India: Facts & Stats

CULTURE

Traditions:

According to Eugene M. Makar, the traditional Indian culture is defined by relatively strict social hierarchy. He also mentions that from an early age, children are reminded of their roles and places in society. This is reinforced by the fact that many believe gods and spirits have integral and functional role in determining their life. Several differences such as religion divide culture. However, far more powerful division is the traditional Hindu bifurcation into non-polluting and polluting occupations. Strict social taboos have governed these groups for thousands of years. In recent years, particularly in cities, some of these lines have blurred and sometimes even disappeared. Nuclear family is becoming central to Indian culture. Important family relations extend to as far as gotra, the mainly patrilinear lineage or clan assigned to a Hindu at birth. In rural areas it is common that three or four generations of the family live under the same roof. Patriarch often resolves family issues.

Among developing countries, India has low levels of occupational and geographic mobility. People choose same occupations as their parents and rarely move geographically in the society.

During the nationalist movement,pretentious behavior was something to be avoided.Egalitarian behaviour and social service were promoted. nonessential spending was disliked and spending money for ‘showing off’ was deemed a vice.

Celebrations:

India, being a multicultural and multireligious society, celebrates holidays and festivals of various religions. There are three national holidays in India: states and regions have local festivals depending on prevalent religious and linguistic demographics. Popular religious festivals include the Hindu festivals of Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Dussehra and the Islamic festivals of Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Mawlid an-Nab? which are celebrated throughout the country. Muharram, mourning for the Prophet Muhammad's grandson is observed by some sects of Islam. In addition, the Sikh festivals such as Guru Nanak Jayanti, the Christian festivals such as Christmas, Good Friday and Jain festivals like Mahavir Jayanti, Paryushan are celebrated in certain areas where these religions have a significant following.

While having so many Government Holidays keep in line with the idea of peaceful co-existence of all religions, there have been demands from various public bodies that the system of a multitude of religious holidays is hampering economic activities to a great extent. The past two Central Govt. Pay Commissions have recommended the abolition of all Central Govt. Holidays on religious festivals, and instead, substitute with three national Holidays, i.e., Independence Day (August 15), Republic Day (January 26) and Gandhi Jayanti October 2). It was also recommended to increase the amount of existing Restricted Holidays (Optional Holidays) depending on one's religious persuasion from existing two to eight. The rationale being, 8 holidays can more than cater for the festivals of any particular religion. So there is no point in having more than these many number of holidays, since religion does not warrant a Hindu to celebrate Id or a Muslim to celebrate Diwali. With the proposed system, however, it was left to the individual to chose which 8 Holidays to celebrate, irrespective of his religious belief. However, this logical recommendation has not been accepted by the Govt. of India, fearing a loss of popularity, and thus Indian Govt. continues with an unusually large number of religious holidays as compared to most other countries.

National

• Republic Day - 26 January
• Independence Day - 15 August
• Gandhi Jayanti - 2 October

Alcohol:

The varieties of alcohol manufactured for consumption in India are:

• Beer
• Country Liquor
• Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL)
• Wines

Indian liquor brands have registered significant growth in recent years - some of the top Indian alcohol brands showing an increase of as much as 50 per cent in sales (1993-97). United Breweries registered an increase of nearly 20 per cent in sale in the year 1998-99.

The legal minimum age to purchase liquor ranges from 18 years in some state to 25 years in others. Delhi has minimum age limit of 25 years. So far, the efficiency of enforcement has not been studied. It has, however, been shown that an increase in the age of legal drinking from 18 years to 21 years achieves nearly 60 per cent of the effect of prohibition on alcohol consumption.

Sports and Hobbies:

India's official national sport is field hockey, administered by the Indian Hockey Federation. The Indian field hockey team won the 1975 Men's Hockey World Cup and 8 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals at the Olympic games. However, cricket is the most popular sport; the India national cricket team won the 1983 Cricket World Cup and the 2007 ICC World Twenty, and shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka. Cricket in India is administered by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and domestic competitions include the Ranji Trophy, the Duleep Trophy, the Deodhar Trophy, the Irani Trophy and the Challenger Series. In addition Indian cricket league and Indian premier league organise Twenty competitions.

Tennis has become increasingly popular, owing to the victories of the India Davis Cup team. Association football is also a popular sport in northeast India, West Bengal, Goa and Kerala. The Indian national football team has won the South Asian Football Federation Cup several times. Chess, commonly held to have originated in India, is also gaining popularity with the rise in the number of Indian Grandmasters. Traditional sports include kabaddi, kho kho, and gilli-danda, which are played nationwide. India is also home to the ancient martial arts, Kalarippayattu and Varma Kalai.

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Arjuna Award are India's highest awards for achievements in sports, while the Dronacharya Award is awarded for excellence in coaching. India hosted or co-hosted the 1951 and the 1982 Asian Games, the 1987 and 1996 Cricket World Cup. It is also scheduled to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

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