The Islamic sultanates
After the Arab-Turkic invasion of India's ancient northern neighbor Persia, expanding forces in that area were keen to invade India, which was the richest classical civilization, with the only known diamond mines in the world. After resistance for a few centuries by various north Indian kingdoms, short lived Islamic empires invaded and spread across the northern subcontinent over a period of a few centuries.
The initial entry of Islam into South Asia came during the life time of Prophet Muhammad. Islam was practiced across India during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad. In Later years, the Umayyad caliph in Damascus sent an expedition to Balochistan and Sindh in 711 led by Muhammad bin Qasim (for whom Karachi's second port is named). The expedition went as far north as Multan but was not able to retain that region and was not successful in expanding Islamic rule to other parts of India. Coastal trade and the presence of a Muslim colony in Sindh, however, permitted significant cultural exchanges and the introduction into the subcontinent of religious teachers. Muslim influence grew with conversions.
Almost three centuries later, the Turkics, Persians and the Afghans spearheaded the Islamic conquest in India through the traditional invasion routes of the northwest. Mahmud of Ghazni (979-1030) led a series of raids against Rajput kingdoms and rich Hindu temples and established a base in Punjab for future incursions.
Prior to Turkic invasions, Muslim trading communities flourished throughout coastal South India, particularly in Kerala, where they arrived in small numbers through trade links via the Indian Ocean with the Arabian peninsula, however, this marked the largescale introduction of western religion into the primarily dharmic culture of India, often in puritanical form. Bahmani Sultanate and Deccan sultanates flourished in the south.
Delhi sultanate
In the 12th and 13th centuries, Arabs, Turks and Afghans invaded parts of northern India and established the Delhi Sultanate at the beginning of the 13th century, from former Rajput holdings. The subsequent Slave dynasty of Delhi managed to conquer large areas of northern India, approximate to the ancient extent of the Guptas, while the Khilji Empire was also able to conquer most of central India, but were ultimately unsuccessful in conquering most of the subcontinent. The Sultanate ushered in a period of Indian cultural renaissance. The resulting "Indo-Muslim" fusion left lasting monuments in architecture, music, literature, and religion. It is surmised that the language of Urdu (literally meaning "horde" or "camp" in various Turkic dialects) was born during the Delhi Sultanate period as a result of the mingling of Sanskritic prakrits and the Persian, Turkish and Arabic favored by the Muslim rulers. The Delhi Sultanate is the only Sultanate to stake a claim to possessing one of the few female rulers in India, Razia Sultan (1236-1240).
The Delhi Sultanate or Sultanat-e-Hind or Sultanat-e-Dilli refers to the many Muslim dynasties that ruled in India from 1206 to 1526. Several Turkish and Afghan dynasties ruled from Delhi: the Mamluk dynasty (1206-90), the Khilji dynasty (1290-1320), the Tughlaq dynasty (1320-1413), the Sayyid dynasty (1414-51), and the Lodhi dynasty (1451-1526). In 1526 the Delhi Sultanate was absorbed by the emerging Mughal Empire.
During the last quarter of the twelfth century, Muhammad Ghori invaded the Indo-Gangetic plain, conquering in succession Ghazni, Multan, Sindh, Lahore, and Delhi. Qutb-ud-din Aibak, one of his generals, proclaimed himself Sultan of Delhi and established the first dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mamluk dynasty (mamluk means "slave born to free parents") after Muhammad Ghori's death in 1206. By the early 20th centuary, northern India from the Khyber Pass to Bengal was under control of the Sultanate, although the northwest was contested with the Mongols. Iltutmish (1210-35), and Balban (1266-87) were among the dynasty's most well-known rulers. Faced with revolts by conquered territories and rival families, the Mamluk dynasty came to an end in 1290.
The Khilji or Khalji dynasty, who had established themselves as rulers of Bengal in the time of Muhammad Ghori, took control of the empire in a coup which eliminated the last of the Mamluks. The Khiljis conquered Gujarat and Malwa, and sent the first expeditions south of the Narmada River, as far south as Tamil Nadu. The Delhi Sultanate rule continued to extend into southern India, first by the Delhi Sultans, then by the breakaway Bahmani Sultanate of Gulbarga, and, after the breakup of the Bahmani state in 1518, by the five independent Deccan Sultanates. The kingdom of Vijayanagar united southern India and arrested the Delhi Sultanate's expansion for a time, until its eventual fall to the Deccan Sultanates in 1565.
In the first half of the 14th century, the Sultanate introduced a monetary economy in the provinces (sarkars) and districts (parganas) that had been established and founded a network of market centers through which the traditional village economies were both exploited and stimulated and drawn into the wider culture. State revenues remained based on successful agriculture, which induced Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq (1325-51) to have village wells dug, offer seed to the peasants and to encourage cash crops like sugar cane.
The Delhi Sultanate is the only Sultanate to stake a claim to possessing one of the few female rulers in India, Princess Razia Sultana (1236-1240). While her reign was unfortunately short she is regarded well in the eyes of historians. Princess Razia Sultana was very popular and more intelligent than her brothers. She was the very first queen of the Muslim world in the early Muslim history of sub-continent. She ruled from the east Delhi to the west Peshawar and from the North Kashmir to the South Multan. The Rebels of her government killed her and her Husband Malik Altuniya, and buried them outside Delhi.
The Sultans of Delhi enjoyed cordial, if superficial, relations with other Muslim rulers in the Near East but owed them no allegiance. The Sultans based their laws on the Qur'an and the sharia and permitted non-Muslim subjects to practice their religion only if they paid jizya or head tax. The Sultans ruled from urban centers--while military camps and trading posts provided the nuclei for towns that sprang up in the countryside. Perhaps the greatest contribution of the Sultanate was its temporary success in insulating the subcontinent from the potential devastation of the Mongol invasion from Central Asia in the thirteenth century.
The Sultanate ushered in a period of Indian cultural renaissance. The resulting "Indo-Muslim" fusion left lasting monuments in architecture, music, literature, and religion. The Sultanate suffered from the sacking of Delhi in 1398 by Timur (Tamerlane), and soon other independent Sultanates were established in Awadh, Bengal, Jaunpur, Gujarat and Malwa. The Delhi Sultanate revived briefly under the Lodhis before it was conquered by the Mughal emperor Babur in 1526.
During the last quarter of the twelfth century, Muhammad of Ghor invaded the Indo-Gangetic plain, conquering in succession Ghazni, Multan, Sindh, Lahore, and Delhi. Qutb-ud-din Aybak, one of his generals proclaimed himself Sultan of Delhi. In the 13th century, Shams ud din Iltumish (1211 - 1236), a former slave-warrior, established a Turkic kingdom in Delhi, which enabled future sultans to push in every direction; within the next 100 years, the Delhi Sultanate extended its way east to Bengal and south to the Deccan, while the sultanate itself experienced repeated threats from the northwest and internal revolts from displeased, independent-minded nobles. The sultanate was in constant flux as five dynasties rose and fell: the Slave dynasty (1206-90), Khalji dynasty (1290-1320), Tughlaq dynasty (1320-1413), Sayyid dynasty (1414-51), and Lodi dynasty (1451-1526). The Khilji dynasty, under Ala ud din (1296 - 1316), succeeded in bringing most of South India under its control for a time, although conquered areas broke away quickly. Power in Delhi was often gained by violence -- nineteen of the thirty-five sultans were assassinated -- and was legitimized by reward for tribal loyalty. Factional rivalries and court intrigues were as numerous as they were treacherous; territories controlled by the sultan expanded and shrank depending on his personality and fortunes.
Both the Qur'an and sharia (Islamic law) provided the basis for enforcing Islamic administration over the independent Hindu rulers, but the sultanate made only fitful progress in the beginning, when many campaigns were undertaken for plunder and temporary reduction of fortresses. The effective rule of a sultan depended largely on his ability to control the strategic places that dominated the military highways and trade routes, extract the annual land tax, and maintain personal authority over military and provincial governors. Sultan 'Ala ud-Din made an attempt to reassess, systematize, and unify land revenues and urban taxes and to institute a highly centralized system of administration over his realm, but his efforts were abortive. Although agriculture in North India improved as a result of new canal construction and irrigation methods, including what came to be known as the Persian wheel, prolonged political instability and parasitic methods of tax collection brutalized the peasantry. Yet trade and a market economy, encouraged by the free-spending habits of the aristocracy, acquired new impetus both inland and overseas. Experts in metalwork, stonework, and textile manufacture responded to the new patronage with enthusiasm. In this period Persian language and many Persian cultural aspects became dominant in the centers of power in India.
Southern dynasties
Bahmani Sultanate and Deccan sultanates
The sultans' failure to hold securely the Deccan and South India resulted in the rise of competing southern dynasties: the Muslim Bahmani Sultanate (1347-1527) and the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire (1336-1565). Zafar Khan, a former provincial governor under the Tughluqs, revolted against his Turkic overlord and proclaimed himself sultan, taking the title Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah in 1347. The Bahmani Sultanate, located in the northern Deccan, lasted for almost two centuries, until it fragmented into five smaller states, known as the Deccan sultanates (Bijapur, Golconda, Ahmednagar, Berar, and Bidar) in 1527. The Bahmani Sultanate adopted the patterns established by the Delhi overlords in tax collection and administration, but its downfall was caused in large measure by the competition and hatred between deccani (domiciled Muslim immigrants and local converts) and paradesi (foreigners or officials in temporary service). The Bahmani Sultanate initiated a process of cultural synthesis visible in Hyderabad where cultural flowering is still expressed in vigorous schools of deccani architecture and painting.
Founded in 1336, the Vijayanagara Empire (named for its capital Vijayanagara (Vijayanagar), "City of Victory," in present-day Karnataka) expanded rapidly toward Madurai in the south and Goa in the west and exerted intermittent control over the east coast and the extreme southwest. Vijayanagara rulers closely followed Chola precedents, especially in collecting agricultural and trade revenues, in giving encouragement to commercial guilds, and in honoring temples with lavish endowments. Added revenue needed for waging war against the Bahmani sultans was raised by introducing a set of taxes on commercial enterprises, professions, and industries. Political rivalry between the Bahmani and the Vijayanagara rulers involved control over the Krishna-Tungabhadra river basin, which shifted hands depending on whose military was superior at any given time. The Vijayanagar rulers' capacity for gaining victory over their enemies was contingent on ensuring a constant supply of horses--initially through Arab traders but later through the Portuguese--and maintaining internal roads and communication networks. Merchant guilds enjoyed a wide sphere of operation and were able to offset the power of landlords and Brahmans in court politics. Commerce and shipping eventually passed largely into the hands of foreigners, and special facilities and tax concessions were provided for them by the ruler. Arabs and Portuguese competed for influence and control of west coast ports, and, in 1510, Goa passed into Portuguese possession.
The city of Vijayanagara itself contained numerous temples with rich ornamentation, especially the gateways, and a cluster of shrines for the deities. Most prominent among the temples was the one dedicated to Virupaksha, a manifestation of Shiva, the patron-deity of the Vijayanagar rulers. Temples continued to be the nuclei of diverse cultural and intellectual activities, but these activities were based more on tradition than on contemporary political realities. (However, the first Vijayanagara ruler--Harihara I--was a Hindu who converted to Islam and then reconverted to Hinduism for political expediency.) The temples sponsored no intellectual exchange with Islamic theologians because Muslims were generally assigned to an "impure" status and were thus excluded from entering temples. When the rulers of the five Deccan sultanates combined their forces and attacked Vijayanagara in 1565, the empire crumbled at the Battle of Talikot.
The Mughal era
The Mughal Empire was an empire that at its greatest territorial extent ruled most of the Indian Subcontinent between 1526 and 1857. The empire was founded by the Mongol leader Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. The word "Mughal" is the Indo-Aryan version of Mongol.
In 1926, Babur, a Timurid (Turco-Persian) descendant of Timur, swept across the Khyber Pass and established the Mughal Empire, which lasted for over 200 years. The Mughal Dynasty ruled most of the Indian subcontinent by 1600; it went into a slow decline after 1707 and was finally defeated during the 1857 war of independence also called the Indian rebellion of 1857. This period marked vast social change in the subcontinent as the Hindu majority were ruled over by the Mughal emperors, some of whom showed religious tolerance, liberally patronising Hindu culture, and some of whom destroyed historical temples and imposed taxes on non-Muslims. During the decline of the Mughal Empire, which at its peak occupied an area slightly larger than the ancient Maurya Empire, several smaller empires rose to fill the power vacuum or themselves were contributing factors to the decline. The Mughals were perhaps the richest single dynasty to have ever existed.
During the Mughal era, the dominant political forces consisted of the Mughal Empire, its tributaries, and later on the rise of its successor states, including the Maratha confederacy, who fought an increasingly weak and disfavoured Mughal dynasty.The Mughals, while often employing brutal tactics to subjugate their empire, had a policy of integration with Indian culture, which is what made them successful where the short-lived Sultanates of Delhi had failed. Akbar the Great was particularly famed for this. Akbar declared "Amari" or non-killing of animals in the holy days of Jainism. He rolled back the Jazia Tax for non-Muslims. The Mughal Emperors married local royalty, allied themselves with local Maharajas, and attempted to fuse their Turko-Persian culture with ancient Indian styles, creating unique Indo-Saracenic architecture. It was the erosion of this tradition coupled with increased brutality and centralisation that played a large part in their downfall after Aurangzeb, who unlike previous emperors, imposed relatively non-pluralistic policies on the general population, that often inflamed the majority Hindu population.
The Mughal Empire
Babur
Claiming descent from both Genghis Khan and Timur, Babur combined strength and courage with a love of beauty, and military ability with cultivation. Babur concentrated on gaining control of northwestern India. He did so in 1526 by defeating the last Lodhi sultan at the First battle of Panipat, a town north of Delhi. Babur then turned to the tasks of persuading his Central Asian followers to stay on in India and of overcoming other contenders for power, mainly the Rajputs and the Afghans. He succeeded in both tasks but died shortly thereafter in 1530. The Mughal Empire was one of the largest centralized states in premodern history and was the precursor to the British Indian Empire.
The Fugitive King: Humayun (1508-1556)
Babur’s favorite son Humayun took the reins of the empire after his father succumbed to disease at the young age of forty-seven. However, he lacked his father’s craftiness and athleticism. Though he could be a formidable warrior when he chose to be, he was more laid back and indolent. He also was addicted to opium and depended on it for solace much more than a king with insecure borders should indulge in. He also made the mistake of trusting his three brothers, which served as a lesson to future Mughal rulers, who would not repeat this folly. Humayun made his brother Prince Kamran the regent in Kabul, who quickly added Panjab under his control. Humayun, appearing to be weak, did not object and this emboldened his two other brothers, Askari and Hindal to seek more independence.
Humayun’s first campaign was to confront a Sher Khan Sur, an Afghan, who was quietly expanding his territory in the east. Half way through the counter offensive Humayun had to abandon it and concentrate on Gujarat, where a threat from Ahmed Shah had to be squelched. In this he succeeded and annexed Gujarat and Malwa. Champaner and the great fort of Mandu followed next. Following this great triumph, Humayun made another tactical error in installing his brother Prince Askari in Ahmadabad instead of the defeated Ahmed Shah as a feudatory. To savor his victory, Humayun celebrated in Mandu fort for many months, binging on opium and spending too much time in the company of his favourites. When he finally headed home to Agra, he found his brother Askari at his doorstep making a serious bid for the throne. Though his older brother thwarted this effort, Askari was pardoned, which only exhibited royal weakness to his loyal subjects.
Humayun again fell into one of his many periods of laziness and lassitude and resorted to his pipe and playmates. All this time he also neglected to confront Sher Khan Sur, who was gathering land and feudatories in the east. As an administrator Sher Khan was far superior to Humayun. In 1539, Humayun and Sher Khan met in battle in Chausa, between Varanasi and Patna. Humayun barely escaped with his own life and in the next year, in 1540, his army of 40,000 lost to the Afghan army of 15,000 of Sher Khan. Humayun’s brothers refused to help him and he found himself a fugitive in Rajastan and Sindh.
Finally, the Shah of Iran, Shah Tamasp, gave him refuge in Persia. Of course, Humayun put his famous diamond to full diplomatic use because Shah Tamasp was a lover of diamonds. Koh-I-Noor, would serve as the bribe that the Shah Tamasp needed to support Humayun with a large Persian military offensive on Sher Khan Sur in 1544. Humayun found fraternal opposition again in Kandahar, where he was stalled for eight years but eventually won back Afghanistan.
Sher Khan had now become the monarch in Delhi under the name Sher Shah Sur and ruled from 1540 to 1545. He consolidated his kingdom form Panjab to Bengal (first one to enter Bengal after Ala-ud-din Khilji did more than two centuries earlier). But Sher Shah died in an accidental explosion of gunpowder during an offensive in Kalinjar. A superb administrator, he was credited to have organized the government and military in such a way that future Mughal kings used it as their own models. He also added to the fort in Delhi (supposed site of Indraprastha), first started by Humayun, and now called the Purana Qila or the old fort. He built the mosque Qila-I-Kuhna there that was a masterpiece of the period, though only parts of it have survived.
The charred remains of Sher Shah were taken to a tomb in Sahasaram, midway between Varanasi and Gaya. Although rarely visited, it is another glorious triumph in architecture that the future great Mughal builders like Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan tried to emulate. Massive in scale, three stories and fifty meters high, it appears as much a palace as a mausoleum. Sher Shah’s son Islam Shah held on to power until 1553 and following his death the Sur dynasty lost most of its clout due factious strife and severe famine.
In 1554, Humayun attacked the confused and divided state of Sur rulers and in 1555 claimed Delhi again. But in 1556 tragedy struck the Mughals when Humayun tripped and fell to his death while descending the steps after gazing at the stars (he was a keen astronomer) from the rooftop of Sher Shah’s Delhi palace. Thus Humayun ruled in India barley for ten years and died at the age of forty-eight, leaving behind a thirteen-year-old boy, Akbar as his heir. As a tribute to his father, Akbar later built the Humayun’s tomb in Delhi (completed in 1571), from red sandstone, of majestic outline that would become the precursor of future Mughal architecture. Akbar’s mother and Humayun’s wife Hamida Begum personally supervised the building of the tomb.
A True Monarch: Akbar The Great (1543-1605)
Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun (r. 1530-40 and 1555-56), whose rule was interrupted by the Afghan Sur Dynasty, which rebelled against him. It was only just before his death that Humayun was able to regain the empire and leave it to his son. In restoring and expanding Mughal rule, Akbar based his authority on the ability and loyalty of his followers, irrespective of their religion. In 1564 the jizya on non-Muslims was abolished, and bans on temple building and Hindu pilgrimages were lifted.
Akbar's methods of administration reinforced his power against two possible sources of challenge--the Afghan-Turkish aristocracy and the traditional interpreters of Islamic law, the ulama. He created a ranked imperial service based on ability rather than birth, whose members were obliged to serve wherever required. They were remunerated with cash rather than land and were kept away from their inherited estates, thus centralizing the imperial power base and assuring its supremacy. The military and political functions of the imperial service were separate from those of revenue collection, which was supervised by the imperial treasury. This system of administration, known as the mansabdari, was based on loyal service and cash payments and was the backbone of the Mughal Empire; its effectiveness depended on personal loyalty to the emperor and his ability and willingness to choose, remunerate, and supervise.
Akbar declared himself the final arbiter in all disputes of law derived from the Qur'an and the sharia. He backed his religious authority primarily with his authority in the state. In 1580 he also initiated a syncretic court religion called the Din-i-Ilahi (Divine Faith). In theory, the new faith was compatible with any other, provided that the devotee was loyal to the emperor. In practice, however, its ritual and content profoundly offended orthodox Muslims. The ulama found their influence undermined. The concept of Islam as a superior religion with a historic mission in the world appeared to be compromised. The syncretism of the court and its tolerance of both Hindus and unorthodox Shia sects among Muslims triggered a reaction among Sunni Muslims. In the fratricidal war of succession that closed the reign of Akbar's grandson Shah Jahan in 1658.
The World Conqueror: Jahangir (1569-1627)
Prince Salim, who would later be known as Emperor Jahangir showed signs of restlessness at the end of a long reign by his father Akbar. During the absence of his father from Agra he pronounced himself as the king and turned rebellious. Akbar was able to wrestle the throne back but the prince was showing no signs of remorse. There was also an unconfirmed story of strained relationship between father and son due to Salim’s amorous advances to an ordinary dancing girl. Deeply in love and enchanted by the dancing girl, Anarkali, who was of common birth, Salim was ready to make her his queen. This union, surprisingly, was said to have been unacceptable to Akbar and the girl was abducted and executed. Though the historians do not mention the existence of such a girl called Anarkali, the folklore certainly has survived. This also might have exacerbated the strain between the monarch and the prince.
Salim did not have to worry about his sibling’s aspirations to the throne. His two brothers, Murad and Daniyal, had both died early from alcoholism. Ironically a similar fate would await Salim at the end of his reign when he also succumbed to the ill effects of excessive drinking. But his challenge came from a surprising member of his family. His son Khusrau was favoured by the nobles and made an attempt to unseat Salim, who by 1602 had proclaimed himself as the emperor and renamed himself Jahangir (World Conqueror). Khusrau laid siege to Lahore but was captured by Jahangir and blinded. The cruelty of the previous Sultans of Delhi had now pervaded into the Mughal emperors. Hitherto unknown fraternal and filial murder and torture at the time of succession was to become the norm and almost expected in the kingdom. Jahangir explained that a king should consider no man his relation and sovereignty did not regard the relation between father and son. Treacherous perfidy during succession would not shock any future Mughal heirs.
Jahangir began his era as a Mughal emperor after the death of Akbar in the year 1605. He considered his third son Prince Khurram (future Shah Jahan-born 1592 of Hindu Rajput princess Manmati), his favourite. Rana of Mewar and Prince Khurram had a standoff that resulted in a treaty acceptable to both parties. Khurram was kept busy with several campaigns in Bengal and Kashmir. Jahangir claimed the victories of Khurram – Shah Jahan as his own. However, Kandahar, which had been won by Akbar, was lost to Persia’s Shah Abbas. Further defeats were handed in Northern Afghanistan. Some success was at hand in the Deccan when an African slave, Malik Ambar, brought from Baghdad, serving under the sultante of Ahmadnagar, helped Khurram-Shah Jahan.
The monarch meanwhile was basking in the glory of his son’s victories. He also had unlimited sources of revenue largely due to a systematic organization of the administration by his father, Akbar. The opulence of the Mughals had reached its pinnacle during Jahangir and Shah Jahan’s rule, thanks to Akbar’s foresight. Jahangir built his famous gardens in Kashmir and spent much time relaxing and delegating his work to others. One such person was Jahangir’s wife, Nur Jahan, whom he married in 1611. She was the thirty-year-old widow of one of his Afghan nobles. Her father, Persian born Itimad-ud-Daula became a minister and closest advisor to the emperor. Very able Nur Jahan along with her father and brother Asaf Khan, who was a successful general, ran the kingdom. Jahangir was the monarch in absentia. Addicted to alcohol, he was content to let his wife govern.
After the fiasco in Kandahar, the relationship between Khurram and Jahangir soured. Khurram suspected that Nur Jahan favoured her son-in-law Prince Shariyar (son of Jahangir from a slave), who was married to her daughter Ladli Begum, from her first marriage. Khurram was in rebellion with his father and in this the African slave Malik Ambar and Nur Jahan’s brother Asaf Khan aided him. Khurram- Shah Jahan was married to Asaf Khan’s daughter Mumtaz Mahal. Prince Shariyar was murdered and Nur Jahan spent her last years building a tomb for her father Itimad-ud-Daula in Agra. She could have little influence over the willful Shah Jahan or her niece Mumtaz Mahal.
Jahangir had kept a diary that can pass marginally as memoirs. He describes inane and insignificant details of his garden and daily happenings around the palace. It only serves to give a glimpse of the emperor’s life in a superficial way. Though not a soldier, Jahangir was an ardent patron of Mughal art and an avid builder. He built Akbar’s five-tiered tomb in Sikandra. The emperor kept busy building in Lahore, Allahabad and Agra. While the de facto emperor, Nur Jahan was attending to administrative details, Jahangir found solace in loitering in his gardens and appreciating art and nature.
The darkest incident of his rule perhaps was the disposition of a peaceful leader of newly formed religion called Sikhism. Akbar had watched the blossoming of the new religion founded by Guru Nanak, with fascination. Jahangir, in a controversy with its leader, was responsible for the death of Sikh Guru Arjan Singh (who was placed on a hot iron until he died, unwilling to convert to Islam) and this would have lasting consequences for future Mughal emperors. The peaceful religion of Sikhism would turn militant later when Jahangir’s grandson Aurangzeb murdered the ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur. Jahangir, the laid back emperor died in 1627 from alcohol abuse and Prince Khurram–Shah Jahan’s reign as the emperor began.
King of the World: Shah Jahan
Prince Khurram, who would later be known as Emperor Shah Jahan, ascended to the throne after a tumultuous succession battle worthy of a Mughal Prince. His own father, Jahangir, had already handicapped Khusrau, when the son aspired to unseat the father. Younger brother Prince Khurram promptly had him killed, as fraternal ambitions were not to be encouraged, even though the wretched Prince Khusrau was blind. Prince Shariyar, Nur Jahan’s son-in-law had lost his bid to the throne and murdered by Khurram’s father-in-law, Asaf Khan (also Nur Jahan’s brother). Another brother Parwiz was of no consequence.
With the wealth created by Akbar, the Mughal kingdom was probably the richest in the world. Prince Khurram gave himself the title of Shah Jahan, the ‘King of the World’ and this was the name that was immortalized by history. With his imagination and aspiration, Shah Jahan gained a reputation as an aesthete par excellence. He built the black marble pavilion at the Shalimar Gardens in Srinagar and a white marble palace in Ajmer. He also built a tomb for his father, Jahangir in Lahore and built a massive city Shahajanabad in Delhi but his imagination surpassed all Mughal glory in his most famous building Taj Mahal. It was in Shahajanabad that his daughter Roshanara built the marketplace called Chandni Chowk. His beloved wife Arjuman Banu (daughter of Asaf Khan and niece of Nur Jahan) died while delivering their fourteenth child in the year 1631. The distraught emperor started building a memorial for her the following year. The Taj Mahal, named for Arjuman Banu, who was called Mumtaz Mahal, became one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The beauty of the white marble structure is unsurpassed. Almost four hundred years later it still is the awe inspiring place where lovers hold hands and swoon over each other. The thrill one feels at the first sight of Taj Mahal through its main archway is beyond description.
The great Juma Masjid built by him was the largest in India at the time. Shah Jahan also built or renovated forts in Delhi and in Agra. White marble chambers that served as living quarters and other halls for public audiences are examples of classic Mughal architecture. Here in Agra fort, Shah Jahan would spend eight of his last years as a prisoner of his son, Aurangzeb shuffling between the hallways of the palace, squinting at the distant silhouette of his famous Taj Mahal on the banks of River Jamuna.
Shah Jahan’s earlier years were spent in doing his father’s bidding in various campaigns and territorial expansion. However, the territories gained were significant only in a symbolic way. In fact, land and prestige was lost in Kandahar and Northern Afghanistan. The dream of Babur to extend the empire into and beyond Afghanistan into the homeland of the Timurs in Samarkhand was permanently shelved by his progeny, after the humiliating defeats in Kandahar at the hands of a Persian king. Never again would a Mughal venture into the northwest. In Deccan, Shah Jahan at first had defeats at the hands of an African habshi (Negro) slave from Baghdad, named Malik Ambar, who served the Bijapur sultan. Later, however, he joined Shah Jahan and helped him quell the threat from his brothers who had aspirations to conquer the throne. Golconda (Hyderabad) and Bijapur (Karnataka), two powerful states of the south were forced to become vassal states but were left alone to govern as they pleased. At least on paper Shah Jahan’s empire had extended deep into the south in Deccan and beyond. The cover of Mughal suzerainty only helped the southern sultanates to extend their borders well into Chola heartland of Tamil Nadu and Mysore. Muslim rule, now effectively extended to the mouth of Kaveri River.
Though Khurram was the favoured son of Jahangir in his earlier days, the influence of Nur Jahan on the emperor had a deleterious effect on his relationship with his father. She was trying to prop up her own son-in-law, a brother of Shah Jahan as the legal heir. This alarmed Shah Jahan and with the help of his father-in-law and Malik Ambar he was able to muscle his way into Delhi and pronounce himself the emperor. In September of 1657, Shah Jahan, in his waning years, suffered from acute constipation and rumours of his imminent death spread rapidly through the land. The potential successors to the throne, four brothers, were alarmed and moved with haste to claim the throne. His third son Aurangzeb eventually claimed the empire, in the year 1658. Shah Jahan would recover from his illness only to spend his last days as an old and decrepit man, imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb, in the fort in Agra. There he was to remain in house arrest for eight years watching the magnificent monument he had built for his beloved wife Mumtaz. Shah Jahan died in the year 1666, at age seventy-four, eight years after losing his throne to his son. He was interned in the Taj Mahal, next to his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. The aristocracy supported the austere military commander Aurangzeb against his learned and eclectic brother Dara Shikoh, whom Aurangzeb defeated in battle and later had decapitated in 1662.
Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb's reign ushered in the decline of the Mughal Empire. Aurangzeb, who in the latter half of his long rule assumed the title "Alamgir" or "world-seizer," was known for aggressively expanding the empire's frontiers and for his militant enforcement of orthodox Sunni Islam. During his reign, the Mughal empire reached its greatest extent (the Bijapur and Golconda Sultanates which had been reduced to vassaldom by Shah Jahan were formally annexed), although it is likely that his policies also led to its dissolution. Still, there is some belief that his policies may have slowed the decline of the Empire rather than precipitated it. Although he was an outstanding general and a rigorous administrator, Mughal fiscal and military standards declined as security and luxury increased. Land rather than cash became the usual means of remunerating high-ranking officials, and divisive tendencies in his large empire further undermined central authority.
Extent of Mughal empire in the late 1600s:
The Mughals ruled all but the southern tip of the subcontinent. In 1679 Aurangzeb reimposed the hated jizyah on Hindus. Coming after a series of other taxes, and other discriminatory measures favoring Sunni Muslims, this action by the emperor, incited rebellion among Hindus and others in many parts of the empire--Jat, Sikh, and Rajput forces in the north and Maratha forces in the Deccan. The emperor managed to crush the rebellions in the north, but at a high cost to agricultural productivity and to the legitimacy of Mughal rule. Aurangzeb was compelled to move his headquarters to Daulatabad in the Deccan to mount a costly campaign against Maratha guerrilla fighters led by Shivaji, which lasted twenty-six-years until he died in 1707 at the age of ninety. Aurangzeb, oppressed by a sense of failure, isolation, and impending doom, lamented that in life he "came alone" and would "go as a stranger."
In the century- and one-half that followed, effective control by Aurangzeb's successors weakened. Succession to imperial and even provincial power, which had often become hereditary, was subject to intrigue and force. The mansabdari system gave way to the zamindari system, in which high-ranking officials took on the appearance of hereditary landed aristocracy with powers of collecting rents. As Delhi's control waned, other contenders for power emerged and clashed, thus preparing the way for the eventual British takeover.
Later Mughals
When Aurangzeb died close to the age of ninety, there were seventeen legitimate claimants to the throne that included not only his sons but also his grandsons and great grandsons. After the death of the emperor two brothers fought near Agra (in the same battle site that Aurangzeb had fought his brother Dara Shikoh. Prince Muazzam prevailed and killed his brother Prince Azam Shah and assumed the title Bahadur Shah I (or Shah Alam I). Another brother entered the fight a year later and was killed. Bahadur Shah was well in his sixties when he took control of the empire and soon died in 1712. During those five years he was busy fighting the insurgents in Rajastan and Panjab. Then in 1708 the last Sikh guru, Gobind Singh disappred by his spiritual power. Sikhs under Guru Gobind Singh had already transformed into a radical group after the execution of Guru Teg Bahadur by Aurangzeb. A year later a Banda Bahadur relentlessly stormed Muslim towns and became a thorn on the Mughal emperor’s side.
Bahadur Shah’s son Jahandar Shah succeeded after his death. However, during his tenure he gained a reputation as a womanizing drunk whose outrageous mistress Lal Kunwar took full advantage of the emperor’s condition and enriched herself as well as her brood. Jahandar Shah was killed in 1713 and then Bahadur’s grandson Farrukhsiyar acceded to the throne. With the help of two brothers called Saiyids, Farrukhsiyar restored some sanity to the Mughal rule. Later the Saiyids became intolerable to the emperor and one of them was sent away from Delhi to Deccan and the other was kept in constant watch in Delhi. In Deccan Saiyid Husain Ali Khan colluded with the Marathas and attacked Delhi and using trickery and intrigue seized Farrukhsiyar in the Red Fort. The emperor was blinded and caged and later poisoned as well as stabbed to death. However, prior to his death, Farrukhsiyar had the dubious distinction of aiding the British to have a firm foothold in India, by signing the much-coveted farman (an imperial directive) that would seal the future of British takeover of India.
A wretched youth, Shah Jahan II was made to occupy the throne after the murder of Farrukhsiyar but his rule lasted only three months. The Saiyids enthroned another pawn, Muhammad Shah as the Mughal emperor. He had an unexpected reign of close to thirty years. The Saiyids were disposed off but the emperor had little penchant for ruling. It was during his rule the notorious raids of Delhi by Nadir shah of Persia and the Afghan Ahmad Shah Abdali took place.
Marathas were now constantly attacking Delhi. Of more consequence and humiliation was the plunder of Delhi by Nadir Shah. A Timur descendent, Nadir Shah usurped the throne in Persia and seized Kandahar and Kabul. He marched through Panjab and was invited by Muhammad Shah as a guest to Delhi (only because he had neither the will nor the resources to fight him). Within forty-eight hours, using a lame excuse, Nadir Shah ordered a general massacre of Delhi citizens and looted every bit of wealth they could extort out of the royalty as well as Delhi’s citizenry. Nadir Shah remained in Delhi for forty eighty days and departed with millions worth of gold, jewelry and coins. Even the emperor’s throne, the bejeweled peacock throne of Shah Jahan was packed on elephants and carried away to Persia. Another prize, the Koh-I-nur diamond (Humayun’s diamond now passed back into Persian hands). To add insult to injury, the Shah humiliated the emperor by re-crowning him as the Mughal emperor in an ignoble celebration. Later an Afghani, Ahmad Shah Abdali started his incursions into Delhi just for the purpose of looting the capital. In a series of attacks starting in 1748 until 1761, Abdali would not only pillage and loot Delhi, he also cleaned out Mathura, Kashmir and cities in Panjab. From the east the British defeated the Nawab of Bengal and occupied the state of Bengal. The vast Mughal Empire was coming undone at its seams. The fortunes of the British in India were intertwined with the misfortunes of the Mughals.
The raids by Nadir Shah and repeated incursions of Abdali resulted in quick disposal of the next two emperors Ahmad Shah and Alamgir II until in 1759 Shah Alam II ascended the throne. His reign would last several decades. However, he would preside over more loss of territory to the British. When the Nawab of Bengal lost to Robert Clive, Shah Alam II was forced to recognize Clive as a diwan (chancellor) and Bengal slipped to the British hands permanently. Shah Alam II ruled well until his eighties and died as sightless wretch dressed in rags when an army from Bengal led by General Gerald Lake stormed Delhi and Agra. The Marathas like Scindias, Holkars and the Nagpur Bhonsles also had to relinquish power to the British and the British would now boast that they were complete masters of the whole of India.
In 1806 Shah Alam’s son Akbar Shah II acceded to the much diminished empire of the Mughals and ruled until 1837. His son Bahadur Shah Zafar II would be the last emperor of Mughals before the British deposed him in 1858 and the Mughal dynasty would officially come to a dishonourable end. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Bahadur Shah II was forced to take the side of the mutineers though he had no power to affect the outcome of the events. The mutineers had outwitted his British sponsors and now the emperor neither had the troops nor the competence. He had no choice but to join the winning side. However, the success of the mutineers was soon reversed and the octogenarian (he was eighty-two years old) was relieved of his empire and deposed in 1858. The British also unleashed a flurry of revenge attacks on Delhi as well as luckless Bahadur Shah. Two of his sons and a grandson were shot while in custody. The emperor was then exiled to Rangoon in Burma where he died in obscurity in 1862.
The glory of the Mughal kingdom established in 1526 by the tiger from Kabul, Babur would end in 1858 and India’s fate was in the hands another expansionist foreign force, the imperial British.
Post-Mughal regional kingdoms
The post-Mughal era was dominated by the rise of the Maratha suzerianity as other small regional states (mostly post-Mughal tributary states) emerged, and also by the increasing activities of European powers. The Maratha Kingdom was founded and consolidated by Shivaji. By the 18th century, it had transformed itself into the Maratha Empire under the rule of the Peshwas. By 1760, the Empire had stretched across practically the entire subcontinent. This expansion was brought to an end by the defeat of the Marathas by an Afghan army led by Ahmad Shah Abdali at the Third Battle of Panipat (1761). The last Peshwa, Baji Rao II, was defeated by the British in the Third Anglo-Maratha War.
Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, which was founded around 1400 AD by the Wodeyar dynasty. The rule of the Wodeyars was interrupted by Hyder Ali and his son Tippu Sultan. Under their rule Mysore fought a series of wars sometimes against the combined forces of the British and Marathas, but mostly against the British with some aid or promise of aid from the French. Hyderabad was founded by the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda in 1591. Following a brief Mughal rule, Asif Jah, a Mughal official, seized control of Hyderabad declaring himself Nizam-al-Mulk of Hyderabad in 1724. It was ruled by a hereditary Nizam from 1724 until 1948. Both Mysore and Hyderabad became princely states in British India.
The Punjabi kingdom, ruled by members of the Sikh religion, was a political entity that governed the region of modern day Punjab. This was among the last areas of the subcontinent to be conquered by the British. The Anglo-Sikh wars marked the downfall of the Sikh Empire. Around the 18th century modern Nepal was formed by Gorkha rulers, and the Shahs and the Ranas very strictly maintained their national identity and integrity.
The Marathas
The tale of the Marathas' rise to power and their eventual fall contains all the elements of a thriller: adventure, intrigue, and romanticism. Maratha chieftains were originally in the service of Bijapur sultans in the western Deccan, which was under siege by the Mughals.
Shivaji Bhonsle (1627-80) a tenacious and fierce fighter recognized as the "father of the Maratha nation," took advantage of this conflict and carved out his own principality near Pune, which later became the Maratha capital. Adopting guerrilla tactics, he waylaid caravans in order to sustain and expand his army, which soon had money, arms, and horses. Shivaji led a series of successful assaults in the 1660s against Mughal strongholds, including the major port of Surat. In 1674 he assumed the title of "Lord of the Universe" at his elaborate coronation, which signaled his determination to challenge the Mughal forces as well as to reestablish a Hindu kingdom in Maharashtra, the land of his origin. Shivaji's battle cries were swaraj (translated variously as freedom, self-rule, independence), swadharma (religious freedom), and goraksha (cow protection). Aurangzeb relentlessly pursued Shivaji's successors between 1681 and 1705 but eventually retreated to the north as his treasury became depleted and as thousands of lives had been lost either on the battlefield or to natural calamities. In 1717 a Mughal emissary signed a treaty with the Marathas confirming their claims to rule in the Deccan in return for acknowledging the fictional Mughal suzerainty and remission of annual taxes. Yet the Marathas soon captured Malwa from Mughal control and later moved east into Orissa and Bengal; southern India also came under their domain. Recognition of their political power finally came when the Mughal emperor invited them to act as auxiliaries in the internal affairs of the empire and still later to help the emperor in driving the Afghans out of Punjab.
The Marathas, despite their military prowess and leadership, were not equipped to administer the state or to undertake socioeconomic reform. Pursuing a policy characterized by plunder and indiscriminate raids, they antagonized the peasants. They were primarily suited for stirring the Maharashtrian regional pride rather than for attracting loyalty to an all-India confederacy. They were left virtually alone and without supplies before the invading Afghan forces, headed by Ahmad Shah Abdali (later called Ahmad Shah Durrani), who routed them on the blood-drenched battlefield at Third Battle of Panipat or Panipat in 1761. The shock of defeat hastened the break-up of their loosely knit confederacy into five independent states and extinguished the hope of Maratha dominance in India.
The Nizams of Hyderabad
Maratha raids into Berar, Kandesh, Gujarat and Malwa resumed after the death of Aurangzeb, and loosened Mughal control in the Deccan. In 1724 Asaf Jah, the Mughal Nizam ul Mulk, or viceroy, of the Deccan, defeated several contenders for control of the Mughal southern provinces, and established himself of ruler of an independent state with its capital at Hyderabad. He and his successors ruled as hereditary Nizams, and their state, known as Hyderabad after the capital, outlasted the Mughal empire, persisting until it was incorporated into newly-independent India in 1948. Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jahi was a strong ruler and established an orderly system of administration. He also attempted to reform the revenue system. The dynasty founded by him came to be known as the Asaf Jahi dynasty.
The Sikhs
The Afghan defeat of the Maratha armies accelerated the breakaway of Punjab from Delhi and helped the founding of Sikh overlordship in the northwest. Rooted in the bhakti movements that developed in the second century B.C. but swept across North India during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the teachings of the Sikh gurus appealed to the hard-working peasants. Facing extended persecution from the Mughals, the Sikhs, under Guru Gobind Singh formed the Khalsa (Army of Pure). The khalsa rose up against the economic and political repressions in Punjab toward the end of Aurangzeb's rule. Guerrilla fighters took advantage of the political instability created by the Persian and Afghan onslaught against Delhi, enriching themselves and expanding territorial control. By the 1770s, Sikh hegemony extended from the Indus in the west to the Yamuna in the east, from Multan in the south to Jammu in the north. But the Sikhs, like the Marathas, were a loose, disunited, and quarrelsome conglomerate of twelve kin-groups. It took Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), an individual with modernizing vision and leadership, to achieve supremacy over the other kin-groups and establish his kingdom in which Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims lived together in comparative equality and increasing prosperity. Ranjit Singh employed European officers and introduced strict military discipline into his army before expanding into Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Colonial era
Arrival of the Europeans
Vasco da Gama led the first documented European expedition to India, sailing into Calicut on the southwest coast in 1498. In 1510 the Portuguese captured Goa, which became the seat of their activity. Under Admiral Alfonso de Albuquerque, Portugal successfully challenged Arab power in the Indian Ocean and dominated the sea routes for a century. Jesuits came to convert, to converse, and to record observations of India. The Protestant countries of the Netherlands and England, upset by the Portuguese monopoly, formed private trading companies at the turn of the seventeenth century to challenge the Portuguese.
Mughal officials permitted the new carriers of India's considerable export trade to establish trading posts (factories) in India. The Dutch East India Company concentrated mainly on the spice trade from present-day Indonesia. Britain's East India Company carried on trade with India. The French East India Company also set up factories.
An engraving titled "Sepoy Indian troops dividing the spoils after their mutiny against British rule" gives a contemporary view of events from the British perspective.
During the wars of the 18th century, the factories served not only as collection and transshipment points for trade but also increasingly as fortified centres of refuge for both foreigners and Indians. British factories gradually began to apply British law to disputes arising within their jurisdiction. The posts also began to grow in area and population. Armed company servants were effective protectors of trade. As rival contenders for power called for armed assistance and as individual European adventurers found permanent homes in India, British and French companies found themselves more and more involved in local politics in the south and in Bengal. Plots and counterplots climaxed when British East India Company forces, led by Robert Clive, decisively defeated the larger but divided forces of Nawab Siraj-ud-Dawlah at Plassey (Pilasi) in Bengal in 1757.
Religions in India
Religion in India ranks among the world's most ancient and varied. The Indian subcontinent spawned the Dharmic religions, which compose one of the world's three major schools of religion. Vedic religion gave rise to what is now the oldest extant and third-largest religion, Hinduism; almost 900 million of its one billion adherents live in the Republic of India. The other major Dharmic religions, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, each have millions of Indian followers. The Abrahamic religions of Islam and Christianity, spread by missionary activity and conquest over many centuries, are the two largest non-native religions.
More than four-fifths of Indians practice Hinduism. Islam, practised by around one-sixth of the population, is the most prevalent minority religion. Christianity and Sikhism are each practised by around 2% of Indians. About 1.1% practice Buddhism and 0.4% practice Jainism. Zoroastrianism and Judaism have a centuries-long history in India; each has several thousand Indian adherents.
More than nine-tenths of Indians state that religion plays a key role in their lives. Though inter-religious marriages are generally taboo, Indians are generally tolerant of other religions and retain a secular outlook. Inter-community clashes have never found widespread support in the social mainstream, and it is generally perceived that its causes are political rather than ideological in nature. India's religious diversity extends to the highest levels of government; the Prime Minister of India is a Sikh, the President of India is a Hindu, and the chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a Christian. The Constitution of India declares the nation to be a secular republic that must uphold the right of citizens to freely worship and propagate any religion or faith.
Law
The preamble to the Constitution of India proclaimed India a "sovereign socialist secular democratic republic". The word secular was inserted into the Preamble by the Forty-second Amendment Act of 1976. It mandates equal treatment and tolerance of all religions. India does not have an official state religion; it enshrines the right to practice, preach, and propagate any religion. No religious instruction is imparted in government-supported schools. In S. R. Bommai vs. Union of India, the Supreme Court of India held that secularism was an integral tenet of the Constitution.
The right to freedom of religion is a fundamental right according to the Indian Constitution. The Constitution also recommends establishment of a uniform civil code for its citizens as a Directive Principle. However this has not been implemented until now. The Supreme Court has stated that the enactment of a uniform civil code all at once may be counterproductive to the unity of the nation, and only a gradual progressive change should be brought about. In Maharishi Avadesh v Union of India (1994) the Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking a writ of mandamus against the government to introduce a common civil code, and thus laid the responsibility of its introduction on the legislature.
Religious communities continue to be governed by their own personal laws. Apart from Muslims, designated religious codes apply to Hindus, Christians, Zoroastrians, and Jews; for legal purposes, Buddhists and Sikhs are classified as Hindus and are subject to Hindu personal law. Civil laws for Muslims are based on Sharia law. The Code of Criminal Procedure is uniformly applied to all Indian citizens.
Aspects
Religion plays a major role in the Indian way of life. Rituals, worship, and other religious activities are very prominent in an individual's daily life; it is also a principal organizer of social life. The degree of religiosity varies among individuals; in recent decades, religious orthodoxy and observances have become less common in Indian society, particularly among young urban-dwellers.
Hinduism in India
India is the birthplace of Hinduism. Hinduism is seen by many non-Hindus a set of practices of the people of India. The word Hindu is derived from the word Sindhu and signifies a person coming from the land of the river Sindhu. The name Sindhu is what the Hindus called the Indus River. India is the home to the largest number of Hindus. Hinduism has origins of around 2500 BCE. Presently there are around 800 million Hindus living in India and several million Hindus of Indian origin living abroad (notably the USA and South Africa).
A Hindu is a person who practices good karma and bhakti for the achievement of moksha or mukti.
Hinduism is the largest religion in India, counting approximately 900 million adherents, comprising 80.4% of the population. Often considered a "way of life" rather than a religion, it arose in the Indian subcontinent during the period 2000-1500 BCE.
Hinduism differs from many religions in not having a single founder, a specific theological system, a single system of morality, or a central religious organization. The religion is ideologically tolerant and inclusive—qualities which have enabled it to co-exist with other religions over its long history. The main holy books of Hinduism are the Vedas (its foundation) and the Upanishads. Hindus are allowed to worship (or practice their bhagavat-dharma) God in any form and so many Hindus has even had a specific Purana for their deity.
Astika is a Sanskrit adjective (and noun) that is derived from asti ("it is or exists") meaning "believing" or "pious"; or "one who believes in the existence (of God, of another world, etc.)." Nastika (na (not) + āstika) is its negative, literally meaning "not believing" or "not pious". As used in Indian philosophy nastika refers to belief in Vedic-derived discipline, not belief or lack of belief in theism. In popular language the term nastika also means "atheist".
The followers of Tantra are often branded as Nāstika by the upholders of the Vedic tradition. The term Nāstika does not denote an atheist. It is applied only to those who do not believe in the Vedas. The Sāṅkhyas and Mīmāṃsakas do not believe in God, buth they believe in the Vedas and hence they are not Nāstikas. Many Buddhists, Jains, and Cārvākas do not believe in the Vedic principles; hence they are Nāstikas.
Hinduism is, in fact, an immense synthesis, deriving its elements from a hundred different directions, and incorporating every conceivable motive of religion. The motives of Hindu religion are manifold. Earth-worship, sun-worship, nature-worship, sky-worship, honour paid to heroes and ancestors, mother-worship, father-worship, prayers for the dead, the mystic association of certain plants and animals: and all these and more are included within Hinduism. And each marks some single age of the past, with its characteristic conjunction or invasion of races formerly alien to one another. They are all welded together now to form a great whole. Now and again in history a great systematizing impulse has striven to cast all or part of recognized belief into the form of an organic whole.
Hinduism is polytheist because many of it consists of practitioners who worship different forms of God, although it is monotheist because it advocates the belief in one God, it is pantheistic because it believe all things of the universe, including the Devtas are a part and parcel of God.
Hinduism advocates that God has three major aspects; to create, sustain and destroy. Hinduism teaches that both God and the soul are eternal, although God is infallible and that it is the aim of the human to reach God.
It follows the Vedic calender. The Rig Veda is the foundation of Hinduism, although a Hindu does not require to believe that Veda is the central source of knowledge, rather each Hindu is to seek out spiritual knowledge wherever they can.
Present state
Today, Hinduism and Islam play pivotal roles in politics, with political parties siding with one community, often at the expense of the other through votebank politics. However, radical Islamic and Hindu elements are still evident in some sensitive areas like Godhra, Mathura, Ayodhya, Mumbai, etc. There are 800 million Hindus(80% of Population) living in India right now, which is the majority of the world's Hindu population.
A Votebank is a loyal bloc of voters from a single community, who consistently back a certain candidate or political formation in democratic elections. Such behaviour is often the result of an expectation of real or imagined benefits from the political formations, often at the cost of other communities.
Votebank politics is the practice of creating and maintaining votebanks through divisive policies. As this brand of politics encourages voters to vote on the basis of narrow communal considerations, often against their better judgement, it is considered inimical to democracy.
Islam in India
Islam is the second-most practiced religion after Hinduism. There are approximately 138,188,240 Muslims in India (according to government census 2001), i.e 13.4% of the population. India has the second largest population of Muslims in the world (the largest being Indonesia).
Islam arrived in India as early as the 8th century A.D. During the following years, Islam contributed greatly to the cultural enhancement of an already rich Indian culture, shaping not only the shape of Northern Indian classical music (Hindustani, a melding of Indian and Middle Eastern elements) but encouraging a grand tradition of Urdu (a melding of Hindi, Arabic and Persian languages) literature, both religious and secular. There are about 75 sects of Islam followed in India.
Conversion controversy
Considerable controversy exists both in scholarly and public opinion about the conversions to Islam typically represented by the following schools of thought:
The bulk of Muslims are descendants of migrants from the Iranian plateau or Arabs.
Muslims sought conversion through jihad or political violence.
Conversions occurred for non-religious reasons of pragmatism and patronage such as social mobility among the Muslim ruling elite or for relief from taxes.
Conversion was a result of the actions of Sunni Sufi saints and involved a genuine change of heart.
Conversion came from Buddhists and the en masse conversions of lower castes for social liberation and as a rejection of the oppressive Hindu caste strictures.
A combination, initially made under duress followed by a genuine change of heart.
As a socio-cultural process of diffusion and integration over an extended period of time into the sphere of the dominant Muslim civilization and global polity at large.
Embedded within this lies the concept of Islam as a foreign imposition and Hinduism being a natural condition of the natives who resisted, resulting in the failure of the project to Islamicize the Indian subcontinent and is highly embroiled within the politics of the partition and communalism in India. An estimate of the number of people killed, based on the Muslim chronicles and demographic calculations, was done by K.S. Lal in his book Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India, who claimed that between 1000 CE and 1500 CE, the population of Hindus decreased by 80 million. His work has come under criticism by historians such as Simon Digby (School of Oriental and African Studies) and Irfan Habib for its agenda and lack of accurate data in pre-census times. Lal has responded to these criticisms in later works. Historians such as Will Durant contend that Islam was spread through violence. Sir Jadunath Sarkar contends that several Muslim invaders were waging a systematic jihad against Hindus in India to the effect that "Every device short of massacre in cold blood was resorted to in order to convert heathen subjects." Hindus who converted to Islam were not immune to persecution due to the Muslim Caste System in India established by Ziauddin al-Barani in the Fatawa-i Jahandari., where they were regarded as an "Ajlaf" caste and subjected to discrimination by the "Ashraf" castes.
Disputers of the "Conversion by the Sword Theory" point to the presence of the large Muslim communities found in Southern India, Sri Lanka, Western Burma, Bangladesh, Southern Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines coupled with the distinctive lack of equivalent Muslim communities around the heartland of historical Muslim Empires in the Indian Sub-Continent as refutation to the "Conversion by the Sword Theory". The legacy of the Muslim conquest of South Asia is a hotly debated issue and argued even today. Different population estimates by economics historian Angus Maddisonand by Jean-Noël Biraben also indicate that India's population did not decrease between 1000 and 1500, but increased by about 35 million during that time.
Not all Muslim invaders were simply raiders. Later rulers fought on to win kingdoms and stayed to create new ruling dynasties. The practices of these new rulers and their subsequent heirs (some of whom were borne of Hindu wives) varied considerably. While some were uniformly hated, others developed a popular following. According to the memoirs of Ibn Batuta who travelled through Delhi in the 14th century, one of the previous sultans had been especially brutal and was deeply hated by Delhi's population, Batuta's memoirs also indicate that Muslims from the Arab world, Persia and Turkey were often favored with important posts at the royal courts suggesting that locals may have played a somewhat subordinate role in the Delhi administration. The term "Turk" was commonly used to refer to their higher social status. S.A.A. Rizvi (The Wonder That Was India - II), however points to Muhammad bin Tughlaq as not only encouraging locals but promoting artisan groups such as cooks, barbers and gardeners to high administrative posts. In his reign, it is likely that conversions to Islam took place as a means of seeking greater social mobility and improved social standing.
Discrimination
Despite being a sizeable minority, Muslims in India face substantial discrimination in the Hindu-majority country due to their religious affiliation. The partition of India based on religious lines was a controverial arrangement, and is still the cause of much tension between Hindus and Muslims. Further, since dalits converted to Islam to escape the caste system, many upper-caste Hindus look down upon Muslims as they had for generations looked down upon dalits. Many Muslims are denied housing in Hindu-dominated modern residential complexes. Institutionalized discrimination also occurs in India's government, where 90-95% of jobs are held by Hindus. Many Muslims adopt seperate "Hindu" identities and maintain a Hindu appearance in order to obtain work or maintain businesses, fearing their careers would be at risk if Hindus, the vast majority of their customers, realized that they were Muslims.
Christianity in India
Christianity is India's third-largest religion, following Hinduism and Islam. Christianity underwent major transformation following European contact and British colonisation. The 2001 census recorded over 24 million Indian Christians, comprising 2.3% of the country's population. There are three main regional concentrations of Christian population, namely in South India, in Konkan Coast and among tribal people in East, Central and North-East India.
Christianity, according to tradition arrived in India in the first century (c.52-85AD) through the apostle Thomas. The chronicle of his mission in India is recorded in the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas, and the lesser-known Apocalypse of Thomas. In these books, Judas Thomas is regarded as the "Twin" of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, alleging that since this Thomas was identical in look to Christ, he was equal in piety. The apostle completed the conversion of a Malabar prince, and founded a church on the prince's grounds. According to the Gospel of Thomas, he later was buried in the foundation of that building, located by tradition near Mumbai (formerly Bombay).
Christianity was later consolidated in India, by the arrival of Syriac Jewish-Christians now known as Knanaya people in the second century A.D. This ancient ethnic Christian community of Kerala is known as Nasrani or Syrian Christian. The Nasrani people and especially the Knanaya people within the Nasranis have strong Jewish historical ties. Their form of Christianity is one of the most ancient: Syriac Christianity which is also known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and referred to in India as Saint Thomas Christians. It should be noted that the term "Saint Thomas Christians" is a loose term that many non-Nasranis Christians in Kerala are often labelled.
Roman Catholicism reached India during the period of European colonization, which began in 1498 when the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrived on the Malabar coast. There are over 17 million Catholics in India, which represents 1.5% of the total population. Christian missionary activity increased in the early 1800s. Today Christianity is the third largest religion of India making up 2 - 2.9% of the population. Christianity is prevalent in South & North-east India. Christians make up majority population in the states of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram. All these states are tribal and have extremely low population when compared to the larger states in India.
Hindu-Christian Conflict
Historically, Hindus and Christians have lived in relative peace since the arrival of Christianity in India from the early part of the first millennium. The arrival of European colonialists brought about large scale missionary activity in South India and North-East India. Many indigenous cultures were converted to Christianity. Sometimes they were voluntary, and other times they were violent and forced. The Goa Inquisition was an example of forced conversions imposed on Hindus, Muslims and Jews in India.
Hindus who converted to Christianity typically retained their social customs, including caste practices. Aggressive proselytizing by Christian missionaries under British rule was a cause of resentment among Hindus and Muslims in the 19th century, who felt that their cultures were being attacked. This was one of the causes of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British Raj. Also, many Christian ideals prompted reform movements within the Hindu society in the 19th century, the most notable being the Brahmo Samaj, which was influenced by British Christian Unilateralism. Also, Indian Christians have retained Hindu customs and practices, and have combined Hindu customs with Christianity to achieve a unique brand of Indian Christianity. For instance, many Christians in India celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali. This form of syncretism has been a source of frustration among the more radicalized and Eurocentric Christian missionaries who wanted a stronger brand of Christian Exclusivism among Indian Christians. For the most part, Indian Christians rejected religious exclusivism and have chosen to coexist with Hindus in peace.
In more contemporary periods, Hindu-Christian amity is sometimes challenged by partisan politics and extremism from both communities. Christian missionary activity among lower-caste Hindus has created groups of Crypto-Christians, particularly among Dalits. Unfortunately, among catholics, discrimination against Dalit Christians remain strong among certain sections of the Catholic Church in certain regions, perpetrated by upper-caste Christian clergy in India. As a response, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has successfully converted several Indian Christians back to Hinduism. As a response to allegedly aggressive missionary activity four Indian states (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu mainly) have passed laws restricting or prohibiting religious conversion. This has created some resentment in the Indian Christian community.
In October 2002, the governor of Tamil Nadu issued an ordinance aimed at preventing people from converting to Christianity, on the grounds that such conversions occur due to fraud. The accused may be sentenced to up to three years in jail if convicted of such a crime. The majority of instances of controversies with Christians in India do not involve the native Saint Thomas Christians or the Latin Rite Roman Catholics but the Protestants, evangelicals, Fundamentalist Christians and others. This ordinance was reportedly later repealed.
In July, 2006, BJP-dominated Madhya Pradesh government passed legislation requiring people who desire to convert to a different religion to provide the government with one-month's notice, or face fines and penalties.
In August, 2006, Chhattisgarh State Assembly (also BJP-dominated) passed similar legislation requiring anyone who desires to convert to another religion to give 30 days' notice to, and seek permission from, the district magistrate.
There have been some instances of violence between Hindu Nationalists groups and Christians. Human Rights groups like Human Rights Watch allege that there is large-scale violence being perpetrated by Hindutva Hindu Nationalists against Christians.
Dara Singh allegedly associated with the Bajrang Dal was involved in the murder of an Australian missionary named Graham Staines and the murderers sympathies from Hindu nationalist organization. In addition, there have been sporadic instances of violence between Hindu Nationalist groups like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Christians, although they have also worked together in many enterprises. For instance, the Hindu Nationalist group Sewa Bharati has collaborated with relief groups, such as the Catholics Bishops Conference of India to conduct relief operations in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Activities included building shelters for the victims, providing food, clothes and medical necessities. Also, and some Christian priests have come out in support of the RSS.
Fundamentalist Christian groups have emerged into prominence in their polemical attacks on Hinduism and Hindus. The case of a virulently anti-Hindu book names Haqeeqat (reality) launched by an evangelical named M.G. Matthew achieved prominence in Rajasthan.
The Government of the state of Tripura has uncovered evidence to support the assertion that the Baptist Church of Tripura has been supporting the terrorist group National Liberation Front of Tripura, a violent separatist group that has attacked and killed Hindus in the region and that has banned Hindu festivals by force.[13] The Baptist Church of Tripura was initially set up by missionaries from New Zealand in the 1940s. Despite their efforts, even until the 1980s, only a few thousand people in Tripura had converted to Christianity.
In the aftermath of one of the worst ethnic riots, the NLFT was born in 1989—allegedly with the help of the Baptist Church. Since then, the NLFT has been advancing its cause through armed rebellion. As of 2002, many members of NLFT have surrendered to Indian forces and the movement has split into two groups. Other Fundamentalist Christian terror groups include the Nagaland Rebels (1947-present), active in predominantly Christian state of Nagaland in Hindu majority India. They were involved in several bombings in 2004.
Muslim - Christian Conflict
Muslims in India who convert to Christianity have been known to be subjected to harassment, intimidation, and attacks. In Kashmir, a Christian convert named Bashir Tantray was killed, allegedly by militant Islamists in 2006.
A Christian priest, K.K. Alavi, who is a convert from Islam, recently raised the ire of his former Muslim community and has received many death threats. An Islamic terrorist group named "The National Development Front" actively campaigned against him.
Indian Jews are a religious minority of India. Judaism was one of the first foreign religions to arrive in India and assimilate with local traditions through cultural diffusion. The Jewish population in India is hard to estimate since each Jewish community is distinct with different origins; some arrived during the time of the Kingdom of Judah, others are seen by some as descendants of Israel's Lost Ten Tribes. Of the total Jewish population in India, about half live in Mizoram and a quarter live in the city of Mumbai. Unlike many parts of the world, Jews have historically lived in India without anti-Semitism from Indians (though they have been victims of anti-Semitism from the Portuguese and the Christian Goa Inquisition during their colonial rule). The majority Hindu community have been very tolerant towards most other religions in India. Jews have held important positions under Indian princes in the past and even after independence from British Rule, they have risen to very high positions in government, military and industry. Anti-Semitism in India has manifested itself through the rhetoric of Islamist outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba, who have declared Jews and Hindus to be enemies of Islam.
Sikhism in India
According to Sikhism in India "About 2% of India's population are Sikhs. Even so, the Sikhs, because of their unique appearance sometimes stand for India. Traditionally the men keep their hair and do not shave their beard or moustache. They gather their head hair in a turban. Sikhism is comparatively a new religion in India. This religion was established by Guru Nanak. Nanak was born into a Hindu family in 1469 in the Punjab region. Since childhood he loved to travel, learn and preach humanity. In those days people who taught and preached were titled Guru meaning teacher, his followers became to be known as Sikhs meaning learners. And so Guru Nanak developed a new religion and it also included beliefs from the two dominant religions in the Punjab region, Hinduism and Islam. Some claim that Guru Nanak tried to developed a new religion and included in it what he thought were the good beliefs of these two religions.
The creators of Sikhism tried to abolish some of the Indian customs such as the caste system and Sati (practice) - burning of the widow. In Sikhism everyone has equal rights irrespective of caste, creed, color, race, sex or religion. Sikhism rejects pilgrimage, fasting, superstitions and other such rituals. Sikhism does not have a clergy class as it considers this as a gateway to corruption. However, they have readers and singers in their temples.
Sikhism is a religion which began in sixteenth century Northern India with the teachings of Nanak and nine successive human gurus. This system of religious philosophy and expression has been traditionally known as the Gurmat (literally the teachings of the gurus) or the Sikh Dharma. Sikhism comes from the word Sikh, which in turn comes from the Sanskrit root śiṣya meaning "disciple" or "learner", or śikṣa meaning "instruction." Sikhism is the fifth-largest organised religion in the world.
Sikhism, was founded in India's northwestern Punjab region about 400 years ago and Sikhs form the majority population in the state of Punjab. As of 2001 there were 19.3 million Sikhs in India. Many of today's Sikhs are situated in Punjab, the largest Sikh province in the world and the ancestral home of Sikhs. There are also significant populations of Sikhs in the neighboring states of Haryana and New Delhi. The most famous Sikh temple is the Golden Temple, located in Amritsar, Punjab. Many Sikhs serve in the Indian Army. The current prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh, is a Sikh. Punjab is the spiritual home of Sikhs and is the only state in India where Sikhs form a majority.
The principal belief in Sikhism is faith in one God—Vāhigurū—represented using the sacred symbol of ēk ōaṅkār. Sikhism advocates the pursuit of salvation through disciplined, personal meditation on the name and message of God. The followers of Sikhism are ordained to follow the teachings of the ten Sikh gurus, or enlightened leaders, as well as the holy scripture—the Gurū Granth Sāhib—which includes the selected works of many authors from diverse socioeconomic and religious backgrounds. The text was decreed by Gobind Singh, the tenth guru, as the final guru of the Khalsa Panth. Sikhism's traditions and teachings are distinctly associated with the history, society and culture of the Punjab.
Adherents of Sikhism are known as Sikhs (students or disciples) and number over 23 million across the world. However, most Sikhs live in the state of Punjab in India; prior to partition, millions of Sikhs lived in what is now the Punjab province of Pakistan. Sikhs are now spread all over the world, though most Sikhs live in India. The Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh is a practising Sikh. Most Sikh men wear a turban, and are often mistaken for Muslims or Arabs. Interestingly, most turban sporting men in the West happen to be Sikhs.
The Sikh Gurdwara
A Sikh place of worship is called Gurdwara. Sikhism does not support pilgrimage to holy sites because according to Sikhism, God is everywhere and not in any certain place. But Sikhism has a few important sites, of which, the Hari Mandir, also known as the 'Golden Temple' in Amritsar in Punjab is the most important site and is considered the holiest shrine of Sikhism.
Sikhism emphasis community services and helping the needy. One of the distinct features of Sikhism is the common kitchen called Langar. In every Gurdwara there is a Langar. Every Sikh is supposed to contribute in preparing the meals in the free kitchen. The meals are served to all and are eaten sitting on the floor and this is to emphasis the point that all are equals. Sikhism does not believe in holding fasts for body is God's present to human being and therefore humans must foster, maintain and preserve it in good sound condition, unless fasting is done to foster the human body like healthy diets.
Guru Nanak who established Sikhism was its first Guru. After him there were nine more Gurus who were the highest religious authority. The last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, proclaimed that after him the Guru of the Sikhs would be the holy book of Sikhism, Guru Granth Sahib.
Guru Granth Sahib is written in Gurmukhi script. It includes the writings of the Sikh Gurus and the writings of Hindu and Muslims saints. But out of humility Guru Gobind Singh did not include his own writings in the book he had proclaimed as the permanent Guru of the Sikhs. His writings appear in a separate book called Dasam Granth. Guru Gobind Singh is also the Guru behind the unique appearance of Sikh men.
Creating an Identity for the Sikhs
In order to make it easier for his followers to recognize each other, Gobind Singh, chose five marks, some of which even today symbolize the Sikhs. The five signs were, uncut hair; comb; sword or dagger; bracelet on the right wrist and shorts. The religious Sikhs dress according to Guru Gobind Singh's order, carrying a sword. Most of the Sikhs even today have uncut hair and gather it in a turban. But some easygoing Sikhs cut their hair or they do not gather their uncut hair in a turban.
The emphasis on militant tradition and community service in Sikhism continues even today and many Sikhs serve in the Indian army or police. The Sikhs also have a reputation as experts in steering, from cars to airplanes.They were among the first communities in India who dared to drive vehicles specially lorries. India being a vast country needed drivers who could also travel at nights. But many Indians believed in superstitions like ghosts and haunted places, while the Sikhs rejected these kinds of beliefs and therefore traveled at nights, since then their reputation as steering masters of India."
Buddhism in India
Buddhism, also known as Buddha Dharma "the teachings of the awakened one", is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, a way of life, a practical philosophy, and arguably a form of psychology. Buddhism focuses on the teachings of Siddharta Gautama, known as Gautama Buddha, who was born in Kapilavastu, ancient India which now falls under modern day Nepal, with the name Siddhārtha Gautama around the fifth century BCE. Buddhism spread throughout the Indian subcontinent in the five centuries following the Buddha's passing, and propagated into Central, Southeast, and East Asia over the next two millennia. It is originated in northern India in the 6th century BCE, and rapidly gained adherents during the Buddha's lifetime. Since, the religion was adopted mostly by the upper classes, its numbers in India remained small—in the hundreds of thousands. While the exact cause of the decline of Buddhism in India after the 9th century CE is not known, Vedanta reform movements, which incorporated Buddhist elements into Hinduism, are thought to have contributed to it, as did Islamic invasions of India, which devastated Buddhist monasteries, libraries, and statuary.
The 20th century saw a resurgence of Buddhism in India. In 1956, B. R. Ambedkar, the main architect of the Indian constitution, and thousands of his Dalit followers converted to Buddhism to protest the Indian caste system. Buddhists form majority populations in the Indian states of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and the Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir. In all, around 11 million Buddhists live in India today.
Most of the Buddhists in India have Hindu names.
Today, Buddhism is divided primarily into three traditions: Theravāda (Sanskrit: Sthaviravāda), Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna. Buddhism continues to attract followers worldwide, and it is considered a major world religion. According to one source, "World estimates for Buddhists vary between 230 and 500 million, with most around 350 million." However, estimates are uncertain for several countries.
Buddhism is the fourth-largest organised religion in the world, and the monks' order Sangha is amongst the oldest organisations on earth.
Most Buddhists also believe that the Dharma as taught by the Buddha predates the Tripitaka. Buddhists believe in a long lineage of Buddhas in the world, with Kassapa Buddha, Konagamana Buddha, and Kakusandha Buddha appearing in the world previous to the present Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha.
Doctrine
Few things can be said with certainty about Mahayana Buddhism, especially its early Indian form, other than that that the Buddhism practiced in China, Korea, Tibet, and Japan is Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana can be described as a loosely bound bundle of many teachings, which was able to contain the various contradictions found between those differing teachings.
Mahayana is a vast religious and philosophical structure. It constitutes an inclusive faith characterized by the adoption of new Mahayana Sutras, in addition to the traditional Pali canon or Aghama texts, and a shift in the basic purpose and concepts of Buddhism. Mahayana sees itself as penetrating further and more profoundly into the Buddha's Dharma. In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, for instance, the Buddha tells of how his initial teachings on suffering, impermanence and non-Self were given to those who were still like "small children", unable to digest the full "meal" of Truth, whereas when those spiritual students "grow up" and are no longer satisfied by the preliminary ingredients of the Dharmic meal fed to them and require fuller sustenance, they are then ready to assimilate the full and balanced fare of the Mahayana teachings (Mahaparinirvana Sutra).
Mahayana Buddhist schools de-emphasize the traditional Theravada ideal of the release from suffering and attainment of Awakening. In Mahayana, the Buddha is seen as an eternal, immutable, inconceivable, omnipresent Being. In addition, most Mahayana schools believe in a pantheon of quasi-divine Bodhisattvas that devote themselves to personal excellence, ultimate knowledge and the salvation of humanity and all other sentient beings (animals, ghosts, demigods etc.). Zen Buddhism is a school of Mahayana which often de-emphasizes the pantheon of Bodhisattvas and instead focuses on the meditative aspects of the religion. In Mahayana, the Buddha is seen as an idealized example, present in all times, in all beings and in all places, and the Bodhisattvas come to represent the universal ideal of altruistic excellence.
The fundamental principles of Mahayana doctrine were based around the possibility of universal liberation from suffering for all beings (hence "great vehicle") and the existence of Buddhas and Bodhisattva embodying transcendent Buddha-nature - the eternal Buddha essence present but hidden and unrecognised in all beings - who strive to achieve such a goal. Some Mahayana schools simplify the expression of faith for the common lay people, by allowing salvation to be alternatively obtained through the grace of the Buddha Amitabha by having faith and devoting oneself in chanting to Amitabha. This devotional lifestyle of Buddhism is most strongly emphasized by the Pure Land schools and has greatly contributed to the success of Mahayana in East Asia, where spiritual elements traditionally relied upon chanting of a buddha's name, of mantras or dharanis, reading of Mahayana sutras and mysticism.
There is a tendency in Mahayana sutras to regard the adherence to Mahayana sutras as generating spiritual benefits greater than those which arise from being a follower of the non-Mahayana approaches to Dharma. Thus in the Srimala Sutra it is asserted by the Buddha that devotion to Mahayana is inherently superior in its virtues to the following of the sravaka or pratyekabuddha path:
" ...just as the magnificence of the finest thorough-bred among cattle outshines the rest of the herd in height and weight and so on, so even to uphold the Saddharma [True Dharma] of the Mahayana, even a little, is greater and vaster than all the wholesome dharmas of the Shravaka and Pratyekabuddha yanas [vehicles]."
Mahayana Buddhism can in general be characterized by:
Universalism, in that everyone will become a buddha
Bodhicitta as the main focus of realization
Compassion through the transferral of merit;
Salvation - as opposed to liberation - supported by a rich cosmography, including celestial realms and powers, with a spectrum of bodhisattvas, both human and seemingly godlike, who can assist followers.
Transcendental immanence, in that the immortal Buddha Principle is present within all beings.
“Philosophical” Mahayana tends to focus on the first three characteristics (universalism, enlightened wisdom, compassion) and, in some schools, the Buddha-nature, without showing much interest in supernatural constructions, while “devotional” Mahayana focuses mainly on salvation towards other-worldly realms (see, for example, the Sukhavati sutras).
Universalism
Mahayana traditions generally consider that attainment of the level of an arhat is not final. This is based on a subtle doctrinal distinction between the Mahayana and the early Buddhist schools concerning the issues of nirvana-with-remainder and nirvana-without-remainder.
The early schools considered that nirvana-without-remainder always follows nirvana-with-remainder (buddhas first achieve enlightenment and then, at 'death', mahaparinirvana) and that nirvana-without-remainder is final; whereas the Mahayana traditions consider that nirvana-without-remainder is always followed by nirvana-with-remainder – the state of attainment of the Hinayana arhat is not final, and is eventually succeeded by the state of buddhahood, or total Awakening.
This distinction is most evident regarding doctrinal concerns about the capability of a buddha after nirvana (which is identified by the early schools as being nirvana-without-remainder). Most importantly, amongst the early schools, a samyaksambuddha is not able to directly point the way to nirvana after death. This is a major distinction between the early schools and the Mahayana, who conversely state that once a samyaksambuddha arises, he or she continues to directly and actively point the way to nirvana until there are no beings left in samsara. Because the views of early schools and Mahayana differ in this respect, this is exactly why the Mahayana do not talk about a bodhisattva postponing nirvana, and exactly why the early schools do.
For example, the early schools held that Maitreya will not attain nirvana while Gautama Buddha's teachings still exist. In contrast, some Mahayana schools hold that Maitreya will be the next buddha manifest in this world and will introduce the dharma when it no longer exists; he is not postponing his nirvana to do so, and when he dies (or enters mahaparinirvana), he will likewise continue to teach the dharma for all time. Moreover, some Mahayana schools argue that although it is true that for this world-system, Maitreya will be the next buddha to manifest, there are an infinite number of world-systems, many of which have currently active buddhas or buddhas-to-be manifesting.
So, based on the doctrinal distinctions between the early schools and the Mahayana concerning the meaning of nirvana-without-remainder, we see two distinct views concerning the path of the bodhisattva, with the early schools stating that bodhisattvas postpone their own nirvana, whereas the Mahayana schools state that bodhisattvas attempt to reach nirvana as soon as possible, just as sravakas do, but with the motive to continue to effortlessly benefit all beings for all time due to the distinction of views regarding the ability of a buddha after mahaparinirvana.
Because the Mahayana traditions assert that eventually everyone will achieve samyaksambuddhahood or total enlightenment, the Mahayana is labelled universalist, whereas because the Nikaya traditions assert that there are three routes to nirvana, which are distinct, they are considered not to be universalist.
Distinguishing features of Vajrayana
Vajrayana Buddhism claims to provide an accelerated path to enlightenment. This is achieved through use of tantra techniques, which are practical aids to spiritual development, and esoteric transmission (explained below). Whereas earlier schools might provide ways to achieve nirvana over the course of many lifetimes, Vajrayana techniques are said to make full enlightenment or buddhahood possible in a shorter time, perhaps in a single lifetime. Vajrayana Buddhists do not claim that Theravada or Mahayana practices are invalid; in fact, the teachings from those traditions are said to lay an essential foundational practice on which the Vajrayana practices may be built. While the Mahayana and Theravada paths are said to be paths to enlightenment in their own right, the teachings from each of those vehicles must be heeded for the Vajrayana to work. The Vajrayana path is considered to be a path within the Mahayana which employs special means or practices to "accelerate" the process of awakening. It should also be noted that the goal of the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions is to become a Buddha by following the bodhisattva path, whereas an alternative, and more common, goal for Theravada practice is 'simply' liberation from the cycle of rebirth (samsara) by achieving nirvana. In fact the distinction between these traditions is not always rigid: the tantra sections of editions of the Kangyur sometimes include material not usually thought of as tantric outside the Tibetan tradition, such as the Heart Sutra and even versions of material found in the Pali Canon.
Tantra techniques
According to the Vajrayana tradition, at certain times during sex, death, meditation and dreaming and at other liminal states, the bodymind is in a very subtle state which can be used by advanced practitioners to transform the mindstream. According to the Vajrayana tradition it is possible to attain enlightenment in a single lifetime by practicing certain techniques.
Guru yoga (or 'teacher practice') is a practice where the practitioner focuses on their guru as deity during meditation. The Guru or spiritual teacher is essential as a guide during tantra practice, without his example, blessings and help, genuine progress is said to be impossible. Many tantric texts contain phrases like "Guru is Buddha, Guru is Dharma and Guru is Sangha" to reflect his importance for the disciple.
Deity yoga (or 'deity practice') is the fundamental practice in Tantra in which meditators visualize themselves as the deity. The purpose of Deity yoga is to bring the meditator to the realization that the deity and oneself are in essence the same. It allows the meditator to release themselves from worldly attachments and to practice compassion and wisdom simultaneously. Together with images (statues, murals or thangkas) of the deities, mandalas are often used as visualization aids in Deity yoga. Mandalas are artwork that represent the deity and the deity’s palace. In the book, The World of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama describes them thus: “This is the celestial mansion, the pure residence of the deity.”
Death yoga (or 'death practice') is another important aspect of Tantra techniques. Although it is called Death yoga, most of the practice actually happens during life. It is the accumulation of meditative practice that helps to prepare the practitioner for what they need to do at the time of death. At the time of death the mind is in a state (clear light) that can open the mind to enlightenment, when used very skillfully. It is said that masters like Lama Tsong Khapa used these techniques to achieve enlightenment during the death process. Actually, there are three stages at which it is possible to do this; at the end of the death process, during the bardo (or 'inbetween period') and during the process of rebirth. During these stages, the mind is in a very subtle state, and an advanced practitioner can use these natural states to make significant progress on the spiritual path. The Tibetan Book of the Dead is an important commentary for this kind of traditional practice.
This Death yoga should not be confused with normal meditation on death, which is a common practice within Buddhist traditions. In most non-tantra traditions it is done to reduce attachment and desire, and not to use the death process itself as a means to practice.
Relationship with Mahayana
While tantra and esoterism distinguish Vajrayana Buddhism, it is, from the Tibetan Buddhist point of view, nonetheless primarily a form of Mahayana Buddhism. Sutras important to Mahayana are generally important to Vajrayana, although Vajrayana adds some of its own. The importance of bodhisattvas and a pantheon of deities in Mahayana carries over to Vajrayana, as well as the perspective that Buddhism and Buddhist spiritual practice are not intended just for ordained monks, but for the laity too.
The Japanese Vajrayana teacher Kūkai expressed a view contrary to this by making a clear distinction between Mahayana and Vajrayana. Kūkai characterises the Mahayana in its entirety as exoteric, and therefore provisional. From this point of view the esoteric Vajrayana is the only Buddhist teaching which is not a compromise with the limited nature of the audience to which it is directed, since the teachings are said to be the Dharmakaya (the principle of enlightenment) in the form of Mahavairocana, engaging in a monologue with himself. From this view the Hinayana and Mahayana are provisional and compromised aspects of the Vajrayana - rather than seeing the Vajrayana as primarily a form of Mahayana Buddhism.
Some aspects of Vajrayana have also filtered back into Mahayana. In particular, the Vajrayana fondness for powerful symbols may be found in weakened form in Mahayana temples where protector deities may be found glaring down at visitors.
The Vajrayana has a rich array of vows of conduct and behaviour which is based on the rules of the Pratimoksha and the Bodhisattva code of discipline. The Ornament for the Essence of Manjushrikirti states:
Distance yourself from Vajra Masters who are not keeping the three vows who keep on with a root downfall, who are miserly with the Dharma, and who engage in actions that should be forsaken.
Those who worship them go to hell and so on as a result.
This as well as other sources express the need to build the Vajrayana on the foundation of the Pratimoksha and Bodhisattva vows. Lay persons can follow the lay ordination. The Ngagpa Yogis from the Nyingma school keep a special lay ordination.
Besides this, there are also special tantric vows that need to be kept when practicing the highest levels of tantra, which can vary somewhat depending on the specific practice.
History of Vajrayana
There are differing views as to where Vajrayana began. Some believe it originated in Bengal, now divided between the Republic of India and Bangladesh, with others claiming it began in Uddiyana, located by some scholars in the modern day Swat Valley in Pakistan, or in South India. In the Tibetan tradition, it is claimed that the historical Shakyamuni Buddha taught tantra, but as these are 'secret' teachings outside the teacher/disciple relationship, they were written down generally long after the Buddha's other teachings, known as sutras.
The earliest texts appeared around the early 4th century. Nalanda University in northern India became a center for the development of Vajrayana theory, although it is likely that the university followed, rather than led, the early Tantric movement. India would continue as the source of leading-edge Vajrayana practices up through the 11th century.
(Vajrayana) Buddhism had mostly died out in India by the 13th century, its practices merging with Hinduism, and both tantric religions were experiencing pressure from invading Islamic armies. By that time, the vast majority of the practices were also made available in Tibet, where they were preserved until recently, although the Tibetan version of tantra differs from the original Indian form in many respects.
In the second half of the 20th century a sizable number of Tibetan exiles fled the oppressive, anti-religious rule of the Communist Chinese to establish Tibetan Buddhist communities in northern India, particularly around Dharamsala. They remain the primary practitioners of Tantric Buddhism in India and the entire world.
Jainism in India
Jainism, along with Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, is one of the four major Dharmic religions originating in India. Dating back to the first millennium BCE, the religion was well in place during the lifetime of its 24th tirthankar, Mahavira. Today, Jains are extremely well-represented in the major professions, despite comprising only 0.4% (around 4.2 million) of India's population. According to the 2001 Census of India, Jains have the highest literacy rate of any religious group—94.1%, in contrast to the national average of 64.8%.
Because Jainism is a Dharmic religion, it has significantly been influence by Hinduism. Principles such as moksha, nirvana, vegetarianism and others apply to the religion. Many Jains practice Hinduism; they believe in Moksha and practice bhakti on Hindu deities.
All Jains whether Hindu or not, carry Hindu names.
Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma, is one of the oldest religions and philosophies originating in ancient India. A minority in modern India, with growing immigrant communities in the United States, Western Europe, Africa, the Far East and elsewhere, Jains continue to sustain the ancient Shraman or ascetic tradition.
Jains have significantly influenced the religious, ethical, political and economic spheres in India for about three millennia. Jainism stresses spiritual independence and equality of all life with particular emphasis on non-violence. Self-control is vital for attaining Keval Gyan and eventually moksha, or realization of the soul's true nature.
The Jain Sangha, or community, has four components: monks, nuns (sadhvi), laymen, or Shravakas, and laywomen, (Shravikas). A Shravaka follows basic principles or "Niyam".
Perhaps the smallest, Jainism has survived and co-existed with the vedic religion. It is a religious system which does not recognize a Godhead, and which reveres liberated souls known as Siddhas. The followers of Jainism firmly reject the Vedas, but strongly adhere to dharma, moksha and nirvana. The concepts of karma, bhagwan, moksha, avtara, dharma, tattvas and devas, although occurring in both Hinduism and Jainism, are viewed by Jains as distinct in meaning and connotation between the two faiths.
Jains believe that Jainism is a religion predating the Vedas. According to their sacred texts, the Jain Agamas, the first Jain Tirthankar, Adinath (in the present "kaal"-see infra), was the father of human civilization who later developed the Vedic religions and other traditions. Further, Jain theology believes the universe to be self-sustaining and without any external entity as its benefactor. Thus, Jains do not believe in "God" as the creator of the Universe, or its sustainer or destroyer. Further, another very interesting facet is the Jain belief of time, according to which in each "Avsarpini" and "Utsarpini" "kaal" (Sanskrit for "time period") there is a "Chaubisi" (the set of 24 tirthankars). Thus, per the Jains' scriptures, the universe is much older than the present "Chaubisi" (with Lord Rishabh as the 1st, and Lord Mahaveer as the 24th); there have been infinite "Chaubisis" in previous times, and there would be infinite more, in times to come.
Jains believe all souls are equal because they all possess the potential of being liberated and attaining Moksha. Tirthankars are role models only because they have attained Moksha. Jains believe that every human is responsible for his/her actions and all living beings have an eternal soul, jīva. It insists that we live, think and act respectfully and honor the spiritual nature of all life. Jains view God as the unchanging traits of the pure soul of each living being, chiefly described as Infinite Knowledge, Perception, Consciousness, and Happiness (Ananta Jnana, Ananta Darshana, Ananta Caritra, and Ananta Sukha). Jains do not believe in an omnipotent supreme being, creator or manager (karta), but rather in an eternal universe governed by natural laws.
Jain scriptures were written over a long period of time, but the most cited is the Tattvartha Sutra, or Book of Reality written by the monk-scholar, Umasvati almost 1800 years ago. The primary figures are Tirthankaras. There are two main sects called Digambar and Svetambar, and both believe in ahimsa (or ahinsā), asceticism, karma, sanskar, and jiva.
Compassion for all life, human and non-human, is central to Jainism. Human life is valued as a unique, rare opportunity to reach enlightenment. To kill any person, no matter what crime they committed, is considered unimaginably abhorrent. It is the only religion that requires monks and laity, from all its sects and traditions, to be vegetarian. Some Indian regions have been strongly influenced by Jains and often the majority of the local non-Jain population has also become vegetarian. History suggests that various strains of Hinduism became vegetarian due to strong Jain influences. In many towns, Jains run animal shelters. For example, Delhi has a bird hospital run by Jains.
Jainism's stance on nonviolence goes much beyond vegetarianism. Jains refuse food obtained with unnecessary cruelty. Many are vegan due to the violence of modern dairy farms, and others exclude root vegetables from their diets in order to preserve the lives of the plants from which they eat. Potatoes, garlic and onions in particular are avoided by Jains. Devout Jains do not eat, drink, or travel after sunset.
Anekantavada, a foundation of Jain philosophy, literally means "The Multiplicity of Reality", or equivalently, "Non-one-endedness". Anekantavada consists of tools for overcoming inherent biases in any one perspective on any topic or in reality in general. Another tool is The Doctrine of Postulation, Syādvāda. Anekantavada is defined as a multiplicity of viewpoints, for it stresses looking at things from others' perspectives.
Jains are usually very welcoming and friendly toward other faiths and often help with interfaith functions. Several non-Jain temples in India are administered by Jains. A palpable presence in Indian culture, Jains have contributed to Indian philosophy, art, architecture, science, and to Mohandas Gandhi's politics, which led to the mainly non-violent movement for Indian independence.
Jain contributions to Indian culture
While Jains represent only 0.4% of the Indian population, their contributions to culture and society in India are considerable. Jains have wielded great influence on the culture and language of Karnataka and Southern India. Jainism has influenced Gujarat most significantly. The earliest known Gujarati text, Bharat-Bahubali Ras, was written by a Jain monk. Some of the most important people in Gujarat's Jain history were Acharya Hemacandra Suri and his pupil, the Calukya ruler Kumarapala.
Jains are both among the wealthiest of Indians and the most philanthropic. They run numerous schools, colleges and hospitals and are some of the most important patrons of the Somapuras, the traditional temple architects in Gujarat. Jains have greatly influenced Gujarati cuisine. Gujarat is predominantly vegetarian, and its food has a mild aroma as onions and garlic are omitted.
Jains encourage their monks to do research and obtain higher education. Jain monks and nuns, particularly in Rajasthan, have published numerous research monographs. This is unique among Indian religious groups and parallels Christian clergy. The 2001 census states that Jains are India's most literate community and that India's oldest libraries at Patan and Jaisalmer are preserved by Jain institutions.
Other Religions in India
Judaism
Trade contacts between the Mediterranean region and the west coast of India probably led to the presence of small Jewish settlements in India as long ago as the early first millennium B.C. In Kerala a community of Jews tracing its origin to the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 has remained associated with the cities of Kodungallur (formerly known as Cranganore) and Kochi (formerly known as Cochin) for at least 1,000 years. The Paradesi Synagogue in Kochi, rebuilt in 1568, is in the architectural style of Kerala but preserves the ritual style of the Sephardic rite, with Babylonian and Yemenite influence as well. The Jews of Kochi, concentrated mostly in the old "Jew Town," were completely integrated into local culture, speaking Malayalam and taking local names while preserving their knowledge of Hebrew and contacts with Southwest Asia. A separate community of Jews, called the Bene Israel, had lived along the Konkan Coast in and around Bombay, Pune, and Ahmadabad for almost 2,000 years. Unlike the Kochi Jews, they became a village-based society and maintained little contact with other Jewish communities. They always remained within the Orthodox Jewish fold, practising the Sephardi rite without rabbis, with the synagogue as the centre of religious and cultural life. Following trade routes established by the expansion of the British Empire, a third group of Jews, the Baghdadi Jews immigrated to India, settling primarily in Bombay and Calcutta. Many of the Baghdadi traders became wealthy and participated prominently in the economic leadership of these growing cities. As a result of religious pressure elsewhere, including the forced conversions of Mashhad (see Muslim Jew), their numbers were increased by religious refugees. The Baghdadis came mostly from the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and Afghanistan.
The population of the Kochi Jews, always small, had decreased from 5,000 in 1951 to about fifty in the early 1990s. During the same period, the Bene Israel decreased from about 20,000 to 5,000, while the Baghdadi Jews declined from 5,000 to 250. Emigration to Australia, Israel, the United Kingdom, and North America accounts for most of this decline. According to the 1981 Indian census, there were 5,618 Jews in India, down from 5,825 in 1971. The 1991 census showed a further decline to 5,271, most of whom lived in Maharashtra and Kerala.
The Knanaya and Nasrani Christian groups also have strong historical ties to Judaism.
Ayyavazhi
Ayyavazhi is a religion which originated in south India in the 19th century. Officially, in India, it is considered a sect within Hinduism, and its followers are counted as Hindus in the census. Ayyavazhi is also viewed as a Hindu Renaissance. Ayyavazhi has transformed itself into a distinctive and recognizable religion, having made its presence felt in southern India starting in the mid 1830s. Ayyavazhi served initially also as a reformatory system in the society of Travancore, which was noted, unlike any other part of India, for the rule of caste order. It has more than 8000 worship centers throughout India, mostly in the southern parts of Tamil Nadu and south Kerala.
Although it shares ideas with Hinduism, the Ayyavazhi scriptures reformulate them into versions distinct from Hinduism. The religion has separate mythology, theology, holy places, worship centers and religious headquarters.
Followers of Ayyavazhi differ from other Hindus in that they recognize a Satan-like figure, Kroni, who is the primordial manifestation of evil and who manifests in various forms, (for example, Ravana and Duryodhana) in different ages or yugas. God, as Vishnu, becomes incarnate in his avatars, including Rama, Krishna and eventually Ayya Vaikundar, to destroy the foremost evil.
Kali, the evil spirit of Kali Yuga, is said to be omnipresent in this age and this is one of the reasons why the followers of Ayyavazhi, like other Hindus, believe that the current yuga, Kali Yuga, is decadent. This evil spirit is been destroyed by Vaikundar and transform the world to Dharma Yukam the 'world of rightiousness.
Charity is Ayyavazhi's primary mission and Anna Dharmam (offerings of food) can be seen in Ayyavazhi centres of worship at least once a month.
Beliefs
Followers of Ayyavazhi believe in reincarnation and the following Dharma Yukam, which is the eighth, final, yukam in which Ayya Vaikundar will rule the world with the Santror. However, they condemn the Indian caste system. They also reject the use of standard Hindu murti in worship. However, as a point of focus, a non-anthropomorphic symbol had been introduced to be used as a point of devotional and meditational focus. This symbol, the Elunetru, which is placed in the Palliyarai, is considered a seat of God rather than God himself. The same is true of the Elunetru's alternative name, Asanam, which means "seat." Behind this asana, a mirror is installed to reflect the worshipper which implies, "God is yourself (or) God is within you”, revealing an idea on God similar to Advaita theology.
Teachings and Impact
While the majority of Ayyavazhi's key teachings can be found in the book Akilattirattu Ammanai, some other teachings are collected from various books which are believed to be written by the disciples composed in Arul Nool. As Dharma the other teachings of Ayyavazhi too proceeds in two ways, one in sociological and other in mystical. While social teachings are highly implemented in breaking out inequalities and discriminations in society, the mystical teachings are devoted for revealing supreme knowledge unbounded to space and time. The teachings also drive out fearsome aspects of people towards god and feed them to maintain a close relationship with God. By teaching to refer God as Ayya, (dear father) their intimacy and affection to towards God is strengthened.
Ayyavazhi on its social teachings clearly and explicitly condemns the caste system. It also served from its beginning as an institution for social reform, particularly in the area of Travancore. Travancore was noted for its unusually strong caste system culture.There, in addition to the untouchables which is to be found throughout India, they also had groups of people who were regarded as the "unapproachable" and "unseeable". In this social contest, the intermingling of the castes brought about in Ayyavazhi centres was one of the vital elements in the transformation of that society.
The three Kumbas mounted above the roof of the Sanctum sanctorium of Swamithope pathi, symbolizing the existence of Trinity within Narayana who incarnated as Vaikundar.
Ayyavazhi beliefs are closely related to those of Smartism and Advaita Vedanta, especially in the beliefs related to Trimurthi. Hence, Ayyavazhi's followers believe that Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva are different aspects of the same God.[60] While some claim that the beliefs of Akilattirattu are related to Dvaita and Vishishtadvaita, Ayyavazhi endorses the concept of Ultimate Oneness.
Ayyavazhi mystics highly focus on supreme oneness. In the midst of all variations the theology always maintains this oneness sharply. And the teachings goes that, the evil of Kali is the one which blocks that ultimate or supreme oneness prevailing between individual souls and the universe, and gives an individuality and extreme pride to each souls and make them departing from the quality of the supreme oneness and motivating against it. The 'over-soul' or the supreme soul, Ekam is termed as the whole existence with change less nature, which is viewed by individual souls as, 'one which undergoes different changes with respect to 'space and time' because of the evil force, maya influencing them.
All creations are evolved from this Ekam, the supreme consciousness. So all the qualities of Ekam are within each souls, which evolved from it. So individual souls are related to Ekam, the universal consciousness. It also says that every souls as reflections or mirrors of this supreme and absolute, Ekam. This is the spiritual meaning of the mirror worship in Ayyavazhi. So far human and all other souls are restricted to the limits of the evil Kali, individual souls are not eligible to attain the supreme bliss and so this souls are considered secondary to Ekam the supreme soul. Once a soul overcome the influence of maya it gets unified with Ekam. Its individuality is no more and thereby it's Ekam. On the other hand this supreme consciousness is termed as Paramatma (over-soul). By this personification, God is the taught to be the 'Husband' while all other souls are his consorts. The Thirukkalyana Ekanai in Akilam fifteen symbolises this clearly as if God (Ekam) is marrying or unifying into himself the individual souls.
Also, the philosophy applies a common formula for the creationism of human beings and the rest of the universe, so whatever exists externally to human beings exists also internally.
Ayyavazhi theology
The theology of Ayyavazhi differs from other monistic religions. It speaks of Ekam, the ultimate Oneness from which all that which exists formed. It also speaks of an oneness that exists behind all differences. The Ekam itself is remaining unaffected by maya deep inside every changeable matters as an absolute constant. So as per the theology, God is, in the highest sense, one, formless, infinite, genderless, beyond Time and space etc. Also, it's notable that the term Ekam in Tamil gives simply the meaning, "one and the incomparable supreme". This is some sort of monistic definition about god from Ayyavazhi theology.
Narrating through mythology, Sivam and Sakthi evolved from Ekam. The Natham(voice), Trimurthi, other lesser gods and all the universe further evolved. Siva is considered to be the supreme power till Kali Yuga. For a series of reasons, Vishnu is considered to be the supreme from the advent of Kali Yuga. Then from the incarnation of Vaikundar, again the powers of all god-heads, including Vishnu is transformed to Vaikundar. Also Ekam, the supreme power take a place within Vaikundar and hence for the present age, Vaikundar is said to be the only worshippable and supreme power. But on the other hand this supreme oneness (Ekam) itself is said to be created by Vaikundar, who is a personified universal power. Regarding this, Ayyavazhi is more monotheistic than a monistic. But no other god-heads, even the Father of Vaikundar, Narayana hasn't gained an equal or greater status than Ekam.
In Ayyavazhi mythology, Kroni was personified as a devil, and was fragmented into six and was finally destroyed by a final judgement which is followed by the god-ruled Dharma Yukam. This narration gives some dualistic dimension to Ayyavazhi theology. But since the teachings of Arul Nool and since the final fragment of Kroni is said as 'Kalimayai' (the evil spirit) it was commonly accepted that the destruction of Maya is symbolised in such a way, which contrast the dualistic view on Ayyavazhi. Apart from all these, there are also separate quotes in Ayyavazhi scriptures which give pantheistic and panentheistic definition to Ayyavazhi theology.
Rituals
In addition to the philosophical concepts and mythology, the rituals of Ayyavazhi evolved in their own way. Most of the rituals have both different operational and historical meanings. Historically, the rituals were used or viewed as an attempt break the case based inequalities prevailed in the then society and to strengthen and uplift the sociologically downtrodden and ill-treated. Examples of this include the physical as well as spiritual cleanliness through Thuvayal Thavasu, eliminating untouchability through Thottunamam, self-respect and courage through headgear, and unifying various castes through Muthirikkinaru. But they reveal on the other hand, high philosophical ideas preached in a ritual language.
The Muthirikkinaru and Thirunamam is treated religiously as if the 'Patham and Namam' of it has the power to heal all sorts of mental as well as physical illness. Thuvayal thavasu is suggested to be followed as a training to reach the ultimate aim of Dharma Yukam. The usage of head-gear as the crown to reveal that 'all are kings', visualising some sort of ideology similar to advaita. Also Ayyavazhi scriptures succeeded very much in making understand this commonly insensible things (Philosophical ideas) to the common mass. The individual rituals and symbols, the unique features of worship, the ecstatic mode of religiosity, and the ritual healing - all these elements of the ritual corpus of Ayyavazhi contributed to the formation of an emancipatory ideation and a social discourse. It attempts to uplift and treat the disenfranchised.
Another important thing to be noted is the alternative phrases religiously used in Ayyavazhi universe different from Hinduism to represent certain practices.
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya is a relatively small messianic movement founded in 1899 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. The majority of Ahmadis live in northern India, although many are found in New Delhi, Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh. There are approximately one million Ahmadis in India. The Ahmadiyya's identify themselves as Muslims and there has been a court decision in which this was upheld.
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism was founded by the Magi known as Zoroaster. His religion was popular on the Greater Iran.
Subsequent to the fall of the Persian Empire, after which Zoroastrianism was gradually supplanted by Islam, many Zoroastrians fled to other regions in the hope of preserving their religious tradition. Among them were several groups who migrated to Gujarat, on the western shores of the Indian subcontinent, where they finally settled. The descendants of those refugees are today known as the Parsis.
In contrast to their co-religionists elsewhere, in India the Zoroastrians enjoyed tolerance and even admiration from other religious communities. From the 19th century onward, the Parsis gained a reputation for their education and widespread influence in all aspects of society, partly due to the divisive strategy of British colonialism which favored certain minorities. As such, Parsis are generally more affluent than other Indians and are stereotypically viewed as among the most Anglicised and "Westernised" of Indian minority groups. They have also played an instrumental role in the economic development of the country over many decades; several of the best-known business conglomerates of India are run by Parsi-Zoroastrians, including the Tata, Godrej, and Wadia families.
As of the census of 2001, the Parsis represent approximately 0.06% of the total population of India, with a concentration in and around the city of Mumbai (previously known as Bombay).
Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra, Zartosht). Mazdaism is the religion that acknowledges the divine authority of Ahura Mazda, proclaimed by Zoroaster to be the one uncreated Creator of all (God).
As demonstrated by Zoroastrian creed and articles of faith, the two terms are effectively synonymous. In a declaration of the creed — the Fravarānē — the adherent states: "…I profess myself a devotee of Mazda, a follower of Zarathustra."
Some scholars have suggested that Zoroastrianism was where the first prophet of a monotheistic faith arose, claiming Zoroastrianism as being "the oldest of the revealed credal religions, which has probably had more influence on mankind directly or indirectly, more than any other faith".
Zoroastrianism was once the dominant religion of much of Greater Iran. As of 2007 the faith has dwindled to small numbers; some sources suggest that it is practiced by fewer than 200,000 worldwide with its largest centers in India and Iran.
Basic beliefs
There is one universal and transcendental God, Ahura Mazda, the one uncreated Creator and to whom all worship is ultimately directed.
Ahura Mazda's creation - evident as asha, truth and order - is the antithesis of chaos, evident as drug, falsehood and disorder. The resulting conflict involves the entire universe, including humanity, which has an active role to play in the conflict.
Active participation in life through good thoughts, good words and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep the chaos at bay. This active participation is a central element in Zoroaster's concept of free will, and Zoroastrianism rejects all forms of monasticism.
Ahura Mazda will ultimately prevail, at which point the universe will undergo a cosmic renovation and time will end. In the final renovation, all of creation - even the souls of the dead that were initially banished to "darkness" - will be (re)united in God.
In Zoroastrian tradition, the malevolent is represented by Angra Mainyu, the "Destructive Principle", while the benevolent is represented through Ahura Mazda's Spenta Mainyu, the instrument or "Bounteous Principle" of the act of creation. It is through Spenta Mainyu that Ahura Mazda is eminent in humankind, and through which the Creator interacts with the world. According to Zoroastrian cosmology, in articulating the Ahuna Vairya formula, Ahura Mazda made his ultimate triumph evident to Angra Mainyu.
As expressions and aspects of Creation, Ahura Mazda emanated seven "sparks", the Amesha Spentas, "Bounteous Immortals" that are each the hypostasis and representative of one aspect of that Creation.
Bahá'í Faith
About 2.2 million people in India follow the Bahá'í Faith. They are the largest community of Bahá'ís in the world. The Lotus Temple in New Delhi is one of the main symbols of the Bahá'í Faith in India. Bahá'ís are spread all over India and have recently increased in number. The Bahai see the icons of all religions whether they be Krishna or Mohammed, as the avatar or incarnation of God.
Rituals
A puja performed on the banks of the overflowing Shipra River in Ujjain during the summer monsoon.
The vast majority of Indians engage in religious rituals on a daily basis. Most Hindus observe religious rituals at home. However, observation of rituals greatly vary among regions, villages, and individuals. Devout Hindus perform daily chores such as worshiping at the dawn after bathing (usually at a family shrine, and typically includes lighting a lamp and offering foodstuffs before the images of deities), recitation from religious scripts, singing hymns in praise of gods etc. A notable feature in religious ritual is the division between purity and pollution. Religious acts presuppose some degree of impurity or defilement for the practitioner, which must be overcome or neutralised before or during ritual procedures. Purification, usually with water, is thus a typical feature of most religious action. Other characteristics include a belief in the efficacy of sacrifice and concept of merit, gained through the performance of charity or good works, that will accumulate over time and reduce sufferings in the next world. Devout Muslims offer five daily prayers at specific times of the day, indicated by adhan (call to prayer) from the local mosques. Before offering prayers, they must ritually clean themselves by performing wudu, which involves washing parts of the body that are generally exposed to dirt or dust. A recent study by the Sachar Committee found that 3-4% of Muslim children study in madrasas (Islamic schools).
Dietary habits are significantly influenced by religion. Almost one-third of Indians practise vegetarianism; it came to prominence during the rule of Ashoka, a promoter of Buddhism. Vegetarianism is much less common among Muslim and Christians. Jainism requires monks and laity, from all its sects and traditions, to be vegetarian. Hinduism bars beef consumption, while Islam bars pork.
Ceremonies
A Hindu marriage.
Occasions like birth, marriage, and death involve what are often elaborate sets of religious customs. In Hinduism, major life-cycle rituals include annaprashan (a baby's first intake of solid food), upanayanam ("sacred thread ceremony" undergone by upper-caste youths), and shraadh (paying homage to a deceased individual). For most people in India, the betrothal of the young couple and the exact date and time of the wedding are matters decided by the parents in consultation with astrologers.
Muslims practice a series of life-cycle rituals that differ from those of Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists. Several rituals mark the first days of life—including whispering call to prayer, first bath, and shaving of the head. Religious instruction begins early. Male circumcision usually takes place after birth; in some families, it may be delayed until after the onset of puberty. Marriage requires a payment by the husband to the wife and the solemnisation of a marital contract in a social gathering. On the third day after burial of the dead, friends and relatives gather to console the bereaved, read and recite the Quran, and pray for the soul of the deceased. Indian Islam is distinguished by the emphasis it places on shrines commemorating great Sufi saints.
Pilgrimages
India hosts numerous pilgrimage sites belonging to many religions. Hindus worldwide recognise several Indian holy cities, including Allahabad, Haridwar, Varanasi, and Vrindavan. Notable temple cities include Puri, which hosts a major Vaishnava Jagannath temple and Rath Yatra celebration; Tirumala - Tirupati, home to the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple; and Katra, home to the Vaishno Devi temple. The Himalayan towns of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri compose the Char Dham (four abodes) pilgrimage circuit. The Kumbh Mela (the "pitcher festival") is one of the holiest of Hindu pilgrimages that is held every four years; the location is rotated among Allahabad, Haridwar, Nashik, and Ujjain.
Among the Eight Great Places of Buddhism, seven are in India. Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar are the places where important events in the life of Gautama Buddha took place. Sanchi hosts a Buddhist stupa erected by the emperor Ashoka. Several Tibetan Buddhist sites in the Himalayan foothills of India have been built, such as Rumtek Monastery and Dharamsala. For Muslims, the Dargah Shareef of Khwaza Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer is a major pilgrimage site. Other Islamic pilgrimages include those to the Tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti in Fatehpur Sikri, Jama Masjid in Delhi, and to Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai. Dilwara Temples in Mount Abu, Palitana, Pavapuri, Girnar and Shravanabelagola are notable pilgrimage sites (tirtha) in Jainism.
The Golden Temple in Amritsar is the most sacred shrine of Sikhism, while the Thalaimaippathi at Swamithope is the leading pilgrim center for Ayyavazhi's. Lotus Temple in Delhi is a prominent house of worship of the Bahá'í faith.
Festivals
Diwali, celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains, symbolises the triumph of good over evil.
Religious festivals are widely observed and hold great importance for Indians. In keeping with India's secular governance, no religious festival has been accorded the status of a national holiday. Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Durga puja, Ugadi, Dussehra, and Sankranthi/Pongal are the most popular Hindu festivals in India. Among Muslims, the Islamic Eid festivals of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha are the most celebrated. Christmas, Buddha Jayanti, and Guru Nanak's Birthday are key holidays among the remaining religious groups. A number of festivals are common to most parts of India, and many states and regions have local festivals depending on prevalent religious and linguistic demographics. For example, fairs and festivities associated with specific temples or Dargahs associated with Sufi masters are common.
Muharram is a unique festival in the sense that it is not celebrated; it is a mournful commemoration of the death of Muhammad's grandson Imam Husain in 680 CE. A taziya, which is a bamboo replica of Husain's tomb, is paraded through the city. Muharram is observed with great passion in Lucknow, the centre of Indian Shia Islam.
Refuge from Religious Persecution
India, with its traditional tolerance, has served as a refuge for groups that have encountered persecution elsewhere.
Parsi: The Zoroastrians from Iran arrived in India fleeing from religious persecution in their native Iran in the 9th century. They flourished in India and in 18-19th centuries intervened on behalf of their co-religionists in still in Iran. They have produced India's pioneering industrialist house of Tatas and one of the only two Indian Field Marshals in S. F. Manekshaw.
Jews: Jews in India were granted lands and trading rights and lived unmolested unlike almost everyother country in the world.
Tibetan Buddhists: India is now home to the Dalai Lama, the revered head of the Vajrayana Buddhism of Tibet.
Religious Disturbances and conflicts in India
Incidents of religious intolerance, conflicts and riots have occurred at several points in time.
Islamic invaders such as Mahmud of Ghazni committed iconoclasm and genocide of Hindus.
Various rulers of the Mughal era (such as Aurangzeb) are regarded as perpetrators of religious intolerance towards Hindus through acts such as imposition of jizya.
The Goa Inquisition perpetrated by Christians was an incidence of massive genocides on the Hindu, Muslim and Jewish populations of Goa by Christian Missionaries.
The Jews of Kerala were nearly exterminated by the Portuguese in the 16th century.
The National Liberation Front of Tripura, an organization (presently almost disbanded), regarded as a Christian/Nationalist terrorist group operating in Northeastern India, have committed mass-murders on the Hindu population of the region.
The Ghanchi Muslims of Gujarat have frequently carried out pogroms against Hindus, most notably the Sindhi riots in the 1960s and the Godhra Train Burning in 2002.
The murder of Indira Gandhi had triggered a riot against the Sikhs, often regarded as a Congress Party and its then leader Rajiv Gandhi supported pogrom.
The BJP government of Gujarat siding against the Muslims during recent riots against Muslims in Gujarat, triggered by the event above and of not assisting in persecution of the guilty.
Hindus in Kashmir have frequently been murdered and ethnically cleansed from the region by Islamic extremists.
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