India is a land of diversity in race, region, caste, language, mate, landform, flora and fauna and so on. Rightly this land has been termed as “the epitome of the world.”
India is a vast country with great diversity of physical features. Certain parts in India are so fertile that they are counted amongst the most fertile regions of the world while other are so unproductive and barren that hardly anything car be grown there.
India possesses a rich variety of races. The vast population of India consists of the jungles tribe (Hence Bhils, Kols, Santhals), the Greeks, the Sakas, the Kushanas, the Hunas, the Mongolians, the Arabs, the Turks, the Afghans etc. The physical features and color of the Indian people also differ from region to region- While the people of Kashmir are handsome and fair in complexion, these qualities are missing among the habitants of Assam.
India not only possesses racial diversity but also linguistic diversity- It is said that almost 400 languages are spoken in India. Some of the prominent language recognized by the constitution includes, Assamese Bengali, Gujrkti, Hindi, Kannad, Kashmiri, and Malayalam. Marathi, Or Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Terrill, Telgu and Urdu. In fact it is commonly believed that in India the language changes after every four kooks. There is not only variety of languages but also variety of scripts in India some of the popular scripts in ancient times were Pali, Kharosthi Devnagri, etc. What is really striking is that almost all these language- possess their own literature which differ a great deal from each other.
In the religious sphere also India possesses great diversity. Almost all the principal religions of the world like Brahmanism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam and Christianity are found here. Most of these religions are further sub-divided into various sects and divisions.
For example, Buddhism is divided into Hinayana and Mahayana; the Jainism is divided into Digambaras and Septembers and the Brahmanism is divided into the Vaishnavas, Shivas, Shaktis, Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj etc. In addition the primitive men have their own peculiar cults which are quite distinct from these major religions. Thus we can say India possess completely diversity on religious sphere.
In the social sphere also the general customs and manners of the people greatly different. People of different regions use different types of dresses. Their eating habits and customs are also quite different. Certain people are quite civilized while other are yet backward in their customs. Thus we find as Radhakumud Mukherjee has put it, “India is a museum of cults and customs, creeds and cultures, faiths and tongues, racial types and social systems.