The majority of the people are born Hindus ; their religion has roots thousands of years old in simple forms of Nature workship and has gathered into its fold many later cults.  Dieties, customs and belliefs tend to very in importance in different localities , but the essential Hindu philosophy teaches the Oneness of the Superme Soul, of which individual soul are but differing manifestations. The four Vedas - the oldest surviving literature in the world are the sacred texts of Hindus. Two great and acients epics Ramayan and Mahabharat inspired the philosophy, ethics and art of the indian people and their greatness has been acknowledged throughout the civilised world.

      Out of Hinduism developed three new relogions : Buddhism,Jainism,and centuries later Sikhism. The Buddha laid emphasis on right conduct and non-violance and the religion that he founded spread far afield from India and today is still a major world force.

     Mahavira, a contemporary of the Buddha, founded the religion of the Jains, teaching.salvation through righteous thought and deed and, especially, that all living things have souls and it is therefore, sinful to harm any.

     The Sikh religion came later: it was started in the early 16th century by Guru Nanak and still has particular importance in the Punjab where it was. founded. Superstition, ritual, dogma and caste were repudiated and the essential brotherhood of man preached.

     The virile religion of Islam, coming in the wake of invading forces from the North and from the West over some six centuries, had a profound influence on life in many parts of India. Persian and Saracenic culture, grafted on to already existing skills and tastes, produced remarkable building, painting arid music.
In every field of thought and culture, Islam made great contribution to the common heritage of India. India has produced as great figures in Muslim philosophy and theology as any other region in the world. Akbar sponsored Persian translations of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the great.epics of the Hindus, and,later,. many of the Upanishads-sacred Hindu texts were translated into Persiari. From the blending of Hindi and Persian emerged Urdu, a language with unique expressive powers, which is the medium of numerous Hindi writers as well.

     India has the third largest Muslim population of all the countries of the world ; there are 46.9 million who follovv their .traditional callings in almost evsry part of the country.

     Christianity has been followed in India longer tJian almost anywhere except the Middle East where Christ lived and died. St. Thomas, the disciple of Christ, is believed to have come to the south of India in the 1 st century, and preached and made many converts. Marco Polo, who visited the area in 1293 A. D., refers to the Nestorian Christians he met there. Later, in 1544, St. Francis Xavier spent three months in what is now Kerala and the little chapel at Kottar is supposed to have been built by him. Today there are 10.7 million Christians ; they share fully in the administration and armed services and in every aspect of corporate life.

     A small community known as the white Jews, of whom only a very small number are left, first came in the ships of King Solomon, and the present-day coastal village of Puvar (in Kerala) was the port of Opir where they traded gold and silver to buy the spices of the East.

     The Parsis, followers of Zoroaster, came to India from Persia during the' 9th century and are a small but important and prosperous community, based mainly in Maharashtra and Gujarat but to be fo~nd all over the country.

     India is, of course, a secular State and so all religions have their own festivals, the more important .of them being national holidays.

     Many of the Hindu holidays are linked with the harvest as, for a people whose mainspring has been agriCulture, every change of season is celebrated in song and dance. Others are in honour of the deities and entirely religious stemming from stories in the epics or from the wish to honour particular godsand goddesses for their especial bounty. There are so many festivals, and all so dear to the Indian heart,that it is not possible to give more than a word to one or two of th.e most spectacular.

      Dussehra, which usually falls in October, can be seen at its fabulous best in Delhi or Mysore. This famous festival celebrates the victory of good over evil and is drawn from the Ramayana, the epic which tells of Rama and his lovely..wife Sita and how the demon Ravana is defeated. In Delhi, the nine-day celebrations (but not a// public holidays), during whicli scenes from the story are daily enacted, are climaxed by the burning of giant effigies of the demons made of bamboo and papiermache and stuffed with fireworks. The final act of this drama is played out before a huge audience, who await the dramatic moment when an arrow shot by the righteous and valiant Lord Rama sets off the destruction of the evil ones. In Mysore, the whole city is a blaze of illuminatio.ns and decked with....bunting and arches during the festival.

      Diwali, following soon after Dussehra, is. one of the most enchanting expressions of rejoicing to be found anywhere in the world. People outline their houses, gardens and gates with little oilfilled earthen lamps or candles. Every city, town and village is decked with small glimmering flames and it is a time of present-giving and family festivities, of fireworks and sweets.

      To the many other ancient and traditional festivals has been added a modern one, which also should not be missed-that of the Republic Day : January 26-which is celebrated in the Capital with considerable gusto. A magnificent parade is held before the President and thousands of people. The Armed Forces march past the saluting base and are followed by decorated floats and folk dancers from each State.

      The State elephants, painted and panoplied, vie for popularity with the more austere and disdainful camel corps; the President's Bodyguard in smartness and glamour rival the best cavalry in the world.

     For a week there are illuminations, folk dancing, . receptions and parties. The city is crowded with the colourful costumes and gay turbans of the country folk who come from miles away on trucks, bullock carts, horse-drawn vehicles and on foot. The celebrations are rounded off by the moving ceremony of 'Beating the Retreat'.