Hinduism[edit]
Islam
Islam is a monotheistic religion centered on the belief in one God and following the example of Muhammad; it is the largest minority religion in India. About 14.2% of the country's population of approx. 172.2 million people identify as adherents of Islam (2011 census). Out of 172.2 million Muslims in India, as per the 2011 census, it was found that more than 100 million of them are from low caste converts, especially Dalits. The Islamic Invasion during the Medieval Era has obtained the religion a significant population of adherents. The religion is regarded as a "Minority religion," and the adherents are given "special privileges." It makes India the country with the largest Muslim population outside Muslim-majority countries. Muslims are a majority in states Jammu and Kashmir, and Lakshadweep and live in high
concentrations in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, and Kerala. There has been no particular census conducted in India regarding sects. Still, sources suggest the most significant denomination is Sunni Islam, with a substantial minority of Shiite Muslims and Ahmadi Muslims. Indian sources like Times of India and DNA reported the Indian Shiite population in mid-2005–2006 to be between 25% and 31% of the entire Muslim population of India, which accounts them in numbers between 40 and 50 million
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in the New Testament. It is the third-largest religion in India, making up 2.3% of the population. St. Thomas is credited with the introduction of Christianity in India. He arrived on the Malabar Coast in 52 CE. A tradition of origin among Saint Thomas Christians relates to the arrival of Saint Thomas, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, at the ancient seaport Muziris on the Kerala coast in 52 CE. Sankaramangalam, Pakalomattam, Kalli, and Kaliyankal, were considered preeminent, and historically the most aristocratic Syriac Christian families tended to claim descent from these families.
It was also possible for Aramaic-speaking Jews from Galilee to make a trip to Kerala in the 1st century. The Cochin Jews are known to have existed in Kerala around that time. The earliest known source connecting the apostle to India is the Acts of Thomas, likely written in the early 3rd century, perhaps in Edessa.
Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church, Arakuzha, was founded in 999
The text describes Thomas' adventures in bringing Christianity to India and a tradition later expanded upon in early Indian sources such as the "Thomma Parvam" ("Song of Thomas"). Generally, he is described as arriving in or around Maliankara and founding Seven Churches and half churches, or Ezharapallikal: Kodungallur, Kollam, Niranam, Nilackal (Chayal), Kokkamangalam, Kottakkavu, Palayoor, Thiruvithamcode Arappalli, and Aruvithura church (half church). Several 3rd- and 4th-century Roman writers also mention Thomas' trip to India, including Ambrose of Milan, Gregory of Nazianzus, Jerome, and Ephrem the Syrian. At the same time, Eusebius of Caesarea records that his teacher Pantaenus visited a Christian community in India in the 2nd century. There came into existence a Christian community that was mainly merchants.
Christianity expanded in the rest of India during the period of British colonial rule. Christians comprise the majority of natives of Goa, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya and have significant populations in Kerala.
Sikhism
Sikhism began in fifteenth-century Punjab with the teachings of Guru Nanak and nine successive Sikh gurus. As of 2011, there were 20.8 million Sikhs in India. Punjab is the spiritual home of Sikhs and is the only state in India where Sikhs form a majority. There are also significant populations of Sikhs in neighboring Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, and Haryana. These areas were historically a part of Greater Punjab. However, there is no data for a specific number of Nanak followers (Nanakpanthis) in India, but they are believed to be in crores somewhere around 14 crores.[123][124][125] Karnail Singh Panjoli, a member of Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, says several communities within the term ‘Nanakpanthis.’ “There are groups like Sikhligarh, Vanjaarey, Normally, Lubaney, Johri, Satnamiye, Udaasiyas, etc. who call themselves Nanakpanthis. They follow guru Nanak and Sri Guru Granth Sahib.[126][127]
Buddhism
Buddhism is an Indian, transtheistic religion and philosophy. Around 8.5 million Buddhists live in India, about 0.7% of the total population. Buddhism as a religion is practiced mainly in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is a significant religion in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Darjeeling in West Bengal, and the Lahaul and Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh. Besides, a substantial number of Buddhists reside in Maharashtra. They are the Buddhists or Navayana Buddhists who, under the influence of B. R. Ambedkar, embraced Buddhism to escape the casteist practices within Hinduism.
Ambedkar is a crucial figure, along with Anagarika Dharmapala of Sri Lanka and Kripasaran Mahasthavira of Chittagong, behind the revival of Buddhism in India in the 19th and 20th centuries. The escape of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzing Gyatso, to India fleeing Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959 and the setting up of the Tibetan Government in Exile at Dharamshala in Mcleodganj Himachal Pradesh has also accelerated the resurgence of Buddhism in India. The practical religion in Sikkim, which joined the Indian Union in 1975 (making it India's 22nd state), remains Vajrayana Buddhism, and Padmasambhava or Guru Ugyen is a revered presence there.
Jainism
Jainism is a non-theistic Indian religion and philosophical system originating in Iron Age India. Jains compose 0.4% (around 4.45 million) of India's population and are concentrated in Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
Judaism
Also present in India, Judaism is a monotheistic religion from the Levant. There is today a tiny community of Indian Jews. Historically, there were more Jews in India, including the Cochin Jews of Kerala, the Bene Israel of Maharashtra, and the Baghdadi Jews near Mumbai. Since Indian independence, two primarily proselyte Indian Jewish communities have developed in India: the Bnei Menashe of Mizoram and Manipur, and the Bene Ephraim, also called Telugu Jews. Of the approximately 95,000 Jews of Indian extraction, fewer than 20,000 remain in India. Some parts of India are especially popular with Israelis, swelling local Jewish populations seasonally.[citation needed]
Other religions
The Baháʼí Faith's Lotus Temple in Delhi, India
As of the census of 2001, Parsis (followers of Zoroastrianism in India) represent approximately 0.006% of the total population of India, with relatively high concentrations in and around the city of Mumbai. Parsis number around 61,000 in India. There are several tribal religions in India, such as Donyi-Polo. Santhal is also one of the many tribal religions followed by the Santhal people, who number around 4 million but only around 23,645 follow the religion. About 0.07% of the people did not state their faith in the 2001 census.
It is difficult to establish the exact numbers of Baháʼís in India. The official membership claims "more than two million" in India, but the 2011 census listed only 4,572. There is little commentary on the discrepancy. Official rolls, then only 1,000, swelled after 1960, and the large numbers enrolled as Baháʼís, in rural areas of Gwalior, may have accepted the new ideas without rejecting their cultural heritage as Hindu, leading to halfway conversions. Baháʼí membership rolls record who has professed belief, but no action is required to maintain membership, so as a result, they tend to overestimate the number of self-identifying Baha'is.[134] The Association of Religion Data Archives (relying on the World Christian Database) estimated in 2015 that the Baháʼí community represents 0.2% of the total population of India.
Amazing Article!
I'm Muslim, But I Like To Know More About Other Religions!
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