled languages as per the Constitution of India and 17 languages are mentioned on Indian currency.

Conclusion: 

In this article, we have learned about diversity. This article will help in understanding diversity in Indian culture and will help students of Class 6 in understanding Chapter 1. In this, we have covered diversity in India, individual diversity in India through two different regions, reasons for diversity in India, etc. Get the best article samples for all Classes at Vedantu to learn how to frame one in the best way possible. Learn from the experts regarding different topics and frame well to score more in the exams. You can also use these examples to practice for competitions.