Author: Emiliano Unzer

Publisher:

Published: 2019-07-27

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 9781082429996

How do we define India? In historical terms, India originates in the Indus River Valley today on Pakistani territory. In cultural and religious terms, India was home to Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism among others, and sheltered the Zoroastrians from the Persian lands to the west, as well as the place where Islam flourished since the 7th century through Gujarat and Sind in northwest India. In geographical terms the country since 1947 is bordered to the north with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and China. With ex-Burma, today Myanmar, to the east. Also the proximity to the island of Sri Lanka to the south. Or would India be its enormous diaspora community in the world estimated at more than 30 million? Is India simply Hindu that makes up almost 80% of its population? If so, would the Hindus be only the Brahmins or the Vishunists or Shivitists, or the other popular currents? And the large Hindu communities in Nepal, Mauritius, Bali and other parts of the world? Are they India as well? And the approximately 14% of the Indian population claiming to be Muslims, around 172 million people, the second largest Muslim community in the world, are not they also Indians? And the Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains and Christian community in India? In linguistic terms, India has more than 20 official languages, more than 1,500 dialects and ethnic groups. Who would be more Indian than the others? The concept of India, therefore, is much more complex than it seems to be at first glance. In order to understand this stunning and kaleidoscopic region, we must seek its history that may give us some insight into how India has formed, consolidated, influenced and assimilated its policies, identities, values and cultures. In short, India is perhaps much more a civilizational concept than a mere expression defined only in geographical, religious and ethnic terms.