INDIA’S DIVERSITY-A STRATEGIC ASSET

India is a vast country, consisting of people belonging to different religions, professing different political faiths and using different languages with cultural diversity. India stands as one of the most diverse countries in the world, a subcontinent that is home to over 100 languages, over 700 different tribes, and with every major religion. Diversity of India is reflected in its religions, ethnicities, customs and social structures across a population of 1.4 bn. In India each state has its own unique historical, mythological and cultural background. The whole country, viewed at a glance, shows diversities but remains to unite. Despite different cultures, religions and languages, people of India live together with love and brotherhood. Great unity in diversity makes India an example of a unique cultural society. Each region of country, from Ladakh to Kanyakumari, presents different customs and traditions. People and the country’s secular and pluralist approach since its inception has inarguably helped India being to realise a “Diversity Dividend”. The prize of diversity is high, and the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly reaffirmed the government’s commitment to diversity and pluralism with a vision of a united and peaceful India. However, fully unlocking the value of India’s diversity will require meeting a number of political, economic and social challenges. The economic and political incentives for India’s leaders to unlock India’s “Diversity Dividend” are clear, increasing social stability, creating political capital for further structural reforms, reducing country risk, attracting foreign investment, and maximizing the value of India’s human capital. Doing so will require India going further in advocating the primacy of diversity and rights within its borders, based on the principles of inclusion that the PM has advocated since assuming office in 2014. The Prime Minister has emphasized that “His government will ensure that there is complete freedom of faith and that everyone has the undeniable right to retain or adopt the religion of his or her choice without coercion. His government will not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others, overtly or covertly”.
To unlock the full value of, the government will need a programme far beyond merely avoiding pitfalls or pandering to unmerited and unjust differences, which is part of legacy of India’s post- independence. It will need to create a fully inclusive society with a united vision for the country which every Indian, regardless of their individual social, cultural or religious identity, must subsume within a bigger national identity.