Cultural diversity.

Md. AyubMallick 1 Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Kalyani, Nadia, PIN 741235 Corresponding Author: Md. AyubMallick -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Date of Submission: 24-08-2017 Date of acceptance: 10-11-2017 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------People feel that the prescription for perceived linear process of development is the result of dangerous cultural homogeneity. But peoples have their own ways of life as value, as right, as responsibility and as their opportunity. For culture and development to come together harmoniously and for humanity to progress authentically each and every individual seeks a strong sense of identity as well as community. Salad-bowl pluralism is essential to establish and flourish democratic initiatives. We should not recognize mono-cultural and mono-lingual expansionism, but we should construct our identities by recognizing one‟s self and the other without losing sight of other. We need not Western expansionism. In fact, human cultural behaviour is learned and dynamic. Cultural diversity essentially unfolds itself in different castes, races, religions, tribes, contesting voices and oral languages etc. Everyone should be included in the democratic process as post-modernist thinkers say. There is power everywhere. We need not melting-pot multiculturalism like that of the Americans. „In 2001, when cultural diversity was actually of „common heritage of humanity‟ through the UNESCO Universal Declaration on cultural diversity, little did one realize the value of this position. Today, when the forces of globalization are taking over rapidly, respect for indigenous cultures has to be created urgently, perhaps by decolonizing education so that the mind-set formed, brewed and toughened over several generations of monolingual, monocultural norms can be replaced convincingly by an inclusive cultural diversity.‟ (Paul Kumar,2007, p. 79). There should be no insularity of a single culture to perceive Indian cultural diversity. Here, religion should be treated as a faith, not as an ideology.Dalits and tribals are discriminated and denied access to land. They are also abused by administration and higher caste groups. The tribals have had demonstrated tremendous fight against alien developmental model and played important role in socio-political movements of their regions for the protection of their identity. „Celebrating life and creativity in freedom are basic to cultural diversity.‟(Paul Kumar, 2007, p. 83). This diversity emerges from narratives, songs, beliefs, languages and dialects etc. We should lean from Poet Amir Khurau, the diversity, belongingness and recognition: