From Khyber Pass in the north-west to the Cape Comorin in the south - India’s vastness is tremendous, so also its variety. It is  rightly said to be  a mosaic of manyness. The variety of India lies on the land, language, rivers, rocks, flora, fauna,  face, figure, foods, forest, habits, traits, dress, dance and so on. There is little common between a Pathan of Kashmir and Panikkar of Kerala. The Pathan and the  Panikkar are two extreme examples, the others who lie in between are equally  distinct from each other. It is  fascinating to see how Sikhs, Kashmiris, Biharis, Bengalis, Oriyas, Telugus, Tamils, Assamees, Kannads, Keralis, Sindhis, Parsis, Gujuratis, Marathis, Konkonis, Rajputs, Garwalis, Nagas, Mizos have      retained their specific distinct  characteristics for hundreds of years - still have more or less similar    values and virtues of being        Indians. Individually they share little but ideally they possess same set of moral and mental qualities. Throughout ages, despite their    local distinctiveness they have   developed a common national heritage called Indianess.

Indians may be different by their outward looks or language but they share same legacy of facing similar problems - problems of poverty, illiteracy, debts, droughts, floods, famines, foreign rules and fiscal deficits. They have therefore grown an identical psychological attitude towards life and its problems.

India from ancient times was a world  itself. It was not merely a country; it was a culture, a civilization, and a heritage. It often came in contact with foreign influences. But instead of getting lost, it absorbed the foreign element in itself. Notwithstanding the disruptive elements, it synthesized them all. The non Indians like Jews, Parsis, Muslims and Christians who came to India and settled down here became distinctively Indians in a few generations. But the Indian converts to some of these religions never ceased to be Indians on account of change in their faith. The Indians who went abroad and settled there for centuries in countries like Mauritius, Fiji, Syschelles and the Carrebians are still looked upon as Indians. An Indian Christian is often looked upon as Indian where over he goes. An Indian Muslim is considered as Indian in countries like Arabia, Turkey, Iran even if he shares their religious faith. An Indian of any nook and corner of the country would feel more or less at home in any part of  India or in the Indian diaspora world over. He would certainly feel alien in other countries. The Britishers who settled down in America became Americans and developed a sense of antipathy towards Britishers in a few decades. The Englishmen who shifted over to Australia also got assimilated with the Australian natives and considered Britishers as their greatest enemy. This however didn’t happen in case of Indians. Indians all over the world - whether America, Europe or England still look upon themselves as Indians. The Indian diaspora is therefore different from any other race or culture.

Inspite of a variety of divergences how is this Indianness ? The faith and belief of Indians is more internal than externally imposed upon. Some kind of a dream of unity has occupied the mind and heart of every Indian since the dawn of the civilization.

The belief is much deeper - that is why India has never broken into parts like Soviet Russia or Eastern European Countries. The secret of such unity lies in the sense of tolerance of absorbing the alien ones and acknowledging and synthesizing the variety itself. That is how India is great. Inspite of its variety, its unity is exemplary.