Land of extremes

Religion of India
L ord Ganesha

Culturally, India is diverse and religion still plays a major role in everyday life. Hinduism is practiced by more than three-quarters of the population. Hinduism is often humorously called as the only religion in the world where the number of deities exceeds the number of believers. Strictly speaking, however, that’s not true. Nonetheless, with around 8.4 million gods and goddesses, there is much variety. Islam is the next most popular religion in the country; more than one-fifth of the population practices it. That makes India the second most populous Muslim nation. Then there is Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism and tribal religions in the central and north eastern parts. Also, we shouldn’t forget some Andaman Islands where still live an aboriginal population that hasn’t changed much since it left Africa many millennia ago.