What is Hinduism?
Hinduism is a religion of the Indian subcontinent of India, with 80.5% of the population identifying themselves as Hindu.
The vast majority of Hindus in India belong to Vaishnavite and Shaivite denominations.
The Vedic culture originated in India between 2000 and 1500 BC. As a consequence, Hinduism, considered to be the successor of Vedic religion, has had a profound impact on India's history, culture and philosophy.
The name India itself is derived from Greek Ἰνδία for Indus, which is derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River.
Another popular alternative name of India is Hindustān, meaning the "land of Hindus"
The 1947 Partition of India gave rise to bloody rioting and indiscriminate killing of Hindus and Muslims. Around 7.5 million Muslims left for Pakistan and 7.2 million Hindus left for India. This was a major factor in fueling Hindu-Muslim animosity. What followed over the years was the laying of secular principles in the Indian Constitution. The last 60 years have been relatively peaceful in most parts of the country except with the notable exception of communal riots in 1992 and 2002.
The Gujurat Riots Happened because a Train Carrying Sangh parivar Activists was Torched.
More than 50 people were burnt alive. This Event triggered a ripple effect resulting in Gujurat Riots.
The Hindus are Largely Regarded as Secular people. The Constitution of India, in fact, does not distinguish between a Hindu, Muslim or a Christian.
Cristian Missionary Groups from the West Seek to Convert a Large Populace to Christianity and thus Have been at Logger Heads With Right Wing Hindu Groups. There have been Instances where this Conflict has led to Places of Worship being torched.
Kerala, Andhra, and the North East are some of the Regions where Conversion is prevalent.However,even with conversion on,the Hindus still form the majority community in every region of the country, except the Valley of Kashmir, Punjab and three states in the North-East - namely Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya. However,when considered as a region the North-East still has a Hindu majority thought not by much.
There is even reason to believe that Hinduism is growing through the incorporation of tribal belief-systems in specific areas of the North-East. However, in the Kashmir valley the Hindu population has plummeted as an outcome of the terrorism unleashed by Pakistan backed militants.
The General View of these Groups is that "A Person is Free to Follow any religion he chooses, however loopholes in the constitution has resulted in Religious Propaganda being enforced on the Hindus" .
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