Hinduism in India has a long and varied history. Indeed, India is the birth-place of Hinduism and the history of Hinduism is as old as that of India herself. Hinduism is a set of practices of the people of India. The word Hindu is derived from the word Sindhu and signifies a person coming from the land of the river Sindhu^ǂ (i.e., India). India is the home to the largest number of Hindus. Hinduism has origins of around 2500 BCE. Modern Hinduism has taken the form of a religion due to other religious influences. However, it is known as a "way of life" rather than a religion. It differs from other religions by the fact that it does not have a single founder, a specific theological system, a single system of morality, or a central religious organisation.

Despite attacks and invasions by various Arab and Afghan empires during and after the 7^th century CE, Hinduism has survived. The reason is said to be the in-built tolerance and inclusiveness in Hinduism and also, in part, the tolerance of some of the invading rulers, notably Akbar. Presently there are 700million Hindus

India has always been known as Hindustan (and as Hindoostan to Europeans in medieval times). Even under Islamic rule,Islamic emperors referred to India as Hindustan. Even now, many people call India by this name, though Bharat is a much more popular name.

Hinduism in India has been characterised by the caste system known as the four Varnas. Since ancient times, this was a system to administrate society. However with time people started misusing it, because of which people belonging to lower castes faced discrimination and persecution at the hands of the upper classes. This gave rise to embracing of different religions by these lower castes notably Islam during the medieval times and then Christianity and Buddhism during the 19^th-20^th century.

Because of the alarming rate of conversions during the British Raj, Hinduism not only in India but abroad (like Guyana and Suriname) underwent a series of reforms. The spearheading organisations being Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj. Also, religious leaders like Swami Vivekananda, Dayanand Saraswati, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Sri Aurobindo and political leaders like Gandhi called for reform and complete turnover of the social structuring.

Some of the major practices which were discarded during these reforms were:

1. Child marriages
2. Sati
3. Caste based discrimination
4. Animal sacrifice
5. Superstitious beliefs

Further more,

1. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar - for the formation of a Hindu nation.
2. Bal Gangadhar Tilak - promoted hindu festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali.
3. Purushottam Das Tandon - promoted Hindi as the national language of India.
4. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel - one of the main people who struggled for Political integration of India.
5. S. Srinivasa Iyengar - worked hard to deliver a resolution upholding Hindu-Muslim unity, bringing about a temporary political agreement between the political leaders of the two communities.
6. Rabindranath Tagore - wrote the national anthem of India.

Others include: Lala Lajpat Rai, Sarojini Naidu, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, K.B. Hedgewar.

The 1947 Partition of India gave rise to bloody rioting and indiscriminate killing of Hindus. This was a major factor in fuelling Hindu-Muslim animosity. What followed over the years was the laying of secular principles in the Indian Constitution. The last 60 years has seen peace in the entire country with the exception of riots in 1991 and 2001.

Today, Hinduism or Hindutva as it is called plays a very important role in politics, and all major political parties ensure that Hindu interests are safeguarded. However Hindu and Muslim fundamentalism are still evident in some sensitive areas like Godhra, Mathura, Ayodhya, Mumbai, etc.

ǂ - Although technically this definition makes every Indian a Hindu, Indian Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains & Muslims are not called Hindus in respect for their beliefs.