The most important language is Hindi, spoken by around one in five of the population. The other main languages are Bengali, Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil and Telegu. Hindi is mostly a language of the north and regional political differences have produced opposition to its adoption as a national language. Zoroastrians follow a very ancient religion and worship one god symbolized by fire. Vishnu, the preserver and Shiva the destroyer and generator of new life.
Today there are Buddhists in many parts of the world.
Jainism was founded the same time as Buddhism. Jains are strict vegetarians and try to avoid injuring any living thing. Islam arrived in India during the eighth century. Moslems believe in one god, Allah, and follow the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, contained in the Koran. The word Sikha means disciples.