2. Characteristics of Indian Society

♤ Multi-ethnic society- Indian society is multi-ethnic in nature due to co-existence of wide variety of racial groups in India. India is home to almost all the racial profiles prevalent in the world,

♤ Multilingual society- Across the length and breadth of the country, more than 1600 languages are spoken. Among them the major languages are Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali etc.

♤ Multi-class society- Indian society is segmented into multiple classes. This division can be on the basis of birth as well as financial and social achievements during one's lifetime.

♤ Patriarchal society- Indian society is largely a patriarchal society where men tend to enjoy greater status than women . However, some tribal societies are matrilineal societies where women have the dominant decision making power.

♤ Unity in diversity- This is an inherent feature of Indian society. Diversity in India exists at various levels in different forms. However, beneath this diversity, there is fundamental unity in social institutions and practices.

♤ Co-existence of traditionalism and modernity- Traditionalism is upholding or maintenance of core values. Whereas modernity refers to questioning the tradition and moving towards rational thinking, social, scientific and technological progress. Due to the spread of education and technological advances, modern thinking among Indians has increased. However, the family life is still bound by traditional value and belief systems.

♤ Balance between spiritualism and materialism- Spiritualism's main focus is to promote an individual's experience with God. Whereas materialism is a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values. Indian society is largely possess spiritual orientations. However due to increased Westernisation, materialistic tendencies have also become quite visible.

♤ Balance between Individualism and collectivism- Individualism is a moral, political or social outlook that stresses human independence, self-reliance and liberty. Whereas collectivism is the practice of giving a group priority over each individual in it. There exists a fine balance between them in Indian society.

♤ Blood and kinship ties- Blood relations and kinship ties enjoy a stronghold over other social relationships. They continue to govern the political and economic spheres of life.