Religion and Economic Activity in India: an Historical Perspective
India's social structure is a unique blend of diverse religions, cultures, and racial groups. Historically, India has been a hospitable land to numerous immigrants and hence fell an easy prey to invaders from distant parts of Asia and Europe. The cultural patterns of these alien settlers have, over the past many centuries, been interwoven with the native culture to produce India's glorious cultural heritage. The uniqueness of Indian social structure lies in it's unity amidst diversity. The population of India is racially diverse combining element of six main racial types viz, the Nagrito the proto Australoid, the Mongoloid, the Mediterranean, the western Brachycephals and the Nordic. All the great religion of the world, via, the Hindus, the Muslims, the Christians, etc, are found here. There are 18 major literary languages, apart from numerous other languages and dialects. There is striking diversity between various communities and groups in kinships and marriages rites, customs, inheritance and modes of living. Diversity is also seen in the pattern of rural as well as urban settlements, community life, cultural and social behavior as also in the institutional framework.
Religion and economic activity in India: an historical perspective
Introduction
RELIGIOUS THOUGHT and economic activity have been closely linked throughout the history of India. To justify this claim, this paper will examine briefly two periods in Indian history, ancient India as exemplified by the Mauryan empire, and medieval India of the 8th to the 13th centuries, while suggesting in both cases that a strong interrelationship exists between religious thought and economic structure. Extrapolating to the present, it shall be contended that a key to understanding the social environment of contemporary India is some knowledge of the myriad links between, and the historical evolution of, the religious and economic forces at work in India's current environment.
The apposition in this
Religion and economic activity in India: an historical perspective
Introduction
RELIGIOUS THOUGHT and economic activity have been closely linked throughout the history of India. To justify this claim, this paper will examine briefly two periods in Indian history, ancient India as exemplified by the Mauryan empire, and medieval India of the 8th to the 13th centuries, while suggesting in both cases that a strong interrelationship exists between religious thought and economic structure. Extrapolating to the present, it shall be contended that a key to understanding the social environment of contemporary India is some knowledge of the myriad links between, and the historical evolution of, the religious and economic forces at work in India's current environment.
The apposition in this