A nation that has no cultural heritage is like an orphan who has nothing to feed upon. An individual human being, a race or a nation must necessarily have certain roots somewhere. India is deep rooted in the culture of her past—the glorious past. India is a vast country, and centuries old. It is difficult to sum up her heritage in a few words. Her past has been full of glory. She has been the birth place of many great men and women. She has given birth to many great movements in religion, art and literature. These movements have not been limited to India alone, but they have travelled to other parts of the world. The India of today has a rich past over which we can look back with pride. Our past has given us a definite way of life, which is typically Indian and yet universal in approach.

The most prominent feature of India's culture it that it com­bines many cultures. India is a land of great variety and many in­fluences have worked to produce modern India. India has shown great capacity for absorbing what came to her from outside. The base of the Indian civilization was formed by the coming together of the old Indus Valley Civilization and the Aryan Civilization came from beyond the North-West frontier of India. It has been repeatedly influenced by other civilizations, though basically it has recognize the same. The Greeks, the Romans, the Scythians, the Turks, the Russians, the Arabs and the Europeans left their impre­ssion. India's capacity to abroad was so great that they all became Indian.

British rule in India brought a new element. The industrial civilization of the West brought in her influences. It produced changes in thought and outlook. The ideas of democracy of the parliamentary type were brought to India by the West. The English language also was helpful in bringing us in contract with the modern world by science.

For several hundred years India was weak and came under foreign rule. She lost her vitality. In ancient times, Indian missions went out, carrying India's religion, language, culture,