Concentration of Religious Groups
Hindus According to the Census 2001. about 82 per cent of the total population of India is Hindu by faith. They are predominantly distributed throughout the country, but in a few areas, like the Kashmir Valley, Punjab, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and parts of Kerala, they are in minority (Fig. 13.14).
Fig. 13.14 Hindu Population (2011)
was established in Kerala. The largest number of Christian population is in the state of Kerala— about 29% of the total population. Christians number more than one million in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tamil Nadu. Their proportion is significantly large in the states of Mizoram, and Goa.
Nagaland (90%) and Mizoram (87%) have the largest percentage in population. (Fig. 13.16).
Fig. 13.16 Christian Population (2011)
Sikhs The religion of Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak Sahib in the fifteenth century. The Sikhs constitute about 2 per cent of the total population of the country (Census, 2001). Sikhism attempted to create social harmony by removing the Hindu caste system and permitting widow remarriage. But for a long time it remained confined to Punjab and has accepted Gurmukhi as its language. Nearly 79 per cent of the total population of Sikhs is concentrated in the state of Punjab (Fig. 13.17). In addition to Punjab, Sikhs are found in Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan and the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand (Udham Singh Nagar). At present, Sikhs have spread in all parts of the country and have acquired international presence in I J.K., Canada, U.S.A., Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Fig. 13.17 Density of Sikh Population (2011)
Buddhism Buddhism was founded by Gautam Buddha (563-483 BC) in North India. The Buddhists constitute less than one per cent of the total population of the country. Nearly 80 per cent of the Buddhists live in Maharashtra. The traditional pockets of Buddhism are Ladakh, areas ot Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura (Fig. 13.18).
Fig. 13.18 Density of the Buddhist Population (2001)
Jainism India is the homeland of Jainism which is a minority religion (0.4%) and has no perceptible following in other countries. Its followers are found in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Karnataka, particularly in urban areas. The Jains have an important influence in business and politics.
Zoroastrianism The Parsis (population about 1.67 lakh) are the followers of Zoroastrianism (2011). It was a dominant religion in the days of the Old Persian Empire. The essence of its ethics is well summed up in three words: llumata (good thoughts), Ilukhta (good words), and Iluvarshta (good deeds). Their religious book is Dinkart. They first reached Diu in 766 A.D. and shifted their colony to Mt. Bharhat (1490). From there they spread to Navsari and ultimately to Udvada. They have been influenced by the Hindu customs, but they do not advocate celibacy, and permit remarriage. About 80 per cent of the Parsi population is concentrated in Greater Mumbai and the rest in Navsari, Udvada, Surat, and Ahmadabad.
Religious Regions of India The cultural regions of India based on religion have been plotted in Fig. 13.19.
Fig-1319 Religious Regions 2011
It may be seen from Fig. 13.19 that the greater part of the country has a dominance of Hindu religion and culture with sprinkled populations of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and tribals. The hill states of north east India are however, characterised by the mixed population of Christians, Tribals, Hindus, and Muslims. The Muslim dominated regions are the Kashmir Division and Kargil District of Jammu and Kashmir state. Muslims are quite significant in northern Kerala and in Agra, Meerut, Lucknow, Rohilkhand, and Saharanpur divisions of Uttar Pradesh. Ahmadabad, Bhopal, Ilydarabad, Kolkata and Mumbai, Surat. The state of Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh are the Sikh dominated parts of the country (Fig. 13.19).
Customs Customs are a very important component of cultural geography. A custom is a frequent repetition of the same act to the extent that it becomes characteristic of the group of people performing the act. Habit is a similar word which is adopted by an individual, while custom is the act which has been adopted by most of the people of an ethnic group or society. There is a positive correlation between the customs and utilisation of environment (resources). In fact, the tradition bound society has many oral folk traditions. In the delineation of cultural regions, customs (folk dance, folk lore, folk medicine, etc.) are also important indicators.
Cultural regions of India bated on Language, Religion and Custom* The cultural regions of India based on language, religion, and traditions have been plotted in Fig. 13.20.
It may be seen from Fig. 13.20 that on the basis of language, religion, customs, and traditions, India may be divided into the following ten cultural regions:
1. The Ladakhi-Buddhist Cultural Region
2. The Kashmiri-Muslim Cultural Region
3. The Sikh-Gurumukhi Cultural Region
4. The Kinnauri-Dev-Bhumi Cultural Region (Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand)
5. The Hindu-Hindi Cultural Region
6. The Mixed Cultural Region of north east India
7. The Bengali Cultural Region
8. The Tribo-IIindu Cultural Region of Chotanagpur
9. The Marathi Hindu Cultural Region
10. The Dravi do-Cultural Region (comprising of Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Malyalam) 1. The Ladakh Cultural Region: It has the dominance of Buddhists and Ladakhi language. There are Gompas and monasteries in this region. Leh and Dhramshala are the important sacred and cultural centres of this region.
2. The Kashmiri-Muslim Cultural Region: Stretching over the valley of Kashmir and northern parts of Jammu (Doda district, etc) and southern parts of Ladakh (Kargil) divisions, it is a predominantly Muslim dominated region in which Kashmiri is the main language. Hindus and Sikhs though in minority, speak Kashmiri and follow the Kashmiri cultural traditions.
3. The Sikh-Gurmukhi Cultural Region: Stretching over the state of Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, this region has the majority of Sikhs who speak Punjabi language. The Hindus are in minority. This region is characterised by Gurudwaras in almost all the villages and towns. The Golden Temple situated in the city of Amritsar is a sacred place and an important pilgrimage centre for religious people.
Fig. 13.20 Cultural Regions based on Religion, Language, and Traditions 2011
4. The Kinnauri-Dev Bhumi Cultural Region: This region sprawls over the mountainous parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It is called the Dev-Bhumi in which there are many religious shrines (Kedamath, Badrinath, Hardwar, Paonta Saheb, etc.). In the region of Himachal Pradesh, Kinnauri is the dominant language, while in Uttarakhand Hindi is the language of the masses. 5. The Hindu-Hindi Cultural Region: This region covers the states of Bihar, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, southern parts of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. It is the Hindi Heartland with dominance of Hindu religion. In western Uttar Pradesh and in urban centres, Muslims consititute a significant minority. Sikhs and Christians are also sprinkled, mainly in the urban areas like Delhi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Meerut, Agra, and Allahabad.
6. The Mixed Cultural Region of North East India: Stretching across the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Nagaland, and Tripura, it is a region of mixed culture in which there are areas of dominance of Hindus, Christians, Muslims and Tribal religion. There is a great diversity in the languages, religion, customs, folk-dances, music, and folk medicine.
7. The Bengali-Cultural Region: Spreading over West Bengal and the adjacent regions of Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar, this region has the dominance of Bengali speaking people. The main religion of the people is Hinduism, while Muslims constitute a significant minority in isolated pockets. 8. The Tribo-Hindu Cultural Region: This cultural region spreads over Chotanagpur plateau. Most of the people belong to Hindu religion, while Christians are also significant in number. Most of the people speak Hindi language.
9. The Marathi-Hindu Cultural Region: Stretching over Maharashtra, parts of Gujarat, Goa and the adjacent regions of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, this region has a dominance of Marathi language and Hindu population. Concentration of Muslims and Buddhists is in isolated pockets. 10. The Dravido-Cultural Region: This region sprawls over Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The people belong to the Paleo- Mediterranean race and speak Dravidian language. The major languages are Tamil, Malyalam, Telgu, and Kannad (Fig. 13.20).