The ways of life will be divided into five parts. The first part is family, the second part is languages, the third part is health, the fourth part is village life and
the last part is city life.
2.1.2.1.3.1 Family
Segal 1965: 135 points out that India’s family is patriarchal. It means that all members of the family economically dependent on the father. Traditionally, the
father receives respect and obedience from his wife and children and the father also controls and manages his family. Segal also mentions that son is more important in
India because the son will rescue a man from hell. A man without son cannot hold a funeral rite for salvation. Sons are also wage-earners. A son will support his parents
in their old age and brings a dowry from his marriage into his house. While a girl in India belongs to her husband after her marriage. She also has to give dowry to her
husband. Thus, a son is religiously and economically more useful than daughter in India.
People follow ancient ways of life throughout India. Family tie is an important thing in India. Many Indian households include parents, children, son’s
wife and their children so there are many people who live in one house. The oldest man of the household makes all the important family decisions. Indians regard
marriage as a relationship between two families Parents usually arranges most marriages because generally young people are not allowed to have dates. A father of
a daughter usually has responsibility to seek a husband for his daughter. Most of Hindus think that seeking a husband for his daughter is one of their duties as father.
The girl’s family also has to pay all the cost for the marriage ceremony 1971: 102.
2.1.2.1.3.2 Languages
India 1980 1980: 11 states that a number of languages and dialects are
spoken in India such as Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sinoti, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.
Hindi and English are the official language of India. Besides, Hindi is also used for communication between states 1980: 22. Many different languages often
cause a problem. People from different parts of the country cannot understand each other. Differences in writing among the languages also present another problem. The
language most widely spoken has different alphabets, one way is called Hindi and the other way is called Urdu. Hindi is the official language of India. Since 1965, English
is not an official language anymore but English is an associate language. About half of the Indian people speak Hindi. Only about 2 speak English. Usually English
served as a common language among most educated Indians. Generally, other Indo- Aryans languages including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Marathi, Oriya,
Punjabi, and Urdu are spoken mainly in the northern part of the country. The Dravidian languages, Tamil, Telugu, Malayan, and Kannada are spoken in four
southern states 1971: 98.
2.1.2.1.3.3 Health
