The National Culture of India

Husain’s Introduction develops the conceptual framework for the book. He distinguishes culture from both religion and civilization. Culture, in his formulation, includes the ultimate values held by a society, the institutions and customs inspired by those values, and the material objects in which they are embodied. Religion may constitute an important part of culture, but culture is broader than religious doctrine or ritual. Civilization, meanwhile, may represent a higher level of material and institutional organization without necessarily embodying equally high moral or spiritual values.

The historical narrative moves from the Indus Valley civilization and the interaction between Dravidian and Vedic-Aryan cultures to the development of Vedic Hinduism, the Upaniṣadic tradition, Buddhism, Jainism, and the classical schools of Indian philosophy. Husain then examines the emergence of Purāṇic Hindu culture, Bhakti, Islamic civilization, the contact between Hindu and Muslim traditions, and the formation of what he calls Hindustani culture. Particular attention is given to religious thought, philosophy, literature, language, architecture, painting, music, education, political institutions, and social organization.

A central argument is that Indian cultural history repeatedly transformed external influences rather than merely absorbing them. The interaction of Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Islamic, Persian, and later British cultural forces generated new forms of Indian identity. The later chapters address Western influence, colonialism, communalism, cultural separatism, and the problem of forging a modern national culture while protecting regional, linguistic, religious, and cultural plurality.

Main Headings:

1. The Bases of Indian Culture

2. The Fountain-head: The Indus Valley Culture

3. Two Streams: The Dravidian Culture and the Vedic Culture of the Aryans

4. The First Confluence: Vedic Hindu Culture

5. Buddhism—Jainism—Schools of Philosophy—The Great Epics

6. The Second Confluence: Puranic Hindu Culture

7. New Winds and New Currents

8. Muslim Culture before It Came to India

9. The Contact between Hindu Culture and Muslim Culture in India

10. The Third Confluence: The Hindustani Culture—1

11. The Hindustani Culture—2

12. The Impact of English Culture on India

13. Reaction against English Culture: Political and Cultural Separatism

14. Prospects of Cultural Unity: The Present Situation

15. Towards a New National Culture