characteristics of indian society

India has a long history and its cultural tradition is quite old and extremely complex. India's cultural division is not only one of the most ancient, but also it is one of the most widespread and varied. Traditional features of India are very strong. French, British and other cultures are seen in India, but Indian value systems still remain. It is second most populated country in the world. It has its own geographic, ethnic, religious, and linguistic background.  

1. Geographical Factor

• The natural boundaries provide India a geographical unity.
• It is a country in South Asia that lies entirely on Indian Plate in the northern portion of Indo Australian Plate.
• The area of Indian society was so vast. The land area is 33 million square kilometer. India is the 7th largest country in the world.
• It lies north Equator.

2. Unity and Diversity

• India is the second most populous and seventh largest country of the world.
• It has 2.4 per cent of world’s land area and about 16 percent of world’s population.
• It has a history spanning over 5000 years of human habitation, 3000 years before Christ and 2000 years after Christ.
• It has a cultural heritage handed down by the immigrant Aryans from across the Himalayas, the natives – the pre-Aryan settlers called Dasyus or Dasas by the Aryans and invading civilizations.
• Its social, economic and cultural diversities are also reflected in habital conditions in rural, urban and semi-urban areas. 
• Despite these diversities, what is observed about India is that there is unity in diversity.
• This unity in diversity has become a part of India’s self identity.

3. Religious Factor

• India, being a democratic, socialistic and secular republic, has no state religion.
• India is the birth place of many world religions and almost all major world religions are practiced by their respective followers.
• India is a land where people of different religions and cultures live in harmony. This harmony is seen in the celebration of festivals. The message of love and brotherhood is expressed by all the religions and cultures of India. 
• The major religions of India are Hinduism (majority religion), Islam (largest minority religion), Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and the Bahá'í Faith. 

4. Language

• The languages of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-Aryan languages (a branch of Indo-European) spoken by 74% of Indians and the Dravidian languages spoken by 24% of Indians.
• Other languages spoken in India belong to the Austro-Asiatic, Tibeto-Burman, and a few minor language families and isolates.
• The principal official language of the Republic of India is Standard Hindi, while English is the secondary official language.
• The constitution of India states that "The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script".
• Individual mother tongues in India number several hundred; the 1961 census recognized 1,652. 
• According to Census of India of 2001, 30 languages are spoken by more than a million native speakers, 122 by more than 10,000. 
• Three millennia of language contact has led to significant mutual influence among the four language families in India and South Asia.
• Two contact languages have played an important role in the history of India: Persian and English.

5. Races and Ethnicity

• Indian population is polygenetic and is a mixture of various races.
• There are many diverse ethnic groups among the people of India.
• The 6 main ethnic groups are as follows:

1. Negrito: 

• The Negritos were the earliest people to come to India. 
• They have survived in their original habitat in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• The Jarawas, Onges, Sentinelese and the Great Andamanese are some of the examples. 
• Some hill tribes like Irulas, Kodars, Paniyans and Kurumbas are found in some patches in Southern part of mainland India. 

2. Proto - Australoids or Austrics: 

• These were the next ethnic group to arrive