The Indic universe gave birth to four major world religions, diverse tools of philosophical thought and a variety of cultural traditions. It has witnessed dramatic and sometimes cataclysmic encounters with non-Indic religious traditions. The sub-continent also nurtured several persecuted religious traditions (e.g., Jews, Zoroastrians, Bahaiis) from different parts of the world. India is home to virtually all of the contemporary religions of the world and their interaction and dialogue has produced highly creative cultural forms. Within the Indic world, the diverse communities innovated their own different ways of relating to each other and living together. In contemporary times these traditions of co-living of communities are being reworked into new social-institutional and legal-political forms, especially through state policies and the working of democratic politics. This has radically changed the relations among the ethno-religious communities, making the traditionally established codes of co-living less effective for a more modern, multi-cultural society. Consequently, the old ritualistically and theologically determined boundaries between various religious communities as well as between folk and classical religious traditions are being transmitted into ethno-political identities contending with each other for power and hegemony rather than theological truth claims.