India is one of the oldest civilizations and the world's largest democracy that is home to 1 billion-plus people professing various faiths and speaking in different tongues. But what binds them together is a sense of 'Indianness' which is hard to define, but could be sensed instinctively amid all this mind-boggling diversity.

A vibrant multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-faith society, India is seen by many as a model pluralistic society based on its twin ethos of tolerance and mutual respect. Comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories, India is home to all major religions of the world, but the state makes no distinction between them, allowing each Indian citizen constitutional guarantees to pursue freedom in the broadest sense - freedom of expression and freedom to pursue the religion of one's choice.