Culture and Heritage of India

The history of societal expectations, ethical values, traditional traditions, religious systems, political systems, artifacts, and technology that originated in or are linked with the ethno-linguistically varied Indian subcontinent is referred to as Indian culture. 

Customs And Traditions In Indian Culture 

Indian culture is one of the world’s oldest, with millennia of history and tradition. 

Indian culture is one of the world’s oldest, with the Indian people tracing their civilization back much further than 4,500 years. As per Christina De Rossi, an anthropologist at Barnet and Southgate University in London, Western nations did not always see Indian culture positively. The culture was formerly thought to be an evolutionary process by early anthropologists, and “every facet of human development was understood as controlled by evolution,” she told Live Science. “Outside of Europe or North America, or civilizations that did not adhere to the European or Western manner of living, were regarded as primitive and culturally inferior, according to this viewpoint. This essentially covered all colonial nations and people, such as those in Africa, India, and the Far East.”

However, Indians achieved great achievements in building (the Taj Mahal), math (the creation of zero), and medicine (Ayurveda) much before many western civilizations. 

Population Of India 

As per the CIA World Factbook, India now has a population of over 1.3 billion people, making it the world’s second most populated country after China. Some estimates, like Statista, put the population at almost 1.4 billion people. According to the CIA, India’s ethnic mix is 72 percent Indo-Aryan (a catch-all phrase for people of mostly Central Asian heritage) and 25 percent Dravidian (being largely of South Asian descent). 

About 35% of the population resides in cities, with an estimated yearly rate of slightly more than 2% shifting to cities every year. According to the CIA, New Delhi is the most populated city in India, with a headcount of 31.18 million people, next only to Tokyo, Japan in terms of population size. Mumbai is India’s second-biggest city, with a population of 20.67 million, trailing only Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad, all of which have populations of more than 10 million. 

According to Statista, as of 2020, 26.16 percent of India’s population was under the age of 14, 67.27 percent were between the ages of 15 and 64, and 6.57 % were 65 or over. 

Languages Of India 

As per the World Health Organization, India has 28 states and 7 territories. According to a Gujarat High Court judgment in 2010, there is no legal language in India, while Hindi is the government’s official language and English is considered a secondary official language. The Indian Constitution officially recognizes 23 languages.

Many people in India use the Devanagari script to write. In truth, it is a common misperception that the majority of Indians speak Hindi. Despite the fact that many people in India speak Hindi, the CIA estimates that at least 56 % of Indian inhabitants speak a language other than Hindi. Other languages spoken in the nation include Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and Urdu.

Sanskrit is a historic Indo-European language that originated in Northern India. Linguists have disagreed over how the language came to be. It has several parallels to English, French, Farsi, and Russian. 

Aryan migrations may have brought the origins of Sanskrit, according to a new DNA study published in 2017. “For hundreds of years, people have debated the introduction of Indo-European languages in India,” said research founder Martin Richards, an archaeo geneticist at the University of Sheffield in England. “There’s been a long-running argument regarding whether the Indo-European languages were introduced by outside migrations, as most linguists believe, or if they evolved indigenously.” 

 Indian Architecture, Artforms And Music

The history, culture, and religion of India are all reflected in its architecture. The most well-known architectural styles and traditions are Hindu temple architecture in various forms, Indo-Islamic architecture, particularly Mughal architecture, Rajput architecture, and Indo-Saracenic architecture.

Sculpture, architectural designs, fabrics, ceramics, metallurgy, and artwork are among the region’s most notable achievements. Furthermore, each state has its unique musical traditions, both sacred and secular. 

Religion In India 

India is known as the origin of Buddhism and Hinduism, the world’s third and fourth major faiths. As per the “Manual of Research on Development and Religion,” published by Matthew Clarke, around 84 % of the population identifies as Hindu (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013). 

Hinduism is divided into several sects, the most prominent of which are Shakteya, Shaiva, Smarta, and Vaishnava. 

About 13% of Indians are Muslims, making it one of the world’s largest Islamic nations. According to the “Handbook,” Catholics and Sikhs make up a small fraction of the population, while Buddhists and Jains are rarer. 

Indian Food 

According to the World Factbook, around 80% of the populace is Hindu, 14.2% is Muslim, 2.3 % is Christian, 1.7 % is Sikh, and 2% is undefined. The Mughal Empire’s invasion of India in the sixteenth century left an indelible imprint on Indian cuisine. “The impact of the Mughal monarchs who governed India is clearly visible in the cooking style that they made famous. “This cuisine is a mix of Turkish and Persian cuisine, with a heavy emphasis on ground spices in the production of distinct flavor and taste,” writes Krishna Gopal Dubey in “The Indian Cuisine.” ” (PHI Publisher, 2010). Many different countries’ cuisines have affected Indian food. It is well-known for its extensive menu and liberal use of spices and herbs. Cooking techniques differ from one region to the next. 

Wheat, Basmati rice, and pulses including chana (Bengal gram) are essential components of the Indian diet. Curries and spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, coriander, and dried spicy peppers abound in the cuisine. Chutneys are rich sauces and dips made from various fruits and vegetables such as tamarind and tomatoes, as well as mint, other herbs, and cilantro, and are commonly used in Indian cuisine. 

Many Hindus are vegetarians, however, lamb and chicken are prevalent in non-vegetarian major meals. According to “The Guardian,” between 20% and 40% of ‘s populace is vegetarian. Vegetarianism appears to have been practiced since antiquity. “During the Mohenjodaro and Harappan civilizations, India may have been vegetarian. We don’t know for sure because the writing hasn’t been decoded, but it has been established that the ancient Dravidian civilization was entirely vegetarian.

The majority of Indian cuisine is consumed with fingers or bread. 

Conclusion: 

The history of societal expectations, ethical values, traditional traditions, religious systems, political systems, artifacts, and technology that originated in or are linked with the ethno-linguistically varied Indian subcontinent is referred to as Indian culture. We have understood Indian culture and heritage and other topics in the study material of Indian culture and heritage.