ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the idea of unity in diversity has permeated Indian cultural understanding, influenced pre- and post-independence debates that led to the formation of the Indian republic, and continues to influence contemporary discourse. It discusses the Rig Vedic idea of cosmic moral order (rta) as the harbinger of various philosophical and religious systems on which the architectonics of India's social and political structure was constructed. The chapter explores an elaborate system of ethics and governance based on the concept of rta; and the institution of caste system as hypostatized hierocratic social order. It outlines Buddhism, the most important cosmopolitan philosophy/religion that emanated from India; and Jainism, the first philosophical system that emphasized ahimsa, based on an epistemological understanding of unity and diversity. The chapter discusses Gandhi's appeal to humanism and his construction of an Indian social imaginary that would accommodate both the cooperative model of local governance and the cosmopolitan orientation towards the idea of global village.
