Unity in Diversity, or 'Many in the One'
Big Questions & Opening Quotes
- What is meant by 'unity in diversity' in the Indian scenario?
- What aspects of India's diversity are the most striking?
- How do we make out the unity underlying the diversity?
- Swabhava — one's own nature (intrinsic character)
- Swadharma — one's own duty/dharma (the righteous path natural to a being)
- Both quotes emphasise that India's unity and diversity are not opposites — unity is the soul, diversity is its expression.
A Rich Diversity — Key Statistics & People of India Project
If you travel through India by train, you will notice not only changing landscapes but also many different types of dresses and food; you will hear different languages, familiar and unfamiliar, and see different scripts on the way. Even within your own region, you will often come across people from other parts of India with different customs and traditions. This is India's rich diversity, and it is usually the first thing that strikes visitors to our country.
| Population | Over 1.4 billion inhabitants — about 18 percent of the world's population. |
| People of India Project | Conducted by the Anthropological Survey of India — a national organisation — in the late 20th century. |
| Scale of Survey | Surveyed 4,635 communities across all States of the country. |
| Languages Counted | Counted 325 languages using 25 scripts. |
| Migration Observation | Observed that many Indians may be called migrants — in the sense of people not living near their birthplace or with their original community. |
The Anthropological Survey of India is the national organisation that conducted the 'People of India project'. It found 325 languages using 25 scripts across 4,635 communities. This is a frequently tested fact in UPSC prelims.
As a class activity, make lists of: (1) the birthplaces of at least 5 classmates and the birthplaces of their parents; (2) the students' mother tongues and other languages known to them. Discuss the results in terms of diversity.
Vincent Smith's Quote — Unity in Diversity
While diversity is indeed beautiful, making sense of it is not so easy. Over a century ago, the British historian Vincent Smith wondered:
What is meant by 'unity in diversity'? How shall we perceive and express this unity, or the 'Many in the One'? To answer this question, the chapter explores a few dimensions of Indian life.
Food for All — Staple Grains, Spices & Regional Diversity
Some of you will have eaten food from different regions of India. The number of different dishes and preparations you can taste in India must be in their thousands, if not lakhs! Yet certain food grains are common to almost every part of the country.
| Cereals (Common) | Rice, barley and wheat — found across most parts of India. |
| Millets (Common) | Pearl millet (bajra), Sorghum (jowar), Finger millet (ragi) |
| Pulses (Common) | Various kinds of dals and grams |
| Spices (Common) | Turmeric, cumin, cardamom and ginger — used throughout the country |
| Definition | All these cereals, millets and pulses are called 'staple grains' because they are the basic food for most Indians. |
The same ingredients (unity) can be used in a number of combinations (diversity) to prepare an endless variety of dishes! This perfectly illustrates the concept of unity in diversity.
- As a class activity, make a list of ingredients (grains, spices, etc.) that are used in your home.
- Take any one vegetable and think of the number of different dishes you can prepare with it.
Fig. 8.1 — Map of Cereals and Pulses Across India
The NCERT map (Fig. 8.1) shows how different cereal and pulse crops dominate different regions of India. All are common across India, illustrating underlying food unity. The complete list from the map:
| J&K / Himachal (North) | Rajma (kidney beans) — two mentions in the extreme north |
| Haryana / Punjab region | White lobia (white cowpea), Basmati (rice variety) |
| Rajasthan / Gujarat | Moong dal, Chana dal, Chickpea, Arhar dal, Millet |
| Central India (MP / UP) | Masoor dal, Rice, Millet, Maize, Chickpea |
| Eastern India (Bihar / Jharkhand) | Rice, Gram, Maize |
| Northeast India | Rice, Pigeon pea |
| Andhra Pradesh / Telangana | Arhar dal, Jawar (sorghum), Sona masuri (rice) |
| Karnataka | Millet, Ponni rice |
| Tamil Nadu / Kerala | Kollam rice, Ponni rice |
| West Bengal / Odisha | Rice |
Textiles and Clothing — The Sari (Unity in Diversity)
Every region and community in India has developed its own styles of clothing and dresses. Yet, we notice a commonality in some traditional Indian dresses, irrespective of the material used.
An obvious example of unity in diversity is the plain length of cloth called the sari — a type of clothing worn in most parts of India, made from different fabrics — mostly cotton or silk, but nowadays synthetic fabrics too. This unstitched piece of cloth comes in hundreds of varieties.
| Nature | A plain, unstitched (unsewn) length of cloth — the sari. |
| Material | Mostly cotton or silk, but nowadays synthetic fabrics too. |
| Famous Silk Sari Types | Banarasi, Kanjivaram, Paithani, Patan Patola, Muga, Mysore — some of the famous types of silk saris. |
| Production Methods | Produced by different methods of weaving and designing. Some designs are part of the cloth, while others are printed after the cloth is woven. |
| Colours | Endless variations in colours, produced from many kinds of pigments. |
| Historical Evidence | Fig. 8.2: A stone relief from Vaiśhali (today in Bihar) goes back a few centuries BCE — showing a woman in a sari. The sari has a very long history. |
| Ways of Wearing | There are many ways of wearing the sari — they vary from one region to another or from one community to another. In fact, new ways of draping it are still being invented. |
| Travellers' Observations | In past centuries, several travellers to India marvelled at its simplicity, economy, and the diverse ways in which it is worn. |
| Other Uses (Fig. 8.4) | Women often put the sari to many uses beyond that of a dress — as a hammock/cradle for babies, for carrying goods, as a fishing net, as rain protection, etc. (pictures from south India). |
Relief: A design that stands out from the surface of a panel (which may be of stone, wood, ceramic or another material).
- Explain how the example of the sari reflects both unity and diversity (in 100–150 words).
- Following the example of the sari, make a list of different styles you have seen for the dhoti — both as regards the fabric and the uses the dhoti can be put to. What conclusion can you draw?
Don't Miss Out — Chintz & Indian Textile History
For a very long time, India produced the finest cotton in the world and Indian textiles were exported as far away as Europe.
One beautiful type of printed cotton called 'chintz' became so popular in 17th-century Europe that the sale of some European dresses dropped sharply. Eventually, to protect their own products, England and France decided to ban the import of chintz from India!
Key facts to remember: Chintz = Indian printed cotton | 17th century | England and France banned its import | Reason = to protect their own textile products.
The Dhoti — Another Example of Unity in Diversity
Just like the sari, the dhoti is another unstitched garment worn by men across many parts of India. It too comes in many regional variations in terms of fabric, style of draping, and additional uses — yet it remains essentially one garment. The NCERT asks students to compare the diversity and uses of the dhoti with those of the sari.
Both the sari and the dhoti are examples of unstitched cloth that is the same garment (unity) but worn in many different ways across regions and communities (diversity). Both are also used creatively beyond their primary function as clothing.
Festivals Galore — Makara Sankrānti & Regional Names
There is an immense variety of festivals in India. You may have noticed that a few common ones are celebrated across India almost at the same time, though they have different names.
Makara Sankrānti marks the beginning of the harvest season in many parts of India, celebrated on or around January 14. It is celebrated across India under many different regional names — a perfect illustration of unity in diversity.
Fig. 8.5 — All 13 Regional Festival Names (Complete List)
This NCERT map (Fig. 8.5) shows how the same harvest festival is celebrated under different regional names across India around January 14. All 13 names are given below — every single one is exam-testable.
- What is your favourite festival and how is it celebrated in your region? Do you know whether it is celebrated in any other part of India, maybe under a different name?
- During October–November, many major festivals take place in India. Make a list of the few main ones and their various names in different parts of the country.
An Epic Spread — Pañchatantra, Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārata
Literature offers us another fine illustration of unity in diversity. Indian literatures are extremely diverse — and among the most abundant in the world. Over centuries, despite differences in language, technique, etc., they have shared important themes and concerns.
| Nature | A collection of delightful stories with animals as the main characters, teaching important life skills. |
| Age | The original Sanskrit text is at least 2,200 years old. |
| Spread in India | Its stories have been adapted in almost every Indian language. |
| Global Spread | Travelled well beyond India — all the way to Southeast Asia, the Arab world and Europe, inspiring new collections of stories on the way. |
| Adaptations | It is estimated that about 200 adaptations of the Pañchatantra exist in more than 50 languages! |
| Illustration | Illustrates how 'one' collection of stories has become 'many' — another example of unity in diversity. |
| Definition (Sidebar) | Epic: A long poem generally narrating the adventures of heroes and other great figures of the past. |
| Language | Both are long Sanskrit poems. |
| Length | Together they might fill some 7,000 pages in their original versions. |
| Central Theme | Narrate the stories of heroes who fight to re-establish dharma. |
| Mahābhārata — Story | The Pāṇḍavas, with Kṛiṣhṇa's help, fight their own cousins, the Kauravas, to recover their kingdom. |
| Rāmāyaṇa — Story | Rāma, with the help of his brother Lakṣhmaṇa and of Hanuman, defeats the demon Rāvaṇa, who had kidnapped his wife Sītā. |
| Values | These stories contain many shorter ones that focus on values, and constantly ask questions about what is right and what is wrong. |
| Spread over Time | For more than two millenniums, these two epics have been translated or adapted into regional literatures in India and beyond. |
| Folk Versions | There are countless folk versions of them. In Tamil Nadu alone, a scholar counted "about a hundred versions [of the Mahābhārata] that have come down to us in folklore forms". |
| Cultural Impact | Over the centuries, perhaps more than any other texts, these two epics created a dense web of cultural interactions across India and many parts of Asia. |
Tribal Connections with Epics — Bhils, Gonds, Mundas
In fact, many communities have their own versions of the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata. They have also preserved legends connecting their own history with these epics. This is especially true of tribal communities in many parts of India.
| Named Tribes | The Bhils, the Gonds, the Mundas and many more have their own versions of the epics. |
| Northeast & Himalayan Tribes | Most tribes of India's northeast and Himalayan regions, including Kashmir, have had their own version of one or the other of the two epics, or both. |
| Mode of Transmission | These tribal adaptations are transmitted orally, along with legends on how the heroes visited the tribes' respective regions. |
| Epic Heroes in Tribal Legends | Generally any or all of the five Pāṇḍavas, their wife Draupadī, but also sometimes their cousin and adversary Duryodhana, are said to have visited the tribes' respective regions. |
| Fig. 8.7 — Pañcha Pāṇḍavar | A carved stone in a forest of the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, depicting the five Pāṇḍava brothers. The shrine containing this stone is maintained by Irula tribals to commemorate the Pāṇḍavas' passing through the area. |
'Pañcha Pāṇḍavar' = a carved stone in a forest of the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, depicting the five Pāṇḍava brothers. The shrine is maintained by Irula tribals to commemorate the Pāṇḍavas' passing through the area. This is a concrete example of tribal-epic cultural connection.
K.S. Singh & People of India Project — Epics Quote
The anthropologist K.S. Singh directed the 'People of India' project (referred to on page 126 of the chapter — the same survey by the Anthropological Survey of India that counted 4,635 communities).
In the case of the Mahābhārata, he observed: "There is hardly a place in the country which the epic heroes such as the Pandavas, did not visit according to folklores."
And the same may be said of the Rāmāyaṇa. Over the centuries, perhaps more than any other texts, these two epics created a dense web of cultural interactions across India and many parts of Asia — another example of unity in diversity.
To further illustrate the theme of this chapter, we could have continued our journey and turned to more facets of Indian culture. For instance, in India's classical arts, including classical architecture, both diversity and unity are easily noticeable.
"In the end, we should remember that Indian culture celebrates diversity as an enrichment, but never loses sight of the underlying unity which nourishes that diversity."
Jawaharlal Nehru's Quote — NCERT Exercise
Nehru's observation shows how the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata served as unifying cultural texts even for illiterate villagers across India — demonstrating that cultural unity in India transcends literacy and region. This is the practical manifestation of 'unity in diversity' through literature.
Before We Move On — Chapter Summary
- India offers immense diversity in its landscapes, people, languages, dresses, foods, festivals and customs.
- Diversity is easy to perceive in many fields, but there is also an underlying unity.
- India's unity celebrates diversity because diversity does not divide — it enriches.
| Food | Same staple grains (rice, wheat, millets, pulses, spices) used across India with diverse regional preparations. Same ingredients (unity) → endless variety of dishes (diversity). |
| Textiles / Sari | One garment (sari) — hundreds of varieties, regional styles, and multiple uses. Unity = one type of unstitched cloth; Diversity = hundreds of regional varieties. |
| Festivals | One harvest festival (Makara Sankrānti — around Jan 14) celebrated under at least 13 different regional names across India. |
| Literature / Pañchatantra | One Sanskrit collection → adapted in every Indian language and 50+ world languages in 200+ versions. |
| Epics | Two Sanskrit epics (Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata) → translated into all regional languages, countless folk and tribal versions, creating a dense cultural web across India and Asia. |
| Classical Arts | India's classical arts, including classical architecture, show both diversity and unity. |
NCERT Exercise Q&A
| Q1: Discuss the two quotations at the start of the chapter. | Tagore's quote: expresses the spiritual experience of perceiving the 'One' within the 'Many' — the divine unity behind all diversity. Aurobindo's quote: argues that unity in diversity is India's fundamental character (swabhava) and righteous path (swadharma). |
| Q2: Pañchatantra — timeless messages | The Pañchatantra is a 2,200+ year old Sanskrit collection of animal stories teaching life skills. Its stories are adapted in every Indian language and 50+ world languages (200+ versions). Messages on friendship, wisdom, and ethics remain valid today. |
| Q5: Nehru's quote on epics | Nehru noted that the Ramayana and Mahabharata were known to even illiterate villagers across India — showing these epics as powerful instruments of cultural unity, transmitting values, morals, and a shared identity across the nation. |
MCQ Practice Set — Chapter 8: Unity in Diversity
55 Questions covering all facts, quotes, figures, and exam-critical data | UPSC & State PCS Level
