...Higgins Into to Sociology Who Am I Part II Due: 9/14/14 Religions of India Religion just might be the biggest social institution I can think of in the world. There is no part of the world where religion doesn’t exist. The biggest thing religion and India have in common is the freedom and diversity. All of India’s people have the right to religious freedom and can practice and worship any religion they please, but religion plays a central role in Indian daily life through its temple ceremonies, festivals, pilgrimages, family religious traditions. Diversity of religion is what I would like to focus on as I look deeper into the foreign country of India. Just like the United States, India also shares freedom of religion. India is diverse in its own since when it comes to religious beliefs. India is the birthplace of four of the world’s major religions; namely Hinduism Buddhism Jainism and Sikhism. According to a 2001 census, out of 1028 million population, little over 827 million (80.5%) have returned themselves as followers of Hindu religion, 138 million (13.4%) as Muslims or the followers of Islam, 24 million (2.3%) as Christians, 19 million (1.9%) as Sikh, 8 million (0.80%) as Buddhists and 4 million (0.4%) are Jain. In addition, over 6 million have reported professing other religions and faiths including tribal religions, different from six main religions (Religion, Census of India 2001, censusindia.gov.). With India being the second largest nation population wise, coming...
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...Peony Lum, 1o Chapter 6- India and Southeast Asia, 1500 B.C.E.- 600 C.E. Thesis: Religion had played a major role in the shaping and development of the Indian civilizations; South and Southeast Asia from around 1500 B.C.E. – 600 C.E. I. Foundations of Indian Civilization, 1500 B.C.E.- 300 C.E. a. India is a large, isolated piece of land, which is why it is called a subcontinent A. The Indian Subcontinent a. This extensive piece of land is split up into three geographical sections: mountainous, great basins and rocky plateau b. monsoons are caused by varying temperatures in the lands around the Indian Ocean c. oceans were used as a form of transportation and helped in trade...
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...Running head: RCP DIVIDE Religion Plus Castes Equals Political Divide In India, religion is an integral part of the lives of the population. The writers at asianinfo.org claim that, “For the majority of Indians, religion permeates every aspect of life, from common-place daily chores to education and politics.” No part of Indian life exists without the presence and influence of religion. Over ninety percent of the Indian population state that religion plays an extremely important role in their lives. India is the founding place of four major religions; which are Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism, and the country has remained religious even during and following modernization. The religions practiced may have shifted a bit, nevertheless, the country remains deeply religious. Among all aspects of Indian life, religion also plays an important role in the politics of India. A political party’s support greatly depends upon the religion the group acknowledges. The two main religions practiced in India are Hinduism and Islam and each religion has parties from whom support is given. Often political support rallies can become so animated that the participants have the need to take action against other religious and political groups. The purpose of this paper is to highlight religion and the caste system of India and explain its impact on Indian political structure and lifestyles. Of the two religions, Hinduism is overwhelmingly more popular. Eighty-two...
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...Response Paper Four Gender and sexuality have been the core of many debates in many cultural norms, in particular when it comes to religion, class and political reforms. Authors such as Dan Savage, Serena Nanda, and Alok Gupta have taken the role to write about these issues in North America and India. These authors argue that the intersection of sex and religion, gender in religion, and class in sexuality have been at the core of the gender and sexuality movement. The idea of “class” being an issue to “class” when it comes to sexuality in India has been contributed to a lot of debate (Gupta). Also, when it comes to sexuality in religion in a North American content the idea of anything other than heterosexuality is blind in the catholic religious practice. However, when it comes to gender practices in India, the Hindu religion is more open and understanding to the idea of the third gender. The rise of concern of homosexuality when it comes to religion in American culture is one that is gaining attention in the homosexual community. Especially when it comes to the Catholic practice and its unwillingness to welcome the gay community into there religion. Dan Savage argues that the Catholic religion ignores the gay community because the sin of homosexuality can be seen by the open eye, and ignores the fact that most of the heterosexual followers of the religion engage in the practice of nonprocreative sex. For example, Dan Savage brings up the point that when a Catholic priest stands on...
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...Uniform Civil Code for India: Prospects and Constraint The need for a Uniform Civil code in India has been discussed and argued several times and it still remains one of the most controversial issues remarked in our Constitution. The uniform civil code would mean the codification of laws pertaining to all citizens, be they Hindus, Muslims or Christians. But now in India personal laws are the main cause of communal conflict among people. It is also intimately connected to the issue of gender justice. The present paper describes personal laws in India, the issues of uniform civil code and gender justice from a human rights point of view. KEYWORDS: India, Personal Laws, Uniform Civil Code, Gender Justice Introduction India is a secular state, world’s largest democracy and second most populous country (1,205,073,612 in 2012) emerged as a major power in the 1990s'. It is militarily strong, has major cultural influence and a fast-growing and powerful economy. With its many languages, cultures and religions, India is highly diverse. This is also reflected in its federal political system, whereby power is shared between the central government and 28 states. Religions not only have been serving as the foundation of the culture of India, but have had enormous effect on Indian politics and society. In India, religion is a way of life. It is an integral part of the entire Indian tradition. A vast majority of Indians, (over 93%) associate themselves with a religion. According to the 2001...
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...The culture of India refers to the religions, beliefs, customs, traditions, languages, ceremonies, arts, values and the way of life in India and its people. India's languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food and customs differ from place to place within the country. Its culture often labeled as an amalgamation of these diverse sub-cultures spread all over the Indian subcontinent and traditions that are several millennia old.[1] Regarded by many historians as the "oldest living civilization of Earth", the Indian tradition dates back to 8000 BC[2] and has a continuous recorded history since the time of the Vedas, believed variously to be 3,000 to over 5,500 years ago.[3] Several elements of India's diverse culture — such as Indian religions, yoga and Indian cuisine — have had a profound impact across the world India is the birth place of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, collectively known as Indian religions.[5] Indian religions, also known as Dharmic religions are a major form of world religions along with Abrahamic ones. Today, Hinduism and Buddhism are the world's third- and fourth-largest religions respectively, with over 2 billion followers altogether,[6][7][8] and possibly as many as 2.5 or 2.6 billion followers.[6][9] India is also the birthplace for the Lingayat and Ahmadiyya faiths. India is one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world, with some of the most deeply religious societies and cultures. Religion still plays a central and...
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...Unit 4 Historical Enquiry “In the context of the years of 1847- 1947, how far was the Partition of India in 1947 inevitable? “ Pawanpreet Dhaliwal Candidate Number-3049 In the context of the years of 1847- 1947, to what extent was the Partition of India in 1947 inevitable? ------------------------------------------------- The countries India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were once united as a whole Sub-Continent mixed with Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs ruled under the British raj in 1857. Where these countries are now, what they have become and their relationships with each other have very much been forged by the events of 1947 with Independence from Britain and the subsequent partition of India. When assessing the extent to which partition was inevitable, it can be difficult as the action itself justifies the inevitability, “Partition happened therefore it was inevitable Khaswant Singh **historian**. This tends to suggest that all history is a predetermined narrative that cannot be changed and altered. This would very much be consistent with Indian philosophy that ‘it has happened because it was written’ this suggests the inevitability of partition is considered to be seen inevitable even before looking at the contributing factors. However from a Western and particularly British perspective, 1947 heralded not only the beginning of the end of the British Empire; but as Lawrence describes, “The end of period of history which from 1492 had seen the domination of the globe by...
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...people in India have their dominant religions that they practice. Hinduism is the most popular religion in India and makes up about 80% of Indians. There are also two other religions which are Buddhism and Jainism that are practiced. Only around 0.5% of Indians are Jains and 0.7% is Buddhist. These three religions have been around India since BC and make up the Indian religions. To go along with different religions there are also different languages that are spoken by Indians. The Hindi language makes up of about 20% of the people in India and is the most popular of all the languages spoken in India. English is also spoken in most of the regions in India. ("Popular Indian language," ) Different states in India have different languages and some states have more than one official language. Bihar which is in east India has three official languages Hindi, Urdu and Bengali. Sikkim has four official languages but only Nepali is recognized by the central government ("Popular Indian language," ) The Central government decided that Hindi was to be the official language of India to not get confused with the 18 other languages that are spoken in India. In India there are certain ways that people eat and drink and also there are different foods eaten as well. In Indian homes people should always politely turn down the first offer of tea, coffee, or snacks. You will be asked again but saying no the first time is part of the protocol ("India - language,,).Different religions have different...
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...and cultures reside, India which is meant for its religious and cultural beliefs and where there are people of different religions worshipping and following different gods and goddesses. It’s a birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, collectively known as Indian religions. I follow Jainism. Jainism is a religion that started back in India around the fifth century B.C.E. Jainism never approves of any wars or the killing of animals for any reason. Jainism tries to raise human awareness and creates a high standard of ethics for its followers. I come from a city called Mumbai, which is located in Maharashtra, a state in India. It is the biggest city of India and is very populated. There are a lot of people in Mumbai from other states of India because it is also the biggest commercial city in India. To communicate we require a certain language so that we can easily talk with people. There are many languages spoken in India as it’s a very big diverse country. About myself if I say I speak I am fluent in English, Hindi our national language, Gujarati and my own native language is Marwari, which is a regional language of a state called Rajasthan from where my ancestors belonged. My ancestors come from a very small village, which is located in Rajasthan. My late grandfather’s established business in Mumbai was continued and transferred to my father who is now currently running a steel industry in Mumbai and have been a successful businessman. In India it is generally the...
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...over the century in India? Introduction Even though there are numerous traditional religions in the Middle East and specifically in India, Buddhism has stood out as the most popular of all. This religion is recorded as having a history of approximately two thousand five hundred years. There are numerous attributes associated with this religion. One of these attributed, as stated by Duiker and Spielvogel, is that it is flexible and adapts freely to numerous local perceptions, practices and beliefs while at the same time upholding the core teachings of Buddha (p. 556). Buddhism is believed to have grown from a very humble beginning to become one of the internationally recognized religions. This religion enjoys a huge geographical coverage which is largely attributed to its tolerant spirit, incorporation of a myriad of beliefs, practices and traditions. The popularity of Buddhism has been growing significantly ever since it was established. Currently the religion is believed o have a global following totaling to over 400 million people. This implies that Buddhism is no longer a preserve of beliefs and practices for some local people in Asia. It has turned out to be a means of fulfillment to the concerns and spiritual needs of the people as well as a way of attaining trans-local objectives. Most of the studies carried out on the subject of Buddhism have revealed that this religion has undergone numerous transformations to become a powerful force not only in India, but also across...
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...December 21, 2012 India: How Spirituality Can Affect Democracy India is often referred to as the "Land of Spirituality". There is no major religion that they hold and this is one of the reasons that it is so diverse. However, this spiritual land is a well formed constitutional democracy. Could there be some correlation between the two? If we explore the major religions in India, we can see that perhaps the reason democracy is holding so well is because of these spiritual people. The six major religions in India are Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Sikhism. These religions, all very different, have played a crucial part in forming India and keeping it so culturally diverse. These religions all promote equality and freedom of man and they contributed not only to India being a democracy, but they also helped India to be the superpower it is today. Hinduism is a religion that supports those that want to join. They do not convert others into Hinduism, nor do they have religious wars. "Hinduism offers lots of freedom to operate. An individual decides his Guru, and follows him or her. When many devotees come together a sect is formed. Like democracy, the people select a leader." (Prlog.org) These sects often are made and unmade, relating to the constant changes in democracy. People would argue that Hinduism is a confused religion because there is a certain lack of structure to those that do not follow. Even those that are not democratic would argue that democracy...
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...that the new India would essentially be a secular state but with a notion of secularism different from the western model of secularism which...
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...is the awareness of a common identity amongst the citizens of a country. It means that though we belong to different castes, religions and regions and speak different languages we recognize the fact that we are all one. This kind of integration is very important in the building of a strong and prosperous nation. India is a country with innumerable diversities, an entity composed of many communities, races classes, languages and subcultures. In any such nation, there are many obstacles to the achievement of national integration. In India the following hindrances are obstructing the growth of national feeling, casteism, communalism, linguistic fanaticism, social disparity, economic inequalities and immorality, regionalism etc. 1. Casteism: Caste is an imported part of our social fabric. This was developed in the past on the basis of division of labour in the society. But now casteism has segregated the society. Unity and integrity has become a dream in a caste ridden society. The feeling of socially neglected scheduled castes under the suppression of upper caste ruined the sense of we feeling and unity. It becomes a problem for national integration. 2. Communalism: Religions antagonism has posed a i serious challenge to national integration in India. India is a multi- religious land. Political manipulation has projected one religion against the other which resulted in communal riot, bloodbath, mutual, distrust and disintegration of the country. Large scale...
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...SECULARISM IN INDIA : CONCEPT & PRACTICE Dr. Shriram Yerankar Associate Professor & Head, Deptt. of Political Science, Jijamata College, Buldana (M.S.) shriramyerankar@gmail.com Historical Background : The concept of secularism as we take it to mean today had originated in the 13th century Europe. But we can trace the philosophical concept of secularism in the writings of Kautilya, a thinker of ancient India, who lived in the 3rd century B.C. The history of Indian secularism the protest movements in the 5th century B.C. The three main protest movements were by the Charvaks, Buddhism and Jainism. All three of them rejected the authority of the Vedas and any importance of belief in a deity. It can thus be seen that the ancient thought had a profound impact on the development of the theory of secularism over the centuries. Writers differ about the origin of the concept of secularism as to whether it had its roots in the eastern or the western thought. D. E Smith says, “The Secular State is, in origin, a western not an Asian Conception. This is not to deny the obvious fact the certain elements of the ‘secular state – have a long tradition in Asia.’ The term “Secularism” was first used by the British writer George Holyoake in 1851. Although the term was new...
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...The East India Company and Perceptions of Indian Culture Throughout the 16th century, the Indian Ocean was filled with lucrative trade. Incredible amounts of capital and resources were exchanged all throughout the Indian Ocean from the Middle East to the shores of Japan. At the heart of all this trade stood the Indian subcontinent, whose merchants and monarchs accumulated vast amounts of wealth by taking advantage of their geographic position relative to the international market. Although the larger dynasties of Europe had learned of the vast material wealth of Asia through the travels of Marco Polo and other European explorers as early as the 14th century, it wasn’t until the 1600s that the first legitimate European trading companies set up shop in the east to bring Asiatic commodities to the European continent at a large scale. The first of said companies, the British East India Company, created under Elizabeth I of England, would bring not only great wealth, but also eventual colonization to the people of the India. The British East India Company arrived in the Indian subcontinent with purely economic goals. The merchants in the company adapted to Indian culture extremely well, quickly making friends with the monarchs of different Indian states, adopting and practicing Indian religions, marrying Indian women, and learning the vernacular languages of the continent so that they could seamlessly blend into the already thriving market. As English influence in the Indian economy...
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