India, being a secular state, is inhabited by people of a variety of religions. But a great majority (about 80%) are Hindus. Hinduism is rather a way of life for the Hindus here.
Believers of Hindus have many gods and goddesses. The Mahabharata, the Hindu epic, puts their numbers at 33,333 but other sources say that the number is much higher.There are thousands of temples all over India dedicated to the Indian deities. Some of these belong to the ancient Indian period and are a fine example of Indian architecture. There are several festivals connected with gods and temples.
Dusshera, diwali and holi are some of such Hindu festivals.India has the third largest population of the Muslims. A large part of India was ruled by the Muslims in the medieval period of the history. These rulers made several palaces and mosques and other holy places during the regime. These holy places are some of the finest examples of Muslim architecture.
Sikhism began in India in the fifteenth century. The religion was started by Guru Nanak. The holy book of the Sikhs isthe Guru Granth Sahib. The ten gurus of the Sikhs promoted the faith among their followers.
Guru Arjun Dev built the holiest Sikh shrine at Amritsar known as harimandir, in the middle of a lake. There are many other famous gurudwaras all over India.People believing in many other faiths can be found all over India. They include the Buddhists, the Christians and the Parsis. Religious places of these faiths can be found in several places. Goa, which has a substantial Christian population, has a number of old Christian churches.
Similarly, the Buddhists have their monasteries in Bihar and Sikkim. The Parsis are mainly concentrated in and around Mumbai.Monuments belonging to an all period of history can be seen in India. There are some even from the pre-historical period. The Purana Quila is believed to be the Indraprastha of the Mahabharata times.
Several buildings of the ancient, medieval and modern periods of the Indian history are visited by tourists from all over the world.
