Before the state was established in 1947, India could not really be regarded as one unified country. Prior to that it was rather more a culture. For a vast period of time the territory - in the shape of the peninsula, or subcontinent - was isolated from other peoples. This was due to the huge mountain ranges to the north, the most well-known being the Himalayas, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal to the south that form the territory's natural boarders.

It was only after the first Arab mariners and merchants discovered India in around 1000 AD, that fundamental changes occurred. With the Arabian newcomers the religion of Islam spread in the country now known as India. Eventually the country was occupied permanently. Sultanates were established, their reign tightened and in the course of time huge Mogul empires developed, some of which even existed into the 18^th century. After that, a loose union of states was established. Under Muslim rule, the Hindus had been able to maintain their religion. Towards the end of their rule only approximately 20 % of the populace was made up of Muslims.

It was as early as 1498 - when Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to India - that Christians from Europe arrived in India. At first the Portuguese held supremacy. During the 17^th century the British 'East India Trade Company' founded many branches in various Indian seaports, such as Madras, Calcutta and Bombay. Operating from these bases, they increasingly tried to bring all of India under their control and commenced a military conquest. As the British where not able to bring this huge country (approx. 3.3 Mio. square kilometres) with its enormous population (approx. 200 Mio.) under one central, British government, they allowed the principalities to continue to exist in the way they had found them. However, the emperors of these principalities had to recognise the paramount position of British rule. Governor-generals, who were subordinated to the crown or the government, had the final say in India. Likewise, the British did not change the existing feudal system. The manorial system and the caste system split the populace of India into different groups consequently hindering them from uniting in resistance against British rule. When resistance did flicker up in 1858, it was suppressed. The last mogul was deposed in the same year and from then on the British governor-general was viceroy. In 1885 the Indians reacted by founding the Indian National Congress, which strove for national independence - long before Gandhi started his struggle. The British tolerated the assembly, as it did not speak with one voice and no agreement could be reached between Hindus and Moslems. Later the National Congress became the leading political party of India and has since held power with only a few and short breaks.

India is thus a country deeply divided in which the major religions have mingled like nowhere else in the world. Religious, social and geographical aspects rooted in the history of India are equally important today as they were then. Even to the present day the heterogeneous population is the a perpetual source of social unrest. The country consists of many different federal states, speaking over one hundred different languages and practising different religions. Apart from Hindu, Islam, Christianity and Sikh there are various other religions and sects existing in India.

Based on Hinduism the caste-system, that even Gandhi was unable to abolish, divides the population into four different classes: Brahmans/Priests, Kshatrigas/Warriors, Vaishiy/Commoners and Shudras/Labourers. Depending on the federal state concerned, these classes are subdivided in various different ways into more 1000 castes. According to this order the Paria/Untouchables do not belong to any caste and are excluded from society. People from lower castes and the untouchables are still not fully accepted by their fellow men and mostly live in great poverty. India is one of the poorest countries in the world. The tensions between the poor and the rich, as well as among the different castes, continually result in unrest.

Conflicts between religions still exist to this day. On the one hand, there are various religious conflicts within the country itself (i.e. in the state of Punjab, where the majority of the population are Sikhs), while, on the other hand, Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India are still on hostile terms and have embarked upon a nuclear arms race in the region. The region of Kashmir is especially disputed.