A Melting Pot of Cultures, Religions, and Histories – The Indian Subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent is a land of diverse religious beliefs and practices, where religion has played an important role in culture throughout history. It is the birthplace of four major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. These religions are collectively known as Dharmic religions, similar to the three major world religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam that originated in West Asia, which are known as Abrahamic religions.

Before the modern nation-state of India, that is Bharat, came into being in 1947, the entire Indian subcontinent was known to the outside world as India. Today, there are seven sovereign independent countries in the subcontinent: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, with over 1.7 billion people. Interestingly, three of these seven countries where Dharmic religions originated are now dominated by an Abrahamic religion (Islam): Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Maldives. In fact, most parts of the Indian subcontinent were ruled by the Mughal Empire during the early modern history between the 16th and 19th centuries. The Mughal Emperors were Muslim rulers. Subsequently, almost the whole of the Indian subcontinent was brought under the British Empire. The departure of the British from the subcontinent in the first half of the 20th century gave birth to the modern nation-states that we know today. These modern nation-states are based on the Peace of Westphalia framework with its emphasis on state sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Indian subcontinent is indeed a melting pot of diverse cultures, histories, ethnicities, and religions. As the world continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how the subcontinent transforms in the next few centuries. Although it is impossible to predict the future, we know for sure that the subcontinent was never a monolithic entity.

Despite the subcontinent’s religious diversity, there has also been a long history of religious conflict and intolerance. This is particularly evident in the present era, with the rise of religious nationalism in many of the subcontinent’s countries. Religion has always shaped the subcontinent’s past; it is likely to continue to do so in the future.