Abstract
HISTORY OF INDIAN CULTURE AND HERITAGE FROM HARAPPAN PERIOD TO CONTEMPORARY PERIOD
*Dr. G. JAYASANKAR, M.A., M. Phil., M.Ed., Ph.D.,
**Mrs. M. VANITHA, Ph.D., Research Scholar
Introduction
Indian culture is one of the most ancient cultures of the world. The ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc. were destroyed with time and only their remnants are left. But Indian culture is alive till today. Its fundamental principles are the same, as were in the ancient time. One can see village panchayats, caste systems and joint family system. The teachings of Buddha, Mahavira, and Lord Krishna are alive till today also and are source of inspiration. The values of spirituality, praying nature, faith in karma and reincarnation, non-violence, truth, non- stealing, Chastity, Non- Acquisitiveness, etc. inspire people of this nation, today also. Material development and materials come under civilization while Art of Living, customs, traditions come under culture. Material development is possible to a limit. This is the reason, that the civilizations got destroyed while Indian culture is present till today because the basis of development was spirituality and not materialism. Thus, Indian culture can be called an ancient culture, whose past is alive even in the present . The reminiscent of the stone-age found in Pallavaram, Chingalpet, Vellore, Tinnivalli near Madras, in the valley of river Sohan, in Pindhighev area in West Punjab, in Rehand area of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, in Narmada Valley in Madhya Pradesh, in Hoshangabad and Maheshwar, make it clear that India has been the land of development and growth of human culture. On the basis of excavation done in places like Harappa and Mohanjodaro etc. we come to know the 8 developed civilization and culture of the pre-historical era, which was flourished around 3000 B.C. Thus, Indian culture is about 5000 years old.
Our culture has evolved historically in various stages. Starting with the Harappan Civilization from the ancient period we go into the medieval period in search of our cultural heritage and then come to the modern and contemporary period This is not to say that the people of the stone ages or Neolithic period had no culture. Many cave paintings depict such art forms that demonstrate the culture of those periods.