By Dr Rajendra Singh*
There is no map to understand the intricate relationship between culture and nature in India. Hence, Tarun Bharat Sangh has created one, called the ‘Geo-Cultural Map of India‘. This map helps us grasp multiple aspects at once: the climatic and hydrological diversity of a region, the relationship and behaviour of its people with nature, the types of agriculture and industries, and the thread of unity that weaves India’s culture and nature together.
To understand this, we first look at India’s physical structure. From this perspective, India is divided into 50 parts, or cultural zones. These include the Awadh plains, Bundelkhand, the Central India Plateau, Malwa Plateau, Kutch Peninsula, Kathiawar Peninsula, Gujarat Plains, Narmada Valley, Satpura Range, Baghelkhand, Chota Nagpur, Purvanchal, Assam Valley, Meghalaya, and Bengal Basin, among others—50 distinct zones in total. Yet, these 50 zones are interconnected through their cultural and natural unity.
Map India’s Soul: Culture Meets Nature in 86 Zones
When we consider their climate, seasonal patterns, and agricultural diversity, we see India through 86 geo-cultural regions. Similarly, the micro-agroecological and climatic zones number around the same. When we examine India’s geo-culture and nature at a micro level, it reveals itself in these 86 regions, spread across roughly 700 districts. Sometimes, the political and natural mappings we see in existing maps merge multiple geo-cultural regions within a single district.
Had this map been created post-Independence to honour India’s geo-cultural diversity while highlighting its unity, our perspective on mapping would have been different. If we wish to deepen and strengthen this perspective now, the *Geo-Cultural Map of India* can shape our society, political and social awareness, and the design of our work.
The path to liberation from destruction, degradation, and displacement lies in sustainable development. This sustainable development is impossible without the ‘Geo-Cultural Map’.
Tarun Bharat’s Map: Nature and Culture Unite
Tarun Bharat Sangh, which has long worked towards sustainable development without harming India, envisions a non-violent economy and equitable growth, free from displacement, degradation, and destruction. This approach also transcends religion, caste, and partisan divides.
This map doesn’t divide us based on religion, caste, or groups; it leads us towards unity. However, to understand this unity, we must respect our diversity. Unity is strengthened by diversity. To fortify unity, we must nurture our diversity.
Thus, the 86 geo-cultural regions in Tarun Bharat Sangh’s map are crafted by linking people’s behaviour, local agriculture, industries, mountains, rocks, plains, and human interactions with these elements.
From Doab to Delhi: Map India’s True Roots
When we look at the Doab between the Ganga and Yamuna, we realise this plain once stood atop one of the world’s largest groundwater reserves, though these are now depleting. Take Delhi, our capital, divided into nine political districts and one political state. But how do we view it through a geo-cultural and human lens? From this perspective, Delhi splits into two parts: one is Indraprastha, the region on both sides of the Yamuna, its Khadar.
We need a geo-cultural map that helps us understand our culture and nature to design our present and future. When we create with the intent to preserve and strengthen the bond between culture and nature, the design will serve both, avoiding degradation, displacement, and destruction. To plan development free from these harms, we must first understand our ‘Geo-Cultural Map’.
*Water conservationist, also known as the Waterman of India. He is also the chairperson of the NGO, Tarun Bharat Sangh. The views expressed are personal.
