And we have not even begun to talk about ethnicities (genetics), language families, climatic conditions etc. At this time, i suggest you write a post on your own blog on this topic comparing Europe’s diversity with that of India.

Peter seems to think he’s the only one who has read books on India. I merely pointed out that I have several on India in my personal library.

How many modern education systems focus on the culture of a country, that too the culture of their community? Schools cannot teach children everything they need to know. Then, what’s the role of the parents? I’m not saying schools are perfect now, but have you validated your expectations? Anyway, that’s a tangential discussion.

I wonder what you would think if you heard my neighbor’s view of India. He’s from Finland, worked & lived in India for 3 years, has some good things to say & some not so-good. Would you be this accepting of views from that outsider, when they don’t match your views? Just curious.

Do you mean that if there is anything common, then there is no diversity? My stand was, that a religion alone doesnt constitute a culture, but it is an important part of a culture..

Let me elaborate my understanding.. The whole of europe (except for turkey) follows christianity. Christianity is a centralised religion, with authority residing in Vatican. Although there are different groups in christianity (like protestant evangelical, pentacostal etc), all of then believe in the same bible, and the same Jesus.

All christians, attend weekly congregations. All christians celebrate christmas, ester, goodfriday throughout europe in the same way (probably some exceptions).. the mode of prayer is almost same in all churches.. every christian worships in the same manner..

There are some more common practice, which i could not remember..

Now, does this NOT form part of each culture.. I am saying only part.. and the rest is unique to each nation..

So essentially, christianity has become a primary binding layer over the diverse cultures and races of europe and have given a common identity, and thus connecting all of europe.. by saying this, i do not mean, there is NO diversity..

We cannot say the same for India, because Hinduism is NOT a monotheistic religion like christianity.. To quote an example, till today, the culture, religious practice that my family following varies largely from that of your family.. If we take the sample size of this sastwingees community , i believe the difference would be seen obvious..

/** Perhaps you’ll say that Bobby Jindal became a Christian when he was 15 years old, so people voted for him. **/

Priya.. that is the truth.. If Bobby Jindal is not a christian, he could not have entered politics itself.. Imagine, even Obama has to struggle to identify himself as a christian to stand for presidential race..
Let’s accept the reality and truth..

/** you can’t trivialize the cultural, linguistic & racial diversity of Europe by taking a Western European nation as an example. That’s a straw-man model – easy to knock off & hardly accurate.
**/

I am not trivializing the cultural, linguistic and racial diversity.. indeed i accept and agree those.. what i am saying is that religion plays a central role in uniting Europe, and hence the acceptance of the hungarians/italians by french..

PS: i have a question here.. will french would have accepted sarkozy, if he still have sticked to his hungarian culture? From your own statements in this post, the french could accept him, because he has adopted french culture.. Does this not sound supporting me

Thank you for your inputs about india.. I have myself realised the so much variations in my community with in few districts.. People of my community staying some 200 km away have a lot of variations in customs, language, speaking style, and attitude. There are around 140 registered subsects in my community, and more than 200 community temples each with its own customs and traditions.. Our community mostly resides in the western tamilnadu of around 12 districts..

If such a small region could have so many variations, we could imagine the whole of india..

To cite a contrasting difference, people in our community still practice animal sacrifice in our community temples.. whereas, the Brahmin community to which Priya belongs to, have entirely different customs and rituals.

Priya.. I bet, we need a book to know more about india.. NOT just book, but a whole lot of research in to indian culture and customs, and a elaborate documentation.. ( If you dont agree this, its ok.. if you want to challenge my stand, i am ready .. probably in a different post )

Right from independance, indian culture is Never taught in the schools or colleges.. Today, much of indians are ignorant of their own culture.. ( i mean the culture of their community)..

Secondly, i would consider peter’s view of india as an important one.. As an outsider, and having stayed in india for around 5 years, we should consider his views, to know how people of other countries look at us.. Its just like an individual knowing himself through others..