The first identifiably [[Jewish]] migrants arrived in India as the Bene Israel group. There is some debate as to the Jewishness of a possibly older group of Indians in the Northeastern part of the country called the Bnei Menashe. [[Christianity]] arrived in India in the first century A.D., possibly through the travels of the [[Apostle Thomas]], whose tomb in the Indian city of Chennai is a major pilgrimage site for Christians in India. [[Islam]] arrived partly through the implementation of holy war or "[[Jihad]]" by Arab militants led by [[Muhammad bin-Qasim]] in the latter half of the 8th century A.D., and partly through the efforts of Arab traders in South India. It continued to spread with invasions, wars and forced conversions by Afghans and Turkic Mongols. Eventually, peace settled and they slowly integrated into the society and formed India's Islamic tradition. The [[Taj Mahal]], India's national monument, was built by a Muslim emperor named Shah Jahan. | The first identifiably [[Jewish]] migrants arrived in India as the Bene Israel group. There is some debate as to the Jewishness of a possibly older group of Indians in the Northeastern part of the country called the Bnei Menashe. [[Christianity]] arrived in India in the first century A.D., possibly through the travels of the [[Apostle Thomas]], whose tomb in the Indian city of Chennai is a major pilgrimage site for Christians in India. [[Islam]] arrived partly through the implementation of holy war or "[[Jihad]]" by Arab militants led by [[Muhammad bin-Qasim]] in the latter half of the 8th century A.D., and partly through the efforts of Arab traders in South India. It continued to spread with invasions, wars and forced conversions by Afghans and Turkic Mongols. Eventually, peace settled and they slowly integrated into the society and formed India's Islamic tradition. The [[Taj Mahal]], India's national monument, was built by a Muslim emperor named Shah Jahan. |