NCERT Summary: Understanding Diversity - Notes | Study Social Studies (SST) Class 6 - Class 6

Diversity in India

• India is a country of many diversity.
• People speak different languages, have various types of food, celebrate different festivals, practise different religions.

How do we explain Diversity

• During ancient times, man was a nomad.
  • Later he started to lead a social life which led to the emergence of diversity.
• Human beings are social animals and thus cannot fulfill all their needs on their own. 
•  They depend on each other and also on their social groups to fulfill the needs.
• Within various social groups of humans, different activities are performed depending on the culture, skills, geographic location, interests and understanding.
• Historical and geographical factors also influence the diversity of a region. 

Historical and geographical factors

• We can understand this diversity better through case study of Ladakh and Kerala.

Ladakh

• Ladakh is a desert in the mountains in the eastern part of Jammu and Kashmir. 
• Very little agriculture is possible here since this region is covered in snow for a large part of the year. 
• People here keep sheep and goats. 
  • The goats in this region are special because they produce pashmina wool.
• The people in Ladakh sell pashmina wool to traders from Kashmir. Pashmina shawls are chiefly woven in Kashmir.
• Buddhism reached Tibet via Ladakh. 
• Islam was introduced in this region more than four hundred years ago and there is a significant Muslim population here. 

Kerala

• Kerala is a state in the southwest corner of India. 
• It is surrounded by the sea on one side and hills on the other. 
• A number of spices like pepper, cloves and cardamoms are grown on the hills.
• Jewish and Arab traders were the first to come here. 
• People in Kerala practice different religions such as Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism. 
• The fertile land and climate are suited to growing rice.

Kerala and Ladakh

• Kerala and Ladakh are quite different in terms of their geographical features, the history of both regions has seen similar cultural influences. 
• Both regions were influenced by Chinese and Arab traders. 
• It was the geography of Kerala which allowed for the cultivation of spices and the special geographical location of Ladakh and its wool that drew traders to these regions. 

Unity in Diversity

• India's diversity has always been recognized as a source of its strength. 
• When the British ruled India, women and men from different cultural, religious and regional backgrounds came together to oppose them.