The Encyclopedia of World Religions

Indra S 215

in the 2001 census, or more than 827,000,000 peo ple—practice H INDUISM . Hinduism is, however, dif ficult to define. It basically consists of all Indian religious practices that do not belong to some other religion. Especially since the late 1980s India has witnessed violent clashes between Hindus on one side and Christians and especially Muslims on the other ( see FUNDAMENTALISM , H INDU ). People known as “tribals”—people who have lived in jungle regions and until recently outside the money economy—often count as Hindus. Some tribals insist, however, that they have their own religions. Indeed, tribal people often do not worship the major Hindu deities. Instead, they per form animal SACRIFICES —largely absent from Hin duism—to their own local deities. The Indian subcontinent is one of the most religiously varied places on earth. That diversity has caused strains, but it has also resulted in much religious creativity. Further reading: Paul Dundas, The Jains, 2d ed. (New York: Routledge, 2002); Klaus K. Klostermaier, Hinduism: A Short History (Oxford: Oneworld, 2000); Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, 2d ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004); Sooni Taraporevala, Parsis: The Zoroastrians of India: A Photographic Journey (London: Overlook Duckworth, 2004). Indra The most prominent of the Vedic gods. In the sacred writings of India known as the V EDA Indra is the chief of the gods. His abode is the sky, his weapon the thunderbolt. He is called sahas raksha, “thousand-eyed,” and he leads a band of warriors known as the Maruts. In many ways Indra resembles the gods of Greek mythology. Prone to violence, he eats and drinks to excess. He is especially fond of soma, an intoxicating plant extract whose precise identity is unknown. When intoxicated he boasts. Indra is also renowned for fertility. He is said to have got ten several human women pregnant. One of the most important stories about Indra concerns his killing of the demon Vritra,

lived in India. The 2001 Census counted almost 8 million Buddhists in India, about .75 percent of the population. In the 1500s S IKHISM arose in India. Originally a peaceful tradition, its adherents were forced to develop a martial tradition in order to defend them selves. Sikhs are quite visible in North America and Europe today, because Sikh men wear turbans and sport long beards. In 2001 over 19,200,000 Sikhs lived in India, almost 1.9 percent of the total population. Not all religions of India arose there. Several have come from elsewhere. Until recently, a small but vigorous community on the southwestern coast practiced J UDAISM , but most Indian Jews have emigrated to Israel. According to tradition, C HRISTIANITY in India goes back to the APOSTLE Thomas. Many Indians have also converted to Christianity to escape the CASTE system ( see CASTE IN H INDUISM ). About a fourth of all Christians in India, especially Thomas Christians, live in the southwestern state of Ker ala, where they make up about 19 percent of the population. Indian Christians, including adherents of R OMAN C ATHOLICISM and P ROTESTANTISM , live else where in India, too. In 2001 Christians made up a little over 2.3 percent of the total population, num bering more than 24,000,000. More Muslims live in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India than anywhere else in the world. (Indo nesia has more Muslims than any of these coun tries individually.) I SLAM first came to India around the year 1000 C . E . For centuries Muslims ruled much of India. They made immense contribu tions to Indian arts and culture. Besides living in Pakistan and Bangladesh, Islamic states, Muslims made up slightly more than 13.4 percent of the population of India in 2001, numbering just under 138,200,000. Less known are the Parsis, who practice a form of Z OROASTRIANISM . They came to India from Persia, now Iran, to escape Muslim rule. They are a small but prosperous community in western India, numbering perhaps 200,000. By far the largest number of Indians—about 80 percent of the population of the country of India