Religion in India

The major religions of India are Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism and the Baha'i Faith. Hinduism, believed to be the oldest of major religions, originated in northern India. According to some historical theories, an early form of Hinduism was practiced by early Aryans who influenced or converted the indigenous Dravidian people. As of 2001, there were about 820 million Hindus in India. Islam arrived in India through Pakistan as early as the 8th century CE. During the following decades, significant numbers of Indians converted to Islam. In the 1500s, the Muslim Mughal Empire was formed. The Mughals built the Taj Mahal and numerous other cultural monuments. As of 2001, there are about 130 million Muslims in India, most of whom live in the north and west of the country. Sikhism was founded in India's northwestern Punjab region about 400 years ago. As of 2001 there were 35 million Sikhs in India. Christianity, long prevalent in Europe, increased its influence in India significantly during the Dutch and British colonial periods. Christian Missionaries arrived in the early 1800s along with the colonists to convert native people. Today Christians are most prevalent in the northeast, major metro areas, and in western states such as Goa. Buddhism originated in northern India in what is today the state of Bihar. It rapidly gained adherents during the Buddha's lifetime. Up to the 9th century, Indian followers numbered in the hundreds of millions. While the exact cause of the decline of Buddhism in India is disputed, it is known that the mingling of Hindu and Buddhist societies in India and the rise of Hindu Vedanta movements began to compete against Buddhism. Many believe that Hinduism's adaptation to Buddhism resulted in Buddhism's decline. Also, Muslim invaders are recorded to have caused massive devastation on monasteries, libraries, and statuary, as they did on Hindu religious life. Many Indian Buddhist populations remained intact in or migrated to places like Sri Lanka, Tibet, and other Asian countries. Recently, a revival of Buddhism in India has made adequate progress. In 1956, B. R. Ambedkar, a Dalit or untouchable leader, and hundreds of thousands of his followers converted to Buddhism in protest against the caste system. Subsequent mass conversions on a lesser scale have occurred since then. Alongside these converts are the Vajrayana Buddhists of Ladakh and Sikkim, a small number of tribal peoples in the region of Bengal, and Tibetan refugees. Jainism also originated in India, at roughly the same time as Buddhism. A form of the ancient Persian relgion Zoroastrianism continues to be practiced in India, where its followers are called Parsis. One of the most popular but also controversial modern gurus in India is Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi.