- published: 15 Apr 2013
- views: 107762
The culture of India refers to the religions, beliefs, customs, traditions, languages, ceremonies, arts, values and the way of life in India and its people. India's languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food, and customs differ from place to place within the country. Its culture often labeled as an amalgamation of these diverse sub-cultures is spread all over the Indian subcontinent and traditions that are several millennia old.
Regarded by many historians as the "oldest living civilization of Earth", the Indian tradition dates back to 8000 BC, and has a continuous recorded history since the time of the Vedas, believed variously to be 3,000 to over 5,500 years ago. Several elements of India's diverse culture, such as Indian religions, yoga, and Indian cuisine, have had a profound impact across the world.
India is the birth place of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, collectively known as Indian religions. Indian religions, also known as Dharmic religions are a major form of world religions along with Abrahamic ones. Today, Hinduism and Buddhism are the world's third and fourth-largest religions respectively, with over 2 billion followers altogether, and possibly as many as 2.5 or 2.6 billion followers. India is also the birthplace for the Lingayat and Ahmadiyya faiths.