The main religions, which are practiced in the
Himalayan region, are Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. These religions are
practiced in the regions like Ladakh, Sikkim, Tibet, and Lahaul &
Spiti. In the Hindu religion Himalayas is considered to be the abode of
God. It occupies an important position among the Hindus, as Himalayas is
the home for major Hindu Pilgrimage. Lord Shiva who is considered to be
the supreme god in Hindu religion is worshipped here in the form of a
lingum. Some of Lord Shiva's famous shrines in the Himalayas are
Amarnath in Kashmir, Kedarnath in Garhwal where he is seen in a glacial
formation, and Jageshwar amidst a thick stand of deodar in Kumaon are
dedicated to him. Among the other important Hindu pilgrimage in the
Himalayas are Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri and these
four places together forms Chardham. In the valleys of Garhwal local
villagers worship the deity of Durga and Shiva. They celebrate all the
Hindu festivals, which are celebrated in other parts of India. The
people from Nepal, which represents over two-thirds of the population,
follow only Hinduism.
In Buddhist religion also Himalayas occupies an important position.
Many important Buddhist monasteries and Gompas are situated in the
Himalayas like Lamayuru and Hemis in Ladakh and Rumtek in Sikkim. The
major festival of Sikkim is the Phanglhapsol festival. The festival
lasts for two days. These places of worship reflect the heritage of
Tibetan art and culture. Even for the Sikh religion there are shrines at
Hemkund.
Even Islam and Christianity also have an important place in the
Himalayas. The valley of Kashmir is mainly Muslim dominated. They are
mostly the descendants of people who converted to Islam after the Muslim
invasion. In Ladakh the people adopted Islam after coming across it via
the Central Asian trade route while in the northeastern region of the
Indian Himalayas the Christian missionaries converted many tribal people
into Christians. But whatever may be the religion of the people in the
Himalayan region they have stayed together peacefully for centuries. In
the southern region it is mainly the Hindus who dominate while the
northern region is greatly influenced by the Buddhist religion. But
instead of possessing such diverse religion and culture people have
blended themselves beautifully.
