History
	Various civilizations
	Geographical feautures
	Culture
	Religions
	Festivals

 

Buddhism

Although buddhists following are minor in number this religion is of great importance as India is this religion's birthplace. It is a system of philosophy and a code of morality when prince Siddharta renounced the world and sought enlightenment. Buddhism grew during the tenure of King ashoka who was a great follower and this religion has a great influence on indian architecture.

Sikhism

Based on the teachings of Gurunanak it got initiated to bring together the best of Hindu and Muslim religions.They believe all men and women are born equal.

Jainism

Like Buddha, Mahavir was a prince who founded the Jain religion. He was the 24th and the last of the Jain prophets known as the Tirtankaras or 'finders of the path'. The Jains now number only about 3½ million. There are many similarities between the two doctrines. Like Buddha, Mahavir too rejected the authority of the Brahmin priest and their rituals, and advocated the equality of men. Both doctrines advocate non-violence and respect for all forms of life; both religions have an established order of monks and nuns. To the Jains, the concept of non-violence is very sacred. The orthodox among them are seen wearing a white cotton mask covering the nose and mouth across the face, and sweeping the ground before them as they walk for the fear of harming even the smallest insect.

The Jains are divided into two sects, the Shwetambaras and the Digambaras. As a sign of their contempt for material possessions, they do not even wear clothes. They are chiefly monks and prefer to stay within the confines of their monasteries.

Jain temples are different as they have a large number of similar buildings that are often erected at one place. These temples too have many columns, of which no two are identical.

Parsis

Founded in Persia by the prophet Zarathustra in the 6th or 7th Century BC, Zorastrianism is one of the oldest religions in the world. The followers of Zorastrianism are known as Pharsis since they originally fled to India to escape persecution in Persia.

Zorastrianism was one of the first religions to advocate the omnipotent and invisible God.

Parsis worship in fire temples and wear sarda or sacred shirt and a kasti or sacred thread. A ceremony known as 'Navjyote' is performed when the children first wear the sacred thread. Since Parsis believe in purity of the elements of the earth, they do not cremate or burn the dead. Instead the bodies are left in 'towers of silence' where they are cleaned by the vultures. Unfortunately, there are not many Pharsi communities left in India, and their number is gradually declining.

Christianity

Christians in India are generally found in the western coast and Kerala. Christianity has existed in Kerala for very long, as tradition has it that the first Indian converts were made by St Thomas, the Apostle himself in 52 AD soon after the Crucifixion. St. Thomas preached the Gospel in many parts of India and is said to have been martyred in Madras (now Chennai) where he was was buried in what is now known as the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Mallapur. Further evidence of Christianity is found in the travelogue- Christian Geography, by Cosmas Indicopleustes, a Syrian monk who traveled in India in the 6th Century. He refers to the Nestorian churches in Malabar, officiated over by Persian priests and supervised by Persian patriarch who occupied a seat in Cochin.

Only a few Nestorians are left today as Indian Christians turned to the patriarch or Antioch for guidance. The Syrian Orthodox creed continues to flourish in Kerala. It has its own Patriarch at Kottayam. The Syrian Christian church is a blend of the Indian traditions and Christian orthodoxy. The devotees remove their shoes at the entrance of the church, and a marriage ceremony is not complete without the groom covering the head of the bride with a red veil and places around her neck the thali (a gold chain with a special pendant, which is symbolically worn by all Hindu women. Caste system too has influenced the religion. The converts have adopted the caste systems as a means of social organization within the church.