Hinduism is the largest religion in India. According to the 2011 Census of India, 966.3 million people identify as Hindu, representing 79.8% of the country's population. India contains 94% of the global Hindu population. The Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four of the world's major religions: namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—collectively known as Indian religions that believe Moksha is the most supreme state of the Ātman (soul). The vast majority of Indian Hindus belong to Shaivite and Vaishnavite denominations. India is one of the three countries in the world (Nepal and Mauritius being the other two) where Hinduism is the dominant religion. History of Hinduism The Vedic culture developed in India in and . After this period, the Vedic religion merged with local traditions and the renouncer traditions, resulting in the emergence of Hinduism, which has had a profound impact on India's history, culture and philosophy. The name India itself is derived from Sanskrit Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River. India saw the rule of both Hindu and Muslim rulers from to . The fall of Vijayanagar Empire to Muslim sultans had marked the end of Hindu dominance in the Deccan. Hinduism once again rose to political prestige, under the Maratha Empire. Partition of India The 1947 Partition of India gave rise to bloody rioting and indiscriminate inter-communal killing of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs across the Indian subcontinent. As a result, an estimated 7.2 million Hindus and Sikhs moved to India and 7.5 million Muslims moved to Pakistan permanently, leading to demographic change of both the nations to a certain extent. Demographics Hindu population by States and Territories Hindu majority State/Union Territory in India List of most Hindu majority states with more than 80% of population of Hindus. Himachal Pradesh – (95.17%) Dadra and Nagar Haveli – (93.93%) Orissa – (93.63%) Chhattisgarh – (93.25%) Madhya Pradesh – (90.89%) Daman and Diu – (90.50%) Gujarat – (88.57%) Rajasthan – (88.49%) Andhra Pradesh – (88.46%) Tamil Nadu – (87.58%) Haryana – (87.46%) Puducherry – (87.30%) Karnataka – (84.00%) Tripura – (83.40%) Uttarakhand – (82.97%) Bihar – (82.69%) Delhi – (81.68%) Chandigarh – (80.78%) Apart from this, there are 10 States/Union Territory of Hindu majorities. With Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal having more than 70 percent of population. The Hindu population has increased more than three times from 303,675,084 in 1951 to 966,257,353 in 2011, but the