Editing Hinduism (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Hinduism}}
[[File:Goddess Kali.jpg|thumb|A [[Tamil language|Tamil]] depiction of Kali from the 12th century]]

Hinduism's varied history{{sfn|Brodd|2003}} overlaps or coincides with the development of religion in the Indian subcontinent since the [[Iron Age in India|Iron Age]], with some of its traditions tracing back to [[prehistoric religion]]s such as those of the Bronze Age [[Indus Valley Civilisation]]. While the traditional [[Itihasa-Purana]]  and the [[Epic-Puranic chronology]] derived from it present Hinduism as a tradition existing for thousands of years, scholars regard Hinduism as a [[Hindu synthesis|synthesis]]{{sfn|Lockard|2007|p=50}}{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2002|p=12}} of various Indian cultures and traditions,{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2002|p=12}}{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=16}}{{sfn|Lockard|2007|p=50}} with diverse roots{{sfn|Narayanan|2009|p=11}} and no single founder,{{sfn|Osborne|2005|p=9}}{{refn|group=note| Among its roots are the [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic religion]]{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=16}} of the late [[Vedic period]] and its emphasis on the status of Brahmans,{{sfn|Samuel|2010|pp=48–53}} but also the religions of the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]],{{sfn|Narayanan|2009|p=11}}{{sfn|Lockard|2007|p=52}}{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2002|p=3}} the śramaṇa{{sfn|Gomez|2013|p=42}} or renouncer traditions{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=16}} of [[Maurya Empire|east India]],{{sfn|Gomez|2013|p=42}} and "popular or [[Adivasi|local traditions]]".{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=16}}}} which emerged after the Vedic period, between {{Circa|500}}{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2002|p=12}}–200{{sfn|Larson|2009}} [[Common Era|BCE]] and {{Circa|300 CE}}.{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2002|p=12}}

The history of Hinduism is often divided into periods of development. The first period is the pre-Vedic period, which includes the Indus Valley Civilization and local pre-historic religions, ending at about 1750 BCE. This period was followed in northern India by the Vedic period, which saw the introduction of the [[historical Vedic religion]] with the [[Indo-Aryan migrations]], starting somewhere between 1900 BCE to 1400 BCE.{{sfn|Michaels|2004|pp=32–36}}{{refn|group=note|There is no exact dating possible for the beginning of the Vedic period. Witzel mentions a range between 1900 and 1400 BCE.{{sfn|Witzel|1995|pp=3–4}} Flood mentions 1500 BCE.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=21}}}} The subsequent period, between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, is "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions",{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=38}} and a formative period for Hinduism, [[Jainism]] and [[Buddhism]]. The Epic and Early Puranic period, from {{Circa|200 BCE}} to 500 CE, saw the classical "Golden Age" of Hinduism ({{Circa|320–650 CE}}), which coincides with the [[Gupta Empire]]. In this period the six branches of Hindu philosophy evolved, namely [[Samkhya]], [[Yoga (philosophy)|Yoga]], [[Nyaya]], [[Vaisheshika]], [[Mīmāṃsā]], and [[Vedanta]]. Monotheistic sects like [[Shaivism]] and [[Vaishnavism]] developed during this same period through the [[Bhakti movement]]. The period from roughly 650 to 1100 CE forms the late Classical period{{sfn|Michaels|2004}} or early Middle Ages, in which classical Puranic Hinduism is established, and [[Adi Shankara]]'s influential consolidation of [[Advaita Vedanta]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=J. J. Navone|first=S. J.|date=1956|title=Sankara and the Vedic Tradition|journal=Philosophy and Phenomenological Research|volume=17|issue=2|pages=248–255|doi=10.2307/2104222|issn=0031-8205|jstor=2104222}}</ref>

[[File:Shore temple, mahabalipuram.jpg|thumb|The Hindu [[Shore Temple]] at [[Mahabalipuram]] was built by [[Narasimhavarman II]].|left]]
Hinduism under both Hindu and [[Islamic rulers in South Asia|Islamic]] rulers from {{Circa|{{CE|1250–1750}}}},<ref>Blackwell's History of India; Stein 2010, page 107</ref><ref>Some Aspects of Muslim Administration, R.P.Tripathi, 1956, p. 24</ref> saw the increasing prominence of the Bhakti movement, which remains influential today. Historic persecutions of [[Hindus]] happened under [[Muslim conquest of India|Muslim rulers]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Lal|first=Kishori Saran|title=Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India|publisher=Aditya Prakashan|year=1999|isbn=978-81-86471-72-2|pages=90–145|author-link=K. S. Lal}}</ref> and also by [[Christian Missionaries]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Priolkar|first=Anand Kakba|title=The Goa Inquisition|year=1992|publisher=South Asia Books|pages=2–67, 184|author-link=Anant Priolkar|isbn=978-0-8364-2753-0}}</ref> In [[Goa]], the [[Goa Inquisition|1560 inquisition]] by [[Portuguese India|Portuguese colonists]] is also considered one of the most brutal [[Persecution of Hindus|persecutions of Hindus]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Souza|first=Teotonio R. De|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vtf1eRE8FC8C&q=persecution|title=Discoveries, Missionary Expansion, and Asian Cultures|date=1994|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-497-6|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vtf1eRE8FC8C&q=persecution 80]|language=en}}</ref> The [[Colonial India|colonial period]] saw the emergence of various [[Hindu reform movements]] partly inspired by western movements, such as [[Unitarianism]] and [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophy]].{{sfn|Sharma|2002|p=27}} In the [[Kingdom of Nepal]], the [[Unification of Nepal]] by [[Shah dynasty]] was accompanied by the Hinduization of the [[Nepal|state]] and continued till the {{Circa|1950s}}.<ref name="Vir 1988 https://books.google.com/books?id=yEHODCDK-8kC&pg=PA56 56">{{Cite book|last=Vir|first=Dharam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEHODCDK-8kC&pg=PA56|title=Education and Polity in Nepal: An Asian Experiment|date=1988|publisher=Northern Book Centre|isbn=978-81-85119-39-7|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yEHODCDK-8kC&pg=PA56 56]|language=en}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=June 2022}} [[Indian people|Indians]] were hired as plantation labourers in [[British colonial|British colonies]] such as [[Fiji]], [[Mauritius]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Younger |first1=Paul |title=New homelands: Hindu communities in Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, South Africa, Fiji, and East Africa |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-539164-0 |pages=3–17 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2oI8DwAAQBAJ |access-date=4 June 2022}}</ref> The [[Partition of India]] in 1947 was along religious lines, with the [[India|Republic of India]] emerging with a Hindu majority.{{sfnm|1a1=Sharma|1y=2003|1pp=176–189|2a1=Thapar|2y=1993|2pp=239–241}} Between 200,000 and one million people, including both Muslims and Hindus, were killed during the [[Partition of India]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Twentieth Century Atlas – Death Tolls and Casualty Statistics for Wars, Dictatorships and Genocides|url=http://necrometrics.com/20c300k.htm|access-date=5 March 2021|website=necrometrics.com}}</ref> During the 20th century, due to the [[Indian diaspora]], Hindu minorities have formed in all continents, with the largest communities in absolute numbers in the [[Hinduism in the United States|United States]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=The remarkable political influence of the Indian diaspora in the US|url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/remarkable-political-influence-indian-diaspora-us|access-date=17 March 2021|website=www.lowyinstitute.org}}</ref> and the [[Hinduism in the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2 March 2006|title=UK Hindu population to be studied|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/uk-hindu-population-to-be-studied/story-QBEF77yew4tdgiEEICZgHM.html|access-date=17 March 2021|website=Hindustan Times}}</ref>

Although religious conversion from and to Hinduism has been a controversial and debated subject in India, Nepal,{{sfn|Kim, Sebastian|2005|pp=1–29}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Masud|first=Muhammad Khalid|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iPzXAAAAMAAJ|title=Islamic Legal Interpretation: Muftis and Their Fatwas|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-19-597911-4|pages=193–203|jstor=846021|jstor-access=free}}</ref>{{sfn|Barua|2015|loc=Ch. 2 and 8}} and in Indonesia,{{sfn|Ramstedt|2004|pp=93–108|loc=Robert Hefner. ''Hindu Reform in an Islamising Java: Pluralism and Peril''}}{{refn|group=note|According to Sharma, the concept of missionary conversion, either way, is anathema to the precepts of Hinduism.<ref name="arvindmr">{{harvnb|Sharma|2011|pp=31–53}}</ref>}} in the 20th–21st century, many missionary organisations such as [[ISKCON]], [[Sathya Sai Organization]], [[Vedanta Society]] have been influential in spreading the core culture of Hinduism outside India.{{Refn||name=ty78|group=note}} Religious leaders of some Hindu reform movements such as the [[Arya Samaj]] launched ''[[Shuddhi (Hinduism)|Shuddhi]]'' movement to proselytise and reconvert Muslims and Christians back to Hinduism,<ref name="csadcock">{{Cite book |last=Adcock |first=CS |title=The Limits of Tolerance: Indian Secularism and the Politics of Religious Freedom |url=https://archive.org/details/limitsoftoleranc0000adco |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-999544-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/limitsoftoleranc0000adco/page/n1 1]–35, 115–168}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Coward |first=Harold |title=Modern Indian Responses to Religious Pluralism |publisher=SUNY Press |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-88706-572-9 |pages=49–60}}</ref> while those such as the [[Brahmo Samaj]] suggested Hinduism to be a non-missionary religion.<ref name=arvindmr /> All these sects of Hinduism have welcomed new members to their group, while other leaders of Hinduism's diverse schools have stated that given the intensive proselytisation activities from missionary Islam and Christianity, this "there is no such thing as proselytism in Hinduism" view must be re-examined.<ref name=arvindmr /><ref name=csadcock /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Viswanathan |first=Gauri |title=Outside the Fold: Conversion, Modernity, and Belief |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-691-05899-3 |pages=153–176}}</ref> There have also been an increase of [[Hindu identity]] in politics, mostly in [[India]], [[Nepal]] and [[Bangladesh]] in the form of [[Hindutva]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Elst |first=Koenraad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b_ltAAAAMAAJ |title=Decolonizing the Hindu Mind: Ideological Development of Hindu Revivalism |year=2001 |publisher=Rupa & Company |isbn=978-81-7167-519-7 |author-link=Koenraad Elst}}</ref> The revivalist movement was mainly started and encouraged by many organisations like [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh|RSS]], [[BJP]] and other organisations of [[Sangh Parivar]] in India, while there are also many [[Hindu nationalist parties]] and organisations such as [[Shivsena Nepal]] and [[Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal|RPP]] in [[Nepal]], [[HINDRAF]] in [[Malaysia]], etc.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pradhan|first=K. L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PP1yElRzIUC|title=Thapa Politics in Nepal: With Special Reference to Bhim Sen Thapa, 1806–1839|date=2012|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-8069-813-2|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Vir 1988 https://books.google.com/books?id=yEHODCDK-8kC&pg=PA56 56" />