India; Unity in Diversity
Posted by rocksea on 05 Jan 2006 | Tagged as: india, japan
India: States & Union Territories
As mentioned before, there are 29 states and 6 union territories. Border disputes are there with Pakistan and China and this is an outline map and shouldnt be seen as one conclusive. 
Geography and climate across the country is varied.
In the north, near the himalayas, it is mostly cold with snow at many of those regions.
In the north west, by Rajasthan we’ve the deserts like Thar desert.
Far north eastern states receives heavy rainfall. The town of Cherrapunji, south of capital Shillong holds the world record for most rain in a calendar month while the village of Mawsynram, near town of Cherrapunji holds the distinction of seeing the heaviest yearly rains.
South west of India, Kerala gets heavy rainfall but south east, Tamil Nadu gets scanty rainfall.
Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi)
Mahatma Gandhi needs no explanation. He is the father of our nation. He was the one who showed that freedom could be sought through non-violence. To be mentioned are his principles on truth, vegetarianism, simplicity, religion etc. He was born on 2nd October, 1869 at Porbandar in Gujarat (west coast of India). He had to sacrifice his life (he was shot dead) for his principles on 30th January, 1948. Maha-atma=Great soul. Gandhi’s full name is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He is reverently called Gandhiji or Bappu.
Religions originated in India: Hinduism, Jainism, Sikkhism & Buddhism
India is the birth place of several religions. Let me tell you about the religions that were born in India at first. Pictures of temples of these major religions are shown above. Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism & Buddhism was born in India. Buddhism reached Japan through China-Korea and now it is one of the major lifestyles of the Japanese.
Religions which came to India: Bahai, Parsi, Jew, Christianity, Islam
India has always been open to other cultures, languages & religions. Here is a glimpse on religions which came to India from other countries. These temples/shrines are of religions like bahai, parsi, jew, christian & muslim.. India has one of the world’s largest population of muslims (3rd or 4th).
Question: ..We got lots of knowladge about the Indian Culture and Histrory from this thread. But, I don’t completely agree with the line, that Buddhism was born in india, as you mention. Here I have collected a brife history of Buddhism, it may be helpful to clear your line more accurately. ..Siddharta Gautama was born around the year 580 BCE in the village of Lumbini in Nepal…Answer: I agree with you that Buddha was born in Lumbini in Nepal. Especially recent findings point to that.One point to be noted here is that most of us desis were part of the larger Indian subcontinent eons back. Indus valley civilization, most of the recovered remains are in Pakistan now and some in India. Yet we take it as part of the country. yeah before that we didn’t have the identity, india, nepal, pakistan or bangladesh. Anyways that is not the point I want to tell.
Let me show how I can argue Buddhism was born in present day India
. Buddha was born in present day Nepal, I agree again.
- Though I mentioned the birth of buddhism in (1), I will give the true credits to Ashoka (c.272-235 BC).Ashoka was the third descendant in the Mauryan Empire. While he was young, he was said to be cruel and killed all his brothers to get to the throne of his father Bindusara (c.297-272).
Asoka was succesful in conquering a vast empire (shown in picture). Yet, a small kingdom in Kalinga with its patriotic people didn’t give up. A long and bloody war broke out and thousands died. Seeing the burnt houses and scattered corpses, Ashoka got sick and his mind drastically changed.
He adopted Buddhism under Upagupta, the buddhist monk and he used his emperor status to propagate Buddhism to new heights and to the whole world, as far as Rome & Egypt. Though Buddhism originated by 6th century BCE,Till then (3rd Century BCE) Buddhism was not well known to the world. Ashoka made Buddhism his state religion around 260 BC. He propagated the school of Buddhism and preached it within his domain and worldwide from about 250 BC. Ashoka send his own son son and daughter for propagating buddhism around.
In other ways, one can say he assumed the role of Constantine I who later (272-373 AD) legalized and then legitimized Christianity in the Roman Empire for the first time.
References:
- India through the ages.
Authors: K.C.Vyas, D.R. Sar Desai, S.R.Nayak
available in Hokkaido University Main Library- wikipedia, other resources.
Well whatever be the origin of Buddha or Buddhism, India remains to be the place which have opened her hands to such diverse religions. Buddhism has grown and sustained in India. Even now, the Tibetan Buddhism finds its HeadQuarters and warm stay at Dharamsala in India.To end, Buddhism is born in those minds who follow the path of enlightenment. Let our minds be enlightened!
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43 Comments »
on 30 Oct 2005 at 4:48 pm 1.Marlin said …
gud…i like the way u have workrd on it…i wud surely forward this to Erica as well..she will def like it…
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on 09 Nov 2005 at 12:12 pm 2.A.Priya said …
hi ,
Hi you had taken a wonderful presentation. I am very proud of you & being an Indian
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on 09 Nov 2005 at 2:22 pm 3.Rajini said …
hi
Excellent work . keep it up.
humble being an INDIAN.
“Not only were ocean and rivers complete by themselves, but each drop of water was also complete in itself. Hence, the world did not mean continents and countries alone but that each man by himself was a world.”
ie u represented the whole INDIA.
cheers
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on 09 Nov 2005 at 9:26 pm 4.rocksea said …
thanks, marlin, priya & rajini. let us hope someone goes thru the myriads of faces of India and come to love them.. i am adding a few slides every day.
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on 01 Jan 2006 at 12:10 am 5.jina said …
hehe..cool…
happy newyear buddy…and how do u know erica?
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on 01 Jan 2006 at 8:42 pm 6.rocksea said …
oh! jina, the erica mentioned here isn’t the same as the one u know. i gave a hi there just cuz she is japanese. here the japanese have given me a warm abode with sweet smiles and i wish the same to those japanese in india too..
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on 04 Jan 2006 at 5:33 pm 7.rocksea » Indian influence on Japanese traditions & culture said …
[...] The Lion Capital seal, Japanese Buddhism & Ashoka The Lion Capital seal/emblem at Sarnath, near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh was erected by Mauryan king Ashoka, during 3 Century BC, to mark the spot where Buddha first proclaimed his gospel of peace and emanicipation to the four quarters of the universe. After independence, on 26 Jan 1950, the Ashoka lion symbol or the Lion Capital seal was adopted as the State Emblem of India and his wheel of life appears on the Indian National Flag. A Government of India publication described the significance of these symbols in the following words: The National Emblem is symbolic of contemporary India’s affirmation of its commitment to world peace and goodwill. The 4 lions - symbolizing power, courage and confidence - rest on a circular abacus. The abacus is girded by 4 smaller animals - guardians of 4 directions: the lion of the north, the elephant of the east, the horse of the south and the bull of the west. The abacus rests on a lotus in full bloom exemplifying the fountainhead of life and creative inspiration. The motto ‘Satyameva Jayate’ from Mundaka Upanishid inscribed below the emblem in the Devanagari script, means ‘Truth Alone Triumphs’. [...]
on 06 Jan 2006 at 7:28 pm 8.twilight said …
roti..naan..yummmyyyyyyyyy
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on 21 May 2006 at 5:53 pm 9.sunisha jain said …
india is great
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on 25 May 2006 at 2:06 am 10.purvi said …
hey good job i am also going to do presentation on india as well also making web page.
proud to be indian ha.
keept it up
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on 25 Jun 2006 at 4:31 am 11.neelia said …
I have Guide Guides in UK doing a presentation about India (culture, religion, Girlguiding). They found your site very useful.
Do you have any information you could send us about Girl Guides (girl scouts?) in India?
They have also to talk about “A Day in the life of an Indian person” - can you send us info?
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on 29 Jun 2006 at 12:10 am 12.sarah said …
Neelia, I hope these two sites help you in what you are looking for: http://www.bsgindia.org , http://www.sangamworldcentre.org . You can cruise through them and find some information on girl scouts and india too. Best wishes!
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on 06 Jul 2006 at 3:33 am 13.Vijay Chinnasamy said …
Hi,
This blog series is nice. Keep it up.
Many wishes from
Vijay Chinnasamy
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on 25 Aug 2006 at 2:23 pm 14.midhun said …
onam
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on 30 Aug 2006 at 3:48 am 15.SANKET 9833647537 said …
VERY USEFUL FOR WHOM WHO WANT TO KNOW IN DETAIL
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on 03 Sep 2006 at 7:06 pm 16.yogehs said …
india is great. india my life line.
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on 18 Sep 2006 at 10:09 pm 17.sarah said …
Chetta, a real good portrayal of our country. Makes any Indian proud of it. Finding so many various culture and traditions in a country is truely amazing and speaks a lot of the people living in it too. No wonder so many other cultures have borrowed religions, art, culture, philosophy etc…from India. The way you have emphasised on the major forms of festivals and art along wiht it’s main monuments is real good and the explanation of ‘Namaste’ too. It should also take away some ‘ideas’ some others have about India=curry! You have very well touched almost all basic aspects that make India what it is.
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on 28 Oct 2006 at 9:56 am 18.ramyaa said …
very interesting! and a great effort
must make ervery indian proud
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on 30 Oct 2006 at 4:41 am 19.Marie-Jeanne said …
The South Indian Breakfast looks great !(actually everyting on this site looks delicious) Can’t wait to try this food when going to India one of these days. Thanks for putting this presentation together !
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on 29 Jan 2007 at 2:24 am 20.Hiral said …
Amazing!! thx for the site..its great. hope to see more
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on 09 Feb 2007 at 12:29 am 21.Radhika said …
GREAT WORK…. To learn anything good about our country…. our MotherIndia gives us a reason to smile…. We are proud to be INDIANS…. NAMASTE INDIA…. “I BOW TO THEE MY MOTHERINDIA”
VANDE MATRAM
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on 29 May 2007 at 10:58 pm 22.Priya.B. said …
WOW!! Even though I live in the UK….India is the one place that I will always value and respect after all my roots are from there!! I must say I’M PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN!!!
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on 10 Jun 2007 at 12:55 am 23.t..... said …
india is da BEST!!!!!!!:):):D:D:D:D
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on 22 Jun 2007 at 12:36 am 24.Ishaan said …
Fabulous….amazing India and its culture…I enjoy leaving in this country. Mera Bharat Mahaan…kaheta hai Ishaan!!!
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on 02 Jul 2007 at 2:42 pm 25.ganesh shastry said …
my india the great she is eternal and immmortal
with the great faith of the poeple and the blood
of martyrs which nourishes the value of our independence in daily but un fortunately we are losing ourness Awake we the people of can do any thing…………PROUD TO BE IN INDIAN
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on 09 Jul 2007 at 4:56 pm 26.Mahendra said …
hey guy u took my heart
bcoz I LOVE INDIA FROM DEPTHS OF MY HEART
AND U TRIED TO GRACE IT`S SOUL
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on 23 Jul 2007 at 1:18 pm 27.fayeza said …
hiiiiiiii hey guys you all are who are doing this work i salute them. it is mindbloing keep it up.i wish you all the best bcz it help me a lot to make my presentation on india.thankyou.
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on 08 Aug 2007 at 6:56 pm 28.Ravi Kiran said …
Hi Friend,
Great to see this Blog. The info u have given is simply superb. Keep it up.
Affly,
Ravi Kiran (One more Indian)
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on 08 Aug 2007 at 6:56 pm 29.Ravi Kiran said …
Hi Friend,
Great to see this Blog. The info u have given is simply superb. Keep it up.
Affly,
Ravi Kiran
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on 09 Aug 2007 at 12:25 pm 30.ramu rasa said …
hey guy u took my heart
bcoz I LOVE INDIA,
‘I am proud to be an Indian every day’ -rasa.
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on 10 Aug 2007 at 12:48 am 31.vivek said …
india is realy great
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on 14 Aug 2007 at 1:20 pm 32.manasa said …
hey! very great.. many people should learn from u! i feel proud to be an INDIAN
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on 14 Sep 2007 at 8:25 pm 33.Anushka khanna said …
you all have made an iteresting website, i love this and i am proud to be an indian
jana mana gana mana adhinayak he. bharat bhagya vidhata.. punjab sindhu gujrat maratha. dravid, utkal banga.. vindhya himachal yamuna ganga. uchal jaldi taranga..tav shubh naame jaage.tav shubh aashish maage. jaygaatha.. jana gana mangaldayak jay ha.bharat bhagyavidhata.. jay he,jay he,jay he jay jay jay jay he.
written by ravindranaath tagore.
our frweedom fighers are mahatma gandhi,rani laksmi bai,lal bal pal, jawalal nehru etc.
jay hind…………..
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on 14 Sep 2007 at 8:36 pm 34.Anushka khanna said …
hi purvi,
how r u
will u tell me that how to make an website pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
if u will tell me that how to make an web then thanksssssssssssss.
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on 24 Dec 2007 at 10:15 pm 35.pallavi said …
it touched my heart.really good one.
jaaaaaaaaaaaaai hind!
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on 12 Jan 2008 at 3:38 pm 36.deeksha said …
you have made a very beautiful presentation and its amazing
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on 06 Feb 2008 at 11:47 am 37.Hanah said …
HELLO, VERY NICE SITE, LOVE THE PHOTOS!
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on 23 Mar 2008 at 1:36 pm 38.Aparna Deepika.N said …
This idea is very good idea,all age group of people enjoyed to see these dances photos.Lot of people forgot our culture,it shows our culture .I love India and like indian culture.please know about of our culture and dont forget it.,keep smile dont waste your time ,think always positive.
Life is a game - play it,
Life is a sea - Swim it,
Life is a challenge- win it.
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on 28 Mar 2008 at 5:45 pm 39.diti said …
surely our culture is the great one…its a delight in just being a part of it.
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on 09 Apr 2008 at 1:08 am 40.dilpreet said …
wow!!!!!!! that was awesome………india is one of the greatest nations in the world……..i feel myself on cloud 9 wen i introduce myself as an INDIAN…………
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on 25 May 2008 at 6:15 pm 41.paul said …
very good informative
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on 29 Jun 2008 at 10:35 pm 42.soniya said …
i love india… end i live in belguim..and iy wil say i feel proud to be an indian!!!!end india is realy great !!!!!!!! thanks !!!!! soniya
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on 09 Jul 2008 at 8:40 pm 43.Lydia said …
It is always a joy to see that the Indian women still know how to drape cloth into beautiful coverings for themselves. The colors are so bright, as if celebrating life. I hope the saree and other Indian costume continues for a long time, as an example to the world, and that the women there never try to adopt the clothing of the west. The cloth, the hairstyles, jewelry, and beauty of the Indian women is an inspiring example of your culture.
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