Religions of India

T.N. MADAN

Introductory Remarks, Distributional Patterns

rf the term 'religion' may be used to refer to particular aspects of India's cultural traditions,
the country can be said to have long been the home of all religions that today have a
worldwide presence. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism--the so-called Indic
religions-were born here. Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and the Bahai faith
arrived here from abroad at different points of time during the last two millennia.
The plurality of religions in India is often obscured by the fact that Hinduism is generally
regarded as both the demographically dominant and the culturally characteristic-even
hegemonic-religion of the country not only in popular imagination but also by official
reckoning- -four out of five Indians are Hindus, and they inhabit the length and breadth of
the land. From the cultural perspective, anthropologists and sociologists have provided details
of the many components of culture and aspects of social structure of the so-called non-Hindu
communities that have either been borrowed from the Hindus, or are survivals from their pre
conversion Hindu past, with or without significant alterations.
The foregoing popular view of the cultural scene in India, buttressed by official statistics,
needs to be qualified in several respects. Unlike the other religions of India, Hinduism is a
federation of faiths which has a horizontal as well as vertical distribution, rather than a single
homogeneous religion. Not only do the religious beliefs and practices of Hindus vary from
one cultural region of the country to another (say, between Bengal and Maharashtra), Hindu
castes in cach arca are also characterized by similar differences. We will go into the details of
such internal plurality among the Hindus in section Ii below.
Suffice it to note here, first, that Hinduism has a long and eventful history which has
resulted in much internal diversity, and second, that there are communities today which are
considered Hinduby othersbut which themselves no longer concur in this judgement. Most
notably, the Scheduled Castes of official literature, including the Constitution of the Republic,
who have traditionally comprised the bottom rungs of the caste hierarchy, and were called
Harijan ('the Children of God') by Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), are today by self-description
the Dalit (the Oppressed'). If their claim that they are not Hindu is accepted, the proportion
of Hindus in the total population will come down significantly, from four-fifths to two-thirds.
Further, clarification regarding the use of the term 'religion' in the Indian context,
anticipated at the very beginning of this chapter, may now be offered. Whether we have the
 204 HANDBOOK OF INDIAN SOCIOLOGY

origin, notably Islam, religion in

Indic taths in mind, or the major religions of non-Indian cconomic or
that stands wholly apart from thetemptation
nala is hot a discretc clement of cvervday life amount to yicldingto the of
would
political concerns of the people. To asseme so
is not distinguished fromthe secular, but
former
words. Thc point is not that the religious domain whenthe
thc religious, even words, religion
rather that the secular is regarded as being encompassed by hierarchical. In other
Is apparently inimical to the latter. The relationship isvirtually all aspects of life, notthrough
inthe Indian cultural setting traditionally permeates (sce
Radhakrishnan 1927).
perspective
mechanical diffusion, but in an integrated, holistic divinity The mnonotheism characteristic
Asecond clarification concerns the conception of Islam than in
uncompromisingly in Judaismandand Jainism), or
of the Abrahamic religions (much more the case of Buddhism
in
Christianity) is either absent in the Indic religions abstract notion of 'Essence' or Being' as the
(as
we find in its place other conceptions, notably Vedantic an Puranic
Hinduism), or polytheism(as in
source of all that truly exists (the Brahman of Hinduism (see section Il
below).
Hinduism), or the exuberant 'spiritism' of folk in the eyes of the
Jainism, which was a major scandal
The non-theism of Buddhism and scholar of
thousand years ago, persuaded a modern European faith, to
Vedie metaphysicians two Durkheim (1858-1917). himself born into the Jewish
comparative religion, Emile
essential element in the constitution (or recognition) of
abandon belicf in the divinity as an the conception
things
of 'sacred things', that is, 'moral
focused on
religionanywhere. Instead he significantly to the constitution of
society as a
that contribute but
Set apart or forbidden'
sacredness is itself problematic in several respects however,
community'. The notion of
(see Durkheim 1995). most
we will not go into this issue here of clarification, that the notion and word
by way
Finally, it may be noted here namely, the Sanskrit dharma (from
the root
synonym for religion, upholding,
wIdely used in India as a denotes the ideas of maintenance, sustenance or being with
dhr)or its Pali equivalent dharma, human
moral virtue, rather than the dependent bonding of the
steadfastness and
by the term religion, which is of Latin derivation (religio,
supernatural powers conveyed of self-sustaining cosmo-moral order is found
in all
While a conception
obligation, bond).
of nuance notwithstanding-Islam literally stands for
Indic religions subtle differences is
of God, conveyed through his Word as recorded in the Quran, which
submission to the Will below). Incidentally, religio also
to be read repeatedly as an essential act of piety (see section l
denotes reverence.
foregoing observations in mind, we will now use the word religion in this
Keeping the
Let us begin with the demographic
chapter without further elucidation or qualification. Hindus (including most of the Scheduled
picture (onthe basis of the 1991census figures). The population) number 688 million, constituting
Castes,who account for 16.48 per cent of the total
million. (The population in India has crossed
82 per cent of the total population of about 839 the same as in 1991.) Next to the
1billion, but the religion-wise proportions are believed to be the Christians (20
Hindus are the 102 million Muslims (12 per cent), and they are followed by Jains
million, 2.32 per cent) and the Sikhs (16 million, 1.99 per cent). Buddhists (0.77 per cent),
population.
(0.41 per cent) and others account for the remaining nearly 2 per cent of the
Among the 'others' mention may be made of those tribal peoples who adhere to their own
traditional faiths-which used to be grouped together arbitrarily as animism under colonial
rule-and of the Zoroastrians and the Jews. The total population of the Scheduled Tribes is
about 68 million, or 8per cent of the total population. Although their religion-wise distribution
is not available, it is generally known that most of them either follow Hinduism of the folk
 REIOUS ANO CUL TURA LANngcAPES 205

hustuans; onlv a mmoity adhcre to ther ancestral faiths. As for the Zoroastrians
the lews, they are Counted n mcre thousands: both are threatened by delin1ng birth rates
and assimlatton among othe rel1gious communities through intermarriagc.
teanewsc distribution of the relig1ous communitics provides a picture of regional dispersal
nation. The Hindus, spread over virtually the cntire countr, outnumber all the others
nthe states of 1Himachal Pradesh (96 per cent), Orissa (95 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (9 per
wnt), Andhra Pradesh (89 per cent), Gujarat (89 per cent), Haryana (89 per cent), Rajasthan
cent), Tanil Nadu (89 per cent), Pondicherry (86 per cent), Tripura (86 per cent),
Aarnataka 8$ per cent), Delhi (84 per cent), Bihar (82 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (82 per cent),
waharashtra (81 per cent), West Bengal (75 per cent), Sikkim (68 per cent), Assam (67 per
cent), G0a, Daman & Diu (65 per cent), Manipur (58 per cent), and Kerala (57 per cent).
imilarly, Hindus outnumber all the others in the union territories of Dadra && Nagar Haveli
9s per cent) Chandigarh (76 per cent), and the Andaman && Nicobar Islands (68 per cent).
They are the principal minority community in the states of Arunachal Pradesh (37 per cent),
Punjab (34 per cent), Meghalaya (15 per cent), Nagaland (10 per cent), and Mizoram (5 per
cent), and in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep (5 per cent).
The only other religious community with a perceptible countrywide distribution are the
Muslims. They are the majority community in the state of Jammu & KashmirLakshadweep (64 per cent
of
according to 1981 census) in the extreme north and in the Union Territory
states of Assam (28 per cent)
(94 per cent) in the south. They are the principal minority in the
in the east, Uttar Pradesh
in the north-east, West Bengal (23 per cent) and Bihar (15 per cent)
Haryana (5 per cent) in the north,
(17 per cent), Delhi (9 per cent), Rajasthan (8 per cent), and Kerala (23 per cent),
Maharashtra (10 per cent) and Gujarat (9 per cent) in the west, and
Karnataka (12 per cent), and Andhra Pradesh (9 per cent) in the south. namely, Nagaland
states,
Christians are the majority community in three north-eastern
per cent). They are the principal
(88 per cent), Mizoram (86 per cent) and Meghalaya (65 north-east, and Goa, Daman &
in the
minority in the states of Manipur (34 per cent), also of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Territory
Diu (30 per cent) in the west, and in the Union
per cent of the population in Punjab and are
(24 per cent) in thesouth. Sikhs account for 63 Union Territory
Haryana (6 per cent) and the
the principal minority in the adjacent state of
of Chandigarh (20 per cent). north-east presents an interesting variation of
The state of Arunachal Pradesh in the
general pattern as the followers of traditional (tribal) religions at 36 per cent are about
the Christians
numerous as Hindus (37 per cent) while Buddhists who account for 13 per cent; Buddhists
as
are in the fourth position. The only other places in the country where the
(10 per cent) Ladakh (in Jammu & Kashmir), where
demographic terms are the district of
are a presence in population, and the states of Sikkim and Mizoram where
they account for four-fifths of the
population is 27 per cent and 8 per cent respectively. Jains are concentrated
their share in the
Delhi, and the west coast states. Zoroastrians, more generally known as Parsees,
in Rajasthan, 120,000 1ives in India, are concentrated
four-fifths of whose estimated world population of
and Maharashtra. Far fewer than the Parsees are the Jews, who
in the urban areas of Gujarat Calcutta, the
groups, namely, the Baghdadi Jews of
are, however, divided into three distinctBombay.
Cochin Jews, and the Bene Israeli of Only the last named group may be called a
families.!
community; the other two are really clusters of observe here that, among the countries of
briefly
Betore turning to the next topic, we may of religions more than the
contemporary plurality
South Asia, Sri Lanka shares with India the
206 HANDBOOK OF INDIAN SOCIOLOGY

other countries do. Although prcdominantly Buddhist, it harbours sizeable religious

minorities, incuding Hindus, Christians and Muslims. Nepal is more predominantly Hind,
hut Buddhists and Muslims also are prescnt. the latter in very small numbers. Bangladesh i
predominantly Muslim (8S per cent), with Hindus and Buddhists as notable rel1gious minorities,
P'akistan and the Maldives are almost exclusively Muslim and Bhutan is primarily Buddhist
I1. Indic Religions
Vedism and Early Hinduism
The beginnings of religious diversity in India go back to the country's proto-historic past.
There is ample material evidenceof the existence of elaborate religious activity in the urban
centres associated with the Indus Valley or Harappan civilization five thousand years ago,
spread over vast arcas in north-western, northern, and western parts of the Indo-Pakistan
subcontincnt. It is reasonable to infer that religious beliefs and rituals of a somewhat different
kind must have been present in the rural hinterlands. The city cultures, it is generally believed.
were overridden by nomadic Aryan-speaking peoples of central Asian origin, around 1500 BC.
They brought in their own religious beliefs and practices, and these focused on the creative and
destructive powers of nature. According to this generally accepted view, the Aryans owed little
intheir religious life to the presumably Dravidian-speaking people they drove out of their
homelands.
Scholars who do not accept the general view, but consider the Harappan culture as an
unfolding rather than a major break whether wholly internal or aided by a limited migration,
maintain that the old and the new cultures coexisted, and that the latter absorbed elements.
both religious and linguistic, from the former (see Parpola 1994). Vedic religion and Sanskrit
took several centuries to acquire the forms in which they have been handed
The resultant religion was characterized by internal diversities down to us.
and scholastic divisions. Scholars have written about a reflecting social, theological
state religion, centred in temples,
comprising ritual bathing (there is a 'great bath' in the citadel of
of gods and goddesses, and perhaps animal Mohenjo-Daro), worship
sacrifice. Apart from the public (state) and private
(domestic) rituals, differences reflecting clan-based
Possehl 1982). The major source of our knowledgecleavages also seem to have existed (see
besides the numerous archaeological sites, is the about the religious life of the Aryans,
body of sacred literature called the Veda
(knowledge', 'wisdom'), which is believed to be ever-existent
any human author
(apaurusheya), and stretches over
(sanatana) and therefore lacking
The earliest of the Vedic texts is the almost a thousand years.
isperhaps much older). Itsten Rig, which has been dated no later than 1200 BC
books of (but
family traditions among the Brahmans hymns in praise of divinities presumably represent ten
The Sama and Yajur Vedas (rituals specialists) and took several
Finally,the Atharva Veda is believed to scope of the Rig into music andcenturies
extend the to compose.
ritual respectively.
corpus, resulting in significant changesrepresent the absorption of folk
in it. These religions religions into the Vedic
as they moved cast into the were
came to be called the homeGangetic valley and adopted more settled encountered by the Aryans
magical spells and rites becomneof the Aryas,
Aryavrata. Thus, divinities ways. Indeed, the valley
become devalued and
Further, the Vedas became ascendant
the
(see Flood 1996;
Brockington 1992).
manuals of ritual pertormances basis for an immense textual
Inanishads, also called Vedanta,(Brahmanas,
the Aranyakas), and efflorescence, comprising
culmination of the Veda),discursive speculative treatises
all of which bring us close to
 RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPES 207

0R. Schools of Vedic learning and ritual, called 'branches' (shakha), flourished, producing
acultural ambience of, at times, bewildering plurality within the Vedic framework.
But that is not all, Ved1sm gradually made way for the emergence of what is generally
called Hinduism on a subcontinental scale, which brought morc texts on more varied subjects
into cxistence, notably the Grihya Sutras, which are guides to the performance of domestic
ituals, and the Dharma Sutras, which have social ethics and law as their subject matter. Besides,
there are the Shrauta Sutras which are technical treatises on the correct procedures for the
performance of Vedic rituals of public significance. The Gribya Sutras have a regional character:
atext followed in oncpart of the country may be unknown in another. The Vedic corpus,
considered revealed, is said to be based on shruti (that which has been heard) and constitutes
the first source of dharma understood as righteous conduct. With the Sutras we come to the
second source, namely, smriti (that which is remembered), and these texts are credited to human
authors.
Later still than the Sutras are the Dharma Shastras which continue with the same themes
but in much greater detail. The best known of these texts today is the Manav Dharma Shastra,
attributed toa seer called Manu, and therefore also known as the Manu Smriti. It is believed
to have been composed between 200 BC and AD 300, which rules out single authorship. What
stands out in this and other similar texts is the institutional framework for the conduct of both
domestic life and public affairs.
Indomestic life the key principles of varna (socialclass) and ashrama (stageof life) are
adumbrated for the definition of appropriate rituals and worldly affairs. While universal norms
(sarva sadharna dharma) are not wholly eliminated, but retained as the foundation of all
righteous conduct, it is the varna- and ashrama-specificrules that emerge as preponderant. It
is thus that Hinduism has been defined as varna-ashrama-dharma. Not only the householder.
but the kings too, are bound by their respective duties defined in terms of varna and ashrama
(sce Lingat 1973). As for those who repudiated such divisions, notably the renouncers (sammyasis),
even they have been grouped into sects (sampradayas) since at least the time of the composition
of the Mahabharata (400 BC-AD 400). It is obvious that variant regional, varna (including
occupation), and ashrama identities defined the appropriateness of behaviour in particular
situations. In view of this Hinduism could only have been afamily of faiths and the behaviours
that went with them, and the Hindu society, a confederation of communities.
The speculative or philosophical concerns of the Brahmanical tradition, were formulated
as different systems of orthodox thought (jnan) and termed 'visions' (darshana)of life based
on the Vedas. Each of these visions, six in number, has its own authoritative texts. The
chought or reflection that follows from cach position is not exclusive in the manner of the
various guides to ritual performance and social behaviour. The root' text of each darshana
Is concerned wath extra-referential (paramarthika) knowledge, and transactive (vyavaharika)
Khowiedge is built upon or grafted into it. Together they constitute what can only be called a
complex totality.
The six shools are: (0) Samkhya ('enumeration') which asserts che ontological duality of
Ihatter (prakrti) and che 'self (purusha); (ü) Yoga (joining', 'mixing') which
With Samkhya in terms of its netaphysics; () Mmamsa (Vedic exegesis) whichconstitutes a pair
takes a pluralist
ew of realbty; (iv) Vedanta ('culmination of Veda'), grouped with Mimamsa, which denies
he reality of the many; (v) Nyaya (logic) and (vi) Vaisesika
Wnich deal with logical, ontological, and dialectical issues within(dialectics), considered a pair,
an empiricist, pluralist (more
 208
HANDBOOK OF INDIAN SOCIOLOGY

precisely atomist) framework (see Hirivana 1949), The primacy which the monism of Vedanta
has enjoyed in contemporarv literature on India docs little justice to the internal diversities
of Brahmanical thought cven when dealing with the sanme issucs, or with its method of
dealing with them to preclude mutual incomprehensibility
Ihe forcgoing pluralities of scripture. metaphysics, and social organization that are the
background of Hinduisnn and indecd nartly constitute it, are characteristic of Brahmanical
ortnodoN, This orthodoxy has not remained unchallenged. Indeed, the challenges came from
Within long before any major external threat materialized. The followers of public Vedic ritual,
calledthe Shrautas (shruti. 'revelation'), first viclded space to those who gave precedence to
omestic rituals, whether the Smartas (followers of the Smritis or Dharma Shastras) or the
rauranikas (those who organize their religious life on the basis of the Puranas, which are
Cgendary accounts of the doings of gods, goddesses and other supernatural beings as well as
numan beings like kings and ascetics). The latter twocategories of Hinduism are not, however,
non-Vedic.
Tantrikas to be revealed.
It is the Tantras, texts that are claimed by their followers the characterized
that are non-Vedic. Tantric rituals reveal considerable variety, but are generally
frequently
by secret rituals performed often at special sites such as cremation grounds, and performed at
at night. Thus, Tantric rituals that invoke the power of the Supreme Goddess are
nght in the famous temple of Puri (Orissa), where worship of the Pauranika godisJagannatha
performed
(an incarnation of Vishnu, the patron deity of Vaishnavas) and his divine consort yatra) is
publicly during the day (see Marglin 1985). The celebrated yearly 'car festival (ratha
dedicated to him.
with that
While the worship of Vishnu is combined in the Smartha-Pauranika traditions
of Devi (the goddess) and Shiva, in some parts of the country, particularly the south, mutually
exclusive and often hostile sects have emerged centred on the cults of the two gods. From as
Pancharatras and
early as the fifth century the Vaishnavas were divided into the sects of
Vaikhanasas. Similarly, the Pashupata, Kapalika, and Kalamukha sectswere prominent among
Shaivas
the Shaivas (see Lorenzen 1972). Starting in the seventh century, the Vaishnavas and the
began to generate distinctive liturgical texts called the sambitas and agamas respectively Each
sect claimed the supremacy of its own deity on the latter's own authority.
In the development of these theistic traditions, from around the closing centuries of the
last millennium BC, a number of elements from various sources, including the high Sanskritic
and folk religious traditions, fused. Personal devotion to one's chosen deity (bhakti), whether
Vishnu in his various incarnations including most notably those of Rama and Krishna-Vasudeva,
or Shiva, is a striking characteristic of these cults, and originated in the south and then spread
to thenorth. This devotionalism found expresion in emotionally charged poetry particularly
among the Vaishnavas from the sixth century onward, and later also among the Shaivites,
rhough the latter's devotion tended to be more austere (see Ramanujan 1973, 1981).
Expectedly, the relationship of the devotee to the deity whether expressed in human
lanthropomorphic) terms or through abstract formulations, constitutes the core of the specu
lative thought of these religious traditions, ranging from absolute monism (advaita), associated
with the name Sankara (c. 788-820), to qualified non-dualism (vishishtadvaita) of Ramanuja
(c. 1017-1137) and dualism (dvaita) elucidated by Madhva in the thirteenth century The teach
ings of the latter two saints combine the metaphysicsof the Upanishads with the theism of
Vaishnava and Shaiva cults.
ASsociated with both of these is a third tradition, namely, the worship of the great goddess,
 RELIGIOU9 AN CULTURAL LAND9CAPES 209

Devi, which cmerged virtually independently as the Shakta (from shakt. 'power') tradition.
Herealsothe roots go far back in time, perhaps to the Harappan culture, and later developments
cntailtheamalganation of
Puranic, Tantric and folk goddesses and ideas. As Lakshm, the
divine onsort of Vishnu, the grcat goddess is prescnted as a benign bearer of auspiciousness;
as Uma- Parvati, she is the divine consort of Shiva, mother of the universe; and as Durga or
Kah,the highest manifestation of divine power, she is the fearsome destroyer of evil and greater
being. At the
than all the male gods through the pooling of whose powers she comes into
lage level she appcars as the goddess who brings and removes illness and misfortune, such as
Shitala. the goddess whosc visitations were held responsible for small-pox (see Hawley and
IWulff 1996).
The Hindu religious tradition, we have seen, is characterized by strong pluralistic tendencies
non-Hindureligious
emanating from various sources and inspirations. It has tended to absorb
carried to the
ideas and practices and has dealt with internal dissent through accommodation sects which
furthest extremes. Occasionally, this strategy has failed and resulted in breakaway adding a
Buddhism and Jainism,
in the course of time grew into independent religions such as
new dimension to the religious plurality of India.
Buddhism
has adherents in the West
The most widely spread religion in Asia today, namely, Buddhism,
its origin. Named after the title
also, but it is a minority religion in India, the country of563-483 Bc), Buddhism began as a
buddha(the enlightened one') of its founder, Gautama (c.
rejecting the beliefs as well as the
revolt against the Vedic preoccupation with the supernatural, of the authority of the Brahmans.
rituals that went with them. The rejection entailed repudiation and indeed, he was the heir to a
Gautama himself belonged to the Kshatriya (warrior) caste
to knowledge and wisdom
kingdom in the Bihar-Nepal area. Following his own awakening
whom he taught the four noble truths
his enlightenment-the Buddha attracted disciplesof Buddhism (see Harvey 1990).
which constitute the fundamentals of all schools (suffering);the second, that the source
The first truth of life, the Buddha said, is sorrow
ignorance and desire; the third, that sorrow can be ended if desire is overcome;
of sorrow is desire and sorrow lies
out' (nibanna) of both
and the fourth, that the way tothe blowing
is the path of righteousness (dharma,
through 'the noble eightfold path'. This path, whichconduct,
right views, resolve, speech, livelihood, effort, mindfulness,
dhamma) consists of the
and concentration. but
Buddha adopted a stance of silence on the issue of the existence of the divinity
The concentrated on human agency.
affairs, and
denied the Vedic gods any significance in human understood as the doctrine of agency and
of karma
He did, however, retain the root paradigm thought
retribution. It is doubtful that the Buddha of himself as anything more than a reformer
expansion, not against.,but within Brahmanism'.
within the tradition and his teachings as 'a new Vedic revelation
(nastika), repudiating
Nevertheless, his teachings were said to be negatoryattacked as unforgivably heterodox.
and
and the notion of divinity by the establishment community of monks and nuns (sangha),
The Buddha originated the idea of the monastic
rigorous regime (vinaya), as the ideal arrangement for the pursuit of true knowledge.
Subject to a community, with the sangha as their exemplar
An easier way of life was envisaged for the lay
institution that the Buddha did not name a successor
and refuge. Such was his confidence in this
teachings. He advised resolution of doubts on matters of common concern
hor codify his failure to reach aconsensus the majority
and consensus; in the event of
through discussion
 210 HANDBOOK OF INDIAN SOCIOLOGY

among
View was to be respected. It was thus that the sceds of a plurality of bclicf andI practice
the Buddhists were sown by Gautama himsclf.
after the Buddha s passing at a
The tirst grcat split is belicved to have oeurred a century
contentious issucs concerning monastic
Sanghas cOnvencdat Vaishali (Bibar) to settle factions, namcly, the
disciplinc and the character of the Buddha's personality. The opposing'Great Community'),
orthodox Sthaviras (Elders) and the Mahasanghikas (upholders of the held the
decades later. While the former status
ed d temporary truce, but split formallv four latter claimed for him the of
Buddha to have been an enlightened human preceptor, the
a transcendent being.
other issues continued to cause disagreements. In the process as many as
torCOng and
toas the Hinayana, or the ittie
CIgnteen Viewpoints were formalized and collectively referred Sthaviras emerged as Theravada
(or lesser) vehicles (or approaches). One of them, theschool of
where it is now the state religion.
(the way of the Elders) in the second century Rc in Srilanka.
It is the only Hinayana school to have escaped extinction. As for the Manasangd that
approach) Buddhism
were the progenitors of the adherents of Mahayana (great vehicle or
1s today a major rcligion in East Asia (China, Japan) and elsewhere.
north India where
Mention may also be made of a later development (seventh century) in to be called the
resulting in what came
a convergence of Buddhism and Tantrism occurred. Kashmr)
Vajrayana (thunderbolt vehicle). This in turn spread north into Ladakh (Jammu and where
and the kingdom of Bhutan (threc-fourths of the people there are Buddhists) and Tibetlipura,
it absorbed further extraneous elements from Shamanism. In the north-eastern states of
Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh in India there are close to 200,000 Buddhists of the
Theravada school.
The presence of the Dalai Lama and settlements of refugees in India since their exile from
Tibet in 1959,has enhanced general awareness about Buddhism in its different expressions
of doctrine and practice in India. The conversion of large numbers of low-caste Hindus, who
callthemselves Dalits (the Oppressed) and are generally referred toas Neo-Buddhists, under
the charismatic leadership of B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956), has contributed significantly to the
same process. It has, however, explicitly politicized Buddhist identity.
Jainism
Jainism too arose around the same time as Buddhism in the same area (Bihar), for broadly the
same reasons, and in asimilar manner. But there are significant differences between the Buddhist
and Jain visions of life. The terms Jainism and Jain (Jaina, follower of the religion) are derived
from jina, 'the conqueror' (of one's physical self and thus of karmic action). This title was
bestowed on prince Vardhamana (599-527 BC)also called the Mahavira, 'the great hero'to
whom the basic teachings of the faith in their final form are attributed.
as the last of a line of teachers called tirthankara ('ford Actually, he is regarded
the perennial'three jewels' of right faith, right maker"), who recovered time and again
the Jain community comprising ascetics (monks knowledge, and right action. They also founded
their community that isconsidered by the Jains asanda nuns) and the laity (householders). It is
wash off karma and terminate the cycle of spiritual ford (tirtha) to help all seekers
Sentiments such as desire, anger, greed, andbirth-death-rebirth (see Dundas 1992).
attachment are the human failings that generate
karma (fruit-bearing action). Karma is
and is the cause of suffering in one's own visualized as material: it contaminates the inner self
ideal therefore is to be forever lite and of injury to other living
engaged self-purification (through the beings. The Jain
in
suppression of all
 RELIGIOUS AND CULIURAL LANDSCAPES 211

andto assiduously refrain from injury to others (this is the idcal of ahimsa,
bodily appetites)
'non-injury'). Renunciation is highly valued and the final worldly goal for the ascetic is to
end one's life through abstinence from food and drink. For laymen, the householder's life,
guarded by numnerous rules and regulations, is the ideal.
Paradoxical as it may seem, the Jains in actual practice are also very successful merchants,
Buddhists in India, it is they
visible in urban centres. Although there are fewer Jains than share many religious
ratherthanthe latter who are the more visible religious community. They often regarded by
practices including fasts and festivals with the upper-caste Hindus, and are original
of Hindu society, rather than aseparate religious community. Their
the latter as a sect them, alongside of the
arheism and repudiation of Vedic revelation had of course earned
Buddhists, the opprobrium of being heterodox in the judgement of the Brahmans.
to make their appearance
Among the Jains themselves heresies and sectarian schisms beganJain tradition, eight such
mainstream
even while the Mahavira was alive. According to the occurred over a period of six centuries.
teaching)
deviations (nibnava, 'concealment' of the true
resulted in the emergence of a heretical sect. Accounts of this schism are
The last of these
mainstream and the breakaway groups, the
shrouded in rival legends of the so-called naked).
the Digambaras (clothed by thethesky',
Shvetambaras (clad in white cloth) andpractices householders,
of the ascetics rather than lay
The mode of clothing refers to the Shvetambaras use a bowl
do wear clothes; only men remain naked. The
but Digambara nuns
which they also eat from. Food is important because even those
toreceive food given to themn, omniscience (kevalin) must eat to survive. The Digambaras do
monks who have attained full receive alms, and it is from the hands so held together
hands to
not use a bowl but their cupped non-possession: no clothes and no alms bowls. In their
absolute food
that they eat. They insist on means, among other things, that one does not need to eat
judgement true omniscience leading
unequal to the demands of total conquest of the passions
deemed
anymore. Women are from the fruits of karma.
deliverance the
to omniscience and
the scriptures that each acknowledges. On
separated by Sectarian
The two sects are also knowledge, however, there is no serious difference.
fundamentals of Jain faith and
long to acquire their present rigidity, and regional
very south-seems
differences seem to have taken north and the west and Digambaras in the
distribution-Shvetambaras in the notwithstanding, the high value that all Jains place
The differences measures to settle
to have contributed to it.prevented the two sects from adopting aggressive
issues of ownership
upon non-violence has conflict among the Jains seems to focus on the
practice. Regrettably
scores. Currently, sectarianworship rather than on matters of doctrine and
of and access to places of communities.
said about other
the same cannot be
Sikhism sixteenth century followed a major
carly in the the arrival
beginnings of Sikhism (sikha, disciple) over the previous 800 years, namely
Ihe
in the history of religions in India
the next section, but is mentioned here
development development is described in
of Islam. This the new faith. Like Vardhamana and
and growth
contributed significantly tothe making of founder of Sikhism, was an
upper-caste
because it the experience and reflections,
Nanak Dev (1469-1539), Kshatriyas). From his
Gautama before him, originally miracles of
Khatri caste of traders,
ritualism, idol worship, magic, and
Findu (of the dissatisfaction with the of the Brahmans over it (see
acute stranglehold
ne developed an born, and withthe
the faith into which he was
McLeod 1968: Grewal 1990).
 212
HANDBOOK OF INDIAN SOCIOLOGY

Nanak also took a Dositie yew of worldly existence, and of the houscholder's life and
produtive labour. Hc reetei eastedistinctions andthc traditional ideal of renunciation. Abye
all he cxtolled the vituc of alife of rel1gious obedience and devotion focused on an abstract
concpton of the divinity, and affirming the samc through 'name remem brance (nam simran).
Singing of hymns. Declaring that there were no true Hindus or
that Is, recitation and
to he found Muslims
anvwhere, he called for a third path comprising moral duty (dharma), human
cttort (karma), spintual knowlcdge, truth, and divine benevolence.
In allthis Nanak was carrving forward the medieval Sant tradition of syncretic rel1gious
devotional1sm, which had given rise to many 'paths' (panth) or sects. The disciples who
gathered around him andcarried forward his teachings after his death came to be called the
Nanak Panthis or, later, Sikhs. Some of his followers did not follow all of his core teachings
and. likec hisson who became a renouncer. founded other sects. Other changes and dilutions
ot dogma and practice, particul arly the latter. occurred over the next two centuries, blurring
the distinction between Sikhism and caste Hinduism, and rendering the Sikh identity rather
misty. Simultaneously, changing historical circumstances--which brought the Jats into the
Sikh told in large numbers,and also created suspicions in the minds of the Muslim rulers
about theloyalty of the Sikhs--tadically altered the pacifist character of the Sikh community
The tenth guruof the Sikhs,Gobind Rai (1666-1708), intervened effectively on all fronts
theological, practical, social and politicaland created a sharpened sense of identity among
the Sikhs by instituting (in 1699) a ritual of initiation (called pabul), and laying down norms
of conduct including, most visibly, the injunction to retain bodily hair unshorn. He also
asked all Sikh men to uniformly substitute Singh ('lion', the caste nameof Rajputs) for their
various last names; the women were to call themselves 'Kaur (lioness').
The institution of these requirements also created unintended divisions among the
Sikhs
between (i) those who went through pahul and came to be called Amritdhari ('bearers of
nectar', the baptismal water); (i) those who kept their hair and beard and were called Keshdhari
(bearers of hair): and (iü) those whoaffirmed Sikh identity but did not
new injunctions, called the Sahajdhari (bearers of the immediately follow the
spontaneous,
category also called themselves the Khalsa, or the 'pure' and the choseninner light). The first
of God', and were to
play ahegemonistic role in the second half of the nineteenth
A hundred years after Guru Gobind century in defining Sikh identity.
established the Khalsa, a Jat Sikh chieftain, Ranjit
Singh (1780-1839) established the Kingdom of Lahore, which did
his death. In the aftermath of the not, however, last long after
defeat of the Sikhs at the hands of the British in 1846,
several reformist movements emerged among the Sikhs. Of
Nirankari and Namdhari (or Kuka) movements. Both were these, the most notable were the
edged gurus subsequent to Gobind Singh, who had sectarian in character and acknowl
gurus. The beliefs of these sects were proclaimed closure of the line of personal
therefore considered
orthodox Sikhs. The Nirankaris called for a return to violative of the true Khalsa faith by
characterized the divinity as 'formless (nirankar). Thetheteachings of Guru Nanak who had
regenerating the Khalsa as instituted by Guru Gobind. ANamdharis focused their attention on
(namely, Khalsa rejuvenation) was the agenda of the modernist version of the same effort
considerable agenda of secular goals. Currently, the so-called Singh Sabhas which also had a
but conflicts between the
loss of life. The Nirankaris and the orthodoxNamdharis are not very much in the news,
Akalis have resulted in violence and
fundamental1st preacher
conflict with the government on the issue of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who later
1978) as a fierce opponent of the Sikh grievances, came into
Nirankaris (see Kapur originally appeared in public (in
1986).
 ELIG1OU3 AND CUL rURAI LANpsCAPES 213

Fromthc forcgong acCOunt of developments in the long hrstory of Indic rel1gions, it is

pluralistie tendencies characterize themn all, particularly Hinduism, which lacks a
dearthat sctof fundament als of bclicf and practice or a 'church'.And yet they share a
tounder or a The notions
concern
withunity in diversity, or the Absolute transccndingits myriad expressions.
dharma and karma are key ideas in the metaphysical foundations of cach.
of
Christianity and Islam
Christianit
the oldest.
religionsthat originated outside India but found a home here, Christianity Is under the
Ofthe Thomas
isto be believed, it was brought to Kerala by the Apostle St Christians in India
Iftradition
the Nestorian Church. Written recordstestify to the presence of
ausplces of Syrian Christians
sixth century onwards. The Thomas Christians are also known as
fromthe and they acknowledged the jurisdiction of the Syrian
r originally, their liturgy was in Syriac
Conversions seem to have been made locally among
Darriarch of the East in Damascus (Syria). to Kerala. It subscribes to
upper-caste Hindus only. The community has remained confined
as Immaculate Conception, the divinity of
fundamentals of Christian faith-such celebration
he various example,
and the status of the Bible as revealed scripture-and practice (for
Jesus,
of the Eucharist). base atter it
sixteenth century Jesuit missionaries made Goa their
In the middle of the
colonial empire, and spread out to other parts of south India
hecame a part of the Portuguese Inevitably, they encountered the Thomas
Christians
ventured north.
and Sri Lanka and even Nestorian Church and come under the jurisdiction of
with the community complied, the
whowere asked to sever ties while about one-half of the
Rome. This led to asplit among them: tothe Syrian Patriarch of Antioch. Along-lasting issue
loyalty missionary
rest resisted, and reaffirmed their
Thomas Christians as well as the Jesuits was whetherbe deemed a
causing dissension among theamong the upper castes, and whether caste was to
activity was to be confined secular social arrangement and therefore tolerated.
abolished, or only a had at first no impact on
religious institution and India in the mid-eighteenth century home
The arrival of the British in Company in deference to the wishes of the
as the East India nineteenth century that
the spread of Christianity missionary activity. Itwas only in the early
government did not allow chaplains of the Company began to make
removed the restriction and begin with, Anglican
the British Parliament diocese of Calcutta was founded in 1814. To an Indian Church
converts. The Anglican spiritual needs of the British in India, but association of the
chaplains administeredto theby the end of the nineteenth century, A close be loosened by
existence came to
had also come into colonial dispensation) was a liability andNon-conformist societies
Church with the State (the Meanwhile, Anglicans, Protestants, and
1972). between congregations.
the 1930s (see Gibbs producing a pluralityof churches and an interlow Mar Thomas (Syriac
the
had sent out missions,Christians became Protestants and establishedSyrian Patriarch, nominally
Thus, some Thomas
The majority, however, remained loyal to the They are known as the
tor St Thomas) Church. independent.
spiritual authority, but otherwise and Thomas 1967;Visvanathan
acknowledging his Mathew
Jacobite or Orthodox Church (see
members of the Protestant
Anglican, Methodist and other
1993).
India's independence, the India. Similar efforts in the north
year of
In 1947, thetogether South
to establish the Church of Church in 1970. The predominance of
Churches came establishment of a united Protestant in
of the Christian community
Tesulted in the feature
cent) is a noteworthy
Roman Catholics (nearly 60 per
 214
HANDBOOK OF INDAN SOCIOLOGY

India. Also noteworthy has been the scarch for Indian idioms of cxpression. Christians
of all
denominations have retained many of their pre-conversion bclicfs, attitudes, and
ceremonies,
incorporating them into Christianity (sce Bayly 1989). Evangelicalism has:also remaincd alive,
however, and is indeed a chcrished goal. The fundamental right to propagate one's
and not merelv to profess and practicc it, was written into the Indian
S0) to aOmmodate Christian sentiment on the subject.
religion,
Constitution (Article
Islam
The third andthe member of the family of Abrahamic religions, Islam ('submission
voungest
to the will of God) is dated back to AD 622 when its promulgator, the Prophet Muhammad
(AD 571-632) migrated from his of Makkah (in Arabia), where he did not
native
the support he desired, to Madinah. Incity receive
the latter city he established the first ever Islamic
state. Hc acCOmmodated resident lews and Christians in it, since they too were judged to be
in possession of books of divinelv revealed knowledge and, therefore, entitled to protection,.
The fundamentals of religious faith and practice among Muslims (the submitters') are
explicit and universally binding, Thev must affirm the oneness of God and the status of the
Quran (the text to be read and recited') as the word of God. Besides, they must believe in
God s angels and messengers (of whom Muhammad was the most perfect and therefore the
last): and in the Last Day, when God will judge the actions of one and all,
plous to heaven and the sinners to hell (see Rahman 1979). and despatch the
Moreover, every true Muslim must recite the creed (kalimah, 'the word'), which affirms
the oneness of God and the finality of
Muhammad's prophethood; say daily prayers (namaz)
at the appointed times; observe the yearly month of
give alms (zakat); and, if circumstances allow it, go fasting
in
by day (rozab) to burn away sins;
be there on ldu'l-Azha. (This day, it is pilgrimage to Makkah (haj) so as to
generally believed,
Ibrahim [Abraham] to sacrifice his son Ismail [Ishmael]on God's commemorates the willingness of
command.) It is
war (jibad) for the extermination noteworthy
that Indian Muslims do not include the waging of
and the propagation of Islam among the of unbelief
Countries. obligations of a Muslim, as is done in many Muslim
Islam is, however, morethan the foregoing and
it incorporates much that is local and similar other fundamentals. Everywhere
in distant places such as India. pre-Islamic, whether this be in the Arab heartlands or
Students
owing to its character as a worldreligion of Islam have commented on this
that admits of no
internal tension
prayers everywhere said in Arabic) and with its
are variation (for instance, the daily
for example, the worship of saints regional, country or national
It is widely believed among and relics which is common in India. characteristics,
wanted to bring the people of South Asian Muslims that the Prophet Muhammad had
India into the universal Islamic himself
traders already had contact with the community (umma). Since
Mapillas of Kerala were born of mixedwestern seaboard of India from pre-Islamic days Arab (the
must have been the first marriages of Arab men and
carriers of the new faith to the Malayali women), they
political force in AD 712, when Sind subcontinent. Islam arrived here as a
incorporated in it. With the new rulerswas conquered on behalf of the
law, the shariah (see Ahmad 1964; came their advisers on matters Umayyad caliphate and
The numbers of the Mujeeb 1967). concerning Muslim holy
knewneither the immigrants were naturally not large, and they
of Sind. nor the culture, languages, and religions were
prevail1ng system of goverhance.(Buddhism and Hinduism bothstrangers who
were present)
In the
circumstances, native support was
 RELIGI0US ANO CULTURAL LANDsCAPES 215

nccessary, but this in turn entailed a conciliatory attitude towards Indians, which included
the assurance that, by and large, there would be few restrictions on non-Islamic religions. In
t f strict Islamic orthodoxy, however, these religions could only be called ignorance (jahalat,
orrect belict).The long-term consequence of this initialcompromise made for reasons of
the State was twofold: first, it laid the foundations of multi-religious polities in which Islam
ndthe Indic religions would cocxist, much to the chagrin of the guardians of orthodoxy;
nd, it sOwed the seeds of an Indian lslam, accommodating Indian cultural traits and forms
social organization (notably caste).
From the timeof major incursions of political Islam into India, beginning with the invasions
af Mahmud, king of Ghazni, in the carly years of the eleventh century, two kinds of religious
snecialists became prominent. These were the lama (doctors of shariah or the holy law) and
theSufis, (mystics in search of direct religious experience). The ulama urged the kings to uphold
shariah and be vigilant on behalf of their own religion rather than being tolerant of other
misguided faiths. One such outstanding medieval scholar, Zia ud-din Barani (c. AD 12801360),
was of the opinion that the Muslim kings could not be the refuge of Islam unless they completely
destroyed unbelief, polytheism, and idolator, If the kings cannot actually exterminate the
unbelievers (because they are so many), they surely should deny them authority and honour,
he advised. Such extremist opinions, however, never became general among the ulama or
ascendant in the ruling circles. Theulama actually split intotwo categories: while some of
them confined themselves to their specialized duties and kept aloof from statecraft, others
opted for a dlose relationship with the kings. The latter supported the actions of the rulers
even when these were grounded in statecraft rather than true faith as interpreted by the ulama.
Islam spread throughout the length and breadth of India, less by the episodic coercion
and violence of the kings, and more by the generally peaceful efforts of the ulama and the
Sufis. In areas of mass conversion, notably East Bengal (or what is today Bangladesh) and the
Kashmir valley, other factors also contributed (directly or indirectly) to the phenomenon. It
is noteworthy, however, that at the time of partition in 1947, after 800 years of Muslim rule,
no more than a quarter of all the people of India (400 million) were Muslims. In the Gangetic
valley, where Muslims provided enormous support to the demand for Pakistan, fewer than
two out of every ten Indians professed Islam.
When Islam reached India, it was already marked by divisions of various kinds. According
to Muslim tradition, Muhammad himself had prophesized that there would be more sects
tirgah) in Islam than among the children of Israel, but that they would all be sent to hell by
God. Only those whofollowed his words and deeds, and of his closest companions, would
be the ones tobe saved (najiyah). They came tobe called the Sunni (from sunnah,customary
way of life) or traditionalists, and account for the great majority of Indian Muslims. Their
opponents are the Shiahs ("followers), who came into being following Muhammad's death as
the partisans of Ali, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, whom they considered the legitimate
successor (khalifab) and leader (imam). It was not Ali, however, but Muhammad's father-in
law, AbuBakr, who was chosen, resulting in the Sunni-Shiah split which even today leads to
violence in both India and Pakistan.
Besides the Shiahs it is the Sufis who are excoriated by the traditionalists. A connection
has been sought to be established between the two heterodoxies by claiming Ali as one of the
founders of Sufism (tasawwuf). According to another view, the Arabian philosophy derived
Tom the teaching of al-Ghazzli (AD 1058-1111) was absorbed into Islam in the form of a
ay stical theology, but this locates Sufism late in the fifth century of Islam.
216 HANDBOOK OF INDIAN SOCIOLOGY

Some scholars, including the renowncd carly medicval historian al-Biruni (AD 973-1048),
found similaritics between some key idcas of Sufism andthe Brahmanical philosophy of Yoga
or the magical Tantra. Indeed, it has bcen suggestedthat Abu Yazid Tayfur of Iran (d. 874), a
key figure in the devclopment of Sufism, may have learnedthe principles of Brahmanical and
himsclf nay have been a convert to Islam b
nist mysticism from Abu Ali of Sind who
that as it may, two general observations can be made. First, a considerable number of Indic
of thesc are pure borrowals. the
Ciements are recognizable in Sufism in India. but only somethe Indian cultural environment
others bcing adaptations of classical Islamic Sufi ideas in
Shiahs and Sutis (see Rizvi 1978
Decond, Sunniorthodoxy has always frowned upon both
Chishti, Naqshbandi, Qadiri, and
19S2). Four major worldwide Sufi orders -namely,numerous local orders of Faqirs and
unrawardi-are present in India. Besides, there are
among
Darveshs: while some of them are seriouslv devout: the devotion to higher spiritual goalssuspect.
highly
others whoare often given to excesses of various kinds incuding drug abuse, 1s
valley (see Khan
Among the former, mention may be made of the Rishi order of the Kashmir
1994).
Islam was brought to Kashmir, it is generally believed, by the Kubrawi Sufi Sayyid Ali
Hamadani late in the fourteenth centur, but his efforts seem to have beencontined to a small
was Shaikh Nuruddin
group of neo-converts in the city of Srinagar including the sultan. It
(AD 1379-1442), the founder of the Rishi order, who carried the new faith to the masses. His
success owed much to not only his amiable disposition and peaceful methods of preaching,
but also to his familiarity with and adaptation of prevailing Brahmanical religious ideas and
practices (Kashmir Shaivism). His choice of the name Rishi (a Sanskrit word meaning 'seer')
for his order is itself revelatory He adopted vegetarianism for himself and his followers out of
his compassion for animals, and thus abjured the universal Muslim practice of animal sacrifice.
While some historians have written of twotypes of Sufism in Kashmir, the immigrant
and the native,or the classical and the folk, others have denied the existence of this dichotomy,
pointing out that Sufis of the Suhrawardi order and even the Kubrawis, befriended and eulogized
the Rishis. According to the latter, the Rishis' very rootedness in Kashmir's old religious
traditions, combined with their exposure to the ideas of classical Sufism made them the ideal
agents of the Islamization of Kashmiri masses. It is noteworthy that Nuruddin claimed the
Prophet of Islam himself as the real founder of his order, locating himself at least notionally
in shariah, the 'highway' of Islam.
It is not the Sufis alone who have contributed to the culture of religious diversity in Indian
Islam. The reputedly more stringent ulama have also done so. Thus, in the late nineteenth
century three groups of these doctors of the holy law of Islam led sectarian movements,
differentiated from one another by big issues (such as matters of belief and law) as well as
small (including minutia of everyday lite). The most influential of these were the ulama of a
famous seminary called the Darul Uloom at Deoband in north India (founded in 1867), Their
educational programme too was grounded in the traditional curriculum and thus opposed
to rhe innovations and accommodations of western science that
characterized the
the modernists at the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh (founded efforts in
of
1874).
Besides the Deobandis, the two other prominent reformist groups were the
('oeonle of the tradition') and the ulama of Bareilly popularly known as the Ahl-i Hadis
were opposed to both the other groups. In their Barelwis, who
disputations one or the other of the four
recognized schools of Islamic law (Hanati, Maliki, Shafii, Hanbali) were invoked, but the Hanafi
school has always been the dominant one in India.
 REIIG1O03 AND CUL TURAL LANDSCAPE S 217

Fnall, menton must be made of the

Ahmad1yah sect which was
be hereteal and theretoe a non-
Muslim minority in Pakistan in 1974.formally
Its
proclaimed
founder.
hulam Ahmad (1830 1908) was born in Qadiyan, a village in Mirza
Nuth, he was a law clerk by occupation. He also claimed to north Punjab. Not trained as a
be the recipient of divine revelation
and theretorr the mcssiah (mahdi) promised to the
the lslame bclict in the closure of prophccy with Muslims. Although Ahmad did not dispute
oa line ot sevondary prophcts. Provoked and Muhammad, he asserted that he belonged
influenced
and the ativitics of the Hindu revivalist Arva Samaj
by the work of Christian missionaries
similar lnes, and gathered a considerable following. Themovement,he orgarnized his response on
sect called Ahmadiyah, or Qadiyan,
continucs to be recogn1zed as Muslim in India, but it really survives on sufferance.
IV. Religious Pluralism as ldeology
In thc previous two sections we described the diversity or plurality of
religions in India at
two levels. These were, first, the global level, at which the major religions, whether
or ot toreign origin, were in focus and second, the intra-religious level at which indigenous
sectarian or
quas1-sectarian movements operate. We have seen that a naive distinction between pluralist
Indicreligions and homogeneous (fundamentalist) Indian religions of foreign origin is wholly
misleading. It is obvious that whenever a religious community comprises many regional cultural
groups and also has considerable numbers, running into millions, internal plurality becomes
inescapable. But whatever is present empirically may yet be denied or deprecated ideologically.
The question, then, is, has the long history of religious diversity in India produced serious
arguments supporting and justifying the phenomenon? In other words, has plurality generated
pluralism (see Coward 1987)?
Contemporary ideologues of secularism, understood as religious pluralism, speaking
on behalf of or within the Hindu tradition, often claim that pluralism is as old as the oldest
Veda. It is recalled that the Rig Veda (1. 164.46) proclaims that 'the Absolute is one, although
the sages have given it different names. Similarly, it is pointed out that the Manu Smriti (1. 14)
resolved the problem of conflict between contradictory revelations by laying down that they
are allvalid and must therefore be respected. Although revelation (shruti) enshrined in the
Vedas and other sacred texts is respected, it does not follow that it is widely known among
Hindus, like the Bible is among the Christians or the Quran among the Muslims. In the absence
of a single core text--the Bhagavad Gita has come to acquire such a position in relatively
modern times-or a single founder, or a set of irrefutable fundamentals, or the practice of
conversion from other religions, it is not surprising that the Hindu religious tradition has,
from its carliest beginnings, been marked by pluralist tendencies. These have been in consonance
with the pluralist social organization based on the institution of caste and are essentially
inegalitarian in character (see Madan 1997).
Such pluralism as is present has its roots inside the Hindu tradition and is only derivatively
applied to other religious traditions. Hinduism tolerates difference by incorporating and
hierarchizing it: Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism are all considered inferior varieties of Hinduism.
Moreover, conflict has not been altogether absent, as the record of the persecution of Buddhists
and Jains by various Hindu groups, or of inter-sectarian conflicts between, say, the Shaivas and
the Vaishnavas, shows, One can say, however,that the traditional Brahmanical notion of the
legitimacy of the right of agroup to its own way of lite (svadharma; adhikara bheda), without
conceding that the different ways are of equal merit, is a form of pluralism.
In modern times, the Bengali mystic, Ramakrishna (1836-86) and his renowned disciple
 218 HANDROOK OF INDLAN SOCIOLOGY

Vivckananda (1863 1902) are credited with promoting the ideology of religious plural1sm by
word and deed, Ramakrishna was no intellectual, but in his quest for spiritual.
practiscd asimplified islamic lhfe for some time, withdrawing completely from his he experience
observances. He also disregarded sectarian differences among
the Hindus.
but it was based on tolerarnce of other
Brahmancal
Vivek ananda
formulated an ideology of plural1ism,
than their accptanc as cquals of Hinduism. In fact, within Hinduismthan itself. he relraised
1gionsVedant
rather
above all other creeds, call1ng it the mother of all religions and trucr any
other religion,a
He wasWhile
explicitly critical of Buddhism and Christianity.
Bengal witnessed thesc developments, Punjab was the scene for the flowering of
the Arva Samaj movement, founded by Davananda Saraswati (1824-83) in Bombay in
He not only rejccted post-Vedic forms of Hinduism as erroneous, and condemned 1874,
what he
called 'blind faith' (such as idol worship) and 'harmful customs' (such as the practice ot caste
and gender discrimination), but also denied that Christianity and Islam could be
divinely inspired religions. He made observations about them as well as considered
derogatory Buddhism,
Jainism and Sikhism. The teachings of Arya Samaj represent the exclusivist strand of Vedic
Hinduism, anticipate later explicitly fundamentalist developments (notably the thesis of Hinduta
or Hindu identity) and militate against pluralism as an ideology.
In the twenticth century, Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) put forward the most explicit
formulation of religious pluralism when he announced on 30 May 1913 that, in his opinion.
the world as awhole willnever have, and need not have a single religion' (emphasis added
(see Chaterjee 1983). By acknowledging his indebtedness to Christianity and Islam, Gandh
implied that Hinduism could be enriched by incorporating in it some of the truths discovered
by other rel1gions. While he maintaincd that all religions were equally true, he added that
because of the limitations of human intellect, they were also equally imperfect. He refused to
hierarchize the relationship between different religions, and thus moved in the direction of a
genuine religious pluralism.
Islam is, as we have seen, the second major religion of India. Except in Indonesia and
Bangladesh, there are more Muslims in India today than in any other country The attitudes of
Muslims to the phenomenon of religious plurality are therefore of great importance for the
future of the ideology of pluralism. Given the fundamental Muslim belief that
most perfect of all divinely revealed religions, and that the Quran is the Word ofIslam is the
artempt to project pluralism has to honour these beliefs. A careful reader of the holyGod, any
book of
Islam will find many passages on which an ideology of
give but one example: "To you your religion, and to me religious pluralism can be based. To
Inthe mid-seventeenth century, Dara mine' (109.3).
master and a Sanskrit schoBar, made a closeShikoh, heir to the Mughal throne, disciple of a Sut
study of the Upanishads and even
of them into Persian. He translated some
concuded that they were revealed scriptures
message of monotheismelaborated in the Quran. He
described anticipating the divte
Vedantic
as 'rwin brothers': for this he was
decdared a heretic by the Hinduism and Islam
of his ulama,
brother, the who had usurped the and beheaded
on the orders
In the twentiethemperor Aurangzeb, succession.
the basis of the Qurancentury,
the most
itself was made bycelebrated effort to argue for religious pluralism o
scholar of religion and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888--1958), profound
arnong other issucs, the distinguished political leader. His
naturemany-stranded
that thc manner in
attributes of God and the true
argument focused on,
which 'divine providence' of divine revelation. He maintained
divine justice' (adalat)) are
defined in the Quran,(rububiyat), 'divine benevolence' (rahmat), and
it is obvious that Allah is ( God of all creation,
 RELIG100S AND CULTURAL LANDCAPES 219

and that the oncness of humanity isderived from the

for it to be itself, it must provide guidance to everyoneoneness of (od. As for divine revelation,
he detectcd significant common truths and insights inwithout distinction. Like Dara Shikoh.
lslam and Vedantic Hinduism on the
foregoing and other key issues. His effort, in the form of an excgesis of the
into diffculties with the nlama who detected in it many serious Quran, ran
flaws, including an alleged
devaluation of the intermcdiary role of the Prophet and of the importance of formal prayer. Iin
the event, Azad never brought his monumental undertaking to its conclusion (see Azad
1962).
Puralism as an ideological stance within the Hindu and Indian Muslim religious traditions
reognizes and respects plurality, but stresses the oneness of the ult1mate goal of d1ffe rent
expressions of the religious quest. It is an invitation to coexistence, dialogue and even syncretism.
Rel1gious devotionalism (bhakti) of the medieval period in northern India, expressed through
the voiceof the seckersof the truth' (sant vai), was echoed by the ecstaticmysticism of the
Sufis. Nanak, the first Sikh guru, was a unique representative of the sant tradition. He sought
cmancipation from all cxternal formalisms (rituals, customs, social distinctions) through a
valorizationof the inner spiritual quest. He dismissed the meaningfulness of the prevailing
religious distinctions. More than a reconciliation or synthesis, his teaching presented a
transcendent third path. The last of the Sikh personal gurus, Gobind, also declared that the
true Sikhs or the Khalsa ('thepure' or the chosen') would have to be different from both
Hindus and Muslims in physical appearance (unshorn and uncircumcised) as well as moral
fibre (expressed through a code of conduct beginning with formal initiation or pahul). He
too pointed to a higher path transcending not only the divide between Hinduism and Islam,
but alsothe inner polarities of the former (for example, domesticity versus renunciation),.
Like the Hindu and Indian Muslim perspectives on religious pluralism, the Sikh vision is also
hierarchical.
The task of developing a well-argued ideology of religious pluralism on the basis of the
religions of India awaits serious and competent attention. The emergence of state-sponsored
religious pluralism, summed up in the slogan sarva dharma samabhava (equal respectvery for all
far
religions), and presented as Indian (in contrast to western) secularism, does not go
1963; Madan 1997).
in strengthening inter-religious understanding and appreciation (see Smith
tolerance and will have to
These values are more profound than aworking strategy of passive
Gandhi pointed out, the task of the
be promoted by men and women of faith themselves. As
secular state is to leave matters of religion to the people.
faith is necessarily exclusive
Contrary to the assumption of many modernists that religioushistorical and ethnographical
considerable
and therefore results in communal conflict, there is have
individual religious identity,
evidence that the common people of India, irrespective of
long been comfortable with religiousplurality They acknowledge religious difference as the
or bad. In other words, social harmony, or
experienced reality: they do not consider it good
agreement, is built on the basis of difference.
The traditional elite of the nineteenth century were familiar with this folk pluralism, but
unlettered masses. Today's modernist intelli
considered it as no more than the ignorance of
have opted for the ideology of secularism, which seeks to drive religion into the privacy
gentsia ideology envisages a pluralism that is a
of people's lives, if not altogether eliminate it. This
concomitant of structural differentiation in society Needless to emphasize, the two pluralisms
intellectual's--are different in several crucial respects. For example, and
the people's and the spontaneous the lived social reality-but the latter
is
most notably, the former is wholly
constructed; the former is based on a positive
1deologicaland in that sense self-conscious or
 SOCIOLOGY
220 HANDB00K OF INDIAN

Indeed, there is a
attitude towards religion, but the latter is sceptical.
so far examined with
the seriousness it hiatus between the
pluralisms, but this has not been
deserves. two
ENDNOTES
statistics about the distribution of the population of India by religion
and
Paperdomliciofle 1995.are
1. Detailed the Census of India 19991, Series 1, lndia,
which is based on
giveninthe table below,
Religion, pp. xii-xxii.
Table Religions of India (1991 census)
Hindus Mus Chris- Sikhs Bud Jains Other
Total
lims tians dhists
Restatedligion
not

82.41 11.67 2.32 1.99 0.77 0.41

India 838,583,988
0.03 0.03
0.38 0.05
Andhra Pradesh 66,508,008 89.14 8.91 1.83 0.04
n.a. 0.02
Andaman &
Nicobar Islands 280,661 67.53 7.61 23.95 0.48 0.11 0.01 0.09
ArunachaPradesh 864,558 37.04 1.38 10.29 0.14 12.88 0.01 0.22
36.22
22,414,322 67.13 28.43 3.32 0.07 0.29 0.09 0.62 2.04
Assam
Bihar 86,374,46S 82.42 14.80 0.98 0.09
0.40
0.03 1.67
Chandigarh 642,015 75.84 2.72 0.99 20.29 0.11 0.24 0.01
0.01
Dadra & Nagar
Haveli 138,477 95.48 2.41 1.51 0.01 0.15 0.38 20.59
Delhi 9,420,644 83.67 9.44 0.88 4.84 0.15 1.00 0.01
0.01
Goa, Daman & Diu 1,169,793 64.68 S.25 29.86 0.09 0.02 0.04 1.67
Gujarat 41,309,582 89.48 8.73 0.44 0.08 0.03 1.19 0.03 0.02
Haryana 16,463,648 89.21 4.64 0.10 5.81 0.01 0.21
Himachal Pradesh 0.02
5,170,877 95.90 1.72 0.09 1.01 1.24 0.20
Karnataka 0.02
44,977,201 85.45 11.64 1.91 0.02 0.16 0.73
Kerala 0.01 0.08
29,098,518 S7.28 23.33 19.32 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.04
Lakshadweep S1,707 4.52 94.31 1.16
0.01
Madhya Pradesh 66,181,170 92.80 4.96 0.65 0.24 0.33 0.74 0.09 0.19
Maharashtra 78,937,187 81.12 9.67 1.12 0.21 6.39 1.22 0.13 0.14
Manipur 1,837,149 S7.67 7.27 34.11 0.07
Meghalaya 0.04 0.07 0.77
1,774,778 14.67 3.46 64.58 0.15
Mizoram 689,756 S.05
0.16 0.02 16.82 0.14
0.66 85.73
Nagaland 1,209,546 10.12
0.04 7.83 0.27 0.42
Orissa 1.71 87.47 0.06 0.01
0.05 0.10 0.48
31,659,736 94.67 1.83 2.10
Pondicherry 807,785 86.16 6.54 7.23
0.05 0.03 0.02 1.26 0.04
Punjab 0.01 0.06
Rajasthan 20,281,969 34.46 1.18 1.11 0.07
62.95 0.12 0.10 0.01
Sikkim 44,005,900 89.08 8.01 0.11 1.48 0.03
0.01
Tamil Nadu 406,457 68.37 0.95
3.30 0.09
1.28
0.09 0.04
Tripura 55,858,946 88.67 `.47 5.69
0.01
27.15 0.01
0.03
Uttar Pradesh 2,757,205 86.50 7.13 1.68
0.12 0.01

West Bengal 139,112,287 81.70 17.33 0.14

0.03 4.67 0.01
0.01
68,077,965 74.72 23.61 0.56
0.48 0.16 0.13 0.01
0.01
0.08 0.30 0.05 0.67
 RELIGOUS AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPES 221

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