Religion

India probably has the most religious diversity in any country. It’s the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. It’s among the few places in the world to have a resident Zoroastrian population. The Syrian Christian Church is well established in Kerala; the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa, old churches in Calcutta and Delhi, synagogues in Kerala, temples from the tiny to the tremendous, ‘stupas’, ‘gompas’ and the Bodhi tree, the Ajmer Sharif and Kaliya Sharif in Bombay, all reflect the amazing multiplicity of religious practice in India. Add to this a range of animist beliefs among tribal people in the northeast, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat who practice forms of nature worship, and you have astounding diversity.

Since religion informs every aspect of Indian life, whether social, political or economic, it's worth the traveller's while to do a little prep reading. The following capsules present a glimpse of the major religious traditions of India. One must keep in mind though, that the principle of secularism is enshrined in the Constitution.

Hinduism, the religion of the overwhelming majority of Indians, is as much a way of life as a formal ritualised institutionalised religion. It has no single sacred text but a range of scriptures. The four Vedas form the backbone of Hinduism with the earliest of these, the Rig Veda, being the most important. It is believed that the Vedas are the product of the direct communication between the gods and the sadhus (holy men).

The pantheon of Hindu gods is matched in size (and often in character too) by those of the ancient Greeks and Romans. These revered figures may represent natural phenomena like wind (Varun), thunder and rain (Indra), fire (Agni) and the sun (Surya). Or they may be quasi-mythical characters that appear in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Shakti, which literally translates into energy, is represented as a female form and worshipped in the forms of many goddesses. Of these Kali and Durga are the most commonly worshipped. Lakshmi and Parvati, the goddesses of wealth and learning respectively, are important. At the centre of this enormous pantheon are the three central figures of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is revered as The Creator, Vishnu as The Preserver and Shiva as The Destroyer.

Like every major religion, Hinduism has also been sought to be reformed of excessive ritualism and the stranglehold of the priestly class, the Brahmins. The Brahmo Samaj and the Arya Samaj are two of the most influential of such reform movements.

Muslims are the largest religious minority in India. Islam came to India when trade links were established with the Arabs in the 8th century AD. In the 12th century, the Mamluk Turk Qutbuddin Aibak became the first Muslim to rule any part of India. A succession of Muslim dynasties came to rule thereafter, predominantly in north India but sometimes even south of the Vindhya Ranges as in the reign of the Mughal king Aurangzeb. The influence of Islam grew as many people adopted the religion of their rulers, resulting in a culture that is characterised by beauty. New forms of architecture, a new language - Urdu, developments in dress and design, the arts of cuisine, music, painting and sculpture bloomed especially in northern India, but also in the south.

Siddhartha Gautam was born in the early 7th century BC in the town of Lumbini (in present day Nepal), not far from the Indo-Nepal border. Born a prince of the Sakya clan, exposure to suffering caused Siddhartha to renounce home and family and set out in search of enlightenment. He attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Bodhgaya in Bihar, India, and came thereafter to be known as Buddha or The Enlightened One. Buddhism, whose central tenet is Dharma or Truth, propounds the Middle Path.

Buddhism gained its popularity in the subcontinent gradually, as monks and nuns who were taught in viharas or monasteries spread its teachings. It received a great boost when the Mauryan emperor Ashoka embraced the religion. Today, the religion is no longer as popular in the land it was born as it is further southeast. It’s flame is kept burning in India today mainly by Tibetan Buddhists for whom the country has become a refuge, and by Dalits (or lower caste Hindus) who rejected the Hindu social creed of a rigid caste system and adopted the egalitarian Buddhist philosophy.

Established by Vardhaman Mahavira around the same time as Buddhism, Jainism takes its name from the word jina for conqueror. It preaches simple living and absolutely disallows hurting another living being. Jains, then, are strict vegetarians. Many keep their mouths covered by a piece of cloth lest they breathe in an insect or germs and kill it. Jainism has a large following in India, especially in the west Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Both Jainism and Buddhism have contributed greatly to Indian culture. The magnificent Jain Dilwara Temples in Rajasthan and the Mathura and Gandhara schools of art inspired by the Buddha are only a few examples.


Christianity came to India as early as the arrival of the apostle Saint Thomas. The earliest Christian missionary though, is thought to be Saint Xavier who came to India in 1542. India’s colonial experience ensured the spread of Christianity, which was propagated by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British. Protestants, Catholics and Syrian Christians, mainly from the southern state of Kerala, make up the Indian Christian community.


Sikhism, another major religion born in India, evolved out of the effort of combining the best of Hinduism and Islam. Founded by Guru Nanak in the late 15th century AD, and influenced by Sufi Islam, Sikhism has ten gurus or teachers and, like Islam, a holy book – the Guru Granth Sahib – as a symbol of God. Sikhism flourished particularly in the Punjab in north India to the extent that it became a thorn in the side of orthodox Muslims. Its persecution in Mughal times led to the formation of the Sikh army called the khalsa. Sikh men wear the symbols of their faith on their person; these are the kachchha (undershorts), the kanga (comb), the kirpan (sword), the kada (steel bangle) and kesh (long hair). Of these the most obvious is their long hair, which is tied up in a turban.

Many Persians migrated to India in the 8th century AD, and brought with them the ancient religion of Zarathustra or Zoroastrianism. Legend has it that their leader requested the Hindu ruler Jadhav Rana for permission to settle in this great land, promising that Parsis would be like sugar dissolved in a bowl of water; India being like the bowl of water and the Parsis like sugar, dissolving unobtrusively and yet suffusing the nation with their sweetness and spirit. Needless to say, they were allowed to stay. The Parsis worship fire as a symbol of Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord.