South Asia is one of the most diverse regions in terms of religion, ethnicity, language and cultural practices. It includes believers of all Semitic and Oriental religions. The history of state formation in South Asia is an interesting interplay of religion and politics. All states, except India and, more recently, Nepal, have their own declared state religions. While in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives Islam is the state religion, Sri Lanka and Bhutan have declared Buddhism as their state religion. India and lately Nepal are declared secular states and have made provision for equal treatment of all religions in their constitutions.

Religions in South Asia: Precolonial Period

Oriental religions like Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism originated in South Asia. Semitic religions arrived in South Asia very early due to the vibrant trade relations between South Asia and West Asia. Christianity reached the region as far back as the first century CE (Fernando and Gispert-Sauch 2004, 59). Before the European colonial powers established their predominance in the western coast of India, Christianity was already established as a major religion there.

Islam arrived in South Asia in the seventh century. It was brought to the Malabar Coast as part of the trade and cultural interactions with the Arabs (Rantattani 2007, 24). Later, Islam spread to northern India as part of the interactions between Persia, Central Asia and South Asia. Religion and religious interpretations functioned as ideological cover and justification for kingdoms and empires.