Easily recognizable to the rest of the world as Indians, the inhabitants of the Subcontinent have many distinguishable groups, both ethnic and religious. Social and cultural differences, as well as the omnipresent caste system, further diversify the population.
The main characteristics of the Indian people may be due to the geographical isolation of the country. The clearly defined boundaries of the high mountains and the sea were enough to embrace a culture that had developed with little foreign intervention for thousands of years. Even with the advent of British colonialism, Indian culture proceeded illegally without change; except that, like other foreign rulers, society has adopted and adapted many aspects of this alien society.
As great as Western Europe, with all the geographical diversity implied by the highest mountains in the world in the north and almost equatorial south, there are so many regional differences in India that it is surprising that every region is at once familiar with Indian.
religions
From the very beginning of its history, India has been a country of numerous religions. Currently, six major religions hold large sections of the population. Hinduism and Brahminism, the orthodox sect of Hinduism, are the most popular, accounting for about 85% of the population, and the Muhammedans are the next largest group. Sikhs, Jains, and Parsis, together with Christians, form large minorities, and a tiny, but stable Jewish population.
In addition to random fanatical elements, the followers of these religions, along with some of the very ancient and obscure, lived together in relative harmony. In fact, the gods, shrines and holy people of each are respected by all, the special days of each religion are public holidays, and there are many cases where different religions intersect. For people who enjoy the parade, there are many possibilities in Indian life, and the colors, sounds and smells of the Indian religious festival are never forgotten.
Ethnic groups
Ethnic groups are as diverse as religions, but the population of India can probably be divided mainly into four groups; light-skinned Europeans or Aryans, dark-skinned Dassu natives, Mongoloids and Negroids. The confusion of these races over millennia has responded to the diversity found today. Some of the distinctive groups that have had a profound influence on the structure of the history of India are discussed here.
The pre-Dravidians are indigenous people, who can now be found only in scattered primitive settlements in more inaccessible areas. The Dravidians (Dorians) occupy southern India from the coast and Sri Lanka north of the Ganges. Indo-Aryans, mainly in Kashmir, also have small isolated protests in Punjab and Rajasthan. The Ario Dravidians of the Ganges Valley, as the name implies, are a mixture of two types, as well as Scythian Dravidians who live in the east and south of the Indus in Bombay. The Turko-Iranians from the northwest border belong to the same peoples as the Asian races in the north, and the Mongolian people of the northeast originally belonged to China. Mongol Dravidians are usually represented by Bengalis.
Consecutive invasions forced India to first undergo and then devour many disparate races. Since prehistoric times, these invasions have been far enough apart from each other to allow such absorption, as well as leaving an indelible imprint on civilization.
Around 2000 BC Indo-Aryans founded the Eastern division of Indo-European languages in India. The next wave of invasion came when Alexander the Great led his army north of Greece to the Indus River. The Bactrian invasions of the north-west and the Scythians in the north-east preceded the domination of Muhammad in the west and north-west, which should have led to a dynasty of Muslims in these areas. Pashtuns of Afghanistan, Indochinese and Parsis (Persians) were a constant influence along the borders.
More recently, the Indian people have been impacted and penetrated most of the European nations and indeed contributed to mass immigration in order to become part of other countries, such as Africa and the British Isles.
Caste system
Caste has always occupied a vital place in Indian society in accordance with the desire of the Indo-Aryan invaders to reserve their racial purity and their status as conquerors. This took place in early Sanskrit (the religious and literary language of India from about 1200 BC), Rigveda, which described the initial creation of a society of one being and consisted of four varnas or castes. Each caste had a prescribed profession and code of conduct. Brahmins, who came from the original being, were the practice; The kshatriya from his hands were warriors; Vaisyas, merchants or merchants released from the loins; and the Sudras, the workers, were at his feet. Initially, each caste was considered interdependent (as were parts of the body) and all vital for the whole. This is called the varna system (class). One of the varnas depended on one karma or inflated deeds of past lives, it was irreversible in real life, but could be changed in successful incarnations.
The scheme of Varna is the classical caste system of the Hindus, and the daily social hierarchy of the present day, the Jati, actually covers all the different religions and cultures of India. It serves to give each member of this complex society a place, a code of conduct, and a niche. This is much more relevant and takes into account the need for the coexistence of many different people.
Historically, there were two stimulating groups outside of these schemes - the untouchables and the women. Both were “unclean”, and neither of them was considered worthy of approaching God, except with the help of an intermediary. Obviously, both groups are vital for the continuation of Indian society, carrying the burden of most of the work. In India, many changes have occurred, not least of which is the status of women, but they are far from reaching their potential (despite the fact that there are women among the prime ministers).
Untouchable, unclean and inferior, usually have access only to black and inappropriate jobs, or their traditional duties or lifestyle attribute them to this status. Usually, any person engaged in the occupation of any life (fisherman, slaughterhouse), the destruction of human waste, or anyone who consumes meat from cattle, some of the primitive tribes, for example, will be designated as inviolable. They were limited to the use of public buildings and even prohibited in some cases to go out during the day.
Mahatma Gandhi defended the case of the untouchables in the modern constitution, which were legally established as having castes and represented in parliament. The term "Harijan" is now used in preference for immunity, it has been granted many privileges, and discrimination against them is illegal. However, in the social sphere of India, the untouchable serves in many respects the status that he knew from history.
Indian food
There are as many culinary variations in India as in any other country. Since Hindus are officially vegetarians and pork is not consumed by Muslims, most menus offer vegetarian dishes. Meat is used in many recipes, however, especially in the north. Rice is the main product everywhere, but in the north it is different from other grains. They are often prepared with butter (clarified butter) or dahi (milk curd). Indian eggs are delicious and varied, including roti (corn bread), nan (with filling), chapatis (cooked grill) and various puffs, such as puris and parathas. Often eaten with bread, and rice - dhal, a thick soup of chopped lentils.
Curry is an English term for a wide range of spices used in cooking. It can be soft and pleasant or leave you out of breath. Use chicken, lamb and fish, fried in vegetable oil or ghee. Tandoori-style cooking, including yogurt marinade and long, slow cooking in clay ovens, is not as strongly seasoned as curry, but aromatic. Kabobs are very popular in northern India, and variations are numerous.
Dahi or yoghurt are often ethenes, having no equal in their ability to cool the mouth after a hot curry. It is used separately in meat dishes and in many desserts. Chutneys, enjoying marinated fruits and vegetables, always accompany curries.
Mahatma Gandhi
The life of Mahatma Gandhi and the history of modern India are inextricably intertwined. Many of the most important events that have affected India in recent decades may be related to its influence.
Born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, Katiavar on the west coast, his name is Mahandras Karamchand Gandhi. Subsequently, he received the name Mahatma (Great Soul). He was the youngest child of the fourth wife of his father, his father was a devan or the chief administrator of Porbandar. Raised in a house steeped in religion, the worship of a Hindu god, Vishnu, along with strong elements of non-violence Jainism, Gandhi firmly believed in Ahimsa (the practice of never harming any living thing), vegetarianism and fasting.
A solitary child who only reached high school at school, Gandhi was married at the age of 13 and experienced a period of active rebellion against his parents, religion and society. He recovered from this stage and passed the entrance exam to Samaldas College in Bhavnagar. Here he needed to improve his English in order to follow the lectures. He went to England in 1888 to join the Inner Temple, one of London’s law schools. He joined the group of idealists and rebels, including Annie Besant and George Bernard Shaw, who did a lot to shape their future policies.
Returning to India in 1891 with a law degree, he met with little success and therefore took the opportunity to conclude a year with an Indian company in South Africa. Experiencing the prejudices shown to the Indians in South Africa, Gandhi remained there to tackle the affairs of the Indian community, uniting them and helping to publish the inhuman treatment shown to them. He brought his wife and children to South Africa in 1897, where he was attacked and almost lynched by a white mob, which he later refused to prosecute. In 1899, he raised the volunteer corps of ambulance Indians, both free and hired employers, to help the British (who were their oppressors) during the Boer War. After the victory, the Indians were in a better position than before, and under the leadership of Gandhi, the movement “Satyagraha” (“Hardness in truth”) was born. Defendants, beaten and persecuted, the adherents of this movement continued to exist for more than seven years.
His in-depth studies of comparative religion convinced Gandhi that all religions were correct, but erroneous in misinterpretation. The Hindu Bhagavadgita should have had an unsurpassed influence on his life and work. His asceticism was to become his strength along with his unshakable faith in his cause. His home became a second home for colleges and similar beliefs. This situation gradually turned into a community, and with the purchase of a farm near Durban, and then another near Johannesburg, was to become a model for future Indian settlements. They emphasized the life of simple manual labor and a sense of community responsibility along with study and meditation. Freedom from possessions, bodily pleasures and comfort, and the desire for power were to provide a group of formidable political activists.
Returning to India in 1915, Gandhi did not immediately take part in the political arena. Only in February 1919, when the British embraced the Rowlatt bills, which seriously restricted civil rights, was Gandhi moved to renew the movement of Satyagraha. The results were astounding, but far from the leader’s non-violent intentions. In Amritsar in Punjab, 400 people were killed at a rally, protesting against martial law.
For another year, Gandhi reached a strong leadership position, and under his leadership, the 35-year-old Indian National Congress became a viable force for the nationalist cause. He taught the Indian people that their subordinate position is not inevitable, but that they need to change it. Violence was superfluous when, because of the sheer number of numbers and the use of incompatibility with the government, they could eliminate the influence of the British with leadership and unity. The movement will fluctuate in cases where civil disobedience has been responded with violence.
Gandhi was arrested for insurrection in 1922 and sent to six years in prison, but poor health and the need for surgery with appendicitis in 1924 were the reason for his premature release after two years. The fragile unity of Hinduism and Muslim, which appeared during the movement of Satyagraha, was to dissolve in bitterness during the leader. To protest against this rift and the descent into violence, Gandhi went to a three-week post in the autumn of 1924.
The problems of the religious factions, as well as further actions by the colonial rulers, excluding the Indians from any decisions concerning their government, prompted Gandhi to finally demand Dominion status for India. As head of Congress, he was able to support his demand with promises of a mass boycott and non-cooperation. In March 1930, the most successful and best-known campaign of Satyagraha was held against the salt tax. Gandhi and a large number of followers marched to government salt fields and purposefully violated the law, obtaining salt. Sixty thousand people were hospitalized.
A year later, a round table conference in London, in which Gandhi was the only Indian representative, had to prove a farce, especially at a time when the strongest situation was present in London Willingdon for many years. Gandhi was again hospitalized to reduce his influence, but at this time he began to comprehend in order to draw attention to the kind of untouchables, whom he called the Harijans, children of God.
In 1934, Gandhi resigned and severed contacts with Congress, focusing on his bottom-up recovery program for India. Education, employment, the caste system and agriculture were under his control and were included in the plan, which was carried out from Sevagramma, a village in central India.
At the beginning of the war in 1939, the Indian Congress was preparing to support Britain at the time when it was bargaining for independence, but Great Britain was actively promoting discord between Hindus and Muslims, while evading the issue of independence. Gandhi demanded the immediate withdrawal of the British, who responded to this by saying the entire leadership of Congress, and relations between the two countries deteriorated rapidly.
In 1945, the Labor Party came to power in the UK, and negotiations began between the British government, the leaders of Congress and the Muslim League. In accordance with the Mountbatten Plan of June 3, 1947, India was divided into two dominions - Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan.
The riots were accompanied by great bloodshed and the insurmountable problem of refugees. Gandhi, trying to bring unity, was accused by both factions. His last post was to hold a temporary truce in Delhi, but success brought tragedy. On January 30, 1948, Mahatma Gandhi was shot down and killed by a Hindu fanatic when he went to his prayer meeting in Delhi.
Sikhs
One of the most notable sects in India is the Sikhs. In fact, they make up a small minority (2% of the population of 700 million), but they are so noticeable, especially in cities, they seem to be more numerous. They wear uncircumcised folded beards, and their hair, also uncircumcised, is wound on a large turban. Most male members have the surname Singh, which means lion, and women are called Kaur or princess.
Their religion was founded by Guru Nanak at the end of the fifteenth century as an attempt to reconcile Islamic and Hindu beliefs. He was monotheistic and taught that everyone can communicate with a deity through meditation and prayer. There was no need for a priesthood or religious hierarchy, but for all believers a high ethical standard was required. Faith was developed by ten gurus for the next 200 years. Since the death of the last guru in 1708, the only authority was the Granth Sahib, or a collection of teachings from a select group of gurus.
By promoting democracy, individual participation and responsibility, the Sikh faith avoided the caste system and offered women equality. Гурдвары, или храмы, всегда имеют зависимую дхармсалу или гостиницу, где любой путешественник, независимо от касты или религии, может бесплатно получать питание и жилье, но они должны оставить свою «касту» на улице. Без помощи жертв приверженцев поощряли грамотность и изучение не только их собственной религии, но и всех религий и философий. Под последним гуру интенсивное исламистское преследование заставило его организовать военную форму дисциплины, и без диетических табу своих соотечественников они наслаждались богатой белками диетой, которая помогала им становиться все больше и сильнее. Все эти факторы заходят далеко, чтобы объяснить непревзойденный успех сикхов во всех аспектах индийской жизни и даже в любом обществе, в котором они поселяются.
В сикхской религии есть подгруппы, одним из которых является Ниханг. Они признаны своими синими тюрбанами и халатами, их копьями и длинными мечами. Их функция - охранять храмы. Многие из них являются фермерами, но они проводят два месяца в году, обычно на лошадях, вокруг своего региона, охраняя храмы.
Со времени правления императора Аурангзеба (1657-1707) сикхи претерпели много гонений. К началу девятнадцатого века они милитаризировали до такой степени, что они контролировали большую территорию от Кашмира до города Лахор в Пакистане, который стал их столицей. Было создано просвещенное и экуменическое государство, и последний регион был захвачен англичанами. После сикхских войн, которые потеряли регион к британскому раджу, сикхи должны были стать уважаемыми подразделениями Британской Императорской Армии.
