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Indian religions, sometimes also termed Indic religions or Dharmic religions, are the that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J., "Classification of religions: Geographical" (), Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2010. are also classified as Eastern religions. Although Indian religions are connected through the history of India, they constitute a wide range of religious communities, and are not confined to the Indian subcontinent.
| + Indian religions by number of followers (2020 survey) | |
| Hindus | 1.25 billion |
| Buddhists | 320 million |
| Sikhs | 30 million |
| Jains | 6 million |
| Others | 4 million |
| Total | 1.61 billion |
Evidence attesting to prehistoric religion in the Indian subcontinent derives from scattered Mesolithic rock paintings. The people of the Indus Valley Civilisation, which lasted from 3300 to 1300 BCE (mature period 2600–1900 BCE), had an early urbanised culture which predates the Vedic religion.
The documented history of Indian religions begins with the historical Vedic religion, the religious practices of the early Indo-Aryan peoples, which were collected and later shakha into the Vedas, as well as the Agamas of Dravidian origin. The period of the composition, redaction, and commentary of these texts is known as the Vedic period, which lasted from roughly 1750 to 500 BCE. The philosophical portions of the Vedas were summarised in Upanishads, which are commonly referred to as Vedānta, variously interpreted to mean either the "last chapters, parts of the Veda" or "the object, the highest purpose of the Veda".Max Muller, The Upanishads, Part 1, Oxford University Press, page LXXXVI footnote 1 The early Upanishads all predate the Common Era, five of the eleven principal Upanishads were composed in all likelihood before the 6th century BCE, and contain the earliest mentions of yoga and moksha.
The śramaṇa period between 800 and 200 BCE marks a "turning point between the Vedic Hinduism and Puranic Hinduism". The Shramana movement, an ancient Indian religious movement parallel to but separate from Vedic tradition, often defied many of the Vedic and Upanishadic concepts of soul (Atman) and the ultimate reality (Brahman). In the 6th century BCE, the Shramnic movement matured into Jainism and Buddhism and was responsible for the schism of Indian religions into two main philosophical branches of astika, which venerates Veda (e.g., six orthodox schools of Hinduism) and nastika (e.g., Buddhism, Jainism, Charvaka, etc.). However, both branches shared the related concepts of yoga, saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death) and moksha (liberation from that cycle).
The Puranic Period (200 BCE – 500 CE) and early medieval period (500–1100 CE) gave rise to new configurations of Hinduism, especially bhakti and Shaivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism, Smarta, and smaller groups like the conservative Shrauta.
The early Islamic period (1100–1500 CE) also gave rise to new movements. Sikhism was founded in the 15th century on the teachings of Guru Nanak and the nine successive Sikh Gurus in Northern India. The vast majority of its adherents originate in the Punjab region. During the period of British rule in India, a Neo-Vedanta arose, which aided the Indian independence movement.
Romila Thapar notes that the division of Hindu-Muslim-British periods of Indian history gives too much weight to "ruling dynasties and foreign invasions", neglecting the social-economic history which often showed a strong continuity. The division in Ancient-Medieval-Modern overlooks the fact that the Muslim conquests took place between the eight and the fourteenth centuries, while the south was never completely conquered. According to Thapar, a periodisation could also be based on "significant social and economic changes", which are not strictly related to a change of ruling powers.
Smart and Michaels seem to follow Mill's periodisation, while Flood and Muesse follow the "ancient, classical, mediaeval and modern periods" periodisation. An elaborate periodisation may be as follows:
Evidence attesting to prehistoric religion in the Indian subcontinent derives from scattered Mesolithic rock paintings such as at Bhimbetka, depicting dances and rituals. Neolithic agriculturalists inhabiting the Indus River Valley buried their dead in a manner suggestive of spiritual practices that incorporated notions of an afterlife and belief in magic. Other South Asian Stone Age sites, such as the Bhimbetka rock shelters in central Madhya Pradesh and the Kupgal petroglyphs of eastern Karnataka, contain rock art portraying religious rites and evidence of possible ritualised music.
One Indus valley seal shows a seated figure with a horned headdress, surrounded by animals. Marshall identified the figure as an early form of the Hindu god Shiva (or Rudra), who is associated with asceticism, yoga, and linga; regarded as a lord of animals; and often depicted as having three eyes. The seal has hence come to be known as the Pashupati Seal, after Pashupati (lord of all animals), an epithet of Shiva. While Marshall's work has earned some support, many critics and even supporters have raised several objections. Doris Srinivasan has argued that the figure does not have three faces, or yogic posture, and that in Vedic literature Rudra was not a protector of wild animals. Herbert Sullivan and Alf Hiltebeitel also rejected Marshall's conclusions, with the former claiming that the figure was female, while the latter associated the figure with Mahisha, the Buffalo God and the surrounding animals with (vehicles) of deities for the four cardinal directions. Writing in 2002, Gregory L. Possehl concluded that while it would be appropriate to recognise the figure as a deity, its association with the water buffalo, and its posture as one of ritual discipline, regarding it as a proto-Shiva would be going too far. Despite the criticisms of Marshall's association of the seal with a proto-Shiva icon, it has been interpreted as the Tirthankara Rishabha by Jains and Vilas Sangave or an early Buddha by Buddhists. Historians like Heinrich Zimmer, Thomas McEvilley are of the opinion that there exists some link between first Jain Tirthankara Rishabha and Indus Valley Civilisation.Thomas McEvilley (2002) The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies. Allworth Communications, Inc. 816 pages;
Marshall hypothesised the existence of a cult of Mother Goddess worship based upon excavation of several female figurines, and thought that this was a precursor of the Hindu sect of Shaktism. However the function of the female figurines in the life of Indus Valley people remains unclear, and Possehl does not regard the evidence for Marshall's hypothesis to be "terribly robust". Some of the interpreted by Marshall to be sacred phallic representations are now thought to have been used as pestles or game counters instead, while the ring stones that were thought to symbolise yoni were determined to be architectural features used to stand pillars, although the possibility of their religious symbolism cannot be eliminated.
Many Indus Valley seals show animals, with some depicting them being carried in processions, while others show chimeric creations. (2025). 9780195415216, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195415216 One seal from Mohen-jodaro shows a half-human, half-buffalo monster attacking a tiger, which may be a reference to the Sumerian myth of such a monster created by goddess Aruru to fight Gilgamesh. Some seals show a man wearing a hat with two horns and a plant sitting on a throne with animals surrounding him. (2025). 9780195415216, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195415216 Some scholars theorise that this was a predecessor to Shiva wearing a hat worn by some Sumerian divine beings and kings.
In contrast to contemporary Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamian civilisations, the Indus Valley lacks any monumental palaces, even though excavated cities indicate that the society possessed the requisite engineering knowledge. This may suggest that religious ceremonies, if any, may have been largely confined to individual homes, small temples, or the open air. Several sites have been proposed by Marshall and later scholars as possibly devoted to religious purpose, but at present only the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro is widely thought to have been so used, as a place for ritual purification. The funerary practices of the Harappan civilisation is marked by its diversity with evidence of supine burial; fractional burial in which the body is reduced to skeletal remains by exposure to the elements before final interment; and even cremation.
The Vedic Period is most significant for the composition of the four Vedas, Brahmanas and the older Upanishads (both presented as discussions on the rituals, mantras and concepts found in the four Vedas), which today are some of the most important Sacred texts of Hinduism, and are the codification of much of what developed into its core beliefs.Stephanie W. Jamison and Michael Witzel in Arvind Sharma, editor, The Study of Hinduism. University of South Carolina Press, 2003, page 65
Some modern Hindu scholars use the "Vedic religion" synonymously with "Hinduism".Kapur, Kamlesh (2010). Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India, 1st ed. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Ltd. . . According to Sundararajan, Hinduism is also known as the Vedic religion.K. R. Sundararajan; Bithika Mukerji, eds. Hindu Spirituality: Vedas Through Vedanta. Volume 1. p. 382. Other authors state that the Vedas contain "the fundamental truths about Hindu Dharma" which is called "the modern version of the ancient Vedic Dharma".P. 46 I Am Proud To Be A Hindu By J. Agarwal The Arya Samaj recognises the Vedic religion as true Hinduism. Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide, Roshen Dalal, p. 41 Nevertheless, according to Jamison and Witzel:
The mode of worship was the performance of Yajna, sacrifices which involved sacrifice and sublimation of the havana sámagri (herbal preparations) in the fire, accompanied by the singing of Samagana and 'mumbling' of Yajus, the sacrificial mantras. The sublime meaning of the word yajna is derived from the Sanskrit verb yaj, which has a three-fold meaning of worship of deities (devapujana), unity (saògatikaraña), and charity (dána).Nigal, S.G. Axiological Approach to the Vedas. Northern Book Centre, 1986. P. 81. . An essential element was the sacrificial fire – the divine Agni – into which oblations were poured, as everything offered into the fire was believed to reach God.
Central concepts in the Vedas are Satya and Rta. Satya is derived from Sat, the present participle of the verbal root as, "to be, to exist, to live". Sat means "that which really exists ... the really existent truth; the Good", and Sat-ya means "is-ness". Rta, "that which is properly joined; order, rule; truth", is the principle of natural order which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and everything within it. "Satya (truth as being) and rita (truth as law) are the primary principles of Reality and its manifestation is the background of the canons of dharma, or a life of righteousness." "Satya is the principle of integration rooted in the Absolute, rita is its application and function as the rule and order operating in the universe." Conformity with Ṛta would enable progress whereas its violation would lead to punishment. Panikkar remarks:
The term rta is inherited from the Proto-Indo-Iranian religion, the religion of the Indo-Iranian peoples prior to the earliest Vedic (Indo-Aryan) and Zoroastrian (Iranian) scriptures. "Asha" is the Avestan language term (corresponding to Vedic language ṛta) for a concept of cardinal importance. to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. The term "Dharma" was already used in Brahmanical thought, where it was conceived as an aspect of Rta.
Major philosophers of this era were Rishis Narayana, Kanva, Rishaba, Vamadeva, and Angiras.P. 285 Indian sociology through Ghurye, a dictionary By S. Devadas Pillai
Historical roots of Jainism in India is traced back to 9th-century BCE with the rise of Parshvanatha and his non-violent philosophy.
Upanishads form the speculative-philosophical basis of classical Hinduism and are known as Vedanta (conclusion of the Vedas). The older Upanishads launched attacks of increasing intensity on the ritual. Anyone who worships a divinity other than the Self is called a domestic animal of the gods in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The Mundaka launches the most scathing attack on the ritual by comparing those who value sacrifice with an unsafe boat that is endlessly overtaken by old age and death.
Scholars believe that Parsva, the 23rd Jain tirthankara lived during this period in the 9th century BCE.
The shramana movements challenged the orthodoxy of the rituals. The shramanas were wandering ascetics distinct from Vedism.Kalghatgi, T. G. 1988 In: Study of Jainism, Prakrit Bharti Academy, JaipurS. Cromwell Crawford, review of L. M. Joshi, Brahmanism, Buddhism and Hinduism, Philosophy East and West (1972)Y. Masih (2000). In: A Comparative Study of Religions. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 18. .Padmanabh S. Jaini, (1979), The Jaina Path to Purification, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, p. 169 Mahavira, proponent of Jainism, and Buddha (c. 563-483), founder of Buddhism were the most prominent icons of this movement.
Shramana gave rise to the concept of the cycle of birth and death, the concept of samsara, and the concept of liberation. The influence of Upanishads on Buddhism has been a subject of debate among scholars. While Radhakrishnan, Oldenberg and Neumann were convinced of Upanishadic influence on the Buddhist canon, Eliot and Thomas highlighted the points where Buddhism was opposed to Upanishads. Buddhism may have been influenced by some Upanishadic ideas, it however discarded their orthodox tendencies. In Buddhist texts Buddha is presented as rejecting avenues of salvation as "pernicious views".Hajime Nakamura, A History of Early Vedānta Philosophy: Part One. Reprint by Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1990, page 139.
The 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, Mahavira, stressed five vows, including ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), and aparigraha (non-attachment). As per Jain tradition, the teachings of the Tirthankaras predates all known time. The scholars believe Parshva, accorded status as the 23rd Tirthankara, was a historical figure. The Vedas are believed to have documented a few Tirthankaras and an ascetic order similar to the shramana movement.Mary Pat Fisher (1997). Living Religions: An Encyclopedia of the World's Faiths, 3rd ed. I. B. Tauris: London. . .
Gautama Buddha, who was called an "awakened one" (Buddhahood), was born into the Shakya clan living at Kapilavastu and Lumbini in what is now southern Nepal. The Buddha was born at Lumbini, as emperor Ashoka's Lumbini pillar records, just before the kingdom of Magadha (which traditionally is said to have lasted from c. 546–324 BCE) rose to power. The Shakyas claimed and Gautama Maharishi lineage, The Life of Buddha as Legend and History, by Edward Joseph Thomas via descent from the royal lineage of Ayodhya.
Buddhism emphasises enlightenment (nibbana, nirvana) and liberation from the rounds of rebirth. This objective is pursued through two schools, Theravada, the Way of the Elders (practiced in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, SE Asia, etc.) (2025). 9780198605607, Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 9780198605607 and Mahayana, the Greater Way (practiced in Tibet, China, Japan, etc.). (2025). 9780198605607, Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 9780198605607 There may be some differences in the practice between the two schools in reaching the objective.
Buddhism flourished during the reign of Ashoka of the Maurya Empire, who patronised Buddhist teachings and unified the Indian subcontinent in the 3rd century BCE. He sent missionaries abroad, allowing Buddhism to spread across Asia..
Jainism began its golden period during the reign of Emperor Kharavela of Kalinga in the 2nd century BCE due to his significant patronage of the religion. His reign is considered a period of growth and influence for the religion, although Jainism had flourished for centuries before and continued to develop in prominence after his time.
Ancient Tamil grammatical works Tolkappiyam, the ten anthologies Pattuppāṭṭu, the eight anthologies Eṭṭuttokai also sheds light on early religion of ancient Dravidians. Murugan was glorified as the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent, as the favored god of the Tamils.Kanchan Sinha, Kartikeya in Indian art and literature, Delhi: Sundeep Prakashan (1979). Shiva was also seen as the supreme God. Early iconography of Murugan and SivanKenoyer, Jonathan Mark. Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1998. and their association with native flora and fauna goes back to Indus Valley Civilisation. The Sangam landscape was classified into five categories, thinais, based on the mood, the season and the land. Tolkappiyam, mentions that each of these thinai had an associated deity such Seyyon in Kurinji-the hills, Vishnu in Mullai-the forests, and Durga in Marutham-the plains, and Indra in the Neithal-the coasts and the seas. Other gods mentioned were Krishna and Balaram who were all assimilated into Hinduism over time. Dravidian linguistic influenceJ.P. Mallory and D. Q. Adams, Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture (1997), p.308. on early Vedic religion is evident, many of these features are already present in the oldest known Indo-Aryan language, the language of the Rigveda (c. 1500 BCE), which also includes over a dozen words borrowed from Dravidian.K. Zvelebil, Dravidian Linguistics: an Introduction, (Pondicherry: Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture 1990), p. 81. This represents an early religious and cultural fusion or synthesis between ancient Dravidians and Indo-Aryans, which became more evident over time with sacred iconography, traditions, philosophy, flora, and fauna that went on to influence Hinduism, Buddhism, Charvaka, Sramana, and Jainism.
Throughout Tamilakam, a king was considered to be divine by nature and possessed religious significance. The king was 'the representative of God on earth' and lived in a "koyil", which means the "residence of a god". The Modern Tamil word for temple is koil. Titual worship was also given to kings. Modern words for god like "kō" ("king"), "iṟai" ("emperor"), and "āṇḍavar" ("conqueror") now primarily refer to gods. These elements were incorporated later into Hinduism like the legendary marriage of Shiva to Queen Mīnātchi who ruled Madurai or Wanji-ko, a god who later merged into Indra. Tolkappiyar refers to the Three Crowned Kings as the "Three Glorified by Heaven". In the Dravidian-speaking South, the concept of divine kingship led to the assumption of major roles by state and temple.
The cult of the mother goddess is treated as an indication of a society which venerated femininity. This mother goddess was conceived as a virgin, one who has given birth to all and one, typically associated with Shaktism. The temples of the Sangam days, mainly of Madurai, seem to have had priestesses to the deity, which also appear predominantly a goddess. In the Sangam literature, there is an elaborate description of the rites performed by the Kurava priestess in the shrine Palamutircholai. Among the early Dravidians the practice of erecting memorial stones Natukal or Hero Stone had appeared, and it continued for quite a long time after the Sangam age, down to about 16th century. It was customary for people who sought victory in war to worship these hero stones to bless them with victory.
According to Alf Hiltebeitel, a period of consolidation in the development of Hinduism took place between the time of the late Vedic Upanishad (c. 500 BCE) and the period of the rise of the Guptas (c. 320–467 CE), which he calls the "Hindus synthesis", "Brahmanic synthesis", or "orthodox synthesis". It develops in interaction with other religions and peoples:
The end of the Vedantic period around the 2nd century CE spawned a number of branches that furthered Vedantic philosophy, and which ended up being seminaries in their own right. Prominent among these developers were Yoga, Dvaita, Advaita, and the medieval Bhakti movement.
The systematisation of Vedantic ideas into one coherent treatise was undertaken by Vyasa in the Brahma Sutras which was composed around 200 BCE. The cryptic aphorisms of the Brahma Sutras are open to a variety of interpretations. This resulted in the formation of numerous Vedanta schools, each interpreting the texts in its own way and producing its own sub-commentaries.
In the latter Vedantic period, several texts were also composed as summaries/attachments to the Upanishads. These texts collectively called as Puranas allowed for a divine and mythical interpretation of the world, not unlike the ancient Hellenic or Roman religions. Legends and epics with a multitude of gods and goddesses with human-like characteristics were composed.
There were several Buddhistic kings who Vaishnavism, such as the Gupta Empire, Pala Empire, Chalukyas, Somavanshi, and Satavahana.Durga Prasad, P. 116, History of the Andhras up to 1565 A. D. Buddhism survived followed by Hindus. National Geographic January 2008, VOL. 213, NO. 1 "The flow between faiths was such that for hundreds of years, almost all Buddhist temples, including the ones at Ajanta Caves, were built under the rule and patronage of Hindu kings."
The disintegration of central power also lead to regionalisation of religiosity, and religious rivalry. Local cults and languages were enhanced, and the influence of "Brahmanic ritualistic Hinduism" was diminished. Rural and devotional movements arose, along with Shaivism, Vaisnavism, Bhakti, and Tantra, though "sectarian groupings were only at the beginning of their development". Religious movements had to compete for recognition by the local lords. Buddhism lost its position, and began to disappear in India.
The Alvars (, āḻvārkaḷ , those immersed in god) were the Tamil people poet-saints of south India, who lived between the 6th and 9th centuries CE and espoused "emotional devotion" or bhakti to Vishnu-Krishna in their songs of longing, ecstasy and service. The most popular Vaishnava teacher of the south was Ramanuja, while of the north it was Ramananda.
Several important icons were women. For example, within the Mahanubhava sect, the women outnumbered the men,Ramaswamy, P. 204 Walking Naked and administration was many times composed mainly of women.Ramaswamy, P. 210 Walking Naked Mirabai is the most popular female saint in India.
Vallabha (1479–1531) is a very important figure from this era. He founded the Shuddhadvaita school of Vedanta thought.
According to The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training,
The tendency of "a blurring of philosophical distinctions" has also been noted by Mikel Burley. Lorenzen locates the origins of a distinct Hindu identity in the interaction between Muslims and Hindus, and a process of "mutual self-definition with a contrasting Muslim other", which started well before 1800. Both the Indian and the European thinkers who developed the term "Hinduism" in the 19th century were influenced by these philosophers.
The modern era has given rise to dozens of Hindu saints with international influence. For example, Brahma Baba established the Brahma Kumaris, one of the largest new Hindu religious movements which teaches the discipline of Raja Yoga to millions. Representing traditional Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Prabhupada founded the Hare Krishna movement, another organisation with a global reach. In late 18th-century India, Swaminarayan founded the Swaminarayan Sampraday. Anandamurti, founder of the Ananda Marga, has also influenced many worldwide. Through the international influence of all of these new Hindu denominations, many Hindu practices such as yoga, meditation, mantra, divination, and vegetarianism have been adopted by new converts.
Satoshi Ogura argues – We have found no Sanskrit doxography completed up to the end of the sixteenth century that distinguishes only Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Sāṃkhya, Yoga, Mīmāṃsā, and Vedānta as orthodox systems that acknowledge the revelation of the Vedas. To put it mildly, such a categorisation was not mainstream in Indian philosophy. In her dissertation dealing with the works by the Mughal prince Dārā Shukūh, Supriya Gandhi has, in contrast, asserted that Roy rather inherited religious discourses in early modern Persian literature in writing his treatises on religions, noting the similarity of Roy's word-usage to that of Dārā. We can say that the case of ṣaḍdarśana shares a common feature with that of Roy'
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The traditional definition, followed by Adi Shankara, classifies religions and persons as āstika and nāstika according to whether they accept the authority of the main Hindu texts, the Vedas, as supreme revealed scriptures, or not. By this definition, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa and Vedanta are classified as āstika schools, while Charvaka is classified as a nāstika school. Buddhism and Jainism are also thus classified as nāstika religions since they do not accept the authority of the Vedas.
Another set of definitions—notably distinct from the usage of Hindu philosophy—loosely characterise āstika as "theist" and nāstika as "atheist". By these definitions, Sāṃkhya can be considered a nāstika philosophy, though it is traditionally classed among the Vedic āstika schools. From this point of view, Buddhism and Jainism remain nāstika religions.
Buddhists and Jains have disagreed that they are nastika and have redefined the phrases āstika and nāstika in their own view. Jains assign the term nastika to one who is ignorant of the meaning of the religious texts,Page i, Forms of Indian Philosophical Literature and Other Papers by V.S. Kambi or those who deny the existence of the soul.P. 163 Mahāvīra: His Life and Teachings by Bimala Churn Law
According to Paul Hacker, as described by Halbfass, the term "dharma"
The emphasis on the similarities and integral unity of the Dharmic faiths has been criticised for neglecting the vast differences between and even within the various Indian religions and traditions. According to Richard E. King it is typical of the "inclusivist appropriation of other traditions" of Neo-Vedanta:
The "Council of Dharmic Faiths" (UK) regards Zoroastrianism, while not originating in the Indian subcontinent, also as a Dharmic religion.
In a judicial reminder, the Indian Supreme Court observed Sikhism and Jainism to be sub-sects or special faiths within the larger Hindu fold, and that Jainism is a denomination within the Hindu fold. Although the Indian Government counted Jains in India as a major religious community right from the first Census conducted in 1873, after independence in 1947 Sikhs and Jains were not treated as national minorities. In 2005, the Supreme Court of India declined to issue a Mandamus granting Jains the status of a religious minority throughout India. The Court however left it to the respective states to decide on the minority status of Jain religion.
However, some individual states have over the past few decades differed on whether Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs are religious minorities or not, by either pronouncing judgments or passing legislation. One example is the judgment passed by the Supreme Court in 2006, in a case pertaining to the state of Uttar Pradesh, which declared Jainism to be indisputably distinct from Hinduism, but mentioned that, "The question as to whether the Jains are part of the Hindu religion is open to debate.(para 25, Committee of Management Kanya Junior High School Bal Vidya Mandir, Etah, U.P. v. Sachiv, U.P. Basic Shiksha Parishad, Allahabad, U.P. and Ors., Per Dalveer Bhandari J., Civil Appeal No. 9595 of 2003, decided On: 21 August 2006, Supreme Court of India) However, the Supreme Court also noted various court cases that have held Jainism to be a distinct religion.
Another example is the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill, that is an amendment to a legislation that sought to define Jains and Buddhists as denominations within Hinduism. Gujarat Freedom of religions Act, 2003 Ultimately on 31 July 2007, finding it not in conformity with the concept of freedom of religion as embodied in Article 25 (1) of the Constitution, Governor Naval Kishore Sharma returned the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2006 citing the widespread protests by the Jains as well as extrajudicial observation that Jainism is a "special religion formed on the basis of quintessence of Hindu religion by the Supreme Court." The Times of India, 11 Mar, 2008 In his letter dated 27 July 2007 he had said Jainism has been regarded as "special religion formed on the basis of quintessence of Hindu religion by the Supreme Court".
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