small essay on indian religion

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Indian Culture Essay

India is renowned throughout the world for its tradition and culture. It is a country with many different cultures and traditions. The world's ancient civilisations can be found in this country. Good manners, etiquette, civilised dialogue, customs, beliefs, values, etc., are essential elements of Indian culture . India is a special country because of the ability of its citizens from many cultures and traditions to live together in harmony. Here are a few sample essays on ‘Indian culture’.

100 Words Essay on Indian Culture

India's culture is the oldest in the world and dates back over 5,000 years. The first and greatest cultures in the world are regarded as being those of India. The phrase "Unity in Diversity" refers to India as a diverse nation where people of many religions coexist while maintaining their distinct customs. People of different religions have different languages, culinary customs, ceremonies, etc and yet they all live in harmony.

Hindi is India's official language. However, there are 400 other languages regularly spoken in India's many states and territories, in addition to the country's nearly 22 recognised languages. History has established India as the country where religions like Buddhism and Hinduism first emerged.

200 Words Essay on Indian Culture

India is a land of diverse cultures, religions, languages, and traditions. The rich cultural heritage of India is a result of its long history and the various invasions and settlements that have occurred in the country. Indian culture is a melting pot of various customs and traditions, which have been passed down from generation to generation.

Religion | Religion plays a significant role in Indian culture. The major religions practiced in India are Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Each religion has its own set of beliefs, customs, and practices. Hinduism, the oldest religion in India, is the dominant religion and has a vast array of gods and goddesses. Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism are also widely practiced and have a significant number of followers in the country.

Food | Indian cuisine is known for its diverse range of flavors and spices. Each region in India has its own unique style of cooking and distinct dishes. Indian cuisine is known for its use of spices, herbs, and a variety of cooking techniques. Some of the most famous Indian dishes include biryani, curry, tandoori chicken, and dal makhani. Indian cuisine is also famous for its street food, which is a popular and affordable way to experience the diverse range of flavors that Indian food has to offer.

500 Words Essay on Indian Culture

Indian culture is known for its rich art and architecture. The ancient Indus Valley Civilization, which existed around 2500 BCE, had a sophisticated system of town planning and impressive architectural structures. Indian art is diverse and includes painting, sculpture, and architecture. The most famous form of Indian art is the cave paintings of Ajanta and Ellora, which date back to the 2nd century BCE. Indian architecture is also famous for its temples, palaces, and forts, which are a reflection of the rich cultural heritage of the country.

Music and dance are an integral part of Indian culture . Indian music is diverse and ranges from classical to folk to modern. The classical music of India is known for its use of ragas, which are a set of musical notes that are used to create a melody. The traditional Indian dance forms include Kathak, Bharatanatyam, and Kathakali. These dance forms are known for their elaborate costumes, expressive gestures, and intricate footwork.

My Experience

I had always been fascinated by the rich culture and history of India. So, when I finally got the opportunity to visit the country, I was beyond excited. I had heard so much about the diverse customs and traditions of India, and I couldn't wait to experience them firsthand. The moment I stepped off the plane and hit the streets, I was greeted by the overwhelming smell of spices and the hustle and bustle of the streets. I knew right away that I was in for an unforgettable journey.

My first stop was the ancient city of Varanasi, also known as Banaras. As I walked through the streets, I was struck by the vibrant colors and the sound of temple bells and chants. I visited the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple and was amazed by the intricate architecture and the devotion of the devotees.

From Varanasi, I traveled to Jaipur, also known as the Pink City . Here, I visited the famous Amber Fort, which was built in the 16th century. The fort was a perfect example of the rich architecture of India and the level of craftsmanship that existed in ancient India.

As I continued my journey, I also had the opportunity to experience the food of India. From the spicy curries of the south to the tandoori dishes of the north, I was blown away by the range of flavors and the use of spices.

I also had the chance to experience the music and dance of India. I attended a Kathak dance performance and was mesmerized by the intricate footwork and the expressiveness of the dancers. I also had the opportunity to attend a classical music concert and was struck by the beauty of the ragas and the skill of the musicians.

My journey through India was truly an unforgettable experience. I had the chance to experience the diverse customs and traditions of India and was struck by the richness of the culture. From the ancient temples to the vibrant street markets, India is a treasure trove of history and culture. I knew that this would not be my last trip to India, as there is so much more to explore and experience.

Explore Career Options (By Industry)

• Construction
• Entertainment
• Manufacturing
• Information Technology

Data Administrator

Database professionals use software to store and organise data such as financial information, and customer shipping records. Individuals who opt for a career as data administrators ensure that data is available for users and secured from unauthorised sales. DB administrators may work in various types of industries. It may involve computer systems design, service firms, insurance companies, banks and hospitals.

Bio Medical Engineer

The field of biomedical engineering opens up a universe of expert chances. An Individual in the biomedical engineering career path work in the field of engineering as well as medicine, in order to find out solutions to common problems of the two fields. The biomedical engineering job opportunities are to collaborate with doctors and researchers to develop medical systems, equipment, or devices that can solve clinical problems. Here we will be discussing jobs after biomedical engineering, how to get a job in biomedical engineering, biomedical engineering scope, and salary. 

Ethical Hacker

A career as ethical hacker involves various challenges and provides lucrative opportunities in the digital era where every giant business and startup owns its cyberspace on the world wide web. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path try to find the vulnerabilities in the cyber system to get its authority. If he or she succeeds in it then he or she gets its illegal authority. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path then steal information or delete the file that could affect the business, functioning, or services of the organization.

GIS officer work on various GIS software to conduct a study and gather spatial and non-spatial information. GIS experts update the GIS data and maintain it. The databases include aerial or satellite imagery, latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates, and manually digitized images of maps. In a career as GIS expert, one is responsible for creating online and mobile maps.

Data Analyst

The invention of the database has given fresh breath to the people involved in the data analytics career path. Analysis refers to splitting up a whole into its individual components for individual analysis. Data analysis is a method through which raw data are processed and transformed into information that would be beneficial for user strategic thinking.

Data are collected and examined to respond to questions, evaluate hypotheses or contradict theories. It is a tool for analyzing, transforming, modeling, and arranging data with useful knowledge, to assist in decision-making and methods, encompassing various strategies, and is used in different fields of business, research, and social science.

Geothermal Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as geothermal engineers are the professionals involved in the processing of geothermal energy. The responsibilities of geothermal engineers may vary depending on the workplace location. Those who work in fields design facilities to process and distribute geothermal energy. They oversee the functioning of machinery used in the field.

Database Architect

If you are intrigued by the programming world and are interested in developing communications networks then a career as database architect may be a good option for you. Data architect roles and responsibilities include building design models for data communication networks. Wide Area Networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), and intranets are included in the database networks. It is expected that database architects will have in-depth knowledge of a company's business to develop a network to fulfil the requirements of the organisation. Stay tuned as we look at the larger picture and give you more information on what is db architecture, why you should pursue database architecture, what to expect from such a degree and what your job opportunities will be after graduation. Here, we will be discussing how to become a data architect. Students can visit NIT Trichy , IIT Kharagpur , JMI New Delhi . 

Remote Sensing Technician

Individuals who opt for a career as a remote sensing technician possess unique personalities. Remote sensing analysts seem to be rational human beings, they are strong, independent, persistent, sincere, realistic and resourceful. Some of them are analytical as well, which means they are intelligent, introspective and inquisitive. 

Remote sensing scientists use remote sensing technology to support scientists in fields such as community planning, flight planning or the management of natural resources. Analysing data collected from aircraft, satellites or ground-based platforms using statistical analysis software, image analysis software or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a significant part of their work. Do you want to learn how to become remote sensing technician? There's no need to be concerned; we've devised a simple remote sensing technician career path for you. Scroll through the pages and read.

Budget Analyst

Budget analysis, in a nutshell, entails thoroughly analyzing the details of a financial budget. The budget analysis aims to better understand and manage revenue. Budget analysts assist in the achievement of financial targets, the preservation of profitability, and the pursuit of long-term growth for a business. Budget analysts generally have a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, economics, or a closely related field. Knowledge of Financial Management is of prime importance in this career.

Underwriter

An underwriter is a person who assesses and evaluates the risk of insurance in his or her field like mortgage, loan, health policy, investment, and so on and so forth. The underwriter career path does involve risks as analysing the risks means finding out if there is a way for the insurance underwriter jobs to recover the money from its clients. If the risk turns out to be too much for the company then in the future it is an underwriter who will be held accountable for it. Therefore, one must carry out his or her job with a lot of attention and diligence.

Finance Executive

Product manager.

A Product Manager is a professional responsible for product planning and marketing. He or she manages the product throughout the Product Life Cycle, gathering and prioritising the product. A product manager job description includes defining the product vision and working closely with team members of other departments to deliver winning products.  

Operations Manager

Individuals in the operations manager jobs are responsible for ensuring the efficiency of each department to acquire its optimal goal. They plan the use of resources and distribution of materials. The operations manager's job description includes managing budgets, negotiating contracts, and performing administrative tasks.

Stock Analyst

Individuals who opt for a career as a stock analyst examine the company's investments makes decisions and keep track of financial securities. The nature of such investments will differ from one business to the next. Individuals in the stock analyst career use data mining to forecast a company's profits and revenues, advise clients on whether to buy or sell, participate in seminars, and discussing financial matters with executives and evaluate annual reports.

A Researcher is a professional who is responsible for collecting data and information by reviewing the literature and conducting experiments and surveys. He or she uses various methodological processes to provide accurate data and information that is utilised by academicians and other industry professionals. Here, we will discuss what is a researcher, the researcher's salary, types of researchers.

Welding Engineer

Welding Engineer Job Description: A Welding Engineer work involves managing welding projects and supervising welding teams. He or she is responsible for reviewing welding procedures, processes and documentation. A career as Welding Engineer involves conducting failure analyses and causes on welding issues. 

Transportation Planner

A career as Transportation Planner requires technical application of science and technology in engineering, particularly the concepts, equipment and technologies involved in the production of products and services. In fields like land use, infrastructure review, ecological standards and street design, he or she considers issues of health, environment and performance. A Transportation Planner assigns resources for implementing and designing programmes. He or she is responsible for assessing needs, preparing plans and forecasts and compliance with regulations.

Environmental Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as an environmental engineer are construction professionals who utilise the skills and knowledge of biology, soil science, chemistry and the concept of engineering to design and develop projects that serve as solutions to various environmental problems. 

Safety Manager

A Safety Manager is a professional responsible for employee’s safety at work. He or she plans, implements and oversees the company’s employee safety. A Safety Manager ensures compliance and adherence to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) guidelines.

Conservation Architect

A Conservation Architect is a professional responsible for conserving and restoring buildings or monuments having a historic value. He or she applies techniques to document and stabilise the object’s state without any further damage. A Conservation Architect restores the monuments and heritage buildings to bring them back to their original state.

Structural Engineer

A Structural Engineer designs buildings, bridges, and other related structures. He or she analyzes the structures and makes sure the structures are strong enough to be used by the people. A career as a Structural Engineer requires working in the construction process. It comes under the civil engineering discipline. A Structure Engineer creates structural models with the help of computer-aided design software. 

Highway Engineer

Highway Engineer Job Description:  A Highway Engineer is a civil engineer who specialises in planning and building thousands of miles of roads that support connectivity and allow transportation across the country. He or she ensures that traffic management schemes are effectively planned concerning economic sustainability and successful implementation.

Field Surveyor

Are you searching for a Field Surveyor Job Description? A Field Surveyor is a professional responsible for conducting field surveys for various places or geographical conditions. He or she collects the required data and information as per the instructions given by senior officials. 

Orthotist and Prosthetist

Orthotists and Prosthetists are professionals who provide aid to patients with disabilities. They fix them to artificial limbs (prosthetics) and help them to regain stability. There are times when people lose their limbs in an accident. In some other occasions, they are born without a limb or orthopaedic impairment. Orthotists and prosthetists play a crucial role in their lives with fixing them to assistive devices and provide mobility.

Pathologist

A career in pathology in India is filled with several responsibilities as it is a medical branch and affects human lives. The demand for pathologists has been increasing over the past few years as people are getting more aware of different diseases. Not only that, but an increase in population and lifestyle changes have also contributed to the increase in a pathologist’s demand. The pathology careers provide an extremely huge number of opportunities and if you want to be a part of the medical field you can consider being a pathologist. If you want to know more about a career in pathology in India then continue reading this article.

Veterinary Doctor

Speech therapist, gynaecologist.

Gynaecology can be defined as the study of the female body. The job outlook for gynaecology is excellent since there is evergreen demand for one because of their responsibility of dealing with not only women’s health but also fertility and pregnancy issues. Although most women prefer to have a women obstetrician gynaecologist as their doctor, men also explore a career as a gynaecologist and there are ample amounts of male doctors in the field who are gynaecologists and aid women during delivery and childbirth. 

Audiologist

The audiologist career involves audiology professionals who are responsible to treat hearing loss and proactively preventing the relevant damage. Individuals who opt for a career as an audiologist use various testing strategies with the aim to determine if someone has a normal sensitivity to sounds or not. After the identification of hearing loss, a hearing doctor is required to determine which sections of the hearing are affected, to what extent they are affected, and where the wound causing the hearing loss is found. As soon as the hearing loss is identified, the patients are provided with recommendations for interventions and rehabilitation such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and appropriate medical referrals. While audiology is a branch of science that studies and researches hearing, balance, and related disorders.

An oncologist is a specialised doctor responsible for providing medical care to patients diagnosed with cancer. He or she uses several therapies to control the cancer and its effect on the human body such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and biopsy. An oncologist designs a treatment plan based on a pathology report after diagnosing the type of cancer and where it is spreading inside the body.

Are you searching for an ‘Anatomist job description’? An Anatomist is a research professional who applies the laws of biological science to determine the ability of bodies of various living organisms including animals and humans to regenerate the damaged or destroyed organs. If you want to know what does an anatomist do, then read the entire article, where we will answer all your questions.

For an individual who opts for a career as an actor, the primary responsibility is to completely speak to the character he or she is playing and to persuade the crowd that the character is genuine by connecting with them and bringing them into the story. This applies to significant roles and littler parts, as all roles join to make an effective creation. Here in this article, we will discuss how to become an actor in India, actor exams, actor salary in India, and actor jobs. 

Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats create and direct original routines for themselves, in addition to developing interpretations of existing routines. The work of circus acrobats can be seen in a variety of performance settings, including circus, reality shows, sports events like the Olympics, movies and commercials. Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats must be prepared to face rejections and intermittent periods of work. The creativity of acrobats may extend to other aspects of the performance. For example, acrobats in the circus may work with gym trainers, celebrities or collaborate with other professionals to enhance such performance elements as costume and or maybe at the teaching end of the career.

Video Game Designer

Career as a video game designer is filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. A video game designer is someone who is involved in the process of creating a game from day one. He or she is responsible for fulfilling duties like designing the character of the game, the several levels involved, plot, art and similar other elements. Individuals who opt for a career as a video game designer may also write the codes for the game using different programming languages.

Depending on the video game designer job description and experience they may also have to lead a team and do the early testing of the game in order to suggest changes and find loopholes.

Radio Jockey

Radio Jockey is an exciting, promising career and a great challenge for music lovers. If you are really interested in a career as radio jockey, then it is very important for an RJ to have an automatic, fun, and friendly personality. If you want to get a job done in this field, a strong command of the language and a good voice are always good things. Apart from this, in order to be a good radio jockey, you will also listen to good radio jockeys so that you can understand their style and later make your own by practicing.

A career as radio jockey has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. If you want to know more about a career as radio jockey, and how to become a radio jockey then continue reading the article.

Choreographer

The word “choreography" actually comes from Greek words that mean “dance writing." Individuals who opt for a career as a choreographer create and direct original dances, in addition to developing interpretations of existing dances. A Choreographer dances and utilises his or her creativity in other aspects of dance performance. For example, he or she may work with the music director to select music or collaborate with other famous choreographers to enhance such performance elements as lighting, costume and set design.

Social Media Manager

A career as social media manager involves implementing the company’s or brand’s marketing plan across all social media channels. Social media managers help in building or improving a brand’s or a company’s website traffic, build brand awareness, create and implement marketing and brand strategy. Social media managers are key to important social communication as well.

Photographer

Photography is considered both a science and an art, an artistic means of expression in which the camera replaces the pen. In a career as a photographer, an individual is hired to capture the moments of public and private events, such as press conferences or weddings, or may also work inside a studio, where people go to get their picture clicked. Photography is divided into many streams each generating numerous career opportunities in photography. With the boom in advertising, media, and the fashion industry, photography has emerged as a lucrative and thrilling career option for many Indian youths.

An individual who is pursuing a career as a producer is responsible for managing the business aspects of production. They are involved in each aspect of production from its inception to deception. Famous movie producers review the script, recommend changes and visualise the story. 

They are responsible for overseeing the finance involved in the project and distributing the film for broadcasting on various platforms. A career as a producer is quite fulfilling as well as exhaustive in terms of playing different roles in order for a production to be successful. Famous movie producers are responsible for hiring creative and technical personnel on contract basis.

Copy Writer

In a career as a copywriter, one has to consult with the client and understand the brief well. A career as a copywriter has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. Several new mediums of advertising are opening therefore making it a lucrative career choice. Students can pursue various copywriter courses such as Journalism , Advertising , Marketing Management . Here, we have discussed how to become a freelance copywriter, copywriter career path, how to become a copywriter in India, and copywriting career outlook. 

In a career as a vlogger, one generally works for himself or herself. However, once an individual has gained viewership there are several brands and companies that approach them for paid collaboration. It is one of those fields where an individual can earn well while following his or her passion. 

Ever since internet costs got reduced the viewership for these types of content has increased on a large scale. Therefore, a career as a vlogger has a lot to offer. If you want to know more about the Vlogger eligibility, roles and responsibilities then continue reading the article. 

For publishing books, newspapers, magazines and digital material, editorial and commercial strategies are set by publishers. Individuals in publishing career paths make choices about the markets their businesses will reach and the type of content that their audience will be served. Individuals in book publisher careers collaborate with editorial staff, designers, authors, and freelance contributors who develop and manage the creation of content.

Careers in journalism are filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. One cannot afford to miss out on the details. As it is the small details that provide insights into a story. Depending on those insights a journalist goes about writing a news article. A journalism career can be stressful at times but if you are someone who is passionate about it then it is the right choice for you. If you want to know more about the media field and journalist career then continue reading this article.

Individuals in the editor career path is an unsung hero of the news industry who polishes the language of the news stories provided by stringers, reporters, copywriters and content writers and also news agencies. Individuals who opt for a career as an editor make it more persuasive, concise and clear for readers. In this article, we will discuss the details of the editor's career path such as how to become an editor in India, editor salary in India and editor skills and qualities.

Individuals who opt for a career as a reporter may often be at work on national holidays and festivities. He or she pitches various story ideas and covers news stories in risky situations. Students can pursue a BMC (Bachelor of Mass Communication) , B.M.M. (Bachelor of Mass Media) , or  MAJMC (MA in Journalism and Mass Communication) to become a reporter. While we sit at home reporters travel to locations to collect information that carries a news value.  

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Key findings about religion in India

India’s massive population is diverse as well as devout. Not only do most of the world’s Hindus, Jains and Sikhs live in India, but it also is home to one of the world’s largest Muslim populations and to millions of Christians and Buddhists.

A new Pew Research Center report , based on a face-to-face survey of 29,999 Indian adults fielded between late 2019 and early 2020 – before the COVID-19 pandemic – takes a closer look at religious identity, nationalism and tolerance in Indian society. The survey was conducted by local interviewers in 17 languages and covered nearly all of India’s states and union territories. Here are key findings from the report.

“Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation” is Pew Research Center’s most comprehensive, in-depth exploration of Indian public opinion to date. For this report, we completed 29,999 face-to-face interviews, in 17 languages, with adults ages 18 and older living in 26 Indian states and three union territories. The sample includes interviews with 22,975 Hindus, 3,336 Muslims, 1,782 Sikhs, 1,011 Christians, 719 Buddhists and 109 Jains. An additional 67 respondents belong to other religions or are religiously unaffiliated. Interviews for this nationally representative survey were conducted from Nov. 17, 2019, to March 23, 2020.

Respondents were selected using a probability-based sample design that would allow for robust analysis of all major religious groups in India as well as all major regional zones. Six groups were targeted for oversampling as part of the survey design: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and those living in the Northeast region. Data was weighted to account for the different probabilities of selection among respondents and to align with demographic benchmarks for the Indian adult population from the 2011 census.

Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology .

Indians value religious tolerance, though they also live religiously segregated lives. Across the country, most people (84%) say that to be “truly Indian,” it is very important to respect all religions. Indians also are united in the view that respecting other religions is a very important part of what it means to be a member of their own religious community (80%). People in all six major religious groups overwhelmingly say they are very free to practice their faiths, and most say that people of other faiths also are very free to practice their own religion.

But Indians’ commitment to tolerance is accompanied by a strong preference for keeping religious communities segregated. For example, Indians generally say they do not have much in common with members of other religious groups, and large majorities in the six major groups say their close friends come mainly or entirely from their own religious community. That’s true not only for 86% of India’s large Hindu population, but also for smaller groups such as Sikhs (80%) and Jains (72%).

Moreover, roughly two-thirds of Hindus say it is very important to stop Hindu women (67%) or Hindu men (65%) from marrying into other religious communities. Even larger shares of Muslims oppose interreligious marriage: 80% say it is very important to stop Muslim women from marrying outside their religion, and 76% say it is very important to stop Muslim men from doing so.

For many Hindus, national identity, religion and language are closely connected. Nearly two-thirds of Hindus (64%) say it is very important to be Hindu to be truly Indian. Among Hindus who say it is very important to be Hindu to be truly Indian, 80% also say it is very important to speak Hindi to be truly Indian.

Hindus who strongly link Hindu and Indian identities express a keen desire for religious segregation. For instance, 76% of Hindus who say being Hindu is very important to being truly Indian feel it is very important to stop Hindu women from marrying into another religion. By comparison, 52% of Hindus who place less importance on Hinduism’s role in Indian identity hold this view about religious intermarriage.

Moreover, Hindus in the Northern (69%) and Central (83%) parts of the country are much more likely than those in the South (42%) to strongly link Hindu identity with national identity. Together, the Northern and Central regions cover the country’s “Hindi belt,” where Hindi, one of dozens of languages spoken in India, is most prevalent. The vast majority of Hindus in these regions strongly link Indian identity with being able to speak Hindi.

Among Hindus, views of national identity go hand-in-hand with politics. Support for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is greater among Hindus who closely associate their religious identity and the Hindi language with being truly Indian. In the 2019 national elections, 60% of Hindu voters who think it is very important to be Hindu and to speak Hindi to be truly Indian cast their vote for the BJP, compared with 33% among Hindu voters who feel less strongly about both these aspects of national identity. These views also map onto regional support for the BJP, which tends to be much higher in the Northern and Central parts of the country than in the South.

Dietary laws are central to Indians’ religious identity. Hindus traditionally view cows as sacred, and laws on cow slaughter have recently been a flashpoint in India . Nearly three-quarters of Hindus (72%) in India say a person cannot be Hindu if they eat beef. That is larger than the shares of Hindus who say a person cannot be Hindu if they do not believe in God (49%) or never go to a temple (48%).

Similarly, three-quarters of Indian Muslims (77%) say that a person cannot be Muslim if they eat pork, which is greater than the share who say a person cannot be Muslim if they do not believe in God (60%) or never attend mosque (61%).

Muslims favor having access to their own religious courts. Since 1937, India’s Muslims have had the option of resolving family and inheritance-related cases in officially recognized Islamic courts, known as dar-ul-qaza. These courts are overseen by religious magistrates known as qazi and operate under Shariah principles, although their decisions are not legally binding .

Whether or not Muslims should be allowed to go to their own religious courts remains a hotly debated topic . The survey finds that three-quarters of Muslims (74%) support having access to the existing system of Islamic courts, but followers of other religions are far less likely to support Muslim access to this separate court system.

Muslims are more likely than Hindus to say the 1947 partition establishing the separate states of India and Pakistan harmed Hindu-Muslim relations. More than seven decades after the Indian subcontinent was divided into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan at the end of British colonial rule, the predominant view among Indian Muslims is that the partition of the subcontinent was a bad thing for Hindu-Muslim relations (48%). Only three-in-ten Muslims say it was a good thing.

Hindus, however, lean in the opposite direction: 43% of Hindus say Partition was beneficial for Hindu-Muslim relations, while 37% say it was harmful. Sikhs, whose historical homeland of Punjab was split by Partition, are even more likely than Muslims to say the event was bad for Hindu-Muslim relations: Two-thirds of Sikhs (66%) take this position.

India’s caste system, an ancient social hierarchy with origins in Hindu writings , continues to fracture society. Regardless of whether they are Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist or Jain, Indians nearly universally identify with a caste. Members of lower caste groups historically have faced discrimination and unequal economic opportunities , but the survey finds that most people – including most members of lower castes – say there is not a lot of caste discrimination in India. The Indian Constitution prohibits caste-based discrimination, including untouchability, and in recent decades the government has enacted economic advancement policies like reserved seats in universities and government jobs for members of some lower-caste communities.

Still, a large majority of Indians overall (70%) say that most or all of their close friends share their caste. Much as they object to interreligious marriages, a large share of Indians (64%) say it is very important to stop women in their community from marrying into other castes, and about the same share (62%) say it is very important to stop men in their community from marrying into other castes. These figures vary only modestly across different castes.

Religious conversion is rare in India; to the extent that it is occurring, Hindus gain as many people as they lose. Conversion of people belonging to lower castes away from Hinduism to other religions, especially Christianity, has been contentious in India , and some states have laws against proselytism . This survey, though, finds that religious switching has a minimal impact on the size of religious groups. Across India, 98% of survey respondents give the same answer when asked to identify their current religion and, separately, their childhood religion.

An overall pattern of stability in the share of religious groups is accompanied by little net change from movement into, or out of, most religious groups. Among Hindus, for instance, any conversion out of the group is matched by conversion into the group: 0.7% of respondents say they were raised Hindu but now identify as something else, and roughly the same share (0.8%) say they were not raised Hindu but now identify as Hindu. For Christians, however, there are some net gains from conversion: 0.4% of survey respondents are former Hindus who now identify as Christian, while 0.1% were raised Christian but have since left Christianity.

Most Indians believe in God and say religion is very important in their lives. Nearly all Indians say they believe in God (97%), and roughly 80% of people in most religious groups say they are absolutely certain that God exists. The main exception is Buddhists, one-third of whom say they do not believe in God. (Belief in God is not central to Buddhist teachings .)

Indians do not always agree about the nature of God: Most Hindus say there is one God with many manifestations, while Muslims and Christians are more likely to say, simply, “there is only one God.” But across all major faiths, the vast majority of Indians say that religion is very important in their lives, and significant portions of each religious group also pray daily and observe a range of other religious rituals.

India’s religious groups share several religious practices and beliefs. After living side by side for generations, India’s minority groups often engage in practices or hold beliefs that are more closely associated with Hindu traditions than with their own. For instance, many Sikh (29%), Christian (22%) and Muslim (18%) women in India say they wear a bindi – the forehead marking often worn by married women – even though the bindi has Hindu origins. Meanwhile, Muslims in India are just as likely as Hindus to say they believe in karma (77% each), as do 54% of Indian Christians.

Some members of the majority Hindu community celebrate Muslim and Christian festivals: 7% of Indian Hindus say they celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid, and 17% celebrate Christmas.

Note: Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology .

• Beliefs & Practices
• Interreligious Relations

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Essay on Indian Culture

Students are often asked to write an essay on Indian Culture in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Indian Culture

Introduction.

Indian culture, one of the world’s oldest, is a rich mosaic of languages, religions, traditions, and arts. It’s known for its philosophical depth and diverse cultural expressions.

Religions and Spirituality

India is the birthplace of religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. These religions influence Indian thought, lifestyle, and traditions.

Languages and Literature

India is linguistically diverse with 22 officially recognized languages and thousands of dialects. Indian literature, ancient and modern, reflects this diversity.

Art and Architecture

Indian art and architecture, from the intricate carvings of temples to the vibrant folk arts, showcase the country’s creative spirit.

Indian culture, with its profound wisdom and vibrant expressions, continues to inspire and shape the world. It is a treasure to explore and cherish.

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250 Words Essay on Indian Culture

Indian culture, one of the world’s oldest, is a rich mosaic of diverse traditions, languages, and religions. It is a composite synthesis of various customs, traditions, and philosophies that have been nurtured and assimilated over millennia.

Unity in Diversity

The phrase “Unity in Diversity” encapsulates the essence of Indian culture. Despite being home to multiple religions, languages, and ethnic groups, India exhibits an underlying unity that stems from shared cultural values and traditions. This diversity is a testament to the country’s resilience and adaptability, allowing it to absorb and integrate different cultural influences while maintaining its unique identity.

Cultural Practices

Indian culture is renowned for its rich tapestry of cultural practices. From yoga and meditation, which have their roots in ancient Vedic philosophy, to the vibrant festivals like Diwali and Holi, Indian cultural practices are deeply rooted in spirituality and communal harmony.

Art and Literature

Indian art and literature are other significant aspects of the culture. The country has a rich literary heritage that spans ancient scriptures like the Vedas and epics like the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Similarly, Indian art forms, whether it’s the intricate Madhubani paintings or the graceful Kathak dance, reflect the diverse cultural ethos of the country.

In conclusion, Indian culture is a complex and vibrant blend of various elements. It is a testament to the country’s rich history and its ability to harmoniously blend diverse influences. As students, understanding and appreciating this diversity can broaden our perspectives and foster a sense of global citizenship.

500 Words Essay on Indian Culture

The Indian culture, often labeled as an amalgamation of several cultures, spans across the Indian subcontinent and has been influenced by a history that is several millennia old. It is a rich tapestry of diverse traditions, art forms, and philosophies that have shaped the country’s people and their way of life.

A striking aspect of Indian culture is its unity in diversity. India is a confluence of diverse languages, religions, and regional traditions. This diversity is celebrated and respected, underpinning the Indian ethos of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – the world is one family. Despite the myriad of cultures, there is an underlying unity that binds the country together. This unity is evident in the shared history, common festivals, and mutual respect for different faiths.

Religion and Spirituality

Religion plays a pivotal role in Indian culture, shaping its rituals, festivals, music, and art. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism originated in India, while Christianity, Islam, and other religions found a hospitable environment for growth. The Indian ethos is deeply rooted in spirituality, with practices like yoga and meditation becoming globally recognized for promoting mental and physical well-being.

Indian art and architecture reflect the country’s socio-cultural evolution. From the intricate carvings of ancient temples to the Mughal architecture, the diversity is awe-inspiring. Indian art, too, is diverse and distinctive, with various forms such as Madhubani, Warli, and Tanjore painting. The performing arts, including various dance forms like Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and Kathakali, and music genres like Hindustani and Carnatic, add to the cultural richness.

Language and Literature

India is linguistically diverse, with over 1,600 spoken languages. Two of these, Hindi and Bengali, are among the most spoken languages in the world. Indian literature, ancient and modern, in languages like Sanskrit, Tamil, Hindi, and English, has contributed significantly to the world literary scene, with works like the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and writings of Rabindranath Tagore and R.K. Narayan.

Food and Clothing

Indian cuisine varies from region to region, reflecting the local agriculture, culture, and history. It is known for its robust flavors, extensive use of spices, and a wide variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Traditional Indian clothing varies with region but commonly includes garments such as sarees for women and dhotis or kurta-pajamas for men.

The Indian culture, with its diverse and inclusive nature, has a unique identity that has evolved over thousands of years. It is a testament to the country’s resilience, adaptability, and openness to change while holding onto its roots. This rich cultural heritage, which is both ancient and progressive, is India’s true strength and pride. As India continues to grow and evolve, its culture serves as a guiding light, reminding the nation of its past, shaping its present, and influencing its future.

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• Indian Culture and Tradition Essay

Essay on Indian Culture and Tradition

As students grow older, it is important for them to improve their understanding and hold over the language. This can be done only through consistent reading and writing. Writing an essay is a task that involves cooperation and coordination of both the mind and body. Students must be able to think as well reproduce their thoughts effectively without any confusion. This is important when it comes to writing answers and other important documents as ones go to higher classes. The art of writing effectively and efficiently can be improved by students through writing essays. To help students in this domain, Vedantu provides students with numerous essays. Students can go through the same and learn the correct manner of writing the essay. 

Indian Culture and Tradition

India enjoys a wide variety of cultural and traditional presence amongst the 28 states. Indian origin religions Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism are all based on dharma and karma. Even, India is a blessed holy place which is also a native place for most of the religions. Recently, Muslim and Christianity also practised working amongst the whole India population. The pledge also added the line, ‘India is my country, and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage.’  

Indians are great with cooking; their spices are special for medicinal purposes, so visitors are difficult to adjust to with such heavy spices. The cricketers touring Indian pitches are out due to such food. Frequently, it's been observed that the sportsperson arrived in India either with cooking skills or with a cook. Spices such as cumin, turmeric and cardamom have been used for a long period, to make the dishes more delicious and nutritional. Wheat, rice and pulses help to complete the meal. The majority of the population is a vegetarian one due to their religious aspects.

Talking about the language, India is blessed with a wide range of languages used. Each state has its own language. A major part of the state is unable to speak other languages than the native one. Gujrathi, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Punjabi, Telugu and many more are the representative languages of the respective state. It's easy to recognize the person with the language he spoke. There are 15 regional languages but almost all of them Hindi is the national language of the country. Sanskrit is considered an ancient and respected language. And most of the legendary holy texts are found in Sanskrit only. Along with these, most of the people are aware of plenty of foreign languages. 

Indian clothing is adorable to most of the foreigners. Woman wearing a sari is the pride of a nation. These create a pleasant effect and she looks so beautiful that a majority of foreign country’s female want to be like her. The origin of the sari is from the temple dancers in ancient times. Sari allows them to maintain modesty and freedom of movement. On the other hand, men traditionally wear a dhoti and kurta. Actually, Dhoti is a type of cloth without any further attached work done on it. The great Mahatma Gandhi was very fond of it and in their dignity, most of the people used to wear the same. 

Apart from all the above facts, Indians are legends with arts and studious material. Shah-rukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Dhirubhai Ambani, Amitabh Bachchan Rajnikant, Sundar Pichai are many more faces of India who are shining and representing India on a global scale. There are 20-30 grand festivals celebrated every year in which every festival pops up with history and respect to the respective religion. Even in terms of business, India is not behind. Agriculture is the best occupation of 70% of people in India. It’s our duty to protect the wonderful culture that we have. 

Indian culture is one of the oldest and most unique cultures known across the globe. It has various kinds of traditional values, religion, dance, festivals, music, and cloth, which varies from each state or town even. Indian art, cuisine, religion, Literature, Education, Heritage, Clothes etc has a huge impact on the whole world where everyone admires and follows it. It is known as the land of cultural diversity.  India thrives on a variety of languages, religions, and cultures due to the diverse race of people living in the country. It can be referred to as one of the world’s most culturally enriched countries. When one thinks of India, they picture colors, smiling faces of children running in the streets, bangle vendors, street food, music, religious festivals etc. 

Religion 

India is a land where different religious beliefs are followed. It is the land of many religions such as Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism.  Four Indian religions namely Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism were born in India while others are not of Indian origin but have people following those faiths. The people of India keep a solid belief in religion as they believe that following a faith adds meaning and purpose to their lives as it is the way of life. The religions here are not only confined to beliefs but also include ethics, rituals, ceremonies, life philosophies and many more.

Families 

Family plays a vital role in every Indian household. Indians are known to live together as a joint family with their grandparents, uncles and aunts, and the next generation of offspring as well. The house gets passed down from family to family throughout the generations. But with the new modern age, nuclear families are starting to become more common as children go out of town into cities for work or studies and get settled there, also everyone now prefers to have their own private life without any interference. But still, the concept of family get together and family gatherings are not lost as everyone does come together frequently. 

Indian Festivals

India is well known for its traditional festivals all over the world. As it is a secular country with diversity in religions, every month some festival celebration happens. These festivals can be religious, seasonal or are of national importance. Every festival is celebrated uniquely in different ways according to their ritual as each of them has its unique importance. National festivals such as Gandhi Jayanti, Independence Day and Republic Day are celebrated by the people of India across the entire nation. Religious festivals include Diwali, Dussehra, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Zuha, Christmas, Ganesh Chaturthi, etc. All the seasonal festivals such as Baisakhi, Onam, Pongal, Bihu etc are celebrated to mark the season of harvest during two harvesting seasons, Rabi and Kharif. 

Festivals bring love, bond, cross-cultural exchange and moments of happiness among people.

Indian cuisine is known for a variety of spicy dishes, curry, rice items, sweets etc. Each cuisine includes a wide range of dishes and cooking techniques as it varies from region to region. Each region of India cooks different types of dishes using different ingredients, also food varies from every festival and culture as well. Hindus eat mostly vegetarian food items such as pulao, vegetables, daal, rajma etc whereas people from Islamic cultural backgrounds eat meat, kebabs, haleem etc. In the southernmost part of India, you will find people use a lot of coconut oil for cooking purposes, they eat a lot of rice items such as Dosa, Idli, Appam etc with Coconut chutney, sambhar.

Indian Clothing is considered to be the epitome of modesty and every style is very different in each region and state. But the two pieces of clothing that represent Indian culture are dhoti for men and saree for women. Women adorn themselves with a lot of bangles and Payal that goes around their ankles. Even clothing styles varied from different religions to regions to cultures. Muslim women preferred to wear salwar kameez whereas Christian women preferred gowns. Men mostly stuck to dhoti, lungi, shalwar and kurta.In modern days, people have changed their sense of style, men and women now wear more modern western clothes. Indian clothes are still valued but are now in more trendy and fashionable styles. 

There is no single language that is spoken all over India; however , Hindi is one common language most Indians know and can speak or understand. Every region has a different language or dialect. As per the official language act, Hindi and English are the official languages in India. Other regions or state wise languages include- Gujarati, Marathi, Bangla, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Kashmiri, Punjabi etc. 

FAQs on Indian Culture and Tradition Essay

1. What are the Popular Spices in India?

Popular spices in India include - Haldi(Turmeric), Chakri Phool(Star Anise), Til (Sesame seeds/ Gingili seeds), Saunf(Fennel Seeds), Kesar(Saffron), Laal Mirch(Red chilli), Khas(Poppy seeds), Jayphal(Nutmeg), Kalonji(Nigella Seeds), Rai/Sarson(Mustard Seeds), Pudina(Mint), Javitri(Mace), Patthar ke Phool​(Kalpasi), Kala Namak/ Sanchal/ Sanchar powder(Black salt/ Himalayan rock salt/ Pink salt), Sonth(Dry ginger powder), Methi dana(Fenugreek seeds), Suva Bhaji/ Sua Saag(Dill)

Kadi Patta(Curry Leaves), Sukha dhania(Coriander seeds), Laung(Cloves), Dalchini(Cinnamon), Sabza(Chia seeds), Chironji(Charoli), Ajwain(Carom seeds, thymol or celery seeds), Elaichi(Cardamom), Kali Mirch(Black Pepper (or White Pepper), Tej Patta(Bay Leaf), Hing(Asafoetida), Anardana(Pomegranate seeds), Amchoor(Dry mango powder)

2. What is the Language Diversity Available in India?

The Indian constitution has 22 officially recognized languages. Apart from it, there are around 60 languages that are recognized as smother tongue with more than one million speakers. India also has around 28 minor languages spoken by over one hundred thousand and one million people. Apart from these, there are numerous dialects spoken by a various sect of people based on their region of origin. 

3. Who are Some of the Most Famous Indian Celebrities Popular Across the Globe? 

India has people excelling in all aspects of art and activities. Few prominent celebrities to garner global fame include - Sudha Murthy, Amitabh Bacchan, Virat Kohli, Saina Nehwal, Sania Mirza, Priyanka Chopra, MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohanlal, A R Rehman, Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata, Narayana Murthy, Kiran Majumdar Shah, Narendra Modi, Amith Shah. all these people have received great accolades in their respective area of expertise globally and getting recognition to India on a global level. 

4. How to Improve Writing and Reading Skills for Producing Good Essays?

Writing an essay becomes a tedious task when the mind and hand do not coordinate. It is important for you to be able to harness your mental ability to think clearly and reproduce the same on paper for a good essay. Always remember the first few thoughts that you get as soon as you see an essay topic is your best and purest thoughts. Ensure to note them down. Later you can develop your essay around these points. Make sure your essay has an introduction, body and the final conclusion. This will make the reader understand the topic clearly along with your ability to convey the any information without any hesitation or mistake. 

5. How many religions are there in India? 

As of now, there are a total of 9 major religions in India with Hinduism being the majority. The remaining religion includes- Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and the Baha'i Faith. 

6. Which is the oldest language in India? 

Indian classical oldest language is Sanskrit, it belongs to the Indo- Aryan branch of Indo- European languages. 

7. What are the few famous folk dances of India? 

Folk dances are the representation of a particular culture from where they are known to originate. Eight famous classical dances are- Bharatnatyam from Tamil Nadu, Kathakali from Kerala, Kathak from North, West and Central India, Mohiniyattam from Kerala, Kuchipudi from Andhra Pradesh, Odissi from Odisha, Manipuri from Manipur, Sattriya from Assam. 

8. How many languages are spoken in India? 

Other than Hindi and English there are 22 languages recognised by the constitution of India. However, more than 400 languages and dialects in India are still not known as they change after every town. Over the years, about 190 languages have become endangered due to very few surviving speakers. 

9. Describe the Indian Culture. 

Indian culture is very diverse and the people of India are very warm and welcoming. They have a strong sense of family and firmly believe in unity in diversity. In India, there's a saying saying 'Atithi Devo Bhava'  means 'the guest is equivalent to god'. So if one visits India, they will never feel unwanted.

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Essay on religions in india.

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In this essay we will learn about the various religions of India. After reading this essay you will learn about: 1. Introductory Remarks, Distributional Patterns of Religions in India 2. Vedism and Early Hinduism 3. Buddhism 4. Jainism 5. Sikhism 6. Christianity 7. Islam.

• Essay on Islam

Essay # 1. Introductory Remarks, Distributional Patterns of Religions in India :

If the term ‘religion’ may be used to refer to particular aspects of India’s cultural traditions, the country can be said to have long been the home of all religions that today have a worldwide presence.

Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—the so-called Indie religions—were born here. Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and the Bahai faith arrived here from abroad at different points of time during the last two millennia.

The plurality of religions in India is often obscured by the fact that Hinduism is generally regarded as both the demographically dominant and the culturally characteristic—even hegemonic—religion of the country not only in popular imagination but also by official reckoning—four out of five Indians are Hindus, and they inhabit the length and breadth of the land.

From the cultural perspective, anthropologists and sociologists have provided details of the many components of culture and aspects of social structure of the so-called non-Hindu communities that have either been borrowed from the Hindus, or are survivals from their pre- conversion Hindu past, with or without significant alterations.

The foregoing popular view of the cultural scene in India, buttressed by official statistics, needs to be qualified in several respects. Unlike the other religions of India, Hinduism is a federation of faiths which has a horizontal as well as vertical distribution, rather than a single homogeneous religion.

Not only do the religious beliefs and practices of Hindus vary from one cultural region of the country to another (say, between Bengal and Maharashtra), Hindu castes in each area are also characterized by similar differences. We will go into the details of such internal plurality among the Hindus in section ii below.

Suffice it to note here, first, that Hinduism has a long and eventful history which has resulted in much internal diversity, and second, that there are communities today which are considered Hindu by others but which themselves no longer concur in this judgement.

Most notably, the Scheduled Castes of official literature, including the Constitution of the Republic, who have traditionally comprised the bottom rungs of the caste hierarchy, and were called Harijan (‘the Children of God’) by Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), are today by self-description the Dalit (‘the Oppressed’).

If their claim that they are not Hindu is accepted, the proportion of Hindus in the total population will come down significantly, from four-fifths to two-thirds.

Whether we have the Indie faiths in mind, or the major religions of non-Indian origin, notably Islam, religion in India is not a discrete element of everyday life that stands wholly apart from the economic or political concerns of the people. To assume so would amount to yielding to the temptation of words.

The point is not that the religious domain is not distinguished from the secular, but rather that the secular is regarded as being encompassed by the religious, even when the former is apparently inimical to the latter.

The relationship is hierarchical. In other words, religion in the Indian cultural setting traditionally permeates virtually all aspects of life, not through mechanical diffusion but in an integrated, holistic perspective.

A second clarification concerns the conception of divinity.

The monotheism characteristic of the Abrahamic religions (much more uncompromisingly in Judaism and Islam than in Christianity) is either absent in the Indie religions (as in the case of Buddhism and Jainism), or we find in its place other conceptions, notably an abstract notion of ‘Essence’ or ‘Being’ as the source of all that truly exists (the Brahman of Vedantic Hinduism), or polytheism (as in Puranic Hinduism), or the exuberant ‘spiritism’ of folk Hinduism.

The non-theism of Buddhism and Jainism, which was a major scandal in the eyes of the Vedic metaphysicians two thousand years ago, persuaded a modern European scholar of comparative religion, Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), himself born into the Jewish faith, to abandon belief in the divinity as an essential element in the constitution (or recognition) of religion anywhere.

Instead he focused on the conception of ‘sacred things’, that is, ‘things set apart or forbidden’ that contribute significantly to the constitution of society as a ‘moral community’. The notion of sacredness is itself problematic in several respects however, but we will not go into this issue here.

Finally, it may be noted here by way of clarification, that the notion and word most widely used in India as a synonym for religion, namely, the Sanskrit dharma (from the root dhr) or its Pali equivalent dharma, denotes the ideas of maintenance, sustenance or upholding, steadfastness and moral virtue, rather than the dependent bonding of the human being with supernatural powers conveyed by the term religion, which is of Latin derivation (religion, obligation, bond).

While a conception of self-sustaining cosmomoral order is found in all Indie religions—subtle differences of nuance notwithstanding—Islam literally stands for submission to the Will of God, conveyed through his Word as recorded in the Quran, which is to be read repeatedly as an essential act of piety. Incidentally, religion also denotes reverence.

Keeping the foregoing observations in mind.Let us begin with the demographic picture (on the basis of the 1991 census figures).

The Hindus (including most of the Scheduled Castes, who account for 16.48 per cent of the total population) number 688 million, constituting 82 per cent of the total population of about 839 million. (The population in India has crossed 1 billion, but the religion-wise proportions are believed to be the same as in 1991.)

Next to the Hindus are the 102 million Muslims (12 per cent), and they are followed by the Christians (20 million, 2.32 per cent) and the Sikhs (16 million, 1.99 per cent). Buddhists (0.77 per cent), Jains (0.41 per cent) and others account for the remaining nearly 2 per cent of the population.

Among the ‘others’ mention may be made of those tribal peoples who adhere to their own traditional faiths—which used to be grouped together arbitrarily as animism under colonial rule—and of the Zoroastrians and the Jews. The total population of the Scheduled Tribes is about 68 million, or 8 per cent of the total population.

Although their religion-wise distribution is not available, it is generally known that most of them either follow Hinduism of the folk type or are Christians; only a minority adhere to their ancestral faiths. As for the Zoroastrians and the Jews, they are counted in mere thousands; both are threatened by declining birth rates and assimilation among other religious communities through intermarriage.

State-wise distribution of the religious communities provides a picture of regional dispersal and variation. The Hindus, spread over virtually the entire country, outnumber all the others in the states of Himachal Pradesh (96 per cent), Orissa (95 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (93 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (89 per cent), Gujarat (89 per cent), Haryana (89 per cent), Rajasthan (89 per cent), Tamil Nadu (89 per cent), Pondicherry (86 per cent), Tripura (86 per cent), Karnataka (85 per cent), Delhi (84 per cent), Bihar (82 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (82 per cent), Maharashtra (81 per cent). West Bengal (75 per cent), Sikkim (68 per cent), Assam (67 per cent), Goa, Daman & Diu (65 per cent), Manipur (58 percentage.), and Kerala (57 per cent).

Similarly, Hindus outnumber all the others in the union territories of Dadra & Nagar Haveli (95 per cent) Chandigarh (76 per cent), and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (68 per cent). They are the principal minority community in the states of Arunachal Pradesh (37 per cent), Punjab (34 per cent), Meghalaya (15 per cent), Nagaland (10 per cent), and Mizoram (5 per cent), and in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep (5 per cent).

The only other religious community with a perceptible countrywide distribution are the Muslims. They are the majority community in the state of Jammu & Kashmir (64 per cent according to 1981 census) in the extreme north and in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep (94 per cent) in the south.

They are the principal minority in the states of Assam (28 per cent) in the north-east. West Bengal (23 per cent) and Bihar (15 per cent) in the east, Uttar Pradesh (17 per cent), Delhi (9 per cent), Rajasthan (8 per cent), and Haryana (5 per cent) in the north, Maharashtra (10 per cent) and Gujarat (9 per cent) in the west, and Kerala (23 per cent), Karnataka (12 per cent), and Andhra Pradesh (9 per cent) in the south.

Christians are the majority community in three north-eastern states, namely, Nagaland (88 per cent), Mizoram (86 per cent) and Meghalaya (65 per cent). They are the principal minority in the states of Manipur (34 per cent), also in the north-east, and Goa, Daman &C Diu (30 per cent) in the west, and in the Union Territory of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (24 per cent) in the south.

Sikhs account for 63 per cent of the population in Punjab and are the principal minority in the adjacent state of Haryana (6 per cent) and the Union Territory of Chandigarh (20 per cent).

The state of Arunachal Pradesh in the north-east presents an interesting variation of the general pattern as the followers of traditional (tribal) religions at 36 per cent are about as numerous as Hindus (37 per cent) while Buddhists who account for 13 per cent; Christians (10 per cent) are in the fourth position.

The only other places in the country where the Buddhists are a presence in demographic terms are the district of Ladakh (in Jammu & Kashmir), where they account for four-fifths of the population, and the states of Sikkim and Mizoram where their share in the population is 27 per cent and 8 per cent respectively.

Jains are concentrated in Rajasthan, Delhi, and the west coast states. Zoroastrians, more generally known as Parsees, four-fifths of whose estimated world population of 120,000 lives in India, are concentrated in the urban areas of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Far fewer than the Parsees are the Jews, who are, however, divided into three distinct groups, namely, the Baghdadi Jews of Calcutta, the Cochin Jews, and the Bene Israeli of Bombay Only the last named group may be called a community; the other two are really clusters of families.

Before turning to the next topic, we may briefly observe here that, among the countries of South Asia, Sri Lanka shares with India the contemporary plurality of religions more than the Other countries do. Although predominantly Buddhist, it harbours sizeable religious minorities, including Hindus, Christians and Muslims.

Nepal is more predominantly Hindu, but Buddhists and Muslims also are present, the latter in very small numbers. Bangladesh is predominantly Muslim (85 per cent), with Hindus and Buddhists as notable religious minorities. Pakistan and the Maldives are almost exclusively Muslim and Bhutan is primarily Buddhist.

Essay # 2. Vedism and Early Hinduism:

The beginnings of religious diversity in India go back to the country’s proto-historic past. There is ample material evidence of the existence of elaborate religious activity in the urban centres associated with the Indus Valley or Harappan civilization five thousand years ago, spread over vast areas in north-western, northern, and western parts of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent.

It is reasonable to infer that religious beliefs and rituals of a somewhat different kind must have been present in the rural hinterlands.

The city cultures, it is generally believed, were overridden by nomadic Aryan-speaking peoples of central Asian origin, around 1500 bc. They brought in their own religious beliefs and practices, and these focused on the creative and destructive powers of nature.

According to this generally accepted view, the Aryans owed little in their religious life to the presumably Dravidian-speaking people they drove out of their homelands.

Scholars who do not accept the general view, but consider the Harappan culture as an unfolding rather than a major break whether wholly internal or aided by a limited migration, maintain that the old and the new cultures coexisted, and that the latter absorbed elements, both religious and linguistic, from the former.

Vedic religion and Sanskrit took several centuries to acquire the forms in which they have been handed down to us.

The resultant religion was characterized by internal diversities reflecting social, theological and scholastic divisions. Scholars have written about a state religion, centred in temples, comprising ritual bathing, worship of gods and goddesses, and perhaps animal sacrifice. Apart from the public (state) and private (domestic) rituals, differences reflecting clan-based cleavages also seem to have existed.

The major source of our knowledge about the religious life of the Aryans, besides the numerous archaeological sites, is the body of sacred literature called the Veda (‘knowledge’, ‘wisdom’), which is believed to be ever-existent (sanatana) and therefore lacking any human author (apaurusheya), and stretches over almost a thousand years.

The earliest of the Vedic texts is the Rig, which has been dated no later than 1200 bc (but is perhaps much older). Its ten books of hymns in praise of divinities presumably represent ten family traditions among the Brahmans (rituals specialists) and took several centuries to compose.

The Sama and Yajur Vedas extend the scope of the Rig into music and ritual respectively Finally, the Atharva Veda is believed to represent the absorption of folk religions into the Vedic corpus, resulting in significant changes in it.

These religions were encountered by the Aryans as they moved east into the Gangetic valley and adopted more settled ways. Indeed, the valley came to be called the home of the Aryas, Aryavrata. Thus, divinities become devalued and magical spells and rites become ascendant.

Further, the Vedas became the basis for an immense textual efflorescence, comprising manuals of ritual performances (Brahmanas, Aranyakas), and discursive speculative treatises (Upanishads, also called Vedanta, the culmination of the Veda), all of which bring us close to 300 bc. Schools of Vedic learning and ritual, called ‘branches’ (shakha), flourished, producing a cultural ambience of, at times, bewildering plurality within the Vedic framework.

But that is not all; Vedism gradually made way for the emergence of what is generally called Hinduism on a sub-continental scale, which brought more texts on more varied subjects into existence, notably the Grihya Sutras, which are guides to the performance of domestic rituals, and the Dharma Sutras, which have social ethics and law as their subject matter.

Besides, there are the Shrauta Sutras which are technical treatises on the correct procedures for the performance of Vedic rituals of public significance.

The Grihya Sutras have a regional character: a text followed in one part of the country may be unknown in another. The Vedic corpus, considered revealed, is said to be based on shruti and constitutes the first source of dharma understood as righteous conduct. With the Sutras we come to the second source, namely, smriti (that which is remembered), and these texts are credited to human authors.

Later still than the Sutras are the Dharma Shastras which continue with the same themes but in much greater detail. The best known of these texts today is the Manav Dharma Shastra, attributed to a seer called Manu, and therefore also known as the Manu Smriti.

It is believed to have been composed between 200 b.c and ad 300, which rules out single authorship. What stands out in this and other similar texts is the institutional framework for the conduct of both domestic life and public affairs.

In domestic life the key principles of varna (social class) and ashrama (stage of life) are adumbrated for the definition of appropriate rituals and worldly affairs. While universal norms (sarva sadharna dharma) are not wholly eliminated, but retained as the foundation of all righteous conduct, it is the varna- and ashrama-specific rules that emerge as preponderant.

It is thus that Hinduism has been defined as varna-ashrama-dharma. Not only the householder, but the kings too, are bound by their respective duties defined in terms of varna and ashrama (see Lingat 1973).

As for those who repudiated such divisions, notably the renouncers (sannyasis), even they have been grouped into sects (sampradayas) since at least the time of the composition of the Mahabharata (400 bc-ad 400).

It is obvious that variant regional, varna (including occupation), and ashrama identities defined the appropriateness of behaviour in particular situations. In view of this Hinduism could only have been a family of faiths and the behaviours that went with them, and the Hindu society, a confederation of communities.

The speculative or philosophical concerns of the Brahmanical tradition, were formulated as different systems of orthodox thought (jnan) and termed ‘visions’ (darshana) of life based on the Vedas. Each of these visions, six in number, has its own authoritative texts.

The thought or reflection that follows from each position is not exclusive in the manner of the various guides to ritual performance and social behaviour. The ‘root’ text of each darshana is concerned with extra-referential (paramarthika) knowledge, and transactive (vyavaharika) knowledge is built upon or grafted into it. Together they constitute what can only be called a complex totality

The six schools are:

(i) Samkhya (‘enumeration’) which asserts the ontological duality of matter (prakrti) and the ‘self (purusha)-,

(ii) Yoga (‘joining’, ‘mixing’) which constitutes a pair with Samkhya in terms of its metaphysics;

(iii) Mimamsa (Vedic exegesis) which takes a pluralist view of reality;

(iv) Vedanta (‘culmination of Veda’), grouped with Mimamsa, which denies the reality of the many;

(v) Nyaya (logic) and

(vi) Vaisesika (dialectics), considered a pair, which deal with logical, ontological, and dialectical issues within an empiricist, pluralist (more precisely atomist) framework.

The primacy which the monism of Vedanta has enjoyed in contemporary literature on India does little justice to the internal diversities of Brahmanical thought even when dealing with the same issues, or with its method of dealing with them to preclude mutual incomprehensibility.

The foregoing pluralities of scripture, metaphysics, and social organization that are the background of Hinduism and indeed partly constitute it, are characteristic of Brahmanical orthodoxy. This orthodoxy has not remained unchallenged. Indeed, the challenges came from within long before any major external threat materialized.

The followers of public Vedic ritual, called the Shrautas (shruti, ‘revelation’), first yielded space to those who gave precedence to domestic rituals, whether the Smartas (followers of the Smritis or Dharma Shastras) or the Pauranikas (those who organize their religious life on the basis of the Puranas, which are legendary accounts of the doings of gods, goddesses and other supernatural beings as well as human beings like kings and ascetics).

The latter two categories of Hinduism are not, however, non-Vedic.

It is the Tantras, texts that are claimed by their followers the Tantrikas to be revealed, that are non-Vedic. Tantric rituals reveal considerable variety, but are generally characterized by secret rituals performed often at special sites such as cremation grounds, and frequently at night.

Thus, Tantric rituals that invoke the power of the Supreme Goddess are performed at night in the famous temple of Puri (Orissa), where worship of the Pauranika god Jagannatha (an incarnation of Vishnu, the patron deity of Vaishnavas) and his divine consort is performed publicly during the day. The celebrated yearly ‘car festival’ (ratha yatra) is dedicated to him.

While the worship of Vishnu is combined in the Smartha-Pauranika traditions with that of Devi (the goddess) and Shiva, in some parts of the country, particularly the south, mutually exclusive and often hostile sects have emerged centred on the cults of the two gods.

From as early as the fifth century, the Vaishnavas were divided into the sects of Pancharatras and Vaikhanasas. Similarly, the Pashupata, Kapalika, and Kalamukha sects were prominent among the Shaivas.

Starting in the seventh century, the Vaishnavas and the Shaivas began to generate distinctive liturgical texts called the samhitas and agamas respectively. Each sect claimed the supremacy of its own deity on the latter’s own authority

In the development of these theistic traditions, from around the closing centuries of the last millennium bc, a number of elements from various sources, including the high Sanskritic and folk religious traditions, fused.

Personal devotion to one’s chosen deity (bhakti), whether Vishnu in his various incarnations including most notably those of Rama and Krishna-Vasudeva, or Shiva, is a striking characteristic of these cults, and originated in the south and then spread to the north.

This devotionalism found expression in emotionally charged poetry particularly among the Vaishnavas from the sixth century onward, and later also among the Shaivites, though the latter’s devotion tended to be more austere.

Expectedly, the relationship of the devotee to the deity, whether expressed in human (anthropomorphic) terms or through abstract formulations, constitutes the core of the specu­lative thought of these religious traditions, ranging from absolute monism (advaita), associated with the name Sankara, to qualified non-dualism (vishishtadvaita) of Ramanuja and dualism (dvaita) elucidated by Madhva in the thirteenth century.

The teach­ings of the latter two saints combine the metaphysics of the Upanishads with the theism of Vaishnava and Shaiva cults.

Associated with both of these is a third tradition, namely, the worship of the great goddess. Devi, which emerged virtually independently as the Shakta (from shakti, ‘power’) tradition. Here also the roots go far back in time, perhaps to the Harappan culture, and later developments entail the amalgamation of Puranic, Tantric and folk goddesses and ideas.

As Lakshmi, the divine consort of Vishnu, the great goddess is presented as a benign bearer of auspiciousness; as Uma-Parvati, she is the divine consort of Shiva, mother of the universe; and as Durga or Kali, the highest manifestation of divine power, she is the fearsome destroyer of evil and greater than all the male gods through the pooling of whose powers she comes into being.

At the village level she appears as the goddess who brings and removes illness and misfortune, such as Shitala, the goddess whose visitations were held responsible for small-pox.

The Hindu religious tradition, we have seen, is characterized by strong pluralistic tendencies emanating from various sources and inspirations. It has tended to absorb non-Hindu religious ideas and practices and has dealt with internal dissent through accommodation carried to the furthest extremes.

Occasionally, this strategy has failed and resulted in breakaway sects which in the course of time grew into independent religions such as Buddhism and Jainism, adding a new dimension to the religious plurality of India.

Essay # 3. Buddhism :

The most widely spread religion in Asia today, namely. Buddhism, has adherents in the West also, but it is a minority religion in India, the country of its origin. Named after the title buddha (‘the enlightened one’) of its founder, Gautama, Buddhism began as a revolt against the Vedic preoccupation with the supernatural, rejecting the beliefs as well as the rituals that went with them.

The rejection entailed repudiation of the authority of the Brahmans. Gautama himself belonged to the Kshatriya (warrior) caste and indeed, he was the heir to a kingdom in the Bihar-Nepal area. Following his own awakening to knowledge and wisdom— his enlightenment—the Buddha attracted disciples whom he taught ‘the four noble truths’ which constitute the fundamentals of all schools of Buddhism (see Harvey 1990).

The first truth of life, the Buddha said, is sorrow (suffering); the second, that the source of sorrow is ignorance and desire; the third, that sorrow can be ended if desire is overcome; and the fourth, that the way to the ‘blowing out’ (nibanna) of both desire and sorrow lies through ‘the noble eightfold path’.

This path, which is the path of righteousness (dharma, dhamma) consists of the right views, resolve, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.

The Buddha adopted a stance of silence on the issue of the existence of the divinity but denied the Vedic gods any significance in human affairs, and concentrated on human agency He did, however, retain the root paradigm of karma understood as the doctrine of agency and retribution.

It is doubtful that the Buddha thought of himself as anything more than a reformer within the tradition and his teachings as ‘a new expansion, not against, but within Brahmanism’. Nevertheless, his teachings were said to be negatory (nastika), repudiating Vedic revelation and the notion of divinity by the establishment and attacked as unforgivably heterodox.

The Buddha originated the idea of the monastic community of monks and nuns (sangha), subject to a rigorous regime (vinaya), as the ideal arrangement for the pursuit of true knowledge. An easier way of life was envisaged for the lay community, with the sangha as their exemplar and refuge.

Such was his confidence in this institution that the Buddha did not name a successor nor codify his teachings. He advised resolution of doubts on matters of common concern through discussion and consensus; in the event of failure to reach a consensus the majority view was to be respected. It was thus that the seeds of a plurality of belief and practice among the Buddhists were sown by Gautama himself.

The first great split is believed to have occurred a century after the Buddha’s passing at a council of sanghas convened at Vaishali (Bihar) to settle contentious issues concerning monastic discipline and the character of the Buddha’s personality.

The opposing factions, namely, the orthodox Sthaviras (Elders) and the Mahasanghikas (upholders of the ‘Great Community’), reached a temporary truce, but split formally four decades later. While the former held the Buddha to have been an enlightened human preceptor, the latter claimed for him the status of a transcendent being.

The foregoing and other issues continued to cause disagreements. In the process as many as eighteen viewpoints were formalized and collectively referred to as the Hinayana, or the little (or lesser) vehicles (or approaches).

One of them, the school of Sthaviras emerged as Theravada (the Way of the Elders) in the second century bc in Sri Lanka, where it is now the state religion. It is the only Hinayana school to have escaped extinction. As for the Mahasanghikas, they were the progenitors of the adherents of Mahayana (great vehicle or approach) Buddhism that is today a major religion in East Asia (China, Japan) and elsewhere.

Mention may also be made of a later development (seventh century) in north India where a convergence of Buddhism and Tantrism occurred, resulting in what came to be called the Vajrayana (thunderbolt vehicle).

This in turn spread north into Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir) and the kingdom of Bhutan (three-fourths of the people there are Buddhists) and Tibet where it absorbed further extraneous elements from Shamanism. In the north-eastern states of Tripura, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh in India there are close to 200,000 Buddhists of the Theravada school.

The presence of the Dalai Lama and settlements of refugees in India since their exile from Tibet in 1959, has enhanced general awareness about Buddhism in its different expressions of doctrine and practice in India.

The conversion of large numbers of low-caste Hindus, who call themselves Dalits (the Oppressed) and are generally referred to as Neo-Buddhists, under the charismatic leadership of B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956), has contributed significantly to the same process. It has, however, explicitly politicized Buddhist identity

Essay # 4. Jainism :

Jainism too arose around the same time as Buddhism in the same area (Bihar), for broadly the same reasons, and in a similar manner. But there are significant differences between the Buddhist and Jain visions of life. The terms Jainism and Jain [Jaina, follower of the religion) are derived from/ma, ‘the conqueror’ (of one’s physical self and thus of karmic action).

This title was bestowed on prince Vardhamana (599-527 bc)—also called the Mahavira, ‘the great hero’—to whom the basic teachings of the faith in their final form are attributed. Actually, he is regarded as the last of a line of teachers called tirthankara (‘ford maker’), who recovered time and again the perennial ‘three jewels’ of right faith, right knowledge, and right action.

They also founded the Jain community comprising ascetics (monks and nuns) and the laity (householders). It is their community that is considered by the Jains as a spiritual ford (tirtha) to help all seekers wash off karma and terminate the cycle of birth-death-rebirth.

Sentiments such as desire, anger, greed, and attachment are the human failings that generate karma (fruit-bearing action). Karma is visualized as material: it contaminates the inner self and is the cause of suffering in one’s own life and of injury to other living beings.

The Jain ideal therefore is to be forever engaged in self-purification (through the suppression of all bodily appetites) and to assiduously refrain from injury to others (this is the ideal of ahimsa, ‘non-injury’).

Renunciation is highly valued and the final worldly goal for the ascetic is to end one’s life through abstinence from food and drink. For laymen, the householder’s life, guarded by numerous rules and regulations, is the ideal.

Paradoxical as it may seem, the Jains in actual practice are also very successful merchants, visible in urban centres. Although there are fewer Jains than Buddhists in India, it is they rather than the latter who are the more visible religious community.

They share many religious practices including fasts and festivals with the upper-caste Hindus, and are often regarded by the latter as a sect of Hindu society, rather than a separate religious community. Their original atheism and repudiation of Vedic revelation had of course earned them, alongside of the Buddhists, the opprobrium of being heterodox in the judgement of the Brahmans.

Among the Jains themselves heresies and sectarian schisms began to make their appearance even while the Mahavira was alive. According to the mainstream Jain tradition, eight such deviations (nihnava, ‘concealment’ of the true teaching) occurred over a period of six centuries.

The last of these resulted in the emergence of a heretical sect. Accounts of this schism are shrouded in rival legends of the so-called mainstream and the breakaway groups, the Shvetambaras (clad in white cloth) and the Digambaras (‘clothed by the sky’, naked).

The mode of clothing refers to the practices of the ascetics rather than the lay householders, but Digambara nuns do wear clothes; only men remain naked. The Shvetambaras use a bowl to receive food given to them, which they also eat from.

Food is important because even those monks who have attained full omniscience (kevalin) must eat to survive. The Digambaras do not use a bowl but their cupped hands to receive alms, and it is from the hands so held together that they eat.

They insist on absolute non-possession: no clothes and no alms bowls. In their judgement true omniscience means, among other things, that one does not need to eat food anymore. Women are deemed unequal to the demands of total conquest of the passions leading to omniscience and deliverance from the fruits of karma.

The two sects are also separated by the scriptures that each acknowledges. On the fundamentals of Jain faith and knowledge, however, there is no serious difference. Sectarian differences seem to have taken very long to acquire their present rigidity and regional distribution—Shvetambaras in the north and the west and Digambaras in the south—seems to have contributed to it.

The differences notwithstanding, the high value that all Jams place upon non-violence has prevented the two sects from adopting aggressive measures to settle scores. Currently, sectarian conflict among the Jains seems to focus on the issues of ownership of and access to places of worship rather than on matters of doctrine and practice. Regrettably the same cannot be said about other communities.

Essay # 5. Sikhism :

The beginnings of Sikhism (Sikh, disciple) early in the sixteenth century followed a major development in the history of religions in India over the previous 800 years, namely, the arrival and growth of Islam. This development is described in the next section, but is mentioned here because it contributed significantly to the making of the new faith.

Like Vardhamana and Gautama before him, Nanak Dev (1469-1539), the founder of Sikhism, was an upper-caste Hindu (of the Khatri caste of traders, originally Kshatriyas). From his experience and reflections he developed an acute dissatisfaction with the ritualism, idol worship, magic, and miracles of the faith into which he was born, and with the stranglehold of the Brahmans over it.

Nanak also took a positive view of worldly existence, and of the householder’s life and productive labour. He rejected caste distinctions and the traditional ideal of renunciation. Above all he extolled the virtue of a life of religious obedience and devotion focused on an abstract conception of the divinity, and affirming the same through ‘name remembrance’ (nam simrarn), that is, recitation and singing of hymns.

Declaring that there were no true Hindus or Muslims to be found anywhere, he called for a third path comprising moral duty (dharma), human effort (karma), spiritual knowledge, truth, and divine benevolence.

In all this Nanak was carrying forward the medieval Sant tradition of syncretic religious devotionalism, which had given rise to many ‘paths’ (panth) or sects. The disciples who gathered around him and carried forward his teachings after his death came to be called the Nanak Panthis or, later, Sikhs.

Some of his followers did not follow all of his core teachings and, like his son who became a renouncer, founded other sects. Other changes and dilutions of dogma and practice, particularly the latter, occurred over the next two centuries, blurring the distinction between Sikhism and caste Hinduism, and rendering the Sikh identity rather ‘misty’.

Simultaneously, changing historical circumstances—which brought the Jats into the Sikh fold in large numbers, and also created suspicions in the minds of the Muslim rulers about the loyalty of the Sikhs—radically altered the pacifist character of the Sikh community.

The tenth guru of the Sikhs, Gobind Rai (1666-1708), intervened effectively on all fronts— theological, practical, social and political—and created a sharpened sense of identity among the Sikhs by instituting (in 1699) a ritual of initiation (called pahul), and laying down norms of conduct including, most visibly, the injunction to retain bodily hair unshorn.

He also asked all Sikh men to uniformly substitute Singh (‘lion’, the caste name of Rajputs) for their various last names; the women were to call themselves ‘Kaur’ (‘lioness’).

The institution of these requirements also created unintended divisions among the Sikhs between:

(i) Those who went through pahul and came to be called Amritdhari (‘bearers of nectar’, the baptismal water);

(ii) Those who kept their hair and beard and were called Keshdhari (bearers of hair); and

(iii) Those who affirmed Sikh identity but did not immediately follow the new injunctions, called the Sahajdhari (bearers of the spontaneous, inner light). The first category also called themselves the Khalsa, or the ‘pure’ and ‘the chosen of God’, and were to play a hegemonistic role in the second half of the nineteenth century in defining Sikh identity

A hundred years after Guru Gobind established the Khalsa, a Jat Sikh chieftain, Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) established the Kingdom of Lahore, which did not, however, last long after his death. In the aftermath of the defeat of the Sikhs at the hands of the British in 1846, several reformist movements emerged among the Sikhs.

Of these, the most notable were the Nirankari and Namdhari (or Kuka) movements. Both were sectarian in character and acknowl­edged gurus subsequent to Gobind Singh, who had proclaimed closure of the line of personal gurus. The beliefs of these sects were therefore considered violative of the true Khalsa faith by orthodox Sikhs.

The Nirankaris called for a return to the teachings of Guru Nanak who had characterized the divinity as ‘formless’ (nirankar). The Namdharis focused their attention on regenerating the Khalsa as instituted by Guru Gobind. A modernist version of the same effort (namely, Khalsa rejuvenation) was the agenda of the so-called Singh Sabhas which also had a considerable agenda of secular goals.

Currently, the Namdharis are not very much in the news, but conflicts between the Nirankaris and the orthodox Akalis have resulted in violence and loss of life. The fundamentalist preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who later came into conflict with the government on the issue of Sikh grievances, originally appeared in public (in 1978) as a fierce opponent of the Nirankaris.

From the foregoing account of developments in the long history of Indie religions, it is clear that pluralistic tendencies characterize them all, particularly Hinduism, which lacks a founder or a set of fundamentals of belief and practice or a ‘church’.

And yet they share a concern with unity in diversity, or the Absolute transcending its myriad expressions. The notions of dharma and karma are key ideas in the metaphysical foundations of each.

Essay # 6. Christianity :

Of the religions that originated outside India but found a home here, Christianity is the oldest. If tradition is to be believed, it was brought to Kerala by the Apostle St Thomas under the auspices of the Nestorian Church.

Written records testify to the presence of Christians in India from the sixth century onwards. The Thomas Christians are also known as Syrian Christians for, originally, their liturgy was in Syriac and they acknowledged the jurisdiction of the Syrian Patriarch of the East in Damascus (Syria).

Conversions seem to have been made locally among upper-caste Hindus only. The community has remained confined to Kerala. It subscribes to the various fundamentals of Christian faith—such as Immaculate Conception, the divinity of Jesus, and the status of the Bible as revealed scripture—and practice (for example, celebration of the Eucharist).

In the middle of the sixteenth century Jesuit missionaries made Goa their base after it became a part of the Portuguese colonial empire, and spread out to other parts of south India and Sri Lanka and even ventured north.

Inevitably, they encountered the Thomas Christians who were asked to sever ties with the Nestorian Church and come under the jurisdiction of Rome. This led to a split among them: while about one-half of the community complied, the rest resisted, and reaffirmed their loyalty to the Syrian Patriarch of Antioch.

A long-lasting issue causing dissension among the Thomas Christians as well as the Jesuits was whether missionary activity was to be confined among the upper castes, and whether caste was to be deemed a religious institution and abolished, or only a secular social arrangement and therefore tolerated.

The arrival of the British in India in the mid-eighteenth century had at first no impact on the spread of Christianity as the East India Company in deference to the wishes of the home government did not allow missionary activity. It was only in the early nineteenth century that the British Parliament removed the restriction and chaplains of the Company began to make converts.

The Anglican diocese of Calcutta was founded in 1814. To begin with, Anglican chaplains administered to the spiritual needs of the British in India, but an Indian Church had also come into existence by the end of the nineteenth century.

A close association of the Church with the State (the colonial dispensation) was a liability and came to be loosened by the 1930s (see Gibbs 1972). Meanwhile, Anglicans, Protestants, and Non-conformist societies had sent out missions, producing a plurality of churches and an interflow between congregations.

Thus, some Thomas Christians became Protestants and established the Mar Thomas (Syriac for St Thomas) Church. The majority, however, remained loyal to the Syrian Patriarch, nominally acknowledging his spiritual authority, but otherwise independent. They are known as the members of the Jacobite or Orthodox Church.

In 1947, the year of India’s independence, the Anglican, Methodist and other Protestant churches came together to establish the Church of South India. Similar efforts in the north resulted in the establishment of a united Protestant Church in 1970.

The predominance of Roman Catholics (nearly 60 per cent) is a noteworthy feature of the Christian community in India. Also noteworthy has been the search for Indian idioms of expression.

Christians of all denominations have retained many of their pre-conversion beliefs, attitudes, and ceremonies, incorporating them into Christianity. Evangelicalism has also remained alive, however, and is indeed a cherished goal. The fundamental right to propagate one’s religion, and not merely to profess and practice it, was written into the Indian Constitution to accommodate Christian sentiment on the subject.

Essay # 7. Islam :

The third and the youngest member of the family of Abrahamic religions, Islam (‘submission to the will of God’) is dated back to ad 622 when its promulgator, the Prophet Muhammad (ad 571-632) migrated from his native city of Makkah (in Arabia), where he did not receive the support he desired, to Madinah.

In the latter city he established the first ever Islamic state. He accommodated resident Jews and Christians in it, since they too were judged to be in possession of books of divinely revealed knowledge and, therefore, entitled to protection.

The fundamentals of religious faith and practice among Muslims (‘the submitters’) are explicit and universally binding. They must affirm the oneness of God and the status of the Quran (‘the text to be read and recited’) as the word of God.

Besides, they must believe in God’s angels and messengers (of whom Muhammad was the most perfect and therefore the last); and in the Last Day, when God will judge the actions of one and all, and despatch the pious to heaven and the sinners to hell.

Moreover, every true Muslim must recite the creed (kalimah, ‘the word’), which affirms the oneness of God and the finality of Muhammad’s prophethood; say daily prayers (namaz) at the appointed times; observe the yearly month of fasting by day (rozah) to burn away sins; give alms (zakat); and, if circumstances allow it, go in pilgrimage to Makkah (hajj) so as to be there on Idu’l-Azha.

(This day, it is generally believed, commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim [Abraham] to sacrifice his son Ismail [Ishmael] on God’s command.) It is noteworthy that Indian Muslims do not include the waging of war (jihad) for the extermination of unbelief and the propagation of Islam among the obligations of a Muslim, as is done in many Muslim countries.

Islam is, however, more than the foregoing and similar other fundamentals. Everywhere it incorporates much that is local and pre-Islamic, whether this be in the Arab heartlands or in distant places such as India.

Students of Islam have commented on this internal tension owing to its character as a world religion that admits of no variation (for instance, the daily prayers are everywhere said in Arabic) and with its regional, country or national characteristics, for example, the worship of saints and relics which is common in India.

It is widely believed among South Asian Muslims that the Prophet Muhammad had himself wanted to bring the people of India into the universal Islamic community (umma).

Since Arab traders already had contact with the western seaboard of India from pre-Islamic days (the Mapillas of Kerala were born of mixed marriages of Arab men and Malayali women), they must have been the first carriers of the new faith to the subcontinent.

Islam arrived here as a political force in ad 712, when Sind was conquered on behalf of the Umayyad caliphate and incorporated in it. With the new rulers came their advisers on matters concerning Muslim holy law, the shariah.

The numbers of the immigrants were naturally not large, and they were strangers who knew neither the culture, languages and religions (Buddhism and Hinduism both were present) of Sind, nor the prevailing system of governance.

In the circumstances, native support was necessary, but this in turn entailed a conciliatory attitude towards Indians, which included the assurance that, by and large, there would be few restrictions on non-Islamic religions. In terms of strict Islamic orthodoxy, however, these religions could only be called ignorance (jahalat, incorrect belief).

The long-term consequence of this initial compromise made for reasons of the State was twofold: first, it laid the foundations of multi-religious polities in which Islam and the Indie religions would coexist, much to the chagrin of the guardians of orthodoxy; second, it sowed the seeds of an Indian Islam, accommodating Indian cultural traits and forms of social organization (notably caste).

From the time of major incursions of political Islam into India, beginning with the invasions of Mahmud, king of Ghazni, in the early years of the eleventh century, two kinds of religious specialists became prominent. These were the ulama (doctors of shariah or the holy law) and the Sufis, (mystics in search of direct religious experience).

The ulama urged the kings to uphold shariah and be vigilant on behalf of their own religion rather than being tolerant of other misguided faiths.

One such outstanding medieval scholar, Zia ud-din Barani , was of the opinion that the Muslim kings could not be the refuge of Islam unless they completely destroyed unbelief, polytheism, and idolatory. If the kings cannot actually exterminate the unbelievers (because they are so many), they surely should deny them authority and honour, he advised.

SSuch extremist opinions, however, never became general among the ulama or ascendant in the ruling circles. The ulama actually split into two categories: while some of them confined themselves to their specialized duties and kept aloof from statecraft, others opted for a close relationship with the kings.

The latter supported the actions of the rulers even when these were grounded in statecraft rather than true faith as interpreted by the ulama.

Islam spread throughout the length and breadth of India, less by the episodic coercion and violence of the kings, and more by the generally peaceful efforts of the ulama and the Sufis. In areas of mass conversion, notably East Bengal (or what is today Bangladesh) and the Kashmir valley, other factors also contributed (directly or indirectly) to the phenomenon.

It is noteworthy, however, that at the time of partition in 1947, after 800 years of Muslim rule, no more than a quarter of all the people of India (400 million) were Muslims. In the Gangetic valley, where Muslims provided enormous support to the demand for Pakistan, fewer than two out of every ten Indians professed Islam.

When Islam reached India, it was already marked by divisions of various kinds. According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad himself had prophesized that there would be more sects (firqah) in Islam than among the children of Israel, but that they would all be sent to hell by God. Only those who followed his words and deeds and of his closest companions would be the ones to be saved (najiyah).

They came to be called the Sunni (from sunnah, customary way of life) or traditionalists, and account for the great majority of Indian Muslims. Their opponents are the Shiahs (‘followers’), who came into being following Muhammad’s death as the partisans of Ali, the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, whom they considered the legitimate successor (khalifah) and leader (imam).

It was not Ali, however, bur Muhammad’s father-in- law, Abu Bakr, who was chosen, resulting in the Sunni-Shiah split which even today leads to violence in both India and Pakistan.

Besides the Shiahs it is the Sufis who are excoriated by the traditionalists. A connection has been sought to be established between the two heterodoxies by claiming Ali as one of the founders of Sufism (tasawwuf).

According to another view, the Arabian philosophy derived from the teaching of al-Ghazzli was absorbed into Islam in the form of a mystical theology, but this locates Sufism late in the fifth century of Islam.

Some scholars including the renowned early medieval historian al-Biruni (ad 973-1048), found similarities between some key ideas of Sufism and the Brahmanical philosophy of Yoga or the magical Tantra.

Indeed, it has been suggested that Abu Yazid Tayfur of Iran, a key figure in the development of Sufism, may have learned the principles of Brahmanical and Buddhist mysticism from Abu Ali of Sind who himself may have been a convert to Islam.

Be that as it may, two general observations can be made. First, a considerable number of Indie elements are recognizable in Sufism in India, but only some of these are pure borrowals, the others being adaptations of classical Islamic Sufi ideas in the Indian cultural environment.

Second, Sunni orthodoxy has always frowned upon both Shiahs and Sufis. Four major worldwide Sufi orders—namely, Chishti, Naqshbandi, Qadiri, and Suhrawardi—are present in India. Besides, there are numerous local orders of Faqirs and Darveshs- while some of them are seriously devout; the devotion to higher spiritual goals among others who are often given to excesses of various kinds including drug abuse, is highly suspect.

Among the former, mention may be made of the Rishi order of the Kashmir valley.

Islam was brought to Kashmir, it is generally believed, by the Kubrawi Sufi Sayyid Ali Hamadani late in the fourteenth century, but his efforts seem to have been confined to a small group of neo-converts in the city of Srinagar including the sultan. It was Shaikh Nuruddin (ad 1379-1442), the founder of the Rishi order, who carried the new faith to the masses.

His success owed much to not only his amiable disposition and peaceful methods of preaching, but also to his familiarity with and adaptation of prevailing Brahmanical religious ideas and practices (Kashmir Shaivism). His choice of the name Rishi (a Sanskrit word meaning ‘seer’) for his order is itself revelatory.

He adopted vegetarianism for himself and his followers out of his compassion for animals, and thus abjured the universal Muslim practice of animal sacrifice.

While some historians have written of two types of Sufism in Kashmir, the immigrant and the native, or the classical and the folk, others have denied the existence of this dichotomy, pointing out that Sufis of the Suhrawardi order and even the Kubrawis, befriended and eulogized the Rishis.

According to the latter, the Rishis’ very rootedness in Kashmir’s old religious traditions, combined with their exposure to the ideas of classical Sufism made them the ideal agents of the Islamization of Kashmiri masses. It is noteworthy that Nuruddin claimed the Prophet of Islam himself as the real founder of his order, locating himself at least notionally in shariah, the ‘highway’ of Islam.

It is not the Sufis alone who have contributed to the culture of religious diversity in Indian Islam. The reputedly more stringent ulama have also done so. Thus, in the late nineteenth century three groups of these doctors of the holy law of Islam led sectarian movements, differentiated from one another by big issues (such as matters of belief and law) as well as small (including minutia of everyday life).

The most influential of these were the ulama of a famous seminary called the Darul Uloom at Deoband in north India (founded in 1867). Their educational programme too was grounded in the traditional curriculum and thus opposed to the innovations and accommodations of western science that characterized the efforts of the modernists at the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh (founded in 1874).

Besides the Deobandis, the two other prominent reformist groups were the Ahl-i Hadis (‘people of the tradition’) and the ulama of Bareilly popularly known as the Barelwis, who were opposed to both the other groups. In their disputations one or the other of the four recognized schools of Islamic law (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii, Hanbali) were invoked, but the Hanafi school has always been the dominant one in India.

Finally, mention must be made of the Ahmadiyah sect which was formally proclaimed to be heretical and therefore a non-Muslim minority in Pakistan in 1974. Its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1839-1908) was born in Qadiyan, a village in north Punjab.

Not trained as a Sufi, he was a law clerk by occupation. He also claimed to be the recipient of divine revelation and therefore the messiah (mahdi) promised to the Muslims. Although Ahmad did not dispute the Islamic belief in the closure of prophecy with Muhammad, he asserted that he belonged to a line of secondary prophets.

Provoked and influenced by the work of Christian missionaries and the activities of the Hindu revivalist Arya Samaj movement, he organized his response on similar lines, and gathered a considerable following. The sect called Ahmadiyah, or Qadiyani, continues to be recognized as Muslim in India, but it really survives on sufferance.

Related Articles:

• People Belonging to Different Religions in India
• Classification of Religious Groups in India: Indigenous and Extra-Indic

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Essay on Indian Culture in 500 Words

• Updated on  
• Dec 5, 2023

Did you know that Indian culture is one of the oldest and richest cultures in the world? Mark Twain once said, ‘India is the one land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for all the shows of all the rest of the globe combined.’ Indian culture is known for its rich beauty, traditional values, ethics, and social norms.

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‘We should proudly follow our cultural and traditional values, as they connect us to our age-old customs and what our culture means to us. India’s ethno-linguistically diverse culture has always been successful in catching global attention. Popular festivals like Diwali, Holi, Navratri, etc. are not only celebrated in India but also in other parts of the world.’

Also Read: Essay on Festivals

Why is Indian Culture Famous?

India’s rich and diverse culture has always attracted people from different parts of the world. A series of factors are responsible for Indian culture’s popularity, which include;

• Cultural diversity all over the country. 
• Variety of religious and spiritual practices. 
• Connections with the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, which is one of the oldest civilizations.
• Concepts like yoga and meditation, which gained popularity all over the world.
• Tradition art practices such as classical dance forms like Odissi, Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, etc. 
• Traditional art forms like Tanjore and Madhubani paintings have gained global attention.
• Our vibrant and colorful festivals like Diwali, Holi, Eid, etc. are celebrated in not just India but in other countries as well. 
• Our flavourful dishes and curries like roti sabzi, dal chawal, puri halwa, samosa, biryani, mithaiya, etc. are now sold all over the world.

Also Read: Essay on Health and Fitness

Interesting Facts About Indian Culture?

There are dozens of interesting facts about Indian culture, starting from ancient civilizations to modern times.

• One of the oldest cities in the world, Varanasi, was named the Tourism and Cultural Capital for the year 2022-23 by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
• One of the seven wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal, is located in India, which attracts millions of tourists every year.
• Zero (0) and decimal systems, used in mathematics, were invented in India. The modern numeral system is based on Indian numerical notations. (0,1,2,3, etc.)
• India is home to the world’s oldest holistic healing system; Ayurveda.
• The world’s longest epic, the Mahabharata, is based in India. This legend consists of over 1 lakh couplets (shlokas).

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Things We Can Learn from Our Culture

Our culture connects us to our age-old belief system and social norms. We are born with our cultural beliefs, values, and practices. Our culture teaches us to:

• Understand why people do things the way they want to.
• Respecting everyone around us, especially our elders.
• Emphasize the relationship between family and bloodline.
• Respecting other people’s culture and traditions.
• Reflecting on adaptability to new systems and values.
• Connects us to our roots and gives us an identity.
• Encourages the preservation of our traditional and historical knowledge.
• Emphasizes generosity and hospitality towards our guests and neighbors. 
• It focuses on creating a sense of belonging in a community and mutual support.

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Paragraph on Indian Culture

Related Articles

Ans: Indian culture is one of the most oldest and popular cultures in the world. Our culture is known for its rich diversity, traditional values, ethics, and social norms. We should proudly follow our cultural and traditional values, as they connect us to our age-old customs and what our culture means to us. India’s ethno-linguistically diverse culture has always been successful in catching global attention. Popular festivals like Diwali, Holi, Navratri, etc. are not only celebrated in India but also in other parts of the world.

Ans: Indian culture is one of the oldest cultures in the world; Zero (0) and decimal systems were first used in Indian culture; Indian culture was the first one to follow the practice of Ayurveda, one of the oldest healing systems; world’s oldest legends, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, were recorded in India; and the name India is derived from a Greek word ‘Indica.’

Ans: India was ruled by various Muslim dynasties during the Medival period. They gave this land the name Hindustan, which is derived from the Persian word Hindu from the Sanskrit word Sindhu.

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Shiva Tyagi

With an experience of over a year, I've developed a passion for writing blogs on wide range of topics. I am mostly inspired from topics related to social and environmental fields, where you come up with a positive outcome.

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80 Indian Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best indian culture topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 interesting topics to write about indian culture, 🥇 simple & easy indian culture essay titles, 💡 good research topics about indian culture.

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Religion and Politics in India

Introduction, religion and politics in india before independence, relationship between religious and political beliefs, relationship between religion and groups/institutions, works cited.

Globally, religion has always played an integral part in influencing political culture of nations. For many decades, not only has religion influenced social living through its doctrine teachings, but also has been continuously powerful in propelling political ideologies in many nations. Coupled with its linguistic federalism, ethnic problems, and religious discrimination issues, religions have historically spurred political mobilization.

Several Asian studies have constantly indicated a great connection among religions and political development and reforms of the Asian continent, before and after their independence. Two main historical religions of India, the Hinduism, and the Muslim have greatly contributed to fragmented Indian nationalism, with this nation experiencing a mixture of peace and hostility resulting from religious politics. Religious attrition and differences in India before and after its independence may have been significant to the India’s politics. Central to examining democracy development in India, the essay explores the association religion and politics in India before and after independence.

Major political transformations in India greatly associates with the involvement of religious political movements, which since history initiated communal participation in development of nationalism of India (Moore 316). Before independence, political pressure was eminent in India and characterised by political differences between non-Hindu and ethnic minority. Indian State was initially a nation that served in the ideology of secular nationalism under the reign of secular Congress Party that dominated Indian politics (Sahu 243). However, Hinduism was politically influential but their Muslim counterparts remaining sceptical about Hindus religious politics.

Before independence, the caste notion in Hindu society was most influential in social and political organisation. Moore (317) describes “caste system as the organisation of the population into hereditary and endogamous groups” where males engaged in social and political functions. There were four castes in hierarchical order and associated with spiritual, social and political progression in India. Sahu (246) identifies the castes as “Brahmanas (priests and scholars), Kshatriyas (political rulers and soldiers), Vaishyas (merchants and cultivators), and Sudras (artisans and labourers)”

The caste system significantly contributed to political systems in India during the Mogul era from sixteenth century throughout to eighteenth century. The caste system strongly engaged in political reforms and improved the lives of Hindus, though with limited operations following incessant confrontations with the Muslims. As stated by Moore (317), “caste served, and still serves, to organise the life of village community, the basic cell of the Indian society and the fundamental unit that determined strong leadership.” The caste system having a great affiliation with the Hindu religion had significant obstruction to Indian democracy as history identifies this socio-political system as an era of agrarian bureaucracy.

Caste system symbolized the Indian polity and imposed political governance based on military rule that supported taxation and leadership under the chieftains. This means that politicians of Mogul era used the caste reservations to acquire unfair wealth.

The differences towards nationalism before independence of Hindu and formation of the Muslim-dominate Pakistan may be the potential backdrop to fragmented political beliefs and stands in India (Moore 371). Subsequent to Indian partition, disparity commenced intensely on political ideologies as Muslims had most majority of its potential leaders to the Muslim-dominate Pakistan. Following such issues “Indian Muslims supported and voted for the secular Congress party on the understanding that the Congress government would maintain Muslim Personal Law and other aspects of the Muslim culture” (Sahu 245).

The confrontation between the Muslim and the Hindus continued when the Hindu nationalist parties including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pressured the secularist Congress Party that began losing its political authority after the split. Along religious differences, proponents of secularism and Hinduism have always differed in political beliefs regarding to nationalism and doctrine that should dominate national leadership. Despite having greater political influence, Hinduism has failed to consolidate its religious authority in India.

Hinduism is the most complicated religion as each cultural linguistic zone contains its own worshiping culture and doctrine. As noted by Sahu (245), “Hindus worship different gods and goddesses, which are limited portrayals of the unlimited – ultimate reality that is formless, nameless and without personality.” Coupled with the fact that the BJP possesses leaders from Hindus, but with different religious ideologies following their broad cultural homogeneity, there exists no state religion with dominant principles in national governance. Each of the political parties contains a mixture of religious cultures practiced concomitantly, with each of the two religions influencing each other ideologically (Moore 368).

Contesting to the power of nationalism, none of the religions has managed to conquer national governance. Being proponents of secularism, Muslim differ distinctively in religious ideologies; other minor religions differ with Hinduism, and Hindus themselves have differing doctrine principles. Having shared religious power in national governance where both Muslim and Hindu religious practices apply, there is no State religion.

The India’s partition of 1947 was arguably the backdrop to formation of political groups and institutions that emerged on religious divide. Thought to be the solution towards political differences between the Hindus and the Muslim, the 1947 partition itself was the course of major political pressures in India (Moore 371). Majority Hindus differ between themselves, Muslims have different religious ideologies and Christians, and other minority groups differ as well. BJP, Ram Rajya Parishad, and RSS who were the most anti-congress parties continually existed on the foundations of Hinduism or Hindu nationalism.

Contrary to its opponents, majority of Muslims commenced with their support over Congress secularist party. Following incessant religious attritions on which religion should become a state religion, politics of India divided along linguistic lines. According to Sahu, “religious politics divided as follows: “Indian Muslims developed their own form of occupation-based caste distinction (247); Sikhs demanded a creation of a Punjabi-speaking province” (248) and Hindus remained devoted to their motive of making India a Hinduism state.

The history associated with India’s political transformations on religious grounds is considerably diverse and complicated. Religious contribution to Indian nationalism has remained a convoluted issue, with all religions existing in India having different ideologies towards state nationalism. The Indian Muslims who remained in India after the 1947 partitioning strongly opposes the efforts of Hindus in developing of Hindu nationalism, Christians and other minority religions have had a notion of discrimination.

In addition, Hindu themselves posses different religious ideologies, with some worshiping single god, others worshiping several gods, with all having different worshiping centres. India is still a nation of many religions with shared political influence and none of the religions has dominance in the national governance. This means that efforts of partitioning India into India and Muslim-dominated Pakistan was not a solution towards religious differences as the remaining Indian Muslims have also had significant political consequences in the India’s political stand.

Moore, Barrington. Social origins of dictatorship and democracy: Lord and peasant in the making of the modern world, Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press, 1967. Print.

Sahu, Sunil. Religion and politics in India: The emergence of Hindu Nationalism and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print.

Indian Festivals Essay

India is a land of festivals. It encompasses people from different religions and cultures and thus celebrates numerous religious festivals. Indians also celebrate three national festivals. Festivals in India are awaited all year long and are celebrated with great pomp and show. The entire atmosphere is filled with joy and enthusiasm during the festive season.

People of India love their festivals and celebrate even the less significant ones with enthusiasm. India is a land of different religions and cultures; hence, every religion has its own festivals and customs. Despite the diversity, every festival is celebrated together by the people of various faiths and beliefs. Festivals of India reflect the rich cultural heritage of its people; their faith in each other’s religious beliefs; mutual harmony among the people of India and their love for the nation and its heritage.

Long and Short Essays on Indian Festivals in English

Here we are giving short and long essays on Indian Festivals of varying lengths to help you with the topic in your exam.

You can select any Indian Festivals essays as per your need in your school’s essay writing competition, debate or speech giving.

After reading the essays you will get a close idea of the festivals of India and their significance for the people of India.

You will also know that how the festivals are a way of keeping centuries old traditions and beliefs alive among the masses.

Short Essay on Indian Festivals – Essay 1 (200 words)

Indians give special importance to their festivals. Special arrangements are made for the celebration of various festivals each year. Be it the villages or the big cities there is joy all around. All the places are decked up during the festival season. Some of the main Indian festivals include Diwali, Holi, Raksha Bandhan, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Dussehra, Pongal and Bhai Duj.

People in our country love celebrating the festivals with their near and dear ones. Each Indian festival has its own unique way of celebration and people follow the tradition while celebrating the same. However, some things remain common for instance people decorate their houses with flowers and lights during the festivals and wear new clothes. They visit each other and exchange gifts. Special sweets are prepared at home to treat the guests.

People of India also hold great regard for the National festivals of the country. Gandhi Jayanti, Independence Day and Republic Day are the three national festivals of our country. These festivals are a symbol of unity and progress. They remind us of our patriotic leaders who served the country selflessly. National festivals are celebrated with equal zeal. The entire atmosphere is filled with the feeling of patriotism during these festivals.

All in all, Indians celebrate both religious and National festivals with great enthusiasm. Children as well as elders look forward to the festive celebrations.

Essay on Indian Festivals and Students – Essay 2 (300 words)

Introduction

In India festival time is awaited all year round particularly by the students. They look forward to the festivals owing to various reasons. One of the main reasons for this is that the schools and colleges are closed during the festivals and this offers a respite from the mundane routine and strict study schedule. Students also love festivals as it is time to meet their cousins and relatives who bestow them with gifts. Besides, they get to eat a lot of delicious sweets and wear new dresses.

Celebrations in Schools/Colleges

Festivals in India are not only celebrated at home with family but are also celebrated in schools and colleges. The educational institutes are decked up with flowers, lights, beautiful posters and colourful drapes during festivals. Students are asked to come in ethnic wear to add to the colour of the festivals.

The usual classroom sessions are replaced by fun activities on these days. Cultural programs and other interesting activities form a part of the festive celebrations in schools and colleges. Students as well as teachers participate in these activities whole heartedly and the entire atmosphere is filled with joy and laughter.

These celebrations are usually done a day before the festival as it is a holiday on the day of the festival.

Understanding the Cultural Roots

Indian festivals are a reflection of the culture of the country. The celebrations held on the festivals acquaint the students with the culture and tradition of our country. Each festival has a religious connotation and a tradition attached to it. Festival time is a great opportunity to make the students understand about the cultural roots of our country and help them connect with it.

Indian festivals are thus important for the students in more than one way. These are a great way to bond with the near and dear ones and also to know about the country’s rich cultural past.

Essay on Importance of Festivals in India – Essay 3 (400 words)

Indians give special importance to their festivals. Be it regional festivals or national festivals – all the festivals in our country are celebrated with love and joy. There is holiday in schools, colleges and offices on most of these festivals.

Religious Connotation Renders Importance to Festivals

The importance of festivals in India can very well be seen in the way these are celebrated. People do not only celebrate festivals at home but also visit their near and dear ones to celebrate them together. The celebrations are also done in schools and workplaces. Our culture holds high regard for religious practices. People in India are mostly God fearing.

Since, the Indian festivals have certain religious connotations attached to them, Indians celebrate these with all their heart to please their deities and bring in positivity and happiness in their life. For instance, Diwali is celebrated to celebrate Lord Rama’s return to his home town, Ayodhya. Janamashtmi celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna, Durga Puja is celebrated to offer prayers to Goddess Durga and her various avtars and Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated to offer prayers to Lord Ganesha.

Festival Time is Considered Auspicious

Festival time is considered to be auspicious as per the Hindu religion. This is another reason why people give so much importance to this time. They wait for this time to start anything new in life so as to begin on a good note. For instance, people believe moving to new house during Navratras or on the occasion of Diwali brings in good luck, similarly joining a new job during the Ganesha festival or on Makar Sankranti can prove to be good for them.

Similarly, many other festivals such as Baisakhi, Guru Purnima, Pongal, Maha Shivratri, Rama Navami, Basant Panchami and Akshaya Tritiya are considered highly auspicious and are specially awaited to begin with something new such as buying a new shop, starting a business, signing a big business deal, fixing wedding date, etc.

National Festivals are Equally Important

Our national festivals especially Independence Day reminds us of the struggle and sacrifice that our people went through to gain independence. All three national festivals of India are given special importance. The whole country gets immersed in patriotism during this time. These festivals are celebrated in full swing across the country. These are a way to pay respect to our brave patriotic leaders.

Thus, festivals hold high importance for Indians. Whether they live in India or abroad, Indians give special importance to their festivals and celebrate them with joy and happiness.

Essay on India is a Land of Festivals – Essay 4 (500 words)

India is often called the land of festivals because of the numerous colourful and joyous festivals celebrated here. People belonging to different castes, culture and tradition reside in different parts of our country. Each religion has its set of festivals based on its religious beliefs.

The people belonging to the south have their own festivals; people from the north give importance to some other festivals while those living in the East celebrate some other festivals. However, there are certain festivals that are celebrated throughout the country with equal enthusiasm. Some such festivals include Diwali, Holi and Raksha Bandhan.

Main Festivals of India

The main festivals of India are the ones that people belonging to all the religions and regions in our country look forward to and celebrate with great fervour. Here are some of these festivals:

Diwali is one of the main festivals of our country. People celebrate it with great joy and enthusiasm. The preparation for its celebration begins almost a month before the festival. People clean their houses and shop for decorative items to deck up their place. The houses are decorated with lights, candles and diyas. People make rangolis, worship Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha and burn fire crackers to celebrate this festival. The entire country lights up on this day.

Holi is the festival of colour. It is one of the most fun-filled Indian festivals. Though it has a religious connotation to it, the whole purpose on this day is to have fun and let lose. People apply colour on each other and eat sweets. This festival is celebrated collectively in housing societies and residential colonies.

People gather around to colour each other and throw water on one another as a part of Holi celebration. Loud music is played at most places and people groove to the beats of foot tapping songs as they enjoy this festival. At some places, people even beat each other with sticks and throw mud on each other as a tradition.

• Raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandhan is yet another Indian festival which is celebrated all across the country. This festival is celebrated to strengthen the brother-sister bond. Sisters visit their brothers on this day and tie rakhi on their wrist. The brothers in turn promise to protect their sisters and be there for them in the hour of need. This is followed by exchange of sweets. The brothers also bring special gifts for their sisters on this day. Those who cannot visit each other send rakhi and gifts via post.

This is indeed a beautiful tradition which is being followed since ages. There are many mythological stories behind the celebration of Raksha Bandhan. This is not only a time for the brothers and sisters to bond but is also a time to strengthen the familial ties. The celebration takes place early in the morning and it is followed by family brunch.

Ganesh Chaturthi, Janamashtmi, Navratri, Eid Ul Fitr, Baisakhi, Onam, Pongal, Bihu, Gurupurab, Navratri, Guru Purnima, Ram Navami, Vasant Panchami, Durga Puja, Chhath and Dussehra are among some of the other festivals that are celebrated with immense zeal in different parts of India with some of these being specific to a particular region. No wonder, our country is called a land of festivals.

Long Essay on Indian Festivals and Religious Beliefs – Essay 5 (600 words)

Indian festivals are based on religious beliefs. Indians worship various Gods and Goddesses and the various festivals they celebrate are dedicated to one deity or the other. These festivals are a way to offer prayers to the deities and seek their blessings to bring in happiness, prosperity and love.

Indian Festivals Based on Religious Beliefs

Here are some of the Indian festivals and the religious beliefs attached to them:

It is believed that it was the day when Lord Rama killed Ravana to free Sita from his clutches. It marks the victory of the good over the evil. Huge effigies of Ravana, Kumbhkaran and Meghnath are burned in different parts of the country on this day to celebrate the occasion.

Diwali or Deepawali is said to be the day when Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya along with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman after an exile of 14 years. The entire town was lit with diyas to welcome them. The occasion is celebrated until today. Each year, people clean their houses and deck them up with lights, diyas and candles to celebrate the return of Lord Rama.

Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi are worshipped during the evening hours on this day as it is believed that this brings in prosperity and good luck.

The auspicious nine days of Navratras are dedicated to Goddess Durga. It is said that Goddess Durga was created jointly by Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and was bestowed with power by all these Gods to render strength to her. She was created to kill demon Mahishasura who had been killing innocent people. Goddess Durga fought with him for nine days and beheaded him on the tenth day. This again was the battle between the good and evil and it was the good that emerged victorious.

People observe fast during navratras and worship different avatars of Goddess Durga each day to seek her blessings.

• Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated to rejoice the birth day of Lord Ganesha. The festivities continue for ten days. It is believed that Lord Ganesha comes to Earth during these days every year and spreads joy everywhere. His devotees believe that whoever worships Lord Ganesha during these days is freed from all the problems and negativity in life.

Idols of Lord Ganesha are brought home and prayers are sung in his praise every day. These idols are then immersed in river on the last day of the pooja.

• Makar Sankranti

Makar Sankranti is another major Hindu festival. It is known by different names in different parts of the country. In Assam it is known by the name Bihu, in Tamil Nadu it is referred to as Pongal, in Gujarat it is called Uttarayan and in Bengal it is known as Poush Parbon.  The day is extremely auspicious for the Hindus. It is believed that taking holy dip in the sacred river Ganga on this day can help get rid of all the bad deeds and cleanses ones aura.

• Karva Chauth

This is mostly celebrated in North India. On this day, women observe fast for the long life of their husbands. It is believed that fasting on this day pleases God who renders good health and long life to the husbands. Women don’t eat or drink anything during the day. They dress up traditionally during the evening and perform pooja. They have food and water only after seeing the moon at night.

Similarly, Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated to commemorate the birthday of Lord Krishna, Maha Shivratri is celebrated to offer prayers to Lord Shiva and Gurpurab is celebrated to rejoice the birth of Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh guru.

Apart from the National festivals of India, all the other festivals have some religious beliefs tied to them. On these festivals, people offer prayers to their deities, wear ethnic clothes and make merry with their near and dear ones.

Related Information:

Essay on National Festivals of India

Essay on Festivals

Essay on Pollution due to Festivals

Paragraph on National Festivals of India

More Information:

Essay on Krishna Janmashtami

Essay on Raksha Bandhan

Essay on Durga Puja

Essay on Ganesh Chaturthi

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Essay on India For Students and Children

500+ words essay on india.

India is a great country where people speak different languages but the national language is Hindi. India is full of different castes, creeds, religion, and cultures but they live together. That’s the reasons India is famous for the common saying of “ unity in diversity “. India is the seventh-largest country in the whole world.

Geography and Culture

India has the second-largest population in the world. India is also knowns as Bharat, Hindustan and sometimes Aryavart. It is surrounded by oceans from three sides which are Bay Of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and Indian oceans in the south. Tiger is the national animal of India. Peacock is the national bird of India. Mango is the national fruit of India. “ Jana Gana Mana ” is the national anthem of India . “Vande Mataram” is the national song of India. Hockey is the national sport of India. People of different religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism , Jainism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity and Judaism lives together from ancient times. India is also rich in monuments, tombs, churches, historical buildings, temples, museums, scenic beauty, wildlife sanctuaries , places of architecture and many more. The great leaders and freedom fighters are from India.

F lag of India

The indian flag has tricolors.

The first color that is uppermost color in the flag which is the saffron color, stands for purity. The second color i.e. the middle color in the flag is the white color and it stands for peace. The third color that is the lowest color in the flag is the green color and it stands for fertility. The white color has an Ashoka Chakra of blue color on it. Ashoka Chakra contains twenty-four spokes which are equally divided. India has 29 states and 7 union territories.

Follow this link to get a Physical and state-wise Map of India

My Favorite States from India are as follows –

Rajasthan itself has a glorious history. It is famous for many brave kings, their deeds, and their art and architecture. It has a sandy track that’s why the nuclear test was held here. Rajasthan is full of desert, mountain range, lakes, dense forest, attractive oases, and temples, etc. Rajasthan is also known as “Land Of Sacrifice”. In Rajasthan, you can see heritage things of all the kings who ruled over there and for that, you can visit Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Chittaurgarh, etc.

Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh is bigger than a foreign (Italy) country and smaller than Oman. It also has tourists attractions for its places. In Madhya Pradesh, you can see temples, lakes, fort, art and architecture, rivers, jungles, and many things. You can visit in Indore, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Bhopal, Gwalior and many cities. Khajuraho, Sanchi Stupa, Pachmarhi, Kanha national park, Mandu, etc. are the places must visit.

Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir are known as heaven on earth . We can also call Jammu and Kashmir as Tourists Paradise. There are many places to visit Jammu and Kashmir because they have an undisturbed landscape, motorable road, beauty, lying on the banks of river Jhelum, harmony, romance, sceneries, temples and many more.

In Jammu and Kashmir, u can enjoy boating, skiing, skating, mountaineering, horse riding, fishing, snowfall, etc. In Jammu and Kashmir, you can see a variety of places such as Srinagar, Vaishnav Devi, Gulmarg, Amarnath, Patnitop, Pahalgam, Sonamarg, Lamayuru, Nubra Valley, Hemis, Sanasar,  Anantnag,  Kargil, Dachigam National Park, Pulwama, Khilanmarg, Dras, Baltal, Bhaderwah, Pangong Lake, Magnetic Hill, Tso Moriri, Khardung La, Aru Valley, Suru Basin,Chadar Trek, Zanskar Valley, Alchi Monastery, Darcha Padum Trek, Kishtwar National Park, Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, Nyoma, Dha Hanu, Uleytokpo, Yusmarg, Tarsar Marsar Trek and many more.

It is known as the ‘God’s Own Country’, Kerala is a state in India, situated in the southwest region, it is bordered by a number of beaches; covered by hills of Western Ghats and filled with backwaters, it is a tourist destination attracting people by its natural beauty. The most important destinations which you can see in Kerela are the museum, sanctuary, temples, backwaters, and beaches. Munnar, Kovalam, Kumarakom, and Alappad.

India is a great country having different cultures, castes, creed, religions but still, they live together. India is known for its heritage, spices, and of course, for people who live here. That’s the reasons India is famous for the common saying of “unity in diversity”. India is also well known as the land of spirituality , philosophy, science, and technology.

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Relationship Between State and Religion in India: A Sphere of Indifference, Contradictions, or Engagement?

• First Online: 20 October 2023

Cite this chapter

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While religious liberty has become one of the frequently deliberated and contested categories in our contemporary global world, its public presence as a state policy has had a long history in the Indian subcontinent. Tracing its origin back to Ashok’s period in third century BCE, this chapter explores the relationship between state and religion from then until now. A close look at Indian history indicates that there have been highs and lows in the relationship between the state and different religions. Conversion of rulers from one Indian religion to another and a relatively successful presence of Muslim and Christian imperial powers in India meant that the subcontinent witnessed mixed articulations of relationship (both positive and negative) between the state and different religious traditions. When a religious tradition becomes a ‘dominant’ (to employ M.N. Srinivasan’s ideas in Sanskritisation theory) religion, that is, the religion of the powerful, the empire/state’s attitude towards the religious other changes substantially. It varies from official patronage granted to certain religious traditions to destruction of famous religious sites—especially those associated with the previous crown—and from the accommodation of religious others to the persecution of religious monks and other adherents. The hostility among the Indian people towards the internal religious other would soon be directed towards the external religious other since twelfth century CE, though such an attuite was not totally incongruent to how the external rulers engaged with the religious other and their culture in most instances. In the modern era, while the constitutionally stated position of the democratic Indian state to religion includes both neutrality/indifference (i.e. Nehruvian dharma-nirapeksata ) and equal treatment of all religions (i.e. Gandhian sarva-dharma-samabhava ), the range of religious freedom citizens enjoy in India constitutes a wide spectrum that differs from one issue to another, from federal government to provincial state governments, and from one provincial government to another. This chapter seeks to unpack the complex relationship between the Indian democratic state and religious traditions in India in different historical periods, geographical locations, political contexts, and demographic milieus. It takes issue with the idea of political neutrality of Indian nation state as enshrined in the Indian constitution and examines other ideas such as ‘preeminent religion’ or ‘first and foremost religion’ for their scope to include different kinds of policies and legislations enacted by elected governments to address the issues and concerns of the Hindu majority in India. From the viewpoint of state-religion relationship, we can identify different ideological constellations in independent India such as the so-called secular Congress, Hindutva BJP, communist governments, anti-Brahmanic Dravidian, and other secular regional parties that were elected to power at different levels and in different places. The policies they adopted towards both the Hindu majority and the religious minorities of India can be anything but religiously neutral. It means that the relationship between secular democratic Indian nation state(s) and religions in India, as elsewhere in the world, is never a settled affair, nor is it an inactive field. It is rather a terrain of engagement and complicity between state and religion and a site of operation that accommodates contradictions of approaches and conflicts of political interests. This dynamic and ongoing relationship not only brings about an intersectional civil space negotiated between what is politically profitable, democratically desirable, and electorally possible, but also places religious citizens and their reasonings in the public square. Whichever party it may represent, the elected political class always seeks to produce, though in significantly varying degrees, an optics of neither betraying the interests of the religious majority nor disfavouring the legitimate/felt needs of the religious minority, thereby carefully crafting a rhetoric of inclusive governance. How does this rhetoric affect the adherents of different religious communities in India and how do state policies impact liberative journey of the socially excluded communities (especially the Dalit and tribal people) among the religious minorities are million-dollar questions which the chapter seeks to answer among other issues outlined above, thereby attempting to narrate the relationship story between state and religion, a story that is unique to India and its people.

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Ponniah, J. (2023). Relationship Between State and Religion in India: A Sphere of Indifference, Contradictions, or Engagement?. In: Holzer, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Religion and State Volume II. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35609-4_16

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Published : 20 October 2023

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