Vol. 1, Issue 7, Part N (2015)

Abstract
Religion is a binding factor for People of Indian Origin (PIO) and may well be so for Indians in other parts of the world. There is a ferociously upheld perception within the Malaysian Indian community that switching religions is tantamount to discarding one’s identity, the ultimate betrayal of the ancestral lineage. One ceases to be Indian once one embraces Islam. One ceases to be Punjabi once one practices Buddhism or Christianity. Switching religions is taboo amongst the PIO and is a cause for expulsion from the basic family unit and ultimately, the cultural group altogether. Asian states of our times adhere to different models of religion-State relations, most of them recognizing one or another faith as the State, or otherwise privileged, religion. Among those which do not, the most notable example is India. The Constitution does not recognize any of India's different faith traditions as the State or otherwise privileged religion.