Class 10th English : Chapter 7 “The Unity Of Indian Culture” by Humayun Kabir

Class 10th English : प्रिय विद्यार्थियों, “Mindbloom Study” (#1 Online Study Portal) आपके लिए लाया है Class 10th English Chapter 7 “The Unity Of Indian Culture” by Humayun Kabir का हिंदी अनुवाद, Summary, Objective And Subjective Questions

INTRODUCTION

Humayan Kabir was a famous poet, novelist, essayist and a renowned political thinker. He was a Cabinet Minister for Scientific Research and Cultural Affairs during Nehru’s Primeminstership. An Oxford product, he had the proud privilege of being elected president of the Oxford University Student’s Union. The present piece is an adapted version of Humayun Kabir’s lecture delivered in Baroda University. The lecture focuses on the glorious past of India’s culture and its rich heritage. It precisely reflects Kabir’s love and faith in the greatness of his motherland.

THE UNITY OF INDIAN CULTURE

Till recently, the Aryans were regarded as the earliest invaders of the land. It was thought that they came to a country which was uncivilised and barbarian, but modern research has proved that there were invaders even before the Aryans poured into this land. They had evolved a civilization higher than that of the Aryan hordes who came in their wake. These Pre-Aryans had displaced still earlier people and built up new civilization which has astonished modern scholars by its extent and depth. The Aryan invasion repeated the process and led to fresh infusion of the old with the new. This continued with the successive inroads of fighting races who came to conquer but remained to lose themselves in the Indian racial cauldron. The Greek invaders were followed by Sakas and Huns and a hundred other nameless tribes. They all appeared on the scene as victors but were soon absorbed in the ranks of the vanquished.

Today, whatever is Indian, whether it be an idea, a word, a form of art, a political institution or a social custom, is a blend of many different strains and elements.

In spite of of this derivation from many sources and the consequent variety of forms and types we find a remarkable unity of spirit informing Indian culture throughout the ages. In fact, it is this underlying unity which is one of the most remarkable features of Indian culture. In volume and duration no civilization (with the possible exception of the Chinese) can bear comparison with the civilization of India. The area of the land, the number of the people, the variety of the races and the length of the India’s history are hardly repeated elsewhere. The vitality of Indian culture is equally amazing. In spite of a thousand vicissitudes, it has survived to the modern day. This has been possible only on account of a sense of Indianness which imposed unity on all diversity and wove into one fabric of national life the many strands of different texture, colour and quality which have entered here.

The ancient world threw up fine flowers of civilization in many lands. With the exception of India and China, they are all dead and gone.

It is only in India and to some extent in China that the old civilization and culture have grown and changed but never grown or changed at the expense of an underlying unity. This has been possible only through the capacity of readjustment exhibited by the Indian society.

One ground of this adjustment is found in the spirit of toleration that has characterised Indian history throughout the ages “Live and let live” has been the policy of the Indians in all spheres of life. Sometimes this has been carried so far that contrary, if not contradictory, attitudes have been allowed to survive simultaneously. Toleration had led to the sufferance, of civil and even indifference to the values of life. This however, is at worst the defect of a virtue. Such toleration is perhaps preferable to the fanatic devotion which leads to the denial and persecution of all other values but its own.

Throughout the changes of Indian history we therefore find a spirit of underlying unity which informs the diverse expressions of its life, but the unity was never a dead uniformity, a living unity never is.

Unity and universality must belong to any culture that is true and vital. Now culture is a concept which cannot be simply or unitarily defined.

There is no single character or mark which can be regarded as the essence or distinctive feature of culture. It is always a complex of many strands of varying importance and vitality. If we attempt to differentiate between culture and civilization of life which makes civil society possible, culture, on the other hand, is the resultant of such organisation and expresses itself through language and art, through philosophy and religion, through social habits and customs and through political institutions and economic organisations. Not one of them is separately culture, but collectively they constitute the expression of life which we describe as culture. Culture is the efflorescence of civilization. Civilization is the organisation of society which creates the condition of culture. There can, therefore, be no culture without civilization, but there may be civilization which have not yet developed their culture. Perhaps what is more often the case is that there are civilised people among whom only a small section have achieved culture. We have, therefore, had and still have races and nations that are civilised, but, except for India, we have not yet had any nation or race that could be regarded as cultured in all its sections and classes, for here in India, culture is almost as extensive as civilization……

The experience of European countries gives us cases of civilization without culture. In India, on the other hand, even the casual tourist has observed that the difference between the masses and classes is not one of quality and can be explained in terms of information and opportunity. It is often otherwise in Europe. There the difference in quality between the masses and the classes is at times so great that it has shaken the faith of the most fervent of democrats.

The remarkable phenomenon can be explained only in terms of the unity and continuity of Indian culture. Unity is in one sense, the common characteristic of all culture. What specially distinguishes the culture of India is its unbroken continuity. Here, there have been no violent or sudden breaks, but on the contrary, a steady growth and extension of culture which has gradually permeated every class and section of society.

MAIN POINT FOR EXAMINATION

ANSWER QUESTIONS

Q1) Write ‘T’ for true and F’ for false statements —
a) The vitality of Indian culture is not amazing. (भारतीय संस्कृति की जीवंतता अद्भुत नहीं है।) — F
b) The ancient world threw up fine flowers of civilization in many lands. (प्राचीन विश्व ने कई देशों में अच्छे सभ्यता को जन्म दिया ।)  — T
c) The old Civilization and culture have grown up and changed only in Japan. (पुरानी सभ्यता और संस्कृति केवल जापान में ही विकसित और परिवर्तित हुई है।) — F
d) The Aryans were regarded as the earliest invaders of the land. (आर्यों को भारत के भूमि पर सबसे पहले आक्रमणकारी माना जाता था।) — T

Q2) How were the Aryans regarded till recently? (हाल तक आर्यों को कैसा माना जाता था?)
Answer :– Till recently the Aryans were regarded as the earliest invaders of the land. (हाल तक आर्यों को भारत के भूमि पर सबसे प्रारंभिक आक्रमणकारी माना जाता था।)

Q3) How did the pre-Aryans build up a new civilization? (पूर्व-आर्यों ने एक नई सभ्यता का निर्माण कैसे किया?)
Answer :– The pre-Aryans had come to India before the Aryans arrived. They had displaced the people who were living here. They built up a new civilization which was remarkable for its extent and depth. Their civilization was better than that of the Aryans who came to India after them. (आर्यों के आगमन से पूर्व-आर्य भारत में आ चुके थे। उन्होंने यहां रहने वाले लोगों को विस्थापित कर एक नई सभ्यता का निर्माण किया जो अपनी विस्तार और गहराई के लिए उल्लेखनीय थी। उनकी सभ्यता उनके बाद भारत आये आर्यों की सभ्यता से बेहतर थी।)

Q4) What according to the author is the most remarkable feature of Indian culture? (लेखक के अनुसार भारतीय संस्कृति की सबसे उल्लेखनीय विशेषता क्या है?)
Answer :– According to the author, the most remarkable feature of Indian culture is its spirit of unity. Many races and tribes came to India one after another. They had their own distinct cultures but they were soon absorbed into Indian culture. (लेखक के अनुसार भारतीय संस्कृति की सबसे उल्लेखनीय विशेषता इसकी एकता की भावना है। एक के बाद एक कई जातियाँ और जनजातियाँ भारत आईं। उनकी अपनी अलग संस्कृतियाँ थीं लेकिन वे जल्द ही भारतीय संस्कृति में समाहित हो गए।)

Q5) Where has old civilization and culture grown and changed? (पुरानी सभ्यता और संस्कृति कहाँ विकसित और परिवर्तित हुई है?)
Answer :– Old civilization and culture have grown and changed only in India and China. The capacity of readjustment exhibited by the Indian society has enabled to preserve its ancient civilization and culture. (पुरानी सभ्यता और संस्कृति केवल भारत और चीन में ही विकसित और परिवर्तित हुई है। भारतीय समाज द्वारा प्रदर्शित पुन: समायोजन की क्षमता ने अपनी प्राचीन सभ्यता और संस्कृति को संरक्षित करने में सक्षम बनाया है।)

Q6) What has been the policy of the Indians in all spheres of life? (जीवन के सभी क्षेत्रों में भारतीयों की नीति क्या रही है?)
Answer :– “Live and Let live” has been the policy of the Indians in all spheres of life. (जीवन के सभी क्षेत्रों में “जियो और जीने दो” भारतीयों की नीति रही है।)

Q7) What is preferable to fanatic devotion? (कट्टर भक्ति से बेहतर क्या है?)
Answer :– Toleration is preferable to the fanatic devotion which leads to the denial and persecution of all other values but its own. (कट्टर भक्ति की तुलना में सहिष्णुता बेहतर है जो अपने अलावा अन्य सभी मूल्यों को नकारने और उत्पीड़न की ओर ले जाती है।)

Q8) Which spirit underlines the changes of Indian history? (भारतीय इतिहास के परिवर्तनों का आधार कौन सी भावना है?)
Answer :– The spirit of unity underlines the changes of Indian history. Indian culture is a blend of many elements but there is unity beneath this diversity. (एकता की भावना भारतीय इतिहास के परिवर्तनों को रेखांकित करती है। भारतीय संस्कृति कई तत्वों का मिश्रण है लेकिन इस विविधता में एकता भी है।)

Q9) How does Humayun Kabir define culture? (हुमायूँ कबीर संस्कृति को किस प्रकार परिभाषित करते हैं?)
Answer :– As per Humayun Kabir culture is the essence of civilization. Culture expresses itself through language and art, through philosophy and religion, through social habits and customs and through political in situation and economic organization. (हुमायूँ कबीर के अनुसार संस्कृति ही सभ्यता का सार है। संस्कृति स्वयं को भाषा और कला के माध्यम से, दर्शन और धर्म के माध्यम से, सामाजिक आदतों और रीति-रिवाजों के माध्यम से और राजनीतिक स्थिति और आर्थिक संगठन के माध्यम से व्यक्त करती है।)

Q10) How does Humayun Kabir define civilization? (हुमायूँ कबीर सभ्यता को किस प्रकार परिभाषित करते हैं?)
Answer :– Civilization is the organization of society which creates the conditions of culture. There can be no culture without civilization but there may be civilization which may not have developed their culture. (सभ्यता समाज का संगठन है जो संस्कृति की परिस्थितियों का निर्माण करती है। सभ्यता के बिना कोई संस्कृति नहीं हो सकती लेकिन ऐसी सभ्यताएँ भी हो सकती हैं जिन्होंने अपनी संस्कृति विकसित नहीं की होगी।)

Q11) What does the experience of European countries give us? (यूरोपीय देशों का अनुभव हमें क्या देता है?)
Answer :– The experience of European countries gives us cases of civilization without culture. (यूरोपीय देशों का अनुभव हमें संस्कृति के बिना सभ्यता के उदाहरण देते है।)

Q12) How is Indian culture different from the cultures of other countries? (भारतीय संस्कृति अन्य देशों की संस्कृतियों से किस प्रकार भिन्न है?)
Answer :– Indian culture is different form the cultures of other countries. It is remarkable for unity and countinuity. It has a unique capacity of absorbing external influences. Many tribes, with their own civilizations and cultures came to India. Our culture absorbed their influences. There is unity in diversity in Indian culture. The Indian society has capacity of readjustment and toleration. Unlike the cultures of other countries, Indian culture is as extensive as its civilization itself. All classes are equally cultured in India. In European countries there is a culture gap between the poor and the rich. (भारतीय संस्कृति अन्य देशों की संस्कृति से भिन्न है।  यह एकता और निरंतरता के लिए उल्लेखनीय है। इसमें अलग-अलग संस्कृतियों को अवशोषित करने की अनोखी क्षमता होती है। अनेक जनजातियाँ अपनी-अपनी सभ्यताओं और संस्कृतियों के साथ भारत आईं। हमारी संस्कृति ने उनके संस्कृतियों को आत्मसात किया। अनेकता में एकता भारतीय संस्कृति की सबसे प्रमुख विशेषता है। भारतीय समाज में पुनः समायोजन और सहन करने की क्षमता है। अन्य देशों की संस्कृतियों के विपरीत, भारतीय संस्कृति उतनी ही व्यापक है जितनी इसकी सभ्यता।  भारत में सभी वर्ग समान रूप से सुसंस्कृत हैं। यूरोपीय देशों में गरीबों और अमीरों के बीच सांस्कृतिक अंतर है।)

B.1.1 Write ‘T’ for true and ‘F’ for false statements:

1. The vitality of Indian culture is not amazing. → F
2. The ancient world threw up fine flowers of civilization in many lands. → T
3. The old civilization and culture have grown up and changed only in Japan. → F
4. The Aryans were regarded as the earliest invaders of the land. → T
5. Give the opposites of the following words:
     1. Modern ….Past/out of date…
     2. Conquer ….lose/scale…
     3. Unity …Divisiom/disunity…
     4. Possible … inpossible…
     5. Dead ….Alive….

B.1.2. Answer the following questions briefly:

1. Who has delivered the speech ‘The Unity of Indian Culture?
2. How were the Aryans regarded till recently?
3. How did the pre-Aryans build up a new civilization?
4. What according to the author is the most remarkable feature of Indian culture?
5. Where has old civilization and culture grown and changed?

– : The End : –