Pluralism

Pluralism, yes we find it in Individual minds, in family, in society, in the world today.

Was interesting to listen Sudeep say - X is getting married and Y is still waiting, because Y has more options/choices. Indeed; with diversity; more options; decision making becomes the key - and once decided we would keep wondering if the other choice was better.

As culture and religion often overlap, they can and do become central forces in shaping politics and society. And when we have a mix of these coexisting in a society, it is termed as pluralism.

One of the biggest challenges of our time is how do we learn to live in proximity to difference – different skin colours, different beliefs, and different ways of life. How do we peacefully talk to and negotiate with people with whom we may violently disagree? This is not easy but increasingly necessary in the contemporary world with so much movement of peoples, cultures and ideas. In this regard, the Indian experience offers some helpful lessons for diverse societies. The Indian experience shows that a delicate balance has been struck between individual and collective rights, the forces of centralization and decentralization, and the accommodation of diversity and universalism in society

India is the world's most complex and comprehensively pluralistic society, home to a vast variety of castes, tribes, communities, religions, languages, customs; and inspite of this we have Unity in Diversity; and is one of the biggest democracies in the world.

India is often referred to as the land of cultural plurality and diversity where two contrasting worldviews - that of the traditional and continuous and the formal and official (inherited from the British) thrive. These two views today coexist uncomfortably, often at cross purposes, clashing with the contemporary official and is impacting our cultural resources adversely; all said about its apprehensions in brief; it do have its own aspirations; due to which we are what we are today; attracting people around the globe.
Indian Cultural Landscape can be called ‘intellectual landscape’, a collection of religious, cultural and physical meanings ascribed to geographical components through collective memory, planted on the ground (shaped in real world and real time - the landscape) in active engagement of communities over generations, empowering nature and land. India was once called a country where on the branches of every tree golden birds resided. And therefore she attracted the Moghuls, Europeans; who came here; settled and took away many valuables.

Almost 70 years post Independence, education and professional training, hence the decision-making and policies of governance, hinges greatly on the Colonial perception of India. This limits the understanding, quality (relevance) and actions of our official systems for effective identification and safeguarding of our cultural resources, associations and values. But constitution of India protects it. In India no unified law applies to all citizens in respect of marriage and divorce. The Indian legal system is pluralistic in at least two ways. It is pluralistic in the sense that there are distinct personal laws for adherents of different religious faiths. A state sponsored system of codified law and civil and criminal courts coexist with a family court system. The existing body of writing does not adequately address the issue of the effectiveness of different strategies (as by and large the implementation was left to the state). Besides, the rapidly changing socio-economic and cultural context, wherein significant attitudinal transformation is occuring, necessitates identification of newer ways to make the 'old' concerns like tolerance and pluralism appealing.

Now as we move towards borderless world or in fact should; as various currencies in Europe have been replaced by single Euro; is it necessary, good and possible to be singular? An uphill and impossible task – as long as there are people; there would be differences of opinion; and with geographic differences same lifestyle would not be appealing. Need of the hour is to understand and co-exist; enjoying the beauty of it; and being in harmony with it. Education should teach us not to fight saying only what we do or say is right, but to accept the differences and embrace one and all.