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CHRISTIANITY :
India has within itself embraced the religion of christanity. India has around 22 million Christians. There have been Christian communities in Kerala since the coming of Christianity to Europe (St. Thomas the Apostle is said to have arrived here in 54 AD). The Portuguese and the English left large Christian communities in the states of Goa, Mizoram, Nagaland and Kerala. The total number of converts though, is not very high considering the country's population. Initially, it was the ruling classes who converted to Christianity followed, in the later years by the lower castes. Indians celebrate both 'Good Friday' as well as Christmas Day.

BUDDHISM :
Buddhism was founded in Northern India in about 500 BC when Siddhartha Gautama, a prince, achieved enlightenment. Buddhists believe that attainment of enlightenment is the goal of every being. Buddha taught that suffering comes from sensual desires and the illusion that they are important. To overcome these delusions one must endure a path of a series of rebirths until no more rebirths are necessary. This path is 'Karma' where your actions in one life determine your next life.

JAINISM :
Around 500 BC came a religion resembling Buddhism- which is know as Jainism. It was founded by Mahavira, the 24th and last of the Jain prophets. The religion originally evolved as a reformist movement against the dominance of priests and the complicated rituals of Brahminism. According to Jainism, 'moksha' or spiritual salvation can be attained through following the path of the 'tirthankars' especially the path of 'ahimsa' or non-violence. This belief is so strong that some monks actually cover their mouths with a piece of cloth in order to avoid the risk of accidentally swallowing an insect.

SIKHISM :
The Sikhs in India number 18 million and predominate in the Punjab, although they are found all over India. The Sikh religion was founded by Guru Nanak. It was originally created to blend the best of Hindu and Islamic religions. It's basic tenets are those of Hinduism though it opposes the caste system. Sikhs worship at temples known as 'Gurdwaras' where they regularly read their holy book called the 'Guru Granth Sahib'. Sikhs believe in one God and are opposed to idol worship. As a religious requisite, they are not allowed to cut their hair which they usually wear in a turban.

ZOROASTRIANISM :
Founded in Persia by the prophet 'Zarathustra' (Zoroaster), it dates back to the 6th or 7th century BC. The followers of Zoroastrianism are known as 'Parsis' because they originally fled to India to escape persecution in Persia. Zoroastrianism was one of the first religions to postulate an omnipotent and invisible god. Their scripture is the 'Zend-Avesta', which describes the continual conflict between the forces of good and evil. The Parsis worship in fire temples where flames burn eternally as a symbol of their God. To ensure purity of the elements, they will not cremate or bury their dead and instead leave the bodies in 'Towers of Silence' where they are soon cleaned off by vultures.

The Ancient Indian Culture :
From 8000 BC, the Mesolithic age began and continued upto 4000 BC in India. During this time, sharp and pointed tools were used for killing fast-moving animals. The beginning of plant cultivation also appeared. Chotanagpur plateau, central India and south of the river Krishna are some of the various Mesolithic sites. Neolithic (New Stone Age) settlements in the Indian sub-continent are not older than 4000 BC. Man began to domesticate animals and cultivate plants, settling down in villages to form farming communities. The wheel was an important discovery.

Cave Paintings :
The earliest traces of human existence in India, so far discovered, go back to the period between 400,000 and 200,000 BC. This is suggested by the large number of primitive stone tools found in the Soan Valley and South India. Primitive man in the Palaeolithic (Stone) Age, which lasted till 8000 BC, used tools and implements of rough stone. Man was essentially a food gatherer and depended on nature for food. He learnt to control fire, which helped him to improve his way of living. At the end of this age, the modern human being (Homo Sapiens) first appeared - around 36,000 BC.

Towards the end of the Neolithic period, metals like bronze and copper began to be used. This was the Chalcolithic phase (1800 BC to 1000 BC). Chalcolithic cultures extended from the Chotanagpur plateau to the upper Gangetic basin. Some of the sites of this era are Brahmgiri (near Mysore) and Navada Toli on the Narmada.

Around the beginning of the third millennium BC, a culture appeared to the south-east of Baluchistan, which evolved into what is now known as the Indus Valley or Harappan civilization. The break-up of the Gurjara-Pratihara empire led to a phase of political uncertainty in north India. As a result, little attention was paid to the emergence of the aggressive and expansionist Turks