SOCIO-CULTURAL DIVISION OF INDIA

SOCIO-CULTURAL DIVISION OF INDIA

INTRODUCTION: 

There are several components by which we identify the socio-cultural orientation of the people of a particular place. In the case of India, there is a lot of diversity like languages, race, religion, ethnic groups, food habitats, traditions, lifestyles, etc. Several components of socio-cultural aspects make it difficult to classify India in the socio-cultural division. From the further study of those things, I selected three major components for my work report on the regionalization of India.

 

Based on three components: language, race, and religion, the socio-cultural classification of Indian people into socio-linguistic groups Depending on their location, I try to classify them into different socio-cultural regions. 

The Classification of Indian Languages: 

The people of India speak a large number of languages, which are broadly divided into the following four families: 

 

1. An Indo-European family (Arya),

2. The Dravidian Family (Dravida),

3. Nishada's Austric Family and

4. Family of Sino-Tibetans (Kirata).

 

1. The Aryan Languages:-

This is the most important of all the families of languages and is spoken by a little less than three-fourths of the Indian population.

Among the Aryan languages, Hindi is the most important, spoken by a large percentage of the country's population. In every Indian state, Hindi-speaking people are commonly found. Even illiterate people can speak and understand Hindi. It would, therefore, be in the interest of one and all to give Hindi the status of a national language. 

 

2. Dravidian Languages

The Dravidian languages are older than the Aryan languages. According to an estimate, Dravidians entered India much before the Aryans. Other estimates indicate that they are the original inhabitants of the country, who were driven away towards the south by the Aryans at a later stage.  

Today, the Dravidian languages form a well-knit family by themselves, and unlike the Aryan, the Austric, and the Sino-Tibetan speeches, they have no relations outside the Indian subcontinent. The Dravidian languages fall into several groups. Two major groups are as follows: 

 

(i) The Dravidian Languages of the North:-

 

Telugu and several other languages such as various Gondi dialects, Kuruth or Oraon, Maler or Malpahariya, Kui or Kandh, Parji, Kolami, and a few others are included in this group. Telugu is numerically the most important of all the Dravidian languages and has very rich literature. This language has spread outside India also—to Myanmar, Indo-China, and South Africa. It is usually called the Italian of the East by its admirers. Its vocabulary is much influenced by Sanskrit. 

  

(ii) Languages of South Dravidian Origin:- 

The Dravidian family of the Indian languages is mainly spoken in Andhra Pradesh (Telugu), Karnataka (Kannada), Kerala (Malayalam) and Tamil Nadu (Tamil). These four languages are spoken by more than 22% of the total population of India.   

      3. Austric Languages:

The Austric languages are spoken by the tribal groups of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha, and West Bengal. This language belongs to the main branches: (i) Munda (Santali), and Mon-Khmer (Khasi and Nicobar). The Mon-Khmer (Khasi) is confined to the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya and the Nicobari to the Nicobar Islands, while the Munda language is spoken by the tribes of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal. 

 

4. Sino-Tibetan Languages:

The Sino-Tibetan languages are spoken by a variety of people. Depending upon the region of settlement, these languages are put into several groups and sub-groups. The Sino-Tibetan languages have three major sub-divisions: 

 

(i) Tibetan and Himalayan Languages:

This sub-division of the Sino-Tibetan group of languages is further sub-divided into the Himalayan group and the Bhutia group. 

 

The Himalayan Group:-

The Himalayan group consists of four languages. They are Chamba, Lahaul, Kannauri, and Lepcha. Kannagi is the most widely spoken language of the Himalayan group. 

 

(b) The Bhutia Organization:

 

Tibetan, Balti, Ladakhi, Lahaul, Sherpa, and Sikkim Bhutia are included in the Bhutia group of Sino-Tibetan languages. Ladakhi has the largest number of Bhutia speakers. It is followed by Sikkim Bhutia and the Tibetan languages in that order. 

 

(ii) Languages of North Assam:

 

The North Assam branch of the languages of the Sino-Tibetan group is also called the Arunachal branch. It consists of six languages, such as Aka, Daflta, Abor, Miri, Mishnil, and Mishing. The largest number of people speak the Miri language. 

 

(iii) Assamese and Myanmar dialects:

This group of languages includes Boro, or Bodo, Naga, Cochin, Kukichin, and Myanmar groups. Naga is the largest-speaking language group. 

Besides these, the Sino-Tibetan group of languages has some other important languages. They are Manipuri, Garo, Tripuri, Mikir, and Lusai. Lusai is also a terrier.

India's Racial Groups-

According to Hutton, it consists of the following races of India: 

(1) Negrito: a savage.

In the opinion of Hutton, the Negritoes are the oldest inhabitants of India and have left virtually no trace on the mainland of the subcontinent. Some of the perspectives of the Negritoes are found in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and among some of the Nagas. 

(2) Austroloid Prototype:

They came in large numbers and spread in different parts of the country, and their representatives are found among the aboriginal peoples of India. 

(3) The Early Mediterranean, also known as the Paleo-Mediterranean:

  

The early Mediterraneans reached South India, where their representatives are still found in Karnataka and Tamilnadu. They are also found in the tribal buildings stretching from Gujarat to West Bengal. They have medium stature, a brown to the black complexion, and a slight build. 

(4) The Advanced Mediterranean, also known as the True Mediterranean:

They are the early Indian people who are associated with the Indus Valley civilization. They were the pre-Aryan people who mingled with the Aryans. They are taller and fairer than the early Mediterraneans. They spread over Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.

(5)Alpine's armednoid branch:-

They are also called pre-Vedic Aryans and are found in both Gujarat and West Bengal. 

(6)Mongoloid-

The Mongoloids are mainly found in the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan belts. They have modified Mongoloid characteristics such as light yellow skin, oblique eyes, short stature, and a flat face.

(b) Indo-Aryan language:

They are also called Nordics or the Vedic Aryans. They came to India during the Second Millennium BC. Their elements are found in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh among the higher castes. Their main physical traits are fair complexity, tall structure, and sharp noise.

A religious group in India

India is a land of different religions, which are characterized by various religious practices and beliefs. The spiritual land of India has given birth to many religions, such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism. These religions together form a subgroup and are known as "Eastern religions." The people of India have a strong belief in religion as they believe that it gives meaning and purpose to their lives. The religions here are not only confined to beliefs but also include ethics, rituals, ceremonies, life philosophies, and many more. Today, a wide range of religions are practiced in India: 

Hinduism:-

The majority of the population in India practices Hinduism, which is the most ancient religion in the country. As per Census 2011, about 80% of Indians practice Hinduism. Some practitioners of this religion call it Sanatan Dharam, a term popularised by Mahatma Gandhi. The Ramayana and the Bhagavad Geeta are the holy books of the Hindus. The Hindus believe and practice the principles of the Vedas and Upanishads. Their place of worship is known as a temple (Devasthanam or Mandir in Hindi). They worship the icon, or murtis, which is considered a reflection of God. But the Hindus who belong to the Arya Samaj do not practice idol-worship. There is a system of symbolism in Hinduism; the swastika sign symbolizes auspiciousness, and the syllable Om represents Param Brahman. Regarding Hindu mythology, there are many Hindu festivals like Diwali, Holi, Bihu, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, and many more which are celebrated in the country. 

Islam:- 

As per Census 2001, Muslims form around 13% of the population of India. It is the second largest religion in the country, and its followers are known as Muslims.

Sikhism:-

Guru Nanak founded Sikhism in India during the 15th century in the Punjab region. The Guru Granth Sahib is the holy book of the Sikhs, which is a collection of the writings of the Guru. As per the census of 2001, the Sikhs constitute about 2% of the population of India. In India, the majority of the Sikhs residing in Punjab and their large community lives in the neighboring states. 

Buddhism:

Buddhism was founded in India by Siddhartha Gautama, also known as' Buddha'. The Buddhists constitute just about 1% of the total population of the country. 

Jainism : 

A minority of the Indian population (about 0.5%) practices Jainism, as per the census of 2001. 

Christianity: 

As per historical beliefs, Christianity came to India about 2000 years ago. According to the census of 2001, it constitutes about 2.3% of the total population of the country. The Christian population can be found all over the country, but the majority of the people who belong to this religious section live in the parts of South India, the North-East, and the Konkan Coast.

Others:-

Judaism and Zoroastrianism are also practiced by minority populations in the country. According to Judaism, there exists a covenant relationship between God and the Jewish people. One of the minority groups in the country, Zoroastrianism considers that humans are the helpers of God. The people who follow Zoroastrianism are known as Parsis, and those who follow Judaism are called Jews. Although different religions are practiced in India, the secular and sovereign nature of the country remains intact. In fact, all religions collectively play an important role in maintaining harmony, culture,

The Socio-Cultural Division of India

If I were to take these three maps together, I could find a special distribution of a particular socio-cultural identity based on the composition of Indian people. Depending on the location, India is probably divided into 7 social and cultural regions. The regions were proposed by myself but the idea was taken from the three components of the three maps that are..

 

1. race, Sino-Tibetan speakers, a chance of Christian, and a Hindu majority

2. The third one is a Dravidian speaker and a Paleo or Advanced Mediterranean race group and the majority of Hindus.

3. The majority of Hindus [West India] and the majority of Hindus [East India] use the Early Mediterranean script group for the Indo-Aryan language.

4. Early Mediterranean groups were Indo-Aryan and the majority were Hindu (East Part of India).

5. India's Central Highlands and the Eastern Highlands are home to Porto-Austroloid Some of them are Dravidian speakers, some belong to an Indo-Aryan speaker group, and the majority are Hindu.

6. Some of them are Negritos, and the majority are now Hindus.

Conclusions:-

It is difficult to divide based on the socio-cultural aspect of India because India is a mixed cultural region. Physiographic variation and climatic variation mean the physical aspects of the land are the main determinants of population. In human geography, race, migration, language, caste, religion, lifestyle, the value of life, food, habitats, traditions, etc. are the main purposes, but we take only three aspects for my work. There is so much overlap and errors caused by my lack of the right data and information, but on the overview perceptions, I try to classify India as a mixed socio-cultural region.