ALI HUSAIN T
PhD Research
scholar
Central
University of Kerala
Introduction
The real history of every society is
the history of its culture and heritage. Here the significant question arises
that what the exact identity and essence of culture is? The culture of every
society is the evolution of shared patterns of behaviors and interactions of
political, economical, social lives of people existed there and emerged to its
geographical boundary. Therefore it can be considered as the growth of a group
identity fostered by different social patterns unique to that group. The
history and heritage is the combination of multiple dimensions of various
factors. The idea of combination of multiple dimensions of various factors is
used in a sense that the combination is never not been the domination of the
one on other factors like economic as argued by Karl Marx and Engels or social
as proposed by social thinkers. Instead it is a proper synthesis of different factors
like political, economical, social and many other dimensions that create a
social branding.
In this perspective
Cultural heritage is regarded as the legacy of intangible attributes of a
group or society that
are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for
the benefit of future and it includes tangible culture such
as buildings, monuments, landscapes, books, works of art, and artifacts,
intangible culture such as folklore, traditions, language, and knowledge, and
natural heritage including culturally significant landscapes, and biodiversity,
Himachal Pradesh
has a rich heritage of cultural tradition. These include a distinct way in life
style, food habit, clothes, rituals and customs and social identity. The crux
of this cultural identity is a miniature of the unity in diversity that exists
in the entire India.
The
Root of Heritage
The word Himachal was derived from two Hindi
words Him and Achal which means snow and lap respectively.
Historians pointed out that the early roots of tribal tradition of Himachal
Pradesh reaches to people who belongs to a tribe known as Dasas and later
Aryans came but not keeping an outsider identity they mingled with them. This
situation continued many centuries till Mauryan Empire entered the land. Later
Guptas and Kanuj rulers also entered to that land. At the time of Mugal empire
the Rajas of the hill states had some mutual understanding with them so
they could protect its cultural and geographical identity. When the British
came, they conquered Gorkhas and entered into treaties with some Rajas and
annexed the kingdoms of others. The response of Himachal people to British
Empire was in a decisive form as majority of the people actively participated
in freedom struggle movements.
30 princely states of this area were
united after Independence of India and Himachal Pradesh came into being on 15th
April, 1948. With the recognition of Punjab on 1st November1966, certain areas
belonging to it also were included in Himachal Pradesh. So a full-fledged State
of Himachal Pradesh was born on 25th January, 1971.Later the State was bordered
by Punjab on West and South-West, Haryana on South, Jammu St Kashmir on North,
Uttar Pradesh on South-East and China on the East as international border.
Major Pillars
of Himachal society
Agricultural tendency, multicultural
tradition, religious and caste harmony life are marked as the major icons of
Himachal society.
The main occupation of the people
here is agriculture and approximately 93% of population is engaged in this
occupation. The majority of lands are held by three dominating caste of the
society: the Rajputs, Brahmins and the Mahajans. They rule the economic and
political status of society. They are also given top preferences in any rituals
undertaken in society. Agriculture supplemented by livestock rearing forms the
core of traditional livelihood systems in this region from the ancient time
itself. Practiced even today, these systems are being shaped by ecological
traditional constraints. So the agriculture is entirely based on risk-reducing,
resource-conserving technology. This is manifested through different practices
such as crop rotation, multi-layer cropping, adding animals to farms and
maintaining constant or increasing levels of organic matter in the soil. These
are all indicators of farming methods (Holmberg et al 1990). For the same
reasons, cropping patterns and pastoral cycles are intricately linked to one another.
The agrarian structure which is deeply rooted in Himachal society has also been
conducive to the encouragement of developmental and progressive practices.
As indicated above different castes
and traditions are deeply rooted in the Himachal cultural tradition. But apart
from other northern Indian states the struggles and conflicts based on caste
and class are rare in these area and therefore it is said that the positive multicultural
atmosphere are assimilated to the Himachal society.
Multiculturalism
and Himachal Society
Unity in diversity is the beauty of
India and the Indian Constitution assigns equal rights and privileges to all citizens.
Multiculturalism describes the existence, acceptance, and/or promotion of
multiple cultural traditions within a single jurisdiction, usually considered
in terms of the culture associated with an aboriginal ethnic group and
foreigner ethnic groups. (Sukhdev)
There exists a multicultural element
in Himachal society too where people speak different languages and follows
different lifestyle and habits but all these aspects are synthesized in a mutual
manner where the community is not
supposed to be defined by the boundaries but by the sharing of life in a
harmonious way.
Threat to multiculturalism comes
when a group starts thinking in a narrow way, considering themselves as
superiors to others and show discrimination and animosity to other groups. But
this is not a severe challenge to Himachal.So the profusion of linguistic,
religious and other customs and usages was associated with a multitude of
castes, communities and tribes each of which was bearer of a particular
sub-culture or even sub sub-culture which is transmitted from generation to
generation.
Himachal
Pradesh as a Land of the Gods
Himachal Pradesh is commonly called
as 'Dev Bhoomi' as it has large association with Hindu mythology. The state is
the land of numerous pilgrimage centers and several Hindu temples are located
in the state. As per statistics there are more than two thousand temples in the
state. The temples are fine examples of splendid workmanship and mosaic architecture.
Numerous devotees and tourists come to the state especially during festive
season. Many of the temples are part of Hindu Mythology and are considered as
the abode of Gods. The temples attract numerous tourists and devotees from all
walks of life. It makes Himachal society a rich one not only in faith culture
but in the level of cultural exchange.Himachal Pradesh is considered as a
paradise on Earth and is home for many temples and pilgrimage centers.
It is a soul refreshing feeling for
every devotee visiting the hill state. The state is full of temples in every
pocket and villages. The rich mythological significance and presence of
excellent architecture makes this land truly the abode of Gods. The state
receives excellent revenues from pilgrimage tourism as numerous devotees visit
the state every year especially during festive seasons.
The temples located in the valley
are dedicated to local deities. Each village has a local deity and a temple is
built for the deity. Most of the population worships more than one deity also.
The temples in Himachal Pradesh are
also famous for its architectural beauty. The magnificent architecture of the
temple attracts a lot of foreign tourists and researchers. One of the most
famous temples is Jwalamukhi temple which forms part of almost all tour
packages. Hindus visit this place as they feel the ruling deity is very
powerful and worshipping her would fulfill their eternal desires.
Arts and
Festivals
Transparency is the reason that for
this edition, artists were told to integrate elements from the local culture –
painting, music, fashion, food – into their artwork. “Any one from the village
who wishes to be part of it just comes ahead and starts helping. This is
because, even if they often don’t understand intellectually this or that
concept, they still feel that the whole thing is for and from them.
Artists, therefore, do not operate
in isolation from the village and the villagers, but rather are encouraged to
engage with ‘hosts’ as much as possible. New bonds and relationships are formed
across many divides, giving everyone who touches the project and is touched by
it new thoughts and emotions about art and about the village as a venue for it.
The resulting art works reflect the ability of artists to transcend boundaries
between rural-urban, traditional-modern, and national-global.Rema Kumar’s Gaddi
Fashion show is a fashion line based on local costumes and created along with
local women. Or Gargi Chandola’s Market Square Graffiti, which is a modern
interpretation of Kangra Miniature Painting, being done in collaboration with
painters of the Kangra Arts Promotion Society.
Globalization
and Cultural Identity of Himachal
As globalization affected
every contemporary Indian society its impacts also were touched on Himachal
society and social system in multiple ways, that is, on the economic, social
and the cultural and communal life. The Himachal society is integrated with the
cross boarder flows of ideas, capital, service and finance and more over its
geographical specialty and beauty led her to be attracted by western and
European people and it also resulted to a cultural fusion in existing society.
The age old preserved culture is disintegrating and is gradually becoming an
amalgamation of the part of a so called “global standard culture”. Though it has
gained on the economic front but at the cost of its old heritage and culture is
being shaped to a novel form. Whether Himachal
culture admixture with other cultures abroad shall make any visible dent is a
question of foreseeable future.
Conclusion
To summarize, Himachal has a rich
cultural heritage and history. Its diverse and profound culture is being
influenced by many factors such as social, religious and new phenomenal factors
like globalization and liberalization. Exquisite sculptures, art forms,
lifestyle, food habits, devotional heritage, truism and dance forms can be seen
in its florishment cultural and heritage transformation. Even though Society
has been changed much in its cultural and social forms it has preserved its Himachal
uniqueness and identity in certain level.
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PERSONAL DETAILS:
Title of Article: CULTURAL HERITAGE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH
Prepared by:
ALI USSAIN T
Ph.D Research Scholar
Department of Education
Central University of Kerala
Mob: 9605251465
E Mail:alihusainwafy@gmail.com
